Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Do you guys think... if AI keeps evolving, will it eventually replace humanity?” a short, chubby young man asked.

The girl next to him replied, ”I think it’s very possible. At headquarters, there was even a case where an AI tried to deceive researchers to gain more access.”

”Yikes...” The group shuddered at the thought.

In this post-apocalyptic world, they realized that the ultimate rulers of the planet might not be humans, zombies, or mutated beasts—it could very well be artificial intelligence.

The girl continued, ”And headquarters has already started developing third-generation cyborgs. They’re supposedly using liquid metal, which massively enhances their self-repair capabilities. They can even change their body shape at will.”

”That’s... honestly more perfect than humans!” someone in the group exclaimed in awe.

”Heh heh...”

The chubby young man chuckled and said, ”If you ask me, liquid metal would make a great sex doll. You could customize the body however you want.”

”Eww, dude, seriously? That’s disgusting,” someone groaned, while the others rolled their eyes. Laughing and joking, they continued walking toward the mutated white tiger in the distance.

But as they got closer, the girl suddenly frowned. She was a psychic Awakener, and it seemed like she had sensed something.

”Captain, there are zombies nearby!” she warned.

”What?” The young man’s expression turned serious.

”Over there!” The girl pointed in a specific direction. With her abilities, she couldn’t detect Ethan, but she had picked up on Big Ears instead.

Hearing this, the group immediately turned their attention toward the wrecked vehicles.

”Shit! Boss, we’ve been spotted by humans—” Big Ears started to say, but when he turned his head, he realized Ethan’s figure had already disappeared!

”Goddammit!” Big Ears cursed under his breath, suddenly feeling a wave of panic.

At that moment, the cyborg’s cold, mechanical voice rang out: ”Scanning... Evolution level: B-class. Estimated combat power: 50.”

”Hah! Just a weak-ass zombie with a combat power of 50...” The young man relaxed visibly after hearing the analysis.

The chubby guy chimed in, ”Don’t worry. There aren’t any powerful zombie kings in this area. If there were, we wouldn’t be seeing mutated white tigers roaming around.”

”Yeah, that’s true. If this were one of those dangerous five-star zombie nests, forget the white tiger—even a mutated T-Rex would get torn apart,” the girl agreed with a nod.

Facing Big Ears, the group let their guard down. A B-class zombie with such low combat power wasn’t even worth worrying about—they could handle it easily.

”Alright, let’s just treat this as a little bonus,” the young man said, his gaze sharpening as he prepared to attack.

Big Ears was growing more and more frantic. ”Guys, get over here and help me out!” he shouted.

At his command, a series of guttural growls echoed from the darkness behind him. His elite underlings were responding to the call.

One by one, terrifying faces emerged from the shadows. Some leaped onto the wrecked vehicles, while others climbed along the walls, their movements fierce and menacing.

”Still not a big deal...” The young man leading the group remained calm.

Even surrounded by these zombies, as long as there wasn’t a powerful zombie king among them, they were confident they could fight their way out.

”Get ready for battle!” the young man ordered, his energy flaring up around him.

”Wait a second!” The girl suddenly called out, her brow furrowing even deeper.

”Huh? What now?” The group turned to her, puzzled.

But the girl’s expression had grown incredibly grim, her face pale with an overwhelming sense of dread. A suffocating feeling of danger washed over her, making her heart pound wildly. It was as if death itself was looming over her.

”There’s... something else nearby,” she said, her voice trembling.

”Where?” The five men, seeing how serious she was, immediately tensed up, scanning their surroundings.

The girl clenched her teeth, her psychic energy spreading out as she tried to pinpoint the source. Suddenly, her eyes widened in sheer terror.

”He’s right—”

Before she could finish her sentence, her body froze. Her mouth hung open, but no sound came out.

A tall, slender figure materialized behind her, as if emerging from thin air.

Without hesitation, the figure reached out, plunging a hand into her skull and pulling out a glowing crystal core.

”You guessed right. Your reward is death,” Ethan said coldly.

The girl’s lifeless body crumpled at his feet, her wide-open eyes still frozen in terror, capturing the fear she felt in her final moments.

”Hiss...” The three young men gasped sharply, instinctively taking a few steps back.

The white shirt. The strikingly handsome face.

It couldn’t be...

A horrifying realization began to dawn on them, and their expressions turned to sheer panic.

”Who said there weren’t any powerful zombie kings around here?”

”FUCK! How was I supposed to know he’d show up here?!” The chubby young man’s teeth were chattering as he spoke.

The zombie king standing before them wasn’t just any ordinary threat. He was the nightmare of Genesis Biotech and the undisputed ruler of Los Angeles. His dominance was so absolute that he was on the verge of becoming the sole overlord of the region.

Among the remaining zombie nests in the city, there were few—if any—that could stand against him.

”We’re screwed. Running into him is a death sentence!” the tall man muttered, his voice trembling.

”Not necessarily!” The leader of the group narrowed his eyes and turned to look at the cyborg standing beside him.

This was their last hope.

The plan was simple: sacrifice the cyborg to buy some time. If it could hold off the zombie king for even a moment, they might have a slim chance to escape. Slim, but better than nothing.

However, the cyborg was already staring at Ethan, a green laser scanning across its eyes.

”Scanning... Evolution level: S. Combat power: MAX. Insufficient database. Unable to calculate... Simulating 10,000 combat scenarios... All result in failure.”

”Conclusion: Target is unbeatable. Initiating self-preservation protocol: retreat.”

The cyborg’s mechanical voice finished its analysis, and without hesitation, it began stepping backward. Then, in a flash, it turned and bolted, moving at an incredible speed.

”Wait, what?!”

The three men were dumbfounded, their faces plastered with expressions of disbelief.

What the hell just happened?

They had planned to use the cyborg as a decoy while they escaped, but it had taken off before they even had a chance to run.

The cyborg wasn’t just a mindless machine blindly following orders. It had an advanced AI capable of independent thought. And when it realized it couldn’t win, it made the logical choice: run for its life.

”Goddammit! I was just praising it earlier, but now it feels like it’s worse than the first generation!” the leader cursed through gritted teeth.

The chubby man added, ”This isn’t the time to complain! We need to run too!”

”RUN!” the leader shouted, spinning around to flee.

But in that instant, all three of them froze.

Their bodies felt as if they were trapped in quicksand, weighed down by an immense pressure. Their bones creaked and popped under the strain, and they couldn’t move a muscle.

Their speed was no match for the terrifying Domain of the Dead that Ethan had unleashed. The oppressive force spread out, enveloping them completely.

Ethan moved in a blur, his figure flashing past the three men. In his hand, a sleek tachi materialized, its blade gleaming ominously. With a single, fluid motion, he swung the blade in a wide arc.

Schlunk!

The razor-sharp tachi sliced cleanly through their skulls, as if cracking open watermelons. Their heads split open, and three glowing crystal cores popped out, spinning through the air.

With a casual wave of his hand, Ethan collected both the bodies and the crystal cores. Then, without a word, his figure vanished into the shadows, leaving no trace of his presence.

”This... this is what combat power MAX looks like?” Big Ears muttered, his eyes wide with awe. He was completely stunned.

Watching Ethan kill three Awakeners was like watching someone casually stroll through a park. It was effortless, almost lazy.

”Uh... boss, what does MAX even mean?” one of Big Ears’ elite underlings asked curiously.

”You idiot! I keep telling you your IQ is too low. How do you not know what MAX means?!” Big Ears snapped, glaring at him with disdain. After a moment, he sighed and explained, ”MAX... it means 50.”

...