Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System

Chapter 105: Imran Grim Situation

Meanwhile, on James and Arjun’s side, the battlefield around them had grown almost quiet.

Their competition had been smooth, almost effortless. James finished the last bite of his second apple.

Crunch. He adjusted the Anaconda-X and locked onto two targets.

“THOOM.” The final pair of Armored Zombies burst from within. Their heavy armor shattered, flesh torn apart as they collapsed.

At the same time, Arjun took the last bite of his banana. He exhaled lightly, then moved. His blade flashed once, then again, flowing through multiple strikes in a single motion.

When he stopped, the last Rot Spreader Zombies were already cut apart. Heads rolled, cores severed.

Both of them lifted their heads and looked at each other. A faint smirk. The competition wasn’t over.

But before either of them could say anything, voices cut in sharply from the wall.

“If you’re both done playing, then finish the Screamers and go help the Captain and the others!”

Kavya and Sana shouted at them in a serious tone.

James and Arjun paused. Then their eyes shifted toward the battlefield. And what they saw changed everything.

Raghav was being thrown around by the Hulking. Imran was barely standing, his shield almost destroyed.

Neha and Vikrant were bleeding, struggling just to keep the Shadow Lurker visible.

Even Isha was locked in a dangerous fight against the Wall Breaker.

“Sorry,” James muttered.

“Give me a minute,” Arjun added.

Then both of them moved. The remaining Screamer Zombies were scattered across the battlefield, some already preparing to open their mouths.

James dropped into position instantly. His scope activated, locking onto two Screamers.

A clean shot. A second later, “BOOM! BOOM!”

Both heads exploded before a single sound could escape. He shifted immediately. Another pair locked.

At the same time, Arjun moved, and he cut through a group of zombies and reached a Screamer hiding behind them. In one motion, his blade flashed.

Its head flew off. Before the body hit the ground, he was already moving again. Another one to the left.

Another climbing over corpses, he jumped and struck mid-air. Within seconds, half of the Screamers were already dead. The rest barely had time to react.

James took a breath and locked onto the final targets. Two more were destroyed. Arjun finished the last one, cutting it down before it could even open its mouth. For a moment, no Screamer remained.

—

On the wall, Ayesha let out a short breath as she fired another shot at a normal zombie. “Tch… they really need someone to scold them.”

Deepak nodded while continuing to fire, his expression tense. “What can we do? They’re capable of playing even in a situation like this…” His eyes shifted toward the battlefield, toward Imran, toward Raghav, and finally toward Isha. “…But now is not the time.”

—

The battle around Neha and Vikrant changes from physical to mentally. Neha’s eyes narrowed. “…Something’s wrong.”

Vikrant clenched his fists, electricity crackling around his gloves. “What now?!”

But then they saw, the Shadow Lurker’s shadows began to distort around them, stretching and twisting unnaturally. Figures started to appear, one, two, five, ten.

“…Which one is real?” Vikrant muttered.

Each one moved, breathed, and looked completely real. Neha’s gaze moved rapidly between them, but even her enhanced perception was struggling.

“…It’s messing with our senses.” Suddenly, one of the shadows lunged.

“Left—!”

Vikrant released a shockwave, electricity spreading outward, but it hit nothing. A fake.

At the same moment, “SHHHHK!!!”

A real strike came from behind. Neha’s body jerked forward as blood spilled from her back.

She almost dropped to one knee but forced herself up. “Don’t trust your eyes!”

The shadows multiplied further. Then Vikrant saw something worse.

“…Neha?” In front of him, Neha appeared, bleeding, collapsed, reaching toward him. “Help…”

His eyes widened. “…Neha—?!”

At the same time, the real Neha shouted from behind, “DON’T MOVE!!”

But it was too late, a deep slash tore across Vikrant’s chest. “UGH—!!” He staggered back as the illusion vanished. For a split second, the real Shadow Lurker appeared, then disappeared again.

“…Damn it…!” Vikrant growled, clutching his chest.

Neha’s breathing grew heavier. Blood loss was increasing, and their coordination was breaking. They couldn’t trust anything anymore, not what they saw, not what they heard.

Another illusion formed. This time, multiple Shadow Lurkers surrounded them, each attacking at different timings.

“Which one is real?!” Vikrant shouted.

Neha fired. “BANG! BANG!” Two fakes vanished.

A real strike hit her leg. She dropped to one knee. “…It’s targeting our reactions,” she said through clenched teeth. “…Making us choose wrong.”

They stood back-to-back again, but even that felt unstable.

Vikrant clenched his fists tighter as electricity surged around them. “…I’ll just hit everything.”

“Wait—” Neha tried to stop him, but he had already moved.

A massive shockwave burst outward, electric arcs spreading in all directions and forcing every shadow to flicker. For a brief moment, all the illusions broke, revealing the real one standing behind Neha.

“There—!” Vikrant shouted.

Neha turned and fired. “BANG!!!” The bullet hit, but only grazed it. The Shadow Lurker slipped back into the darkness again.

Neha slowly pushed herself up, blood dripping, her vision slightly blurred. “…We’re running out of time…”

Vikrant stood beside her, breathing heavily. “…Yeah.”

—

While Neha and Vikrant were trapped in illusions, bleeding and struggling just to survive, the battle on the other side reached its climax.

“HAHAHAHA—!!”

Pooja’s laughter echoed across the battlefield, no longer playful but fierce and dominating. Her flames had completely taken over the area.

The ground beneath the Plague Bringer had turned black, cracked, and burning. Every time it tried to release toxic mist, it was burned away instantly before it could spread.

The Plague Bringer tried to adapt as its body swelled and multiple sacs formed at once, larger and more unstable than before, preparing a final release.

“…Not happening.”

Pooja raised bert both hands, and the flames around her compressed, condensing from wild fire into something denser and far more dangerous.

“Crimson Core.” A small but violently unstable sphere of fire formed between her hands. The temperature around it spiked instantly, and even the air began to warp.

The Plague Bringer reacted, its entire body expanding as it tried to release everything at once. “SKRRRRRAAAAAHHHH—!!!”

Toxic gas and pressure built rapidly, on the verge of exploding.

“Too slow.” Pooja vanished and appeared directly in front of it, slamming the sphere into its chest.

“Collapse.” For a second, nothing happened, creating absolute silence before a massive explosion erupted inward.

The flames didn’t spread outward but crushed inward, burning everything from the inside. The Plague Bringer’s body swelled, cracked, and collapsed completely. Its entire form turned into burning ash and disappeared.

Pooja stood there, breathing slightly heavier as her flames slowly calmed but still flickered around her. “…Done.”

She looked around, and her expression changed. Raghav was barely surviving, Imran was on the verge of collapse, and Neha and Vikrant were bleeding while struggling against something they couldn’t properly see.

In the distance, Isha was locked in a dangerous battle with the Wall Breaker.

Pooja cracked her neck as flames rose around her again. “…Now this is getting serious.”

Without wasting a second, she turned, ready to move, and support her teammates.

—

Imran was facing the worst moment of his life.

His breathing was heavy, his body battered. Bruises spread across his arms and torso, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. His shield, the one thing he relied on the most, was now nothing but broken fragments scattered across the ground.

“…Damn…” His fingers twitched, but he still stood.

The Armored Colossus walked toward him, slow and unstoppable, like a moving mountain.

Imran clenched his fists. Even without his shield, he stepped forward, because retreat was not an option.

The Colossus raised its massive arm and brought it down.

“BOOOOOOM!!!”

Imran crossed his arms and blocked with his reinforced body. The impact crushed into him, forcing his knees to buckle as the ground beneath him cracked.

“UGHHH—!!”

Pain surged through his entire body, but he didn’t fall. Before he could recover, another strike came, faster this time. He tried to move, but he was too slow.

“THUD!!!”

The blow hit his side directly, sending his body flying across the ground. He rolled several meters before finally stopping, dust rising around him.

Imran forced himself up again, barely able to stand. His vision blurred, and his arms trembled.

The Colossus moved faster. Its massive hand shot forward and grabbed him.

“GRRRR—!!”

Imran’s eyes widened as the grip tightened. His body was lifted into the air as if he weighed nothing.

The Colossus began to squeeze, slowly and deliberately, trying to crush him apart.

“CRRRRACK…!”

Pain exploded through his body. His reinforced skin held, but only barely. Blood seeped out as his ribs felt like they were about to break.

He tried to fight back. His fist slammed into Colossus’ arm, but it had no effect. He struck again, but the grip only tightened, stronger and more crushing than before.

His breathing faltered. His vision darkened. His strength began to fade. For the first time in his life, death felt close.

The Colossus lifted him higher, preparing to tear him apart completely, and in that moment, Imran understood, if nothing changed, this was the end.

Memories began to surface. He remembered how he first arrived here, the moment he awakened, the battles he fought, and how his bond grew stronger with Raghav, Neha, and the others.

He closed his eyes, hoping for a peaceful end.

…..

I was writing this arc based on showing the abilities of others, since here he came, and others have also abilities, so didn’t showing them will felt injustice to them.

But it will only for the few Chapters. And from the next Wave it was all Vikram vs Zombies fight.

And that’s will be MIND-BLOWING battle.

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