Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Oh no! She got hit by the snake venom!”

”We’re screwed now!” Franklin and the others were gripped with fear—they hadn’t expected the giant serpent to be this cunning.

Mia’s movements were slowing down fast. Within seconds, her whole body stiffened, completely numb.

She’d been poisoned—just like Sean had been before. She couldn’t fight back anymore.

The serpent didn’t waste the opportunity. With a thunderous snap of its jaws, it clamped down on her, lifted its massive head high, and swallowed her whole in one gulp.

”Wha—”

Everyone stood frozen, horrified by what they’d just witnessed.

The monster was terrifyingly brutal.

”Even she couldn’t stop it?”

”What do we do now?” Franklin and his son Logan were crushed. They’d pinned their hopes on Mia, and now she’d been devoured like the others.

Another human, gone—just like that.

But then, something unexpected happened.

The serpent, which had just swallowed Mia and looked pretty damn pleased with itself, suddenly twitched. A sharp pain shot through its belly, like something inside was tearing it apart.

The pain intensified. The beast let out a shrill, guttural screech and started thrashing wildly, rolling on the ground like a fish dropped into boiling oil—pure agony.

Then, a flash of lightning burst from its gut. A sharp, electric energy sliced through its flesh, carving deep, bloody gashes. With a loud boom, its belly exploded.

Chunks of meat and gore flew everywhere. The serpent’s body split into pieces, its insides spilling out in a grotesque mess.

The monster finally stopped moving. Its eyes dimmed, lifeless, and it collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

And then—Mia stepped out of the carnage.

She was drenched in blood, completely soaked from head to toe. Only her eyes stood out, glowing in the dark like twin beacons.

”Ugh. Guess I need a shower. What a pain.”

”You crawled out of a monster’s stomach like that before too?” Ethan walked up, eyeing her blood-soaked figure.

Mia turned to him. ”Yeah. You seem pretty chill, just standing there watching the whole time.”

”What, you needed help with that low-tier beast?” Ethan said calmly. With a flick of his hand, he stored the giant serpent’s corpse away and turned to leave.

Mia: ”...”

With the mutant centipede and the giant serpent both dead, the battle was basically over. The remaining smaller creatures scattered, burrowing back into the earth and vanishing.

The monster horde had come fast—and disappeared just as quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was all over.

All that remained was the wreckage of the battlefield and the cries of the survivors—people mourning the friends and family they’d lost.

”That was way too close...” Franklin and Logan exchanged a look, still shaken.

At the same time, they couldn’t help but feel awe—Mia was insanely powerful. Even after being swallowed whole, she’d managed to kill the beast from the inside.

They both felt like they’d just dodged death by a hair.

But Logan’s lips were starting to go numb, the swelling getting worse. They were now puffed up like overstuffed sausages.

”Dad... the venom in my wound—I need someone to suck it out. Fast.”

”Uh...” Franklin glanced at his lips. ”Yeah, go find someone else for that.”

Around them, the others were cleaning up the battlefield, repairing damaged houses and rebuilding the broken fences.

”Thank you. Thank you so much for saving me and my daughter,” Jenny said sincerely.

Chris grinned. ”Heh, no problem. Just doing what I had to.”

”Uncle Chris, wasn’t it me and Sean who killed the mutant centipede?” Brandon chimed in.

”Uh...” Chris scratched his head. ”Didn’t I block a few attacks too?”

”Thanks again,” Jenny said, smiling warmly. Her gratitude was obvious.

Chris suddenly felt like her attitude toward him had changed. Maybe this whole ”hero saves the damsel” thing really worked.

Even if he’d only saved half a damsel...

Not far away, Mia walked over slowly, still covered in venom and snake blood, looking a bit worse for wear.

Sean’s sharp eyes locked onto her.

”You okay?”

”I’m fine.”

”Oh... I got hit with that same snake venom back in the Underground Temple. Had me shitting my guts out,” Sean said casually.

”Pfft!”

Everyone nearby burst out laughing.

Chris immediately chimed in, ”Honestly, that snake venom you guys got hit with wasn’t even the worst. Logan’s the real tragedy here—his lips are so swollen they look like sausages.”

”Oh yeah?” Brandon smirked and gave him a subtle nod. ”Uncle Chris, take a look over there.”

Chris followed his gaze.

In the middle of a small crowd, Logan was sitting with his lips still puffed up, pouting slightly. Two young girls were kneeling in front of him, taking turns sucking the venom out of his wound.

”Damn...” Chris sucked in a breath, eyes wide with envy.

Getting poisoned comes with that kind of treatment?

Didn’t look all that tragic to him...

With the chaos finally behind them, the group headed back to the guesthouse to eat and get some rest.

...

The bloody night slowly passed.

But Logan couldn’t sleep. Even though most of the venom had been drawn out, his lips were still swollen and sore, making it hard to speak clearly.

”Dad... these monsters are evolving way too fast!”

”Mm.” Franklin gave a noncommittal grunt, nodding slightly.

Logan kept going, ”Those outsiders still plan to head to Mosca Peak. I don’t care how strong they are, they’re not gonna make it. It’s basically suicide.”

Franklin narrowed his eyes. ”What kind of scheme are you cooking up now?”

”No scheme,” Logan said quickly. ”I just think someone should tag along, you know? In case they get wiped out, at least someone’s around to know what happened.”

Of course, what he really meant was—if something did happen to them, he’d be first in line to scavenge whatever loot they left behind.

That alien stone tablet? Who knew what kind of power it held. Even if he just picked up a few of their weapons, it’d be a huge boost to his own strength.

And besides, during tonight’s battle, Ethan hadn’t lifted a finger. Logan couldn’t help but wonder—was the guy hiding something? Maybe tomorrow, at Mosca Peak, he’d finally show his hand.

”Fine,” Franklin said, not stopping him. ”You wanna go, go. But listen—don’t do anything stupid.”

”Got it!” Logan grinned, satisfied, and finally drifted off to sleep.

...

Under the night sky, the lights of the Oasis gradually dimmed, and silence settled over the settlement. For once, peace returned.

Until the first light of dawn crept over the horizon, bathing the land in a soft golden glow.

A new day began.

People stirred from their beds, stepping outside to resume their daily routines.

Ethan’s group was already geared up and ready to move out, their goal clear: find the alien stone tablet.

But Ethan’s plan wasn’t to head straight to Mosca Peak. Instead, he wanted to make a detour to Albuquerque first—to hunt down a few Black-Skin Zombies. The idea was to use their tainted blood to lure more of them to Mosca Peak, where they’d clash with the mutant beasts already there.

Then, once the two sides had worn each other down, Ethan’s team would swoop in and grab the prize—saving energy and maximizing gains.

”Black-Skin Zombies don’t have any intelligence,” Ethan explained to the group. ”They hunt purely on instinct. Once they smell their own blood, they’ll chase it relentlessly. So it’s easy to lead them to Mosca Peak. Got it?”

”Got it.”

”Damn, that’s clever~~~” someone muttered, eyes lighting up.

Even Mia nodded, though her expression still said scheming bastard.

Seriously, the guy didn’t waste anything. Even the most worthless Black-Skin Zombies were getting put to use. If a goose flew overhead, he’d probably pluck a feather on the way. He never made a move unless it paid off.

But then Chris frowned, something clicking in his head.

”Wait a sec... hold on... who’s gonna be the one to lure the Black-Skin Zombies?”

...