Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Damn…”

Everyone stared, wide-eyed and amazed. It felt like if Ethan stayed in Blackhand City a few more days, he might just haul the whole damn place out with him.

Soon enough, under their busy hands, the library—silent for over half a year—finally lit up again.

The glow pushed back the darkness, bringing with it a sense of safety, even a touch of warmth.

In the lonely, pitch-black city, this was the only place with a light on.

Under that light, they sat down for dinner. Thanks to the supplies they’d looted from the compound, the meal was surprisingly lavish.

Ethan, meanwhile, pulled out an S-grade crystal core and popped it straight into his mouth. A rich surge of energy flowed through his limbs, spreading warmth and power to every corner of his body.

Then he took out the Star Map tablet. Under the Radiant Crystal’s glow, it absorbed energy even faster.

Mia glanced over, clearly intrigued.

Sean, ever the curious one, walked right up and gave the tablet a once-over with his sharp, analytical eyes.

”Ethan, what is this thing? Looks kinda cool.”

”No idea. Fell from the sky,” Ethan replied casually.

The Star Map tablet was just too mysterious—its secrets were impossible to guess.

”So you’re telling me you literally picked it up off the street?” Mia leaned in, examining it. She quickly noticed that two of the tablet’s edges were jagged and uneven.

”This thing doesn’t look complete.”

”Yeah, probably just one piece of a whole. No clue where the rest ended up,” Ethan explained.

”Oh…” Mia looked thoughtful.

”Maybe when we get back, I can reach out to the major shelters, see if anyone’s seen something like this. If they have, maybe I’ll get lucky and find a piece too.”

”Sounds good,” Ethan nodded. Human shelters were scattered all over the world, especially in the bigger cities. With such a wide network, the chances of finding more pieces were definitely better.

Chris, who’d been listening nearby, chimed in, ”So what happens if you manage to put the whole thing together?”

”No idea. Guess we’ll find out someday,” Ethan said.

Everyone was curious now. The tablet had an undeniable air of mystery.

Sean threw out a theory, ”What if it summons some kind of mega boss?”

”What is this, a video game?” Chris rolled his eyes. ”Where’s this ’boss’ supposed to come from?”

Sean shrugged. ”Then what do you think it does?”

”If I had to guess… maybe it’s a treasure map. Look at those markings on it,” Chris said, pointing at the etched lines.

And just like that, the three of them were off, tossing around theories and ideas. The dark night ticked by, minute by minute.

…

Elsewhere in the small city—

In a pitch-black basement.

Here, the black mist was thickest.

A horde of zombies had gathered in the fog, their vicious, glowing eyes flickering in and out of view.

”Boss, some humans just wandered into our turf.”

”Hm?”

A Zombie King stirred, clearly annoyed. Mist swirled around him—he was the ruler of this area, and his name was simply ”Mist.”

”Unbelievable. I can deal with other zombies pushing me around, but now humans think they can just stroll in here? How many of them are there?”

”Looked like around forty, boss. What should we do?” one of his elite underlings reported.

Mist thought for a moment. ”Let’s… not go out just yet.”

”Uh…” The surrounding zombies looked confused, but honestly, this was pretty standard for their boss.

Mist, after all, was only B+ rank. And he wasn’t exactly built for combat. Back in the early days of the apocalypse, that was enough to dominate a region.

But now, half a year into the end of the world, humans had evolved fast. These days, even a random survivor might be B+—hell, A-ranks weren’t even rare anymore.

So Mist had to rely on his stealth abilities, constantly hiding, scraping by in the cracks of the world.

”You guys, go keep an eye on those humans. The moment they leave, come back and let me know.”

”Got it, no problem.” The elite zombie underling turned and headed out.

Mist added one last warning, ”Be careful. Don’t let them spot you!”

”Oh, totally. I got it,” the zombie nodded quickly.

A handful of elite zombies slipped out of the basement, their movements agile and eerily graceful as they leapt and climbed across the buildings, heading straight toward Ethan’s location.

It didn’t take long before they reached the area near the library. Their glowing, predatory eyes scanned the building—and to their surprise, they saw lights on inside.

”Seriously? That bold?”

”No kidding. Humans actually turned on the lights…”

”Come on, let’s check it out.”

”…”

They’d seen plenty of humans before, but this was the first time any had dared to light up a place like this.

…

It was late. Mia and the others had already drifted off, exhausted, their breathing soft and steady. Sean had a cookbook open and draped over his face like a blanket. The cover showed a glossy photo of a roast chicken.

Even in his sleep, Sean smacked his lips like he was dreaming of a feast.

Ethan stood nearby, eyes sharp and alert, still absorbing energy, still evolving.

But then—he heard something. A faint rustling outside. His senses sharpened instantly. He could feel them—several elite zombies, creeping around nearby.

They were circling the area, not getting too close, but not leaving either.

Ethan suddenly turned his head toward a window. Through the glass, he spotted a grotesque face peeking in from the corner.

The zombie’s skin was pale and stretched tight, veins bulging, streaked with dried blood. Its eyes glowed with a vicious light, and its expression was pure malice.

For a regular person, seeing that face at the window—especially considering they were on the second floor—would’ve been enough to send them into a full-blown panic.

But Ethan didn’t flinch. He stared right back, unblinking.

That, apparently, was enough to freak the zombie out. It jerked its head back like it’d been caught doing something it shouldn’t, then scrambled away in a panic. In its rush, it crashed into something, sending a loud clatter echoing through the night.

”…Huh.” Ethan raised an eyebrow and instinctively touched his face. ”Is my face really that scary?”

”Who’s there?” Mia stirred, groggy but alert. In the apocalypse, no one slept too deeply.

”It’s nothing,” Ethan said calmly. ”You guys go back to sleep. I’m just gonna check something outside.”

”Okay.” Mia trusted him. She lay back down and was out again in seconds.

…

Outside the library, near the corner of the wall—

The area was still shrouded in a thin veil of black mist, making the moonlight flicker and fade like a dying candle.

A few elite zombies had regrouped there.

”Looks like those humans aren’t going anywhere tonight.”

”Yeah, probably heading out in the morning.”

”By the way… I think one of them saw me just now,” one of the zombies said suddenly.

The others turned to look at him.

”No big deal. Humans don’t usually move around at night. They’re not gonna come out after us.”

”Exactly. What kind of human would be crazy enough to chase zombies in the dark?”

They sounded confident—clearly, they’d encountered enough humans to know most of them played it safe. No one in their right mind would go zombie-hunting at night.

”Even if they do come out, so what? This whole area’s covered in mist. They won’t be able to find us,” another zombie added.

But just as the words left his mouth, something shifted in the fog behind them.

A shadow began to form—faint at first, then growing darker, more solid… more real.

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