G.O.D Complex// Earth Prime

Linus and the others stood in stunned silence, staring at the colossal dome that stretched across the horizon. It shimmered faintly beneath the sunlight, like some alien construct, smooth and impenetrable. But it wasn't alien. It was one of the many scattered colonies—remnants of the old world.

Except this one had gone dark a month ago. Lifeless, according to satellite scans.

"You sure the intel from the Complex is legit?" Nathalie asked, her visor scanning the structure. A glowing square mapped portions of the dome's surface, zooming in and out for detail.

Linus stood silent, arms crossed.

"Whether it's accurate or not, we need confirmation. Let's check from the dropship. There might be an auxiliary entrance still intact," he finally said, turning back.

Inside the dropship, Nathalie and her drones completed a wide-sweep scan of the dome. Most entrances were sealed or buried under debris. Except one.

A narrow sewage tunnel.

"You've got to be kidding," Nathalie muttered, disgusted. "There's no way I'm crawling through something that looks like it belonged in a prehistoric septic tank."

Petty didn't look thrilled either.

"Just endure it," said Sebastian, grinning. His smile, oily and unwelcome, made both women visibly recoil.

"Stop smiling. You look like a toad with skin disease," Nathalie snapped. Sebastian winced and turned to Linus, who was quietly preparing gear.

"Let them stay," Linus said without looking up. "We'll need someone guarding the ship anyway."

He slipped on reinforced grip gloves, secured a vibrating blade to his side, and holstered an electric sidearm, along with flash bombs, grenades, and air-assisted boots.

He tapped the back of his ear. A transparent panel blinked to life over his right eye.

---

[PROFILE PANEL]

Name: Linus Grey

Gender: Male

Status: HEALTH – Green

Authority Status: Red Flag Citizen – A-Class Access

Armory: Activated

---

With a flick, the vibrating blade hummed to life, radiating a soft purple glow. Linus was ready.

"Wait," Nathalie called, pointing at the monitor. "The drones picked up something unexpected."

Everyone gathered.

On the holographic screen, a second cargo ship appeared—smaller, militarized, and coming from the south.

"That's not one of ours," Linus said, eyes narrowing.

"They're not recent either," added Nathalie. "Based on system data, their batch launched twenty years before ours."

Sebastian blinked. "So… they're just like us, right?"

"No," Levi said flatly. "They've been here for decades. If they survived this long, they'll be desperate—or worse."

Benjamin pushed up his glasses. "And they're headed for the same resources."

Linus nodded. "We may be forced into conflict."

With that, Linus, Levi, Benjamin, and Sebastian set off toward the tunnel. Nathalie, Jonas, and Petty stayed behind to secure the ship.

The sewage tunnel was dark and damp, its eerie silence only broken by the echo of boots on rusted metal. Linus led the way, silent and focused, a pale glow from his visor lighting the path.

"This smells like a fungus farm," Sebastian muttered behind him.

"Do you ever shut up?" Benjamin said without turning.

Sebastian chuckled nervously, trying to ease the tension, but it didn't help. The others ignored him, moving forward in tight formation. An hour passed.

Eventually, they reached a metal staircase—tall and spiraling upward into blackness.

Linus counted his steps, tracking their movement.

"Three floors up," he muttered. They reached a wide tunnel beyond.

"This looks like an old processing pipe," Levi noted, his helmet beam scanning the walls. "Probably used for waste or hydro systems."

"Abandoned for a long time," Linus added. "No maintenance records in sight."

At the top, a massive iron door stood in their way.

"We're not breaking through that," said Sebastian. "You got a plan?"

Instead of answering, Linus pressed his palm against the panel beside the door. It hissed and unlocked.

"What—how?!" Benjamin blinked in shock.

Linus raised his wrist, showing the red band. "We're Red Flags. Probably programmed for missions like this—disposable units. That door recognized my authority level."

"So we're basically government-labeled slaves," Levi muttered. He still didn't understand how he ended up with this brand. He was just a student once.

"Let's move," Linus said, stepping through.

Back on the approaching cargo ship, Commander Cross stood stoically as his crew analyzed the signals.

"Vital signs detected in the colony," a technician named Paul reported. "Five active signatures. Deep inside already."

"They're not part of our expedition," said Beatrice coldly, staring at the screen. "Could be other survivors. Or something worse."

Cross remained silent.

> "Get ready to breach via the main platform. Full gear. Assume hostiles," he finally ordered.

The team scrambled to prepare.

Inside the dropship, Petty screamed, "Why aren't they answering?!"

"Calm down!" Nathalie barked. "Shut up and focus!"

Communication with Linus's team was dead. They could still track their vital signs—but something was wrong.

Something was coming.

"What did the system call it again?" Jonas yawned, lounging lazily. "Didn't catch the name."

Nathalie ignored him. On the screen, a nightmarish creature appeared—crawling toward the sewage tunnel.

It was a mass of brown, oozing flesh, covered in twitching limbs and pulsating boils. It moved unnaturally fast, shrieking as it advanced.

The system tagged it automatically.

> [BIO-WEAPON CLASS: PARASITE]

Highly contagious. Physical contact will result in DNA degradation. Victims are converted and repurposed for reproductive infection cycles.

Avoid at all cost.

Petty stepped back, hand over her mouth.

Jonas grinned silently in the corner, eyeing the two girls.

> "If they die out there," he thought, "maybe I'll have my fun after all."

He didn't say it aloud. But Nathalie glanced at him—and her eyes sharpened.

She saw the thought pass through his mind.