Chapter 382: Inferno Lab [ 2 ]

The night sky thundered over the vast Vaelor Expanse, storm clouds alive with flashes of silver lightning. In this dark sea of towering trees, a lone leviathan—a helicarrier—soared, its metallic hull slicing through the clouds like a stealthy predator on the prowl.

Its surface glimmered faintly in the lightning’s glow, each segment expertly designed for maximum stealth and durability. Stretching hundreds of meters, it boasted concealed cannons and hummed with a power that was barely contained. Beneath its shadow, the rainforest trembled in anticipation.

Inside the main hangar, soldiers moved quickly and quietly. Rows of armored operatives were busy loading magazines, adjusting their visors, and perfecting their thermal cloaks. The air was thick with the smell of gun oil and ozone, and on their shoulders gleamed the Osborn insignia—a silver phoenix wrapped in flames.

At the heart of it all stood Arthur. Clad in a sleek black bodysuit lined with pulsing veins of light, he embodied both elegance and silence, his armor fitting him like a second skin. His expression remained calm, though his eyes reflected a steely determination.

Suddenly, Evolon’s holographic image flickered to life before him, casting eerie shadows that danced across the hangar walls.

“All units, final confirmation,” Evolon’s voice resonated through the ship’s intercom. “Our target facility is located three kilometers below ground, hidden beneath the primary geothermal bedrock.”

Arthur listened closely as Evolon outlined the plan: “Entry routes are as follows: Aegis-7 and Red Wolf will breach through the sub-river tunnel; Iron Vanguard and Phantom-12 will approach aerially via the collapsed ruins; Sable Talon is in charge of perimeter sweeps and thermal monitoring; Specter Division will manage satellite jamming and suppress signals.”

“Estimated enemy strength: one thousand three hundred sixty-two,” Evolon continued with urgency. “Prepare for substantial resistance from autonomous drones, turrets, and exosuit enforcers. Our primary target is Dr. Riven Kastel—objective: capture or eliminate while retrieving all data cores.”

With a chilling emphasis, Evolon added, “Failure is not an option.”

Arthur scanned the faces of his commanders before speaking with conviction. “Once we set foot inside, there’s no turning back.” He paused for a moment before asserting, “We finish this tonight.”

As thunder rumbled overhead, the storm unleashed its wrath while the helicarrier descended through the swirling clouds. Lightning carved paths through the treetops, illuminating them like molten veins, the engines roaring once before falling silent in hover mode.

Below them lay an endless expanse of jungle shrouded in mist, alive with distant sounds from unseen creatures.

“Deploy,” Arthur commanded.

Steel doors opened beneath them, and dropships along with stealth pods plunged into the rain-soaked darkness like silent daggers piercing the fog.

Evolon’s voice filled every soldier’s earpiece, cutting through the storm’s tension. “Maintain silence. Thermal signatures are masked. Operation Inferno has begun.”

Arthur stood at the open ramp of the dropship, rain pelting against his suit, his gaze locked on the dark sea of foliage beneath. The anticipation pulsed through him, a rhythm in his veins.

A voice crackled through the comms, slicing through the chaos. “Aegis-7 entering the sub-river zone. Contact in sixty seconds.”

Taking a deep breath, Arthur stepped out into the abyss and leaped.

He plummeted through the storm like a bullet, adrenaline surging as the suit’s gravimetric stabilizers activated just before he landed silently in the mud below.

“Ground contact,” Arthur reported, his voice steady despite the tempest above.

From the shadows, figures emerged as his strike team coalesced from the darkness: ten soldiers outfitted in adaptive armor, their visors glowing faintly like embers.

They proceeded cautiously through the thick underbrush, weapons at the ready. The forest loomed around them, with massive trunks twisted into grotesque shapes, blocking any glimpse of the sky above.

The air was thick with the scent of decay and an electric tension that sent shivers down their spines.

Evolon leaned in close, whispering urgently, “We’re nearing the target perimeter. A signal disruption field has been detected.”

Arthur raised a hand to signal a stop. “Gunner, what’s your status?”

“We’ve made it past the sub-river,” Gunner replied calmly. “Encountered drones. I’m engaging now.”

In the distance, the faint crack of gunfire came through their comms—short bursts that quickly faded into silence.

With a renewed sense of purpose, Arthur’s team pressed on, carefully navigating through tangled roots and swirling fog until they caught sight of it ahead: the faint outline of a lab entrance, glowing dimly behind a curtain of vines, an ancient ruin almost reclaimed by nature.

Arthur pointed firmly. “Go in.”

Two operatives positioned thermite discs against the locked hatch, and with a violent crackle, the metal buckled and splintered apart like paper under pressure.

They stepped inside.

—

The interior was sterile, yet profoundly unsettling, a bizarre blend of clinical order and horror.

Endless white corridors stretched ahead, lined with glass tubes that held grotesque forms suspended in murky liquid: misshapen human figures, some only partially developed, others rotting beyond recognition.

Some twitched unnaturally, while others stared blankly through their glass confines, their eyes vacant yet eerily alive.

An oppressive silence enveloped them.

As Arthur walked past these horrifying creations, his reflection flickered within each tube, distorted and fractured by the trapped souls within.

A soldier beside him whispered nervously, “What is this place…?”

Arthur didn’t answer; instead, he raised his weapon and fired. The glass shattered explosively, sending fluid splattering across the floor as the twisted bodies inside crumpled, lifeless.

“Burn everything,” he ordered.

Flames erupted almost instantly. Rows of vats detonated with a thunderous roar as napalm charges ignited, filling the air with the acrid odor of chemicals and charred flesh.

—

“Contact! West wing!” a voice shouted over the comms.

The corridor erupted into pandemonium, with gunfire cracking like thunder, bullets bouncing off metal while plasma bolts sliced through the air. VULTURE operatives in sleek black exosuits flooded in from side passages, firing with lethal accuracy.

Arthur’s team split up, but he pressed forward without hesitation, weapon raised. Every shot hit its mark; enemies were taken down, armor burst apart, and walls were splattered with crimson.

Evolon streamed tactical overlays into his visor, highlighting enemy positions in red against the tumult. Heat signatures blared like frantic heartbeats. Arthur moved like a wraith, methodically clearing each passage.

“Second level secured,” Gunner’s voice crackled through the static. “Red Wolf is clearing the east corridor; they’re putting up strong resistance.”

“Push them back towards the core,” Arthur ordered coldly. “No letting them regroup.”

The atmosphere was charged with chaos: explosions shook the floors while mournful sirens wailed in the background.

Flames licked the walls, heavy with smoke and blood, as soldiers charged through hallways that felt more like a nightmare than a familiar ground.

Arthur burst into another lab filled with rows of computer cores, screens flashing urgent red warnings. “Evolon,” he commanded, “initiate data transfer.”

“Affirmative,” came Evolon’s composed response. “Extracting Kastel’s archives now.”

A progress bar began to fill in his visor…sixty percent…seventy…eighty…

Then he heard footsteps behind him. He spun around quickly, weapon ready once again.

A man suddenly emerged from the shadows— a VULTURE soldier clad in heavy armor with a plasma blade. Arthur sidestepped gracefully, seized the man’s wrist, and drove his elbow into the soldier’s throat; gasping, the man fell to the ground as Arthur crushed his helmet beneath his boot.

“Data secured,” Evolon confirmed.

“Good,” Arthur replied coolly. “Mark the location for demolition.”

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