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[HOTD] Chapter 55 – Suspicious Man
🕑 Added 2025-04-26 12:15:43 +0000 UTCThe underground's hallway was dark and narrow. The air smelled stale with faint traces of smoke lingering about.
Dust had accumulated everywhere causing me to cough whenever breathing in. Insects skittered across floors and walls creating soft buzzing noises akin to cicadas chirping outdoors.
Zombies growled softly amidst shadows lurking throughout unseen corners.
I clicked on the flashlight mounted atop my rifle.
Two corpses laid motionlessly nearby; their uniforms indicated police officers while pistols gripped firmly between their fingers.
Several empty shells scattered throughout the surrounding vicinity. The bodies appeared fresh; probably less than thirty minutes ago according to the smell.
"Hm..." Saeko scanned through the surroundings warily, eyeing everything carefully as if expecting ambush from every direction possible.
"Let's move." I motioned for her to follow.
We tread lightly through a dim corridor and arrived at a room with cubicles filled with computer monitors connected via cables attached directly into sockets embedded in ceilings. Everything looked untouched aside from bloodstains splattered against tiles.
Empty cartridges littered across the carpeted floor indicating intense battle ensued within the confines of these rooms earlier today.
There was one corpse sitting limply against a wall adjacent to the door leading deeper into the facility; likely killed during a struggle between fellow policemen.
"Bullet wound." I commented after inspecting the victim's injury closely, "He was shot point blank. Maybe a friendly fire or he got betrayed."
A pool of crimson liquid stained shirts beneath the man's uniform. Judging by the size of the stain and the amount of time it took me to assess the situation here, his life must've been over shortly following his demise.
"They were overwhelmed." Saeko concluded solemnly. "Either someone panicked, betrayed others, or they were unlucky enough to encounter zombies that came back faster."
"Yeah..." I nodded in agreement.
They could have survived had luck played out differently for them... But something was strange.
"Why did they run to the basement instead of getting out of this place?"
"Now that you mentioned it..." Saeko frowned slightly before continuing her words, "...it does feel unnatural. If they went downstairs to hide from danger, the way we came from is too risky."
I nodded again.
"Yeah... I guess there must be another exit or—"
Tsk-tsk-tsk—
"—an important reason."
"Like?" Saeko turned her gaze towards me expectantly as I peered around once more to make sure nothing else lurked nearby while pondering over the possibility of alternative escape.
Usually, underground like this had ventilation shafts large enough to fit human bodies or even maintenance tunnels similar to subway systems in most cities nowadays.
I had already confirmed Umbrella Corporation had something to do in this underground. However, I underestimated how large their scale was in the Highschool Of The Dead universe.
As my thoughts drifted elsewhere momentarily, footsteps interrupted us.
Saeko reacted swiftly by grabbing onto my arm tightly before pulling herself closer toward me until our faces mere centimeters apart.
Our breaths intermingled briefly before her eyes roamed around. We were hidden behind the door frame, away from the direct line of sight of whoever was approaching us.
I put down M1A1 and pulled out my handgun, pointing it at the doorway.
Click— Clack— Click— Clack...
Judging from their uneven footsteps, the person was running. And from the sound, there was only one.
After a few moments passed by, the figure revealed himself to be a young man dressed in a grey suit and blue striped tie. He looked haggard yet handsome.
His disheveled appearance gave him a wild look despite his suit.
He appeared stressed judging from his tense muscles.
"Huff... Huff...Huff... I need to run... It should be here, the serum!"
The man panted heavily as he leaned against the wall beside the entrance leading further down below. Blood stained his right sleeve near elbow region suggesting he received injury sometime before entering.
When his chest rose up and down due to labored breathing, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly up and down along with rhythmic movement. His eyes darted around frantically.
He disappeared into the darkness, only then did I come out of my hiding space.
I looked at Saeko and nodded. We agreed silently and followed the man. I doubted he'd get far ahead considering how wounded he seemed earlier.
Besides, if we encountered problems later on, we could always deal with it. The path he took involved a few turns here and there, which meant he was familiar with the layout of this laboratory.
Suddenly, he stopped moving altogether in front of a double door.
Saeko and I stopped too, crouching behind the corner, watching the man fumble around. He used a keycard to unlock the door, entered the code, and opened it.
Beep!
Then he quickly disappeared inside without noticing us. The door was quickly closed after that.
Saeko raised an eyebrow questioningly but said nothing as she waited patiently behind me.
"What should we do, brother?" She finally asked quietly after noticing my hesitation to act immediately.
We weren't pressed for time so I decided to observe the situation calmly rather than rush things carelessly like usual.
Unfortunately, we had no such luxury.
"...Let's follow him."
"But..." Her expression showed reluctance for some reason although it soon disappeared entirely when seeing my determined stare. "Yes."
Afterward, we moved toward the door. I tried to open it manually, but it was no use. We had to use a keycard just like what he did a moment ago.
'I might not know the password, but...'
I had something I picked up from Tyrant's body last time in my bag. A keycard with Umbrella Corporation's symbol printed on it.
"Let's try this." I pulled the card and swiped it on the scanner.
Bip! Click!
[Level 2 authorization confirmed!]
With a successful entry granted by the system, the door opened and we stepped inside.
The room turned out much larger compared to previous ones previously visited prior to arrival here. Rows upon rows of shelves containing vials filled with various colored liquids greeted our presence accompanied by several tables lined neatly across the center portion of the spacious chamber.
"Hurry up!! Find it!!"
The man from earlier didn't realize our presence and instead yelled desperately while rummaging through different cabinets, searching desperately for certain items among countless piles stacked atop tables nearby him.
Meanwhile, Saeko approached me slowly until we were close enough for her to put her sword in his neck.
"Don't move."
