Apocalypse Shelter Administrator

Entering the City Area

I’m standing in front of the main gate leading to the lower area.

“Open it.”

With a heavy sound, the door began to open slowly.

[Security breached.]

A warning message was simultaneously broadcast in a dry, monotonous voice. It was the voice of the shelter's operating system, not a high-level AI like Artemis, but a system that only plays pre-recorded messages according to set protocols.

From our perspective, this is an effort to normalize the shelter, but from the operating system's point of view, which operates strictly by the book, it is an act of recklessly lifting the lockdown of the severely infected lower area. As soon as the opening was wide enough for one person to pass through, I slipped out, and after a brief pause, the door started to close again.

[If things get dicey, retreat here immediately. I’ll open the door just enough for you to pass through at the right moment.]

“Got it.”

The area around the entrance was horrific. People who couldn’t find refuge inside the safe buildings during the infection outbreak seemed to have gathered here as a last hope to escape to the central area.

I’ve seen similar scenes before, but the scale here was on a completely different level. The entire floor was painted with dried blood, and the massive front gate was covered with countless red handprints. In some places, fallen fingernails were stuck to the wall, glued with dried blood.

It seems the rear was guarded by a security team. At the end of the bloodbath were riot shields, batons, and riot control shotguns scattered everywhere. About 10 meters further from there, it looked like it had snowed, with salt grains sprinkled everywhere. They must have fired hundreds of salt rounds against the monsters that were closing in on them, but in the end, it was just a futile resistance.

[First, enter the nearest building. Locating the infected through the fire alarm relay is the top priority.]

“I know.”

The cries of the monsters echoed from all directions, and eerie shadows swayed beyond the streetlights. It was fortunate that the lighting was limited and dim; otherwise, I would have been easily spotted. My muscles, which had been somewhat relaxed, tensed up rapidly as the tension surged through my body. I moved forward, using everything I could find for cover—cars, benches, large trash cans.

As I was passing by a stationary tram, Artemis suddenly spoke.

[Get down.]

I reflexively dropped to the ground, rolled to the side, and slipped under the tram. I stayed in a position where I could fire the shotgun at any moment.

[Acoustic detection indicates a total of six entities approaching. Stay still. They haven’t noticed us yet.]

A moment later, I could hear their sounds nearby.

The sound of footsteps.

The sound of clacking.

The sound of flesh scraping.

“Screeech!”

As the sound grew closer, my heartbeat quickened, and I tightened my grip on the shotgun.

I could now see the infected's feet. There were barefoot individuals, some wearing shoes, and others in stockings full of holes. At the same time, a screen on the opposite side responded to the sensors that detected them.

“Are you not afraid of the looming threat of a world war that the newspapers keep talking about? What about the catastrophe from space that conspiracy theorists warn about? How about experiencing survivalism in a different way? Come to the shelter. It's a good idea to know in advance where to go in a moment of crisis.

The shelter always welcomes new members. Whether with a serious intent, or just out of curiosity, the shelter is open to those who want to prepare for the unexpected.

Remember when the real crisis comes, don’t trust the government. What they can provide you is obvious. At best, a small sleeping bag in a government office or a cup of instant noodles in the corner of a subway station. But here, we have everything. Everything needed for humans to live as humans. The shelter was built not for survival, but for life.

The door closes after you enter.”

Despite the length of the broadcast, the creatures stood there blankly, as if glued to the spot, and only moved on after the screen turned off.

[Now. Move.]

As soon as they had gotten far enough away, Artemis signaled to me, and I rolled out from under the tram and slipped into a nearby building.

[The fire alarm relay is attached to the second pillar on the right after going straight 20 meters ahead.]

She, having installed the shelter’s building layout, guided me. I soon reached the relay and used my hacking tool, but I couldn’t help but sigh. Red dots began to appear one by one on the mini-map, indicating the number of entities detected, and the number was staggering.

“What’s with this number?”

[There are 2,325 confirmed entities, and the number keeps increasing. This figure doesn’t include the outer areas. It’s fortunate, in a way, that the outbreak happened right after the shelter was completed. If it had occurred after residents had moved in, the number would have been in the tens of thousands.]

More than just the numbers, the reason I sighed was because of the color of the dots.

“Why are there hardly any dormant entities here?”

The mini-map on my PDA was filled with red dots. I had expected that, like the central area, most of the entities would be in hibernation due to the lack of survivors to prey on or infect over time. But that expectation was completely shattered.

[It seems the infected have some means of energy supply. Currently, the hydroponic facilities are suspected.]

“They don’t seem to be omnivorous to me. Aren’t they obviously meat-loving picky eaters?”

[There’s no guarantee that the infected’s transmission is limited to animals. Similarly, there’s no assurance that the result of infection will always converge to the single goal of destruction. Plants’ unique role in the ecosystem is that of a producer. If a mutation occurs due to infection while maintaining its individuality as a producer, who will be the consumer to take it? Don’t conclude that the direction of the infection is just towards savagery.]

“Hmm.”

To me, infection felt like a zombie virus, but Artemis seemed to be approaching it from a different concept.

“Should we stop by the hydroponic facility then? If it’s truly providing energy to the infected, it might be better to take action for the future.”

With her help, starting a fire in a limited area wouldn’t be a problem.

[Don’t take unnecessary risks. The primary goal is to occupy the control room in the lower area. Once we achieve that, we can wipe out those disgusting creatures at once. I don’t like the unrefined term ‘wipe out,’ but there’s no word that fits those creatures better.]

As I was checking the route on my PDA, she spoke to me.

[Don’t forget, I still need your body. Especially your legs and fingers. They don’t have any holes and they move obediently as I direct them, don’t they?]

I playfully wiggled my index finger in front of the shoulder cam.

[Yes, just like that. There was a time I thought about taking over your body for a try, but… I gave up. I didn’t want to go into a lump of flesh. So you keep moving. For me.]

“That’s a pretty scary joke. But even if you took over my body, you wouldn’t find it very enjoyable. Especially when it comes to shaving or going to the bathroom.”

She made a sound as if she was gagging. Of course, being a machine, she couldn’t really throw up. What followed was the time for serious combat.

Thunk— As I approached the infected, I swiftly swung my fire axe and struck its nose. When I pulled out the axe that had sliced through the nose bridge and pierced the sinuses and the roof of the mouth in one blow, broken upper teeth poured out.

That much was bearable, but seeing the yellow snot that had filled the sinuses spill into the mouth and mix with the tongue was nauseating.

“Screech!”

Aiming for the staggering creature’s temple, I swung again. This time, its ear was torn off, and it fell, but it was still not dead.

“Should I aim for the neck to sever the spinal cord instead?”

The look in the creature’s eyes as it stared up at me was unsettling. Even though it was on the verge of death, its eyes held not fear but a calm rage.

Crack— With the full weight of my body behind the swing, its head split open, and the brain spilled out. But what caught my eye was the body.

“The ones I saw above weren’t this grotesque.”

Its entire body was covered in pustule-like bumps, and grayish veins protruded from the skin. Occasionally, I could see something moving between those veins. Oh, I hope that’s not a parasite or something. It was far more grotesque than the infected I had dealt with in the central area.

[Move. Two infected are heading this way from the corner 20 meters ahead.]

I lowered my stance and moved in the direction she indicated. With almost all the infected active here, combat was inevitable to reach the destination. I didn’t want to make noise if I could avoid it, but I had to abandon any hope of finding them conveniently separated like this.

“Looks like I’ll have to use this.” I felt the cold barrel of the riot control shotgun in my hand.

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