Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse With My Military System

Chapter 180 Worst Fail of Blackwatch

"Specter-1! Specter-1 do you copy?"

The communication system of Graves's suit sounded incessantly in his head. His eyes fluttered open and on the heads-up display of the suit, there was a message displayed on it.

[System Error! Recommendation: Reboot]

Graves groaned, his head pounding as he struggled to orient himself. The last thing he remembered was the missile from the F-35 hitting him directly. He slowly sat up, scanning the surroundings.

"Specter-1 here," he rasped into the comm-link, his voice hoarse. "I copy."

"Specter-1, are you alright? We lost your signal for fifteen minutes there," came Richard's urgent voice over the line.

"Fifteen minutes?" Graves's eyes widened in disbelief. He rose to his feet, turning around as he scanned his environment. The magic users, Violet and Seo-Jun, were nowhere to be seen.

"What about Titan?" Graves asked.

"Titan is also not reachable," Richard answered. "What happened there anyway? Were you knocked out by those magic users?"

There was a tinge of disappointment in Richard's voice, but Graves didn't have time to dwell on it. "Not exactly," Graves replied. "The F-35 hit me with a missile. I was out for a bit, but I'm back now."

"But do you have visuals on the targets?" Richard asked.

"Negative on the two magic users Eagle," Graves responded, keeping his voice steady despite the uncertainty. "How about Jolly-2? Where are they? Did they report to you?"

"Negative on that," Richard replied. "Since we can't reach Titan and Jolly-2, we presume that they are compromised, possibly dead or incapacitated. We're scanning for any emergency beacons or distress signals, but so far, nothing."

Graves's jaw tightened at the news. "Understood, Eagle. I'll continue the search on foot. If I can find any trace of them, and Violet and Seo-Jun, I'll report back immediately."

"Understood. We are sending a Reaper drone in your area and it's three minutes out. In case those magic users get away, you will return back here at the command center."

"What do you mean by that, Eagle?" Graves inquired.

"That means the mission failed! They got away from us Graves. And I admit, there is a fault on my part. This is probably the stupidest thing that ever happened in Blackwatch since its inception."

"I can feel you, sir," Graves said casually, his hands clenching as he had never failed one mission before. "I'll go look for them now. Eagle out."

Ending the transmission, Graves focused on his suit. The display won't leave if he

doesn't address the system error. He initiated the reboot process, watching as the suit's internal systems cycled down and then came back online. The heads-up display flickered before stabilizing, showing normal readings.

With his suit back in working order, Graves resumed his search. He moved methodically through the forest, every sense alert. The area was eerily quiet, devoid of the usual forest sounds. His trained eyes scanned for any signs of disturbance – footprints, broken branches, anything that might indicate where Violet, Seo-Jun, or Titan had gone.

As he searched, his mind raced with scenarios. How had Violet and Seo-Jun managed to elude them? What capabilities did they still not know about? And most importantly, where were Titan and the crew of Jolly-2? The uncertainty was frustrating, but Graves pushed it aside, focusing on the task at hand.

He checked his suit's sensors, but they showed no immediate threats. That didn't mean much, given the opponents they were dealing with. Violet's sound magic and Seo-Jun's thorns manipulation were formidable.

Graves continued his search, moving deeper into the forest. He kept an eye on his suit's radar, half-expecting an ambush at any moment. The silence was unsettling, and he knew that they could be walking into a trap. Until—he saw the Titan.

"Oh my god," Graves muttered under his breath, shocked to see that the Titan was impaled by pinkish spikes that protruded from the Earth. He approached the body and placed his finger under Titan's neck to check for a pulse. Suddenly, Titan's eyes snapped open, revealing a glazed, unseeing look. In an instant, his massive hand clamped around Graves's body, lifting him off the ground.

The Titan charged forward with inhuman speed, smashing Graves against a large tree. The impact reverberated through Graves's body, his suit's systems straining under the force. Before he could regain his bearings, the Titan began to smash him into the ground repeatedly.

Graves, reeling from the onslaught, realized with grim certainty that the Titan he once knew was gone. In its place was a creature driven by the virus, devoid of reason or restraint. The pale and dead appearance of Titan's skin was a clear indication of the infection's severity. In short, Titan is now a zombie.

With no other options left and knowing the danger of letting this continue, Graves acted decisively. He activated his pulsefire cannon, bringing it up to point-blank range at Titan's face.

His finger hesitated only for a split second before pressing the trigger. The cannon emitted a concentrated blast of energy, hitting Titan squarely in the face. The force of the shot was enough to finally halt the Titan's assault as it decapitated him.

Graves gasped for air, his body aching from the brutal attack. He watched as the Titan's headless body fell to the ground.

Graves took a moment to collect himself before rising up to his feet.

"Eagle, this is Specter-1. Titan is down. He was infected... I had to take him out," Graves reported.

"I see. What about Jolly-2 and the Delta forces?" Richard asked.

"I will go to their last known location to see if I can find them."

"We are going to help you, the Reaper has arrived at the AO. And based on the imaging we are seeing right now, there is smoke billowing about northeast of your position. It might be Jolly-2. Can you confirm?"

Graves nodded. "Moving towards the location now," he responded, setting off towards the northeast direction.

Navigating the dense forest terrain, Graves kept a brisk pace.

Five minutes later, Graves reached a small clearing and his heart sank. Before him lay the wreckage of a Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter, its body crumpled and engulfed in flames.

Graves approached the wreckage cautiously, scanning for any signs of survivors or remnants.

He circled the wreckage, his suit's sensors scanning for heat signatures or any life signs, but there was nothing. The absence of bodies suggested that the crew might have ejected before the crash, or worse, they could have been thrown out upon impact.

"Eagle, this is Specter-1. I've found the wreckage of Jolly-2. It's completely destroyed. No survivors visible," Graves reported solemnly.

"Copy that—we truly have lost this…" Richard paused and Graves's brows furrowed.

"What's the matter, sir?"

"We are seeing elements coming towards your position. They are moving fast, possibly mutated zombies."

Graves clicked his tongue. "There's no end to this."