Apocalypse: King of Zombies

At this moment, Satoshi, cloaked in Aqua Stealth mode, had become completely invisible and successfully infiltrated Los Angeles.

He moved cautiously through the wrecked streets, where zombies occasionally wandered. Fortunately, none of them noticed him.

”The zombies here have evolved so much...”

Satoshi was on edge as he observed the undead. Many of them looked sharp, their eyes gleaming with intelligence—a clear sign of higher cognition.

Most of the zombies in this area had developed self-awareness and had even formed a new kind of civilization!

In the darker corners of the city, grotesque bio-mutants injected with the G-virus lurked, their twisted faces radiating pure menace.

Satoshi’s eyes widened in fear. He didn’t dare linger and quickly pressed forward.

Up ahead, a group of zombies had gathered in the middle of the street.

It looked like they were watching something—almost as if they were enjoying a spectacle.

”What’s going on here…?” Satoshi’s curiosity was piqued. Seeing the crowd of zombies, he decided to take a closer look.

He slipped behind the gathered undead and saw three zombie lieutenants sitting cross-legged in the center of the group.

It was none other than the infamous trio—Big Ears, Shrimpy, and Locomotive. They sat in a circle, looking like they were holding some kind of serious mafia-style meeting.

In reality, they were just killing time, chatting about nothing in particular.

”I think I’ve evolved quite a bit recently, especially in terms of intelligence. I’d say I’m the smartest under the boss,” Big Ears declared confidently.

”I don’t buy it,” Locomotive shook his head. ”When it comes to brains, I’ve never lost to anyone. Wanna put it to the test?”

”Sure! How do you wanna do this?” Big Ears wasn’t backing down.

Locomotive smirked. ”I’ll give you a riddle. Let’s see if you can solve it.”

”Alright, hit me with it.” Big Ears gestured for him to continue.

Locomotive’s eyes darted around as he thought for a moment. Then he spoke:

”A zombie comes home at night, turns on the light, and sees his wife in bed—with another man lying next to her. He looks at them for a second, then silently turns off the light and leaves. Why?”

”Uh…” Big Ears frowned, deep in thought.

The surrounding zombies exchanged confused glances. This riddle was tricky—it required knowledge of idioms.

Locomotive grinned smugly. ”Can’t figure it out, huh?”

Big Ears sighed. ”Alright, what’s the answer?”

”Because he didn’t even recognize the woman—he walked into the wrong house! Hahaha!” Locomotive burst into laughter, slapping his thigh in amusement.

But the other zombies just stood there, looking puzzled. They didn’t get it.

”Huh? Why aren’t you guys laughing?” Locomotive’s grin faltered. The awkward silence was killing him.

”That joke was colder than rotten flesh. Doesn’t count,” Big Ears waved dismissively. ”Now it’s my turn. I’ve got a simple, straight-to-the-point question for you.”

”Go for it.”

”Alright, why did Spider-Man break up with his girlfriend? Take a guess.”

”Spider-Man and his girlfriend…” Locomotive muttered, thinking hard. ”The reason they broke up… what could it be?”

Big Ears smirked. ”Well? Can’t figure it out either, huh?”

”How the hell am I supposed to know why Spider-Man broke up with his girlfriend? How do you even guess something like that?” Locomotive threw up his hands in frustration.

Big Ears revealed the answer with a triumphant grin. ”It’s simple—because she thought he was too clingy!”

”...What? That’s it?” Locomotive looked utterly unimpressed.

”Pfft!”

A sudden, stifled laugh came from the back of the zombie crowd.

Satoshi had accidentally let out a chuckle—he just couldn’t hold it in.

But the moment he realized his mistake, his face tensed.

He immediately clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes darting around nervously.

Had the zombies noticed him?

”Huh?”

Big Ears’ sharp hearing picked up something unusual. His expression turned suspicious. ”I think… I just heard a human voice.”

He stood up from the ground, his gaze shifting toward the back of the zombie crowd.

The surrounding zombies followed his lead, turning their heads in unison—staring directly at where Satoshi was hiding.

”Ah, crap…” Satoshi froze on the spot, his mind going blank.

Even though he was in Aqua Stealth mode, the way light refracted through his body made his outline faintly visible.

”There’s a human over there! Get him!” Big Ears roared.

The entire horde instantly went berserk, lunging toward Satoshi with terrifying speed.

”Shit!” Satoshi cursed under his breath, panic surging through him as he spun around and bolted.

He activated his water-based abilities.

But in doing so, his presence was fully exposed.

Zombies from all over the street stirred to life, swarming toward him from every direction.

”What now?!” Satoshi’s mind raced. He kicked off a wall, leaping high into the air and landing on the rooftop of a nearby building.

There were fewer zombies up here. His best bet now was to find a safe spot, suppress his presence again, and hide.

But just as he turned his head—

He saw them.

Elite zombies, dozens of them, crawling up the walls like spiders, their glowing eyes locked onto him.

”Gotta move—”

But before he could react, a slender figure appeared in front of him.

Long, disheveled hair swayed in the wind. A tattered dress clung to her thin frame. Her pale face stretched into an eerie grin—her mouth splitting all the way to her ears.

Laura.

A Zombie King.

Satoshi’s blood ran cold.

A suffocating sense of dread washed over him. Death was closing in.

Laura vanished in an instant.

Satoshi barely had time to register what happened.

A flash of movement.

A glint of razor-sharp claws.

And then—

His head was gone.

His body collapsed onto the rooftop, lifeless.

His severed head tumbled off the edge, plummeting to the ground below.

CRACK!

It shattered upon impact.

The surrounding zombies rushed forward, eagerly lapping up the blood that splattered across the pavement.

”Hey! Don’t hog it all!” Big Ears shoved his way into the frenzy.

Shrimpy, standing nearby, looked at him with admiration. ”Big Ears, I gotta hand it to you—you actually found a human. You really came through for us this time.”

”Of course!” Big Ears puffed up with pride. ”Without me, this whole horde would’ve been done for a long time ago...”

...

On the outskirts of the Los Angeles wilderness.

Ryuji and David’s group were still waiting.

”What’s taking Satoshi so long?”

”You think... something might’ve happened to him?” David speculated. ”That nest of corpses is seriously dangerous.”

”He’ll be fine. You don’t know Satoshi like I do,” Ryuji said with confidence.

David scoffed slightly. In his opinion, it wasn’t about knowing Satoshi—it was about knowing how deadly that place was. But he didn’t argue. His job was just to lead the way, and as far as he was concerned, he’d already done that.

Just then, a figure emerged from the dense forest not far away—a young man, not very tall, dressed in black like the rest of them.

It was Satoshi.

”See? Told you he’d be back,” Ryuji said with a grin.

David’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. He hadn’t actually expected him to make it out.

Ryuji wasted no time. ”Satoshi, how’s the situation inside? Did you find our people?”

”Yeah, I found them!” Satoshi nodded. ”They’re still alive. And I also discovered a safe route—we can get straight to them.”

”Good work.” Ryuji switched to English so David could understand.

”Alright, let’s move. This mission’s going smoother than expected...”

...