Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Ahhh—!”

Knox let out a guttural scream as he collapsed to the ground, eyes locked on Chris in disbelief and pain.

Both arms gone.

That meant no more fighting. No more power. No more second chances.

”You… you’re ruthless…” he gasped, voice trembling.

”Thanks,” Chris said flatly. ”Ethan’s gonna love hearing that.”

Without a flicker of hesitation, he raised his combat knife again and drove it toward Knox’s thigh, clearly planning to give him the same treatment he’d given Blake.

Chris didn’t know much about torture techniques. He just did what felt right.

But before the blade could sink in, Ethan stepped in.

”Alright, Chris. That’s enough. Don’t stab him yet. We might need his ability for your dad. If you kill him by accident, that’s a waste.”

Chris paused, then nodded. ”Got it.”

He pulled the knife back and turned his gaze toward the remaining Enhanced behind Knox.

The moment his eyes landed on them, their faces went pale. Some of them were visibly shaking, legs unsteady. Chris’s earlier brutality had left a deep mark.

But he didn’t move.

The rage that had been burning in his chest had finally started to cool. He’d vented enough.

His dad had suffered, yeah—but he was still alive. And honestly, if it weren’t for this compound, Joe might not have made it this far at all.

In a twisted way, this place had kept him alive.

So Chris let it go.

Ethan noticed and gave a small nod of approval. He wasn’t worried about whether those Enhanced lived or died—he was watching Chris. Making sure the kid didn’t lose himself in the blood.

And from the looks of it, he hadn’t.

Ethan turned to Miles. ”This spot’s not bad. Let’s take over the compound.”

”Yeah, I was thinking the same,” Miles said, scanning the area.

”It’s wide, surrounded by mountains but not boxed in. Good buffer zone.

Plus, there’s farmland nearby. If we secure Pine Hollow and the surrounding fields,

we could be self-sufficient in no time.”

”Exactly,” Ethan said. ”Let’s lock this place down.

We’ll clear out the zombies in Redwood County,

then expand the compound’s control across the entire area.”

”Got it,” Miles nodded.

Ethan glanced at the surviving Enhanced. ”What about them? Kill them all, or put them to use?”

”I say we use them,” Miles replied. ”With us around, they won’t dare step out of line. After what Chris just did, I doubt they’ll even think about it. And we’re short on manpower if we’re expanding. They’re already trained—might as well make use of them.”

”Agreed. But keep an eye on them. Their loyalty’s questionable at best. You’ll probably have to put in some extra work.”

”No problem, Captain. This kind of thing’s my specialty.”

”Good. I’ll leave it to you. As for the survivors—probably locals, right? We’ll need them for farming. Make sure they’re taken care of.”

”Yeah, they should be easy to win over,” Miles said. ”From the looks of it, they’ve been living like slaves under Knox. After what they saw today, they’ll know we don’t mess around. Give them a better life, and they’ll fall in line.”

”Perfect. It’s all yours, then. I won’t get involved in the day-to-day. I’ll keep leading the Fallen Star Squad, clearing out zombies and leveling up. As for your strength, don’t worry—I’ll make sure you get enough crystal cores to keep up.”

”Thanks for the trust, Captain. I won’t let you down,” Miles said seriously.

”I know you won’t.”

After finishing his conversation with Miles, Ethan walked over to Chris and gave him a light pat on the shoulder. ”Feeling any better?”

Chris nodded. ”Yeah.” Then he looked at Ethan, a little uncertain. ”Was I… scary just now?”

Ethan chuckled. ”Scary? Come on. Don’t overthink it.”

”Let’s go,” he added. ”Bring Uncle Joe inside. He needs real rest. Judging by how he looks, he probably hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in a long time.”

”Mm.” Chris nodded again, then gently lifted Joe onto his back.

Ethan turned to Henry. ”Drag Knox. We’ll deal with him later.”

The group headed toward the buildings deeper inside the compound, leaving the rest of the survivors behind to coordinate with Miles.

This compound wasn’t large—less than two thousand people in total. Of those, a few hundred were Enhanced under Knox’s command. The rest were ordinary survivors, most of them refugees from nearby small towns.

The divide here was obvious. You could see it just by looking at the housing.

Closer to the center, the buildings were newly constructed—spacious, clean, and well-maintained.

But the outer zones? Those were a different story. Crude shelters slapped together from scrap wood, rusted metal sheets, and broken concrete. Barely enough to keep out the wind and rain.

Dark, damp, cramped—worse than the government Safe Zone back in Starlight City.

What really made Ethan frown, though, was the absence of the elderly, the sick, or the disabled. In the Safe Zone, you’d still see them around. Here? Not one.

Maybe most of them hadn’t made it this far. But realistically, some should’ve survived—especially if they had younger, stronger family members helping them escape.

The more likely explanation?

Knox had them purged.

They couldn’t work, but they still ate. In a place like this, that was enough to get you killed.

Ethan couldn’t help but sigh. Knox was ruthless. Given enough time, the guy could’ve built something powerful.

Eventually, they reached the largest building at the compound’s center.

No doubt about it—this was Knox’s personal residence.

As they approached, a few scantily clad women stepped out of the doorway, clearly startled. They were dressed in revealing outfits, their hair messy, makeup smudged. They started to bow automatically—then froze when they realized it wasn’t Knox.

Their eyes widened when they saw him—limbless, bloodied, being dragged across the ground by Henry.

They hadn’t gone to check out the earlier commotion. As Knox’s private ”maids,” they weren’t allowed to leave the house without permission. If they did, and Knox found out, he’d break their legs without hesitation.

They feared him. Deeply.

Now, seeing him like this, they were too stunned to react.

Ethan and the others couldn’t help but glance at the women. They were beautiful, no doubt about it—Knox clearly knew how to enjoy himself.

Compared to that, the Fallen Star Squad had been fighting nonstop just to survive. Sure, they were strong, but when it came to luxury? Knox had them beat.

Then again, different people had different priorities. For Ethan and his crew, power came first. Women? Just distractions that slowed your hands in a fight.

”You can go,” Ethan said. ”This place belongs to us now. We don’t need your service.”

The women blinked, confused. Their eyes flicked to Knox, as if waiting for his command.

It was obvious—they were terrified of him. Conditioned to obey.

”You think this guy’s still giving orders?” Henry snorted and nudged Knox’s limp body with his boot.

”…”

”B-But… he has so many men,” one of the women said, voice trembling.

”You think anyone’s still following him after this?” Ethan snapped. ”Get out of here. Or stay, and spend the night in my bed. Your choice.”

”Y-Yes… okay…” the women murmured, heads lowered.

But they didn’t move.

”???”

”What do you mean, ’okay’?” Ethan frowned.

”Didn’t you just say… you wanted us to stay with you tonight?” one of them asked hesitantly.

”…”

”Holy shit,” Ethan muttered. ”You only heard the second half of that sentence? I told you to leave!”

The women exchanged confused glances. They’d thought the first part was just a lead-in, and the second part was the real message.

Apparently not.

”Still standing there?” Henry barked. ”You want to end up like him?”

That did it.

The women finally understood—they were actually being let go.

Without another word, they turned and hurried off.