Endzone: Simulated Apocalypse

Cyanide and Doctor Finch continued heading in the direction they had been, since theoretically, that should lead them closer to the origin point of this electricity so strong that it made insulators conduct it, however slim that conduction may be.

Thankfully, the conduction was weak. Otherwise, simply walking over it would've electrocuted them. Had they in bare feet, the electricity would've easily shocked them, but both of them were wearing leather soles. Yes, Cyanide had Infused metal armor's defense into his current setup and that included his midnight-black leather boots, but that didn't turn the boots metal. As such, it remained an insulator and not a conductor, meaning they were safe… for now.

"… I don't like this," Doctor Finch muttered as the electromagnetic field around them grew thicker and thicker, to the point where they could feel the electricity prickling at their skin. It was hardly a comfortable feeling, and instead invoked the sense of danger.

Cyanide, however, was as calm as ever. He remained silent and kept his footsteps steady, completely unaffected by the increasing risk for every step he took. After all, he had been in a number of situations far more dangerous than this one in the past.

They turned a right corner, then walked for a while longer. The weight of the electricity in the air did not intensify nor decrease, signaling that they were still the same amount of distance from the origin point… which could only mean one thing.

"… Cyanide," Luna said as he came to a stop and nodded.

"Yeah… I know."

"Huh?" Doctor Finch was confused, but also stopped in his tracks. "Why are we-"

Suddenly, Cyanide, who had traced his fingers across the seemingly solid cement sewer wall, spun 90 degrees on his heel and unleashed a perfect sideways kick straight at the concrete.

"Woah-!" Doctor Finch hurriedly covered his aged face as the wall tumbled down, revealing a hollow interior. Cyanide slowly returned to his normal standing position and narrowed his eyes.

The room was filled with dim yellow light, coming from what seemed like a baby cart in the center. From this angle, it was impossible to see who—or what—lay inside, but the fabric canopy of the vehicle was pulsating yellow as well, signaling that whatever was causing this light lay inside the cart. Strangely, however, the enemy didn't even react from those walls tumbling down and making a huge noise. As such, it could be presumed that they were either deaf… or just trying to make Cyanide think they were.

"A… baby cart?" Luna murmured.

"… Looks like we've found our foe," Cyanide muttered, then drew his gun, now filled with ammo.

Doctor Finch gulped. "How'd you know…?"

Cyanide shot him a glance, then scoffed. "We've rounded a corner and walked for a good while, yet the intensity of the electric field in the air remained the same, meaning we were still the same distance from the origin point… and only a circle has the same length from its center to any point on its perimeter. It's obvious."

Doctor Finch, realizing his stupidity, slapped himself in the forehead.

"So much for a 'doctor," Luna added with a smug grin.

"U-Ugh, shut it! I'm a chemist, not a physicist! But… be careful."

"… I don't need you to tell me."

Cyanide was a very calculated man. He only took risks that he could accomplish with such high certainty that it could not be called a risk at all, and was very careful in everything he did. That was the reason he was still alive, when the average lifespan of a professional assassin was 2 years. 3, if you're lucky, and 5 if you were either very skilled or simply blessed by good fortune.

As such, Cyanide made sure to carefully gauge his enemy before deciding whether or not this was a fight he could take on. In the real world, that was difficult. In here, however…

'Inspect.'

With a simple thought, a compiled list of stats on the target he wanted to learn about appeared in front of his face. It almost felt like a cheat—one that all players had.

But when he saw the info displayed before him…

"… You're kidding, right?"

[Name: Baby Zeus]

[Level: ???]

[HP: ???/???]

[Class: Humanoid]

Beside the name, an icon that read 'V' was displayed, showing that it was a Stage Five Mutant. But apart from that, literally no information was given.

So, this mutant was called Baby Zeus. And then?

"Er… Cyanide, for Stage Three Mutants and above, you can only learn their level after fighting them once, or Imprinting on them," Luna said helpfully. "And if you want to see more detailed stats, you need to upgrade Inspect to Tier Two using SP…"

"… Tch. How troublesome."

Cyanide cursed, then slowly aimed his gun at the baby cart. He's killed babies before. Any survivors were equivalent to possible future enemies. He was a thorough person, through and through. This was nothing. Besides, if this mutant was really hiding down here, he shouldn't be all that strong… and he was still a baby too. Cyanide never has been one to underestimate his foes, but… this was a mere baby they were talking about here.

"…"

Narrowing his eyes, he pulled the trigger. But to his surprise, right as the bullet got close to the cart, yellow lightning suddenly zapped down from the ceiling and up from the ground, turning the bullet to ashes. Nothing else happened.

"Wha… that was…" Doctor Finch blinked in surprise. Cyanide, not believing it, decided to unleash several more bullets just to be sure—in the form of a volley this time.

Taking out his spare back-up gun from his inventory, he dual-wielded the pistols and unleashed a barrage of bullets near simultaneously—12 in total.

But once again…

ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

Lightning bolts struck down from the ceiling and rose up from the ground, melting all twelve bullets instantly. Not even a speck of dust got on the cart.

"W-Well, then," Doctor Finch folded his arms. "Uh, what's the plan here, kiddo? Clearly, bullets aren't going to work, and rushing in there is suicide. Unless you got a rocket launcher or a grenade, I don't see how we can even touch this baby."

But Cyanide remained unconcerned, and instead smirked as a gassy black aura radiating with the power of Death surrounded his body.

"… Relax, old man.. Artillery isn't the only weapon I have."