Two soldiers marched near the inner gate. With a signal from the crew, the lock disengaged.
"Pull!"
The inner gate groaned open.
Seconds passed and the engine roared louder and louder each passing moment, until—
The Light APC rolled in first, tires crunching over the gravel like it owned the road. The machine gunner maniacally laughed, complimenting his driver’s reckless handling.
Then came the Commander’s armored SUV and the string of vehicles that Dmitri and his platoon had gotten out of nowhere.
They looked too clean, too tall, and too expensive.
Guards lines the path with rifles lowered but ready. Workers paused on the streets; their eyes fixed on the convoy that stormed inside the base as if they had their own parade.
Whispers filled the air. Some wondered if a group of thugs broke in. Others rumored it was probably a new batch of soldiers they had been constantly seeing around for a while.
Regardless of their accusations, it all vanished when they saw that man.
Hans was already there when the convoy stopped.
He stood at the edge of the yard, Selene and Alexei behind him. His gaze didn’t linger on the cars. It went straight into his troops.
The hatch opened. Army boots hit the ground.
Dmitri stepped out. Kimmy and Yunera followed.
"Commander," Dmitri called out loud enough for Hans to hear.
Hans nodded once, "Report."
Dmitri slowly approached, halting a meter in front of his Commander.
"Pandora District has been surveyed," he gestured to Hopkins. The latter took out a report made of several pages—notes about Dmitri’s experience while being out.
"Place was crowded with infected, but we dealt with them."
"You don’t sound too confident," Hans stole a glance, then shifted back to the report. "You said these all here are superhumans who became zombies?"
"Yes," Dmitri answered. "There is more to that, Commander, but I cannot speak the details myself."
"Oh?" Hans raised a brow. "Who has the knowledge to speak of it then?"
Dmitri moved his body; his head pointed at a direction of a particular man. Hans heeded his hint and observed that figure.
That man wasn’t dressed like the rest—neither in armor nor fatigues.
A long coat sat on his shoulders like it belonged there, the fabric too clean for someone who had spent days in ruins. His collar was straight, as if recently ironed.
His hair was combed back without effort, nor any hair-styling effects. Even his boots looked like they had never touched mud or any dirt at all.
The man stood near the second SUV, hands behind his back as if he was waiting outside a conference room instead of a fortress gate.
A thin hard case rested by his feet, its contents unknown to anyone but him.
Barely an emotion could be seen from his face. Eyes looked around not in awe, but rather taking measurements.
When Hans’ gaze landed on him, the man met it immediately—no flinch, no forced smile.
His head lowered and settled on Hans for a few seconds, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Tyrus Shearman. Former Helix III researcher."
Dmitri said, ignoring the stare stand-off between Tyrus and his Commander.
The man released his frown and gave a small nod, more of an acknowledgement than a greeting.
"You must be the Commander of this platoon," Tyrus paused, then adjusted his collar and tie. "Ah, should I say, company instead?"
Hans didn’t move.
"You seem interested to know more?"
"A rather innate behavior of a scientist like me," Tyrus smiled. "Pardon me if my questions sound forceful to you."
"You don’t have to," Hans sneaked a glance back at the report. "It’s said here that you have participated of this Project HELIX before?"
"I am the one who built parts of it," Tyrus replied. "And watched it fail enough many times to understand what it intended to be."
Dmitri’s tone didn’t soften.
"Commander, he wants to talk. Says he has an offer."
Tyrus kept his mouth shut, waiting for Hans’s to break the silence.
"Oh, what kind of offer do you have for me?"
"Protection, and samples," Tyrus’s index pointed at the document. "They are listed in detail on that paper."
"Hmm?"
Hans noticed something peculiar, Did Dmitri let this guy read the report?
Dmitri realized that Tyrus’s superhuman powers acted up again.
"Commander, do not fret. Tyrus is a superhuman. His powers are related to perception and sensory."
Tyrus quickly raised his hand and stepped back half a foot.
"Ah, I didn’t mean any harm or suspicion on that one. I sometimes have my abilities get the best of myself and proper etiquette. I would like to apologize for my rude behavior just now."
Hans’s brows twitched. This guy wasn’t your regular scientist nor superhuman. He peeked at Kimmy’s face and noticed her slightly curled mouth.
Hans didn’t return Kimmy’s expression. His eyes stayed on Tyrus.
"Perception or not," Hans said, voice flat, "you don’t get to point at my troops’ papers."
Tyrus’s smile thinned, "Understood. Boundaries."
Hans nodded, "I will consider your offers after reading the reports carefully. For now, you may stay within the colony, but I hope Mr. Tyrus will not cause any trouble."
"I am a smart man, Commander Hans. Believe me, those roaming zombies will cause you more stress than I will in these next few days."
"Let’s hope that shall be the case then," Hans rolled the paper and passed it over to Selene. "If Mr. Tyrus has nothing more to say, I suggest you should settle your accommodations with Officer Selene on my left."
"Ah, many thanks to the Commander then. I will take note of your words well."
Selene stepped forward with a small nod. "This way, Mr. Tyrus."
Tyrus lifted the hard case without strain and followed, coat still straight as if dust refused to touch him. He didn’t look back.
Hans closely observed Tyrus once again, realizing that having this man close made him feel danger. However, distancing Tyrus away would prove disastrous to his knowledge goals either.
He felt that he must be careful of that man, not because of Tyrus’s superhuman identity, but of his behavior, intelligence, and previous work.
Project HELIX, huh? Hans recalled the report’s contents. So, this is where those superhuman anomalies have come from.
The space that Tyrus left behind didn’t stay empty for long.
Two figures near the rear vehicle shifted forward—Johannes and Evelyn.