Chapter 264: Attack in the Square

An hour before the mess

Jade followed the young Freebound member through the narrow streets, her hand already resting on the weapon at her waist.

If the situation had turned this bad all of a sudden, was it possible that Aaron and Gideon, along with their teams, had already reached the hive mind?

A thought crossed her mind. ’Maybe this is exactly what it wants.’

If the hive mind had realized that they were attacking it from below, perhaps it was deliberately drawing their attention toward the surface.

Keeping everyone occupied here while something else happened inside the mine.

She shook her head.There was no point speculating without evidence.

The sound of gunfire grew louder with every turn.

"It’s near the square?" she asked.

"Yes."

"How many?"

"I don’t know. We had several people attacked at once. The Pathfinders arrived before us, but..." The soldier hesitated.

"But what? Make it clear, boy. We’re in a hurry, and I need an exact report."

The young man suddenly straightened his back.

"Ye-yes, ma’am! They’re having trouble separating the infected from the others."

Jade’s expression tightened.

That was becoming the real problem.

The infected no longer behaved like ordinary civilians, but they still looked like them. Some could speak normally.

Some could beg for help. Others could remember the people around them well enough to imitate them.

And if the parasite had truly begun coordinating them, that familiarity was probably its greatest weapon.

The Pathfinders weren’t trained for this.

They had been made for the sake of humanity, to venture beyond the known and face whatever waited in the unknown.

They were the bravest and the most foolish among them, the people willing to walk into places no ordinary person would dare enter.

But how were they supposed to fight someone they had been trained to protect?

The gunfire became louder as Jade approached the square.

She could hear it long before she could see the fighting. Shots bounced between the canyon walls, overlapping with shouting from several directions until it became difficult to tell where one group ended and another began.

The streets were already clogged with people trying to get away from the western side, and Jade had to push past several frightened residents before she could see what was happening ahead.

The evacuation had clearly spread farther than she had expected or maybe they were just running in panic.

Then she saw several Freebound members retreating from the square.

They were moving in formation, two members covering the others while they dragged a wounded man between them.

None of them were running blindly, but their pace was faster than a normal withdrawal should have been.

Jade immediately grabbed one of the retreating members.

"Report."

"We’ve lost the eastern entrance to the square," he said, trying to catch his breath. "The Pathfinders are holding the center, but the infected keep coming from the buildings around them. They’re armed now... not necessarily with guns, but still."

"How many?"

"We don’t know. More than twenty, maybe."

Jade’s eyes narrowed. "Maybe?"

"We’ve lost sight of some of them."

That was enough.

"Take me there."

The young man nodded and led her forward.

As they came closer, another group of Freebound hurried past them in the opposite direction. One of them was carrying a rifle in one hand and pulling a wounded soldier with the other.

"Get him to the western route!" Jade shouted.

The man nodded without stopping.

Jade continued forward.

The situation was worse than the report suggested.

The infected weren’t simply attacking the people trying to evacuate. They were using the settlement itself as a battlefield.

Some throw bricks or rocks from windows and balconies while others move through the streets below, forcing the Freebound to keep changing their positions.

Every time the defenders tried to push them back, another group appeared from somewhere else.

Worse, some of them were armed... probably took it from the wounded Freebound members and she could see some of her men already infected.

Jade reached the center of the square and finally saw the Pathfinders.

They were holding. Barely.

Ronan, the commander, had chosen the best defensive position available, using the narrow street to prevent the infected from surrounding his people.

Several shields had been positioned at the front while riflemen fired through the gaps, and two smaller teams guarded the buildings on either side.

Ronan stood near the center, directing his people with the same calm voice he had used during countless operations outside Climber Rift.

"Don’t chase them! Keep the line intact. West Three, cover the roof!"

A Pathfinder immediately turned and fired upward.

The infected ducked behind the stone railing.

Another brick came from the opposite building. The shield bearers shifted together, absorbing the attack while the riflemen returned fire.

Jade watched for several seconds. They weren’t being overwhelmed. The infected were making them work for every meter.

"Ronan!"

The commander looked toward her. His expression changed when he saw Jade, but only briefly.

"About time."

"Your man report sounded worse than this."

"You haven’t been here long enough."

Jade stepped closer, looking past him toward the battlefield.

"How many are actually confirmed?"

"hundreds in sight. At least about fifty more are hiding in the surrounding buildings. We’ve restrained about thirty-five of them."

"And casualties?"

"Four wounded." Ronan glanced toward the men behind him. "No deaths yet."

Jade nodded. "Keep it that way."

Ronan gave her a quick grin. "You always did know how to encourage people."

"That’s because you’re all too stupid to take encouragement seriously."

The grin disappeared when another burst of gunfire struck the barricade.

Ronan turned immediately. "Left side! They’re trying to get around us!"

His men moved before he finished speaking.

Jade watched them reposition and felt a little of the tension leave her shoulders.

This was why she trusted Ronan. He was stubborn, occasionally reckless and had a habit of arguing with her whenever he thought she was making a bad decision, but he knew how to keep his people alive.

Then a woman appeared between two buildings.

Both of them raised their rifles at the same time.

The woman stopped in the middle of the street, simply standing there and staring at them through the snowfall. Jade recognized her almost immediately.

"Lena."

Ronan’s rifle lowered slightly, just enough for Jade to notice.

Lena looked exhausted. Blood covered the front of her coat, and her hands were shaking around the rifle she carried.

"Ronan." Her voice was barely audible. "I don’t know what’s happening."

Ronan didn’t answer.

Jade could already see the conflict forming behind his eyes. Lena was his friend, close to his wife and daughter.

And that was exactly why Jade didn’t lower her weapon. She was a very good trap to make even a man like Ronan act stupid.

"Don’t let her cross the line. She is clearly infected. The parasite uses your weakness."

"I know," Ronan replied, though his weapon remained slightly lowered.

Lena took another step forward, tears gathering in her eyes. "Please, Ronan. I’m still me. Just let me pass, I will evacuate like the rest."

"I can restrain her," he said, his jaw tightening. "She might not be infected."

"We know enough."

Lena’s plea made several of the younger Pathfinders hesitate, their weapons shifting uncertainly.

Jade immediately understood the trap. The hive mind didn’t need to overpower the Pathfinders if it could make them question their own orders.

"Ronan," she said, her voice turning cold. "Shoot her."

He didn’t. For one brief moment, his eyes remained on Lena instead of Jade.

That was enough.

Lena’s expression changed, the fear disappearing as her mouth stretched far wider than it should have. White tendrils burst from beneath her jaw.

"OPEN FIRE!"

Jade’s order came before Ronan could react, and the square erupted with gunfire.

Lena twisted sideways as bullets tore through her body, but she still managed to crash into the nearest Pathfinder.

The young went down beneath her weight, while the white strands from her mouth kept moving and forced that poor pathfinder’s mouth open, it went down his throat while others tried to separate them and finally were able to take Lena down.

It was too late for the young man though.

Then another infected emerged from the building behind Ronan, followed by another, and another, until the streets beyond the square were filled with them.

There had to be hundreds, pouring out from doorways, alleys, windows, and every narrow passage surrounding the square.

Ronan finally fired, dropping the infected closest to him, but three more immediately took their place.

Jade swore under her breath as she realized what had happened.

"Shit! They are waiting for this!"

Gunfire erupted from the surrounding buildings as dozens of infected who had been hiding behind walls and windows attacked at once.

The Pathfinders immediately split their attention between the mass pressing from the front and the infected appearing along their flanks.

"West Three, rooftop!"

Jade fired toward the balcony before the Pathfinder beside her could even turn, dropping the infected before it could throw itself down at them.

Around her, the Pathfinders continued firing in controlled bursts, falling back without breaking formation as the infected pressed closer.

"Don’t let them surround you!"