A compartment opened on Apex Mk2's back, releasing a swarm of small drones that dispersed into the underground structure, scanning every corridor. "Ego, anything unusual?" Zack asked.
"Sir! There's heavy interference in this area. I can't conduct a full scan." Zack cursed under his breath. So they don't want anyone snooping around. With the drones compromised, he had no choice but to search manually.
Following a dimly lit passage, he eventually reached a massive underground hall. And what he saw made his stomach churn. The hall was huge, nearly the size of a football field. Lined up in neat rows were over fifty crystal-like capsules. Zack approached one and peered inside. His expression darkened.
Inside the capsules were brains. Only brains—no bodies, no flesh. Just floating gray matter, connected to an intricate network of nerves, blood vessels, and what appeared to be artificial neural links. Zack clenched his jaw. 'What the hell kind of experiments were going on here?'
These weren't medical transplants or preservation units. The brains had been forcibly ripped from living people, their neural connections violently severed. And the ghosts—the ones he had been tracking—they had come from here. Whoever was running this facility had taken people, torn their brains out, and somehow turned them into spectral entities. This is madness. Before Zack could process further, a robotic voice echoed through the chamber. "Unauthorized entity detected. Intruder elimination protocol activated."
A low hum resonated beneath him. Then—movement. The capsules opened. From inside, dozens of ghostly figures began rising. Thirty-two in total. Zack barely had time to react before the ceiling exploded. The ghosts rushed toward him at terrifying speed. "Ego! There has to be a main control system. Hack into it!" Zack barked.
"Sir! The interference is strong! I need two minutes to break through!"
Zack grimaced. 'Two minutes?!' That was an eternity in a fight like this. Without wasting time, he rocketed toward the ceiling, dodging the incoming ghosts. They moved fast, phasing through walls and attacking in coordinated strikes. Zack relied on the suit's agility, twisting and weaving through their attacks, never staying in one place for too long. He just had to hold out.
"System override successful! Ghost activity ceasing!" Ego's voice finally rang out. Instantly, the ghosts froze mid-air. They stood eerily still, like puppets with their strings cut.
Zack exhaled, slowing his flight. "Good job, Ego." With the danger neutralized, he turned his focus back to the facility.
"Extract all data. I want to know why there's a production facility for condensed matter here. And why there's no sign of any living personnel." This whole place reeked of something bigger. The fact that it was pristine—fully powered and untouched—meant someone had gone to great lengths to keep it hidden.
Ego responded swiftly. "Sir, data extraction complete. Would you like a detailed report?"
"Just summarize it." As Ego processed the information, Zack turned his attention to the immobilized ghosts. Through his visor, he analyzed their composition. He pulled out a piece of titanium alloy and pressed it against one of them. The moment the metal touched the ghost's body—it froze solid. Ice spread rapidly across the surface, creeping along the metal like a living thing.
Zack narrowed his eyes. 'Interesting.' He immediately dropped the alloy, watching as it shattered upon hitting the ground. "Ego, whose facility is this?" Zack asked as he analyzed the data stream on his visor.
"Sir, this Condensed Matter manufacturing facility belongs to Airui Technology Company. Construction began in 2019, and it has been operating under self-regulation. The experiment was set to launch automatically last month. However, two months ago, the system's directives were altered—its new command is to eliminate all living creatures and remove obstacles."
Zack's expression darkened. 'Airui Technology Company?' He had never heard of them before. More concerning was who had access to their technology and had the power to override the system's controls. That meant the BEC creatures outside weren't just wandering aimlessly. They were actively hunting down anything alive.
That explained why Zack's combat units had been wiped out earlier. There was definitely a bigger plot behind this. "Who changed the directives?" Zack asked. "Was it ASR?"
"Unlikely," Ego replied. "If it was them, they would have taken the equipment instead of leaving it here. They wouldn't waste something this powerful."
Zack agreed. ASR wouldn't just abandon tech like this. If they had control over BEC creature, they'd weaponize it to its fullest extent. Someone else had changed the system. "Ego, can you trace who issued the last command?"
"Negative, sir. All fingerprints and security footage were deleted within an hour of the changes being made. I cannot recover the data."
Zack let out a slow breath. Whoever was behind this had covered their tracks well. "Can we move the system?" he asked.
"Yes, sir. Relocation is fully possible." Zack nodded. At least that was a win. Even if he didn't know who was behind this, he was taking their prize for himself.
The BEC creatures were stronger than his previous combat models. They were nearly undetectable, highly lethal, and functioned independently. Their only weakness was their low resistance to ceramics and extreme heat. Still, their combat capabilities were leagues beyond anything he had built before. And under the right conditions—especially in subzero temperatures—they were nearly unstoppable.
Even high-tier zombies, the so-called Lord, would be frozen instantly upon contact. If Zack had been inside Apex Mk2 during the previous battle instead of remotely piloting it… he'd be dead. Frozen solid, with no chance of escape. Whoever had created the BEC Creature had access to insanely advanced technology.
And it wasn't in Ego's database. That alone told him this was bigger than just another secret project.
At the same time, Zack's mechanical drones had finished securing the site. Under Ego's guidance, they dismantled the entire facility and transported it to NYC. "How many ghosts can we create right now?" Zack asked.
"Sir, at the current energy levels, we can only generate thirty-two," Ego replied. "Seven were destroyed in the earlier battle, and several others have disappeared for unknown reasons."
"Thirty-two, huh? Not bad," Zack muttered. "Do we have full manufacturing data?"
"Negative, sir," Ego said. "Whoever changed the system also deleted portions of the data, including the self-replication protocols."
Zack's jaw tightened. More missing pieces. That meant even though he had control over the BEC Creature, he couldn't produce more of it. At least, not until Ego reverse-engineered the missing data. "Can we restore the full process?" Zack asked.
"Recovery is impossible, but I can attempt a reconstruction. However, it will take an unknown amount of time," Ego responded.
Zack nodded. Even if it took months, it would be worth it. He was about to give another order when Ego's voice interrupted. "Sir, a group of survivors is approaching. Sixteen individuals. They are armed, but the threat level is low."
Zack immediately turned his attention to the approaching group. Activating Apex Mk2's scanners, he zoomed in on their position. In the distance, an armored vehicle rumbled down the broken highway, kicking up dust as it made its way toward the facility. The sixteen survivors inside were well-armed and clearly experienced. Probably scavengers. Zack's thrusters flared to life as he launched toward them.