Chapter 293

"Move out! Rendezvous at the landing pad in thirty!" Lieutenant Leo's voice crackled through the comms.

Lucy White grabbed her backpack, swiftly stuffing it with energy bars and spare magazines. Outside the window, the guttural snarls of zombies grew louder.

"Go!" With a sharp gesture, her squad fell in behind her.

At the landing pad, Dr. Roland's lab coat billowed in the rotor wash. Behind him stood three assistants—one of whom made Lucy's pupils constrict.

"Sam?"

The man looked equally stunned. "Lucy? You're—"

"You know each other?" Lieutenant Leo's gaze flicked between them.

Lucy shrugged. "We've met." She jerked her chin toward the armored SUV parked nearby. "He gave us that ride."

Sam smiled warmly. "She saved my life, actually."

Dr. Roland whirled around, his glasses flashing. "So you're the one who rescued my brother." He extended a hand. "Thank you."

Lucy shook the unnaturally cold fingers, her brow creasing almost imperceptibly. These two... looked nothing alike.

"Blended family," Sam explained, as if reading her thoughts. "Not blood, but closer than most."

The roar of engines cut the conversation short. Dr. Roland boarded the first chopper with Sam and two assistants, followed by a dozen heavily armed special forces operatives.

"You take the wheel," Lucy said, sliding into the co-pilot's seat beside Lieutenant Leo while Xavier Boone took the controls.

As the helicopter lifted off, a decayed hand suddenly clawed at the door!

BANG! Finn Wallace blew its head off, sending the zombie plummeting.

"Damn things are getting bolder," he growled, slamming the door shut.

Lucy feigned nonchalance. "Sam's part of the research team?"

"Investor," Leo adjusted his headset. "Ran a biotech firm pre-apocalypse. The 'assistant' title's just for show."

Lucy exchanged a glance with Xavier.

"Speaking of," Leo turned abruptly, "you can reset the lab's biometric locks, right?"

"Affirmative." Lucy nodded. "But..." She hesitated.

"What?"

"If the lab belongs to Dr. Roland, why don't he and Sam have access?"

Leo shrugged. "Some researcher-turned-zombie supposedly changed the codes." His tone darkened. "Command only cares about the research."

Before he finished, Lucy suddenly snatched her sniper rifle—

BOOM!

A mutated vulture with a three-meter wingspan exploded midair.

"Holy—!" Leo went pale. Without Lucy's reflexes, they'd be a fireball.

The radio erupted with shouts—other choppers were under attack.

The rest of the flight was a gauntlet. When they finally touched down on the lab's roof, everyone was drenched in cold sweat.

The scene in Sublevel -1 made Lucy narrow her eyes—

Dozens of foreign special forces were stymied before the lab doors. Their expressions when the Chinese team arrived were priceless.

Most striking was the blond leader in front, his breached explosive device still smoking.

"Scheiße," he stared at Lucy, mangling the Chinese, "how you get in?"

Lucy didn't answer. Her gaze fixed past the crowd to the crimson handprint on the lab door—

Fresh blood.