"Another good haul. Let's move. Try not to kill them," One-Ear, the squad leader, whispered. "Survivors are going for 500,000 Apocalypse Coins each now. Ghostface is really splashing out."

His four squadmates moved into position. The demolitions expert planted explosives on the hideout wall, and the team took cover.

Boom!

A flashbang arced through the newly created hole. After the brief burst of light and noise, the squad stormed the hideout to capture their target.

The explosion alerted the other seven or eight survivors sheltering in the station. They held their breath, listening fearfully.

Moments later, three squad members emerged, dragging a dazed rabbit.

Suddenly, the station plunged into darkness.

"Alert!" One-Ear barked, his usual laziness gone. He flipped down his night vision goggles and raised his weapon.

One squad member guarded the rabbit, while the other three activated their tactical flashlights and laser sights, covering different directions, awaiting further orders. The team was well-drilled and efficient.

Through the green-tinted view of his goggles, One-Ear scanned the darkened station. His gaze settled on the generator room. He wasn't sure what caused the blackout, but if it wasn't accidental, the enemy would likely come from that direction. He strained his ears, listening for any clues through his headset.

A minute passed. No attack came. No suspicious sounds reached them.

Communicating through hand signals, the squad advanced towards the generator room.

Just as they began to move, a grenade sailed from behind a corner.

"Grenade!" One-Ear shouted.

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But the explosion was faster.

Bang!

A blinding flash erupted a few meters in front of the squad, followed by a deafening roar. The flash briefly illuminated the station. Their headsets blocked the sonic attack, but the intense flash blinded them all.

"Aaargh!" Screams of pain echoed as the squad members clutched their eyes, incapacitated.

One-Ear heard a faint crackle from his night vision goggles, followed by the smell of burnt circuitry. His vision went black.

Without hesitation, he rolled to the left, seeking cover from the inevitable attack. He ripped off his damaged goggles.

"Damn it! Just give me a chance to fight back!" he cursed, hoping his squad would recover.

But his hopes were dashed. As he scrambled behind a thick pillar, he heard the gurgling cries of his squadmates cut short, punctuated by the sickening spray of blood.

Terror gripped him. He hadn't heard any footsteps other than his own.

When the screams stopped, One-Ear emptied his magazine in the direction of his fallen squadmates. Gunfire reverberated through the station.

He slammed in a fresh magazine with practiced ease.

Just then, he heard the distinctive clatter of a grenade rolling across the floor. It stopped a few meters to his left.

"No!"

He threw himself to the right, hugging the pillar.

Boom!

Shrapnel peppered the concrete.

As One-Ear raised his head, a 7.62mm round pierced his eye socket, exploding his skull in a shower of gore.

Thirty meters away, Thomas lowered his HK417. Through his night vision goggles, he watched One-Ear's twitching tail.

"Thought you could hide behind a pillar?" he scoffed. "Should've stayed out in the open."

After confirming the area clear on his minimap, and seeing that the other survivors remained hidden, Thomas activated his flashlight and walked towards the bodies of the squad.

Thanks to the [Forced Requisition I] perk, their equipment had already vanished, transported to his hideout.

He stopped a few meters from the rabbit, who lay sprawled beneath a squad member's corpse, surrounded by a pool of blood.

A playful glint entered Thomas's eyes. He raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, no need to play dead. Are you thanking your savior with a dramatic performance, or planning to stab me when I get closer?"

The "corpses" remained motionless.

Thomas chuckled and shook his head. He waited.

Minutes ticked by, the only light coming from his flashlight.

Finally, under Thomas's amused gaze, the rabbit twitched. Its head emerged from beneath the body. Blood-red eyes snapped open, filled with wariness, malice, and…

…madness.

A chilling smile spread across the rabbit's face as a blood-dripping saber materialized in its paw.

In perfect English, it rasped, "Who… are you?"

Thomas glanced at his minimap, confirming the strong yellow aura around the rabbit.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Well…" he began.