Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”If we don’t kill him, what’s the point of keeping him alive?” Nora asked, genuinely curious.

”Well, yeah, the guy’s pretty useless,” Leah replied, ”but he’s still a high-ranking exec at Genesis Biotech. We could use him to negotiate with Richard—maybe trade him for supplies or something.”

Everyone, including Nora, paused. None of them had ever considered using someone like that to blackmail Genesis Biotech. The idea was so bold, it hadn’t even crossed their minds.

”So... that means we’d be going all-in against Genesis Biotech,” someone finally said. ”They’ll probably put a bounty on our heads.”

Leah shrugged. ”So what? You don’t get rich without taking risks. And horses don’t fatten up without grazing at night, right? We’ve gotta be bold. Besides…” Her eyes drifted toward Ethan in the distance. ”Genesis Biotech might not be around much longer anyway.”

The others fell silent, realizing what she meant. The real storm in Texas hadn’t even started yet. Everything so far had just been the opening act.

Of course, before they could move forward with the ransom idea, they needed Ethan’s approval.

Ethan actually liked the plan. Frank was a total waste of space—an Awakener who’d managed to form a Neurocore, yet was so weak he wasn’t even worth eating. Might as well squeeze some supplies out of Richard instead.

But a deal this small? Ethan couldn’t be bothered. He handed the whole thing off to Leah.

And just like that, the killing fog over San Antonio began to lift. Another squad of Genesis Biotech Awakeners had met their end here.

Ethan walked away with a Cyborg T-08 and a newly evolved psychic-type underling. Not a bad haul.

Meanwhile, Fear and the other zombies had already devoured the human corpses. Fear’s wounds were nearly healed, and his aura had grown even more powerful.

There’s something about psychic-type zombies—they always carry a certain presence.

”Mist, boss—I kept my promise!” Fear said proudly.

Mist gave him a thumbs-up, grinning. ”Hell yeah. You’ve gotten strong.”

He was genuinely happy for him. They’d once been brothers-in-arms, struggling to survive. Now Fear had risen to become a Zombie King. Mist couldn’t help but feel proud.

Off to the side, Big Ears and a few other zombies were watching, a little uneasy. Maybe it was jealousy.

”Mist’s underling got that strong?” Big Ears muttered.

”Well, we’re top-tier bosses. It’s only natural our underlings would be strong too,” Shrimpy chimed in.

”Oh yeah? And where’s your badass underling?” Big Ears shot back.

”Uh…” Shrimpy froze, caught off guard. He scratched his head and finally admitted, ”I don’t have one.”

”Exactly.”

Big Ears fell into thought. As a major power in his own right, he figured he should have a powerful underling too. Otherwise, he might fall behind.

Besides, this whole zombie migration to Los Angeles wasn’t just about chaos—it was about consolidating power, bringing other factions under their control.

”So… how can I not have a strong underling?” Big Ears muttered to himself, already making up his mind.

”That’s it. I’ve decided—I’m getting myself a badass underling too!”

”Uh… Big Ears, where exactly are you gonna find one?” Shrimpy asked, skeptical.

Big Ears paused. He didn’t have a clue.

”Doesn’t matter. I’ll find one. Just watch me.”

...

Another squad of Genesis Biotech Awakeners went out looking for someone—and, unsurprisingly, vanished without a trace.

Inside his office, Richard paced back and forth, anxiety gnawing at him.

”Where the hell is Frank? Why haven’t we heard anything yet?”

Just then, a male assistant burst in, clearly flustered. ”Richard! T-08 just transmitted data to the cloud!”

”Oh?” Richard’s eyes lit up. ”Did they find him?”

”No… T-08’s been terminated,” the assistant said bluntly.

”...” Richard froze, stunned into silence. After a long pause, he finally spoke, his voice tinged with disbelief.

”T-08… was killed?”

”They ran into the Los Angeles Zombie King in San Antonio. It turned into a full-blown battle. Not just T-08—chances are, no one made it out alive,” the assistant reported grimly.

Richard stood there, dumbstruck. The last thing he wanted to hear was that name—Los Angeles Zombie King. It felt like a mountain pressing down on his chest, suffocating him.

San Antonio. Again.

That same damn Zombie King from L.A.

Same place. Same outcome. Another massacre of Genesis Biotech’s elite Awakeners.

And suddenly, everything started to make sense. All the strange disappearances, the inexplicable losses—once that Zombie King entered the picture, it all clicked into place.

And now he’d taken down T-08.

Which meant… after killing Nightbane, he’d grown even stronger. More unpredictable. More unstoppable.

”Richard, are you—” the assistant started, noticing the blank look in his boss’s eyes.

”I’m fine,” Richard muttered, snapping out of it. He shook his head and let out a long, weary sigh. In that moment, he looked older—like the weight of the world had finally caught up to him.

The Gen-4 Cyborgs were supposed to be his trump card, the pinnacle of Genesis Biotech’s combat power. And now? One sent out, one gone. Just like that.

Anyone would be losing sleep over this.

The assistant looked just as defeated. ”So… what do we do now?”

”Give me a minute,” Richard said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to think. He started piecing the situation together.

”If the L.A. Zombie King showed up in San Antonio, and T-08’s dead… then Frank’s probably not coming back either.”

”Yeah, with Frank’s skill level… uh, Richard, my condolences,” the assistant said awkwardly, not even sure how to phrase it.

But just then, the comms device on the desk lit up and started ringing—a video call.

Richard turned toward it, and his expression instantly shifted to one of shock. He actually stumbled back a couple steps, eyes wide.

The caller ID showed it was coming from Frank’s satellite phone.

”It’s… it’s Frank!” the assistant stammered, eyes bulging.

The ringtone echoed through the office, sharp and clear.

But neither of them moved. They just stared at each other, both seeing the same fear reflected in the other’s eyes.

They’d assumed Frank was dead. And now… a video call?

”Richard, should we answer it?” the assistant asked hesitantly.

Richard hesitated for a second, then nodded.

”Yeah. We have to. What if Frank’s still alive?”

”Or… what if it’s that Zombie King?” the assistant said, voice low, suspicion creeping in.

”I doubt it,” Richard replied, shaking his head. ”That thing’s brutal and doesn’t talk much. I don’t think it’d bother contacting us. Or maybe… it just doesn’t care enough to.”

He took a deep breath, steadied himself, and hit the button to accept the call—ready to face whatever was on the other end.

The wall-mounted screen flickered to life.

A woman appeared on the screen. Her face was striking—sharp features, calm eyes—but her expression was cold and unreadable. It was Leah.

”Hello, Richard,” she said smoothly. ”I’m Leah, a survivor from the shelter. Thanks for taking the call.”

”Oh?” Richard raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. He hadn’t expected someone from the shelter to be behind the call. But her calm, confident tone told him she wasn’t just some random survivor. This woman was sharp.

”Where’s Frank?” he asked, cutting straight to the point.

”He’s with me,” Leah said evenly. ”But if you want to see him again, Richard, you’re gonna have to show a little… goodwill.”

Richard’s face darkened. He immediately understood what she meant.

”You’re blackmailing me?”

...