Apocalypse System: The Disabled Doctor

Chapter 3. The Doomsday Executioner's Contract

​[Absolute cardiac shock successfully executed. Welcome back to the mortal realm, Dr. Zac.]

​The mechanical voice echoed in perfect unison with Zac's first gasp of air. His lungs inhaled the air violently, with a desperate greed. The bodies of the two monsters that had just lunged at his chest were blown forcefully backward. A wave of static shock erupted from behind Zac's ribcage, slamming into them like a giant hammer. The two walking corpses crashed into the row of morgue refrigeration doors, leaving the metal heavily dented and mangled.

​Zac coughed violently, hacking up the foul-smelling remains of dark blood from his throat. His eyes snapped wide open, staring up at the ceiling, which was bathed in the dim red glow of the emergency siren.

​The agonizing pain in his neck vanished instantly. The skin cells and muscle tissues torn apart by the monster's bite knitted themselves back together at an impossible speed. The gaping wound closed flawlessly, leaving absolutely no trace of a scar behind.

​An incredible wave of heat traveled down from his left shoulder to the very tips of his fingers. Zac lowered his gaze. He stared at his left arm, which had been completely paralyzed for the last three years. Microscopic sparks of blue electricity danced across the surface of his pale skin. His fingers, which had been rigidly curled inward for so long, slowly unfurled and straightened out. His joints popped loudly, responding to the fresh blood forcefully pumped into them by the system.

​"What did you do to my body?" Zac clenched his left fist repeatedly. He felt a sheer grip strength that far exceeded the limits of normal human musculature.

​[The Emergency Medical Protocol System has assumed absolute cellular control over the host. Physical damage has been repaired. Main interface initialization complete.]

​A semi-transparent blue screen materialized, floating right in front of his retinas. Rows of digital text scrolled rapidly, displaying his heart rate, body temperature, and a neural map. A glowing green energy bar sat in the bottom right corner of his vision. The number inside the bar read exactly 50%.

​"You cured my paralysis in a matter of seconds." Zac stared at his hand in absolute disbelief. Modern medical science would have required dozens of hours of surgery and years of physical therapy just to restore a fraction of that dead nerve function. This system had accomplished it in a single breath.

​[This power does not come without a price, Dr. Zac. The system does not operate on charity. Initiating absolute terms and conditions readout.]

​The blue screen in Zac's eyes suddenly flashed, shifting to a warning red.

​"Name your price." Zac leaned his back against the leg of an operating table. His expression turned ice-cold. "I know technology this advanced demands an incredibly steep cost."

​[First-level warning. The cellular maintenance and neural modification of the host's left arm require a continuous supply of kinetic energy. The energy bar in the corner of the host's vision will continuously deplete as time passes.]

​Zac kept his eyes fixed on the energy bar. The 50% had just dropped to 49.8% in less than a minute.

​"What happens when that number hits zero?" Zac narrowed his gaze, searching for a loophole in the explanation of the machine inside his head.

​[Absolute punishment will be executed. The host's left arm will immediately revert to complete paralysis. All vital organs will experience total functional failure. Permanent brain death will occur within exactly three seconds. The host is absolutely required to move constantly and accumulate Protocol Points to recharge this energy.]

​"And how do I gather those damn points?" The veins in Zac's neck bulged tightly. This system was quite literally holding his own life hostage.

​[The host must kill enemy entities. The host must dissect infected victims and collect mutated virus samples in the field. Every single medical success or lethal execution will be converted directly into kinetic energy. To stop killing is to die.]

​Zac let out a harsh scoff. The system was forcing him to become a full-time executioner without a single day off. He was not allowed to rest or hide in search of safety. He had to continuously hunt down monsters or evil humans out there just to keep his own heart beating.

​"I understand." Zac nodded slowly, accepting the bitter reality. "I will kill anyone who stands in my way. Give me the next condition."

​[Second-level warning. An absolute biological directive is being implanted directly into the host's cortex. This condition is strictly permanent and cannot be revoked.]

​The red screen projected an image of a slowly rotating DNA strand. The DNA strand radiated a brilliantly bright golden light, banishing the red warning color surrounding it.

​[The host's body currently holds the only DNA strand completely immune to the VX-19 virus. This virus will continuously mutate, eventually destroying the entire global population. To ensure the survival of human civilization, the host's genetics must be passed down to the next generation.]

​"I do not have the time to care about the future of civilization!" Zac interrupted the system, his voice rising sharply. "I only have one goal. I will find my little sister, and I will obliterate the Scorpion clan."

​[That is the host's personal objective. The system has evolutionary objectives. The host is absolutely required to seek out a female specimen possessing perfect genetic qualities. The host must engage in biological reproduction to birth a male heir.]

​Zac's eyes widened in sheer disbelief upon hearing the instruction. "You are telling me to find a woman just to use her as an incubator?"

​[Affirmative. A male heir is absolutely required to inherit this system in the future should the host perish in battle. The genetic quality of the female host will directly determine the absolute antibody strength of the heir.]

​"I am not some breeding cattle!" Zac shouted furiously, slamming his right hand against the ceramic floor. "I completely reject this disgusting condition. I will not force any woman to bear a child just to satisfy your egotistical goals."

​[Rejection detected. Initiating central nerve severance protocol in stages. Energy bar reduced by 20% as a formal warning.]

​An incredibly sharp, piercing pain suddenly exploded at the base of Zac's skull. His breath hitched in his throat. The energy bar on his retinas plummeted sharply down to 29%. His left hand trembled violently, instantly losing half of its grip strength.

​[Human morality is a failed product of a bygone civilization, Dr. Zac. Kindness will never save your little sister from the mafia's torture. To conquer the apocalypse, the host must completely discard all mercy. Does the host still reject this biological directive?]

​Zac pressed both hands hard against his head. The agonizing pain was tearing through the final shreds of his sanity. The system's words landed a devastating blow squarely on the logical side of his brain.

​His kindness had only ever resulted in him ending up as a lowly janitor, constantly trampled on by Bryan. His dignity had been shattered every single day. His family was ripped away from him without him being able to fight back even a little. Clinging tightly to morality in a world that had already been destroyed was nothing more than a ridiculous form of suicide.

​He remembered his mother's bruised and battered face in that video recording. He imagined his seven-year-old sister locked inside a glass tube, crying all alone in the dark basement of a mafia headquarters.

​The Scorpion clan had never utilized an ounce of morality when they murdered his father. Bryan had never considered ethics when he shattered Zac's knee and threw him to a horde of starving monsters.

​If this world demanded he become a demon, then he would become the most terrifying demon of them all. He would accept all of these curses. He would fully embrace all the darkness the system had to offer. If he had to use other people to achieve his goals, he would do so without a single second of hesitation.

​"Stop this pain." Zac spoke very softly, yet his voice was dripping with absolute conviction. His cold voice pierced the silence of the morgue.

​[Does the host accept all the absolute terms and protocols of this contract?]

​"I accept." Zac lifted his head, staring straight ahead. "I will kill for you. I will find that female specimen to birth the heir you demand. I will trade away the rest of my humanity for absolute power. Give me that power right now."

​[Absolute contract locked. Biological directive successfully implanted. Kinetic energy power restoration returning to original levels.]

​The excruciating pain in his skull vanished instantly, replaced by a deeply soothing, cooling sensation. The energy bar on his retinas quickly climbed back up to 49%.

​Zac placed both palms flat on the white ceramic floor. He pushed his body up slowly and stood tall. His right knee, which had just been shattered by Bryan's steel baton, now supported his body weight with absolute solidity. His kneecap had healed flawlessly, now as strong as solid steel.

​He stood perfectly upright, clad in filthy, blood-soaked clothes. His posture was no longer hunched over like a crippled man who always kept his head down to avoid people's stares. His shoulders were broad, radiating the aura of an apex predator who had just awoken from a long slumber. The naive man named Zac was truly dead in this room. The executioner of darkness had been born to take his place.

​The sound of savage growling echoed once again from the corner of the room.

​The two nurse monsters that had been thrown against the refrigerators were now beginning to get back up. Their spines cracked, responding to an insatiable instinct of hunger that could never be extinguished. They completely ignored the physical trauma from their brutal impact. Their blank, white eyes glared at Zac with pure, unadulterated hatred.

​An additional monster crawled in through the gap in the destroyed steel doors. This third monster wore a hospital gown that was ripped open across the stomach. The creature's intestines trailed behind it, dragging across the wet ceramic floor.

​The three walking corpses blocked the only exit out of the morgue. They lowered their postures, preparing to leap and pounce on their prey all at once.

​Zac stared down the three disgusting creatures without blinking once. There was not a single ounce of fear in his eyes, which were now as dark as the night. His kinetic energy bar blinked slowly, a silent warning that he needed to harvest the lives of his enemies immediately.

​He reached his right hand over to the operating table beside him. His fingers brushed against the surface before finding a thin metal handle. He grabbed his trusty silver scalpel. The blade was incredibly sharp, specifically designed to slice through muscle tissue with microscopic precision.

​Zac flicked his right wrist, tossing the scalpel high into the air.

​The silver blade spun around, catching the red glare of the emergency siren. Zac did not catch it with his right hand. His left hand shot through the air with a speed that surpassed the blink of an eye. His left fingers caught the handle of the scalpel flawlessly in midair, without missing by a single millimeter.

​He spun the scalpel nimbly between his left fingers. The silver metal danced through his hand, creating a very faint, yet entirely lethal whistling sound in the air. His fine motor control had returned at 100%, and was now far stronger than it had ever been before.

​Zac tilted his head slightly, glaring at the three monsters that were now sprinting straight toward him. A psychopathic smirk carved itself sharply into the corner of his lips, transforming his pale face into the mask of a truly terrifying grim reaper.

​"Let us begin our first tumor removal surgery of the day." Zac stepped forward, greeting death with a scalpel firmly in his left hand.