Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The guy in front of them wasn’t just using elemental powers—his body was built like a tank. Tougher than Hellhound’s mutated bone armor, even. It was insane how strong he was.

Hellhound clenched his jagged teeth, realizing he was outmatched. ”Daisy! We need to take him down together!”

”I’m in.”

Daisy didn’t hesitate. This wasn’t the time for infighting—taking out the enemy was all that mattered now.

Her eyes gleamed with a savage light, her face twisted with feral rage. She lunged first, claws slashing through the air as she charged straight at the bald man.

T-09 turned his head, locking eyes with her. Calm. Unshaken. He tracked her every move like he was watching it in slow motion—hell, he could probably predict her next step before she even made it.

Her claws were almost on him, just inches away.

T-09 raised his hand and caught her arm mid-swing.

Daisy felt a crushing grip clamp down on her wrist like a steel vice. She couldn’t move—couldn’t even budge. Desperate, she swung her other claw at his head.

But T-09 mirrored the move, catching her second wrist just as easily.

”Raaagh—!”

Daisy was a beast, no doubt. Even with both arms pinned, she opened her jaws wide, aiming to sink her teeth into his neck.

T-09 countered instantly, raising his elbow and jamming it under her chin, holding her back.

The two locked in a tense standoff, neither giving an inch.

”Now’s my shot!”

Hellhound saw his opening. While they were locked up, he spread his bone wings and shot forward just above the ground, fast as lightning. He cocked his fist back and launched it at T-09 with a thunderous boom.

”You only got two hands—let’s see you block this!”

But T-09 didn’t panic. Not even close. He was still in control.

As Hellhound closed in, T-09’s skin began to ripple—like water. It shimmered, then split apart down the middle.

From beneath the surface, something gleamed—metallic, cold, and deadly.

A robot stepped out of the liquid shell, its entire body forged from adamantium alloy, gleaming under the sun like a walking weapon.

The sight was jaw-dropping.

This was the real T-09.

His mechanical fist clenched, then rocketed forward to meet Hellhound’s charge.

BOOM!

The impact was brutal. Hellhound didn’t stand a chance. He was sent flying backward, crashing into the ground and tumbling across the dirt before finally skidding to a stop—beaten and battered.

Everyone watching was stunned. Mouths hung open. No one could believe what they were seeing.

T-09’s liquid metal shell had stayed behind, still holding Daisy in place, while the solid core stepped out and wrecked Hellhound.

This guy wasn’t human at all.

He was a fourth-generation Cyborg, developed by Genesis Biotech. A hybrid of solid and liquid tech, capable of elemental manipulation, shapeshifting, and tanking hits like nothing else. No weaknesses. A perfect all-around combat machine.

”Holy shit, he’s a monster,” someone muttered, awe-struck.

Hellhound lay face-down in the dirt, covered in dust. No wonder the guy reeked of metal—he wasn’t even alive.

But the disguise had been flawless.

And his power? At least S+ class. Hellhound knew he was completely outmatched.

The liquid metal slithered back across the ground, rejoining T-09’s core and reforming the human disguise—bald head and all.

T-09 smirked, just a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

Daisy, finally free, stumbled back, shaken. She hadn’t expected that at all.

”Mad Dog… that thing’s not human.”

”Nope. He’s a product of human tech. And I think it’s time we bailed,” Hellhound said, making the call.

”Agreed.” Daisy didn’t argue. There was no advantage to be had here—only danger. She was already thinking about retreat.

The surrounding zombies got the signal. With a guttural roar, they turned and followed Daisy and Hellhound, retreating fast.

They’d come in like a storm—and vanished just as quickly. Within seconds, they were gone, swallowed by the open plains.

”Captain, shouldn’t we go after them while they’re on the run?” asked a short-haired female Awakener.

T-09 didn’t even look back. He turned and started walking toward the Genesis Biotech base in Los Angeles.

”If you’re not afraid of the SS-class Zombie King listed in the archives, be my guest.”

The girl fell silent.

…

Inside the office, Nathan was practically glowing with joy. Watching the zombie horde retreat in disarray, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of smug satisfaction.

He’d honestly thought he was done for—but then, out of nowhere, reinforcements had arrived.

”Hah! What did I tell you? Heaven helps the righteous!” Nathan grinned, basking in his own good fortune.

Sophia, standing nearby, rolled her eyes hard enough to sprain something. She looked at him like he was a walking embarrassment.

Still, she had to admit—the backup had shown up at the perfect time.

Not long after, Nathan had his people escort T-09 and the rest of the team into the Genesis Biotech base.

”Hello, hello! Welcome, everyone, to our humble company!” Nathan greeted them with exaggerated enthusiasm.

”Mr. Nathan, good to meet you. We’re here to assist with the zombie threat,” T-09 replied with a polite smile.

”That’s fantastic news!” Nathan’s eyes swept over the group—nearly fifty of them, all looking like serious combatants. Not a weak link in sight.

”You know, a little heads-up would’ve been nice. I could’ve rolled out the red carpet or something.”

”Oh, right—speaking of that, we still need to report in to Richard,” the short-haired girl suddenly remembered.

”Huh?” Nathan blinked, curious. Report what?

The girl pulled out a satellite comm device and initiated a video call, projecting the image onto the large screen in the room.

Moments later, Richard’s face appeared, calm and composed.

”Looks like you’ve all made it to L.A.”

”Yes, Richard,” T-09 nodded.

Nathan stepped forward, all smiles. ”Thank you so much for sending reinforcements, Richard. You have no idea how rough it’s been out here!”

”You’ve done well,” Richard said, offering a rare note of encouragement.

He’d watched the earlier battle through surveillance feeds—T-09 had gone toe-to-toe with two Zombie Kings and sent them packing. The guy was a beast.

Curious, he decided to give Nathan a bit more context.

”Richard, this guy’s a monster. You haven’t even introduced him yet!”

”Do I really need to?” Richard chuckled. ”He’s our company’s latest creation—S+ class combat capability, adaptive learning systems. You can call him the fourth-generation Cyborg… no, scratch that. He’s a synthetic human: T-09.”

”Holy shit, that’s badass!” Nathan was floored.

Powerful—crazy powerful.

With T-09 on his side, he felt like he’d just upgraded from a rusty pistol to a high-tech railgun. Welcome to version 4.0, baby.

T-09 gave a quick report. ”Richard, based on our assessment, Mr. Nathan wasn’t slacking off. He was actively fighting the zombies before we arrived, and took heavy losses.”

”I could tell,” Richard nodded. ”Now that you’re all together, consider yourselves one big team. Work together, push forward—for the company, and for yourselves.”

”Understood!” the group, including the short-haired girl, responded in unison.

The video call ended.

At the back of the room, Sophia stood quietly, her expression a mix of confusion and something else—something heavier.

He said he could tell…

Tell what, exactly?

Once, Sophia had been a rising star in the company—Richard’s handpicked favorite, even groomed for leadership. But now? She was just another face in the crowd.

She hadn’t even been mentioned during the entire call.

The contrast was brutal.

Afterward, Nathan called in his secretary to arrange accommodations for T-09’s team. He was planning a full-blown feast—food, drinks, the works. Time to roll out the VIP treatment.

The crowd began to disperse.

But then Nathan called out, ”Sophia. Hold up.”

”Hm? What is it?” Sophia turned, her eyes tired and wary.

Nathan glanced around, making sure T-09 and the others were out of earshot. Once the coast was clear, he lowered his voice and leaned in.

”You told on me, didn’t you?”

Sophia stared at him, silent.

…