THE CEO'S APOCALYPTIC EDEN

2

Outside the window where the glass had shattered, the city landscape had changed completely. A neon-blue layer of energy curved from the sky, anchored into the earth, and enveloped the entire Hilgord district within a fifty-square-kilometer radius.

When a flock of mutated birds attempted to fly into the shield, their bodies instantly evaporated into black ash, leaving nothing behind. Absolute isolation.

Shane leaving behind the pile of corpses that were his board of directors, and stepped into the secret room behind the wall panel.

The room was dark, illuminated only by the glow of blue light from quantum server pillars. In the center of the room, a circular console table lit up automatically as soon as it detected Shane’s body temperature and genetic blueprint.

"Status report, Aura," Shane said.

A holographic woman with an emotionless, geometric face appeared above the console.

"Protocol Eden is active. Power supply from the core reactor is at 98 percent. The Bio-Dome shield is stable. Internal temperature and air filters are locked at safe levels. Mr. Hilgord, the radiation anomaly outside the shield has reached toxic levels. Ninety percent of the human population outside the dome is projected to die or mutate within 48 hours."

Shane pressed several virtual buttons in the air. The holographic display changed to a three-dimensional map of the Hilgord district, now inside the dome. The area included elite offices, luxury apartments, the company's logistics center, and experimental hydroponic facilities.

"What about the population inside the dome?" asked Shane.

"There are approximately three thousand two hundred human survivors within the Eden perimeter as the shield activated. The majority are managerial-level employees, executive families, and residents of the luxury apartments in Sector B."

Aura’s hologram brought up dozens of small screens displaying CCTV footage from various corners of the district.

Shane narrowed his eyes, which now had blood-red irises. On the screens, he saw internal chaos. People in expensive suits and women in designer gowns were crowding the building lobbies. They pounded on the glass doors, shouting at the confused security staff. Some senior managers held phones that had lost their signal, cursing at the security cameras.

"Open the door! I’m a shareholder! Why are we locked inside the district?!"

"Where is that arrogant CEO?! Tell Shane Hilgord to come down and explain all of this!"

"Bring me food from the executive canteen now! I'm hungry!"

Shane snorted softly. The corners of his lips pulled up into a cynical smile.

Even when the world was ending, parasites remained parasites. They didn't see the burning sky or the monsters lurking out there. They only cared about their comfort and their false sense of arrogance.

These people were a burden. They were used to commanding with money, but in this new world, their paper money was just trash.

"Aura," Shane called out coldly. "Cut access to hot water, electricity, and food distribution lines to Sector B and the luxury apartment zone. Lock all automatic doors in their building lobbies."

"Processing," answered Aura. "Order executed. Are you intending to perform a quarantine, Mr. Hilgord?"

"Natural selection," Shane replied. He leaned both hands on the edge of the console, staring intently at the screens now showing the panic of the rich people trapped in the dark lobby. "I didn't build Eden to be a shelter for greedy pigs. This city needs a new system. No one eats if they don't work."

For Shane, weeding out the people inside the dome was a matter for later. Let them starve for a few days, and they would beg to clean the toilets just for a piece of bread.

The main problem was out there.

"Aura, remove the internal cameras. I want to see the condition of the streets outside the shield. Use the high-altitude drones that are still functioning."

The main screen flickered. The image shifted from the clean lobby to the ruined city toll road.

Thick smoke billowed from the wrecks of vehicles. Blood pooled on the asphalt. Packs of mutants were now tearing each other apart and devouring fresh corpses. The scene was like an earthly hell.

Shane analyzed every movement on the screen with his predator instincts. To run this giant machine called Eden, he couldn't rely on the spoiled executives inside the dome. He needed people who were geniuses, brutal, and fearless—those who had survived the first wave of pure radiation.

"Scan a twenty-kilometer radius from the shield perimeter. Look for anomalies that are fighting back. Scan for stable heartbeats. I don't need cowards."

"Scanning..." Aura’s holographic eyes blinked blue rapidly. The CCTV screens shifted from one block to another. Past looted convenience stores, past blood-stained alleys.

Until finally, the screen stopped on a traffic camera at an overpass intersection. It was only five kilometers from Eden’s northern gate.

"Found one anomaly," reported Aura.

The screen zoomed in. In the middle of a bridge filled with burning cars, a woman in all-black tactical gear was being surrounded by four large, hulking mutants.

Shane leaned forward. Interest sparked in his red eyes.

The woman was out of ammo. She discarded her assault rifle onto the asphalt. However, instead of panicking, her movements were highly efficient and lethal. She drew two combat karambits from her right thigh. When one of the mutants lunged, she didn't retreat. She lowered her body, slid under the monster's arm, and slashed the mutant's leg tendon until it snapped, before stabbing her knife precisely into the base of its skull.

"Show me her profile," Shane muttered.

Aura ran facial recognition software from the remnants of the city database that could still be accessed.

"Sloane Veralie. Age 26. Former private military contractor from the elite 'Blackfire' squad. Red notice from Interpol for an incident at the Middle East border. Status: Unaffiliated."

Shane smiled broadly. His demon fangs protruded. Sloane was desperately fighting her way through the horde of mutants toward the only point of light in the city: the blue shield of Eden.

"Aura, open the North Gate. Only a gap two meters wide. And prepare the Armory Vault on the ground floor. It seems we are going to have our first VIP guest."