Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Boss, so… where are we running to?”

Mist Zombie King’s Ultimate Survival Rule #2: If you see a human—run!

Ethan shot him a sideways glance. Clearly, this guy was new and hadn’t gotten the memo yet. Guess it was time to start breaking him in.

”Run? Hell no. We’re gonna wipe them out.”

”What?” Mist blinked, stunned. In his head, he was already muttering, Is this boss trying to get himself killed again?

Ethan caught the look and raised an eyebrow. ”What’s going on in that rotting head of yours?”

”N-nothing!” Mist shook his head quickly, trying to play it cool.

But Ethan wasn’t fooled. He could see right through him. This guy had been bullied for so long, he’d lost all his fight. No pride, no edge—just a beaten-down shell. That had to change.

”Looks like it’s time for a little special training.”

”Training? What kind of training?” Mist asked, clearly confused.

Ethan didn’t bother explaining. With a casual wave of his hand, he summoned hundreds of human corpses, stacking them into a grotesque mountain that filled half the basement.

The stench of blood hit like a punch to the face. The sight was overwhelming—gruesome, raw, and absolutely unforgettable.

These were just a fraction of what Ethan had ”relocated” from Blackhand City.

Mist froze, completely stunned. He’d spent his whole unlife running, scrounging for scraps—he’d never seen this kind of feast. It was like a man dying of thirst in the desert suddenly stumbling onto a crystal-clear river.

”This… this is the training?”

”Yup. Dig in,” Ethan said with a nod.

The truth was, their combat strength was pathetic. Genesis Biotech could mow them down like weeds. If they didn’t evolve fast, they were toast.

And for Ethan, this pile of meat was nothing. Just a drop in the bucket.

Besides… there’d be plenty more tomorrow.

This was what you called feeding the war with war.

Mist and the rest of the zombies stared at the pile, their eyes slowly lighting up with that long-lost bloodlust. Then, as if a switch had flipped, they lunged forward, tearing into the corpses with savage hunger.

The basement echoed with the wet, grisly sounds of flesh being ripped apart.

The mountain of bodies became a grotesque banquet, a hellish scene of undead feasting. Blood sprayed, bones cracked, and the air was thick with the stench of death.

If a normal person had walked in, they’d have passed out on the spot—if not gone completely insane.

But Ethan? He stood there calm as ever, arms crossed, watching with quiet satisfaction.

Then he pulled out the Star Map tablet.

Under its soft glow, the zombies’ cells began to stir. As they devoured the flesh, they absorbed energy, evolving at a rapid pace.

Originally, out of the thousand-strong horde, only about a hundred could be considered elite.

But after this ”training session”?

That number shot up to five hundred—half the entire group.

”Raaaargh—!”

The zombies’ roars echoed through the city, wild and frenzied.

They were high on blood, drunk on power.

The feast lasted for hours, stretching deep into the night. It wasn’t until the first light of dawn crept in that the frenzy finally died down.

Mist’s eyes now gleamed with a fierce, violent light—something that hadn’t been there in a long time. The bloodlust was back.

And when he looked at Ethan, something had changed.

His old boss had never treated him like this. Never gave him this kind of power. Never showed this kind of… generosity.

Mist’s mindset was shifting. Now, more than anything, he hoped Ethan would stay alive.

”Boss,” he said, bowing his head with genuine respect.

Ethan gave a small nod. ”Come on. Time to introduce you to some friends.”

”Got it…” Mist replied, his voice steady.

Together, they left the basement and made their way to the library.

Mia and the others were already up, breakfast finished, waiting.

Some people were cleaning their weapons, others fiddling with their guns—everyone was getting ready for the fight ahead.

”Where’d Ethan go?” Sean asked, a little worried.

”He went out last night,” Mia replied.

Sean frowned. ”Then why didn’t he take me with him?”

”Because you were sleeping like a rock. What would he need you for?” Mia shot back.

”No way. I definitely don’t sleep that deep!” Sean protested.

Mia didn’t bother responding. She wasn’t the type to argue with idiots.

Just then, the front doors of the library creaked open.

Everyone’s ears perked up.

”He’s back,” Chris said.

They all turned toward the staircase—and sure enough, Ethan was coming up, his white shirt still spotless, not a speck of dirt on him.

But behind him… was a zombie.

Pale-skinned, with a faint mist curling off his body.

”Huh?”

Everyone stared. Judging by the aura, this had to be the local Zombie King.

Mist Zombie King.

Suddenly, Mist felt all eyes on him. He stiffened, visibly uncomfortable. If zombies could blush, he’d be beet red and staring at the floor right now.

Mia caught on quickly. ”So this is the Zombie King from around here?”

”Uh… yeah. That’s me. I’m Mist,” he said, introducing himself. He’d just gorged on a mountain of flesh, so standing in front of a bunch of humans didn’t trigger any bloodlust.

”Oh, so this is the cowardly Zombie King, huh? I gotta get a good look at this guy,” Chris said, staring him down.

”...” Mist’s face darkened. Are all humans this rude now?

Everyone studied him for a moment, clearly intrigued.

And impressed.

Ethan had tamed a Zombie King—just like that.

”There’s probably more than one Zombie King in this city, right?” Mia asked, thinking out loud.

Mist nodded. ”Yeah. Not far from here, there’s a really powerful corpse nest.”

”How powerful are we talking?” Mia asked, curious.

Mist’s expression turned uneasy. His voice got a little dramatic. ”There’s at least ten thousand zombies in that nest!”

”Oh wow, that’s… pretty intense,” Ethan said casually from the side.

Mist had never seen the world beyond this small city. The local population was only around 4,000, and even the surrounding towns weren’t that big. A ten-thousand-strong zombie nest meant it had swallowed up the undead from multiple cities.

Mist continued, ”And those zombies? They’re always coming into my territory to mess around.”

”So what do you do about it?” Chris asked.

”I hide, obviously,” Mist said, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Chris blinked. Something didn’t add up. Mist kept calling this ”his territory,” but apparently anyone—zombie or human—could just waltz in.

”In that case… it’s not really your territory, is it? More like your hidey-hole.”

”...” Mist was speechless. Yeah, okay, you’re not wrong, but did you have to say it out loud? God, I hate humans with no filter.

...

Back in the library, they were still analyzing the situation.

But outside the city, a large group of humans had already tracked them down.

Two major factions had joined forces—Genesis Biotech and the Black Hand Legion. Their combined forces were massive, rolling in with vehicles and heavy gear. Over two thousand strong.

A thousand of them were Awakeners, each with a crystal core powering their abilities. The rest were armed with Crystal Core Firearms—deadly and efficient.

These weren’t just grunts. They were elite units—veterans of zombie-clearing campaigns, city-builders, hardened and experienced.

Ahead of them loomed the city, shrouded in thick black mist.

”Judging by the energy signatures, they’ve holed up in there,” said the leader of the Black Hand Legion.

”Of course they picked the creepiest place possible,” muttered one of the Genesis Biotech Awakeners.

The mist made drone surveillance useless. No way to scan the area with conventional tech.

”Looks like we’ll have to go in and sweep it ourselves.”

...