Apocalypse: King of Zombies

You don’t just cut the weed—you burn the roots.

The old man was still part of upper management. If Ethan only killed his son, it might leave a loose end that could come back to bite them later.

Everyone around was stunned, frozen in place. Especially Dr. Morgan—he felt like his attempt to plead for mercy had completely backfired, only speeding up the old man’s death.

The real issue was... the Zombie King didn’t think like a normal person.

”Dad! Dad!” Dylan cried out, eyes going red as he saw his father collapse in a pool of blood. Grief twisted his face, but when he looked up at Ethan, it was pure rage.

”I’ll kill you!”

Dylan was an S-Class Speed-type Awakener—not weak by any means. His body blurred into a gust of wind as he charged straight at Ethan.

But to everyone watching, it looked like a moth throwing itself into a blazing fire.

The moment Dylan stepped into Ethan’s Domain of the Dead, his speed plummeted. It felt like he was carrying the weight of the world on his back. Still, he clenched his teeth and pushed forward, step by agonizing step—like an old man dragging his feet, or a toddler learning to walk.

It was barely thirty feet, but to Dylan, it felt like a lifetime.

He finally reached Ethan, mustering every last ounce of strength to reach out and grab him.

”Rest now...” Ethan said softly, raising his blade and slicing clean through Dylan’s neck, ending it in one swift motion.

Dylan’s body crumpled, falling into the same pool of blood as his father.

Everyone around shuddered, cold sweat soaking through their clothes. They glanced at each other but didn’t dare say a word.

Mia broke the silence. ”Dr. Morgan, this is the ’friend’ who wanted to meet you.”

”Uh...” Dr. Morgan’s face twitched.

Friend? This guy’s more like the Grim Reaper.

But he understood now—Ethan wanted him to go to Genesis Biotech’s North American headquarters.

”If I help the Zombie King with his research... isn’t that kinda... I mean, once he gets stronger, he could wipe out Mount Elbert Shelter anytime he wants. Isn’t that just shooting ourselves in the foot?” Dr. Morgan struggled with the thought.

”If I wanted to take Mount Elbert, you think I’d need to do research?” Ethan replied casually, clearly not seeing the shelter as any kind of threat.

”Well... yeah, fair point.” Dr. Morgan wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Ethan continued, ”Lately, both Genesis Biotech and the zombie factions have been picking up alien radio signals. And there’s this parasitic creature—it’s not from Earth. Their invasion’s already begun. So this isn’t going to be some war between species. It’s going to be a fight to protect the planet.”

”Everything I’m doing... it’s for the future of everyone.”

The crowd around him looked shaken. They’d heard rumors about the parasite monsters before—how they’d broken into shelters, how terrifying and unstoppable they were. Humanity’s worst nightmare.

”So the Zombie King... he’s not even targeting humans. He’s preparing for an alien invasion...?”

”Why does this suddenly feel way bigger than we thought?”

”Yeah... we were too narrow-minded.”

”Totally misjudged him...”

People started murmuring among themselves, realizing Ethan had been silently carrying the burden all along—misunderstood, even hated—and yet still fighting for them. Some of them were genuinely moved.

Mia added, ”Back when we were fighting the Nightbane Zombie King in San Diego, I saw it with my own eyes—The Voidborn Undying descended. With just a thought, he could wipe out a Four War Generals-level Zombie King like it was nothing. Imagine what he could do to humans.”

”If The Voidborn Undying had fully manifested that day, Mount Elbert Shelter would’ve been wiped off the map. Luckily, the Ritual Array went out of control, and Ethan shattered the spatial rift before it could fully open. That’s what stopped the disaster.”

The air went still. Everyone looked stunned.

”That really happened?”

”I never heard about that before...”

”So we’re alive right now... because of the Zombie King?”

”...”

And just like that, the way people saw Ethan began to shift.

Dr. Morgan stayed quiet for a long moment, thinking everything through. Then he gave a firm nod. ”Alright. I get it now. I’ll go to Genesis Biotech’s North American HQ and help with the research.”

”Good,” Ethan said, clearly satisfied with the answer.

Of course, this whole arrangement was kept strictly under wraps—only the top brass and research staff at Mount Elbert Shelter knew about it. The general population wasn’t told a thing.

If word got out that the shelter was working with the Zombie King, it would cause mass panic.

Soon after, Dr. Morgan and his team began packing up. They gathered all their research data, equipment, and instruments to move everything to Genesis Biotech’s North American base.

With Ethan’s help, the process was a breeze. He stored all the valuable gear and documents in his spatial storage ring like it was nothing.

Then, team after team of scientists boarded the aircrafts.

It wasn’t just Dr. Morgan’s group, either. There were specialists in astronomy, mineralogy, biology, network engineering—you name it. Multiple expert teams were relocated to the Genesis Biotech facility.

A lot of them were hardcore science geeks, completely absorbed in their work. Some of them barely even registered the difference between humans and zombies—they lived in their own little worlds.

As long as they could keep doing research and making breakthroughs, they were happy. Where they did it? Didn’t matter one bit.

Dr. Morgan and the others were also buzzing with curiosity. After all, Genesis Biotech was the most advanced tech company on the planet. The kind of equipment they had was the stuff of dreams.

”Holy crap... this place has everything!”

”No wonder it’s Genesis Biotech.”

”I think I just had a breakthrough idea for my project!”

”...”

The moment they stepped into the facility, their faces lit up with excitement. Some of them didn’t even bother unpacking—they dove straight into their work.

Ethan watched them quietly, a little amused.

They’d been so hesitant and nervous on the way here.

Now? Total 180. Like flipping a switch.

Classic case of ”don’t want it until they get it.”

Saying no with their mouths, but their bodies were all in.

”Scientists are just like that,” Mia said beside him.

”Yeah,” Ethan nodded. ”Not a bad thing, though.”

With the influx of researchers, Genesis Biotech’s North American HQ roared back to life. Encryption systems were rebooted, new communication networks were set up—it was a hive of activity.

Now that Ethan had access to Genesis Biotech’s resources, he could do what Richard used to—use drones to monitor zombie horde movements across vast distances.

He even had access to satellite comms, which meant he could contact Laura, Bulldozer, and the others directly—without worrying about anyone eavesdropping.

He could finally command from the shadows, pulling strings from miles away.

Meanwhile, Mia was sitting in Dr. Morgan’s office.

On the desk in front of her lay a sleek, razor-sharp katana.

”Dr. Morgan, can this Stellar Fang katana be replicated?”

”Absolutely,” he replied. ”And not just replicated—we can enhance it. With how durable this blade is, it could easily handle the energy output of an S-Class or higher crystal core. We could even try embedding one directly into the weapon.”

”Oh?” Mia raised an eyebrow. The Stellar Fang was already a deadly weapon. Embedding a high-grade crystal core into it? That sounded like a serious upgrade...

...