Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Early the next morning, Miles didn’t immediately share the Energy Absorption Technique with the compound. Instead, he waited nearly a full week—until every member of the Fallen Star Squad had reached Tier 8—before gathering the Enhanced and revealing the method.

Ethan understood what he was doing. Miles wanted to widen the gap between the squad and the rest of the Enhanced.

Honestly, Ethan didn’t think it was necessary. They were already two Tiers ahead, and with the Body Refinement Technique in their hands, no one was catching up unless the squad got lazy.

Still, he didn’t interfere. Miles probably had his reasons. And with Redwood County relatively safe now, a slight delay in the others leveling up wasn’t a big deal.

When the Enhanced finally heard the contents of the technique, most of them were skeptical at first. But that night, when they tried absorbing mysterious energy using the method, the results blew them away. Several Tier 5 peak Enhanced broke through to Tier 6 on the spot.

That changed everything.

Their awe for the Fallen Star Squad turned into reverence. And more than that—they were moved.

Everyone knew how valuable this method was. The squad had handed it over without hesitation, treating them like true comrades.

These Enhanced, already loyal, now had their faith locked in. Their loyalty solidified completely. They would follow the Fallen Star Squad without hesitation—even into life-and-death situations.

They could feel it in their bones: with the squad’s strength, this compound was destined to become a major power.

And they were lucky—lucky to be the first generation of members here.

As long as they stuck close to the Fallen Star Squad, maybe one day, they’d rise to the top too.

With the Energy Absorption Technique in play, the Enhanced in the compound began steadily growing stronger.

Meanwhile, Ethan and the squad spent their days exploring the surrounding mountain ranges.

The deeper they went, the more dangerous it got. Even with their strength, they had to stay sharp.

Mutant beasts were everywhere—some in massive packs. When they ran into large groups, even they had to back off.

Boars and wolves weren’t a problem in small numbers, but once the packs grew, retreat was the only smart move.

Still, the trip wasn’t without rewards. They managed to track down two Tier 8 mutant beasts.

This time, they didn’t bother trying to let Skinny Pete control them—they just killed them outright and harvested the crystal cores.

With their upgraded weapons and gear, taking down Tier 8 beasts wasn’t too difficult. They handled it cleanly, without burning too much energy.

The two Tier 8 crystal cores pushed Ethan straight to peak Tier 8.

He stored the mutant beast corpses in his spatial storage ring—future meals.

After thoroughly scouting the nearby mountains and confirming there were no higher-Tier threats, the squad decided it was time to leave Redwood County.

Back at the compound, more and more Enhanced were reaching Tier 6. The lower-Tier mutant beasts in the area didn’t pose much of a threat anymore.

Besides, the beasts seemed content to stay in the mountains. None had shown signs of moving down toward the compound.

So for now, things were stable.

Even with the Energy Absorption Technique, breaking through from peak Tier 8 to Tier 9 would still take five to six days.

Ethan didn’t want to wait.

He wanted to find a Tier 9 mutant beast—or a Tier 9 zombie. If he could get his hands on a Tier 9 crystal core, he could break through instantly and save himself the wait.

Which meant leaving Redwood County was necessary.

Inside a room at the center of the compound...

”Captain, have you decided where we’re heading next?” Miles asked, watching Ethan pack.

”Yeah. First stop is Henry’s hometown. I want to see if he still has any family left,” Ethan said.

”Clearford City, right?” Miles asked.

Henry nodded. ”Yeah.”

”That’s pretty far—what, six hundred miles or so?” Miles said, doing a quick mental estimate.

”Roughly. But we’re riding Bengal Tiger Goldie and Pumpkin, the orange cat. With their speed, we’ll be faster than any vehicle we used to have. Shouldn’t take too long,” Ethan replied.

”Alright. Just be careful out there,” Miles said.

”Will do. I’m leaving the compound in your hands. Once the main structure’s finished, rename this place to Fallen Star City. I’ll take overall command, you’ll be second-in-command. As for the rest of the squad, assign them roles as you see fit,” Ethan said.

”Got it. That’s what I was thinking too.”

”Good. Then we’re off.”

Ethan packed food and supplies into the spatial storage ring, then left the compound with the rest of the squad.

No doubt about it—having a spatial ring made things way easier. Without it, they’d need a whole convoy just to carry their gear.

Their departure didn’t raise any eyebrows in the compound. The squad went out almost every day, so no one thought much of it.

The only difference this time? They took a few mutant beasts with them.

Miles didn’t make a big deal out of it. Construction inside the compound continued smoothly.

With most of the zombies in Redwood County already cleared out, Miles even had the Enhanced help with building.

He wanted to surprise Ethan and the others when they returned—show them just how far the compound had come.

On the highway cutting through Redwood County, three mutant beasts thundered down the asphalt at full sprint.

Originally, Ethan had only planned to bring Goldie and Speckles.

Speckles was the jaguar—named by Skinny Pete because of its heavy spotted pattern. No one in the squad had the energy to roast Pete’s naming skills anymore. He was the beast tamer, after all. What could they do?

Technically, both Bengal Tiger Goldie and the jaguar Speckles could carry four people each, but it’d be a tight squeeze. For a long journey, that kind of cramped ride was a no-go.

So in the end, they brought Pumpkin too—the oversized orange cat.

The plan was for Mia to ride Pumpkin solo. Somehow, Ethan ended up getting bumped over there too.

To be fair, Pumpkin’s frame was big enough for two people to ride comfortably. The only downside? With the beast’s bounding gait, there was no avoiding a bit of body contact.

That’s when Ethan suddenly became very aware that there was a woman in the squad.

Luckily, Mia was sitting in front.

If she’d been behind him, pressing up against his back with that figure of hers… Ethan wasn’t sure he could’ve kept a straight face.

The group tore down the highway at breakneck speed. Faster than any car they’d ever driven. The only downside? Riding a mutant beast wasn’t exactly luxury travel—no backrests, and your ass took a beating.

But hey, it was the apocalypse. Comfort wasn’t the priority. Speed was.

...

Clearford City.

Sprawling across more than twenty square miles, Clearford’s compound housed over 300,000 survivors. Vast agricultural zones, military stockpiles, and secured supply lines kept the entire operation running like a machine.

Where Starlight City had fractured under Mayor Marks’ incompetence, Clearford thrived—thanks to General Adrian Cross, the commanding officer of the massive joint military base anchoring the city.

Compared to Starlight, Clearford’s military presence was on a whole different level.

The city was home to one of the Atlas Federation’s largest military installations. In terms of troop numbers and firepower, Starlight couldn’t even come close.

And General Cross? He wasn’t even in the same league as Colonel Reyes.

When the apocalypse hit, most of the personnel inside the joint base turned into zombies. But General Cross didn’t.

He reacted fast—rallied the surviving soldiers and launched a counterattack.

Compared to civilians, soldiers had a massive edge. They didn’t freeze up at the sight of zombies.

Early-stage zombies weren’t much stronger than regular people—and they had no intelligence.

Against that kind of threat, trained soldiers with access to heavy weapons had no reason to be afraid. It didn’t take long for them to clear out the infected inside the base.

From there, General Cross established a compound right on the base grounds and immediately launched rescue operations.

His decisive action saved countless survivors in Clearford who hadn’t yet turned.

Then, leveraging the base’s massive arsenal, he led a full-scale sweep of the city—pushing back the zombie hordes and expanding the compound’s territory.

Now, Clearford’s compound was running like a well-oiled machine. Half the city’s zombies had already been wiped out. The rest had been forced into the far side of the city.

Originally, Cross had planned to finish the job and clear the city completely. But as the zombies evolved and grew stronger, conventional weapons started losing their edge.

That’s why, even now, the cleanup remained unfinished.