Chapter 10 - THE HYBRID INFILTRATIONâThe guard lowered his rifle... because the face beneath the helmet was smiling.âChaos erupted inside Guard Post Alpha. Lights flickered, alarms blared, and smoke billowed from the collapsed foundation.

Lieutenant Vance Jr.âthe bitter, power-hungry son of the late Commander Vanceâpulled his sidearm and aimed into the dust storm. He had joined the containment force specifically to avenge his fatherâs death and claim the bio-weapon for himself.
âHold your fire! Identify yourself!â Vance Jr. barked into the haze.
From the shadows emerged a tall figure clad in a torn, blackened military uniform. But it wasn't a monster. It was Alex. His skin was pale, almost translucent, covered in fine, shimmering black micro-scales that caught the light like polished obsidian. His eyes burned with an ethereal yellow glow.
âYou look just like your father,â Alexâs voice sounded like two voices speaking at onceâa human whisper overlaid with a deadly serpentâs hiss. âArrogant. Blind.â
Vance Jr. squeezed the trigger. Three armor-piercing rounds struck Alex directly in the chest.
Alex didn't fall. He didn't even flinch. The entry wounds oozed black, viscous venom that instantly neutralized the kinetic impact, pushing the lead bullets back out of his flesh until they clattered harmlessly onto the metal floor.
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âMy blood isn't human anymore, Lieutenant,â Alex whispered, stepping closer. âYour bullets are just iron to me.â
Behind Alex, emerging from the cracked foundation, rose two massive, mutated king cobrasâtheir hoods wide enough to block out the emergency lights, their fangs dripping with acidic neurotoxin.