Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Achoo!” Mia sneezed, rubbing her nose and wondering if someone was talking about her.

Things had been going pretty well at the shelter lately. Supplies were abundant, especially since the first batch of seeds they’d planted months ago had finally matured.

Right now, Mia, Sean, Chris, and the others were busy harvesting in the greenhouse. Rows of tomatoes surrounded them, some green, some ripe and red, hanging in clusters and looking delicious.

Notably, Oliver had officially joined the shelter. After sharing his adventures with Ethan, he’d been assigned to Chris’s team.

”Hey kid, stick with us and work hard. When I finally get married, I’ll have my wife set you up with a nice girl,” Chris teased the newcomer.

”Uncle Chris, you’re still thinking about marriage? Careful, you might hit the jackpot for the fourth time,” Brandon joked from the side. He remembered Chris had sworn off women not long ago, but after a few peaceful days, Chris was clearly getting restless again.

Chris rolled his eyes dramatically. ”What, am I doomed to never find a woman? Should I just find a guy instead? Maybe a nice platonic bromance?”

Oliver sucked in a sharp breath, silently wondering what kind of weirdos he’d ended up with. Had the apocalypse driven everyone here a little crazy?

Nearby, Sean stood quietly, stiff as a wooden post, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings. He wasn’t helping at all, seemingly uninterested in the tomatoes.

Chris immediately called him out, ”Sean, what are you spacing out for? Hurry up and pick some tomatoes!”

”Tomatoes are too sour. Apples taste better,” Sean replied flatly.

Chris paused, realizing what Sean was thinking, and a mischievous idea popped into his head. ”Actually, tomatoes can be pretty sweet. You probably just picked the wrong one earlier. Try a green one if you don’t believe me.”

”Really?” Sean asked skeptically.

”Absolutely,” Chris nodded convincingly.

Sean glanced around and spotted a green tomato nearby. He picked it, squeezing it gently. It felt firm, almost like an apple.

”Hmm, seems okay...” Sean muttered, deciding to give it a try. He took a big bite.

Instantly, a sharp, sour taste exploded in his mouth, shooting straight to his head. His saliva glands went into overdrive, and the sourness even seeped into his teeth.

”Pfft! Ugh!” Sean spat repeatedly, his face scrunched up in disgust. Clearly, the green tomato wasn’t ripe at all.

”Uncle Chris, you lied to me!”

Mia glanced over, shaking her head slightly. ”Sean’s already clueless enough. Did you really have to mess with him?”

”I was just trying to wake him up a bit...” Chris mumbled sheepishly.

Just then, the greenhouse door swung open, and a young man walked in. With sharp features and a Lightning Blade strapped to his back, it was Robert, Santa Clarita’s number-one Awakener.

”A scouting team was attacked by mutated creatures in Angeles National Forest,” Robert announced seriously.

”What?” Mia and the others looked surprised.

Ever since the parasite outbreak, Angeles National Forest had been practically devoid of life.

”What kind of mutated creatures?” Mia asked cautiously.

”They’re called human-faced spiders,” Robert explained grimly. ”About three feet long, extremely aggressive. The females implant their eggs inside human bodies to reproduce.”

Everyone’s expressions darkened, clearly disturbed by the news.

”Wait a minute...”

”How did something like that suddenly appear in the National Forest?”

”Those spiders sound terrifying. We’ll have to be extra careful around there from now on.”

Oliver listened quietly, deep in thought. The spiders sounded oddly familiar. Suddenly, it clicked. He remembered transporting creatures like that back at Genesis Biotech.

”Oh, right! Those spiders were imported from Japan. Ethan opened their cages back at the camp and let them all loose.”

”There was a female spider that laid eggs inside someone back then. They must’ve multiplied and spread into the National Forest.”

Everyone fell silent, processing this revelation.

”So that’s how the human-faced spiders got here...”

”Of all the things Ethan could’ve released, why spiders?” Mia muttered flatly, her expression blank. A single thought echoed clearly in her mind:

”This is all Ethan’s fault.”

...

Aside from these minor incidents, things remained relatively calm among the major factions.

That is, until about a week later.

The arrival of a certain group became the spark that shattered this fragile peace.

At the Genesis Biotech branch in San Bernardino—

Sophia was visibly excited. The expert she’d been eagerly awaiting had finally arrived today.

”The real professionals who accepted our bounty have arrived. Let’s go greet them together,” she said enthusiastically.

”Oh, alright,” Jacob nodded, curious about these so-called experts. Sophia herself was going out to welcome them, which showed how seriously she took this. Even Ryuji hadn’t received such special treatment last time.

The two left the office, walked down the corridor, and arrived at the elevator.

The numbers above the elevator door flickered, quickly descending to the third basement level.

With a soft ”ding,” the elevator doors slid open.

Inside stood six people. Five of them were fully armed, standing tall and professional-looking, equipped with various weapons and gear.

The sixth person was Sophia’s secretary.

”Mr. Elias, this is our leader, Sophia. She’s come personally to welcome you,” the secretary introduced politely.

”Ah, Sophia, nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Elias greeted warmly, stepping forward. Sophia quickly sized him up—he was young, handsome, with refined features, but his face was alarmingly pale.

”Cough! Cough cough! Nice to meet you, Sophia,” Elias said, breaking into a heavy coughing fit. His already pale face turned even more ghostly.

”Um...” Sophia froze awkwardly, sensing something wasn’t quite right.

This so-called expert looked seriously ill...

But since they’d just met, it wasn’t appropriate to ask directly.

”Mr. Elias, please come this way. Let’s talk in my office,” Sophia said politely.

”Sure, cough cough!” Elias coughed again, stepping out of the elevator with his team.

Sophia noticed that not all of Elias’s team members were American. Among them was a couple, and the man was limping badly, leaning heavily on his girlfriend for support.

”What the...” Sophia stared, dumbfounded.

Jacob leaned closer, covering his mouth and whispering quietly into her ear, ”Sophia, these are the famous experts you were talking about?”

”Don’t judge a book by its cover. Maybe there’s something special about them,” Sophia whispered back defensively, leading everyone back to her office.

Jacob shrugged. Even though he had doubts, these people had come to hunt the Zombie King, so he had to at least pretend to be welcoming.

”Sir, your leg doesn’t look too good. Please, have a seat,” Jacob said politely to the limping man.

”Thanks.” The young man, still supported by his girlfriend, eased himself onto the couch.

”And Mr. Elias, your cough sounds pretty bad. Here, have some water,” Jacob continued, handing Elias a glass.

”Ah... thanks, cough cough!” Elias accepted, coughing again.

After settling everyone down, it was finally time to discuss business.

Jacob stepped back, standing behind Sophia alongside the female secretary.

The secretary glanced curiously at Elias and his team. She was just administrative staff, not an Awakener, so she couldn’t tell what was going on. She leaned toward Jacob and whispered quietly, ”Captain Jacob, why does Mr. Elias keep coughing? Is something wrong with him?”

”How would I know?” Jacob scoffed, then added, ”That kind of cough is never a good sign. Probably something serious…”

...