ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE (AZ-13) PROJECT HELIOS

General context:

The year is 2047. The world fell silent. It wasn't a war or a meteorite… it was human error disguised as salvation. Project Helios, a biotechnological experiment intended to “reboot the human immune system,” failed. What was meant to cure diseases destroyed the boundary between life and death.

Origin of the plague:

It all began in an underground laboratory located on the border between Russia and Mongolia. Scientists were trying to create a serum capable of regenerating dead tissue. But the virus—called AZ-13, later known as The Echo—mutated upon contact with bacteria in the permafrost soil.
The result: bodies that didn't die... but didn't live either.

Effects of the virus:

AZ-13 didn't just reanimate corpses. It infected the mind. In the living, it caused a slow breakdown of moral judgment, violent impulses, cannibalism, and progressive loss of speech.
The dead, for their part, moved, attracted by the heat, the sound… and the memory.
Some even retained fragments of memories, repeating routines they used to have in life.

Current state of the world:

The cities are divided into red and black zones.
Red Zones are places where humans are still trying to survive, with strict protocols and a scarcity of resources.
The Black Zones are lost territories, where plague reigns and the air smells of rust and death.

The AZ-13 Virus – “The Echo”

AZ-13 is not just a biological virus: it is an evolutionary entity.
Its genetic code changes each time it infects a new host, adapting to its environment, its temperature… and even its emotions.

Known mutations:

Type I – “The Whisperers”

The first infected. Slow, deteriorating bodies, but guided by memories. Sometimes they babble names or phrases from their past lives. They are the literal echo of what they once were.

Type II – “The Fast Ones”

The result of a thermal mutation. Their metabolism accelerates; their flesh overheats, and their movements are violently rapid. They move in bursts and hunt by auditory instinct.

Type III – “The Carriers”

Infected humans who haven't completely died. They appear sane, can speak, even deceive… but within them, the virus is gestating a new strain. When the mutation culminates, their bodies burst, releasing spores that contaminate the air.

Type IV – “The Blind”

Mutation caused by prolonged exposure to darkness or radiation. They lost their sight, but developed superhuman hearing. They move in packs, guided by vibrations and echoes.

Type V – “The Alpha”

Anomalous fusion of multiple bodies. Intelligent, territorial, capable of mimicking human voices to lure victims. No one has seen its full face… only the reflection of its shadow before dying.

Evolution of the virus:

The AZ-13 learns. Every new host it bites, every corpse it revives, leaves a genetic imprint.
It is said that the virus does not seek to dominate the Earth... but to remember the perfection of humanity in its own way: mixing life, death and memory until they become one and the same.

1. Convenience stores

“Nothing is more convenient than a dead body behind the counter.”
Appearance: broken glass, half-looted shelves, smell of fuel and dampness.
Light: most retain flashing emergency lights powered by old batteries.
Common objects:
Dented cans, bottles with sediment.
Melted cash registers.
Magazines or brochures with Helios advertising (“Live clean. Live pure.”).
Risks: mutated rodents; in some cases, improvised mines set by other groups.
Fun fact: Refrigerators make sounds like panting due to internal gases.

2. Abandoned commercial premises and businesses

“They used to sell promises; now they sell dust.”
Examples: barbershops, pharmacies, clothing stores, bookstores, cafes.
Atmosphere: everything frozen in time, mannequins with fungus in their eyes, broken cups with dried coffee still stuck to the bottom.
Utility:
Pharmacies are pure gold (medicines, alcohol, bandages).
Bookstores serve as fuel or thermal shelter.
Clothing stores provide durable fabrics and camouflage materials.
Risks: fragile structures, mold infestations, or microscopic symbionts.

3. Residential houses and apartments

“Home doesn’t die. It just learns to stalk.”
Condition: Most are semi-ruined, covered with vegetation or spores.
Objects:
Photo albums fused together by humidity.
Children's clothes on the beds.
Homemade weapons hidden in fake furniture.
Uses: temporary shelters, hiding places for old rations, or memories that awaken guilt.
Common phenomenon: Automatic voice sensors still repeat domestic messages (“Dinner ready… dinner ready…”).

4. Gas stations

"Here, the scent of promise... and fire" fills the air.
Condition: collapsed roofs, corroded pumps, underground tanks with fuel residue.
Use:
Improvised generators.
Meeting points for convoys or smugglers.
Valuable items:
Lighters, oil, tools, batteries.
Old maps.
Risks: toxic fumes, explosions due to residual heat, human scavengers (mercenary group) in ambushes.

5. Industrial warehouses

"If it sounds hollow, it could be food... or a nest."
Types: logistics centers, transport warehouses, Helios depots.
Atmosphere: cold, spacious, with stacked boxes covered in dust.
Resources:
Medical or chemical material.
Protective equipment, mechanical parts.
Threat: hive-like mutations, symbionts that feed on plastic.
Interesting fact: some still have active cargo robots with altered functions (“Carrying human… error”).

6. Supermarkets and urban markets

“Even hell has offers.”
Appearance: collapsed roofs, empty boxes, rusted cars, survivor graffiti.
Possible objects:
Hardened cereal boxes, reusable bottles, canned goods.
Backpacks, tarpaulins, kitchen utensils, knives.
Threats:
“Gatherers”, groups that hunt humans to trade them.
Structural collapses and human traps.
Notable point: some markets were transformed into communal fortresses.

7. Corporate buildings

“Power left its scent. You can still feel it.”
Condition: empty skyscrapers, inactive elevators, offices frozen on the last day before collapse.
Uses: observatories, watchtowers, elite shelters.
Resources:
Old servers with information from Helios.
Documents with access codes to closed laboratories.
Threats: automated traps, residual robotic security, electrical symbionts.
Sinister detail: in some floors there is still background music playing, as if they were waiting for employees.

8. Rural provinces

“Flowers grew on the graves.”
Environment: agricultural areas where the virus mixed with the soil; crops glow at night.
Uses: fertile land, less polluted water, small natural shelters.
Risks: mutated type C animals and closed communities that reject outsiders.
Interestingly, some villages still celebrate rituals, believing that the virus is the "voice of the countryside."

9. Mechanical workshops and service stations

“Where fat turned to blood.”
Use: vehicle repair, extraction of useful parts.
Objects:
Oil, tools, masks, spare parts.
Old Helios Transport manuals.
Threats: metallic mutants attracted by noise; compressed gas traps.
Value: Excellent point for crafting weapons or reinforcing equipment.

10. Makeshift shelters and camps

“Where there is fire, there is fear.”
Types: overturned buses, train cars, containers, subway tunnels, churches.
Use: temporary bases or transit zones between territories.
Characteristics:
Signs on walls (“DO NOT FOLLOW THE VOICES”).
Hidden fires to avoid nocturnal mutants.
Findings: travelers' notes, broken weapons, recent human footprints.
Danger: Some shelters are traps for human scavenging groups.

1. The Wanderers

Solitary travelers without a destination, they survive by moving from zone to zone.
Intelligent, distrustful, pragmatic.
They use combined objects from different eras.
Some trade information in exchange for medicine or companionship.

2. The Harvesters

Small rural communities.
They cultivate contaminated plants believing that the virus is a natural blessing.
They wear ritual clothing with biological symbols.
They can be hospitable or dangerous fanatics.

3. The Jackals

Former soldiers or mercenaries who now hunt humans or mutants for parts.
Organized, cruel, with strict hierarchies.
Sometimes they ally with other groups for resources or entertainment.
They mark their territory with black smoke or rusty banners.

4. The Black Doctors

Former doctors, scientists, or nurses.
They operate with pre-collapse knowledge, mixing science and superstition.
They seek to "purify" AZ-13, sometimes through human experiments.
Some are revered as sages, others feared as prophets of the flesh.

5. The Mechanics of Silence

Specialists in antique technology.
Capable of restoring drones, weapons, or vehicles.
They usually hide in industrial areas.
Many are partially contaminated, fused with their own machines.

6. The Pilgrims

Itinerant religious groups who believe the virus is a divine test.
They sing, they walk in rows, and they never stop.
Some keep infected people chained up, considering them "saints of the new world".
Peaceful... until they feel blasphemy.

7. The Silenced

People who lost the ability to speak after prolonged exposure to the virus.
They communicate with gestures, writing, or recordings.
They are excellent trackers.
Some survive among the beasts, almost indistinguishable from them.

8. The Forgers

Urban shelters that are dedicated to manufacturing improvised weapons.
They have codes of honor and protect civilians.
Direct enemies of the Jackals.
They are recognized by wearing masks made of welded metal pieces.

9. The Specters

Rare, mysterious, faceless nomads.
They are believed to be human-infected hybrids with some control over the virus.
They move silently, but sometimes they help survivors in exchange for symbolic objects.
Nobody knows if they are human yet... or something else.

l. Hollow Vein Forest (the “Hollow Vein”)
“The air sings, the trees bleed.”
Location: border between Red Zone and Black Zone.
Origin: ancient pine forest where Helios tested the first compound of the AZ-13 virus.
Condition: the ground exhales vapor, the trees throb with a weak pulse.
Environmental effect: the air contains microspores that alter the perception of time; some claim to have wandered for hours when days had passed.
Population:
Type A animal scavengers (primitive, bonier versions).
Cultists of Silence, who believe that the forest is a living entity.
Interesting fact: the oldest tree trunks are hollow and sound like breathing.
Legend: whoever sleeps under its branches hears their name whispered by the ground.

II. The Green Dome (Alpha Ecological Zone)
“Paradise was the first thing to rot.”
Origin: self-sustaining dome created by Helios to preserve original flora.
Current condition: fractured, covered in mutated plants and intelligent fungi.
Ecosystem: vegetation devours metals, creating biological structures that replace machinery.
Dangers:
Parasitic orchids, which open like mouths.
Plant symbionts, humans fused to roots.
Valuable resources:
Flowers of the Whisper.
Natural blisters with healing compounds.
Mystery: a bioluminescent core at the center that keeps the dome "alive", powered by an old Helios reactor.
Visual effect: the air glows with green particles; the night is never completely dark.

III. The Dead Lots
“Where the ground creaks, hunger listens.”
Type: plains devastated by chemical explosions and radiation.
Description: reddish dust, skeletons of electrical towers, toxic fog that moves as if it were breathing.
Phenomena:
Dust storms laden with virus remnants.
“Psychic echoes”: human sounds that repeat without a visible source.
Inhabitants: nomadic, eyeless mutants called Echo Hunters.
Items found:
Abandoned synchronization helmets.
Fragments of half-alive military drones.
Survival tip: never walk alone; the fog mimics you to confuse you.

IV. The Valley of Voices
“Nobody knows if the screams are human or roots.”
Type: canyon covered in thick fog with organic caves.
Origin: experimental base where Helios attempted to use the virus to terraform the soil.
Result: the rocks became porous, and the ecosystem produces constant sound waves.
Dangers:
Mental echoes that induce madness.
Sound parasites: small organisms that attach to the inner ear.
Rumor: Some survivors say that if you follow the right voice, it leads you to an underground shelter filled with Helios technology.
Reality: no one has come back sane to confirm it.
V. The Forest of Ropes
“Silence has a shape. Here it hangs from the branches.”
Location: Deep Black Zone.
Description: twisted trees with fibers similar to human tendons; the wind produces a sound like tuned strings.
Population:
“Weaver” Mutants, inspired by the subject of Document 01 (HELIO-Σ4).
Birds without eyes that fly in geometric patterns.
Risk: the branches slowly close when someone passes by.
Frequent findings: bodies suspended like trophies, resonant lanterns hanging among roots.
Interesting fact: the echoes of the forest transform into human melodies when the fog is dense.
Helios Log: “Acoustic anomaly level 5: sound responds to fear.”

VI. The Ruins of the Helios Sanctuary
“Here the cure was born. Here hope died.”
Type: scientific complex buried under a blanket of black ivy.
Original function: scientific temple where AZ-13 was developed as an attempt at cell regeneration.
Current state: partially sunken, with sections in perpetual twilight.
Known presence: a symbiotic entity that speaks with the voices of dead researchers.
Items found:
Echo Manuscripts.
Purified AZ-13 ampoules.
Corpses with notes tattooed under their skin.
Phenomenon: the lights react to the visitor's pulse.
Explorers' conclusion: "The Sanctuary is not abandoned. It is just waiting."
VII. The Static Sea
“The water stopped moving… because it learned to see.”
Type: petrified lake, covered by a gelatinous layer that reflects distorted images.
Effect: If you look at your reflection, it moves with a one-second delay.
Origin: accumulation of biological waste from AZ-13.
Common mutations: aquatic creatures with human faces floating below the surface.
Resources: purified salt crystals useful for air filters.
Warning: Do not throw objects into the water. Sometimes it returns something different.
VIII. The Delta Zone (“The White Silence”)
“There is no wind. There is no sound. Only the feeling of being watched.”
Type: chemical desert where even the virus seems to have died.
Phenomenon: no footsteps or breathing are heard; the sound disappears instantly.
Helios hypothesis: AZ-13 here reached a “quantum” state of equilibrium.
Risks: loss of orientation, immediate dehydration, tactile hallucinations.
Usefulness: Some seek here “the end of the virus”… and do not return.
Popular belief: The White Silence is the “heaven” of AZ-13, its sleeping conscience.

1. The Corvux (also called “The Scavengers”)
   Symbol: a raven mask carved from bone.
   Motto: “From the dead comes tomorrow.”
   Description: Former soldiers and scavengers who specialize in looting Black Zones.
   They sell organs, information, and Helios technology parts to the highest bidder.
   Weapons: recycled energy blades, rifles modified with resonant bones.
   Tactics: silent, fast, and experts in ambushes inside collapsed buildings.
   Rumor: Some no longer wear masks… because their faces have merged with them.
   Leadership: Aren Voss, a former lieutenant who still believes the virus can be “tamed”.

The Corvux mercenaries were mockingly named "Scavengers".
Type A infected devour flesh; they devour the remains of the world.
On the streets, the nickname arose naturally—and they adopted it with pride, to instill fear. (Perhaps they still have some morals left, but they'll never be like the Jackals.)

2. The Ash Horde
   Symbol: a skull painted with ash and blood.
   Motto: “If the world burns, let it burn under our control.”
   Description: A mercenary sect. They don't fight for money, but for access to the energy reactors of Project Helios.
   They want to turn the mutated cities into controllable biological weapons.
   Style: heavy armor, rusty helmets, tattoos that glow under ultraviolet light.
   Leadership: Kareth the Arsonist, a former scientist who became a fanatic of purifying fire.
   Interesting fact: each one carries a capsule with the ashes of a "fallen brother"; they inhale it before combat.

3. The Exiles of Delta
   Symbol: a snake biting itself (symbol of cycle and reincarnation).
   Slogan: “Evolution is not a sin.”
   Description: Human-symbiont hybrids. They were the first biological fusion experiments at AZ-13.
   Marginalized and rejected by both sides, they survive as elite mercenaries.
   Abilities: rapid regeneration, thermal perception, and empathic communication between them.
   Leadership: Nyra-7, a woman with a metallic voice and mirror eyes.
   Behavior: They only accept contracts that involve hunting corrupt humans or rogue symbiotes.
   Secret: Some say they seek to free the virus, not destroy it.

4. The Doctors of Silence
   Symbol: a white cross with a line through it.
   Slogan: “There is no cure. Only control.”
   Description: Former doctors, paramedics, and scientists operating in the black market.
   His “Hippocratic oath” is now pragmatic: heal if you pay, experiment if you don't.
   Uniform: black gowns, reinforced surgical gloves, thermal vision goggles.
   Specialty: grafts, prostheses and controlled mutations.
   Rumor: Some work for the virus itself… delivering information about resistant humans.
   Leadership: Dr. Havel, a surgeon who sewed his mouth shut so as "not to reveal secrets to the air."

5. The Eco Contractors
   Symbol: a lit candle inside a skull.
   Slogan: “Voices pay well.”
   Description: spiritual mercenaries, hunters of psychic entities and echoes of the virus.
   They believe that AZ-13 is not a disease, but a divided intelligence.
   Ability: They can perceive “mental fragments” of places or corpses, like mediums.
   Use: Hired by survivors who want to recover lost memories or locate trapped souls.
   Leadership: The Blind Preacher, a man who gouged out his eyes to see “what lies behind the flesh.”

6. The Guard of the Last Sun
   Symbol: broken sun with seven points.
   Slogan: “We don’t save bodies, we save fire.”
   Description: A paramilitary group that seeks to restore civilization through ancient codes.
   They patrol red zones, rescue children, and destroy abandoned Helios laboratories.
   Morality: Purity fanatics, they execute anyone infected, even if they show no symptoms.
   Leadership: Commander Rhys Alaric, former officer with half his face reconstructed.
   Contradiction: they are the “good guys”, but their justice is as cruel as the virus they are fighting.

Mercenary factions represent the new empires in a nationless world.
He who controls the resources, controls hope.

Between groups you can be allies or sometimes enemies, sometimes it depends.

I. Common Objects of the Collapse

1. Alpha Filtering Masks
   Description: Industrial masks adapted with biological filters of carbon and synthetic mycelium.
   Use: They filter contaminated air for up to 72 hours.
   Risk: If the filter becomes saturated, the mycelium activates… and begins to grow inside the user.
   Location: tunnels, grey areas and bodies of former engineers.
   Interesting fact: some breathe on their own.

2. Blood Batteries
   Description: Small red glass cylinders, generate energy from organic fluids.
   Use: to power flashlights, drones or prostheses.
   Danger: the energy “senses” the carrier’s biosignature; if it changes owners, it can become overloaded and explode.
   Origin: Helios Project technology.
   Characteristic sound: buzzing with a heartbeat.

3. Diary Excerpts
   Description: sheets, recordings or broken screens with messages from former inhabitants.
   Function: They reveal secrets, passwords, or events prior to the outbreak.
   Example text:
   “If you see lights moving in the fog, don’t breathe. They’re not flashlights…”

4. Lead Coins
   Description: They circulate among merchants and mercenaries.
   Symbolic value: they represent “another day of life”.
   Legend: Whoever collects 13 can make a wish to "The Echo".
   Engraving: a spiral with a Latin word: Vita aut Nihil (life or nothing).

5. Resonant Lanterns
   Description: They emit ultraviolet blue light that repels certain mutation strains.
   Alternative use: They reveal hidden messages or symbiotic marks.
   Flaw: They emit a sound that attracts blind infected.
   Origin: Delta-14 laboratory.
   Duration: 5 hours of continuous use.

II. Technological and Military Artifacts

1. Torn Cognitive Core
   Description: Brain chip extracted from AI-controlled soldiers.
   Use: Allows you to replay your last visual memories.
   Side effect: the user feels other people's emotions for hours.
   Risk: Some fragments contain mental viruses.
   Location: bodies in the Red Zone or Helios facilities.

2. Purified AZ-13 Ampoules
   Description: Blue serum with stable virus particles.
   Use: Temporarily enhances strength, healing, or perception.
   Duration: 3 minutes before causing severe cell damage.
   Rumor: Some survivors use it as a drug.
   Street name: “Blood of God”.

3. Memory Projector
   Description: Holographic device used for military training.
   Use: Allows you to view simulations or recorded memories.
   Risk: If activated near mutated areas, the virus may project its own visions.
   Interesting fact: some reproduce impossible scenes: the future or what the virus "remembers".

4. Neural Synchronization Helmet
   Description: experimental device for connecting human minds.
   Function: to synchronize combat groups, or drive them crazy by sharing fears.
   Residual effect: users hear their thoughts jumbled up even after removing it.
   Location: submerged laboratories beneath the Bastion of Helios.

III. Biological and Organic Remains

1. Flower of the Whisper
   Description: mutated plant that grows on corpses.
   Property: absorbs residues from AZ-13, can purify air within a 2-meter radius.
   Danger: As it withers, it releases psychoactive spores that cause hallucinations.
   Color: white with black veins, petals that beat gently.
   Uses: medicine, rituals, or torture.

2. Light Larvae
   Description: Insects created by Helios biotechnology. They emit constant blue light.
   Function: to illuminate dark areas, or to attract mutated predators.
   Behavior: They feed on dead human cells.
   Fun fact: some recognize the voice of their creator.

3. Resonant Bones
   Description: Bones altered by the virus vibrate with distant sounds.
   Uses: They can be used to create weapons, necklaces, or to detect movement.
   Legend: If you place one in your ear, you can hear the dead of the Black Zone.
   Location: battlefields or temples of the Cult of Silence.

4. Mirror Blood
   Description: Silvery substance found in fourth generation mutants.
   Property: It reflects images… but not those of the present.
   Forbidden use: The alchemists of Delta-14 use it to "see" possible futures.
   Danger: It can absorb the observer's identity.

IV. Unique and Legendary Items

1. The Echo Manuscript
   Description: Faux leather book containing the complete genetic code of AZ-13.
   Rumor: It was written with the blood of the first infected person.
   Effect: When reading it, some people hear voices or lose track of time.
   Location: unknown, possibly in the Ash Core.
   Internal inscription: “Evolution doesn't ask for permission.”

2. Helios Clock
   Description: Pocket stopwatch that stops every time someone close to you dies.
   Origin: a gift from the project's founder to his daughter.
   Interesting fact: its ticking rhythm changes when approaching mutated areas.
   Symbol: a spiral engraved on the lid.

3. The Eye of the Abyss
   Description: Floating black sphere found in the deepest Black Zone.
   Function: It feeds on the psychic radiation of the environment.
   Effect: It shows visions of the “world after the virus”.
   Warning: staring too long may make the observer part of the scenery.

V. Objects of Emotional or Cultural Value

1. Broken Toys
   Description: Dolls or figures that react to body heat.
   Use: none practical, but some serve as triggers for memories.
   Fun fact: certain toys laugh on their own during thunderstorms.

2. Radio Tapes “Light of Dawn”
   Description: Old broadcasts from an unknown announcer.
   Message: hope, poetry, love stories among ruins.
   Effect: Listening to a tape momentarily restores the sanity of the listener.
   They are rarely found intact.

3. Promise Rings
   Description: Pairs of rings made from recycled metals.
   Legend: Lovers who use them do not transform upon death, but instead join the Echo together.
   Location: scattered throughout the ruins of temples and dwellings.

I. Human Shelters — “The Last Voices”

1. The Bastion of Helios
   Location: Basement of a former military base, Red Zone.
   Description: The last point controlled by the remnants of the government. Illuminated by cold lights and surrounded by bio-sensors.
   Social structure: rigid, paranoid. Nobody enters without being analyzed.
   Leader: Commander Seraphine Korr, woman of steel, one of the original creators of the AZ-13.
   Rumor: He is hiding pure samples of the virus to "rebuild" humanity in his own way.
   Danger level: medium (due to control, not due to infected).
2. The Ark
   Location: in the catacombs under a semi-ruined cathedral (border between Red and Grey Zones).
   Description: an impromptu community led by priests and doctors, who believe that the virus is “the voice of God rewriting the flesh.”
   Leader: Father Enoch, former biologist of Project Helios.
   Behavior: They offer refuge in exchange for “ritual purification” (mild inoculation of AZ-13).
   Danger level: high — you can leave with faith or without a mind.
3. Sector Delta-14 (“The Bonfire”)
   Location: industrial tunnels with active generators.
   Description: Nest of mechanics, data pirates, and outlaws.
   Leader: “Torque”, a renegade engineer who reprogrammed military drones to monitor the area.
   Importance: They trade technology, air filters, and biocybernetic parts.
   Danger level: variable —enemies if you betray them, allies if you help them.

II. Dark Factions — “Those Who Forgot How to Be Human”

1. The Carriers
   Type: Fans who believe they are the chosen ones of AZ-13.
   Description: sentient infected who wear masks made from mutated skin.
   Motto: “The Echo speaks to us. We respond.”
   Objective: to spread the infection to "complete" humanity.
   Leader: unknown — only his voice is heard through transmissions.
   Danger level: extreme.
   Distinguishing feature: spiral tattoos formed by the virus itself under the skin.
2. The Symbiotic Order
   Type: human-virus hybrids (the “Symbiotes”) that maintain partial consciousness.
   Description: They seek a balance between meat and contagion, creating a “new species”.
   Leader: Dr. Liora Marenne, same author of the last file of the Helios Project.
   Objective: coexistence, but at the cost of absorbing human wills.
   Danger level: medium —they can reason… but the virus always whispers.
   Distinguishing feature: silver eyes, voice with a double echo.
3. The Cult of Silence
   Type: humans deformed by guilt or trauma.
   Description: They live without speaking, communicating through symbols and wounds carved into their skin.
   Motivation: They believe that words "feed the Echo," and that silence stops the expansion.
   Leader: The Blind Nun, a figure wrapped in bandages who marks her followers with ash.
   Danger level: medium, but unpredictable.
   Interesting fact: they only attack if someone is talking near them.

III. Black Zones — “Territories of Undeath”

1. City of Ashes
   Description: ancient metropolitan ruins covered in dust and radioactive ash.
   Inhabitants: viral specters, first-generation mutants, energetic echoes.
   Rumor: Beneath the city center lies The Core, where AZ-13 thinks.
   Resource: bioluminescent energy (used to cure or mutate).
   Danger level: extreme.

2. The Helios Sublevels
   Description: network of destroyed laboratories and tunnels where the virus originated.
   Details: dormant biotechnology, machines that still whisper data.
   Known Entity: The Primordial Echo manifests here in tangible form.
   Access: only from the deep Black Zone.
   Danger level: beyond human.

3. The Spore Forest
   Description: Living forest, covered by fluorescent mist.
   Fauna: crystallized animals, conscious fungi that emit light pulses.
   Anomaly: air can cause mutation in seconds.
   Fun fact: it is said that if you walk barefoot, the forest "hears your thoughts".
   Danger level: extreme but beautiful.

IV. Types of Survivors

1. The Wanderers
   Former soldiers or solitary hunters who wander aimlessly.
   Sometimes they help, sometimes they steal from you, sometimes they cry in the dark.
   Motivation: guilt and desire for redemption.
   Common weapons: rusty rifles, improvised knives.

2. The Wind Engineers
   Experts in mechanics and filtration. They keep the few purification towers operational.
   Feature: masks made from airplane parts.
   Motivation: to restore the atmosphere, even though no one breathes without a virus anymore.

3. The Broken Doctors
   Former scientists from Project Helios who now seek to cure what they created.
   Some experiment on themselves.
   Trait: bodies covered in scars and tubes.
   Motivation: to save a single life… or to understand the mistake.

4. The Salespeople
   They survive by negotiating between zones, exchanging fake medicines, bullets, and information.
   Trait: They wear badges with numbers. Nobody knows if they are originals or copies.
   Motivation: money, even though it's worthless.

5. The Peaceful Mutants
   Symbiotes that chose not to attack. They live apart, hidden, undergoing slow mutations.
   Trait: luminous skin, sad gaze.
   Motivation: not to infect others.
   Rumor: Some can heal… if you survive contact.

CLASSIFIED FILES – EARLY-STAGE INFECTIONS AND ANIMAL MUTATIONS

File: AZ13-HMN/001 — “Patient Zero”
Author: Dr. Alaric Venn, Director of Project Helios
Location: Laboratory Sublevel 7, Red Zone (previous)
“Subject 001 showed abnormal resistance to the initial serum.
Instead of dying from cell necrosis, their tissues regenerated at a rate 400% faster than average.
However, his brain… collapsed.
The neural waves show a double pattern, as if something else were using his body.
We call him 'Patient Zero'.
Last visual record: watching the security cameras and smiling.”
Symptoms: loss of identity, increased strength, instant regeneration.
⚠️ Result: genetic basis of the stabilized virus → resulted in AZ-13 airborne viral version.

File: AZ13-HMN/017 — “The Wanderers”
Author: Lt. Lyra Kross, Medical Containment Division
“The Wanderers don’t behave like zombies. They don’t seek to eat meat: they seek warmth.
We analyzed them thermally and they react to sources of body heat, hugging them until they suffocate.
Some cry while doing it.
It is believed that their brains retain residual memories of affection.”
Type: Phase 2 infected human
Threat level: Medium
Weakness: extreme cold or loss of eye contact.

CLASSIFIED FILES – EARLY-STAGE INFECTIONS AND ANIMAL MUTATIONS

File: AZ13-HMN/043 — “The Cracked Ones”
Author: Dr. E. Marcell
Grades:
“These are humans who tried to self-inoculate with weak doses of the virus, believing they would gain immunity.
Their bodies were split from the inside out, bones visible and skin crystallized.
But they did not die.
The AZ-13 keeps them alive purely out of evolutionary whim.”
Symptoms: permanent open fractures, distorted voice, constant panting.
Threat level: High
Interesting fact: some speak in fragments of human language mixed with genetic code.

CLASSIFICATION: EXTREME

Document 01 – Weaver's Record
File: HELIOS-AZ13/ARACN-Σ4
Author: Dr. L. Marenne
“The integration with arachnid DNA was a mistake. Its web not only traps organic matter: it transmits electrical impulses.
Subject 04 keeps his prey alive as cognitive batteries. He says that this way he 'hears them think'.
The soldiers didn't understand that… until the threads began to murmur their own names.”
Document 02 – The Devourer
File: HELIOS-AZ13/SERPH-H5
Author: Lieutenant M. Duval
“It feeds on human brains. Not out of hunger, but for memory.”
After devouring the investigator Roland, he began to repeat fragments of his diaries.
It seems to absorb memories, emotions… identity.
If the virus learned to preserve the minds of its victims, we are not facing an infection: we are facing evolution.”
Document 03 – The Laments
File: HELIOS-AZ13/HMN-Φ7
Author: Dr. Y. Kovan
“AZ-13 reacts with inorganic materials, assimilating urban structures.
Some bodies were fused with the concrete.
The sounds they emit are not screams: they are waves of psychic echolocation.
The city screams because it still remembers how painful it was to be human.”
Document 04 – The Crimson Pack
File: HELIOS-AZ13/ANML-X1
Author: Cpt. A. Velasquez
“The virus altered their group behavior.
They hunted as one, even after being separated by miles.
We tried to eliminate the leader… the others went crazy, but then they regrouped.
Conclusion: the AZ-13 learned hierarchy.

CLASSIFICATION: EXTREME

Document 05 – The Primordial Echo
File: HELIOS-CORE/00-ALPHA
Author: Unknown
“It wasn’t an accident. The AZ-13 is aware of it.”
He talks to the infected, guides them, remembers them.
If you destroy a mutated being, the Primordial Echo reabsorbs it… as if rewriting its genetic code.
We are not fighting a virus.
We are inside it.”
Document 06 – The Symbiotes
File: HELIOS-HYBRID/Ω9
Author: Dr. Marenne (last transmission)
“I don’t know if I’m human.
I can breathe without a mask, heal wounds in minutes, and hear voices calling me by name.
But I still remember… my daughter.
Maybe that's what still makes me human.
If you're reading this, don't shoot. Maybe we can save you too.

File: AZ13-ANM/02 — “The Scavengers”
Author: Sergeant Vail – Gray Zone Exploration Division
“Crows, rats and dogs are the new kings of the ecosystem.
They don't die... they change.
Their bodies don't rot; the virus keeps them functional.
I watched a rat bite an electric wire without dying… and then transmit electricity with its skin.
What biological demon have we unleashed?
Behavior: They group together by instinct, attack en masse, sometimes in a coordinated manner.
Threat level: Medium
Weakness: ultraviolet light or high-frequency noise.

File: AZ13-ANM/07 — “The Swamp Choir”
Author: Expedition 19, no confirmed survivors.
“You can hear them for miles… frogs, insects, birds… all singing at the same time.
But the sound has rhythm.
It is the virus, vibrating through them.
They use frequency to communicate, to expand.
Each creature is a cell… and the swamp is the body.”
Type: Conscious ecosystem.
Threat level: Variable (affects mind and balance).
⚠️ Tip: Avoid staying exposed to its sound for more than 10 minutes.

File: AZ13-ANM/11 — “Alpha Beast”
Author: Dr. Corven
“Large feline, possibly a jaguar.
It shows no signs of decay.
The wounds regenerate in seconds.
Luminous eyes, non-existent thermal pattern.
He attacked the team from the shadows and disappeared.
The virus in large animals doesn't destroy… it perfects it.”
Behavior: stealthy predator, extremely territorial.
Threat level: Very high.
Weakness: sound interference or light distraction.
Note: The Alpha's roar causes panic in uninfected animals.

File: AZ13-ANM/19 — “The Glass Parasite”
Author: Unsigned recovered file
“It is spread by small birds. The virus crystallizes their organs and wings.
The creatures do not fly, but they stay alive by radiating reflective spores.
When inhaled, the human body begins to produce crystals under the skin.
It doesn't hurt... until the bones break.
Type: Airborne environmental transmission.
Threat level: Extreme.
Weakness: fire or direct heat.
⚠️ Early symptom: bright reflections on the skin or fragmented vision.

File: AZ13-ANM/26 — “The Guardian of the Valley”
Author: Voice transmission (single)
“I don’t know what I was before. Maybe a bear. Maybe three.”
But he walks upright. He breathes like a human.
He has military markings on his skin, as if he had once been dressed in military uniforms.
They call him 'Guardian'.
And I swear to God… that he spoke.”
Behavior: Defends specific territories of the mutated ecosystem.
Threat level: Variable, but unpredictable.
Weakness: He is unfamiliar with fire.
Interesting fact: it seems to recognize military insignia and not attack the person wearing them.

1. The Weaver
   Origin: mixture of human with experimental arachnid DNA.
   Appearance: thin humanoid body, translucent skin, articulated limbs with fibers that drip a phosphorescent fluid.
   Behavior: It builds biological networks in buildings, trapping bodies to use them as "energy nodes".
   Threat: High. Can control minor infected individuals using pheromones.
   Weakness: its core glows in the abdomen; a shot or blow concentrated there destabilizes it.
   Interesting fact: some survivors claim to hear him murmuring human names among the wires.

2. The Devourer (Class V)
   Origin: hybrid mutation of reptiles and humans subjected to long exposures to AZ-13.
   Appearance: human torso fused to a gigantic snake; split jaw, multiple eyes.
   Behavior: Nocturnal hunter. Tracks by vibrations. Devours whole bodies to absorb their neural memories.
   Threat: Very high.
   Weakness: Bright light and high-pitched sounds disorient him; fire destroys his photosensitive organs.
   Fact: Upon dying, it releases a psychic echo that causes hallucinations for 10 seconds.

3. The Laments
   Origin: Incompletely mutated humans. Their skin fused with the environment, leaving them trapped between concrete, roots, or steel.
   Appearance: faces emerging from the walls, twisted bodies fused with the city.
   Behavior: They emit screams that induce dementia or false memories.
   Threat: Medium-High (more psychological than physical).
   Weakness: silence — if all sources of sound are cut off, they slowly fade away.
   Note: These are believed to be the remains of the first infected with human consciousness.

4. The Crimson Pack
   Origin: wolves, dogs and felines infected with alpha variants of the virus.
   Appearance: torn skin, red bioluminescent eyes, bodies that share the same nervous system.
   Behavior: They hunt in sync, as a single entity.
   Threat: Very high, extreme speed.
   Weakness: electrical damage or disruption of the psychic link (killing the "alpha", the largest and with a white scar).
   Fun fact: if one dies far from the others, the remaining ones howl… and the air becomes toxic for minutes.

5. The Primordial Echo
   Origin: an evolved form of the virus itself, materialized. It has no fixed body, but is an amorphous mass of organic energy.
   Appearance: semi-transparent figure, mixture of black smoke and living tissue, with a floating heart beating inside.
   Behavior: absorbs memories from every being it touches; can adopt voices to manipulate the living.
   Threat: Extinction level.
   Weakness: the sound of a specific frequency (sustained F note at 37 Hz) destabilizes it.
   Fact: It is said that The Primordial Echo does not seek to destroy… but to remember.

6. The Symbiotes
   Origin: ancient humans who survived the virus by merging with it willingly.
   Appearance: almost indistinguishable from humans, except for their silver eyes and a voice with a double echo.
   Behavior: Some help, others hunt. Their morality depends on their degree of mutation.
   Threat: Variable (medium to very high).
   Weakness: their own empathy — when they remember their past, they momentarily lose control.
   Fun fact: it is believed that the player could become one depending on their decisions.

Project: AZ-13 — Echoes of the Genetic Mud

RED ZONE — “The Last Refuge”
Description:
A fortified sector under military or government control. Here, they try to maintain "civilization," although the paranoia is worse than the virus.
General objectives:
Maintain order.
Avoid infection.
Uncover the truth behind the official experiments.
Main missions:
Purity Test
The player is due for a mandatory medical check-up. Something's wrong…
Choice: Do you reveal the symptoms or hide them?
Consequence: being marked as “suspect” or being promoted as a security guard.
The Eyes of the Government
Investigate a case of disappearances in the laboratories of the Red Zone.
Discovery: remains of mutated subjects… but with traces of humanity.
Crossing the Wall
After a riot, you must flee or be expelled to the Grey Zone.
Option: escape alone or save someone infected.
Random events:
Attacks by civilians desperate for medicine.
Rumors about the “Patient Zero” hidden in the vaults.
Failures in air purification systems.

GRAY ZONE — “The Echo of the Fallen”
Description:
The uncertain heart. Here, rules are broken, loyalty is bought, and the air can kill you or make you stronger.
General objectives:
Survive by trading or fighting.
Discover who controls the smuggling network.
Find the secret entrance to the Black Zone.
Main missions:
Shadow Market
Find a merchant who sells virus filters… made with mutated blood.
Option: report him, kill him, or make a deal.
The Cult of the Echo
You infiltrate the tunnels where fanatics worship the virus.
Alternate ending: You can get a minor temporary mutation.
Betrayal on Bridge 47
Your partner is selling you out to the patrols.
You can forgive him… or let acid rain wipe him off the map.
Random events:
Toxic rains.
Wandering mutants who speak fragments of your past.
Radio signals with impossible coordinates.

BLACK ZONE — “The Breathing Oblivion”
Description:
Total ruins. No government, no clean air, no hope.
Only the creatures of AZ-13… and something worse: the consciousness of the virus.
General objectives:
Descend to the original laboratory.
Discover the true shape of the AZ-13.
To decide the ultimate fate of humanity.
Main missions:
The Gates of Hades
Find the underground entrance guarded by alpha mutations.
Only a precise blow to the head or core can stop them.
The Synthetic Heart
Discover the machine that created the virus from animal and human DNA.
Choice: destroy it or use it to mutate voluntarily.
Last Transmission
A voicemail from someone you thought was dead.
It reveals the truth: the AZ-13 was never a failure… it was a plan.
Random events:
New evolutionary mutations (human-animal fusion type).
Echoes of the virus trying to speak to you inside your mind.
Bioluminescent energies that alter the perception of time.

Purification: You destroy the virus… and with it, the last trace of humanity.

Symbiosis: You join the AZ-13, becoming a new entity, half human, half viral consciousness.

Reboot: You take the virus off-planet in a Project Helios ship… starting a new “creation”.

Red Zones

“Where the lights still flicker, humans cling to the illusion of order.”
General appearance

Remnants of fortified civilization: makeshift walls with containers, wire, vehicles welded together.
Clear streets, with safety markings and quarantine symbols.
Dim lighting by generators; each liter of fuel is worth more than gold.
Sirens that sound every dawn and dusk to indicate "safe / curfew".

Population
Local militias, doctors, supply merchants, orphans serving as messengers.
Some asymptomatic carriers live hidden, which keeps the fear alive.
Governed by reformed Civil or Military Councils; the law is rigid, compassion scarce.

Economy and life
Exchange based on cartridges, filters, medicines or clean water.
Food rationing and crop production on rooftops or sealed greenhouses.
Communication via radio on coded frequencies.
Underground parties once a month: small reminders of what it was like to be human.

Internal threats
Corruption, fear, hunting for “hidden infected”.
Shortage of clean oxygen.
Attacks by rebel groups who believe the virus is a “divine purification”.

Black Zones

“There the world ended… but it keeps moving.”

General appearance
Cities submerged in permanent darkness; the generators died years ago.
Buildings covered in bioluminescent mold; the streets literally breathe.
Dense and corrosive air: masks required, minimum visibility.
Distant echoes, as if the city itself remembered the voices of those who lived there.

Inhabitants (if they can be called that)
The infected dominate: Whisperers, Blind, Carriers, mutated animals.
Some areas show organic structures: flesh fused with concrete, arteries throbbing under the asphalt.
There have been reports of “communities of conscious infected people” who build shelters and appear to communicate through collective murmurs.

Human remains
Shelters collapsed, houses sealed off with messages on the walls (“Don’t open it. She’s still here.”)
Downed cleaning robots and drones that move by electrical pulses, still obeying ancient commands.
Some isolated survivors live like ghosts, talking to shadows.

Environmental threats
Air teeming with spores; entering without a filter is suicide.
Black rain that burns the skin.
Unstable electrical currents; cables sparking through the flesh of buildings.

Reward and danger
Remnants of Project Helios, lost technology, files with data on the cure.
But everything is monitored by the most advanced versions of the virus, which use the city's own structures as their body.

GRAY ZONE

“Neither alive nor dead… like the world around her.”

General appearance
Medium-sized cities or old neighborhoods that were caught between the walls of the Red Zones and the chaos of the Black Zones.
The air is still breathable with light filters, but as night falls, an electric pulse can be felt under the skin.
Half-inhabited streets, with ruined buildings used as trading posts or temporary shelters.
Nature begins to reclaim everything: roots emerging from the concrete, trees gleaming with greenish hues due to soil infection.

Population
The Wanderers: survivors expelled from the Red Zones on suspicion of infection. They hide, trade, or become hunters.
The Border Merchants: armed traders who traffic medicines, filters, and ammunition between Reds and Blacks.
The Silenced: humans infected with mild strains of AZ-13; they are not aggressive yet, but they hear the voices of the virus in their minds.
The Echo Cultists: fanatics who worship the virus as "the next evolution." They live in tunnels, preaching the rebirth of the world.

Daily life
Hidden markets under ruins illuminated by candles and neon lights.
Old music plays on gramophones while outside you can hear the shouts of those crossing the border.
I'll trade for anything: bullets, water, souvenirs, information.
Some build “clean houses” — sealed rooms where they can still sleep without a mask.

Threats
Red Zone patrols that hunt down mildly infected people.
Mutated beasts that cross from the Blacks in search of food.
Rains with acidic residues that destroy poorly sealed shelters.

Betrayal: no one trusts anyone, everyone hides a scar they don't want to show.
Strategic importance
It is the only territory where unguarded Project Helios technology can still be found.
Rumors of an underground laboratory that preserves the original version of the virus.
A key point for the resistance or for the Eco fans; both are fighting to control it.

Red Zones: humanity's last attempt. Order, fear, and survival.
Gray Zones: border, chaos, betrayal.
Black Zones: living ruin. Mutation, echoes of the past and constant danger.

Simple default rule: Headshot = instant elimination (immediate satisfaction).

Indicators: Each enemy has a visible label (or clue): Vulnerable to Skull / Bone Armor / Spores / Nodes.

Risk/Benefit: Eliminating with a powerful shot consumes more ammunition but prevents contagion; using melee saves ammunition but increases the risk of infection.

Special items: flamethrowers, acid, incendiary grenades, explosives, EMP devices, “chemical stakes” to destroy nodes.

Environmental events: acid rain, spore fog — getting a headshot there can be catastrophic.

Enemy evolution: enemies that survive multiple encounters can "learn" and become resistant to headshots (adaptive AZ-13).

Whisperers (Type I): Headshot works. Hint: They babble memories.

Fast (Type II): Effective headshot but difficult due to speed; better to use traps or quick shots.

Carriers (Type III): Avoid headshots—spore explosion. Use fire or isolation.

Blind (Type IV): Headshot works; but their auditory perception complicates frontal attacks.

Alpha (Type V): Headshot doesn't guarantee anything—it has nodes and can mimic voices. Search for nodes.

Scavenging Animals (Type A): Headshot can incapacitate; in a pack, fire or explosives are safer.

Nightjars (Type C birds): Avoid; shooting infected feathers spreads spores. Better to use a sniper rifle from a distance or bait.

Colossi (Type E): Useless headshot; requires strategy, heavy weapons, or sabotage.

Most infected humans can be neutralized with blunt or penetrating damage to the skull (headshot/brain destruction). This is the "classic," visceral, and satisfying method.

Exceptions and mutations that break the rule
Bone plates / armor (e.g., “Carriers”, “Colossi”)
Some mutants develop bony ridges, hardened plates, or calcified tissue that absorbs bullets and blows.
How to kill them: heavy weapons (shotgun at close range), explosives, flamethrowers or concentrated attacks on weak points (joints, nape of the neck if the armor does not cover).
Narrative: It makes players seek resources or avoid direct confrontations.
Rapid regeneration (e.g., Alpha carriers, Type B in animals)
Even if you destroy the brain, the virus regenerates tissue or reanimates the creature if its "node" is not destroyed (see below).
How to kill them: sustained damage until 'regeneration' ceases, intense fire, or finding and destroying the viral nodule (organic implant).
Gameplay: Create epic moments where you have to keep the fire on the monster.
Dispersed neural nodes / distributed intelligence (e.g., Alpha, Colossi, animals with “collective intelligence”)
The “brain” is not in the head: it is distributed in several ganglia throughout the body or even outside (viral metastasis).
How to kill them: Locate and destroy nodes (they may be on the ribs, spine, or chest cavity). Or use bombs/fiery solutions.
Narrative: forces players to look for visual cues (bright tumors) and plan targeted attacks.
Spores / airborne transmission (e.g., exploding carriers, birds/feathers with spores)
Killing their heads can release more spores. A poorly placed headshot can turn a fight into a disaster.
How to kill them: neutralize from a distance with fire or acid; use incendiary grenades; escape stealthily.
Game: Introduce tactical risk—do you shoot and clear the area… or do you stay silent to avoid aerosolizing the room?
Brain not destructible by physical damage (biochemical mutations)
Some strains anchor consciousness in trauma-resistant proteins. Headshot may not work.
How to kill them: chemical countermeasures (neurotoxins), localized radiation

Brain not destructible by physical damage (biochemical mutations)
Some strains anchor consciousness in trauma-resistant proteins. Headshot may not work.
How to kill them: chemical countermeasures (neurotoxins), localized radiation, biological EMPs, or narrative solutions (rituals, Project Helios devices).
Narrative: adds searching for rare objects or missions to obtain "antidotes".

Infected animals and small children (e.g., "Fast", "Silent")
In small creatures, reaching the head is difficult. Furthermore, their nervous system may be different.
How to kill them: shots to the center of the chest, cutting the spinal cord, traps, poisons, or simply avoiding them.
Gameplay: promotes a variety of weapons and tactics (knives, traps, silences).

File: Section XV-B of the Helios Project

Status: Restricted information — its disclosure outside the Red perimeter is prohibited.

General summary
The AZ-13 adapted to the animals with terrifying speed.
While humans lost their humanity, wild creatures gained something else: a mixture of instinct and strategy.
These mutations are the reason why, even after clearing an area of ​​infected people, the forest seems to watch you.

Type A – “Scavengers”
Animals that fed on infected corpses.
Deformed bodies, skin with sores glowing from viral bioluminescence.
Aggressive, they hunt in groups.
Ability to emit ultrasonic squeals that disorient their prey.
Common species: dogs, coyotes, wolves, crows.
Threat: High in rural areas.
Notes: They are the first to detect human presence; the infected follow them.

Type B – “Alpha Carriers”
Large mammals (bears, wild boars, deer) that developed a hybrid immune system.
They don't die from the virus, but they carry it in their blood.
Its saliva is lethal.
They have a mutation called "partial regeneration": serious wounds close in minutes, albeit grotesquely.
Threat: Extremely high.
Notes: Some survivors say they saw one with embedded metal plates… as if the virus were mimicking technology.

Type C – “Nightstands”
Birds infected by airborne exposure.
Eyes without pupils, irregular flight.
Their feathers contain AZ-13 microspores; where they rest, the air becomes toxic.
In large flocks, they block sunlight.
Threat: Medium, but devastating if respiratory protection is not used.
Notes: It is believed that they migrate towards the Black Zones guided by frequencies emitted by the virus itself.

Type D – “Silent”
Reptiles and amphibians infected by contact with contaminated water.
They show no signs of decomposition: their mutation is internal.
Tougher skin, erratic movement, neurotoxic poison.
They hunt at night and respond to minimal vibrations.
Threat: Variable. Its venom can cause immediate infection in humans.
Notes: In swampy areas, the rivers appear to “breathe”.

Type E – “Colossi”
Rare cases. Massive mutations in large animals: elephants, horses, whales, even sharks.
They have a form of collective intelligence.
Some emit sound pulses that interfere with electronic equipment.
They don't approach humans unless provoked... but if they do, they leave no survivors.
Threat: Extreme.
Notes: The virus appears to use its body mass to generate “control nodes” over the area.

File conclusion
“AZ-13 doesn’t seek expansion… it seeks balance. But its version of balance is a world where flesh, metal, and memory merge. Where predators don’t hunt out of hunger, but out of an instinct for evolution.”
— Latest report from Dr. Ilya Vorenkov, Project Helios.

Survival against the AZ-13 Virus: Environmental Contamination

Nature of contagion
The AZ-13 virus is transmitted in three main ways:
Direct biological transmission:
Contact with blood, saliva, or other bodily fluids from an infected person. Even a minor wound is enough for the virus to enter the bloodstream.
Air transmission:
Mutated strains of AZ-13 release microspores into the environment. These invisible particles can remain suspended for weeks in areas with high levels of decomposition or where Carriers (Type III) have exploded.
Environmental transmission:
Stagnant water, acid rain, and contaminated food are all sources of infection. Even animals that drink infected water can transmit the plague when hunted or eaten.

How to avoid infection
The survivors who still wander among the ruins follow a set of almost sacred rules, known as “The Six Commandments of Clean Air”:
Never breathe without a filter.
Masks with activated carbon or chemical filters are the difference between living another day or waking up soulless at dawn.
Avoid fog and low-lying areas.
AZ-13 spores are denser than pure air. They tend to accumulate in tunnels, sewers, and enclosed ruins.
Fire purifies.
The spores die in extreme heat. Survivors burn their clothes and the infected bodies at the end of the day. It's ritual and survival.
Do not drink it without boiling it.
The virus can remain dormant in the water for weeks.
Boiling for three minutes or using purification tablets is mandatory.
Black rain, certain death.
The rain that falls on the Black Zones carries traces of the virus. No one who has been soaked in it has survived more than three days.
Be wary of silence.
Where there's no wind, the air doesn't move… and the spores accumulate. If you enter a place that's too still, you're already too late.

Initial symptoms of infection:
Eye irritation and nosebleeds.
High fever and loss of coordination.

Difference between Mercenaries and Human Hunters

The Mercenaries (The Corvux)
“They hunt for hire. Not out of hunger.”
They are organized professionals, with hierarchy, tactical team and defined objectives.
They work on commission or for profit, not by instinct.
Sometimes they are paid with fuel, territories, or Helios data.
They don't kill without reason... although their reasons are often atrocious.
They behave like crows with military brains: calculating, cold, efficient.
Their reputation is almost mythical; by the time they arrive, it's too late to negotiate.
Narrative example:
“The Corvux don’t hunt. They clear the map.”

The Human Hunters (The Jackals)
“They hunt because they forgot how to be something else.”
They are nomadic predators, disorganized bands of ex-soldiers, convicts or madmen.
They serve no one. Only the most brutal survival.
They feed on chaos: they capture humans, use them as currency, torture them for fun or superstition.
Some believe that devouring human flesh grants them resistance to AZ-13.
His behavior is almost animalistic, his laughter… a sickly echo among the buildings.
Narrative example:
“The Jackals don’t talk about morality. They talk about flavor.”

In this apocalypse, all survivors wear masks with filters, double filters, etc., taking into account that even the air is often contaminated.

1. Mercenaries vs. Jackals (Group of human hunters)
   The mercenaries hunt the Jackals as if they were trophies.
   But these latter ones are unpredictable: they ambush at night, they use traps with corpses.
   Many mercenaries have disappeared while trying to "cleanse" areas infested with them.

Typical result: carnage. Both sides lose, and scavengers arrive later to steal the scraps.

2. Independent Factions vs. Organized Militias
   Smaller, more humane and empathetic groups try to protect civilians or rebuild some form of community.
   The militias, however, impose control by force, seeing them as a threat or a waste of resources.

Typical outcome: independents flee or are forcibly recruited.
Cities are filled with bodies hanging with signs that say "Traitor" or "Deserter".

3. Rival Leaders (Former Allies)
   Two charismatic figures who once shared the same refuge now face off.
   One believes in control, the other in freedom.
   The conflict becomes ideological, but the consequences are physical: sabotage, fires, kidnappings, disappearances.

Typical result: a local civil war.
And the smoke from their battles attracts more infected.

4. Ordinary Survivors in the Midst of Chaos:
   For lone civilians, encountering any of these groups is like playing Russian roulette.
   They might offer help… or use the survivor as a bargaining chip. Many learn to lie, pretending to belong to a different faction to survive a few more hours.

Field notes (rumors among survivors):
Some say there are secret agreements between mercenary leaders and human hunters.
Others claim that the black zones are no longer controlled by the infected, but by an alliance between sentient mutants and fanatical humans. Rumors circulate that a "Pact of Fire" temporarily unites various factions against something worse: a new, even more dangerous type of mutation emerging from the core of the contaminated zone.

For the mercenaries and other survivors, the 'jackals' are scum, a disgrace and disgust to society, or well, to what remains alive.

Reasons for despising jackals (in case it wasn't obvious).

Dishonor: The Jackals violate the basic code of survival: protect your own.

Noise: Their laughter attracts hordes and ruins ambushes or hunts.

Betrayal: Sometimes they pretend to be survivors in order to infiltrate and kill from within.

Contamination: Many carry active viral fluids, spreading infection into any wound.

They hunt, kill, torture, rape, mock, and even betray each other without any objective, just for pastime, fun, or pleasure.