I Have a Modern Weapon Gacha System in the Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 63: Powerful Encounter

"Falcon One, switch to missiles," he said. "Three targets still active. They’re spreading. Engage with precision."

"Copy, Command. Selecting AGM-179. Laser-guided. I’ll take them one by one."

On the display, the F-35 leveled out briefly, then adjusted its angle as the targeting system locked onto the first moving signature.

"Target one locked."

The Hunter below cut across an open stretch of road, shifting direction between debris.

"Rifle."

The missile dropped clean from the wing.

For a split second, it fell.

Then the motor ignited.

It surged forward, correcting mid-flight as the guidance system tracked the moving target.

On the rooftop, Ryan saw the streak.

"Missile inbound," he said.

Impact.

A tight explosion punched into the street, centered directly on the target. The blast drove downward and outward, tearing through the pavement and throwing debris in a controlled cone.

When the dust cleared, nothing remained.

"Good hit," the operator confirmed. "Two remaining."

"Falcon One, next target," Adrian said.

"Copy. Locking second."

The camera shifted.

The second Hunter moved along the edge of a building, using cover, cutting tight corners as it advanced.

"Rifle."

Another missile dropped.

This one adjusted more aggressively mid-flight, tracking the target as it disappeared behind the structure. And then curved, trailing the hunter and—splash.

"Second target down," the operator said. "One remaining."

Adrian leaned closer.

"Falcon One, last target. It’s closing distance fast."

"Copy. Locking."

On the rooftop, Ryan saw it.

"Contact front!" Cole called.

"Falcon One, danger close!" Ryan said.

"Command, abort," Falcon One replied immediately. "Friendlies inside blast radius. I can’t release."

Adrian didn’t argue.

"Hold fire," he said. "Guns only if you have a clean lane."

"Negative lane," the pilot answered. "You’re masked by structures."

On the rooftop, the last Hunter cleared the street and came straight at the building.

Ryan stepped forward just enough to get a clean angle.

"Engage!"

They opened fire.

MP5s cracked in controlled bursts, 9mm rounds stitching across the creature’s chest and shoulders as it closed the distance.

Hits landed but no effect.

The rounds flattened against its hide, some punching shallow but not enough to slow it.

"Keep firing!" Jake shouted.

Ethan shifted left, trying to adjust for the head, sending tighter bursts toward its upper frame.

The Hunter didn’t even flinch.

It accelerated.

Closed the final gap.

"Back!" Ryan snapped.

Too late.

The creature launched upward, its body compressing before it drove off the ground in a single motion. It cleared the ledge and landed on the rooftop with a heavy impact, concrete cracking under its weight.

It didn’t stop.

One of its limbs swung immediately.

Fast.

Too fast to track.

Noah was still turning when it hit him.

The arm connected across his torso with force, lifting him off his feet and sending him airborne across the rooftop.

He cleared the edge.

"NOAH!" Mason shouted.

Ryan caught a glimpse of him mid-air—

Then he disappeared over the side.

A second later, a heavy impact sounded from the adjacent building.

Ryan didn’t look down.

He kept his rifle up.

"Focus!" he barked.

The Hunter shifted its weight, claws digging into the concrete as it reset. Its head snapped between targets, fast, calculating, picking the nearest threat.

Ethan fired again, tighter bursts aimed at the face.

Rounds struck.

Fragments chipped off.

No penetration.

"Head’s not going through!" Ethan shouted.

The Hunter moved fast.

Cole tried to track it, pivoting as he fired, but the creature changed direction mid-stride and closed the distance in a blink.

Its arm came up.

Cole barely got his rifle up before it hit him.

The impact slammed him sideways, his body crashing into the low wall of the rooftop. Concrete cracked on contact, and he dropped hard, weapon slipping from his grip.

He didn’t get back up.

"Cole’s down!" Jake shouted.

Ryan stepped forward, adjusting his angle.

"Keep distance! Don’t bunch up!"

Mason moved left, trying to widen the spacing, firing controlled shots at the creature’s legs.

The rounds hit, but again, no effect.

The Hunter pivoted again.

It went for Mason next.

Jake stepped in, firing across its path, forcing it to shift just enough to avoid a direct hit.

"Over here!" Jake shouted.

It worked.

For a second.

The Hunter redirected toward him.

Jake kept firing, stepping back, trying to buy space, but the rooftop gave him nowhere to go.

The creature lunged.

Jake fired one last burst at point-blank range.

Then the Hunter crashed into him.

They hit the ground together.

Jake struggled, trying to push it off, but the weight alone pinned him. The creature’s limb came down once—

Hard.

Jake’s body went still.

Mason froze for half a second.

"Jake!"

The Hunter turned again.

Mason fired.

Too late.

It crossed the distance in two steps.

Mason tried to backpedal, raising his rifle, but the creature’s arm swung low this time, catching his legs.

He was lifted off balance and slammed down onto the rooftop, the impact knocking the air out of him.

Before he could recover, the Hunter was on him.

Ryan fired.

Shots struck across its side, but it didn’t stop.

Mason’s hand reached for his sidearm—

The creature’s claw drove down.

"FALCON ONE?! Why aren’t you still firing?" Adrian demanded.

"Sir, I don’t have a clean shot," Falcon One replied calmly. "Your guy is too close. Any release will kill him."

Adrian’s jaw clenched.

"Find me an angle," he said.

"Working it."

On the rooftop, Ryan stood his ground.

The Hunter faced him, low, coiled, its body shifting as it adjusted for another strike. Blood from the others smeared across its limbs, but it didn’t slow. It didn’t show damage.

Ryan raised his MP5 again.

"Come on," he said.

The creature moved.

Ryan fired.

A full burst straight into its face.

The front of its head split open as the rounds struck, plates shifting apart like a protective shell reacting on instinct. The bullets deflected or lodged shallow, never reaching anything vital.

"Shit..." Ryan muttered.

The Hunter’s head plates closed again, sealing whatever was inside.

It tilted slightly.

Listening.

Tracking him without sight.

Ryan adjusted his stance.

"Command," he said, breathing controlled but tighter now, "it doesn’t have a head. No eyes. Face splits open on impact."

Inside the command center, Adrian leaned forward.

"What?"

"It’s armored. Head plates react when hit," Ryan continued. "Rounds aren’t penetrating."

The operator froze for a moment.

"Sir... it’s like it’s protecting a core," he said.

Adrian’s mind moved fast.

"Falcon One, do you have thermal on it?"

"Affirm," the pilot replied. "Heat signature centralized in the upper torso and neck cavity... fluctuating when it opens."

Adrian’s eyes locked on the screen.

"There’s your target," he said. "Ryan, you need to force it open. That’s the only time it’s vulnerable."

"I don’t think so sir! I just need to run away from this and get Falcon One a clean shot."

With that, Ryan ran.