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🕑 Added 2025-05-29 09:53:14 +0000 UTCStay Alive
Chapter 54 - First Line of Defense, Part 4
Texas. City of McAllen, near the Mexican border.
Early in the morning, a team of twenty men, fully outfitted in tactical gear, boarded two helicopters.
They were entering the city based on intelligence about a large weapons warehouse and a location where at least five families were taking shelter.
A man named Stuart was leading the operation. Their mission was to secure all those supplies. He didn’t understand why so many weapons were needed, but orders were orders—and he followed them without question.
All his men were grateful to Alan for what he had done for them, so following his orders wasn’t about blind obedience; it was about loyalty.
"Zz... We’re going to land in that football stadium. Make sure to take out all the stalkers—aim only for the head." Stuart readied his weapon, knowing there were at least a thousand walkers in the area that needed to be eliminated.
As they prepared to descend, many began opening fire on the stalkers rushing toward them at high speed. They were special forces, and their experience was beyond doubt. They knew how to follow orders, and being in combat was second nature to them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Zz... South zone cleared. The stadium remains sealed, so once we have full control of all entrances, the place will be ours."
"Have you spotted any figures in the dark?" Stuart stepped out of the helicopter while his men dealt with the walkers.
"No breaches, sir. We can begin unloading."
"Good. Have the assistants burn all these corpses to prevent infection. I want a sniper in the VIP zones, and I want the stadium’s interior cleared without incident. I don’t want a single infected nest in this temporary base." Stuart gave orders to his assistant, Richard.
"Yes, sir!" The assistant immediately led a team into the interior zones.
"I don’t want any stalkers wandering around this extraction base when we return. This will be our supply gathering point, so notify base to send the Beavers for maintenance duty." Stuart contacted the Beavers team, led by Raj, who was mainly in charge of supplies.
The Beavers team was made up of many strong men with knowledge of machinery. They could drive trucks and adapt quickly to unforeseen situations.
They were perfect for this type of mission because they knew exactly how to move through hordes of the undead.
"Holy Mother of God, what the hell is happening in this world?" Raj, upon arriving in the open field, looked at all the walkers and was left in utter shock.
Stuart was used to Raj’s reactions and replied, "If the whole world is like this, then there’s no doubt we’re screwed."
"That’s why we need weapons, resources, and good tools." Raj walked toward the corpses and began moving them to burn.
Stuart had joined Alan mainly because he followed General Shelton’s principle of refusing to ally with DEBRA. He knew that if orders to kill civilians continued, the National Guard's structure would completely collapse, and that meant the country would lose any hope of a secure future.
How could an ordinary person foresee all this? No. Whoever is behind this must understand exactly what’s going on.
"Let’s move. We’re taking the trucks outside." Stuart led a special group for the extraction of weapons and other supplies. And if they could save anyone, they would.
…
It was nighttime when Dr. Talia returned to her office and found a USB flash drive that hadn’t been there before. “Who left this on my desk?”
As far as she could remember, no one had entered the room, but as she tried to figure out where it came from, she immediately recalled the colonel who had come for a medical check-up.
Curiosity is dangerous sometimes, but Talia picked up the USB and plugged it into her computer. She went directly to the storage to check its contents.
…
[Report No. 457: Cordyceps hominis mutatus]
Taxonomic classification:
Kingdom: Fungi
Phylum: Ascomycota
Class: Sordariomycetes
Order: Hypocreales
Family: Ophiocordycipitaceae
Species: Cordyceps hominis mutatus (artificially emerging human pathogenic strain)
General description:
Cordyceps hominis mutatus is an artificially or naturally accelerated mutated fungal strain from the Cordyceps genus, originally known for parasitizing insects. This strain has developed the ability to infect human tissue through airborne spores or direct exposure to contaminated fluids, establishing a lethal parasitic relationship with its host.
The fungus invades the brain and central nervous system, manipulating the individual’s behavior, suppressing higher cognitive functions, and replacing them with aggressive hunting and transmission instincts. The infection progresses through distinct evolutionary phases, each with structural and functional fungal adaptations within the host.
Documented variants:
1. Phase I – Cordyceps hominis var. motoricus (“Runners”)
Infection period: 12–24 hours
Characteristics: Hyperventilation, pupil dilation, increased aggression.
The host retains full human mobility. Coordination is erratic but fast.
2. Phase II – Cordyceps hominis var. cranialis (“Stalkers” and “Clickers”)
Post-infection period: 1 to 12 months
Characteristics: External mycelium growth over the face and skull, loss of vision, echolocation.
Formation of chitin plates around the skull as a defensive mechanism.
3. Phase III (theoretical) – Cordyceps hominis var. regenerator (“Drivers” or “Alphas” – hypothetical phase)
Evolutionary projection: 3 to 7 years post-infection in nutrient-rich and humid environments.
Scientific hypothesis: The fungus may form a parallel synaptic network capable of repairing or even enhancing brain tissue through new fungal neural pathways.
Expected results:
Leadership and coordination among nearby infected
Limited communication between infected units via sonic or chemical signals
Partial regeneration of muscle tissue and increased resistance to physical injury
Intelligent behavior: ambushes, basic use of the environment, threat evasion
…
Observations:
In vitro cultures of C. hominis exhibit unprecedented ability to modify human biological structures without immediate cell death—something never observed in other pathogenic fungi. It is suspected that this adaptation is due to genetic mutation induced by extreme environmental pressure or covert biological engineering.
After reading the initial files, Talia’s hands trembled, and she unconsciously whispered, “What is this?”
When she tried to read further, the remaining results were redacted. Looking down, she noticed a recently written note, as indicated by the date.
[Dr. Talia, if you want to know more about the virus, meet on the rooftop of the center. Midnight. Don’t forget.]
“Damn…” Talia looked at the time, and although she didn’t fully understand what she had just seen on the USB, she knew exactly who had done it—so she ran for the rooftop.
