Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Meanwhile, Ethan and his group walked through the pitch-black corridor, the silence around them almost unsettling. Yet, nothing happened.

Perhaps the monster leader had sensed that this group wasn’t to be trifled with and decided against sending its minions to attack.

”When you’re out in the wild, the most important thing is knowing who the real big shots are,” Chris said smugly, puffing out his chest.

Brandon glanced at him sideways. ”Let’s be real, Chris. This is all thanks to Mia. If it were just you, the monsters wouldn’t even bother. You’re not exactly useful to them. Now, if you managed to condense a crystal core, that might change.”

”Hey, come on...” Chris’s face darkened as he caught the jab. ”But seriously, I’ve been feeling stronger lately. My body feels different, and my head’s been itching like crazy. I think I’m close to condensing my crystal core.”

”Or maybe you’re just growing a brain tumor,” Brandon quipped with a smirk.

Chris’s eyes widened. ”You little punk! What’s that supposed to mean? Don’t you know how to respect your elders? Are you saying Uncle Chris has something wrong with his head?”

”I didn’t say that. You did,” Brandon replied, feigning innocence. ”But if you really are about to condense a crystal core, you’d better be careful.”

”...” Chris was left speechless, though he couldn’t deny that the past couple of months had been transformative. Following Mia into battle after battle, risking his life, and consuming a fair share of Neurocores had pushed his limits. Even with his mediocre aptitude, he could feel the signs of a breakthrough.

The thought of becoming a crystal-core Awakener filled Chris with anticipation.

”Hey, what do you think my ability will be if I condense a crystal core? Could it be something super powerful? Like, one-of-a-kind, world-shaking stuff?”

”Maybe you’ll awaken the ability to bake whole-grain bread,” Brandon joked. ”You know, like those mages in World of Warcraft who can conjure food out of thin air.”

”...” Chris rolled his eyes, feeling the younger generation was far too flippant. But then, as he thought about it, the idea of conjuring bread didn’t seem so bad.

If he could make bread out of thin air, he’d probably become the most popular person in the entire human race...

The group continued following Ethan, chatting idly as they made their way to the rendezvous point. Once there, they’d regroup and plan their next hunting operation.

As they ventured deeper into the shelter, the air grew damp and stifling. The walls bore clear signs of human excavation, evidence of the shelter’s construction.

There were rooms of various sizes scattered throughout, along with remnants of old equipment—communication stations, radar systems, and generators—all of which were now completely destroyed.

Ethan noticed scorch marks in some areas, the walls blackened from fire. It was likely the result of chaos during the shelter’s downfall.

The corridors branched off in multiple directions, forming a labyrinth-like structure. But Ethan moved with confidence, unfazed by the maze. He clearly knew where he was going.

Before long, they arrived at a large hall. Broken computer monitors littered the floor, their shattered screens reflecting faint glimmers of light. Various pieces of equipment were scattered around, most of them damaged beyond repair.

In the center of the room was a table covered in what appeared to be old lab equipment, now broken and strewn about.

”This should be the place,” Ethan said, his sharp gaze scanning the room.

The rendezvous point they had agreed upon was the shelter’s research lab. Its central location made it relatively safe and accessible, with equal distance to all three entrances. It was also one of the shelter’s core areas.

Ethan began inspecting the room, his eyes taking in every detail.

In one corner, he spotted a fully decomposed skeleton slumped against the wall. Next to it, on the ground, lay a handgun. The skull was tilted to the side, a dark bullet hole visible in its temple.

It wasn’t hard to piece together what had happened. The person had likely been cornered by monsters, with no way out. In the end, they had chosen to take their own life rather than face a more gruesome fate.

What caught Ethan’s attention, however, was the small safe embedded in the wall behind the skeleton. The corpse was partially blocking the safe’s door.

”Chris, come here,” Ethan called out casually.

Chris’s ears perked up, and he quickly jogged over. ”What’s up? Need something?”

”Move this skeleton out of the way.”

”Uh...” Chris hesitated for a moment, his expression a mix of reluctance and resignation. ”Alright, fine.”

He crouched down and began moving the remains. In the pre-apocalypse world, handling a skeleton like this would’ve been enough to give anyone the creeps. But now? It was just another day.

Aside from being a bit grimy, it didn’t bother him much. He also cleared away some of the surrounding debris, including tattered clothing and other scattered items.

Once the area was clear, Ethan drew his tachi. With a swift, precise slash, the blade cut through the safe’s door with ease.

Inside, neatly stacked, was a pile of research documents, their white pages still intact despite the passage of time.

”Figures. Looks like it’s pretty useless after all...” Ethan muttered to himself, not surprised in the slightest. This place was nothing like the Genesis Biotech lab vault—there was no way they’d stumble upon a ’Golden Legendary’ here.

Chris and the others, however, were curious. ”So, what’s in there?”

”Why don’t you take a look yourself?” Ethan didn’t even bother to move.

”Oh, uh, sure...” Chris and the group nodded and started pulling out the documents.

After sifting through the papers, they found a few pages that caught their attention—information about parasitic creatures.

This whole disaster? It all started in a lab.

According to the records, the Santa Clarita shelter had collected a few meteorites from outer space. Upon studying them, they discovered unidentified biological cells on the surface.

And those cells? They were incredibly active, constantly dividing on their own.

One became two, two became four—the growth was exponential. Within just a few hours, the cells had developed into a living organism.

That was the first parasitic creature.

The records stopped there.

But what happened next wasn’t hard to piece together. Some researcher must’ve been infected while studying the creature.

Then, over time, it began infecting others, spreading rapidly. The numbers grew exponentially, forming a significant threat.

By the time one parasitic creature was exposed, it was already too late—most of the people nearby had already been turned. And just like that, the catastrophe began.

This led to the infamous Santa Clarita Shelter Massacre.

Chris stared at the documents, a chill running down his spine. He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear. After all, something similar had almost happened at the Los Angeles shelter. ”Good thing I caught those creatures in time back at our place. Otherwise, who knows what could’ve happened!”

”Oh, well, aren’t you the hero of the day,” Brandon said, giving him a thumbs-up.

Ethan, however, was lost in thought. These parasitic creatures had arrived via meteorites from outer space, just like the Radiant Crystals. The similarities were too striking to ignore.

There had to be a connection between the two.

Or maybe... something even bigger. A conspiracy, perhaps.

But before he could dwell on it further, faint footsteps echoed from the other side of the corridor. The sound of human movement.

It was clear—another team had sealed off the entrance and was now regrouping here.

Leading the group was Mia, with Zane, Sean, and a handful of other Awakeners following close behind.

”Is the main hall up ahead where the supplies are stored?” Sean asked, his voice tinged with anticipation.

Mia shook her head. ”We need to take out the monster leader first. If we don’t kill it, finding supplies won’t matter.”

”Huh? Oh... yeah, you’re right,” Sean said, realizing she had a point.

As they approached the hall, they began to sense the presence of other humans inside.

Zane’s eyes narrowed with curiosity.

”That’s odd. Who could’ve gotten here before us?”

...