Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”What did I even do to you? And what do you mean, ’take responsibility’?” Sophia looked utterly baffled, staring at Nathan like he was some wronged housewife sulking over spilled milk.

”Jessica and the others are dead!” Nathan snapped, his voice sharp with frustration. He then launched into a detailed recount of everything that had happened, leaving out no detail, no matter how small.

Sophia froze, her expression shifting to one of shock.

Jessica... dead?

That didn’t make sense. In her mind, Jessica was sharp, resourceful, and practically a survival expert. Even if a mission went south, death seemed like the least likely outcome.

But now, here they were.

”Cough... Mr. Nathan, maybe it was just an accident. They must’ve made a mistake,” Sophia offered, though her tone lacked conviction.

”And what about the people I lost? What am I supposed to do about that?” Nathan shot back, his frustration bubbling over.

”Well, uh...” Sophia hesitated, knowing full well that her team bore most of the responsibility for this disaster. She was at a loss for words. ”Look, don’t get worked up. Failure happens. No one can guarantee a 100% success rate every single time, right?”

”Not worked up? Are you kidding me? At this rate, zombies are gonna be knocking on my front door any minute now!” Nathan’s voice rose, his irritation palpable. ”And if my company gets wiped out, you think HQ’s just gonna let this slide? You’ll be in just as much trouble as me!”

The truth was, both of them worked for Genesis Biotech, and failure wasn’t exactly something the company tolerated. If you couldn’t deliver, you were replaced. And the replacements? Well, let’s just say their fates were grim—live experiments or full-on bio-modification.

Sophia sighed, rubbing her temples as she tried to think. This whole situation was a mess, and she was starting to feel like she’d shot herself in the foot.

”Relax. I’ve still got an A+ grade triple-modified unit I haven’t deployed yet,” she said, trying to sound confident.

”Forget it. Don’t even bother,” Nathan replied, clearly done with her excuses. He didn’t trust her anymore. This was something he’d have to take up with HQ directly.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Ethan was leading his crew as they cleaned up the aftermath. The air was thick with the stench of blood and decay, and the sound of zombies feasting on flesh filled the area. The fight had been tough, sure, but the rewards? Oh, they were worth it.

The elite zombies under Ethan’s command had grown even stronger, their numbers swelling with each victory.

Ethan himself had scored big—five A-grade crystal cores and several B+ ones.

Too much. Way too much. There was no way he could consume it all at once.

Just as he was contemplating what to do with the surplus, Big Ears came sprinting over, his oversized ears flapping wildly as he ran.

”Boss! There’s some human activity near the edge of our territory, in the forest. Not sure what they’re up to, but it’s a lot of movement,” Big Ears reported, panting slightly.

”Oh...” Ethan nodded, his expression calm but thoughtful.

It was clear that Genesis Biotech wasn’t the only group sniffing around. Other human factions were starting to make moves too—probably the Black Hand Legion, some random survivor groups, or maybe even an official government shelter.

But Ethan wasn’t particularly concerned. These small fry weren’t worth his personal attention. He’d let his underlings handle it.

With that, he turned and headed back to his base.

There was, however, one lingering issue that he couldn’t ignore—the mutated fungi near the graveyard. Those things were a real problem. They had the ability to mimic their surroundings, making them incredibly dangerous.

If left unchecked, who knew what kind of monstrosity they might evolve into?

Ethan figured it was time to deal with them. Besides, he had another idea brewing in the back of his mind. If he could take out the fungi, maybe he’d get his hands on another crystal core seed. With that, he could create a sixth zombie king to add to his growing army.

Back in the human world, Genesis Biotech was still making waves online.

Their recent announcement about restarting the ”Operation King Hunt” had stirred up a lot of buzz.

”What’s going on? Why’s it so quiet all of a sudden?”

”Did Genesis Biotech manage to take down the zombie king yet?”

”No clue... there’s been no updates.”

”Wasn’t this supposed to be live-streamed? Why isn’t the announcement being updated?”

”...”

The comments under the announcement were piling up fast, with survivors from all over Los Angeles chiming in.

But just as the discussion was reaching a fever pitch, the screen suddenly refreshed, and a single line of text appeared:

’The post you commented on has been deleted.’

”Huh?”

”What’s going on? Why was the post deleted?”

”No idea…”

The survivors stared at their screens, utterly confused.

...

The day of carnage had come to an end. As night fell, darkness blanketed the land, and Ethan’s territory returned to its usual eerie calm.

Well, almost.

From the forest at the edge of his domain, the occasional zombie growl echoed through the night. It seemed a few stray humans had wandered too close, likely trying to scout the area.

Their curiosity had cost them their lives, their screams silenced as they became nothing more than a midnight snack for the undead.

Inside his base, Ethan lounged on a worn leather sofa, swirling a crimson liquid in a wine glass. With a single gulp, he downed the contents, savoring the rush of power as the A-grade crystal core he’d absorbed earlier coursed through him. His body felt alive, buzzing with energy.

He stood up slowly, his tall frame casting a shadow across the room. And then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.

The graveyard was pitch black under the shroud of night. A cold wind swept through, carrying with it a mournful wail that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere all at once.

Behind the graveyard, the trees in the forest swayed, their branches creaking and rustling like skeletal fingers beckoning in the dark.

Ethan’s figure materialized amidst the shadows, his sharp eyes cutting through the gloom as if the darkness itself bent to his will.

”What’s hiding out here?” he muttered to himself, stepping forward. His form shimmered briefly before vanishing again, blending seamlessly into the night as he activated his cloaking ability. It was as if the darkness had swallowed him whole.

The forest air was damp and cold, the kind of chill that seeped into your bones. Ethan moved silently, weaving through the trees like a phantom. The silence was oppressive—no insects chirped, no animals stirred.

But the trees… they were alive in a different way.

Clusters of grotesque red growths clung to the trunks, pulsating faintly like beating hearts. The fleshy tumors were packed so densely in some areas that they seemed to breathe, their rhythmic throbbing almost hypnotic.

Beneath these growths lay piles of bones—some animal, some human. Some were neatly stacked, while others were scattered haphazardly across the forest floor. The sight was grotesque, a macabre reminder of what happened to anything that ventured too close.

It was clear: this part of the forest had been completely overtaken by the mutated fungi. It was a death zone, a place where no other life could survive.

But Ethan wasn’t fazed. His steps were steady as he ventured deeper into the fungal territory.

The further he went, the stronger the metallic tang of blood became, faint at first but growing more distinct with each step.

”Humans,” Ethan murmured, his senses sharpening. He quickened his pace, following the scent until he came across a body lying on the ground.

It was a woman, and she hadn’t been dead for long.

Her corpse was riddled with red fungal growths of varying sizes, the tumors sprouting from her body like grotesque flowers. Even her face wasn’t spared—two large growths protruded from her cheeks, distorting her features.

Yet, strangely enough, her expression wasn’t one of pain or terror. She looked… peaceful, as if she’d simply fallen asleep.

”Died looking pretty, huh…” Ethan muttered, crouching down to examine her. He couldn’t help but wonder what her final moments had been like.

She was probably one of the humans drawn out by the chaos caused by Genesis Biotech’s recent activities. Maybe she’d been curious, hoping to see what was going on.

Instead, she’d wandered into the wrong part of the forest, straight into the fungal zone. She hadn’t even made it to Ethan’s territory before meeting her end.

”Well, that’s one less snack for my crew,” Ethan thought with a smirk, though he wasn’t particularly bothered.

As he stood there, lost in thought, a faint rustling sound broke the silence. It was subtle at first, but it quickly grew louder, like something was shifting and squirming nearby.

Ethan’s gaze snapped toward the source of the noise.

The red growths on the trees were moving. Slowly but surely, several of the tumors began to converge, merging together into a single mass.

And then, the mass began to take shape.

It was humanoid.

The figure staggered as it rose, its form becoming more defined with each passing second. Limbs stretched out, a torso took shape, and a face began to emerge. Even the texture of clothing was mimicked, the details eerily precise.

By the time it fully stood, it was no longer just a mass of fungi.

It was a woman.

And not just any woman—it was an exact replica of the corpse lying on the ground.

...