The snowstorm raged on, the gale whipping up the heavy snowfall that showed signs of intensifying. The university, mixed with ice pellets, was carried by the fierce winds and slammed into the outer walls of the experimental base, making a dense, piercing noise.

Professor Yefni tightened his robe and turned to pick up the coffee he had brewed, deaf to the irritating sound. He had been working here for over ten years and was long accustomed to the environment.

The name of the experimental base had been changed several times, as had its director, but as a scientist dispatched here since its establishment, Professor Yefni was very familiar with everything about it, including the object they had been researching for over ten years.

It was a high-tech spacecraft that had crashed within Russia's borders. Its landing caused quite a panic among the local residents, but after the military surrounded and detained it, the state suppressed the incident. Apart from some soldiers and scientists, everyone else signed non-disclosure agreements.

The snowy terrain was harsh, shrouded by wind and snow year-round. Even Professor Yefni, who was used to the climate here, couldn't help but want to leave sometimes and reminisce about the prosperity of the cities.

But regrettably, when you gain something, you must lose something in return. In pursuit of science, Professor Yefni resolutely gave up his job and happy family life to research alien technology here.

"Professor, take a break. We still have to do the test report for that alien tomorrow," said a young man with a yawn as he came up to Professor Yefni.

"Okay, you go rest first," Professor Yefni replied, but he did not move. He knew he had reached a critical juncture in parsing the alien's cells tonight and would definitely not be getting any sleep, even if he tried.

As for the young man, he was Professor Yefni's most outstanding disciple. In this desolate place, the professor, already over fifty, was taken care of by him. Professor Yefni had even considered marrying his daughter to this sensible disciple.

"I'll go to bed first then. Take care of yourself, Professor," the young man smiled and took off his white coat, wrapping himself in a blanket as he walked out the laboratory door.

Watching his retreating figure, a smile also appeared on Professor Yefni's face. No matter what, this disciple was undoubtedly his pride and joy. Perhaps in the future, he would also need to pass on his mantle to him.

After a moment of contemplation, Professor Yefni turned around and took another sip of hot coffee to dispel the chill in his body.

Suddenly, a deafening alarm sounded in the distance. This abrupt, enormous noise gave Professor Yefni a tremendous fright, causing him to lose his grip on the coffee cup in his hand. It fell to the ground and shattered.

But Professor Yefni had no time to care about that now. He first looked around in confusion, then it hit him—this was the military district's invasion alarm, which evolved from the air raid siren, only to be sounded when the enemy launched a terrorist attack.

The experimental base was built inside this large military fortress and was the only protected base there. Once the fortress came under attack, there would only be one target—the very experimental base he was in.

Realizing this, Professor Yefni immediately got to his feet and walked out the laboratory door, but before he had taken a few steps, he heard the intrusion alarm sound inside the experimental base. In an instant, the red warning lights in the laboratory corridor lit up, bathing the dim passage in an eerie red glow.

"How can this be?! The fortress alarm only just sounded, yet the experimental base alarm is already going off. Could the enemy have broken through the military fortress defenses instantly?!" Professor Yefni was shocked beyond belief. He had no time to think further. All he could do was return to his office and take a gun out of his drawer.

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Just then, a squad of fully armed soldiers came running swiftly past the lab. Professor Yefni recognized them at a glance—they were the special forces specifically tasked with protecting the lab. The fact that they were moving so urgently meant the enemy had already invaded.

Seeing this, Professor Yefni stopped one of the soldiers and asked, "I'm the head of the laboratory department. What exactly is happening? Who is the enemy?" 

"We don't know, we're still investigating," the anxious soldier replied. He also seemed unclear about what was happening. "The commander said the outer fortress has been breached and the garrison is still tangled in battle with the enemy. He told us to guard the lab well."

Boom! Boom!

Before the soldier could finish speaking, the entire underground lab started shaking, accompanied by deafening booms like thunder. As a professor, Yefni could clearly hear that these were the sounds of heavy artillery fire, and from his own troops no less.

It was estimated that the enemy's firepower was very powerful, and the military fort's defenders had no choice but to take out their last card.

"That's the firepower of grenade launchers! Just who are our troops exchanging fire with?!" Professor Yefni yelled out loud. He did not understand how the enemy could muster a division's worth of troops to swagger their way here like this.

"I'm not sure either, Professor. You should hurry to take shelter. I have to carry out my mission," the soldier said tightly as he gripped his gun. His face betrayed his nervousness too. After saying that to Yefni, he immediately chased after his squad.

Professor Yefni also knew that now was not the time to dwell on things. Fighting the enemy was the soldiers' mission, not a scientist like him. What he had to do now was take shelter together with the other professors and researchers as soon as possible.

Running through the lab, Professor Yefni saw chaos everywhere. The garrison troops gathered and ran towards the main entrance while some researchers who had just been roused from sleep did not even have time to get dressed. They could only follow the majority and retreat with blankets wrapped around them.

No one knew exactly what was happening. All they could hear was rumble after rumble from outside the experimental base. Such intensive and indiscriminate bombardment—Professor Yefni had only heard it when the military destroyed weapons.

He held the gun in his hand in a death grip, as if he was trying to bring some modicum of security to himself through this weapon.

But very soon, a sudden sense of foreboding welled up from the pit of his stomach. Professor Yefni only felt the surrounding temperature dropped several more degrees.

He rushed out of the crowd towards the dormitory where his disciple stayed. Right now, he only wanted to ensure the safety of this most outstanding disciple of his. After all, he was the one who had invited the boy over and treated him like his own son.

His disciple's dorm was on the second floor of the aboveground part of the experimental base. On his way there, Professor Yefni could clearly see the soldiers standing ready as well as directly sense just how fierce the battle was in the outside world.

As it was still a combat situation, Professor Yefni did not dare take the elevator. He could only climb the stairs floor by floor. Coming aboveground from the underground lab, he instinctively drew near the corridor window, wanting to take a look outside.

He wanted to see the identity of the intruders and who exactly the garrison was battling.

But when he pressed himself against the glass pane and peered outside, the wrinkled face that had seen many winters instantly contorted in horror, his eyes bulging wide.

"Zom...zombies!!"

(End Of The Chapter)...To be continued.