Regressed with Omnipotent AI on Zombie Apocalypse

Zack crossed his arms, processing the information. "A close relative? Unlikely. Almost every species this similar to humans has already been cataloged. A hidden species of this level wouldn't go unnoticed."

"Then the more plausible answer is infection," Ego concluded. "This banshee could be a mutated human infected by Zeta disease."

Zack shook his head, unconvinced. "If this thing started as human, then what about the ones in the ocean? Abyss Crawlers look almost identical to this creature, aside from living in saltwater instead of freshwater."

Ego immediately countered, "Impossible, sir. Satellite imagery from the Sea alone shows numbers of Abyss Crawlers beyond measure. Adding the reports from across the globe, their population easily exceeds that of humanity before the apocalypse. That scale rules out human origin."

Zack exhaled sharply. "Whether it's human or not, the real issue is clear. The Abyss Crawlers aren't isolated freaks of nature. If there's something like the banshee in freshwater, the oceans could be teeming with more—and possibly even stronger—variants."

Before Zack could continue, Ego interrupted. "Sir, the sequencing is complete. There's something unusual about this banshee's strain of Zeta."

Zack glanced at the monitor. "Unusual how?"

"It's ancient," Ego said, his tone heavy with significance. "Far older than any Zeta strain we've encountered before."

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Zack frowned. "Ancient? The original disease predated humanity itself. What makes this one special?"