"Okay, you’ll get your variant soon, for now we are studying a potential rogue camp in Forbes Park Makati. We want to know if they are a threat or if they can be allies," Adrian said.

"I have no problem with that, so long as all the things I need are provided."

"We’ll have a good deal," Adrian said.

"You know what, despite your age, it seems like you are a very capable individual. I guess that’s what a leader looks like," Seo-yeon praised.

"Oh please, I don’t need a flattery for doing what I am responsible to do," Adrian replied, chuckling.

And while at it, one of the operators from the command center approached him from behind.

"Sir Adrian, there’s another problem?"

"Is it Forbes Park?" Adrian asked without glancing back.

"No sir, it’s something else entirely. You have to see it on the command center as soon as possible."

Adrian’s expression shifted slightly.

"Alright," he said. "I’m coming."

He looked back at Seo-yeon.

"Stay here. Don’t touch anything until I get back."

She raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I wasn’t planning to," she replied.

Adrian gave a small nod, then turned and moved immediately. The operator led the way without wasting time, already walking ahead as if he knew this wasn’t something that could wait.

They moved through the corridor quickly.

The command center wasn’t far, but the way the operator walked made it feel urgent.

That alone told Adrian enough.

Something had changed.

The moment they stepped inside, the atmosphere confirmed it.

The room was active, operators were at their stations, eyes locked on screens, hands moving across controls. The large central display had shifted from their usual observation layout.

"What do we have here? Why everyone else is so locked in?" Adrian asked.

"Sir, there is an abnormal behavior among the zombies," the operator reported. "If you look at the screen, those thermal signatures captured by our Predator drone are congregating in the place called EDSA Taft and were marching down towards the Forbes Park."

"Wait what the fuck?" Adrian cursed as he looked at the screen, and there his eyes widened. Zombies numbering over 100,000 are marching down the avenue. It’s the biggest they have ever seen.

"When has this started?" Adrian asked.

"Just today sir, it was as if they were being commanded to move."

Adrian didn’t respond right away.

His eyes stayed on the screen.

The feed zoomed in slightly, showing EDSA Taft from above. What used to be a clogged urban road was now something else entirely.

A moving mass.

"And you are saying they are moving towards Edsa, am I right?"

"Yes sir, and our men are still there."

"Okay, wait, I’m going to ask a specialist to confirm something, wait for me."

With that, Adrian left the command center and back to the virologist, Seo-yeon. And he found her.

"So what’s happening?" Seo-yeon asked.

"Is there a possibility that since this is an engineered-virus, like there is some sort of control? Like being controlled by a...wait, like an ant?"

Seo-yeon didn’t answer right away.

She stared at him for a second, then slowly set down the tool she was holding.

"...An ant?" she repeated.

Adrian shrugged slightly.

"Yeah," he said. "Like a hive. One controls the rest."

Seo-yeon exhaled quietly, thinking.

"...It’s not a bad comparison," she said.

Adrian raised an eyebrow.

"So it’s possible?"

She nodded once.

"Yes," she said. "But not in the way you’re imagining."

She turned toward the table and pulled the tablet closer, bringing up the same genetic data she had been studying earlier.

"What you’re describing is centralized control," she said. "One entity directing everything else."

She shook her head slightly.

"That’s inefficient for something like this."

Adrian crossed his arms.

"Then what is it?"

Seo-yeon tapped the screen, highlighting several segments of the sequence.

"This virus already alters the nervous system," she explained. "Not just behavior, but signal processing. It changes how the brain receives and responds to stimuli."

Adrian listened.

"So instead of controlling each infected individually," she continued, "it modifies them to respond to specific signals."

"Signals?" Adrian asked.

She nodded.

"Yes," she said. "Chemical, auditory, possibly even electromagnetic."

She pointed at another section.

"These sequences here suggest receptor enhancement," she said. "That means the infected are more sensitive to certain inputs than normal humans."

Adrian frowned slightly.

"Like what?"

Seo-yeon thought for a second.

"Low-frequency sound," she said. "Vibrations. Maybe pheromone-like chemical markers if the virus produces them internally."

She paused.

"In simpler terms... you don’t need to control them directly. You just give them something to follow."

Adrian processed that.

"...So something is broadcasting a signal."

"Yes," she said.

"And they’re all responding to it."

"Exactly."

Adrian glanced back toward the direction of the command center.

"Then what about formation?" he asked. "They’re not just moving. They’re organized."

Seo-yeon nodded slightly.

"That’s where the variants come in," she said.

Adrian looked back at her.

"Explain."

She brought up another part of the data.

"The variants you described earlier," she said. "They’re not just stronger. Their neural structure is different."

She tapped the screen again.

"These sections indicate higher processing capability," she continued. "Better coordination, faster response, more control over movement."

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

"...You’re saying they’re leading."

"Yes," Seo-yeon said. "Not by thinking like humans, but by acting as relays."

"Relays?"

"They receive the signal more clearly," she explained. "Then the rest of the infected follow their movement."

Adrian let out a slow breath.

"...So it’s not one controller."

"No," she said. "It’s a network."

That made more sense.

And at the same time, made it worse.

Adrian ran a hand through his hair.

"Okay," he said. "Then what’s generating the signal?"

Seo-yeon hesitated.

"That’s the part I don’t know yet," she admitted.

She looked at him directly.

"But it has to be something consistent," she added. "Something strong enough to affect that many infected at once."

Adrian thought back.

The scale.

Over a hundred thousand.

All moving in one direction.

"That’s not small," he said.

"No," she agreed. "It isn’t."

He stayed silent for a second.

Then.

"What about range?" he asked.

Seo-yeon considered it.

"If it’s chemical, limited," she said. "If it’s sound, larger. If it’s electromagnetic..."

She paused.

"potentially very wide."

Adrian exhaled slowly.

"So whatever it is," he said, "it’s pulling everything toward one point."

"Yes."

He looked back toward the corridor.

Toward the command center.

Toward the screen showing the horde.

"And that point is Forbes Park," he said.

Adrian didn’t waste another second.

He turned and walked out of the room, already reaching for his earpiece as he moved back toward the command center. His pace was steady, but faster than before. The kind of pace that meant something had already crossed from observation into action.

By the time he stepped inside again, the screen still showed the same thing.

"Get me Shadow One," Adrian said.

One of the operators immediately adjusted the comms.

"Patching through now, sir."

A brief static filled the room.

Then.

"Shadow One, this is Command," Adrian said.

A short pause.

Then Ryan’s voice came through, calm as ever.

"Command, this is Shadow One. Go ahead."

Adrian kept his eyes on the screen as he spoke.

"You need to listen carefully," he said. "We have a large-scale movement heading your direction."

There was a short silence on the other end.

"How large?" Ryan asked.

Adrian didn’t sugarcoat it.

"Over a hundred thousand," he said.

Another pause.

Longer this time.

"Copy," Ryan said. His tone didn’t change, but there was a slight shift. More focused.

"Direction?" he asked.

"EDSA Taft," Adrian replied. "They’re converging and moving straight toward Forbes Park. Not random. This is coordinated."

Ryan didn’t respond immediately.

Adrian could picture it.

Ryan standing near the window.

Looking out.

Thinking.

"Are they already near the perimeter?" Ryan asked.

"Negative," Adrian said. "But they’re moving consistently. Estimated time to contact under an hour."

"Understood."

Another short pause.

Then Ryan spoke again.

"...This changes things."

"Yes," Adrian replied.

"Do we know why they’re moving?" Ryan asked.

Adrian glanced briefly at one of the analysts, then back at the screen.

"Working theory," he said. "They’re being guided. Signal-based. Possibly through variants acting as relays."

Ryan exhaled slowly.

"So not just a horde."

"No," Adrian said. "This is directed movement."

Silence followed for a moment.

Then Ryan asked the question that mattered.

"What’s your call?"

Adrian didn’t answer right away.

He watched the movement again.

The scale.

The speed.

Then he spoke.

"For now, you hold," he said.

"Copy," Ryan replied immediately.

Adrian continued.

"You stay in position. Maintain observation. We will inform you if you’ll be in danger."

"Understood."

Ryan’s voice stayed steady.

"But if that thing hits the perimeter," Ryan added, "we’re in the blast zone."

Adrian nodded slightly, even though Ryan couldn’t see him.

"I know," he said.

He paused.

Then made it clear.

"If you assess that your position is no longer sustainable, you pull out," Adrian said. "No hesitation."

Ryan didn’t respond immediately.