Chapter 41: Scouting Operation (2)

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Scouting Operation (2) An unsuspecting zombie wobbled its way through the zoo. The silence confused it, yet it kept walking towards the sweet smell of flesh. The ever-hungry zombie couldn’t contain its excitement and lunged at the flesh chunk hanging in the air. Its fingertips were about to touch the prize when the ground beneath its feet shifted. A flatbed-like structure laden with bony spikes appeared out of the ground. The Zombie stood no chance, as it was impaled with countless spikes. The undead was lifted off the ground and thrown backward, crashing onto the ground. The bony spike tore through its flesh like it was made of wet tissue. There wasn’t a single inch of its body that the spikes didn’t poke through. Then, the spike returned to its original position, hidden underneath the fleshy floor. Crawler dragged the undead, dropping it before Blaze’s skeletal throne. The undead wasn’t dead, but Blaze wasn’t pleased upon seeing it. After all, the trap wasn’t meant to kill zombies. The third test was successful. Blaze thought and waved his hand. Saturn eagerly fed it to the separator. Within the minute, the zombie was turned into a spike trap. The sixty-ninth trap, to be precise. Blaze looked around his prized lair. He had been busy following the encounter with John and Jade. Busy perfecting the lair. It’s a good thing zombies don’t sleep. It made my job easier. He made two more corpse pits and a second separator to keep up with his expensive base-building hobby. He didn’t build an extravagant base. Primarily because of the limitations forced upon him. So he opted for a simple, yet effective, base design. A seven-circle base. I wanted to go for nine, but materials are getting scarce. Nine circles of hell. That’s what he wanted to design, with each circle getting progressively worse. The utility room, where all production-based structures were, was the center of the base, the seventh circle. His throne room was the sixth circle, directly attached to the center. The fifth was patrolled by Saturn and the frogkins. The fourth, third and second were protected by Raven, Breaker and Crawler, respectively. Fester was relegated to intel wing, providing real-time updates to Blaze through its extensive borrow system. And yes, Fester made it without any help from its master. But despite all that, Blaze was confident no one would make it past the first circle. At least, for the first couple of times. Why? Because it was laden with traps. The spike trap he used before was just one of the three traps Blaze had prepared for the intruders. Since the system didn’t place a limit on traps and walls, Blaze abused it to his heart’s content. Apart from the regular spike trap, he had a poison trap as well. It worked as a regular spike trap, but instead of hitting humans, it was set to break a cylinder full of ammonia gas from the corpse pit. Ammonia didn’t have any effect on zombies, but it was a pain for the humans. Depending on the exposure, it can lead to organ failure. However, Blaze was aiming for the short-term effects like coughing, skin irritation, and burning one’s eyes. With their senses compromised, dealing with the zombies would be child’s play. Blaze didn’t have the numbers like those humans. So he was using everything at his disposal to defend his lair. As more structures unlock, he’ll think of new ways to improve them. Till then, this is all I’ve got. He set the stage. Now it was up to the humans to entertain him. *** A few hours later... The crowd of soldiers and civilians alike cheered on. A group of soldiers was headed outside for the first time. And leading them was none other than Commander Hailey. Everyone admired his selfless nature. After all, most leaders would never think of walking outside the safety of their bases, forcing others to do the dirty work. However, Commander Hailey proved to be different. He was leading the squad, setting an example for everyone else. Hailey responded to their cheers with smiles. No one noticed his fists clenched to his side. No one but Neha, who leaned against the metal gate, waiting for Hailey. But something was different about her. She was wearing the uniform of Michael’s faction. Hailey’s anger shot through the roof just by seeing her. After the disastrous meeting, it didn’t take long for him to find the truth. The support she had offered to Hailey, she had offered the same to Michael and the rest. They all wanted the knowledge of the future. Knowledge that Hailey wanted to keep to himself. That’s how everyone turned against him so easily. Yet one thing kept troubling him. How did she make them believe her words? Michael was one cunning bastard, and he wouldn’t just believe her without proof. Just then, Neha interrupted his train of thought. "Open up," Neha said, hitting the gates. The soldiers eagerly followed her orders. She wasn’t a civilian anymore, but a valuable member of the community. At least, more valuable than Hailey. As Hailey walked past Neha, he growled at her. "Don’t think this is it," he said. "You’ll pay for what you did." "Will I?" Neha scoffed. "Unlike you, I know who to bet on, who to hurt, and whose side to pick." She continued as the door closed behind Hailey and his squad. "You gave me three days. I’m giving you three hours. Go live your life to the fullest." Hailey’s rage broke the dam of patience. He took off his helmet and hurled it full force at the gate. "I’ll come back," he snarled. "And when I do, I’ll make you regret your very existence!" The sudden outburst took everyone by surprise. But Neha didn’t even flinch. She just blew him a kiss before smiling. "Thanks for your concern, Commander," she said. "But you can rest assured, I have nothing to be afraid of. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a funeral to prepare for." She turned to leave, but couldn’t help herself from taking another jab. "Yours, of course."