Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

Two days had quickly passed, and Zig sat beneath the shade of an extended tarp beside the west wall of the Eclipse Domain’s gate...

He was here to clear his mind before continuing on his work on Shane’s painting... As a matter of fact, he had decided to paint the shelter for now, for a warm-up...

After some time, he finally added the last line of dark orange paint across the sky of the Eclipse Domain shelter...

The painting was done, and he felt more inspired to continue with Shane’s painting...

The Eclipse Domain painting that he created showed the side of the stone wall and the buildings... There was also a grand depiction of a yellow bird rising from above...

He wasn’t aware of it yet, but that was Shane’s pet, Sparky. It was an evolved Thunderbird and could fight even high-tier Zombies alone.

In one corner of the painting stood a small figure, cloaked in black armor, with his red scarf whipping in the wind. It was Shane holding a sniper rifle...

However, with the image so small, Shane wasn’t too recognizable...

Apparently, Zig had planned all of this since Shane’s portrait would seem like a close-up version of this painting he had just made... He planned to give it the same ambience or story.

Finally, he felt that he could complete Shane’s canvas today.

”Alright... I’ll name it The Last Sanctuary...” Zig muttered...

Then, he received a notification. Even if he had only painted the Eclipse Domain for six hours, he managed to create a masterpiece!

[ Congratulations! The Masterpiece ”The Last Sanctuary” has been completed. ]

[ The Last Sanctuary ( Epic ): A grand, panoramic painting created by the visionary artist Zig, capturing the Eclipse Domain under the afternoon glow of a dusty sky.

Effects:

Contemplation of Sanctuary: Anyone who gazes upon the painting for more than 20 seconds gains a mental buff: +40% Resistance to Fear and Despair effects for 3 hours. +20% Focus and Clarity during crafting, planning, or combat preparation for 2 hours.

Shelter’s Memory: Increases the production speed, crafting speed, and agility by 35% for those who’ve viewed the painting. Lasts for 30 minutes.

Artistic Awakening: Any individual with artistic potential gains an Inspiration Point.

Passive Aura: While displayed in any location within the Eclipse Domain, all viewers within 5 meters will recover Morale and Mental Stamina 30% faster.

Creator: Zig

Binding: Bound to the Eclipse Domain

Condition: Pristine ]

”This is awesome... Maybe I should just focus on painting from now on.” Zig muttered after seeing the effects. He didn’t expect to be this good at all.

It was as if he had been blessed after entering the Eclipse Domain.

”Zig, you still up there?” It was Mara.

”Yeah,” he said while stretching his arms.

”Just finished. Think I’ll collapse now.”

”Get some food. Right, Diana wants to see your progress before she heads to the mining site.”

Zig grinned. ”Tell her I’ll show something good...”

***

In the meantime, about five hundred meters southeast, Jayvee stood at the edge of a dusty hill, studying the land below.

The terrain was a lot more challenging than he had thought...

There were already some cracked roads, shallow ravines, and unpredictable zombie infestations littered the region between the Eclipse Domain and the gold mining site Shane had secured.

Building a functioning road to connect the two points for easy transportation of supplies, workforce, and extracted gold was not that easy...

Thankfully, the Super Soldiers were helping, and the Warden Units were also guarding them.

”Alright, boys and girls...” Jayvee shouted, spinning around. ”We’ve got thirty meters of concrete left and one crawler zombie nest just beyond those ruins. Let’s make it quick and clean. If we want a working route by next week, we can’t slack today!”

Several survivors from the Great Mercenary Clan responded with a nod.

Though lower-leveled than elite Survivors of the Eclipse Domain, they were tough, disciplined, and grateful to finally be part of something huge...

With their picks, hammers, and system-buffed wheelbarrows, they pushed onward.

By now, two-thirds of the planned road had been laid. It wasn’t the smoothest stretch of infrastructure, but it was reinforced with upgraded stone segments, dirt-stabilizing effects, and some solar-powered lightposts aside from the lantern posts that repel the Zombies.

Jayvee, wearing his dirt-stained vest, was everywhere—checking the slope angles, deploying the lanterns to repel straggler zombies, and coordinating with the engineers.

Talia, an energetic Level 32 Survivor with a Builder’s Talent, focused on her task of compressing the gravel foundation.

Behind them, a few trucks carried supplies from the shelter.

Shane had invested in them after the Ivory Gear visit.

Still, there were actually horse-drawn carriages around despite the trucks and other cars being around.

Apparently, these horses were quite special as they could easily detect any harmful airs... That was why even the other neutral shelters didn’t want to part with them.

Suddenly, there was a shout from a lookout.

”Three Walkers! East side, dragging themselves out of the dirt!”

Jayvee immediately looked at the Warden Units... As expected, as soon as they confirmed the presence of the Zombies, they swiftly acted.

Within seconds, two Warden Units sprinted toward the threat. Everyone watched as they couldn’t help but feel fascinated by these humanoid machines...

These Warden Units had guns, but they were also carrying swords with them. Instead of shooting the Walker Zombies, they had probably considered that they were just a waste of ammunition.

Because of that, they drew their swords instead and cleanly sliced one of the zombies’ heads while the other was able to cut off the Zombie’s whole body... The last Walker, on the other hand, was too slow to even groan before its skull cracked under a swift kick of the Warden Unit.

It was such a clean battle and they felt as if they had just learned something... Anyway, the crew returned to their tasks like it was routine...

***

At the end of the day, Zig had also finished working on Shane’s portrait and even gave it a name...

[ Congratulations! The Honored Portrait ”The Survivor King – Shane” has been completed. ]

[ The Survivor King – Shane ( Epic ): A large, detailed portrait of Shane, leader of the Eclipse Revenant Clan and the currently strongest Survivor in the world.

Effects:

Dominion’s Gaze: Those who meet the painted eyes of Shane for at least 20 seconds gain +25% Physical Resistance and +10% Aura Resistance for 1 hour. Increased confidence during combat, granting +5% Hit Rate and +5% Critical Chance for 30 minutes.

Inspire the Lesser, Challenge the Strong: Survivors below Level 40 gain a temporary morale boost and movement speed when seeing the painting.

Survivors above Level 40 feel a subtle pressure to train harder. +15% Training Efficiency for 3 hours.

Passive Aura: Individuals nearby feel more focused and courageous, allowing them to resist Mind Control effects more easily.

Creator: Zig

Binding: None

Condition: Pristine ]

”This is awesome...” Zig was excited as he saw his finest creation. Even if he had worked on other painting jobs before, none of them had such incredible effects as this.

Perhaps it was due to his subject this time.

’Maybe painting anything related to Shane is the key?’ He mused.

He couldn’t help but feel excited as he knew that Diana or even Shane would be happy to see this item.

***

In the meantime, Shane had been in his laboratory for several days already...

Inside, the soft thrum of the ventilation system could be heard together with the bubbling of alchemical fluids.

There were a lot of alchemical products and materials inside, including some complex apparatus around, powered by a biofuel and spirit stones...

At this time, Shane had already created hundreds of Shadowbound Step Potions, Armored Dash Skill Potions, Night Vision Skill Potions, and Five-Meter Jump Skill Potions.

Right now, Shane was focusing on the Obsidian Hide Skill Potion.

He was clad in his black alchemist’s overcoat, with a custom filtration mask covering his mouth and nose. Before him were five large alchemy cauldrons—each surrounded by vials, ingredients, enchanted tools, and automated stirring arms waiting for instruction.

Currently, the formula of the potion was already known by heart, but Shane would still ask Cloud from time to time to ensure precision.

He was preparing 17 brews, a staggering number, to produce a total of 51 vials... After all, a single set of ingredients based on the recipe could allow him to make 3 vials.

”Soon... My stay here will be over...” Shane muttered as he carefully adjusted the temperature under the first cauldron.

”Let’s make sure they don’t explode this time.”

After saying this, Shane took a deep breath and began by pouring 300mL of Stoneskin Zombie’s Blood into each of the five cauldrons.

The liquid was thick and muddy, like viscous oil... It resisted heat, but Shane expertly adjusted the flame beneath the cauldrons to a level that avoided clotting.

Next, he slowly introduced 100mL of Zombie Lord’s Blood into each container...

The reaction was immediate. A deep gray luster shone across the surface...

”Good. Stable so far.”