Shulga made his way into the Zone shortly after its appearance, along with his friend named Leonid. Soon, both were severely wounded under unspecified circumstances. Leonid died, and Shulga was picked up by the members of the Duty group. He decided to stay with this group and by 2012, he had reached the rank of lt. colonel. After disabling the Brain Burner, Shulga and his squad were able to make their way to the Zone Center. They decided to take over the Yanov station as a base...