The tower did not recover after Daichi Moriyama’s death. It simply continued surviving because there was no other choice. Morning passed slowly beneath heavy tension while exhausted civilians moved carefully through the hallways carrying water containers, food crates, broken weapons, and wounded survivors between floors. Every corridor still smelled like blood and smoke from the previous battle. The lower levels remained partially destroyed after the giant infected broke through the main barricade, forcing soldiers to use furniture, steel pipes, broken vending machines, and even apartment doors to create temporary defensive walls. Nobody complained anymore while helping rebuild. People had become too tired for complaints.

But fear still existed everywhere.Fear in the way civilians whispered whenever soldiers walked past them.

Fear in the way parents pulled children closer after hearing sudden noises.Fear in the way armed survivor groups guarded food supplies like wild animals protecting territory.

And above all—Fear of another outbreak happening inside the tower again.

Arata Kurozawa walked silently through one of the residential floors while observing everything carefully. Since Daichi’s death, people had unconsciously started looking toward him whenever problems appeared. Soldiers reported situations directly to him now. Civilians stepped aside when he walked past. Even arguments inside the hallways became quieter whenever he entered the area.

The tower had started recognizing him as its protector.And Arata hated that feeling.

Because every time someone looked at him with hope, he remembered Daichi’s corpse lying beneath blood-covered concrete.

[SYSTEM NOTICE]

[Host Psychological Burden Increasing]

[Warning: Emotional Suppression Detected]

[Recommendation: Release Mental Stress]

Arata ignored the blue screen immediately.

The system had started speaking more frequently after reconnecting yesterday, but Arata still didn’t fully trust it. Sometimes it felt helpful. Other times it felt like something silently observing him from the darkness waiting for him to change into something else entirely.

Yuna suddenly appeared beside him while carrying two stolen cans of coffee she somehow found inside the tower.

"You’ve been walking around looking depressed for three hours," she said while tossing one can toward him.

Arata caught it easily. "...I’m thinking."

"That’s the problem." Yuna opened her can before drinking lazily. "Too much thinking after someone dies is dangerous." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Arata glanced toward her slightly. "...You seem calmer today."

"I’m not calm." She leaned against the nearby wall while staring toward several civilians carrying supplies nearby. "...I’m irritated." Her expression darkened slightly. "Daichi died because this place depended on him too much."

Silence followed.Because both of them understood that truth.

Yuna looked toward Arata carefully after several seconds. "...And now everyone’s starting to depend on you the same way."

Arata didn’t answer.Because again—She was right.Further down the hallway, Airi treated wounded civilians beside several volunteer helpers while Reina and Kaede trained a small group of survivors how to use basic weapons properly. The soldiers remaining after yesterday’s battle were exhausted and understaffed now, so civilians capable of fighting needed preparation too.

The atmosphere remained tense but slightly more stable compared to yesterday.

At least for now.Then suddenly—

[Emergency Notification]

[Quest Progress Updated]

[Condition 1: Stabilize Civilian Panic — 42%]

[Condition 2: Maintain Soldier Structure — 61%]

[Condition 3: Eliminate Hidden Infection Source — Incomplete]

[Additional Hidden Threat Detected]

"...Additional threat?"

[Unable To Fully Analyze]

[Threat Activity Increasing During Night Hours]

[Recommendation: Investigate Lower Restricted Floors]

Lower restricted floors, Arata’s expression darkened slightly.

Below the survivor zones existed several maintenance levels connected to underground parking structures and utility tunnels beneath the tower. Most entrances had been sealed after the apocalypse began because infected overwhelmed those areas early during the collapse.

Nobody used them anymore, At least officially.

"...You made that face again," Yuna said suddenly.

"What face?" he said

"The one where you’re about to do something reckless."

Arata looked toward the lower stairwell quietly.

"...I need to investigate something."

Yuna sighed loudly. "...See? Reckless."

Before Arata could respond, footsteps echoed nearby before one young soldier approached quickly while breathing heavily.

"...There’s a problem upstairs," he said nervously.

"Another fight?" Yuna asked immediately.

"Worse." The soldier swallowed hard. "A civilian disappeared."

The atmosphere shifted instantly.Arata’s eyes sharpened.

"Where?"

"Tenth floor residential area."

The group moved immediately.When Arata reached the tenth floor, terrified civilians already crowded the hallway while soldiers tried maintaining order. A crying woman sat near one apartment entrance surrounded by several neighbors attempting to calm her.

"My husband wouldn’t leave alone!" she cried desperately. "He went to check the water station and never came back!"

The hallway looked disturbed.A broken flashlight lay near the corner.

Several faint blood stains marked the floor nearby.

And once again—Too little blood.Arata crouched silently while studying the scene carefully.

Reina crossed her arms slightly nearby. "...Dragged?"

"Most likely," Kaede answered quietly.

Yuna clicked her tongue. "...I officially hate this building."

Arata’s eyes moved slowly toward the dark hallway leading deeper into the maintenance corridors connected to the water systems.

[Threat Signature Detected]

[Caution Advised]

[Unknown Variant Activity Confirmed]

Unknown variant.Arata stood immediately.

"I’m going down."

Yuna groaned. "...And there’s the reckless part."

"You’re not going alone," Reina said instantly.

Airi looked worried immediately. "...What if it’s another evolved infected?"

"It is," Miyu answered calmly while adjusting her glasses beside them. Everyone looked toward her. "The disappearance patterns match predatory adaptation behavior."

Yuna blinked slowly. "...Can you say normal terrifying things instead of smart terrifying things?"Miyu ignored her.

Several soldiers volunteered immediately after hearing the situation, but Arata shook his head.

"Too many people create noise."

The older soldiers hesitated before finally agreeing reluctantly.

In the end—Arata, Yuna, Reina, Kaede, and Miyu descended toward the restricted maintenance floors beneath the tower together.

The deeper they moved underground, the colder the air became. Emergency lights barely functioned here anymore, forcing everyone to use flashlights while moving carefully through narrow maintenance hallways filled with pipes, leaking water, and thick darkness.

Every sound echoed unnaturally.Dripping water, Footsteps, Metal creaking somewhere distant.

Yuna held her bat across her shoulder while glancing around suspiciously. "...This place is absolutely where people die in horror movies."

"Be quiet," Reina whispered sharply.

"...That usually happens right before dying too."

Kaede silently aimed her rifle toward the darkness ahead while Miyu checked movement patterns through the system interface. Arata remained at the front while observing everything carefully.

Then suddenly—A smell reached them, Rotting flesh, Fresh blood.Everyone stopped immediately.

The flashlight beams slowly revealed several torn corpses scattered across the maintenance floor ahead.

Human bodies, Or what remained of them.

Airi would have vomited seeing this.The corpses looked partially eaten.

Not infected, Hunted.

Yuna’s expression darkened immediately. "...Okay. I changed my mind. I officially hate this city."

Kaede crouched beside one corpse carefully before narrowing her eyes slightly. "...Not random feeding behavior."

"What do you mean?" Reina asked quietly.

Kaede pointed toward the body. "...Precise damage patterns." Her expression became colder. "...It targeted weak points first."

Silence followed.Because that meant intelligence.

Then—A sound echoed deeper inside the darkness.Dragging, Slow, Heavy.

Everyone immediately aimed weapons toward the sound.The dragging noise stopped, Complete silence followed.

Then suddenly—One flashlight flickered violently.And a shape moved across the ceiling, Fast, Too fast.

"ABOVE!" Reina shouted instantly.

The creature dropped directly from the ceiling toward them.Yuna swung immediately while Reina fired simultaneously, but the creature twisted unnaturally midair before slamming into the wall and disappearing back into darkness with terrifying speed.

Nobody saw it clearly, Only pale skin, Long limbs, And glowing eyes.

"...What the hell was that?" Yuna whispered.

[New Variant Identified]

[Crawler-Type Mutation]

[Classification: Hunter Variant]

[Threat Level: High]

[Specialization: Ambush / Intelligence / Stealth]

Arata’s grip tightened slightly around his blade.The creature was hunting them.

Then another sound echoed behind them.

Dragging, Another from above, Then another ahead.

Everyone realized the truth instantly, There wasn’t only one.

Yuna slowly smiled despite the tension. "...Well... this is bad."

The darkness around them suddenly erupted with movement.

Crawler variants burst from ceilings, walls, and ventilation shafts simultaneously while shrill screams echoed through the maintenance tunnels.

The battle exploded instantly.Reina fired controlled bursts rapidly while Kaede’s rifle shots pierced through moving targets with terrifying precision. Yuna smashed one crawler directly into the wall before another creature leaped toward her from behind.

Arata intercepted instantly.

His blade tore through the creature’s torso midair before another crawler lunged from above immediately afterward.

These variants moved differently from normal infected, Smarter, More coordinated.

One suddenly retreated instead of attacking after seeing Arata kill another variant beside it.

"...It’s observing us," Miyu warned sharply.

Then the crawler screamed loudly, And the other variants responded, The entire tunnel suddenly filled with movement.

"...RUN!" Reina shouted immediately.

The group retreated deeper through the maintenance corridors while dozens of crawler variants chased them through walls and ceilings like predators hunting trapped prey. Metal pipes shook violently overhead while claws scraped across concrete from every direction.

Yuna smashed another crawler off the wall before grinning wildly. "...Okay THIS is exciting!"

"You’re insane," Reina shouted while firing backward.

"Probably!"

Arata moved through the center protecting Miyu while constantly intercepting crawler attacks appearing from impossible angles. One variant suddenly lunged toward Miyu through a ventilation shaft, but Arata grabbed its head midair before slamming the creature directly into the wall hard enough to crack concrete.

Black blood exploded everywhere, Still more came, Too many.

Then suddenly—The tunnel opened into a massive underground parking structure beneath the tower, And everyone froze.

Hundreds of corpses covered the area, Not dead infected, Stored bodies, Some half-eaten, Some hanging from pillars, Some still moving weakly despite missing limbs.

The crawler variants had created a nest beneath the tower.

Yuna’s grin disappeared immediately.

"...No way."

Then something enormous moved in the darkness ahead.

Heavy footsteps echoed slowly through the underground structure while several crawler variants retreated backward almost submissively.

A larger creature emerged, Nearly four meters tall.

Pale mutated flesh covered its massive body while multiple distorted arms extended unnaturally from its torso. Its glowing eyes stared directly toward Arata with terrifying intelligence.

And unlike normal infected—It smiled.

[Mutation Leader Detected]

[Evolutionary Command Variant]

[Threat Level: CRITICAL]

[Emergency Combat Recommended]

The creature suddenly spoke in a distorted broken voice."...Humans..."

Everyone froze, Yuna blinked slowly. "...Absolutely not."

The monster tilted its head unnaturally while staring directly at Arata, "...Strong..."

Then the crawler variants screamed together simultaneously before charging again.

And the underground parking structure became a battlefield.