The silence lasted only a heartbeat.
Then every infected host moved.
Not by running.
Not by charging.
They simply took one synchronized step forward.
The sound of hundreds of feet striking the floor at the exact same instant echoed across the underground city like the beating of a giant heart.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Linh instinctively backed away.
She had fought soldiers.
She had fought machines.
She had even defeated the King.
But this...
This was different.
Each face still belonged to an ordinary person.
A father.
A mother.
A child.
They looked completely human.
Only their silver eyes betrayed the monster controlling them.
Professor Nguyen whispered,
"The synchronization rate..."
Mina looked at her scanner.
"It's increasing."
"What does that mean?"
"The longer they s
