Jimi sweeps the corner in a wide arc, maintaining his distance and focus near the opening. The mutant's bioluminescent eyes eliminate any element of surprise as it beelines after Jim; he throws the mutant against the reception desk, leveraging its momentum. His boot crashes down upon the mutant's face eliciting a distinct crunch, yet the mutant is on its feet within seconds. He enhances his fist with chakra before driving it through the mutant's celiac plexus. Jim follows up with a left hook, abdominal strike, then slams his fist into the mutant's face fracturing its skull. He double snap-kicks the mutant's floating rib then jaw before twisting the abomination's neck 540° with a devastating tornado kick.
The abomination convulses and squirms on the ground, somewhat immobile. Lethargic groans from within the building draw Jim's attention; a group of mutant soldiers reanimates then arise behind the reception desk.
'At least they're the slow ones,' Jim surmises as they shuffle after him. The mutants rush the gates after shattering the reinforced windows but are kept at bay by the metal barrier. Jim closes off the hall using the rolling shutters in the doorway. A mutant from behind the stairs staggers toward him; he shoves its forehead knocking the abomination off balance. Jim continues past a dysfunctional elevator up the stairwell until the second floor. Due to the wreckage and burning debris, the upper levels are inaccessible. He uncovers the telltale signs of fūinjutsu on the second floor's entrance.
Jim's PDI scans the barrier, breaking the obstacle down to its essential components while downloading the sealing tag's schematics. He figures out the algorithms, how it functions and how to manufacture functional duplicates if necessary. However, Jim's PDI detects a key card on the first floor. He vaults over the handrail avoiding the mutant already shuffling up the stairs after him. Jim searches a corpse sitting against the stair-wall and finds the key card. The mutant tumbles over the railing flopping on the floor behind him; he turns around; the mutant tries grabbing him, but he drops into the splits.
"Huhoogh!" Jim howls, launching his fist into the mutant's groin.
Toasty~!
The mutant doubles over; its glowing eyes burst from their sockets. Jim sends his foot crashing into the mutant's chin; roundhouse kicks its jaw, then spins the abomination through the air via tornado kick. The mutants break through the rolling shutters; he dashes up the stairs, unseals the entrance, and collects the fūinjutsu tag. Jim enters a small lounge before propping a soda machine between the door and wall. He follows the arrows through the double doors pointing to the medical and radio rooms.
A corpse lies on the floor in the infirmary with chunks of flesh missing from its body. An appreciable amount of blood is on each bed, yet one distinguishes itself from the rest. Jim creeps towards a desk, then uncovers a skeleton near an overturned bed. The ribcage is in pieces. Its limbs are hanging over the sides from the bed straps, the skull is missing, and the blood appears fresh; he tries not to think about the cause of death, but clear signs of a struggle are evident.
There's little to scavenge; the cabinets and drawers are vacant, including the desk safe. Moreover, the broken terminal's hard drive shows corruption and damage rendering any documents useless. Besides a red herb sitting on a windowsill, Jim's search for medical supplies falls short. He reaches for the red plant, but a sound akin to a sharp air intake draws his attention. Beside the desk, droplets of blood trail behind a window curtain. The noise persists following a quick snap at irregular intervals. Jim pulls the cloth expecting a small animal; instead, a severed head greets him, chomping at the air.
The skeleton near the bed is moving; the hands open and close. The spine lay quivering on the ground as the rest of the bones twitch and squirm—each appearing to have minds of their own. The long-drawn-out groan of the corpse getting up from the ground steals Jim's attention. Its glowing eyes lock on him the moment it turns around. The mutant's mouth opens, appearing unhinged; it staggers toward Jim, reaching for him with its outstretched arms. Its decomposing face is unrecognizable, but he recognizes the name badge on the mutant's combat uniform.
Jim remembers a report regarding one of his Lieutenants being MIA (Missing In Action) during the quarantine. The subsequent ASF invasion spread the SSR's military even thinner across multiple fronts, thus preventing Jim from allocating the necessary resources and personnel for a proper investigation. His eyes trail to the clipboard at the foot of the overturned bed. He learns the patient's name, which matches his Lieutenant's.
Jim sighs, "perhaps some cases are... better left unsolved," he sidesteps, then subdues his former Lieutenant before removing the dog tags. After harvesting the red herb, Jim exits the medical room and props a chair against the door. A silhouette with glowing eyes appears on the door's reinforced window. The mutant's hands run down the glass, smearing blood and rattling the door, "I-I'm sorry. I'd put you both down if I knew how."
A couple of mutants scraping and pounding on the radio room door redirect their attention to the neighboring corridor, then shamble after Jim. He focuses chakra on his feet, walking up the wall's surface around the mutants. Jim ensures his distance buying himself time to disable the room's security apparatus before entering and slamming the reinforced door. He proceeds to the main desk and discovers the operational surveillance network, "status report."
"The Red Zetsus surround the administrative towers; millions are bearing down upon the Gates of Fort Firestorm. The middle and lower levels are inaccessible due to containment breach; however, the upper floors are relatively secure."
"Are the targets in position?"
"Affirmative, you'll have a clear vantage point from the rooftops."
"Excellent. Lower the exterior draw bridges and have all containment protocols within the facility ready for nullification on my command."
"We're well aware I'm only a shadow clone, which renders my PDI and any other complex equipment on my person inoperable, Vega Contra."
"Then use what's available to enable and encode a new frequency through which we can maintain radio contact! I'll authorize the encryption for my jammer."
"I assume that—thing is also in position then?"
"Approximately thirty meters within the Body Replacement Technique's maximum range at sector fifteen. I've calculated the area's circumference and checked the diameter; the trajectory on both radiuses should coordinate with the enemy's position."
"A bait and bleed pincer ambush to encircle and eliminate the enemy?"
"More or less—once I neutralize the Hyūga, their line of sight will suffer considerably. They'll inevitably triangulate my relative position. Regardless by flanking the enemy, they'll have no choice but to separate. Divide and conquer; it's as simple as that."
"I'll reroute power to the lounge elevator; it'll be a straight shot to the rooftops."
"Then I'll take my leave and bid you adieu… Oh, and by the by." Jim hands his shadow clone the fūinjutsu tag from the stairwell, "seal the door and rig the room with explosives. I'd rather not get a sample of what those cocksuckers have in store for me if they catch you."
The radio room's heavy sliding door opens; a metal pole impales the mutant's torso out of the darkness knocking the abomination off its feet. Jim's boots slam into the adjacent mutant's face crushing its skull against the floor. Jim grabs his Bo Staff, then runs to the lounge elevator. The lounge doors swing open; he readies his staff as both mutants approach, but the elevator closes before the abominations become nuisances.
As the rundown metal box ascends, the distinct moans of the wandering dead increase; hundreds crowd the floors. The ghost-like whales and groans drown out the whirring machinery and rusting steel, which does somewhere along the lines of "jack and shit" to alleviate Jim's uneasiness over the potential death trap. He suppresses his chakra, remaining quieter than a mouse and still as a statue. A loud crash thunders behind him; he almost leaps out of his skin.
Jim sidesteps a mutant thrusting its sharp bone-like arm at him. He slams his elbow into the mutant's ribs before maneuvering behind the abomination, then hammering it with a crossing side-kick. The mutant thrusts its arm again; Jim redirects and traps the inhuman appendage under his shoulder. He seizes a revolver from the mutant's trench coat, then fires, severing its arm. Jim empties the cylinder into the mutant's torso before impaling the abomination's skull against the wall with its arm. The mutant flails around, bumping into the floor buttons; the elevator slows.
Jim leaps through a maintenance hatch before the mutants rush in; their numerical advantage turns against them as they bottleneck the opening. He keeps his distance from the flailing extremities and charges the Synergistic Sabre. Jim grabs the support cables, then disconnects the elevator; the elevator plunges with the mutants inside. The lines yank him through the air; he releases the wires allowing the momentum to alight him onto the roof access floor.
The Red hue from the crimson moons peeks through the storm clouds. Jim readies his rifle, resting its stand on the ledge. He locates his shadow clone several meters away, signaling him in the opposing skyscraper.
'In position; ready on your kill,' the shadow clone gestures.
After surveying the area, Jim spots his prime target and another shadow clone on standby. He focuses the image, then locks onto his target's center mass, 'target acquired,' Jim signals back. The number of survivors is an unfortunate surprise; nevertheless, Jim has them where he needs them. Given the angle, a one-shot three kills scenario is plausible if the round rips through the juxtaposing shinobi's skull and impacts the other's center mass in tandem. Jim adjusts the rifle's telescopic sights; he zeros in on his mark (accounting for elevation, wind, and parallax adjustment) and exhales.
The rest is history.
