Apocalypse: King of Zombies

As Oliver kept tugging, he finally yanked up the entire half of a human arm.

The others immediately crowded around when they saw he’d found something.

”Is that… a human arm bone?” Chris asked, squinting.

”Yeah,” Brandon nodded, ”and it’s only half-digested.”

Ethan stared at the grisly find, his eyes narrowing. The appearance of a half-eaten arm out here meant something big.

”So that means… there really are other people alive in this desert.”

”Right!” Chris suddenly caught on.

The arm was clearly fresh—still partially intact, not fully digested. That could only mean one thing: someone else had been here recently. Someone human.

Brandon added, ”And it also means there’s an exit out of the Underground Ruins. If we follow the path that giant snake took, we might be able to get out.”

”Well, that’s great news!” Chris nodded enthusiastically, impressed. ”Damn, you figured all that out from just a half-eaten arm? That’s actually kinda smart.”

Why didn’t I think of that?

Off to the side, Oliver slipped a golden bracelet off the arm. He grabbed a handful of sand and rubbed it against the metal, wiping off the sticky residue. Soon, it gleamed again under the dim light.

In the apocalypse, gold wasn’t worth much anymore—at least not in the traditional sense. But in the shelters, it still had some value for scientific equipment and trade.

”Keep it,” Oliver said. ”We can trade it for supplies when we get back.”

”Keep it? Nah, give it to me,” Brandon chimed in. ”I’ll give it to my online girlfriend when we get back.”

Chris immediately jumped in, all righteous indignation. ”Oliver! Don’t give it to him. All he ever thinks about is girls. Total simp behavior!”

”Oh please, like you’re any better?” Brandon shot back.

”...”

With Ethan around, the heavy, tense atmosphere from earlier had completely lifted. Even in the middle of a creepy, unfamiliar underground ruin, the guys were back to joking around like old times.

A few minutes later, Sean finished eating. His little belly was round and full.

He’d been sprayed with venom by the giant snake earlier, and now he was covered in sticky gunk. He smelled awful and felt even worse.

”Man, if only we had a water-type Awakener,” he muttered. ”Could’ve at least gotten a shower.”

”Let’s clean up once we’re outta here,” Ethan said, curiosity lighting up his face. ”First, let’s figure out what this place actually is.”

”Wait a sec…” Chris frowned. ”Shouldn’t we be looking for Mia first?”

”Oh, right… yeah, we should probably do that,” Ethan said, thinking it over.

Chris stared at him, speechless. What happened to ”friends, family, and ride-or-dies,” huh?

But Ethan had other things on his mind. He needed to move faster—he had to find the stone tablet as soon as possible.

The Zombie Kings in San Diego were still eyeing Los Angeles like vultures, no doubt scheming something in the shadows. Who knew what could happen while he was gone?

And the final showdown with San Diego was set for two months from now. If he didn’t find the tablet before then, all of this would’ve been for nothing.

Just a giant waste of time...

...

Meanwhile, far out on the outskirts of Los Angeles, things were anything but peaceful.

San Diego’s strongest Zombie King, Nightbane, had issued a new order: fight fire with fire. He sent his underlings to prowl the edges of L.A., stealing prey and sabotaging their growth.

A horde of zombies was already on the move.

Among them, one figure stood out—a Bighead zombie with a massive skull and a noticeable dent on his forehead, like he’d been stamped with a rock.

”Queen Daisy, we’ve gotta get payback today!” he growled.

”Mm.” Next to him, a zombie with a pink flower blooming from her head gave a curt nod.

She and Bighead were kindred spirits—both had been humiliated by Ethan’s crew. She’d had multiple Zombie Cultivation Grounds destroyed, and he’d taken more than a few hits to the head. Their hatred for the L.A. zombies ran deep.

Daisy’s blood-red eyes gleamed with fury. ”I can sense it… there are humans nearby.”

”Oh? Queen Daisy, you’re amazing!” Bighead said, full of admiration. No wonder she was one of Nightbane’s Four War Generals—her senses were razor-sharp.

They were just outside the city limits of Los Angeles.

Following the faint trail of human scent, they began to move forward, hunting.

...

A few moments later—

Up ahead, a massive wall loomed in the open wasteland, topped with iron mesh and reinforced like a fortress—more like a prison, really.

And sure enough, there were humans moving around at the base of the wall. They wore sleek black Genesis Biotech combat suits, split into several Awakener squads, patrolling the perimeter with military precision.

”That’s the Los Angeles Genesis Biotech Division Base,” Daisy said, recognizing the black uniforms instantly.

Inside the walls, a few buildings rose up, though none of them were particularly tall. That was by design—Nathan, the head of the company, had insisted on building most of the facility underground. Over a hundred levels deep, the base sprawled like a massive ant colony, with interconnected tunnels and chambers.

Nathan believed that kind of layout offered better security.

Bighead Zombie King narrowed his eyes at the compound. ”Genesis Biotech’s got some real firepower. Doesn’t look like an easy place to hit.”

”We don’t need to take it down,” Daisy growled. ”Just kill a few of their people and bounce. We’re here to harass, not conquer.”

”Fair enough,” Bighead nodded. That made sense.

Daisy raised her hand, and suddenly, delicate flowers began blooming across the ground, spreading forward like a creeping tide.

A few stationed Awakeners on guard duty immediately noticed something was off.

”Huh? What’s that smell? Smells amazing…”

”Yeah, it’s kinda like my floral shampoo,” one of them said, sniffing the air.

As the pollen drifted in, they started breathing it in—and their expressions began to glaze over. Then came the weird part: they started talking to the air, like they were having full-on conversations with invisible people.

Even though they were standing right next to each other, they turned away, each lost in their own hallucination, speaking as if confiding in teammates.

Clearly, they were deep in some kind of illusion. And the more pollen they inhaled, the worse it got.

Then, just as expected, things took a violent turn.

The guards grew more agitated—some broke down crying, others started shouting in rage, faces red and veins bulging. Then, one by one, they drew their weapons… and turned on each other.

Blades flashed. Blood sprayed.

Within minutes, over a dozen outer guards lay dead in pools of their own blood—never even realizing what had really happened.

”Hmph. Pathetic humans,” Daisy sneered, clearly pleased with herself.

The pollen continued to spread, but before it could reach deeper into the base, a patrol drone zipped overhead. It scanned the area, spotted the bodies, and immediately triggered the alarm.

The entire Genesis Biotech base erupted into chaos. Red lights flashed wildly, and a shrill warning siren blared through the compound.

BZZZZZZZZZZZ—

Daisy watched the growing commotion with a smirk, completely unfazed.

”Let’s see just how many S-Class Awakeners this L.A. base really has.”

...

At that moment, inside the base, Nathan was in his office—and he was freaking out.

”What?! Zombies? Here?!”

He tossed his deck of playing cards across the room. ”Shit, shit, shit! Pack up! We’re getting the hell out of here!”

”Mr. Nathan,” one of his aides said, glancing at a drone feed, ”there’s no sign of a full-scale horde. And the lead Zombie King isn’t from L.A.—looks like they came from San Diego.”

”San Diego?” Nathan paused, his panic easing just a little.

”Those bastards… they’ve got the nerve to come after me now?” His expression hardened. ”Fine. Send a team. Let’s show them what happens when you mess with Genesis Biotech.”

...