Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

Inside Blue Haven Shelter, Fiona sat cross-legged in the dim meditation chamber.

To anyone passing by, she looked serene with her eyes closed and calm breathing. She even seemed to be unbothered by her surroundings... But beneath that calm exterior, her mind was filled with information she needed to process.

She was very busy as she found many interesting things outside the shelter.

More than thirty rats scurried across the mountain range and the wastelands outside the shelter, each one was a living extension of her will.

Through their eyes, ears, and twitching whiskers, Fiona monitored multiple places at once. She found ruined villages, abandoned roads, fishing zones with her swimmer rats, and even the outskirts of dangerous territories.

Her Talent didn’t just let her control numerous rats, if she actually used her Splitting Mind Skill, it would allow her to split her consciousness, dividing threads of her awareness into each of her rodents. It was exhausting, but she had trained herself to endure the strain. To her, the rats were not vermin. They were scouts, spies, and guardians that could protect her...

One rat darted through a collapsed sewer, reporting faint zombie movements.

Another perched on a broken wall, watching another merchant caravan heading to a different shelter, passes safely.

’I guess I should have two of my rats to follow this caravan...’ Fiona mused as she was also curious about their movement. She wanted to know where they were getting resources and perhaps learn about the other shelters around this region.

After all, these mysterious caravans could always tell the location of any Shelters for some reason. Following them should give her useful information.

Another rat, on the other hand, followed a group of scavengers, noting their supplies.

Fiona absorbed it all as her mind had become a web of information.

”What do we have here...” Fiona muttered as one rat scurried into the ruins of an old watchtower. Its tiny claws scraped against stone as it squeezed through a crack in the wall.

Inside, Fiona saw through its eyes... She found a half-collapsed chamber littered with debris. But tucked beneath a broken beam was something unusual... an opened Treasure Chest, its lid splintered, its contents long gone. Still, faint traces of glittering dust clung to the wood.

Fiona smiled faintly. ”Someone got lucky here,” she thought, amused at the idea of scavengers celebrating their find.

She then turned to another rat that was climbing a cliffside. Its whiskers twitched as it sniffed the air. Fiona’s senses sharpened as she noticed white streaks across the rocks...

’Ahhh... They’re poops...’ She mused.

She recognized them as bird droppings, fresh and scattered. Her rat squeaked softly, and Fiona chuckled under her breath.

”So there are nests nearby... maybe eggs too.” She imagined feasting on roasted bird eggs, a rare delicacy in the apocalypse.

Although she heard that Shane’s Animal Husbandry Unit was already collecting some eggs, the numbers were simply too low. It was obviously not enough to supply thousands of people just yet.

That was why she felt excited to see birds here... Perhaps, it might help the Husbandry Unit and of course, the Blue Haven Shelter’s food variety.

Her rat climbed higher along the cliffside, whiskers twitching as it sniffed the air.

Fiona focused on this rat first and through its tiny gaze, she saw a cluster of massive nests placed into the cliffs. The nests were woven from branches, bones, and scraps of cloth scavenged from ruins. Inside, several large birds perched...

”Uhmm... What kind of bird is this?” She muttered.

She was no expert on this, and because of the virus, it wouldn’t be surprising if this was a mutated chicken at all... since they had completely changed its appearance.

But with their feathers a shimmering bronze, Fiona couldn’t help but guess that it was close to a hawk...

”Maybe this is the Bronze‑feathered hawks I read about in the chat before?” Fiona guessed as she had never really seen one before.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel excited.

If he remembered it correctly, the hawks were apex scavengers, known to swoop down on zombies and tear them apart with talons sharp enough to pierce armor.

But what caught Fiona’s attention wasn’t the birds themselves, it was what lay inside the nests.

Her rat crept closer, careful not to alert the hawks and become their food instead...

Fiona’s breath caught as she saw eggs the size of a human head, their shells gleaming faintly. Some were mottled bronze, but one in particular shimmered with a golden hue.

”Whoa...”

Fiona chuckled softly, her voice low.

”Well, well... a golden egg. That’s rare. Shane will want to hear about this. Imagine the reaction if we served these at Blue Haven.”

Her rat squeaked nervously, but Fiona urged it forward. As it nosed around the nest, it brushed against something hard beneath the twigs. Fiona focused, and her eyes widened.

Hidden under the eggs was a small ornate box, half‑buried in feathers and debris. Its surface was etched with golden engravings, and though weathered, it still glimmered faintly.

Fiona tilted her head, amused.

”A treasure chest inside a bird’s nest? Now that’s unexpected. Either someone hid it here... or these hawks dragged it back after scavenging.”

She guided the rat to nudge the box open. Inside, she glimpsed shards of crystal and a few coins that gleamed faintly even through the rat’s vision.

”Interesting... crystals and currency. Not much, but enough to be useful. And all hidden under a nest of hawks.” Fiona smirked. ”This spot is worth marking. Eggs, treasure, and bird meat to get... Perfect.”

Her rat squeaked again, retreating quickly as one of the hawks stirred, its bronze feathers rustling.

Fiona pulled her awareness back, chuckling softly in the meditation chamber.

”Alright, I’ll leave you alone for now... but I’ll be back for those eggs.”

She then immediately took note of its spot...

***

After feeling satisfied about this discovery, she turned to her swimmer rats. As the name implies, they were trained for water. They paddled across a shallow fishing zone.

Through their eyes, Fiona saw schools of fish darting beneath the surface. But what caught her attention was a cluster of discarded nets, tangled and half-buried in the mud. Survivors had been here recently, perhaps too careless to retrieve their gear. Fiona filed the information away... abandoned nets meant scavenging opportunity.

There was nothing much in the sea as some rats were even eaten alive, so she had to retreat after some time.

Farther out in the wasteland, one rat squeezed into a collapsed cellar beneath a ruined inn. Its whiskers brushed against something metallic.

Fiona focused, and her rat uncovered a pile of rusted coins and broken trinkets. Worthless to most, but she heard from Shane that some merchants valued scrap metal for trade.

She heard that Shane had a connection to the Ivory Gear Shelter, which requires tons of metal because of their specialty in machines.

”Ohhh... What do we have here...”

Another discovery made her grin. A rat darted into a hollow tree and found a stash of dried mushrooms, carefully wrapped in cloth. Someone had hidden food here, but never returned to claim it.

Fiona’s rat nibbled a corner, confirming they were edible. She marked the location in her mental map.

This job of hers was certainly enjoyable most of the time... She might not be physically there, but she enjoys what she sees from her rats. Furthermore, with her Rat Swap Skill, she could even go out to collect items if she wanted to a few times a day.

Nonetheless, her rats’ explorations didn’t end there...

Her mountain rats reported something stranger...

One scurried across a cliff and found strange claw marks carved deep into the stone. Fiona frowned as she found traces of Zombies, and they weren’t ordinary...

Perhaps mutated birds or climbing-type Zombies with traces of tail being dragged...

”Hmm... Zombies with large claws and heavy tails, huh...” She mused as she couldn’t remember any Zombie that matched this description.

She could only guess that it was a new variant.

Anyway, her rats continued moving around...

She enjoyed these discoveries, small treasures scattered across the wasteland... All of this were found while sitting safely in Blue Haven Shelter, she felt like a queen surveying her domain.

Every rat was her scout... She didn’t need to risk her life outside; her swarm brought the world to her feet.

And then, amidst the fun and curiosity, her rats near the collapsed fortress froze. Their red eyes reflected something immense. Fiona’s calm expression hardened as she shifted her focus.

Through them, she saw the towering figure of Bonehorn the Ravager, guarded by three Zombie Kings. And crouched in the shadows nearby were armed figures she did not recognize... but their vests bore the unmistakable emblem of the Overlord Clan.

Fiona straightened in the meditation chamber, her rats twitched nervously as they realized that they could be killed at any moment...

”This...” She was stunned for a moment, but she immediately recovered.

Without wasting any more time, Fiona sent a message to Shane informing him of the situation.

Of course, Shane may not check her Chat Messages, so she used the rat that was hiding inside his coat!