Chapter 275
Jake glanced at the monitors displaying feeds from various surveillance cameras. On one of those positioned outside, aimed at HQ, he saw several guards looking toward the building, while a few more hurried toward the entrance door. The gunfire had definitely been heard, and the bandits outside were eager to investigate what was happening inside HQ.
Jake shifted his focus toward another monitor. It displayed the status of the machine gun turrets and their control settings. As usual, they were programmed to protect the base, engaging anyone outside while ignoring the guards and workers, provided the latter remained within the compound.
Jake pressed a button to change the turrets’ behavior, and a prompt requesting a password appeared on the screen. In his peripheral vision, he could see another monitor showing the feed from the camera pointed at the staircase. Several guards were slowly ascending the steps, their weapons pointed upward. Completely ignoring the events outside the security control room, Jake concentrated on the screen with the password prompt, trying to break in.
The password was more intricate than the basic digit codes required for access to HQ and the control room, which made his hacking efforts much longer. Various symbols, letters, and numbers flooded his mind. So far, he had identified only the first three symbols, memorizing them. How many more there were, he had no clue.
On the other screen, the guards had just reached the top landing, staring into the corridor through the open double doors. The guard with a saw blade embedded in the side of his face was already dead. His body remained in a seated position, with its back slumped against the railing.
One of the newly arrived bandits briefly glanced at the dead body, his face twisting in horror. He seemed to be on the verge of bolting down the stairs and out of the building. He could have done just that, but one of the other guards tugged at his elbow to keep him moving along.
Jake had identified a few more symbols of the password and felt he was almost there. Just a couple more symbols, and he would know the entire password. On the other screen, he saw the guards enter the corridor, swinging the barrels of their weapons in both directions, ready to open fire. However, the one they were after was not there.
Jake remained focused on hacking into the computer. He had just discovered another symbol of the password. It was more complex and longer than he expected. The leader of the base definitely didn’t want anyone to be able to guess the password and get access to the computer.
On the other screen, the guards conversed among themselves, not bothering to check on the two bodies lying in the corridor. One body, sprawled near the entrance to the security control room, had its face completely eaten by the acid, exposing the skull within. The body at the far end of the corridor still had life within it. However, the guards dismissed him, probably believing he was as dead as the faceless corpse. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
One of the guards pointed to the other side of the corridor, where another staircase led to the roof. They must have concluded that it was where the intruder had gone and began to move down the corridor.
The corridor was under the watch of three surveillance cameras: one at each end and another positioned above the security control room entrance. With the abundance of cameras in HQ, Jake could track their movements, constantly aware of their positions.
When the guards were halfway across the corridor, one slowed and glanced at the door to the security control room. He said something to the others, and they all stopped, staring at the door and speaking among themselves. One shrugged his shoulders while another wore a doubtful expression.
Clearly, none of them knew the code to the door. Only the base leader likely knew it, choosing not to trust anyone else. The guards remained in the same spot, arguing amongst themselves. One guard continuously pointed toward the end of the corridor, indicating the staircase leading to the roof, while another shook his head and gestured toward the door of the security control room. They were clearly divided in their opinions about the intruder’s location and couldn’t decide what to do.
Finally, Jake cracked the entire password. Without hesitation, he reprogrammed the turrets to target the group identified as “guards”. On one of the screens displaying an outside camera feed, he witnessed the turrets unleash the barrage of fire. The bandits on the walls were killed first, and then the turrets turned their fire on those within the base.
The bandits outside the security control room heard the sounds of gunfire erupting from outside. They froze for a moment, then one of them punched his companion, who had claimed the intruder was inside the security room. They must have concluded that the intruder was spotted outside and was currently under fire from their comrades.
The guards whirled around and rushed back to the staircase, racing to the first floor. Moments later, they exploded out of the building, and the sight that greeted them left them stunned for a moment.
Instead of their comrades shooting at the mutant, they realized that their comrades had been mowed down by the turrets! They spun around to rush back into the safety of HQ, but before they could get inside, one of the turrets zeroed in on them and opened fire. In an instant, they were shredded to pieces by explosive bullets.
Then all went quiet. All the guards were dead. The workers had scattered, taking cover behind various machines. However, none were harmed, since the turrets didn’t target them.
Jake exited the security control room and approached the unconscious guard, the last living bandit. Not for long, though. He rifled through the man’s pockets and pulled out his PDA. Hacking into it required little time or effort. Opening a notepad app, he typed a brief message.
Name’s Jake. Not ur enemy. Follow me. U need 2 talk 2 Catalina.
Holding the device with one hand, Jake tightly wrapped the fingers of his other around the top of the unconscious man’s head. He entered the staircase and began to ascend to the roof, dragging his captive along. The motion of being dragged across the steps stirred the bandit awake. Once he realized what was happening, he began to thrash around violently, but he was no match for Jake’s extraordinary strength.
Once on the roof, Jake stepped to the parapet and took a moment to survey the base. The remains of the slain bandits were scattered around the area. He paid the dead bodies no mind, though. Instead, his focus was fixed on the workers. Realizing the turrets weren’t going to fire upon them, the workers began to cautiously step from their cover, glancing around nervously at the carnage around them.
He summoned the description of each worker until he found the one he was looking for. Her name was Melissa. She was fairly tall, with her red hair tied back into a ponytail.
Jake looked down. Since HQ was only two stories tall, he was fairly certain the bandit would survive the fall. He easily tossed his captive over the edge of the roof. The bandit screamed in horror as he fell. Then he hit the ground with a solid thud. All the workers immediately turned to look in the direction of the commotion.
Jake jumped from the roof, landing beside the bandit’s body. He was still alive but couldn’t move. He had probably broken his back and was likely going to die soon. That was fine, though. Jake needed him to live just a few seconds longer. Ignoring the bandit’s pain-filled moans, he began to stride across the base toward the survivor named Melissa.
She saw him approaching and immediately tensed up. Jake held out the PDA screen to her so she could read the text while lifting his other hand to show he meant no harm. In his peripheral vision, he could see the other survivors but ignored them.
He continued walking toward Melissa, hoping he appeared non-threatening. Unfortunately, that wasn’t how the survivor perceived him, as he realized a second later. Before he could get close enough for her to discern the text on the PDA’s screen, she dashed to grab one of the weapons lying nearby.
She snatched the assault rifle from the ground and aimed it at Jake, her index finger tightening around the trigger.