Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”...” Emily was speechless, a dark cloud practically forming over her head. So this beautiful girl in front of her had been complaining that her blade got blood on it for nothing? Still, that only made Emily more certain—this girl was definitely a total powerhouse.

”Uh... hi, guys!” Emily greeted awkwardly as she stepped into the room, clearly nervous.

”Oh, hey,” Mia replied casually.

Then Brandon stepped forward and added, ”This one’s kind of an ally—Emily. She’s an international student…”

He went on to explain that Emily had figured out the truth about the town a while ago. This place was basically a den of monsters—half the island was under vampire control.

The vampires were farming humans like livestock, feeding on their blood, and squeezing every last drop of life out of them.

Naturally, a lot of the international students weren’t okay with that. Some of them decided to fight back. Emily was one of them.

They’d secretly formed a resistance group called The Ember Ring, and they’d been quietly recruiting like-minded people ever since.

Now, The Ember Ring had grown to about five hundred members.

They were scattered across shops, restaurants, and other public places, subtly spreading the word and trying to bring more people into the fold.

Emily had chosen to work at this American-style diner specifically because it gave her a chance to meet travelers—especially Americans who might’ve wandered in by accident.

Today, when she saw Chris and the others scarfing down cooked food like they hadn’t eaten in days, she knew right away—they weren’t vampires. So she slipped them a note, hoping to recruit them into the resistance.

”So that’s what was going on!” Chris slapped his thigh in frustration. ”Man, why didn’t you just say so earlier?”

Mia looked up and asked, ”Monroe’s an S-class mutant zombie. He commands a horde of over a hundred thousand undead. You really think five hundred people can take him down?”

Emily shook her head, her eyes shining with conviction. ”No, we’re not trying to overthrow him. That’s impossible. We just want to gather supplies in secret, build a few large ships, and escape the island. Go back to our home countries.”

Mia considered that. It wasn’t a bad plan, but the odds were still stacked against them.

Forget building the ships—if they even managed to set sail, they’d have to cross a nightmare of an ocean. Superstorms, deep-sea mutant beasts... any one of those could send them straight to the bottom. It was basically a suicide mission.

And even if they made it to the U.S., who’s to say it’d be any safer?

This was the apocalypse. A global one.

”I know the road ahead is brutal,” Emily said, her voice steady, ”but as long as we keep going, there’s hope. Even if I die trying, it’s better than living in this hell.”

Mia couldn’t help but respect that kind of fire. ”Alright. Gotta say, I like your spirit.”

”Then... would you consider joining The Ember Ring?” Emily asked, her voice a little shaky, clearly nervous about the answer.

Mia thought it over. She was already planning to kill vampires anyway—having a few more allies couldn’t hurt. Sure, most of these students probably weren’t much in a fight, but still... better than nothing.

”I’m in.”

”Really? That’s amazing!” Emily practically bounced with excitement. ”I’ll introduce you to the others tonight. Everyone’s gonna be so pumped to have you on board!”

Mia didn’t answer right away. She turned to Ethan, wanting to get his take on it.

Ethan just shrugged. ”If you guys wanna go, go. Doesn’t matter to me.”

”What about you?” Mia asked.

”Me? I’m gonna go have some fun.”

He didn’t care much for human affairs. There was a massive livestock facility in town, full of fresh meat just waiting to be ”harvested.” Probably still had cows, sheep, chickens—plenty to keep him busy.

His body shimmered, then vanished into thin air.

”Wha—where’d he go?” Emily blinked hard, rubbing her eyes like she couldn’t believe what she’d just seen.

Mia had already guessed where he was headed. ”He went to the ’supermarket.’”

”Huh??” Emily stared at her, completely baffled. Seriously? At a time like this, he’s in the mood to shop?

...

Under the cover of his cloaking ability, Ethan silently slipped out of Big Mike’s BBQ & Buffet.

The streets outside were still bustling. Vampires strolled by, some carrying bags of blood, all heading in the direction of Saint Gaia City.

The setup here was eerily similar to the Lucien family’s territory—humans being farmed like cattle. But there was one key difference: this place had an actual livestock facility, tucked deep within the town, right next to the core corpse nest of Saint Gaia City.

That alone told Ethan everything he needed to know—this place was heavily guarded and clearly important.

He moved like a shadow, undetected, weaving through the crowd as he made his way toward the facility.

As he got closer, the number of vampires increased. They were everywhere—patrolling, chatting, going about their business. Humans were mixed in too, most of them wearing standard-issue farm uniforms. They chattered in various languages, some of which even Ethan couldn’t decipher.

But what stood out most were the humans who were clearly cozying up to the vampires—smiling, bowing, practically licking their boots. They knew who ruled this place, and they’d chosen to serve. Traitors to their own kind.

Bootlickers.

Before long, a massive walled compound came into view. Inside, Ethan could sense tens of thousands of lifeforms.

This was it—the livestock farm. Monroe’s personal meat vault.

Ethan paused for a moment, taking it all in. It reminded him of the time he ran his own farm. He’d always had a soft spot for animals—used to love taking care of them.

Of course... now he loved them even more. Especially when they were on his plate.

He stepped forward and activated his Domain of the Dead, phasing effortlessly through the wall and into the facility.

The inside was pretty much what he expected—rows upon rows of livestock, but the tech was primitive. No automated feeders, no water systems, no waste disposal units. Everything was done by hand.

Probably a result of the apocalypse. Civilization had taken a nosedive, and this place was stuck in survival mode.s bustled about, tending to the animals, cleaning, processing. Ethan scanned the area—there were at least a thousand people working here. Not just farmers, but butchers, processors, handlers.

Most of them had dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin—East Asian, by the look of it. They spoke in a language Ethan didn’t understand.

”I’ll teach you all to communicate with brainwaves soon enough,” he thought to himself. Once he harvested the meat, he planned to turn every last one of them into zombies.

With a flicker of movement, he vanished again, reappearing inside one of the massive chicken coops.

The place was packed—rows of cages stacked high, filled with chickens clucking and flapping in a chaotic chorus.

The moment Ethan appeared, the birds went berserk. Wings flapped, feathers flew, and the chickens scrambled to the corners of their cages, trembling in fear.

”Easy now…”

With a mere thought, Ethan released the tiniest sliver of his power. Instantly, the entire coop fell silent. Not a single cluck.

Then, with a wave of his hand, every chicken in the building vanished.

Gone. Just like that.

A massive haul of fresh meat, secured.

”Wait—what the hell?”

”Where’d the chickens go?”

”They were just here!”

A few farmhands had been nearby, dumping feed into the troughs. They’d just finished when they turned around and saw... nothing.

No chickens. Just empty cages.

And then they saw him.

A pale figure in a white shirt, standing like a ghost in the middle of the coop.

One of the workers turned, his eyes wide with fear, and shouted something in a language Ethan didn’t recognize—probably Mandarin.

Ethan didn’t understand a word. He didn’t need to.

Without a word, he flipped his hand over and pulled out a vial of zombie virus.

...