Laboratory complex X-18, third level, same time.
The gates to the outside world opened, but they did not rush towards it, no. Two dozen of their kin set up an ambush: some hid right under the stairs, some behind the elevator shaft and in the branching corridors of the third level of the laboratory. Soon they will go into a holy battle against the creatures from the surface... They can already hear heavy footsteps interspersed with hoarse breathing.
Time stretched out, second by second, very slowly. Nerves, or what was left of them, were stretched to the limit, like taut strings, ready to snap at any moment. And then, the creatures that had been hiding in the darkness for many years, not daring to come out into the light, saw a leg, clad in black leather, then another, a torso... And the terrible invader fully appeared in their field of vision, with a strangely shaped head and holding a strange elongated thing in its hands... It's time!
The first trio of their brothers broke from their places, clumsily moving their legs. Too slow! The monster instantly raised its stick, and the stone vaults plunged into a noise that tore at the eardrums. Three flashes of fire, three fallen brothers... Another one enters the fray, almost the bravest and most agile of them. Ducking sharply, he dodges a shot that grazed him and rushes towards the monster to tear it apart. But... the cunning monster strikes their brother in the groin with the hard toe of its black foot with all its might, he freezes, grimacing and screaming in pain. The invader didn't stop there... Sharply readjusting its grip on the stick, it makes a short swing and hits their kinsman's face with the blunt end, once, twice, until he falls to the ground. Then it squats down and begins to pour fiery drops on those kin who did not manage to hide in the blessed darkness of the corridors.
They failed! The enemy was too strong, too... Only the Shaman could deal with this scourge...
Laboratory complex X-18, third level, under the stairs, same time.
He won't escape, knowing what awaits him. He will at least try to defeat this monster! With this intention, the last remaining one, who was hiding under the concrete steps, emerges into the light and rushes forward, but crashes into the powerful body of a gray-skinned creature, no less strange and terrifying than the first one. A roar shakes the entire floor, and the gray monster sinks its suckers directly into its neck, drinking it dry.
"Forgive me, brothers. I... couldn't," were the thoughts of the fading consciousness.
Laboratory complex X-18, third level, same time.
I look grimly at the corpses lying before me and look back. The Bloodsucker has already finished with its prey, having dried it out, and judging by its appearance, their blood is quite suitable for it. Ha-a... What kind of freaks are these anyway? Pale, almost white, but thick skin, a disfigured face with black eyes, a missing nose, and long, but crooked fangs protruding outwards. Each of the individuals I encountered had one of its arms reduced, either the left or the right... The remaining one, on the other hand, would do credit to even some Mr. Olympia.
If I were hit by such a paw, it's not a fact that I could get up. A powerful and thick torso, muscular legs, and... instead of five fingers, there were only two, pointing in different directions. I forgot to mention that above the leading arm, on the shoulder blade and collarbone, each of the creatures had a huge hump. I press it lightly with my palm, and it gives way under my hand. Then I decide to open this hump, but I don't want to spoil my knife with this... I look around for a possible solution and find an iron sheet lying on the floor.
"Sosych, help me," I call to the Bloodsucker, who is looking with interest at the new creatures for him, and it readily responds, approaching me. "Can you tear off a small piece from that sheet over there? Yes, thank you..."
The Bloodsucker found this task easy, it didn't even strain, but tore the rusted metal like a piece of paper, immediately handing me an improvised knife. I choose the sharpest edge and run it along the rough, wrinkled skin, cutting layer by layer, until white-green pus begins to flow from the wound. Phew, thank goodness the suit is insulated from smells, otherwise... Well, I close my eyes and squeeze the entire hump out. Something about it was bothering me... Suddenly my palm touches some hard structure, which is definitely not part of the mutant's body lying beneath me. I cut the skin, freeing this thing into the light, and it turns out to be a strange device... A small stainless steel box on legs, I see LED lights on it, which have long since stopped working. In general, I have no idea what this device is, but one thing is clear: something was implanted under the skin of the test subjects. Perhaps a control device or something else related to psi-fields.
"Ha-a, problems have come from where they were least expected," I summarize to myself. "Now I'll have to be much more careful not to get caught by accident... And I don't have that many bullets, I can only hope that there aren't that many of these freaks here."
To my shame, I don't remember at all what the code for the second locked door is. But I know where to find it... So, the plan of action is as follows: I'll go into the room with the pseudo-giant, find the remains of the scientist with the PDA, then take the documentation and get the hell out of here at full speed. Let the Marked One fight these freaks later. In the meantime, I wipe the unknown device with a rag and throw it into my bag; scientists will surely be interested in looking at this wonder. I'll build my reputation as a reliable stalker, capable of getting into the thick of it and coming back with a lot of valuable stuff.
As soon as I prepare to go further, I listen, but in the end, I disappointedly admit that in this helmet, my hearing is not the best – I can't hear anything except the faint hum of ventilation and some still-working devices and my own breathing. Be that as it may, the mutants in front of me have a huge advantage – this lab has become their second, albeit forced, home, and I don't remember anything, plus, it has undergone a number of changes compared to the game version...
So, the door to the hall with poltergeists is to my right, which means I need to go straight down the corridor tiled with green tiles, which I do. Slowly, measuring every step... The Bloodsucker, following me closely, decided not to bother with this. At the end of the dark room, a shadow flickers, I fire a short burst of a few rounds, but unfortunately, I only wound the creature – the other bullets only knocked out stone chips from the walls. A piercing roar is heard, but no one is in a hurry to attack. They are afraid... They know that I will condemn them in an instant.
I reach the end of the corridor, finding myself at a junction of several dark rooms. Standing before the remains of a glass partition, I ponder, trying to remember where exactly I should go... Acting blindly would be death – there are so many nooks and crannies where an ambush can be prepared, that I won't dare to go into all the rooms one by one. I'll make do with little.
I cautiously peek into a lit passage and notice a familiar staircase leading right into the room with the pseudo-giant. I begin a cautious descent...
Laboratory complex X-18, third level, same time.
Until now, they could only scream silently, falling into frenzied fits... The sudden enemy with the fire stick, who killed several of their brothers in an instant, was too strong. They would not dare to engage him in a one-on-one fight, and ambushes... The enemy was too cautious to wander through the laboratory mindlessly. But now... they rejoiced. Unbeknownst to them, their opponents moved into the lair of the Executioner, who over the years had killed many who were displeasing to the Great Shaman...
Laboratory complex X-18, third level, same time.
Before my eyes appeared a room of enormous length, which could well have become a stadium for a football match
between teams of scientists and test subjects... Branching pipes under the high ceiling, which diverge in different directions and then meet again, metal containers stacked on top of each other for transporting huge cargo, some of which have long since collapsed, and an abundance of all sorts of boxes, barrels, and other debris scattered here and there due to the noisy pseudo-giant. The once white tiles that covered the concrete floor have long since crumbled and turned into a scattering of sharp fragments, and the remains of the floor itself... are flooded with dried blood. And, if you look closely, you can see many remains of someone's mutated bodies.
"So, they are at odds with the pseudo-giant..." I whisper to myself. "And they won't just come here, which, however, doesn't mean there won't be any tricks from their side..."
"Hshhh!" a loud hiss comes from behind me, and I turn around to see an enraged Bloodsucker ready for battle... or for escape. Does it sense the true owner of this room?
"Stay there for now," I point with my finger to a small room located behind the open iron door. "Don't get into a fight, if someone appears – hide..."
I watch its back, hoping it understands my words. I don't know why I've become so attached to Bloodsuckers, but it would be a shame if it found its death here. Well, I need to get back to business. I turn back and sigh heavily. This room is truly huge, and there are many places where the corpse I need might be. At the same time, I can only hope that the PDA is still working and not crushed or broken. And I shouldn't go near the pseudo-giant itself, the creature is a bit blind, and given its size and strength, it could easily crush me by accident.
At this moment, a deafeningly loud snore echoes throughout the room. And that's not so good, if the pseudo-giant isn't woken up, the test subjects might try to strike from an ambush. Otherwise, if I wake it up, it might accidentally break the communicator with the access code... Wait, I'm great at playing hide-and-seek...
Laboratory complex X-18, third level, room with the Executioner pseudo-giant, a few minutes later.
While the master of this part of the dungeons slept peacefully, silent shadows flitted around his huge lair. They hid between boxes and barrels, hid in huge containers, climbed on them and descended to the ground again, searching for the stationary enemy. As soon as they wanted to strike at the stopped opponent, he took a single step into the shadow and instantly disappeared.
And now one of these mutants, or rather, something between a human and a mutant, straining its eyes, long adapted to the darkness, tried to find the enemy. It was absolutely forbidden to make noise, the enraged monster would simply kill them all. She moves a millimeter, when a quiet and calm voice is heard behind her:
"And what kind of chupacabra are you?" and at the same moment something hard and sharp pierces the mutant's back, instantly reaching its altered heart with its tip. The mutant falls onto its back, and the stalker carefully picks up the body so that it doesn't fall to the ground with a crash. "Well, I'll be, there are several types here or... Wait, a female mutant?"
The stalker turns the mutant over, lays it on its back, and examines it carefully. The same pale and rough skin, disfigured facial features, short hair sticking out in tufts on its head, fangs, and instead of breasts, two sagging fat balls dangling at the level of a bulging stomach. The only remaining arm was muscular, but not as huge as that of a male specimen. Otherwise, it was a complete copy of those who met the stalker at the entrance to the third level.
Then, driven by curiosity, the stalker slits the mutant's abdomen and, with a feeling of inner disgust, finds a still-alive embryo there. What the mutated creature was about to give birth to bore little resemblance to a real human child. And, finding the strength, the stalker only whispered.
"Forgive me, little one."
Laboratory complex X-18, third level, half an hour later.
Having dealt with the remaining feminine mutants, the stalker exhales relaxedly and for a moment squats directly on the cold floor to catch his breath. His head, despite everything, was now empty of all thoughts. He was simply tired and wanted to get out of here with the documents as soon as possible... He could have just left, but it seemed that the stalker had already gone too far to leave empty-handed. And no matter how good a person he was, the Executioner was still susceptible to greed. And his greed... could not simply leave important documents lying around here and waiting for their finest hour in someone else's hands.
After sitting like that for a few more minutes, the stalker gets up with a heavy sigh and begins to carefully explore the pseudogiant's lair. He peeks into every nook and cranny, examines the boxes and containers, until he reaches the master of this place. The mighty beast, which could only be rivaled in size by its agro-industrial counterpart, slept peacefully on its belly with its arms spread wide. The stalker was about to go around it, but stopped in indecision and his eyes widened under the dark visor.
What made him stop were the gates. Giant gates that occupied almost the entire back wall of the hangar. Now it became clear how the O-Consciousness group delivered building materials, equipment, and various consumables here.
"M-motherfucker..." the stalker whispered quietly, and then he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye behind the pseudogiant's body.
In the wall adjacent to the gates, there was an equally impressive hole, and right in it, a silhouette covered in a black rag was visible, similar to those the stalker had already killed today. With a mere wave of a terrible hand, the stalker broke from his spot, crashing into the nearest container. He groaned loudly from the intense pain, sliding down the metal wall, but tried to pull his assault rifle off his shoulder.
But before the stalker could aim his weapon at the enemy, another psi-strike followed, leaving a serious dent in the spot where the Executioner had been a second ago. The stalker barely managed to jump aside, roll deftly, and put his assault rifle in front of him. He squeezed the trigger, but the bolt remained in place. And then the barrel of the Kalash began to twist with a mournful creak of metal and wood. Then the Executioner threw the broken weapon aside and disappeared among the other containers.
And at that very moment, the hitherto dormant titan awoke from its slumber. The pseudogiant jumped up and in a single burst reached the dark silhouette. Leaning on its left palm, the pseudogiant's body soared upwards, followed by its right hand, and a fist clenched to the limit struck down, right at the head of the short creature. The test subject held out its open, ulcer-covered palms, trying to slow down the blow, but at the last moment, frowning, it nimbly retreated to the side. And its psi-shield, still deployed, only momentarily delayed the formidable opponent. For a moment, the frozen fist fell down with even greater fury, crushing the concrete and causing a serious vibration.
The pseudogiant raised its ugly muzzle, opened its maw, and roared menacingly... But from the rising dust, a pipe stub shot out at high speed, entering the monster's mouth with a wet crunch, its entire length. The Goliath fell, having delivered only one blow. And while its body had not yet fallen, the bloodsucker emerged from stealth at high speed, moving behind the enemy's back and preparing to deliver the final blow with its clawed paw.
But the creature that appeared before them merely smirked, and, turning its head towards the mutant, burst the bloodsucker's head like an overripe watermelon with the force of will. It was playing with them, with all of them. The omnipotent monster, which could accidentally flatten a mutant's head or kill a pseudogiant with one hand movement, was simply playing, confident in its invincibility.
"Run, you foolish human, run... I'll give you this chance," the monster thought, as a loud shot rang out, and a bullet slammed into the psi-shield with great force. "Very foolish..."
But what the monster certainly couldn't have expected was that the Executioner, leaning his back against the container, would extend his hand with the revolver forward and, like a cowboy, fire four times in a row with his left hand, simultaneously holding the revolver in place and cocking the hammer. Three bullets, one after another, hit the mark exactly. Each subsequent one seemed to push its predecessor forward, until the overloaded psi-shield collapsed under the impact of the fourth, final bullet, which hit the creature right in the forehead.
The stalker had made a bet in this deadly game, and it paid off... But at the cost of great fatigue, a damaged hand, and the pistol that had fallen from it. The Executioner himself slid down the container wall exhaustedly, gasping for air with his mouth wide open.
"What the hell was that!?"
Laboratory complex X-18, third level, room with the deceased pseudogiant Executioner, same time.
They ran in fear of this unknown enemy, who had managed to defeat the Great Shaman himself! If he couldn't do it, they were certainly no match for the monster that had invaded their lands. And their only chance to survive and leave offspring was to run, run far and without looking back, to hide in the dark and gloomy tunnels and caves that riddled the land.
Laboratory complex X-18, third level, half an hour later.
This time, they had to catch their breath for much longer. My body ached mercilessly, my arm and ribs hurt, and my right hand... It couldn't withstand so many consecutive shots from the revolver. Although the Master rank in handling firearms allowed me to kill this creature, overcoming its defense, it came at
too high a price. A killed bloodsucker, a twisted assault rifle turned into scrap, and an incapacitated right arm. If there were even one or two more such creatures... I wouldn't be able to handle it. What was that, System!?
A miserable and long-insane creature that gained incredible abilities through inhuman experiments on it, dear user.
He and similar creatures gave rise to mutants like the controllers and burers already known to you, but they themselves are not fully mutants.
"Then why was Stronglaw influenced by my skill?" I exhale tiredly, trying to understand this inconsistency.
Stronglaw's mutation went through completely and to its end in laboratory conditions. In the case of this creature, only its descendants, who escaped to the surface, were able to complete it under the influence of the Zone, albeit at the cost of their abilities' strength.
"I see... So, it was an insane person trapped in a monster's body? Like the other inhabitants of this level..."
Precisely, dear user.