Alara approached carefully, her boots slipping slightly on the blood soaked ground. Her eyes were wide, shining with a mix of awe and obsession as she looked up at Raven. "Should we leave this place?" she asked, her voice excited for another battle. "All of Metal Mouse's gunfire and the explosions… they'll draw over other zombies or other mutated animals right?"
Raven turned her head, her usually sharp expression softening into a rare, gentle smile. "Alara, don't sound so excited," she said, her voice calm and disappointed. "The aura of this bear is so strong that nothing will come near here. No zombies, no mutated animals. Mutated creatures are extremely territorial, especially solitary hunters like this bear. Right now, it's the strongest thing in this zoo." Her gaze turned sad for a moment. "But that won't last. When winter ends, stronger beasts will start to appear."
Raven studied Alara for a moment, then nodded her head slightly, her voice shifting to a proud tone of voice "Alara you did well today. Shooting into the wounds left by Metal Mouse's heavy gun fire is genius and diabolical. It spread the poison so much faster. Slowing the bear just enough for me to finish it off with a strike to the eye. Remember, eyes and other body openings are always the best weak points against mutated animals."
Alara's brows furrowed in question, her head tilting as she thought about Raven's words. "Then… what about mutated birds and sea creatures? Do they have similar weaknesses?"
Raven crouched beside the bear's corpse one last time, her fingers brushing against its thick fur, now matted and sticky with black blood. She drew a deep breath before issuing a mental command, storing the bear's massive body into the system space. She stood and recalled her spider drone, watching as it vanished back into the system unused in this fight.
Then, turning to Alara, she began to explain the weaknesses of mutated creatures. "Mutated birds usually travel in large flocks. Their wings are incredibly flammable. Fire is the most efficient way to deal with them. As for sea creatures, they have heavily reinforced exo skeletons. With them, you want to use blunt force trauma, not piercing or cutting damage. Explosions work, but there are more creative ways to crush them, too."
A moment of dark amusement passed across Raven's face as she hinted at her future ideas. She shifted her gaze back toward the veterinarian center, her expression turning serious again. "Now, let's head to the lab and collect those blood and DNA samples."
Alara nodded her head in agreement. "Okay," she said simply, stepping in line behind Raven. Metal Mouse followed silently, its massive frame moving easily with the massive Browning M2 turrets now fully collapsed and stored back inside his body.
They entered the building quickly. The air inside was dusty and stale from the lack of use. Warning lights blinked faintly on darkened machine panels, casting a dull red glow along the walls. Raven scanned the interior of the clinic. The backup power is clearly long gone.
Moving efficiently, she reached the large storage freezers holding what she needed. Then with a grunt, she forced open one of the heavy metal doors. The interior was a mess: labeled vials lay scattered on the floor, many cracked spilled onto the ground.
Raven's jaw tightened as she surveyed the ruined genetic samples. She closed her eyes briefly, sending a mental question to her system. "System, can you still use this contaminated genetic material?"
Almost instantly, a transparent response notification appeared in her mind.
[Apocalypse Ascendancy System Notification:]
"Host you may store the samples inside the system space. The system will reconstruct and purify the genetic material, then synthesize living animals for Sanctuary's various habitats and growing environments."
Raven let out a slow exhale, relief flooding her tense body. She opened her eyes, her expression softening as she glanced over her shoulder at Alara. "It's fine. We didn't come all this way for nothing."
Alara lifted her head, a small, relieved smile paying on her lips. "I'm glad," she said quietly, moving closer to watch Raven's work.
Raven began transferring the samples into her system space. Each vial, each petri dish, all the blood samples were stored carefully, in the system space for later use.
The room felt almost silent now, the chaos of the earlier battle fading into memory. Metal Mouse stood near the door, its red eyes scanning the hallway beyond for threats to Alara.
When the final samples were secured, Raven stood and rolled her shoulders to relax, then turning to face Alara she said. "Let's head back to Sanctuary for now. We've got everything we came for. As for the Yellow Fish Raider Gang, we will find them soon enough."
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