THE ART OF Desire

Chapter 4: The Ojol Knight and Spiked Moonshine

BOOM!

A glass bottle shattered right at 'The Conductor’s' feet. A clear liquid sprayed everywhere, releasing a sharp, nose-stinging aroma—super-grade Bekonang ciu mixed with thinner. The air around the pharmacy entrance instantly transformed into a nauseating chemical gas zone.

"Hey, Je! Don't just stand there gawking, damn it! Jump, now!" the man on the motorcycle shouted.

Je didn't waste a second. He grabbed Sekar's waist and leaped from the remaining drainage pipe, landing squarely on the back seat of a heavily modified N-Max. The bike looked like a wreck straight out of a Mad Max movie; the gas tank had been replaced with a large jerrycan, and the exhaust spat unstable blue flames.

"Guntur? You're actually still alive, you bastard!" Je shouted while trying to find his balance.

"I'm not dying until these bike installments are paid off, Je! Hold on tight!" Guntur twisted the throttle.

VROOOOMMM!

The bike surged forward, its back tire crushing the head of a zombie that had just begun to crawl up. 'The Conductor' roared in fury above them. He tried to swing his long fingers, but the smell of the spiked moonshine sprayed by Guntur through a hose at the back of the bike seemed to scramble the creature's sensory radar.

"What the hell did you just spray?!" Je yelled into Guntur's ear to be heard over the wind.

"Spiked ciu mixed with acetone, Je! Trade secret!" Guntur laughed wildly while maneuvering between the wreckage of Trans Jogja buses. "Those fungi hate pungent, acidic smells. It makes their spores 'drunk' and fails their signal transmission! Genius, right?"

"The line between genius and insanity is thin!" Je replied.

He felt pressure against his back. Sekar was sandwiched between Je and the bike's rear box, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. The spores emitting from Sekar's skin mixed with the scent of alcohol, creating a strange aroma that began to stimulate Je’s nerves once again.

"Master... this man... is noisy..." Sekar hissed. Her black nails pressed slightly into Je's stomach.

"Whoa, Je! What are you carrying back there?!" Guntur glanced at the mirror, his eyes widening at the sight of Sekar. "Is that a 'Ratusan'? Did you get kidnapped by a zombie or something?!"

"This is Sekar, Guntur! She... she’s my ally now. Don't ask questions yet!"

"Holy shit! You’re dating a zombie?! Your taste has gotten even sicker since the apocalypse, Je!" Guntur chuckled, then swerved left to avoid a mushroom tree that suddenly exploded, spreading yellow gas.

[System Warning: Adrenaline Rising.]  

[System Compensation: Arousal Sensor activated to maintain Host's mental stability.]

"Stop that damn sensor, System!" Je cursed internally. He could feel the friction of Sekar's body against his back becoming incredibly intense as the bike bounced through the ruined streets of Malioboro. "I'm not in the mood for an erection when our lives are on the line!"

[Suggestion: Use this tension to strengthen 'Lust Aura'. Guntur needs protection.]

"Guntur! Keep going straight toward Point Zero!" Je ordered.

"Can't do it, Je! There’s a crowd of 'The Choir' ahead! If they start singing, our hearts will burst!" Guntur steered the bike into a narrow alley in the Sosrowijayan area. "We have to take the back alleys!"

The bike roared, entering narrow lanes where the walls were covered in glowing moss. Several emaciated zombies tried to reach them from behind house doors, but Guntur skillfully kicked them away while keeping the throttle pinned.

"I've got a stash of alcohol in an old warehouse near the fort," Guntur said. "If we can reach it, I can build a bigger bomb to clear out Malioboro."

"Fort Vredeburg? Isn't that where the 'Purifiers' are stationed?" Je asked.

"Purifiers, my ass! They’re just a bunch of rich people with guns, Je. They call themselves saviors, but all they do is shoot anyone who looks like they have fungi on their skin. Including your girl there!"

"Dammit..." Je tightened his grip on the bike seat. "System, how far is the enemy behind us?"

[The Conductor is 800 meters behind. However, a high frequency is detected from the front. Distance: 300 meters.]

"Guntur, brake!" Je suddenly shouted. "There’s something ahead!"

Guntur pulled the handbrake, spinning the bike 180 degrees on the slime-slicked asphalt. At the end of the alley, a blindingly bright searchlight suddenly switched on, blinding them.

"Stop right there! Put your hands up or we fire!" A heavy voice boomed through a megaphone.

Je squinted. Behind the bright light, a barricade of barbed wire and sandbags was visible. Several people in white hazmat suits, armed with automatic assault rifles, stood atop a modified military jeep. On their chests was a logo—a red circle with a black diagonal line—the symbol of the "Purifiers" faction.

"Shit, it’s them!" Guntur whispered. He turned off the bike's engine. "Hands up, Je! Lift 'em!"

Je slowly raised his hands. Behind him, Sekar began to growl low. Her hair stood on end, and her eyes began to glow a deep purple.

"Sekar, calm... do not attack," Je whispered.

"Master... they smell of... death..." Sekar showed her small but sharp fangs.

"Told you so, they won't like the look of Sekar," Guntur exhaled, his hands remaining on the handlebars. "One wrong move and we’re kebabs, Je!"

One of the hazmat soldiers stepped forward. He carried an electronic sensor device aimed at them. As the sensor passed over Sekar, the device emitted a rapid beeping sound and turned bright red.

"Prime Infection Level detected! Prep the flamethrowers!" the man shouted.

"Whoa, wait a minute, Sir! She’s tame! For real, she doesn't bite unless told to!" Guntur tried to negotiate in the typical style of a delivery driver getting a traffic ticket.

"There is no such thing as a tame zombie, idiot! Get out of the way or you’ll be burned too!"

Je felt the System inside his head churning.

[New Mission: Survive Interrogation or Escape.]  

[Danger Status: Very High.]  

[Suggestion: Use 'Curator’s Diplomacy'. Utilize Sekar's physical assets to distract them.]

"You’re crazy, System! They’re wearing gas masks! Pheromones won't work!" Je cursed.

"Je, do something, damn it! I don't want to die as a roasted chicken!" Guntur whispered in panic as he saw two others start pumping their flamethrower tanks.

Je stared at the squad leader. In the midst of the chaos, he noticed something. On the man’s uniform was a small badge with a red cross and a skull: a sign that they weren't just soldiers, but part of a biological research team.

"Wait!" Je shouted, his voice booming with authority. "You're looking for a Prime Host for research, aren't you? If you burn her now, you lose the only key to understanding the mutations in Yogyakarta!"

The squad leader signaled his men to hold back. He walked closer, stopping five meters from Guntur’s bike.

"How do you know we’re looking for that, Thief?" the voice behind the mask sounded cold.

"I'm not a thief... well, technically yes," Je smirked cynically. "But I'm the one who managed to keep this zombie from eating your brains just now. That’s worth more than all the bullets you have."

A moment of silence. Only the drone of the jeep engine could be heard.

"Bring them in," the leader finally ordered. "But if that zombie growls once more, her head will explode before she can blink!"

"Nice, Je! You really are a top-tier con artist!" Guntur whispered with a sigh of relief.

"Shut up, Guntur. This trip just got a lot more complicated." Je looked toward the massive fort looming ahead. Fort Vredeburg, once a tourist site, now looked like a heavily guarded hell-fort.

As they were led inside through the barbed wire barricade, Je saw a shadow in the fort's top-floor window. A middle-aged man in a white lab coat was staring at him through binoculars.

TING!

[Key Individual Detected: Prof. Surya.]  

[Status: Hidden Antagonist. Threat Level: Immeasurable.]

"So that’s him..." Je muttered. "The brain behind this madness!!"

Sekar gripped Je’s hand tightly. Je could feel the fear coming from his fiancée. Inside this fort, it wasn't the zombies they had to fear, but the humans holding the scalpels.

"Welcome to the tiger's den, Guntur," Je said softly.

"I’d prefer a tiger's den over a mushroom den, Je. At least I hope there’s alcohol here we can drink, not just for bombs," Guntur replied with a grin, though his hands were shaking violently.

They entered the darkness of the fort, unaware that a "New Era of Humanity" was being prepared in the most horrific way.

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