Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”...”Nathan and Sophia both fell silent at the same time.

Richard broke the quiet, saying, ”If no one can handle it, then log it into the Zombie King Archive and send it to HQ. Let the higher-ups figure it out.”

Genesis Biotech had something called the ”Zombie King Archive,” a collection of records on the most dangerous, unsolvable zombies with bizarre abilities. Any zombie that made it into this archive was essentially labeled as ”extremely dangerous”—highly evolved and incredibly powerful.

”Nathan, be extra careful for now and wait for HQ’s response. Even if you can’t take that zombie down, don’t let it keep evolving,” Richard warned.

”Yeah, yeah, got it,” Nathan nodded quickly, his tone a mix of nervousness and determination.

From the side, Sophia chimed in with her usual snark, ”Hah! Yeah, you better be careful. Who knows? One day you might just get wiped out by a zombie. When that happens, feel free to come running to us in San Bernardino.”

”You—!” Nathan’s face turned red with anger, his voice rising.

The two of them had always been at odds, classic workplace rivals who couldn’t go a day without bickering. Everyone else in the room was used to their constant back-and-forth by now.

After that, the rest of the team took turns reporting on the company’s current situation. As expected, the updates were all over the place—some had successfully hunted down Zombie Kings, while others had suffered devastating losses. In most cities, though, the pattern was clear: humanity was on the losing side.

The conclusion was obvious. As the apocalypse dragged on, the monsters were evolving faster and becoming more powerful.

...

Meanwhile, Ethan was holed up at home, living the good life. A few days later, the crystal core he’d been absorbing was finally depleted.

His body had grown even stronger, and his Domain of the Dead had made significant progress. Fully unleashed, its range now extended up to 2,000 feet, and the oppressive aura it emitted was even more overwhelming.

His underlings had also leveled up again. Thanks to this ”feast” and the added boost from basking in sunlight, the number of elite zombies under his command had skyrocketed. Over 5,000 new elites had joined his ranks, bringing his total to a staggering 15,000, even after accounting for casualties in battle.

This was a massive leap—an unprecedented 33% increase in his forces.

On top of that, the overall size of his Zombie Horde had grown to 60,000. Among them were a significant number of Aqua Zombies, which were highly skilled in underwater combat.

Ethan’s army was now a force to be reckoned with, brimming with powerful fighters and sheer numbers.

With Genesis Biotech and the nearby human shelters essentially shutting themselves off from the outside world, Los Angeles had been eerily quiet. For two straight weeks, nothing major had happened.

Occasionally, parasitic monsters would appear on the outskirts, lurking and observing the city, clearly still eyeing the Radiant Crystal. But their numbers were small and posed no real threat. Some of them even ended up as snacks for Laura, Bulldozer, and the others, who treated them like little appetizers to pass the time.

During this period, Ethan had been lying low at home, resting and recovering. His body was now in peak condition.

”So boring...” Ethan muttered to himself, feeling restless. He couldn’t just keep lazing around like this—it felt like his limbs were starting to atrophy. Besides, he’d already absorbed all the high-grade rare crystal cores he had.

Maybe it was time to head out again, hunt some new prey, and shake things up a bit.

As he mulled it over, two options came to mind. The first was to head to Santa Clarita to investigate the origins of the parasitic monsters and uncover the secrets behind them. The second was to ”pay a visit” to San Bernardino, where the human population was dense, and the Awakeners were generally of a higher level.

The battle with the Azure Scaled Zombie King had been a wake-up call. Griff had given Ethan a fair amount of trouble, and if it hadn’t been for Mia holding the line in her extreme state, his zombie lieutenants might’ve suffered heavy losses. After all, both the Azure Scaled King and the Zombie Fetus were formidable opponents.

That said, Ethan’s elite fighters were now down to fewer than 500. As strong as they were, they weren’t invincible, and losses were inevitable.

”Maybe I should deal with this whole X-virus and Y-virus mess first...” Ethan thought to himself. After some careful consideration, he decided to head to San Bernardino. It was time to see what Genesis Biotech was up to over there.

And, well, there was another reason—it was closer.

...

The morning sun was shining bright, the breeze was gentle, and the weather was unusually pleasant—a rare treat in the apocalypse. It was the kind of day that almost made you forget the world had gone to hell. Perfect for a little outing.

”You all hold down the fort. I’m heading out for a bit,” Ethan said, addressing Bulldozer and the rest of his underlings.

”Got it, boss! No problem at all!” Bulldozer nodded enthusiastically, his head bobbing like a pecking chicken. His expression was full of anticipation—after all, every time the boss went out, he’d come back with some ”snacks.” And lately, the variety had been getting better and better, with all kinds of flavors to enjoy.

Ethan left the central area of the skyscraper and began making his way toward the mountains at the edge of his territory.

As soon as Lil’ Shroom saw him leave, her spores began to shift and morph. Within a few breaths, she had transformed into an exact replica of Ethan. The resemblance was uncanny—down to the smallest detail.

”I need to make it look like the boss is still at home,” she said, her voice now identical to Ethan’s.

”What’s the point of that?” Bulldozer scratched his head, clearly confused.

Lil’ Shroom shook her head. ”I don’t know. Maybe it’s pointless. But it makes me feel safer...”

...

Ethan crossed a bridge spanning a river and made his way through the forested mountains. The journey was uneventful. The presence of parasitic monsters had drastically reduced the number of mutated beasts in the area. Even the humans who had once hidden in these woods had fallen victim to the creatures.

”These things are pretty damn lethal,” Ethan muttered to himself.

In just a few days, these monsters could wipe out an entire group and take their place. Efficient and ruthless.

After making his way through the mountains, Ethan finally reached the outskirts of San Bernardino.

He raised his gaze, scanning the area ahead. A small town came into view, sitting in the middle of the open plains. Around its perimeter was a layer of barbed wire fencing.

A few dozen low-level zombies were clustered outside the fence. Their faces were blank, devoid of any intelligence, driven purely by instinct. Something inside the town seemed to have agitated them. They growled low in their throats, gnashing their teeth as they bit at the barbed wire, desperate to get inside.

But their teeth weren’t strong enough to break through steel. Some of them even shattered their own jaws in the attempt.

Bang!

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out from within the town. One of the zombies outside the fence had its head blown apart, its dark blood splattering everywhere as its body crumpled to the ground.

A few more gunshots followed in quick succession. The shooter’s aim was precise—nearly every shot took down a zombie with a clean headshot.

Clearly, there were humans inside the town.

With his heightened hearing as the Zombie King, Ethan could even pick up on their voices, laughing and joking as they fired.

”Haha! Five bullets, four headshots. You lost. Hand over that cigarette,” one of them said, his tone smug.

”Tch! You just got lucky, that’s all. A fluke. Wanna go again? Same deal—five bullets. This time, let’s bet two cigarettes,” another voice replied, clearly annoyed.

”Bring it on! You think I’m scared of you? And no backing out if you lose.”

”Not a chance. This time, there’s no way I’m losing.”

”...”

The two of them made their bet, and soon, more gunshots echoed from the town.

The low-level zombies outside didn’t even try to dodge. One by one, they were picked off, their heads exploding like overripe melons.

Ethan narrowed his eyes, studying the small town. A thought crossed his mind, and he couldn’t help but smirk.

”The snacks living in San Bernardino... they’re this cocky, huh?”

...