Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Sophia thought to herself, this felt like putting up a huge reward and attracting a bunch of con artists. But… since they were here, might as well see if they had any real skills, right?

A moment later, the office door opened, and in walked a middle-aged man. He was dressed in black, his face gaunt, cheekbones sharp, and his eyes cold and piercing. There was an unsettling chill about him, as if the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees the moment he entered.

Sophia glanced up, sizing him up quickly before greeting him.

”Hello!”

”Miss Sophia, hello!” the man replied in clunky English.

”….” Sophia felt a headache coming on. This guy already seemed unreliable.

”So, you’re Ryuji Takahashi, the patriarch of the Takahashi Family?”

”That’s right! That’s me!” the man confirmed confidently.

Sophia didn’t feel like wasting time on pleasantries. She got straight to the point. ”The reason I called you here is to hunt down a Zombie King. What are the odds you can take it down?”

”One hundred percent,” Ryuji said without hesitation, his tone brimming with confidence.

”Oh?” Sophia raised an eyebrow, skepticism creeping in. The Zombie King listed in the Phantom Infected files was no joke—it was top-tier. And yet, here he was, acting like it was a walk in the park.

Ryuji smirked, tilting his head slightly. ”Miss Sophia, you must know, we come from Japan. The monsters there are far more rampant than here—several times over. To put it bluntly, the powerful creatures I’ve encountered would make the ones you’ve heard of seem like child’s play.”

”Is that so? If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your Awakener rank?” Sophia asked, testing him.

”Me? SS-rank,” Ryuji replied casually.

”What?!” Sophia almost jumped out of her chair. SS-rank? That strong? But then again… maybe he was exaggerating. Could be some embellishment there.

Ryuji continued, ”And it’s not just me. My family is full of powerful individuals. So, hunting a Zombie King? Not a problem at all.”

”Alright then, go ahead and get started,” Sophia said quickly. Whether he was bluffing or not, it was time to see if he could back up his words. After all, the proof is in the pudding.

”Hold on!” Ryuji raised a hand, stopping her. He then laid out his condition. ”Before we hunt the Zombie King, I’d like you to provide my family with food and shelter.”

”Absolutely not!” Sophia shot him down immediately. What if it took them a year to kill the Zombie King? Was she supposed to feed and house them for a year?

Besides, there was no way she was letting these Japanese strangers stay at the Genesis Biotech base. What if they were scammers? Who knew what kind of schemes they might be plotting?

And in this post-apocalyptic world, you couldn’t trust anyone without knowing their background. What if they pulled something shady, like a sneak attack? Sophia wasn’t about to let herself get Pearl Harbored.

She wasn’t stupid. There was no way she’d let a group of outsiders settle in her territory.

Ryuji frowned. His family had been on the run ever since they fled Japan, constantly moving from place to place. They desperately needed somewhere to settle down.

”Miss Sophia, this was part of the reward your headquarters promised me!”

”The reward… is given after the job is done. You haven’t even started yet. Why would I pay you in advance?” Sophia countered firmly. She was a businesswoman at heart, sharp and pragmatic.

”Fine!” Ryuji nodded. ”Then I’ll go hunt the Zombie King right away. I hope you’ll honor your promise when the time comes.”

”No problem,” Sophia replied.

With that, Ryuji turned and headed for the door.

”Wait a second!” Sophia suddenly called out, stopping him. After a brief moment of thought, she said, ”We’ve set up an Awakener camp on the outskirts of the city. If you really have nowhere else to stay, you can go there for now.”

”Oh?” Ryuji’s eyes lit up. ”Thank you, Miss Sophia.” With that, he left the office.

Sophia sat back, deep in thought. Letting the Takahashi Family stay at the Awakener camp wasn’t out of kindness. No, it was because… that camp had just been attacked by the Nightmare Zombie King last night.

Who knew if the Nightmare would show up again tonight?

Ryuji had no idea what kind of power that Nightmare Zombie King wielded.

Sending his family there was like putting up a shield.

If they died, well, it wouldn’t be her problem…

…

On the other side of things…

Ethan was lying low at home. On the windowsill, two radiant crystals glimmered with a soft, otherworldly light. Under their glow, his cells buzzed with energy, absorbing the power at an incredible rate.

The high-grade crystal cores he’d hunted during the Santa Clarita trip were already fully absorbed, leaving him stronger than ever.

”Good stuff,” Ethan muttered, tucking the two radiant crystals into his spatial storage ring.

With that, his figure flickered and dimmed, and in the next moment, he appeared downstairs.

Gathered on the street were Bulldozer, Laura, PhD, Big Ears, and the rest of the crew.

Ethan’s form materialized slowly in front of them, and the group of Zombie Kings greeted him with respect.

Little Shadow was the first to speak. ”Boss, I got injured by a human. That guy was weird—he could shapeshift and move like water. Pretty strong, too.”

”Yeah, no kidding. If I hadn’t been there, things could’ve gone south real fast,” Big Ears chimed in.

PhD adjusted his glasses and added, ”Based on their description, I’d say it’s likely a technological creation—a third-generation cyborg.”

”Oh?” Ethan raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. Genesis Biotech was advancing faster than he’d expected. Third-gen cyborgs already?

Why hadn’t anyone sent him a memo about this?

Ethan felt a bit out of the loop, like he was falling behind on the latest ”trends.”

He thought back to the second-gen cyborgs. They were already impressive, each one carrying multiple crystal cores.

And now Genesis Biotech had rolled out a new model.

Interesting. Definitely worth investigating.

Lil’ Shroom spoke up next. ”Boss, last night the Nightmare Zombie King hit the Awakener camp and used his Dream Invasion ability. Took out a bunch of humans.”

”Did he take their crystal cores?” Ethan asked casually.

”Nope,” Lil’ Shroom replied, shaking Her head.

Thanks to Lil’ Shroom’s shapeshifting ability, which allowed her to blend in as a human, she’d managed to gather quite a bit of intel.

Ethan thought for a moment. ”Then tonight, I’ll go myself…”

...

As the sun dipped below the horizon and darkness blanketed the land, another night descended upon the desolate, post-apocalyptic city.

The wind howled through the ruins, carrying with it the eerie chill of the end times.

This night, like so many others, was destined to be anything but ordinary.

A new figure—a Zombie King—slipped into the outskirts of San Bernardino. Dressed in pristine white, his eyes gleamed with sharp clarity. He moved through the area with the ease of someone who’d been here before.

But unlike Nightmare, Ethan didn’t bother sneaking through narrow alleys or hidden paths. He walked straight down the main road, silent and untraceable. Even as he passed by other zombies, they didn’t so much as flinch.

Under the Domain of the Dead’s concealment ability, Ethan was like a ghost.

Even when a drone buzzed overhead, scanning the area, it was useless.

Before long, Ethan reached the edge of the Awakener camp. Just like the night before, searchlights swept the area, drones hummed in the air, and the number of guards had noticeably increased. The defenses were tighter, clearly a response to the previous night’s attack.

But as Ethan’s gaze swept over the camp, something caught his attention.

Some of the tents looked… off. They didn’t bear the Genesis Biotech logo. Instead, they were white, embroidered with pink cherry blossom patterns.

And there were people in traditional kimonos moving about inside.

Ethan couldn’t help but feel curious.

”Who ordered sushi?”

...