Level-Up Apocalypse: Surviving With The Assimilation System
Chapter 131: Bastion of Humanity, Part One

[New Vegas, Nevada | Nellis Air Force Base]

["As of the First Impact, occurring on March 5th, 2025, at 9:25 P.M, the world has been plunged into disarray. Communications have been lost between nations, networks between people gone, and a majority of humanity already lost. The damage has set mankind back decades, centuries, if it's possible to even overcome this apocalypse scenario.

However, a bastion remains–a conglomerate of the greatest minds around the world and trained soldiers, the best-of-the-best, working together in a U.S base to work on solutions to overcoming this armageddon."]

A pristine chamber, kept so clean that not even a single breath of the outside air was allowed inside. Sterilized of all potential viruses and harmful bacteria, the room of snow-white steel was a perfect landscape for the chamber that looked like a cross between a laboratory and surgical set.

In the center of the spotless room, a man perfect in many regards sat in a tube with his eyes shut; a physique nurtured for both peak strength and conditioning; a princely face of androgynous beauty; fair, unblemished skin; short, silver hair that glistened like moonlight under the right light.

Beside the man of such astounding qualities, an older gentleman in surgical gear typed away into a document–

["April 20th, 2025 – the specimen has been nearly perfected. Utilizing my blessing bestowed to me, I've adjusted the subject's genetic structure. It's only because of his abnormal constitution that it's possible, but he's now superhuman in every regard without any input from his system. Using the cells of the entities that our soldiers have caught was a success.

Jotham is the future of mankind. I believe that firmly – this man will lead us to salvation from this apocalypse."]

–

Across the road of lifeless dirt and dried plants, the wheels of an armored vehicle rolled through.

Inside of it, a man outfitted in an all-black military uniform watched through the window while keeping his rifle tucked close to his chest.

"Hey, Zack! Hyped up to take out some of those green freaks?!"

Posing the question with childlike excitement was the soldier beside the dark-haired man.

Zack glanced over, "It's not a game, Ralph."

The excited man of wild, hazel hair laughed while holding his heavy-duty rifle up, "C'mon! Don't be so boring! Gotta make what fun we can outta this, right?"

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"Just get the mission done," Zack brushed off, looking through the window again. "That's all that matters."

Ralph blew air in protest, "No fun. What about you, Brandon?"

On the left side of the excitable soldier was a dark-skinned man who cleaned his rifle carefully, not seeming to care much for the topic of conversation.

"You still owe me from last time. Are you gonna pay up?" Brandon asked, looking over.

Ralph laughed, giving a playful slap to the stoic man's shoulder, "If you get more than me this time, sure! I'll double up!"

"Fine," Brandon agreed.

Zack shook his head with a quiet sigh, "I'll join in, too."

"Hah! Knew you'd be in!" Ralph celebrated, holding his weapon up.

It was only a bit further down the road did the truck come to a stop.

The earpiece relayed the same message for the three soldiers, "Zeus Unit: a horde of approximately five dozen hostile are coming up the northwest hill. Exercise caution and swiftness. Out."

Ralph readied his rifle, slapping the side of it, "Hear that? We've got a horde tonight, boys!"

Both sides of the vehicle were opened as Zack stepped out, with Ralph right behind him.

"I'll hold north point," Zack said, watching over the hill while preparing for the incoming hostiles.

"Sure thing," Ralph agreed. "I've got the west, then."

Behind them, Brandon cocked his rifle as it briefly emitted a sapphire light between its grooves, "East it is for me."

"Let's get this done, boys," Zack said, taking to a knee as he brought his gun up.

"Yup, yup!" Ralph shouted, aiming down his sights.

There was silence for a sparse few moments before it was heard—the march of fiends. Zack aimed down the scope, centering it on the green, bulbous head of the first goblin that came into view before pulling the trigger–BANG.

In near unison, the Zeus Unit's weapons fired, each shot piercing right through the skull of a fiend in the distance. With the arrival of monsters of supernatural properties, new arms were made, primarily focusing on ammunition uniquely made capable of hunting down fiends.

"That's three for me!" Ralph shouted excitedly, pulling the lever on his gun before continuing to open fire.

"Three," Brandon added in.

"Seven here," Zack calmly counted.

"What the–bullshit!" Ralph said.

The bickering was ignored as Zack continued to fire off at the approaching goblins. It was a nightly task that switched between different squads, like that of cleaning duty. Against the efficiency of rifles, the goblins were helpless, like invasive boars being hunted down.

While aiming, Zack found that the already dead bodies of the fiends were continuing to be filled with holes from more gunfire.

"Don't mess up the bodies too badly," Zack reminded them. "The Doc needs usable samples–he can't get that if they're turning to swiss cheese."

As he calmly reprimanded his comrades, he pulled his trigger a single time, bringing down one of the approaching, green-skinned beings with a single shot to the head.

Ralph grunted, but complied, "Fine, fine. It's no damn fun that way, though."

"We're not here for fun," Zack reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah," Ralph brushed off.

It didn't take more than a few minutes and some hundred rounds to put down the wave of goblins, leaving the soldiers left to collect the bodies of the fiends.

"Man, I can do without this part of the job," Brandon tiredly said while dumping the corpse of a goblin into the back of the armored vehicle.

"Little suckers are heavy, I'll tell ya," Ralph added, tossing another into the truck.

As Zack walked back across the bullet-and-blood ridden dirt, he stopped for a moment, touching his earpiece as a transmission came in.

"…Got it," Zack said before turning towards the other two. "Looks like we don't actually need to collect anymore specimens. Seems like they've had their fill."

"Really? It's about damn time," Brandon sighed, dropping the limp goblin he had hoisted up.

Just as the trunk of the vehicle was slammed shut by Ralph, a rumble stretched through the rocky, flat landscape.

"The fuck was that?" Brandon questioned, looking around.

"A bomb–?" Ralph questioned.

Zack listened into the earpiece while his comrades looked at him for an answer before he quickly turned around, signaling for them to get in the vehicle, "We need to get out of here right now!"

"What's going on?" Ralph asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just get in–shit!" Zack yelled, interrupted as the ground shook violently once again.

The air flexed, crackling like thunder amidst a winter storm. A shadow cast itself over the soldiers before any could get inside the vehicle, given form by a sound like that of a colossal object groaning through the sea.

Finding the opportunity to flee being all too late now, Zack lifted his rifle, though immediately being knocked off balance as a gargantuan weight descended right in front of the soldiers. As the tremendous entity landed, it felt as though the sky itself had come down atop Zack's head, becoming light-headed just in its presence.

It surpassed the size of the armored vehicle tenfold; a beast of studded, silver scales and wings that stretched out.

Behind him, Ralph barely got anything past his lips, "...Holy shit."

[Enemy Recognized: "Platinum Drake"] [Level: 50]

A single breath that left the great creature's maw pushed out like that of an unruly tempest, brushing the soldiers' hair as they were left frozen.

In the corner of Zack's eye, he could see the hot-headed man beside him hoisting his weapon, pointing it right at the calamitous beast.

"Ralph! No–!" Zack shouted.

It was a moment too late as the trigger was pulled with haste, bringing the man to open fire on the scaled colossus.

"Come on—!" Ralph desperately shouted while recklessly shooting at the winged beast that loomed over their position.

Each of the cerulean bullets simply bounced right off of the creature's platinum scales like hail off a rooftop.

Click. Click. Click.

–An empty magazine, with only bullet casings left on the ground as the platinum scaled beast remained towering over the shoulders without a blemish on its hide.

"Shit…" Ralph mumbled with a trembling lip.

It looked down at them like a grouping of sheep meant to serve as its sustenance as droplets of saliva dripped down from its mouth and splashed onto the ground.

"I think you pissed it off," Brandon quietly said, trying to barely move his lips while remaining still.

"Shut up–don't say a damn word," Zack harshly whispered, attempting to believe maybe remaining totally still and silent would divert the creature's attention.

All of that hope was completely dissuaded as the platinum-scaled calamity brought its hand up, intending to sweep its claws large enough to cleave trees in half through them.