Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The scene before them was horrifying—too gruesome to process. An A-rank powerhouse had just died, just like that, without any warning.

The members of the Black Hand Legion were shaken to their core. That young man… he might actually be even more terrifying than the woman standing in front of them.

Chris and the others muttered among themselves.

”Of all the people to mess with… why him?”

”Was he in a hurry to die or something?”

”...”

With their leader dead, the remaining Black Hand Legion members were paralyzed with fear. Only now did they realize just how outmatched they were.

”Run! Get the hell out of here!”

Someone in the crowd suddenly screamed.

Their already crumbling morale shattered completely. Any will to fight evaporated as they turned and bolted in a blind panic.

Of course—

Mia had no intention of letting them go.

Turning your back on the enemy? That only led to one outcome—death.

She shot forward, cutting them down one by one. In just a few swift, brutal strikes, the remaining dozen or so were all lying in pools of their own blood.

Meanwhile, Ethan followed behind her at a leisurely pace, casually collecting the bodies.

The B-rank Awakeners were about on par with Chris—nothing special. Not even worth the effort of digging out their crystal cores. He simply scooped them up along with the corpses.

Mia glanced back at him.

”You didn’t lift a finger earlier, but now you’re all eager to clean up the bodies?”

”Well, I’ve got you, don’t I?” Ethan smiled. ”From now on, you’re my top-tier enforcer.”

Mia scoffed. ”More like your top-tier errand girl.”

Meanwhile, the four Awakeners who had been kidnapped from the shelter were in tears, overwhelmed with emotion.

They weren’t going to Blackhand City—that hellhole. They had actually been saved. It felt like a miracle.

”Thank you… thank you so much!”

”You guys are incredible!”

”Seriously, we owe you our lives!”

They sobbed, pouring out their gratitude.

But Ethan simply glanced at them, his voice calm.

”Who said we were saving you?”

”Uh…”

The four of them froze mid-sob. The joy on their faces stiffened.

What… did he mean by that?

From his tone, it almost sounded like—

Like he was considering killing them too.

Panic surged through them again. Instinctively, they shrank back.

Had they just escaped one nightmare only to fall into another?

”Wait! Please, don’t kill us!”

”We—we’ll do anything to repay you!”

”Yeah, yeah! Whatever you need, we’ll do it!”

”Just don’t kill us!”

They pleaded desperately.

Ethan tilted his head, considering.

”Anything?”

”Yes! Whatever you say!” They nodded frantically.

”Alright then.”

Ethan relented. These four had been captured by the Black Hand Legion, which meant they weren’t particularly strong. No real value to him.

With a flick of his wrist, he slashed through the iron chains binding them, setting them free.

The four collapsed into each other’s arms, sobbing with relief.

”Honey… how’s your injury?” The girl in the couple asked anxiously.

The young man’s face was pale, his body still weak. He shook his head bitterly.

”Don’t call me ’Honey’ anymore… Let’s break up.”

”What? Why?” The girl’s expression turned frantic.

The young man bit his lip. He didn’t want to let go either, but he had no choice.

”I… I don’t think I can make you happy anymore.”

The girl’s eyes widened as she realized what he meant. Slowly, she lowered her gaze to his… well, shattered ”eggs.”

”So… you mean you’ll never be able to… you know… with a woman again? What are you gonna do?”

”Maybe… I’ll just start dating men?” The young man hesitated.

”Uh…” The girl was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t expected him to be so open-minded about it.

Behind them, Brandon overheard their conversation and quickly made a connection.

”Uncle Chris, this guy’s just like you—doesn’t like women! Looks like you’ve got a shot!”

”Like hell I do!” Chris laughed and cursed. ”Your Uncle Chris’s ’eggs’ are still intact, thank you very much.”

Meanwhile, Sean had already lost interest in their conversation. He eagerly rummaged through the supplies looted from the Black Hand Legion, searching for something specific.

Unfortunately, there were no marshmallows. No apples either. But he did find some small wild berries—tangy and sweet, not bad at all.

After a brief rest—

Ethan finished collecting the bodies, then turned and stored the aircraft into his spatial storage ring. The sleek, high-tech vehicle vanished into thin air, just like that.

”Holy crap! That’s amazing!” The four rescued Awakeners gasped in awe, having no idea how he did it.

”Oh, right, our savior—what do you want us to do for you?”

”Help me track down Black Hand Legion members,” Ethan said casually.

”Uh…?”

The four of them looked startled, a hint of fear creeping into their expressions.

The Black Hand Legion was something they usually avoided like the plague. Now they were supposed to go looking for them?

”You’re not gonna tell me you can’t find them, are you?” Ethan asked lightly.

A chill ran down their spines. That calm tone of his… somehow, it was terrifying.

”N-no! Of course we can! Definitely! No problem at all!”

”Good.” Ethan’s lips curled into a faint smile.

Honestly, they didn’t even need to go looking. The Black Hand Legion would come to them sooner or later. This was probably the easiest task they’d ever been given.

”We can pick up Blackhand City’s signal from here and connect to their network. Finding their people is as easy as clicking a button,” one of the girls explained.

Ethan found that pretty convenient—like ordering takeout online.

”Alright, go ahead and contact them.”

”Got it.” The girl rummaged through the stolen supplies and found her phone.

After turning it on, she connected to Blackhand City’s network.

Before the apocalypse, the Black Hand Legion had already been operating in the dark web. Most people assumed their network would be filled with gore, violent content, and all sorts of twisted, depraved stuff.

But the reality?

Completely different.

The website they had set up was clean, polished, and surprisingly wholesome.

And they didn’t even call themselves ”Blackhand City.”

Their official name? Texas Federal Shelter One.

Their slogan?

”The last safe haven in the apocalypse. Abundant resources. Whether you’re an Awakener or an ordinary survivor, we will help you live.”

Below that, the page was filled with pictures of food.

BBQ ribs, mac and cheese, fried chicken, fresh-baked apple pie—you name it.

For people struggling to survive in the wasteland, this was pure temptation. Just looking at the images was enough to make their mouths water.

Who could resist that?

”Slurp…”

The girl swallowed hard. Eating BBQ ribs in the apocalypse? That was beyond luxury—it was something she wouldn’t even dare to dream about.

Of course, she knew full well that those pictures were nothing but bait.

Classic online scam.

If they didn’t make it look good, who the hell would willingly walk into Blackhand City?

Through this website, survivors could contact Blackhand City’s so-called ”rescue teams.”

The girl decided to play along.

”Hello, does your shelter really have that much food? I’m starving to death out here.”

She sent the message.

A reply came almost instantly.

”Of course! Absolutely! Here at Texas Federal Shelter One, we’ve established our own farms and livestock facilities. Would you like to come? If so, we can send a team to pick you up.”

…