Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

[ You have eliminated a Crawler Zombie. ]

Seeing this message, he continued looting the Zombie, and because of his average luck, he only got a Zombie Core and a Bread aside from the 2 Experience Points. It wasn’t that good at all.

Nonetheless, Ibrahim wasn’t too excited about the reward from the Zombie. However, he immediately felt thrilled when he discovered something on the ground. He wasn’t too sure what it was since he didn’t see the whole thing, but he immediately had an idea.

’Is this a manhole? No… This is…’

Ibrahim crouched, and his fingers traced the cold, rusted edge of the metal door hidden beneath the forest floor.

The outline was just visible through the dirt and leaves, enough to reveal a reinforced hatch with bolts along the edges. He wouldn’t have noticed it if the Crawler Zombie hadn’t stirred the ground during their struggle.

The moment was thrilling; it was rare to find something like this, a possible remnant of the world before the outbreak. He then swiftly removed the other leaves and dir to confirm that it was indeed not a manhole and a huge metal door that was locked by an unknown mechanism.

Well, he had no Lockpicking Skill, so he had no idea how to open this door at all.

He then glanced over at Tieria, whose special prosthetic eye activated as it scanned the door.

Tieria was actually really shocked, but he controlled his emotions and immediately activated his abilities…

”It looks reinforced, industrial-grade,” He murmured while his eye’s calculations cast faint blue lights over the metal.

”Could be an abandoned shelter… or maybe one of those rumored labs where this whole nightmare started.” Tieria muttered.

He wasn’t a summon like Ibrahim. He was a true Foreign Survivor. Because of that, he was able to get information about these hidden structures in the World and Regional Chats.

Ibrahim knew that they found a jackpot.

His first impulse was to forcefully open it, but the sense of caution quickly overrode his curiosity. Who knew what horrors might be lurking inside, sealed for who-knew-how-long?

He exchanged a glance with Tieria, whose usual calm held a note of unease.

”It might be dangerous,” he said, with an almost reluctant voice. ”Better to report this to Sir Shane. He’ll know what to do.”

Tieria nodded. ”Agreed. Let’s cover it back up and mark the spot for now. Shane should be informed before we do anything risky.”

With swift action, the two brushed leaves and dirt back over the hatch. Then, they placed a discreet rock pile to mark the location.

After a few minutes, they finally continued their patrol.

They continued through the forest, eliminating several more Crawlers and Walker Zombies easily.

With their current abilities, unless they faced numerous Mid-Tier Zombies at the same time, they wouldn’t get into trouble.

As they were reaching the final area, the two of them felt some danger with their Perception or Danger Sense.

They immediately slowed down after realizing this.

Tieria’s senses were heightened with his ability, and every rustle in the leaves nearby was immediately scanned by his eyes.

Suddenly, they heard the unmistakable sound of quick footsteps approaching.

Ibrahim knew from this movement that it couldn’t be a Crawler or a Walker Zombie…

It must be Runner Zombies.

They then turned to see three of them rushing through their location. Just like many other Zombies, they had decaying faces with mindless aggression.

They weren’t a variant type, so the two of them heaved a sigh of relief.

Ibrahim and Tieria then raised their rifles as they fired in unison.

Bang! Bang!

The shots echoed through the forest as the Runners dropped, but one managed to dodge their bullets, as it was a bit faster than the others…

However, as they were about to shoot once again, this Runner Zombie suddenly burst with speed!

”Watch out!” Tieria yelled, drawing her sidearm and firing point-blank!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The first shot hit its stomach, but the second and third hit the zombie’s jaw and forehead, eliminating it completely. The Runner Zombie then fell, sliding to a halt just inches from Ibrahim.

”Is it a variant?” Ibrahim asked.

”No… It’s only a Runner Zombie.” Tieria replied after confirming the message.

In any case, it shouldn’t be impossible for a normal Runner Zombie to be able to burst with speed.

Ibrahim then exhaled as he felt really nervous just then. ”Thanks. Those things are getting faster.”

”They’re probably adapting. Since we’re getting stronger, they’re probably mutating too.” Tieria replied while reloading his firearms. ”We’ll have to stay one step ahead.”

Anyway, their mission was finally completed. They immediately headed back to the Silver Mine Camp to finish their report and inform Shane about the place they’d found.

***

Once they returned to Silver Mine Camp, Ibrahim was eager to share the discovery. He wanted to hear Shane’s opinion, and of course, he wanted to be one of the first people who could explore it or see what was inside. Although dangerous, there was something in him telling him that this could be a huge matter that could benefit him.

But when they arrived at the main building, Shane was nowhere to be found.

”Shane’s out in the mines today,” one of the guards said as he polished a crossbow. ”You’ll find him working with the crew down there.”

”Huh? Why is he working there?” Ibrahim mused.

”Mhmm… I guess he’s aware that he’s very strong. He probably wanted to speed things up. Who knows, he might even have a mining skill with him.” Tieria guessed.

After all, it’s not really that wise to help in the mines if you don’t have a specific set of skills or you’ll just be a burden. He knew for sure that Shane was aware of this.

Intrigued, Ibrahim and Tieria made their way to the mine entrance after wearing some safety gear that was placed just at the side of the entrance for anyone who wanted to enter.

As they entered, they could hear the rhythmic sound of pickaxes against stone, the clank of metal, and the hum of machinery even from a distance.

’Oh? Do they have a drilling machine here or something?’ Ibrahim swore that there wasn’t anything like that, according to the people he had spoken to a couple of days ago.

However, as they walked inside, they soon saw how several excavators were helping the mining move things aside from the carts being used before.

Clank! Clank! Clank!

Descending into the mines, they finally caught sight of Shane, standing at the heart of the operation…

His sleeves were rolled up, and his hands were coated in dust.

It seemed that he was helping a group of miners extract a particularly rich vein of silver, directing the laborers efficiently and lending his strength to the heaviest of tasks.

Ibrahim and Tieria looked at each other. They both like this kind of leader. Well, Shane was incredible powerful, as he could even push back a Giant Zombie if he wanted to. However, despite how incredibly strong he was, he didn’t mind doing such dirty work at all.

”I guess those Vampires would come at us soon…” Ibrahim muttered after some thought.

Tieria couldn’t help but nod at this since he read Travis’ message at the World Chat… No one even chatted at the World Chat after he posted about the existence of Vampires to ensure that it would stay there long enough for everyone to see.

”Yes… That’s probably why Sir Shane was hurrying.” Tieria said.

Of course, the mines were a vital resource for providing materials for weapon upgrades, but they could also be used in repairs and trade with nearby survivor shelters or even the neutral ones...

Anyway, seeing how busy Shane was, they waited for a bit. They watched as Shane swung his pickaxe and directed his fellow miners to where the stone was weakest.

Seeing Shane up close like this, working with everyone, gave Ibrahim a newfound respect for the man who led them.

Shane finally noticed their approach and took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow before walking over.

”You two look like you’ve got news,” Shane said as his gaze shifted between Ibrahim and Tieria.

”Ahem… Does it show on our faces? You’re right, Sir. We found something…” Ibrahim said with a serious tone.

”I’m listening…”

Ibrahim realized that Shane didn’t want to change location, so he just continued. ”We found something while we’re on patrol. It’s an old metal door buried in the forest. It’s heavy-duty. We think it could lead to an underground shelter—or maybe one of those labs we’ve heard rumors about.”

Shane’s brows knit in thought, and he folded his arms. ”A lab, huh?...” Shane muttered as he recalled that his main mission in sector 20 was quite similar.

”We’re not sure, but since it could be dangerous, we didn’t delve too much.” Ibrahim said as he looked at Tieria, whose prosthetic eye gleamed before that letter nodded in agreement.

”Right… We didn’t open it, since there could be traps, and we don’t have Lockpicking Skill.” Tieria said with a smile.

”Thought it best to consult you first…” He added.

Shane rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded. ”Good call.”