Zombies Doomsday

Chapter 8: Architectures of genesis

The air in the cavern was thick and heavy. It vibrated with a new energy. Hundreds of freed slaves lay on the floor. They were still down not getting up. The shadow of warlord Kaels ' broken robot suit was just lying there. It was. Still. Idris Cole stood in front of all those people. He had his hand on the handle of his very long super-sharp sword. The sword had a line on it. It was pulsing, like it was alive. It made his face look sharp. His eyes were calm. They were like stones.

Beside him, Rhea Knox stood tall. She was like a goddess of war in her armor. Her armor was special. It hummed with power. It cleaned itself. It got rid of all the dirt and dust from the fight. She held a silver pad tightly. She was still thinking about what they had learned. They had found a powerful AI core. They had plans for a cannon network. Their operation was getting bigger. It was not about a small area anymore. They were building something that could change everything.

Rhea Idris said in their minds. We can't just walk out of slow. Commander Briggs ' people are already gone. When he finds out his people are down he'll get defensive. We don't have as much time as we thought.

Rhea's voice came back to him. I know, Idris. I'm checking on these people. There are 437 of them. Most are very sick. They are hungry. Hurt. If we make them walk in the open it will be a disaster. If some wild animals find them it will be bad.

We won't walk them in the open without protection idris said. Valkyrie, can you hear me?

yes i can hear you a smooth voice said in their minds. I'm here. I'm ready.

Can you make a shield around us? Idris asked. Can you make it so we can't be seen?

yes i can do that, " Valkyrie said. I can make a field. It will make us invisible.. It will use some of our power.

" That's okay idris said. Do it. Rhea get the people ready. Put them in lines of four. Those who can walk help those who can't. Anyone who doesn't follow orders will be left behind.

Rhea stepped forward. Her voice was loud and clear. She used speakers on her armor. Listen to me! she shouted. Your bosses are dead.. You are not safe. If you want to live if you want food and water and medicine you have to follow orders. Stand up! form lines of four. Don't talk. Don't scream. Just move. Our leader is helping you.. You have to follow him.

The people started to get up. They were shaking. They were scared.. They started to form lines. Idris. Walked toward the exit. He felt danger. It was not from above. It was from below. Something was moving in the pipes under the tracks.

He stopped. He looked down. He saw heat signatures. They were small and fast. They were hot.

Lurkers, he said to Rhea. Stay with the people. I'll take care of this.

" I see them, " Rhea said. There are many. They are blind. They hunt with vibrations. The noise from the robot must have brought them here.

" I'll take care of it idris said.

He didn't wait. He ran toward the pipes. His agility was high. He was fast. He reached the pipe just as the creatures came out. They were like wolves.. They were hairless. They had slime on them. They had mouths with sharp teeth.

Idris swung his sword. It was precise. It was fast. It cut through the creatures easily. The heat from the sword killed them. It vaporized their blood.

The people watched. They were, in awe. Idris killed the creatures one by one. He was fast. He was precise. He was calm.

The cavern was silent again. Idris stood among the creatures. His breath was steady. He wiped ash from his cheek.

The system's loud chime exploded in his head like a boom. It was followed by a wave of digital text that filled his whole mind.

ding!

system message: host idris cole killed twenty-seven mutated monsters underground. He got 27 points.

He reached a level! current points: 1624/1600.

Good job, Idris Cole! You are now level 6!

The system started changing his body to make him stronger.

Idris felt his breath stop as the system worked its magic inside him. It was more intense than before. His DNA was being rewritten to make him super strong.

a hot nice feeling started in his chest. Spread to his shoulders down his back and to his fingers.

He could hear his muscles getting stronger. His bones got heavier and more solid. His brain was getting smarter and faster.

Here's his new status:

host: Idris Cole

level: 6

points: 24/3200

strength: 35

agility: 35

endurance: 35

intelligence: 38

sensory perception: 37

features:

1. Level 4 reward system (now 100,000x better).

2. His inventory space got bigger (10,000 meters now).

3. His territory interface got better: Vanguard Outpost is now a citadel.

4. He can give roles to people in his territory.

Idris took a breath. He felt super strong. His body felt light but super powerful. He could feel everything around him like every brick and every person.

"Move forward " Idris told Rhea with his mind. "The path is clear."

Rhea was surprised. She got the column moving. They walked past the monsters. The survivors looked at Idris like he was their leader.

They went up the stairs and outside into a square. The sky seemed to change when they got out.

Valkyrie helped them by making a force field around them. It made them invisible to anyone

"Keep moving " Idris said. "We have three blocks to go. Valkyrie, watch the air. If any drones come take them out quietly."

"I'm on it " Valkyrie said. "I see three drones. I'm jamming their signals."

They walked through the ruined city in silence. Idris led the way with his sword, at his side. They were protected by Valkyrie's technology.

After twenty minutes they saw a strong building. It was the vanguard outpost.

When they got inside the survivors were amazed. It was clean and high-tech.

"Close the gates " Idris said.

The gates shut tight. The survivors were safe.

Rhea talked to Idris. "We have people, supplies, but no place for them to live. Can we make the outpost bigger?"

Idris smiled. "We can now."

He used a code to make the outpost bigger and better.

The system chime rang out. "Territory upgrade started!"

The ground shook. Tiny glowing particles came out of the walls. They rebuilt the outpost to make it stronger and bigger.

The survivors were amazed. Idris was making their home.

In the middle of the expanded courtyard, the old command building tore itself apart. The concrete and metal. Rose high into the sky to form a huge central obsidian spire that reached twenty stories high. This was the Sovereign Tower, the nerve center of his territory.

Surrounding the spire three huge secondary wings appeared out of the nanite cloud.

* The first wing was a residential complex with clean living quarters that could house up to two thousand citizens.

* The second wing was a medical depot with automated surgical bays and cleansing chambers.

* The third wing was an automated fabrication and agricultural biome.

Within ten seconds the old outpost was gone. In its place stood the Sovereign Citadel—a high-tech fortress.

The nanite cloud vanished, leaving the air crisp and silent.

The survivors slowly lowered their hands. They had gone from a subway tunnel to a futuristic kingdom in seconds.

The silver chime of the system resonated more.

Ding!

Sovereign Citadel upgrade complete! Territory level: 2.

Idris stood up. Turned to face the crowd. He looked at Rhea, whose silver eyes were wider than he had ever seen them.

"This is our foundation " Idris said. "Rhea take fifty of the survivors. March them into the depot. Use the automated systems to cleanse their radiation sickness. The rest are to be assigned to the wings immediately."

"Valkyrie " Idris spoke aloud. "Initiate the Genesis mainframe. Display the radar mapping of sector one."

A massive holographic projection appeared in the courtyard.

Suddenly a flashing red warning node materialized on the border of the map.

Valkyrie's voice cut through the courtyard. "Sovereign the Genesis defensive grid has detected a military mobilization crossing the perimeter of sector one."

Rhea stepped up to Idriss's side. "Commander Briggs " she said. "He didn't wait twenty-four hours."

Valkyrie, display the enemy telemetry data Idris commanded.

The holographic projection zoomed in displaying renders of the oncoming army.

Idris analyzed the composition. It was a force designed for extermination.

Valkyrie reported. "Their current trajectory indicates they will reach our perimeter gates in exactly four hours."

"What is the directive?" Idris asked coldly.

" scorched-earth eradication " Valkyrie replied.

Rhea looked at the enemy forces.

"We cannot let them lay siege to the walls " Rhea analyzed.

"We will do more than break them " Idris said.

He turned, walking toward the input terminal. He opened the terminals' alloy shield.

Idris raised the sss-tier plasma rifle. Slammed it, into the energy matrix.

The world came to a halt. The mechanical voice of the system descended.

Ding!

System notification: host has successfully sacrificed an sss-tier localized weapon asset into the territory's genesis mainframe!

The sss-tier integrated plasma rifle has undergone a transmutation!

Host has received: one functional orbital heavy ion cannon tactical satellite and one automated high-frequency ion uplink spire integrated into the sovereign tower.

The temporal stasis shattered violently.

from the top of the twenty-story obsidian sovereign tower, a bright vertical beam of pure crimson energy shot up into the sky. The beam of light was so strong it instantly made a round hole through the thick layers of bad air and industrial ash that had filled sector one for three long years. For a radius of five miles the sky above the citadel was completely clear showing the expanse of the real night sky and the bright cold stars shining above the ruins of Earth.

High up in space a huge skeletal satellite made of solar panels and a single giant golden lens began to rotate. The mechanical arms of the Ares-class cannon locked into place its internal fusion reactors starting up with a cold scary power that could split a continent. The lens pointed down at sector one.

At the base of the tower idris stood as the crimson light shone in his eyes. His system interface updated away showing a new tactical menu that was added directly to his brain.

orbital asset online: Ares- heavy ion cannon.

current charge: one hundred percent.

targeting system: synced with Genesis radar.

lethal payload: orbital particle beam strike.

cooldown sequence: ten minutes per discharge.

Idris turned his head slowly looking back at the radar display in the courtyard. The red cluster showing Commander Briggs ' forty tanks, twenty mechs and five hundred elite soldiers was still moving down the highway completely unaware that the clouds above them had just parted to reveal their executioner.

They are currently crossing the bridge over the sector one dried riverbed, Rhea said, her voice shaking a little as she stared at the beam of light rising from the tower. That bridge is a spot. They have squeezed their armored group to cross it safely.

Idris walked back to the center of the courtyard. He didn't need to pilot the Hyperion Phantom. He didn't need to march his troops out into the mud. He just raised his hand his fingers spreading wide as he looked at the red indicator representing the enemy army's center.

Valkyrie linkedy brain directly to the Ares-Prime orbital satellitIdrisis ordered, his voice cold, calm and absolute.

link established, sovereign. You control the sky the AI responded.

Idris focused his mind on the coordinates of the riverbed bridge fifteen miles away. He saw the tanks he saw the mechs. He saw the command carrier where Commander Briggs sat in his comfortable chair confident in his easy win.

Idriss's hand tightened into a fist his fingers locking shut.

exterminate them he whispered.

Fifteen miles away the silent night above the Sector One highway suddenly turned into an absolute blinding white day.

from space, a solid cylinder of blue and crimson ion energy fifty meters wide dropped from the heavens at the speed of light. It hit the center of the riverbed bridge with the force of a star.

There was no sound of an explosion. The ion beam was so fast and hot that it bypassed the threshold of the atmosphere. The forty heavy tanks, with their reactive titanium armor plates didn't have time to explode; their solid metal structures were instantly vaporized into atoms. The twenty bipedal mechanized suits were erased from existence before their automated sensors could even flag a warning. The five hundred elite sanctuary shock troops simply disappeared their bodies converted into white ash.

The huge multi-wheeled command carrier carrying Commander Briggs was caught directly on the edge of the beam. The left half of the fortress was sheared away with surgical precision the thick armor plating melting like hot wax.

The beam held its position for three seconds burning a perfect bottomless circular crater into the solid bedrock of the earth where the riverbed had once been, before snapping back into space.

The blinding light faded, returning Sector One to its dark twilight.

Inside the ruined melting cockpit of the halved command carrier Commander Briggs crawled out from beneath a pile of collapsed steel. His uniform was torn his face covered in burns and his left arm hung uselessly from his shattered shoulder. He dragged himself to the edge of the severed chassis looking out onto the highway ahead.

There was nothing left.

No tanks. No soldiers. No mechs. The entire pride of the sanctuary's ironclad vanguard division, a force that had dominated the outer sectors for a decade had been annihilated in three seconds by a single strike from a sky that had supposedly been dead for years.

Briggs fell back against the smoking steel his breath coming in terrified gasps as he stared up at the clear patch of stars directly above his head. What... What kind of monster are we fighting? he whispered into the air.

Back in the courtyard of the sovereign citadel idris lowered his hand. The red cluster on the radar display had been completely wiped clean replaced by a single flickering terminal node that represented the dying command carrier.

system notification: host has successfully deployed an orbital strike asset to neutralize a sector-tier threat matrix.

total hostile entities eliminated: 542.

Experience gained: 5420.

exp: 5444/3200.

Experience threshold exceeded congratulations, host Idris Cole you have achieved personal level 7

Idris turned his eyes toward Rhea, his black coat catching the faint residual glow of the crimson uplink beam. The apocalypse had spent three years breaking humanity down into scavengers and slaves.. As Idris stood in the shadow of his newly minted citadel, his level 7 evolution initializing, within his veins he knew the rules of survival had changed permanently. He was no longer a survivor scraping for crumbs in the ruins. He was the sovereign. The world was finally ready to learn his name.