(After the 1st part of Searching the saviors)........
Old Scars
Fakhrul picked up a charred picture frame from the corner of the room. A group photo of young soldiers in uniform. Smiling. One of them was Hridoy, fresh-faced and proud.
"You remember the northern siege?" Hridoy asked quietly.
Fakhrul didn't answer right away. He just nodded.
"You gave the order to fall back. I didn't listen," Hridoy says.
"You held the line," Fakhrul said. "Saved fifty lives."
"And lost eight," Hridoy replied, gaze distant. "I still hear their voices."
"Me too," Fakhrul said. "Every night."
There was a heavy silence.
The Ask
"I'm building a team," Fakhrul said. "Not just fighters. People who can outthink this war. People I trust."
"You sure I qualify?"
"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't."
Hridoy looked at Nafisa. "She doesn't trust me."
"She doesn't know you."
Nafisa crossed her arms. "I don't trust anyone who lives underground and builds doomsday toys."
Hridoy raised an eyebrow. "You'll come around."
Then he paused. "I want my own workbench."
"You'll get it," Fakhrul said.
"And field autonomy."
"Negotiable."
"Unlimited coffee," Hridoy deadpanned.
Nafisa rolled her eyes. "Fine. But I'm locking the sugar cabinet."
And just like that, the team gained its precision.
A calm hand behind the scope. A mind in the wires.
But what no one knew-not even Fakhrul-was that Hridoy's code ran deeper than anyone suspected.
Somewhere buried in his system... a secret was waiting to be unleashed.
But that moment hadn't come yet.
Hunt #004: The One Who Questions Everything
They traveled deep into the quarantine zones of sector 12, where the air shimmered with leftover radiation, and the silence could rot a man's soul. Towering above them in a sealed dome was a former biotech lab-abandoned by the world, guarded by autonomous defense drone, and marked UNSTABLE in red all across Fakhrul's HUD.
Nafisa stared at the gates. "Who lives in the hellhole?"
"Someone who stopped trusting the outside world," Fakhrul said. "Or maybe someone smarter than all of it."
The Genius in Isolation
Inside the dome, glass hallways tangled through rows of sterile labs. The smell of chemicals and ionized air lingered. Then the lights flickered on, one by one.
A woman stepped out from behind a surgical barrier. Clad in a light exo-suit, goggles on her forehead, hands gloved in biotech fiber, and her face-sharp, unreadable, intense.
"Doctor Zara Arman," Fakhrul said softly.
She tilted her head. "Didn't expect you to be walk in here."
"I didn't come for a lecture."
"Shame. I had a good one prepared. On ego, war, and bad decisions."
Nafisa whispered, "She… your ex or your scientist?"
"Both," Fakhrul muttered under his breath.
History Repeats
"I need you," Fakhrul said. "The world is tipping again."
"You said that last time," Zara said, voice tight. "And I lost four years of work to military fires."
"That wasn't my call."
"It never is," she snapped. Then quieter: "I stayed behind for the world. You left for vengeance."
Fakhrul didn't flinch. "I came back for redemption."
Silence.
Finally, Zara sighed and peeled off her gloves. "You'll need someone to patch the team when they get torn apart. And someone who can engineer a cure no one believes in yet."
Nafisa stepped forward. "And you are..?"
"Zara Arman," she said calmly. "And I'm your only hope of making it to the end without rotting from the inside out."
Conditions of Genius:
As she packed her mobile lab:
"No chain of command," she said. "I follow truth, not rank." "You'll have full lab access," Fakhrul replied. "I want veto rights on dumb decisions and that idiot."
"You're talking about Siddik?" Nafisa asked.
Zara's eyes glinted. "That idiot is special and something else."
Now the team had its brain.
A rebel scientist. Unyielding. Unforgiving. But with a vision no one else dared imagine.
And somewhere in her encrypted files... lay something dangerous. not a cure. But a way to rewrite life itself.
Hunt #005: The Cage That Roars
They reached an underground compound buried beneath what once was a prison facility-now off-grid, shut down by the government, listed as destroyed. But inside, through concrete passageways reinforced with carbon steel and magnetic locks, something still breathed.
And growled.
Nafisa paused, weapon drawn. "What is this place?"
Fakhrul didn't answer right away. He walked toward the giant sealed door and placed his hand on the scanner. The machine hissed.
"Containment Vault 9," he said. "Last place they kept him."
"Him." She asked.
"You'll see."
Unleashed
The lights flickered-and then the door opened. Steam burst from hydraulic locks, and the shadows inside shifted.
Out stepped a man. If he could still be called that.
He was massive-almost unnatural in height. Worn cargo gear stretched across a body that looked forged, not born. His skin shimmered faintly with scars and augmented plates. Eyes glowed dim red when he exhaled.
His voice was gravel:
"You said you'd never come back."
Fakhrul didn't flinch. "I need you, Tayeb."
The Bond
"You told me I was human," Tayeb said.
"Then let them cage me like an animal."
"I didn't have a choice," Fakhrul said. "But I'm giving you one now."
Tayeb fists chenced. "Why should I help you?"
"Because the virus is changing again. The infected... they're learning. I need your strength. And deep down-you still want revenge."
Tayeb's breathing slowed. The room rumbled subtly with inhale.
Nafisa whispered, "He's unstable."
"Yeah," Fakhrul said. "But when he's on your side-you don't need backup."
Conditions of Fury
Tayeb's voice was low. "I'll fight for you. But no leash. No drugs. No control collar."
"You'll have my word," Fakhrul said. "And hers," nodding to Zara, "if anything goes wrong."
Zara studied him. "I can monitor his vitals. But if he loses control-"
"I don't want to be saved," Tayeb growled. "Just make it quick. Just answer me one thing. Is that stupid also in the team?"
"Without him the team is nothing, you know."
"That stupid brat turned me into a monster. And you still believe in him."
"You know that idiot never disobeyed him." Zara pointing to Fakhrul. "It was his order. So please don't make it personal. We all know it was mistake. And don't worry he knows how to handle you."
Tayeb keeps silent.
And with that, the team gained its fist.
A living weapon. A haunted soul. Raging beneath control, holding onto humanity by a thread.
But in Tayeb's DNA... something deeper was buried. A mutation no one fully understood. And when the right moment comes- That beast will rise.
Hunt #006: The Last Laugh
Fakhrul, Nafisa, and Siddik stood in front of a colorful graffiti-covered building in the middle of a ruined amusement district. Rusted rides creaked in the breeze. A broken animatronic clown twitched somewhere inside.
Siddik tilted his head. "You sure this isn't a trap?"
Fakhrul gave a half-smile. "Oh, it's a trap. But not the kind you expect."
Nafisa muttered, "This place is cursed."
And then… a massive explosion launched a shopping cart from the second floor. It crashed right next to them, loaded with rubber chickens and a blinking drone.
From the smoke, a voice shouted:
"NEW HIGH SCORE! Whoo!"
Enter:Kawser
He dropped from above with a wild grin, neon-dyed hair, a backpack full of tech gadgets, and dual plasma sticks holstered at his sides.
"Fakhrul Sir!" he shouted, arms open. "You're not dead! I owe Mahmud five bucks. And you must be Siddik."
"You know me?" Siddik asked. "Big fan of your ideas about science, man! You are a gem."
Siddik leaned in and whispered to Nafisa," Is this a recruit or a street performer?"
"Oh, I'm both," the newcomer said, eavesdropping without shame. "Name's Kawsar Alam. And I make explosions, mischief, and bad decisions look cool."
Final Words
Fakhrul said, "I need you in my side. We are fighting zombies. You in."
Kawser tapped his chin. "Let's see… Fight radioactive zombies? Blow things up with government permission? Ride around with a grumpy monster, a sword snob, and a dead-eyed sniper? What could [possibly go wrong?"
Nafisa rolled her eyes. "Everything."
Kawser grinned wide and gave a mysterious smile. "Then I'm in."
Fakhrul and Nafisa didn't noticed the smile but Siddik did and seems like he doesn't trust the guy.
Hidden Truth Behind Kawser's Smile
On the surface, Kawser is all laughs, neon goggles, and chaotic energy. He claims he joined "for fun," to fight zombies and blow things up. But behind the mask, there's something darker.