Apocalypse: King of Zombies

At the back of the conference room sat a middle-aged man named Nathan Carter, the person in charge here.

Watching his team of Awakeners act so spinelessly, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of frustration. After all, only by hunting down powerful zombie kings could they evolve and grow stronger.

But instead, they were slacking off, choosing missions with the lowest difficulty.

Still, maybe it wasn’t all bad.

If this operation went smoothly, it could boost morale, enhance the company’s reputation, and earn the trust of the survivors.

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Meanwhile, Ethan was still lounging at home, sipping a crimson liquid from a wine glass. His posture was elegant, his life leisurely.

Outside the building, a red-eyed crow circled a few times in the air before landing on a streetlamp.

”Huh? A little black bird?”

In a nearby alley, Bulldozer peeked out, his massive head half-visible as he observed the scene.

He was fiercely territorial.

He’d noticed this crow hanging around the area for a while now. And, being a bit of a mischievous brute, he’d decided he was going to catch it.

So, Bulldozer began creeping toward the crow, moving as quietly as possible.

He tiptoed like a cat, his steps light and deliberate, not making a single sound.

Because he was being so cautious, it took him a full five minutes to cover just 50 feet.

But he was secretly pleased with himself—the crow didn’t seem to notice him at all. It stayed perched on the streetlamp, showing no signs of flying away.

Now, Bulldozer was less than 30 feet away. He bent his knees slowly, gathering all his strength, and then leapt into the air.

”Gotcha!”

Bulldozer’s jump was so powerful it cracked the ground beneath him. He shot toward the crow like a cannonball, his massive hand reaching out to grab it.

But just as he was about to succeed…

The crow suddenly flapped its wings and shot straight up, putting some distance between them and narrowly avoiding Bulldozer’s grasp.

”Can’t catch me… can’t catch me…”

The crow’s unique, mocking voice echoed from above, its tone both smug and taunting.

”ROAR—!” Bulldozer let out an angry bellow, furious. He grabbed a manhole cover from the side of the road, swung his arm back, and hurled it at the crow.

But the crow was quick. It flapped its wings again, flying even higher.

”Can’t hit me… can’t hit me…”

”RAAAH! You little black bird, come down here if you’ve got the guts!” Bulldozer roared, realizing he couldn’t reach it anymore.

The crow ignored him completely. Instead, it flapped its wings and flew higher, eventually disappearing into the distance.

”Damn it… damn it…” Bulldozer stomped and pounded his chest in frustration, but there was nothing more he could do.

The crow soared up to the 20th floor of a building and landed on a metal railing. Inside the spotless, pristine apartment, Ethan was lounging comfortably.

”Hello, good man. Hello, good man…”

”Well, if it isn’t Buddy Crow.”

Ethan glanced over. He recognized the big crow immediately. If it hadn’t helped him hunt the mutant Rat King, things would’ve been much harder for him.

He owed Buddy Crow a reward.

Ethan, ever generous, opened the window and pulled a few large drumsticks out of his spatial storage ring, tossing them out.

The big crow gobbled them up one by one, as if they were candy.

”Thank you, good man. Thank you, good man.”

”No problem.”

Leaning on the windowsill, Ethan continued chatting casually. ”What brings you here today? Got some free time to visit me?”

”Someone’s coming. Zombies too. A big group!” the crow squawked.

Apparently, it had spotted something while flying overhead and had come to warn Ethan.

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

Hearing the news didn’t surprise him much. He’d made plenty of enemies recently—it was only a matter of time before they came looking for trouble.

If they dared to come after him, he’d make sure they learned the true meaning of pain.

It was perfect timing, really. He’d just finished absorbing the two crystal cores from his last hunt and was wondering where to find more. Now, someone was delivering them right to his doorstep.

Still, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

He needed to prepare for battle.

Ethan quickly sent out a signal to his crew, letting them know that intruders were on their way to attack their territory.

When Bulldozer heard that someone was invading their territory, he completely lost it.

He was already furious from his failed attempt to catch the crow, and now this? It was the last straw.

”ROAR—!”

His deafening roar echoed through the area, and in response, a chorus of guttural growls erupted all around him.

One by one, his elite zombie underlings emerged from the shadows.

Normally, zombies were sluggish during the day, but now they were brimming with energy. Their bloodshot eyes gleamed with a savage hunger, their ferocity palpable, radiating an overwhelming killing intent.

Invading their territory? Were these fools asking to die?

Two thousand elite zombies assembled, their sheer numbers creating a terrifying spectacle. At the forefront of the horde stood Bulldozer, Laura, and the PhD zombie—three of the most powerful lieutenants in the area.

The zombies were ready, their ranks tight and disciplined, prepared to unleash a blood-soaked massacre.

Laura, meanwhile, let out a creepy, high-pitched giggle. Unlike Bulldozer, she wasn’t angry about the invasion. In fact, she seemed thrilled, as if the whole thing was some kind of twisted game.

Her thirst for carnage was even greater than Bulldozer’s. She lived for this.

Ethan, on the other hand, had taken up a position on the rooftop of the building.

The wind whipped through his hair as he stood there, his sharp eyes fixed on the horizon. His calm yet commanding presence exuded an air of quiet confidence.

In the distance, faint black dots appeared on the skyline, rapidly approaching.

They were Genesis Biotech’s aerial reconnaissance drones.

On the streets below, a convoy of heavily modified armored vehicles rumbled forward. Leading the charge was a massive bulldozer, plowing through everything in its path—abandoned cars, stray zombies, nothing could stand in its way.

This was Genesis Biotech’s Operation King Hunt team. The squad was made up of ten Awakeners, four of whom had already condensed crystal cores, along with a five-hundred-strong armed force.

The soldiers were fully equipped, carrying high-powered firearms and wearing sleek black nano-combat suits. Each suit bore the red Genesis Biotech logo on the chest, giving them a high-tech, almost futuristic look.

These nano-combat suits were no joke. They were tough enough to withstand zombie claws and bites, and even a knife couldn’t pierce them. They were incredibly effective in close combat.

But that wasn’t all. Genesis Biotech had also brought along two bioengineered weapons—Doom Hunters—to bolster their firepower.

Inside one of the vehicles sat the four crystal-core Awakeners, the main force of this operation. Three men and one woman, they were the team’s heavy hitters.

”This mission’s a sweet deal. Lucky we got assigned to it,” one of the men said with a smug grin.

The woman nodded. ”A one-star zombie nest? Perfect for some training. This is my first time on a mission like this.”

”Hahaha, then you’d better watch closely and learn,” the man replied, clearly enjoying his role as the experienced veteran.

Their team leader, Michael Morgan, cut in with a warning.

”Evan, even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Don’t get cocky. Every zombie is dangerous.”

”Captain, it’s just two thousand zombies,” Evan said with a shrug. ”And the zombie king here probably doesn’t have any special abilities—just brute strength. If it were anything more, it’d have a bigger territory than this.”

The last man, a tall and imposing figure, chimed in. ”As long as we don’t run into a Phantom Infected, we’ll be fine. Purely physical zombies are the easiest to deal with.”

”Oh…”

The woman listened intently as the three men discussed tactics. It was her first mission, and she was quickly realizing there was a lot more to hunting zombies than she’d thought.

She made a mental note to learn as much as she could from her more experienced teammates.

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