The alarms wailed like dying souls. Sergeant Darius "Hellhound" Rook moved through the burning corridors of the underground facility, his breath steady, his grip firm on the stolen Viper-9 pistol. The barrel was still hot from the last life he ended. Bodies lay in heaps around him—Kruger's soldiers, Voss's scientists, nameless corpses twisted in terror. None of them mattered. Tonight, this place died. The intercom crackled, and the voice that had haunted him for weeks spoke again. "Oh, Rook… do you really think you're in control?" Dr. Sylvia "Plague Mistress" Voss. She was toying with him, stalling, but he wasn't interested in her games. The reinforced doors to the control center were just ahead. A group of guards in tactical armor formed a blockade, their rifles locked onto him. Rook didn't hesitate. A single shot blew out the nearest light, plunging the corridor into flickering darkness. He dropped low, rolled forward, and unleashed a barrage of precise, merciless gunfire. Bullets ripped through Kevlar, finding soft flesh underneath. Screams echoed as two men went down. Three left. One lunged at him with a combat knife. Rook sidestepped, caught the wrist, and twisted—snapping bone. The knife was his now. In a fluid motion, he drove it into the soldier's chest and fired his pistol at the remaining two. Silence followed. The red glow of emergency lights bathed the walls in a hellish hue as Rook stepped over the bodies. Voss was inside. He could feel it. He pressed his bloodied palm against the biometric scanner. A beat. Then another. The doors hissed open. Inside, Dr. Voss stood with her back to him, staring at the monitors. Each screen displayed a different horror—zombies swarming the city above, Kruger's forces retreating, civilians fighting for survival. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she mused, her voice sickly sweet. "A world reborn through suffering. "Rook leveled his pistol at her head. "You're done, Voss. "She chuckled. "Oh, Rook… you still don't understand. "She turned. Her pupils glowed a sickly green. Her veins pulsed with something inhuman. "I made you. I made all of this. "Then she moved. Faster than any normal human. Faster than she should be able to. Rook barely had time to fire. She dodged, closing the distance, her hands clawing toward his throat. He blocked, twisted, and drove his knee into her ribs. She barely reacted. Her body was stronger now. "Did you really think I'd let you stop me?" she whispered. "Kruger promised me power, and he delivered. "Rook didn't care. He pressed the gun against her gut and pulled the trigger. Boom. Voss staggered, eyes wide, blood soaking her lab coat. "No gods," Rook whispered. He pulled the trigger again. "No masters. "She collapsed. Dead. But Rook wasn't finished. Kruger was next.