Chapter 26: Crossfire

Hank and his three companions looked at the little girl crying while lying on her parents' corpses; although they felt pity, the muzzles were still aimed at the girl.

If the little girl were to go berserk, they would fire without hesitation.

After all, Sui Bian's orders included a clause that assistance could be carried out only when the safety of the combat personnel was ensured.

For Sui Bian, these Alphas are priceless assets.

Moreover, Hank and the others aren't fools; who can tell whether the little girl is truly pitiful or merely pretending, so they cannot relax their guard.

"Sir!" At that moment, the Team B leader stationed in the hallway shouted to Hank, "Situation!"

Hearing this, Hank turned his head toward the girl and said calmly, "Put the Nylon restraint strap on her; the rest follow me."

"Yes."

As the words fell, an Alpha, under cover from a teammate, pulled a Nylon restraint strap from his right trouser pocket and bound the still‑crying girl.

The girl tried to resist, but she had no ability to fight the Alpha; being easily bound to the ground, she lost her mobility.

Meanwhile, Hank and another Alpha exited the room and entered the hallway guarded by Team B.

"Hoo…! Hoo…!"

In the hallway, Hank saw a multitude of residents pouring out of rooms, arms outstretched, mouths open, emitting low roars like the couple earlier.

These residents had pallid skin, soulless eyes, and charged toward Hank and his group, but…

their speed was somewhat slow.

Their movements were staggered, lacking coordination, resembling the Infected B. O. W. that USS once dealt with on Lockfort Island.

But zombies wouldn't sit at a dining table like living people, nor would they repeatedly use knives and forks.

"Ah! Help! Help!"

"Run fast!"

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Along with those Pseudo‑zombies bursting from the rooms, many seemingly normal tenants also fled.

These panicked tenants scrambled toward the apartment's main door; some, whose legs had gone numb from sitting too long, fell, and even those using both hands and feet tried to escape.

Seeing this.

With a "Bang!" shot, Hank eliminated the nearest Pseudo‑zombie, and raised his voice in the hallway, shouting, "Anyone who doesn't want to die, drop down! Otherwise bear the consequences!"

While saying that, Hank ordered his subordinates, "Open fire freely!"

"Yes!"

"Bang! Bang!"

"Pfft! Pff!"

As Hank's command rang out, the four Alphas of Team B unleashed full fire, the gunshots and the sounds of bodies being torn echoing through the hallway.

Hank and another Alpha from Team A provided cover; when Team B's bullets ran out, they would take over fire output, preventing an awkward reload for everyone.

After just one sweep, the four of Team B still had ammo left, but the floor of the hallway had already become "empty".

Dozens of Pseudo‑zombie heads were cleanly blown off, their bodies collapsed lifelessly on the floor, and the carpet was stained with thick black blood, a chaotic mess.

Naturally, the corpses also included normal tenants who, having ignored Hank's warning, were mistakenly killed.

"Ah… my arm…"

"Help… save me…"

Inside the hallway, there were also those wounded by AP-FMJ bullet, lying helplessly, groaning in pain.

These narrow corridors of an old apartment, even with Hank's team equipped with Mechanical exoskeletons achieving over 99% accuracy at close range, still could not make the projectiles curve as in the Wanted notice.

So those unlucky ones who heard Hank's warning but didn't act, or didn't hear it at all, met only the fate of being mistakenly killed or wounded.

As for the tenants who managed to drop in time, they survived, but the full‑fire of the four from Team B frightened them into not speaking loudly or moving.

This, however, made things easier for the Alphas.

Team B's four took turns reloading, and the two Team A Alphas who had secured the little girl also returned to the hallway to cover Team B's reload.

Standing at the center of the group, Hank surveyed the hallway's situation forward and back, then, via his throat‑mic headset, calmly ordered:

"Team C, Team D, enter the apartment; after confirming the floor is completely safe, seal off the apartment. Team E, protect the technicians and verify the condition of corpses and survivors.

Team A and Team B, follow me upward."

"Yes." A few cold responses came over the comms.

After issuing the order, Hank led Teams A and B up through the right‑hand corridor of the first‑floor lobby.

At this moment, the eight Alphas of Teams C and D descended from the cargo vehicle, swiftly entered the apartment's lobby, and, in pairs, began checking the rooms on the floor one by one.

Next, after confirming the floor was safe, Team C assisted Teams A and B in sweeping the Pseudo‑zombies and searching for the anomalous phenomenon's mastermind behind the situation.

Team D, however, remained stationed in the first‑floor lobby.

"Bang—bang bang—bang—" The relentless gunfire rang throughout the building.

At this point, four Omicron members of Team E escorted four technicians clad in white one‑piece hazmat suits, each carrying a Silver toolbox, to the first‑floor lobby.

Why Team E wasn't made of Alphas is because the wounded with left‑shoulder and butt injuries hadn't recovered, so the Omicron Team E was called in to assist.

Entered.

The lead technician raised his left arm, looked at the Personal computer screen on his left wrist, and after a few seconds, reported via radio:

"Mr. Sui, no abnormal microorganisms were detected in the air, but for safety I still recommend sealing and disinfecting the building…

…

"Yes, sir, yes, understood, rest assured."

After reporting to the 'superior', the technician ordered the remaining technicians, "Everyone, our mission remains to collect samples; the building's sealing will be handled by follow‑up forces, so let's move."

"Yes, sir." (×3)

After some dull words fell, the four technicians began their work.

First, they placed the toolboxes in the spacious hall, opened them, and took out the tools and instruments each needed.

Then Team D's A'erfa continued to stay in the hall, while Team E protected the technicians as they entered the left corridor on the first floor.

The technicians began taking samples of blood, hair, tissue, etc., from those 'Pseudo-zombies' and the tenants' corpses.

As for the surviving tenants, at this time they also honestly, under the guidance of the technicians, came to the hall on the first floor, squatted on the ground with their heads bowed and knees bent, accepting the detention of Team D's A'erfa.

After collecting the samples of the corpses, the technicians began to carefully inspect the rooms, corridors, and corners.

Just then…

"All units, attention, this is Han Ke, at Room 407 on the fourth floor of the building, an abnormal phenomenon has been confirmed; Teams D and E, protect the technicians."

The radio transmitted Hank's voice, but his tone remained calm, as if he would not panic at all due to the abnormal phenomenon.

(End of chapter)