Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Big Ears raised an eyebrow, feeling like he’d finally met his match. ”So, you’re saying you were just out there tearing it up in San Bernardino?”

”That’s hardly worth mentioning,” Locomotive replied, waving a hand with an air of mystery. ”Ever since I gained sentience, I’ve never encountered a single rival in the zombie world.”

”...…” Big Ears was speechless. This guy was even better at bragging than he was—or no, maybe it wasn’t bragging. Maybe this guy was just on a whole other level.

When Ethan got home, he followed his usual routine: took a shower, changed into fresh clothes, poured himself a glass of juice, and started consuming crystal cores.

His trip to San Bernardino had been pretty fruitful—he’d brought back a decent haul of local ”specialties.”

Among them was one A+ grade crystal core and five A-grade ones. These would keep him busy for a few days.

But as his strength grew, so did his appetite.

At this point, what he really needed were those rare S-grade crystal cores.

Down on the street below, a crowd of zombies had gathered.

Ethan had already handed over the X-virus and Y-virus to PhD, instructing him to select suitable zombies for injection. After being dosed with the two viruses, their bodies were evolving rapidly, becoming stronger and more formidable.

Ethan’s elite forces had grown again, now numbering over 1,500. It was a terrifyingly powerful army.

On top of that, he’d brought back 6,000 zombies from San Bernardino, including the Elegy Zombie King. His territory’s overall strength had taken another massive leap forward.

So, for the next few days, Ethan didn’t make any big moves. He just stayed home, kept things low-key, snacked with his underlings, basked in the glow of the Radiant Crystal like it was a sunlamp, and continued his laid-back lifestyle.

However, the chaos he’d caused in San Bernardino wasn’t so easily forgotten.

The incident had been way too big to keep under wraps. Everyone in San Bernardino knew about it, and the news spread like wildfire.

Even Nathan, over at the Los Angeles branch, got wind of it pretty quickly through a report from his assistant.

Sitting in his office chair, Nathan’s expression was unreadable—neither happy nor sad. But there was a hint of… resignation?

He was numb.

His assistant, on the other hand, was visibly worried. Her pretty face was clouded with concern. ”Mr. Nathan, according to the reports from San Bernardino, they’ve lost over a thousand doses of the X-virus and Y-virus, along with 6,000 zombies. It’s likely all of it has ended up here in Los Angeles. Our situation is getting more dangerous by the day. What should we do?”

”What else can we do? Just keep rolling with it,” Nathan said, throwing up his hands. He’d already reached the point where he couldn’t care anymore. They couldn’t beat that Zombie King before, and they still couldn’t now. So, really, nothing had changed.

The assistant scratched her head in frustration. ”But what if the Zombie King decides to attack us one day?”

”We’ll deal with it when it happens. But honestly… ever since that Zombie King rose to power, he hasn’t shown any intention of coming after us. He hasn’t made things difficult for us at all. If you think about it, he’s not so bad.”

”...…” The assistant was at a loss for words. ”Boss, are you sure you’re not developing Stockholm Syndrome?”

”Of course not! No way,” Nathan said, waving his hands defensively. ”Anyway, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, just focus on other tasks, okay?”

”Alright, if you say so.” The assistant left the room, closing the door behind her.

Left alone in his office, Nathan couldn’t help but start mulling things over.

Sophia was always mocking him for losing the X-virus and Y-virus, but now she’d gone and lost over a thousand doses herself. Sure, this whole situation wasn’t great for him, but… why did he feel a weird sense of satisfaction about it?

”Maybe I should give her a call to check in,” Nathan thought to himself. She’d been roasting him in meetings for ages—this was finally his chance to get some payback. If there was one silver lining to this mess, it was this moment, and he wasn’t about to waste it.

He picked up the satellite phone and dialed the San Bernardino branch.

After a few rings, the call connected.

”Hello, Sophia. I heard about the disaster in San Bernardino. I just wanted to say how deeply sorry I am to hear about it,” Nathan began, his tone dripping with faux sympathy.

”It was an accident,” Sophia replied, her voice low and restrained.

”Oh, an accident, huh? Losing over a thousand doses of the virus—double what I lost. That’s rough,” Nathan said, his words laced with mock concern.

”...…” Silence on the other end.

”But hey, maybe the viruses were destroyed in the chaos. Who’s to say they ended up in the Zombie King’s hands, right?” Nathan added, his tone still light but pointed.

Sophia stayed silent, but the sound of her gritted teeth and increasingly heavy breathing was unmistakable.

”And I heard The Four Knights of Bernardino lost another member. That leaves, what, just two now?” Nathan asked, his voice full of feigned curiosity.

More silence.

But Nathan could clearly hear the sound of her gritting her teeth, her breathing growing heavier.

She forced herself to maintain a calm tone. ”Nathan, did you call me just to say all this?”

”Oh, what’s this? You’re upset now? I told you ages ago that the rise of that Zombie King wasn’t my fault. Do you believe me now?”

”Fine! I believe you!” Sophia snapped, her voice heavy with restrained anger.

Nathan pressed on, his tone still casual. ”And now, thanks to your generous contribution, my situation is even more dangerous. This could lead to some very serious consequences, you know.”

”Don’t worry! I’ll take full responsibility for this!” Sophia said, her fury barely contained.

”Take responsibility?” Nathan’s voice turned mocking. He remembered the last time she’d said that, and it hadn’t exactly gone well. ”What are you going to do? Send the last two members of The Four Knights of Bernardino to clean up the mess?”

”You… shut up!” Sophia finally lost it. With a sharp click, she slammed the phone down.

Beep—beep—beep—

The dial tone buzzed in Nathan’s ear.

”Wow, that’s not gonna cut it. With a temper like that, she’s never gonna catch up to me,” Nathan muttered to himself, shaking his head.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the call…

Sophia was fuming, slamming her hand on her desk in frustration.

In her office, a group of senior staff had gathered for an emergency meeting.

”Sophia, calm down! Getting angry isn’t good for your health. It could lead to breast cysts, and if it gets worse, maybe even cancer. Then—”

”You shut up too!” Sophia snapped, cutting him off.

The young man shrugged. His name was Jacob Turner, one of the last remaining members of The Two Knights of Bernardino. He’d been out on a mission but rushed back as soon as he heard about the disaster.

Sophia’s secretary stepped forward to report. ”Sophia, all our combat personnel have been assembled. Should we head to Los Angeles to retrieve the evolution viruses?”

”Retrieve what? By now, the zombies have probably absorbed all of it,” Jacob interjected from the side.

Sophia nodded. ”If we go to Los Angeles, we won’t just be dealing with the Zombie King. The human refuge there is also connected to him.”

She recalled the battle with Griff near the refuge gates. Instead of fighting the humans, the Zombie King had actually cooperated with them.

The secretary looked puzzled. ”That doesn’t make sense. With the Zombie King’s strength, he could’ve easily wiped out the refuge. Why would he choose to work with humans?”

”That’s simple,” Sophia said, her tone sharp and analytical. ”It’s because their value as allies outweighs their value as food. That’s the only reason he hasn’t made a move.”

Sophia’s expression darkened as she continued her analysis. To her, Ethan sparing Mia was no different from a farmer sparing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

...