470 “Wow, so cocky....

Zi Han reached over to the biometric scan panel on the elevator doors. With a cold snort, he pressed his light brain onto the panel and a second or two later the screen glitched like it had been infiltrated before a soft male voice followed.

“Elevator going down,” it said and the elevator began to move.

Zi Han’s eyes were a little red from the misty poison. He blinked his eyes a couple of times while calling out to his bae. “You better be coming back. I can’t handle this fucker by myself,” he said and Yi Chen who was helping the four people escape the city only heard static.

“What... ghzzzzzzzzzzht... babe ghzzzzzzzzzzht,” were the sounds coming through the communication channel.

“Shit,” swore Zi Han while getting into a retention rifle sling position. The elevator doors slowly opened and through the cloud of mist, Zi Han could see the situation in the room. There were no signs of life inside as though it had been abandoned.

There were numerous thick cables scattered on the floor. Zi Han stepped out looking over the muzzle as he jumped over the cables.

The room was dimly lit with some of the fluorescent lights flickering. It looked like the perfect setting for a horror movie but Zi Han wasn’t afraid.

That’s because he knew there weren’t any ghosts but humans. Humans he could deal with but ghosts were something out of reach. He wasn’t some type of exorcist or shit like that.

Six steps in Zi Han noticed all the cables were converging and heading in the same direction. He followed the cables with his eyes and his gaze landed on the open door at the end of the room.

.....

Zi Han scanned the room one more time as he followed the cables to the other door. Just as he was about to step through the threshold his heart suddenly skipped a beat as he swallowed hard. His palms suddenly felt sweaty as he hesitated to enter. He adjusted the stock of the gun on his shoulder before exhaling lightly and walking in.

When he entered he pointed the muzzle at the only object in the room. It was an older version of the healing capsule in the federation that was mostly found in underfunded public hospitals.

A red light was flashing rapidly meaning the person inside of it was in a critical condition. Zi Han cautiously walked over and wiped away the dust on the glass of the capsule.

His breathing was stagnant as he saw that face, the face that made his mother happy. That same face put a smile on her face and made her cry at the same time. After all these years this man had been lying here like a mummy while his mother grieved day and night.

“Pa...,” he whispered subconsciously his eyes stinging. He blinked several times refusing to cry again. Today had just been so emotional that his tear ducts had dried out and it would be painful to cry.

His finger trailed to the panel to open the healing capsule when his muscles suddenly tensed. He could sense some movement behind him. It had to be that high priest slash king trying to sneak up on him but who was he dealing with?

Zi Han clenched his rifle and took in two breaths before spinning around and firing three shots. The man hadn’t expected Zi Han to turn around thus the amount of nerve paralysing powder he tossed at Zi Han reduced but it was still enough to blind an elephant.

Zi Han staggered a little. The antidote he took earlier was for a cocktail of poisons found in the Republic but the problem was that it took a while to counter the poison.

He steadied himself but his already dry eyes instantly became swollen partially obstructing his vision.

The man laughed manically and swung a machete at Zi Han but Zi Han dodged and threw a kick at the man’s chest. The machete flew in the opposite direction as him but the man wasn’t fazed. He drew out one of the federation’s standard issued weapons probably confiscated from Zi Han’s father.

Three laser beams shot out at Zi Han but Zi Han heard the sound and activated his shield blocking the attack. When the shots died down Zi Han pulled the trigger and the loud sounds of an assault rifle firing subsequent shots filled the room.

historical

After several rounds, the man who had pulled up an old fashioned shield disappeared into the darkness and Zi Han followed behind him.

“Here I thought you would value your father but as it turns out you don’t give a shit about him,” said the deep voice bouncing off the walls.

Zi Han didn’t bother entertaining him with a response. He kept scanning the other room looking for any hideout positions.

“Aren’t you afraid you would shoot at the cables and cut off your father’s life support?” said the man who was crouching down and setting timers on some rather sophisticated grenades.

Zi Han pointed the muzzle behind the crates in the room but there was no one. He clutched his assault rifle tightly before saying, “I am pretty accurate with my shots so I wouldn’t accidentally shoot at the cables.”

“Wow, so cocky. Did you get that from your father?” asked Yeon Lang as he continued messing with the grenades.

“I wouldn’t know. But whether I got it from my father’s side or my mother’s side what does that have to do with you?” replied Zi Han as his steps paused. He wanted to listen for the direction in which the voice was coming from so he could end him thus he stood there still.

“Oh, it does have something to do with me. As a great great great uncle, I should make up for your parents’ failure to educate you. I don’t mind taking on the task,” he said before a slight quirk appeared at the corner of his lips.

“I will educate yo-,” he said only for a myriad of bullets to rain on him. He lowered his head before tossing the grenades over the crates.