The workshop doors were tightly shut, but a small side door remained slightly ajar. Valerie gestured for her team to halt.
"A3, scan the interior with thermal imaging."
One of the security operators aimed a sensor at the building. After a moment, he reported: "There is a high volume of heat signatures inside, clustered in the central area. The structural layout indicates an entrance to an underground space."
"Raiders, hold the entrance. A3, A4, follow me inside. A1, stay on alert around the perimeter."
Valerie pushed open the side door, and the three of them slipped inside soundlessly.
The interior of the workshop was dimly lit, with only a few emergency lights providing faint illumination. Trash and debris lay scattered across the floor. In the central area, next to a massive trash compactor, was an open maintenance shaft leading downward, emitting a bizarre green fluorescence.
The neural signal strength peaked here.
Valerie gestured for her operators to approach the shaft cautiously. Looking down, they saw a basement about five meters deep, filled with thick pipes and storage tanks. In the center of the basement, a sickening sight lay before them:
A massive, tumor-like growth made of a fusion of flesh and metal was growing between the pipes. Its surface pulsed rhythmically, stretching out numerous tendril-like nerve bundles that connected to the surrounding equipment and pipelines.
Kneeling around the tumor were over a dozen completely motionless infected, seemingly "offering" something to the growth—looking closer, these were organs and tissues taken from other infected or corpses.
"A central neural node—or rather, a hive cluster," Valerie said in a low voice. This was clearly not a natural occurrence, but a creation of some biotechnology.
"High concentrations of biomass and energy signatures detected," A3 reported. "Recommend destroying it with high explosives."
Valerie nodded. "Plant the charges and set a ten-second delay. Then we evacuate."
A4 retrieved plastic explosives from his backpack and began setting them. Just then, the tumor in the basement suddenly pulsed violently, emitting a piercing, high-frequency shriek!
The kneeling infected raised their heads simultaneously, their turbid eyes locking onto Valerie and her team above the shaft!
"They've spotted us! Move!"
A4 quickly armed the explosives, and the three of them spun around to sprint outward. Climbing sounds echoed from the shaft behind them; those infected were pursuing them at a terrifying speed.
"Explosives active! Ten-second countdown!"
The three of them burst through the workshop doors. "Everyone, stay clear of the building! Find cover!"
The team members scattered quickly, ducking behind containers. Nine seconds, eight seconds, seven seconds—
The pursuing infected had just rushed out of the workshop entrance when—BOOM!!!
A violent explosion erupted from underground, tearing the entire sorting workshop open from the inside out, sending brickwork and metal fragments flying. Green slime and shredded flesh rained down. A powerful bio-electric pulse swept across the area, causing everyone's electronic devices to briefly malfunction.
After the explosion, a brief silence fell.
Then, confused, meaningless roars from the infected echoed from various parts of the refugee camp. Having lost their unified guidance, they began wandering aimlessly, even attacking one another.
"The signal source is gone!" Dr. Hanson's excited voice came through the newly restored comms. "The collective coordination of the infected has been broken! Well done, Miss Valerie!"
"Now they're just disorganized stragglers!" Raynor's voice came through as well. "We can hold out until dawn much easier now!"
Valerie looked at the first pale light of dawn breaking on the eastern horizon. Morning was coming.
And ultraviolet light would be the final judgment for these nocturnal monsters.
After the central neural node was destroyed, the movements of the infected fell into obvious disarray. They no longer launched organized charges against human strongholds, but instead wandered the streets like headless flies, even attacking one another.
This bought the survivors valuable breathing room.
The sky gradually transitioned from deep black to dark blue, and faint light began to peek over the eastern horizon. Meinhoff's star was about to rise.
"All units, attention: dawn is approaching," Dr. Hanson's voice rang out across the public channel, carrying a hint of exhausted excitement. "According to my analysis, the unstable genes within the infected cannot withstand strong ultraviolet radiation. Once exposed to direct sunlight, their cellular structures will collapse rapidly. Hold out until sunrise, and we've won the first phase!"
Raynor's team had reached the designated warehouse and established defenses. After merging with Raynor, Valerie's squad also entered the warehouse to rest and resupply. The warehouse structure was sturdy, with only one main entrance and a few high windows, making it easy to defend.
Inside the warehouse, the Raiders made use of every second to treat wounds and replenish ammunition. Valerie's security operators silently checked their gear; their power armor had quite a few scratches and signs of corrosion, but remained fully functional.
Through the comms, Dr. Hanson instructed the medics on how to handle wounded personnel who might be infected: "Any open wounds must be repeatedly disinfected with high-concentration alcohol or ultraviolet lamps! If anyone develops a fever, confusion, or skin discoloration, isolate them immediately!"
Tychus sat on an ammunition crate, using a cloth to wipe the slime off his power armor, cursing under his breath: "What the hell are these things anyway? We haven't even dealt with the bugs, and now we've got these contagious freaks popping up."
"They aren't a natural product," Dr. Hanson's voice came through the speakers. "The signs of genetic engineering are far too obvious. This looks like... a biological weapon. Someone deliberately engineered or released this."
"Mengsk?" Raynor guessed. "To clean up the refugees? Or to frame the Swarm?"
"The possibility exists, but we lack evidence," Dr. Hanson said. "Right now, the priority is to survive, then investigate."
Valerie listened quietly. She compiled everything that had occurred here—including the characteristics of the infected, the structure of the central neural node, and the speculation of a biological weapon—into a detailed report and sent it to Osiris.
Such a highly contagious biological weapon, controllable by a central node, undoubtedly possessed immense research value—whether for defense or other purposes.
Osiris's reply arrived quickly: "Data is highly valuable. Collect tissue samples of the infected if possible (ensure protection), especially remnants of the neural node. Dr. Hanson's speculation is in the right direction; you can guide her to dig deeper. Your safety is paramount."
The horizon grew brighter and brighter. Outside the warehouse, the roars of the infected gradually became anxious and agonizing. They began instinctively searching for shadows to hide in, crowding into building ruins, slipping into sewers, and even piling on top of one another to block out the light.
"They're scared!" yelled a Raider observing from a window.
Finally, the first rays of sunlight pierced through the cloud layer, shining upon the land of Meinhoff.
The sight was unforgettable.
The infected exposed to the sunlight let out shrieks of ultimate agony. White smoke drifted from their skin, which rapidly blistered, festered, and carbonized as if doused in strong acid. Some infected clawed madly at their own burning bodies until their bones were exposed. Others ran around blindly like headless flies before finally collapsing in the sunlight, melting into a bubbling puddle of dark green slime.
In just a few minutes, the streets were covered in melting corpses. A foul stench spread, distinct enough to be smelled even through filtration masks.