Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Ethan activated [True Sight] again and swept the entire underground cavern. Once he was sure there was nothing left worth taking, he finally spoke.

”Let’s go. It should be dark outside by now. Time to head back.”

”Yeah.” Everyone nodded, then glanced at Garrick.

With a climb that high, they still needed him.

Garrick shook his head like it was no big deal and pressed both palms to the ground. A mound of earth rose quickly.

Chris hopped onto it, then launched himself up to the wall of the shaft they’d dug. He kicked off one side, then the other—bouncing between the two packed-earth walls, climbing with a steady rhythm until he sprang out of the hole.

The rest copied him, one after another, and soon everyone had cleared the shaft.

Ethan had it easiest. One Teleportation, and he was out.

At his current strength, his Teleportation range was close to 3,000 feet. A depth of 1,800 feet wasn’t trapping him anymore.

”Garrick, seal the opening,” Ethan said, peering down.

”Got it.”

Garrick pressed down again. In moments, the ground they’d excavated flowed back into place, smoothing over until it looked like nothing had ever been there.

”Man, Garrick’s ability is ridiculously useful,” Chris said, impressed.

”It is.” Ethan nodded. ”This run, we really did lean on Garrick. Alright—let’s move.”

Outside the Void Realm, night had fully fallen.

Ryan was still there, standing quietly at the entrance, waiting. The way his eyes kept flicking toward the exit gave away his worry, but he didn’t complain once.

He’d brought them here, so he’d bring them back. That was the task his father had given him.

And after years in the military, he had the patience for it.

Just then, a ripple trembled through the distorted space. One figure after another slipped out.

Ryan’s face lit up. He hurried forward to meet them.

”Huh. You’re still here?” Ethan said, genuinely surprised when he saw him.

They’d been inside at least seven hours. Ethan had assumed Ryan would’ve left—his status wasn’t low, and he probably had plenty to deal with back at the compound.

Instead, he’d waited the whole time.

”Yeah.” Ryan nodded. ”I had to keep an eye on things. I was worried someone else might go in and mess with you.”

He added, ”This place is sealed off, but the Five Families can enter whenever they want.”

”Appreciate it,” Ethan said, studying him for a beat.

Whatever Ryan’s reasons were, that choice earned him real goodwill.

”Let’s go,” Ethan said. ”We’re heading back.”

”Mm-hm.” Ryan fell in beside them. ”General Kane already prepared a welcome dinner for you guys. He’s probably waiting at home right now.”

”Alright.”

The compound’s central conference room…

All the heads of the Five Families were present.

Maxwell Kane of the Kane Family.

Gabriel Mercer of the Mercer Family.

Charles Whitaker of the Whitaker Family.

Benjamin Caldwell of the Caldwell Family.

Dominic Hale of the Hale Family—along with his father, Alexander Hale.

Maxwell, Gabriel, Benjamin, and Dominic were all in their forties. Before the apocalypse, they’d held high-ranking government posts.

Charles Whitaker was a little older—already in his fifties—and he was the most senior surviving official. Even without trying, he carried the kind of weight that made everyone in the room treat him carefully.

As for Alexander Hale, he was from a whole different generation. At sixty-eight, he’d retired long ago. But after the apocalypse, with his strength rising, he looked noticeably younger than his age—healthier, broader in the shoulders, a lot more solid than he had any right to be.

This meeting had been called by Alexander.

He’d already gone from family to family trying to get everyone on the same page, but he hadn’t been able to unify their positions. So he’d gathered them all in one room to hash it out.

Even though he’d stepped down from power ages ago, everyone still came out of respect.

That was why every family had sent its top representative.

”Alright. Since everyone’s here, I’ll get straight to it.” Alexander’s voice was calm, but it landed like a gavel. ”I called you all in because of that group again. You all know it—at this point, their strength is beyond our control.

”If they were truly good people, fine. But they’re not saints. I’m not saying they commit every evil under the sun, but they answer to no one. If they don’t like what they hear, they’ll kill senior military officers on the spot.

”The Deputy Base Commander—the leader of a compound with a million people—killed just like that. No hesitation. They don’t respect the military or the government at all. If we let them keep growing unchecked, they could threaten everything we’ve built. The consequences would be unthinkable.

”You’re all key leaders of the military and government. Even in the apocalypse, our priority must be the survival and stability of the Federation.”

A brief silence settled over the room.

Then Benjamin Caldwell spoke first, backing him without hesitation. ”Alexander’s right. We have to eliminate these unstable factors. Only if everyone pulls together can we face this unprecedented disaster.”

Charles Whitaker frowned and looked at Alexander. ”Alexander, you say they’re lawless, but after they arrived at Atlas City’s compound, they haven’t done anything outrageous, have they? We can’t mobilize all our forces against them just because you say so.”

”That’s because the moment they arrived, they went into that special space.” Alexander’s gaze stayed hard. ”If they were actually in the compound, who can guarantee what they might do? Isn’t the example of them killing Colonel Hale in Goldcrest City enough?”

”Alexander.” Charles’s voice cooled. ”You know better than anyone what happened with Colonel Hale. Some things don’t need to be spelled out.”

He shifted his eyes to Maxwell Kane. ”They stayed in Clearford City for a long time. I spoke with General Cross. I learned quite a bit about them from him. General Cross’s evaluation was: a group of powerful, principled young people with loyalty and a sense of justice. If they hadn’t been there, Clearford City might’ve already been overrun by zombies.”

Maxwell nodded, taking the opening. ”Exactly.”

Dominic Hale snorted. ”From what I heard, the moment they reached Clearford City’s compound, they wiped an Enhanced squad. After that, they even annihilated the number-one and number-two Enhanced teams in Clearford City. They didn’t respect the military at all. And you’re calling that ’loyal and righteous’? I think General Cross is just scared out of his mind.”

Maxwell’s face tightened. ”General Cross is someone I personally promoted. I know what kind of man he is.”

”General Kane.” Alexander’s tone stayed even, but it cut. ”You should understand—after the apocalypse, people change.”

He leaned back slightly. ”And didn’t Mercer Family’s Julian and my granddaughter Victoria get sent to Clearford City? They saw it with their own eyes—those people extorted a massive amount of crystal cores from the military. And General Cross could only smile and nod along like a servant. It made the military look weak. Gabriel should know about this too, shouldn’t he?”

Gabriel’s mouth opened, then shut. ”Uh… Julian did mention it,” he admitted awkwardly.

He’d been trying to stay neutral. Somehow, he still got dragged in.

Benjamin immediately seized the momentum. ”That kind of behavior is no different from extortion. Using strength to shake down the military—right to our faces. In my view, they truly do need to be dealt with.”

”Dealt with?” Maxwell slammed back, anger flaring. ”Do you even understand how powerful they are? You just say ’deal with them’ like it’s nothing. If we fail, do you have any idea what happens next?!”