The Endgame Chronicles (by Hugh White) novel Chapter 106

Chapter 106

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“Boss, is this the place?”

Leonard stopped the truck in front of the pharmaceutical research facility. Strangely, the main gate was already open, like someone had been there recently.

Hayley frowned, her delicate brows tightening. She had heard of this place before, but she couldn’t remember what it was about.

Still, she was absolutely sure of one thing: in both of her lives, she had never been here.

United Pharma Research Facility…

“Yeah,” she said.

She figured she would go in first.

Leonard slowly drove through the open gate.

Hayley stayed on alert. As soon as they passed through, she had Leonard circle the perimeter of the building with the truck first.

She needed to get a clear idea of the layout, including how many entrances and exits there were, the general structure of the place, and the safest escape routes in case of danger.

She wasn’t about to rush in blindly. No matter how strong she was, she would never let pride make her reckless.

After circling the building twice, she pieced together what she needed to know.

The building had only one entrance and exit, right at the front.

From the outside, it looked like a six-story building, but she noticed a sign pointing to an underground parking garage beside it. That meant there was likely a basement level.

As someone who had survived the apocalypse long enough, Hayley wasn’t about to step into a parking garage first.

Firstly, underground areas were cramped and dark, making them high-risk zones. Secondly, when scouting, you should always start from the easy areas and then move toward the hard ones.

She needed to secure the parts she could handle first, then move deeper into danger.

If she went straight underground and ran into trouble, only to find out the upper floors weren’t safe either, she would be digging her own grave.

After double-checking the perimeter, Hayley parked the armored vehicle by the front entrance.

She had confirmed that there were no zombies outside. Now, it was time to check the upper floors and make sure everything was clear before heading below. Once she had fully explored the place, she could officially claim it as part of her territory.

“Let’s move,” she said.

“Alright!”

Hayley and Leonard cautiously stepped inside. Two dogs stayed behind to guard the vehicle, while the other six followed them, three per person.

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They moved carefully through the halls.

Soon, Hayley realized something odd: every single door in the building was wide open.

This place was packed with security doors, each one the kind that needed an access card, like in a bank. Normally, a building like this would be a pain to get through.

Hayley figured it was her lucky day.

It was smooth sailing all the way in. Even stranger, the entire six-story building didn’t have a single zombie in it,

Hayley blinked in disbelief.

Was this really happening? Was the system just handing her another freebie?

She and Leonard searched methodically, moving floor by floor through the emergency stairwells, checking every room from the first to the sixth floor.

It might be true. There really was no trace of humans or zombies. Every room’s door was open, equipment covered in dust, untouched for who knows how long.

“Boss, there’s no sign of anyone or any zombies,” Leonard reported. “Looks like this place was evacuated in advance.”

As a former special forces soldier, he quickly shared the information he had with Hayley.

Hayley nodded slightly.

Could it really be that simple?

She walked into one of the top-floor offices. It looked like an administrative space. The lower floors were full of labs and research equipment, but up here was clearly management.

Then, Hayley noticed something strange.

The electric kettle on the desk was still plugged in, heating water.

It was one of those temperature-sensing models that automatically reheated when the water cooled. Since the water had been boiled and re-boiled over and over, the electric kettle was nearly empty and was down to the lowest level that prevented dry burn.

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