THE CEO'S APOCALYPTIC EDEN

3

Sloane took a long breath, ignoring the stinging pain in her chest from a mutant’s claw slash a few minutes ago. She spun the cylinder of her tactical revolver. Only two bullets remained. Hardly enough to face the horde crawling out from behind the overturned tanker truck.

The elevated toll road had turned into a mass grave. Black smoke billowed from the wrecks of intercity buses and crumpled luxury cars, creating a confusing labyrinth of metal.

Sloane ran with agility; she was a former Blackfire operative, a mercenary military unit accustomed to surviving in the most extreme battlefields in the world.

From behind a pile of containers, a creature two meters tall leaped out. Its skin was a dull gray, covered in bone spikes protruding along its spine. Its hungry yellow eyes locked onto Sloane.

Sloane did not stop her stride. She accelerated. As the mutant lunged with claws capable of tearing through iron, Sloane slid low, moving across the hot, rough asphalt. She fired one bullet precisely into the base of the monster's neck as she passed underneath. Black blood splattered onto her face, but she didn't care. The monster collapsed, convulsing before finally stopping.

"One more," she hissed. The final bullet.

The distance to the Eden gate was two kilometers. However, the obstacles were becoming heavier. Dozens of Crawler-type mutants—creatures that moved on all fours at high speed and climbed walls—began to notice her presence. They poured out from the cracks in the buildings, swarming in the same direction: toward the blue light that promised life.

Sloane twirled the karambit between her fingers. The curved blade felt light and lethal. She knew that using firearms would attract even more monsters. She had to become a shadow.

She leaped onto the roof of a trailer truck. In front of her, a horde of mutants blocked the path. Without hesitation, Sloane jumped toward the crowd. In mid-air, she twisted her body, plunging her left karambit into the eye of the nearest mutant and slicing the jugular of another with the knife in her right hand.

She landed with a perfect roll, stood back up, and kept running.

However, their numbers were infinite. Sloane began to tire. The wound on her waist began to feel hot, likely suffering from a mutation infection from the initial monster's claws. She gasped for air. If she were trapped in the middle of this toll road without protection, she knew she would end up like them.

"Come on, Sloane... you won't die here," she whispered.

The North Gate of the Hilgord district began to come into view. However, the gate was tightly shut.

Sloane stopped for a moment behind a bus wreck. She stared at the dome with a gaze of despair that began to creep in.

Suddenly, a deep, mechanical voice echoed from loudspeakers along the city wall, as if emitted by surveillance towers.

"Identity detected. Anomaly confirmed."

Sloane was stunned. She looked back, realizing she was not the only one heading toward the gate. Thousands of mutants had gathered behind her, forming a tidal wave of monsters ready to swallow anything.

The giant steel gate in front of her suddenly vibrated. The sound of heavy hydraulic machinery roared, breaking the silence of the isolated district. A narrow crack slowly opened.

"Damn it," Sloane cursed.

She had no choice. She ran with all her might. The mutants behind her howled. They realized the gap and accelerated. Sloane could feel the heat of the monsters' breath on the back of her neck.

She mustered all her remaining strength. Her legs felt like they were burning.

Sloane leaped inside just as the gate began to move shut again.

Several mutant hands that had reached for the gap were instantly severed by the closing steel plate, leaving traces of fingers and blood pressed between the gate seams.

Sloane lay there, breathing heavily. She still gripped her karambit tightly, her knuckles white.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed in the spacious corridor.

Sloane forced herself to sit up, aiming the karambit toward the source of the sound.

"Sloane Veralie," Shane said. "Incredible. You were able to survive the initial wave, break through the mutant siege, and reach my gate just before the seal was locked completely."

Sloane did not answer. She observed the man in front of her. She caught the scent of blood.

"Who are you?" Sloane asked.

Shane smiled thinly. His fangs slightly protruded, emphasizing the demonic side that had just awakened within him. He pointed toward the holographic console that appeared in the air beside him.

"I am the owner of this new world. And you, Sloane... you are the first asset who will help me rebuild it."

Shane waved his hand. The door of the room on the side of the corridor opened automatically, revealing an armory filled with the most advanced combat gear Sloane had ever seen.

"You have two choices, Sloane. Join me, serve Eden, and become an elite in this new world... or I will throw you back out there to become food for them."

Sloane looked outward. She sheathed her karambit, then stared sharply into Shane's red eyes. She was a mercenary; for her, loyalty could always be bought with survival.

"What do I have to do, Sir?" Sloane asked coldly.

Shane chuckled. "First, wipe the blood off your face. We have a lot of work to do before dawn breaks."