Adam hovered the plane high above the clouds, holding Lyra's hands. He began infusing mana into her body. "Breathe, Lyra," Adam urged, his voice firm yet gentle. "Just like the times when I was in the unknown lands. Recall what we learned and breathe."
Lyra took a shaky breath, feeling the mana flow in and slowly disperse the excess from her system. She breathed again, her body's fatigue receding with each intake of mana. In that moment, Lyra unlocked mana vision with her human body. She recorded a new finding: through intense stress and a strong mana flow, the human body adapts, learning mana vision. She felt mana flowing throughout her body, learning to manipulate it just like Adam.
Adam carried Lyra to a seat so she could rest. Through their neuro-link, Lyra scanned their route and pointed towards their next refueling destination. The flight proceeded smoothly, the plane now on autopilot, thanks to the universal tool's hacking capabilities.
Looking around the interior, untouched by the tool's upgrades, it still felt lavish and comfortable. Adam dusted off a seat and finally rested his body. He looked at Azrael and Lyra, both sleeping soundly, and tried to fight off his own exhaustion. He thought about how to reclaim the artifact, knowing Vlad was the only one who might have answers.
Adam hoped Vlad had kept his promise to protect their civilization, yet he worried about humans turning into zombies upon death, potentially causing panic and destruction within the settlement. If the civilization was still intact, there was hope not only for them to save humanity from extinction but also to retrieve the artifact.
Lyra, noticing Adam's struggle, came to him and advised him to release control of the plane to rest. The universal tool wouldn't be able to hold its upgraded shape once Adam fell asleep. Lyra went to the cockpit, took manual control, and set the plane to autopilot. Adam released the upgrade made to the plane with the universal tool, and Lyra quickly regained control as the plane momentarily swerved before she brought it back on course.
She switched on autopilot again and returned to Adam. "Please rest," she urged. "Even with the little time we have, you need to be alert and prepared before reaching the next destination."
As Adam closed his eyes, Lyra gently kissed his forehead before returning to the cockpit. A short moment of peace settled over them during the flight.
Another Airport, Another Threat
Hours later, Lyra's alert roused Adam. "We're reaching our destination." Lyra scanned the airport below, revealing it was swarming with zombies, variants, and even evolved variants.
"So, how do we land?" Adam asked.
Lyra's reply was quick. "Not at the airport. We need to descend vertically at another location," she said, pointing to a clearing in a nearby forest with minimal zombie threat.
Adam donned his mana suit and upgraded the plane using the universal tool. Following Lyra's pinpointed landing spot, the plane slowly descended vertically into the forest.
"Both of us may need to go to collect the fuel," Lyra informed Adam. "Since Azrael is sound asleep, we can move quickly, and the plane will be safe, as there aren't any variants around."
Adam and Lyra exited the plane and closed the door, the universal tool's upgrade reverting and merging back with Adam. Lyra told Adam there was one evolved variant inside the airport building, while outside presented minimal threat from regular zombies and variants.
Adam moved quickly to the edge of the forest, overlooking the airport. Lyra provided the locations of all zombies and variants, and Adam expertly sniped each one to the ground. Adam moved forward quietly, Lyra trailing behind. He used the universal tool to create a tentacle arm, lifting both of them over the airport fence.
Adam moved steadily towards a passenger plane while Lyra remained on high alert, scanning the area. The evolved variant inside had not yet noticed them.
As Adam quickly merged the universal tool with the passenger plane's fuel tank, Lyra's voice cut through. "Adam, the evolved variant is missing!"
Before she could react further, the evolved variant was spotted sitting on the airport building's rooftop, casually watching them and eating chips. Adam finished absorbing the fuel and stood there with Lyra, both staring at the variant.
The variant, still munching, smiled and pointed behind them. Lyra's scan immediately showed multiple evolved variants closing in from the airport's edge. They were surrounded, and all of them were aware of Adam and Lyra's presence. The evolved variant on the rooftop laughed maniacally at their predicament.