Li Yun sat eating fruit and watching Natasha shoot in the distance.
He was so relaxed that he felt he could brew a pot of tea and spend the rest of the day enjoying himself.
Peace, however, existed to be broken—especially when he saw Walter, General Victor’s deputy, striding quickly toward him.
Li Yun knew his day of sitting around picking at his toes and shooting the shit had officially ended.
“Mission.
Urgent.
Get ready to move.” Walter handed him a clipboard.
Li Yun scanned it quickly, then tossed the thing aside.
“Ptooey.
Serves them right.
They finally screwed up, huh?
Now they remember General Victor’s plan exists.” Li Yun started cursing without hesitation.
He had exactly two fucking people to work with.
Was he supposed to take Natasha along and get them both killed?
He had read the intelligence.
Around fifty fucking terrorists—and Irina of the Asia Red Army was personally leading them!
If Andrey had not already gone ahead with Gerard and David Black as reinforcements, Li Yun would not even have wanted to go.
“The objective is simple: rescue the researchers inside the institute.
The helicopter is ready.
You leave immediately.” Walter had arranged everything on the way over.
Refusing this mission had never been an option.
Li Yun stopped arguing.
He grabbed his helmet, put it on, and shouted to Natasha in the distance.
She immediately slung her TRG-42 across her back and hurried over, visibly eager for action herself.
The three rushed aboard the transport helicopter.
Li Yun immediately picked up a rifle and checked it over.
Once satisfied, he shoved three additional magazines into his tactical vest.
Even that did not feel like enough.
He took two pistols, holstered them on his thighs, and added four spare magazines.
He had no idea how the coming battle would develop, but bringing extra ammunition was never the wrong choice.
Natasha stared at the amount of ammunition he was loading onto himself.
This was a rescue mission, not a war.
Was all that really necessary?
Apparently it still was not enough.
Li Yun clipped two high-explosive grenades to his waist.
Natasha’s eyes went wide.
Did he not care who else was in the blast radius?
“Bring more ammunition too, as long as it doesn’t slow you down.
Skip the tear gas and flashbangs.
I doubt they’ll be much use.” Once Li Yun finished preparing, he sat back in his seat and took the chance to rest.
Natasha did not understand why, but she chose to trust him.
Without overloading herself, she carried as much ammunition as she reasonably could.
By now, she was starting to feel a bad premonition of her own.
Li Yun knew from the start that something about the mission was wrong.
He was stationed all the way in Europe, while their destination was the western United States.
By the time he got there from this far away, the whole damn thing would probably be over.
Rescue the researchers, my ass.
They would be better off establishing a defensive containment perimeter around the city.
When Li Yun and Natasha finally arrived in Zeta City with the other combat personnel, eleven hours had passed since departure.
Fortunately, they were elite soldiers with exceptional stamina.
Otherwise, after that many transfers between aircraft, they might not even have been able to stand.
As expected, General Victor was the field commander.
Even when he saw Li Yun and Natasha arrive fully armed, his grave expression did not ease in the slightest.
“Looks like you were right.
Something big really is happening.” Those were Victor’s first words.
Luckily Li Yun had put on his gas mask on the way over, otherwise Victor would have seen the expression he could barely keep under control.
Li Yun cared more about the battle.
“What’s the situation inside?
I heard Dad already went in with Gerard and David.
What does the institute look like?”
“The institute’s security force has been wiped out.
Most of the researchers were slaughtered, though a small number are still alive.
Andrey led a team inside, but communications interference has cut off contact with them.
The virus has also spread.
This mission is…
extremely dangerous.”
Victor’s explanation was brief, but Li Yun could already tell how thoroughly the situation had gone to shit.
Worst of all, the virus was loose.
“This mission is dangerous.
No matter what happens, do not leave my side.” He turned to Natasha and gave her the simplest order possible.
Natasha smiled.
“Yes, sir.”
Unfortunately, the gas mask hid that bright smile, so Li Yun never saw it.
He had no attention to spare for such things anyway.
Li Yun nodded to Natasha, and once Victor gave them permission, the two immediately rushed out and boarded a helicopter.
During the flight, Li Yun looked down at the city.
Civilians were desperately trying to escape.
CT soldiers had begun clearing zombies from the streets, but their first encounter with creatures like these was clearly costing them.
Li Yun had no idea how long the zombies had been rampaging through the city, but judging from what he could see, Zeta might already be lost.
The helicopter carried the two straight over the institute, and they fast-roped onto the roof.
The building itself was not particularly tall—only about five stories.
“Move.
Stay alert.” Once inside, they immediately fought their way down.
Across the upper floors, all they found were the bodies of CT soldiers and institute guards.
Apparently the resistance here had inflicted very few losses on the T faction.
By then, Li Yun could already hear roars coming from below.
They had only reached the third floor, yet the sound was horrifyingly clear.
Natasha tightened her grip on her weapon.
Right now, aside from Li Yun in front of her, only the gun in her hands and the training drilled into her over the years gave her any sense of security.
Fortunately, although the T-faction attackers had destroyed the primary generators, emergency power had activated.
They would not have to operate in total darkness.
And then they finally saw the first “person” still standing.
Natasha started to speak, but Li Yun raised a hand to stop her.
The “person” ahead slowly began to turn.
When Natasha saw its face clearly, she nearly vomited.
Li Yun fired the next second.
One round punched precisely through the zombie’s skull and dropped it to the floor.
The suppressor kept the shot quiet enough that it did not draw more enemies from the surrounding area.
“Hold it in.
Do not scream, and definitely don’t throw up.
Keep your voice low and watch your surroundings.” Li Yun was controlling his footsteps now as well.
The deeper they went, the more zombies they would face.
Howls rose and fell throughout the building, occasionally joined by bursts of gunfire.
Natasha followed carefully behind Li Yun, constantly watching every direction.
They cleared the infected from the upper levels and moved through the aboveground structure until they reached the first floor.
There, a massive hole yawned in front of them, opening directly into the basement level.
“Over there.
We can get down.” Natasha pointed to a steep slope formed by piled rubble.
The zombies they had encountered had apparently climbed up along it.
Li Yun nodded.
At this point, the only choice was to head down and force their way through.