[Sector E - The Clock Tower] The view from the fourth floor was perfect. And terrifying. Through the scope of his HK416, Alex watched the Central Plaza below. It was a wide, concrete square with a dried-up fountain in the center. "Ten minutes until the drop," Alex whispered. "I see movement," Sarah said. She was lying prone next to him, holding a pair of binoculars they had found in the supply point. "Three o'clock. Behind the burnt bus." Alex shifted his aim. Through the green tint of his Night Vision Goggles, he saw a heat signature. A man was crouching there, holding a machete, waiting for the crate. "Amateur," Alex muttered. He scanned the rest of the square. "Nine o'clock. Inside the coffee shop. Two heat signatures." "Six o'clock. On the roof of the bank. One prone target... looks like a sniper." Alex froze. A sniper. That was the real threat. The guys with machetes were just fodder. The guy on the bank roof was a predator. "Sarah," Alex said calmly. "Don't lift you

[Sector E - Central Plaza] The plaza was a graveyard. Under the harsh white floodlights, bodies lay scattered like broken dolls. Some were "Pigs" desperate for freedom; others were Hunters who had been too slow to escape the Mercenary Squad’s wrath. Alex walked through the carnage. His heavy Class-B Combat Armor crunched over bullet casings and glass. He looked like a grim reaper in black steel, his rifle raised, scanning for any sign of movement. "It's clear," Alex’s voice came through the helmet’s external speaker, sounding deep and robotic. Sarah followed close behind him. She was still wearing the helmet Alex gave her, her hands gripping the pistol tight. She tried not to look at the faces of the dead. They reached the Supply Crate in the center. It sat there, gleaming under the lights. The neon skull logo flickered ominously. Inside, resting on the red velvet cushion, sat the three Master Keys. They looked like simple, golden USB drives. But to everyone on this island, th

[Underground Research Facility B - Main Hall] The heavy blast door hissed shut behind them, cutting off the shrieks of the mutants in the tunnel. Silence. Absolute, sterile silence. Alex swept his flashlight across the room. It wasn't a cave. It was a pristine, white hallway lined with glass partitions. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, casting long, twitching shadows. "It looks like... a hospital," Sarah whispered, shivering. The air conditioning was still running, making the air bitingly cold. "No," Alex walked over to a reception desk. A skeleton in a lab coat sat in the chair, a bullet hole in its skull. He picked up a dusty ID badge. "It’s a factory." [System Location Update: Sterling Genetics - Black Site Alpha.] [Danger Level: Unknown.] They moved deeper into the facility. The glass rooms on either side were cells. But instead of beds, they had restraint chairs and surgical tables. Dried blood painted the floors. Alex stopped at a computer terminal that was stil

[Sector D - Trench Network Alpha] The mud in the trenches was ankle-deep, a mixture of rain, oil, and blood. Alex walked through it like a bulldozer. He didn't bother crouching. Every now and then, a terrified survivor or a lower-level Hunter would pop their head up from a foxhole, see the black-armored giant approaching, and immediately run the other way. "They're scared of you," Sarah noted, keeping her head low behind him. She clutched her pistol, but she hadn't needed to fire it for ten minutes. Alex was a walking deterrent. "Good," Alex scanned the horizon. "Fear saves ammo." He checked the map. The Command Bunker was only a kilometer away, atop a fortified hill. But between them and the hill lay a maze of bunkers. Suddenly, Alex stopped. [Passive Perception Triggered.] [Warning: Rapid Temperature Spike Detected.] The air around them didn't just get warm; it shimmered. The mud at Alex’s feet began to hiss and steam. "Back!" Alex shoved Sarah hard, sending her stumbling

[Sector D - Command Bunker Control Room] The silence in the control room was heavy. Alex stood watching the radar screen as Alice’s helicopter disappeared... but not towards the ocean. It was flying deeper into the island. "Alex?" Sarah walked over, holding the golden pistol Alice had dropped. "She escaped. But we have the control room. We can shut down the collars and call for help, right?" Alex didn't answer immediately. He was typing on the console, his brow furrowed. "Something is wrong," Alex muttered. He pulled up the island map. According to the map they found in Sector F, they were at the center. The ocean should be right behind this hill. But when Alex hacked into the Admin System, the map on the screen zoomed out. And zoomed out. And zoomed out. "Oh my god," Sarah gasped. The "Dead Man’s Isle" they had fought through—the Jungle (F), the City Ruins (E), the Trenches