Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The stone slab had originally been square, but now, with two pieces joined together, it had become a rectangle.

Ethan gave it a couple of swings—yep, definitely felt better in the hand now. Easier to smack someone with...

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he pulled out the third Radiant Crystal. Just like before, it floated up on its own and drifted toward one of the two empty slots on the newly-formed slab. It clicked into place perfectly—not too tight, not too loose. A flawless fit.

But there was one problem: the slab had room for four Radiant Crystals, and Ethan only had three. That last empty slot stuck out like a sore thumb. It was the kind of thing that would drive someone with OCD absolutely nuts.

”Guess I’ll deal with it later...” Ethan muttered under his breath.

The once-ferocious Stone Scorpion King, after taking a brutal beating, now lay dying. A massive crater had been smashed into its back, blue blood oozing out. Even with its insane vitality, it was barely clinging to life.

Its eight crimson eyes had lost their menace—now they were just filled with pain.

Ethan leapt off its body, and while still midair, swung the Star Map slab down hard, smashing the creature’s skull and putting it out of its misery.

At the same time, a dark yellow crystal core shot out of the corpse. It pulsed with dense, pure energy, like a chunk of amber glowing with inner light.

Ethan caught it with a wave of his hand, letting it settle into his palm. This was the highest-grade crystal core he’d ever seen—SS rank.

”Not a bad haul...” he said with a grin. Then, with another flick of his wrist, he stored the massive corpse of the Stone Scorpion King into his spatial storage ring. That thing was definitely going to be a feast.

And with that, the battle was officially over.

At the summit of Mosca Peak, the place looked like a war zone—wreckage everywhere, like a natural disaster had just torn through.

Mia walked over. ”You okay?”

”Yeah, just a little drained,” Ethan replied after a moment.

”Oh, alright, you don’t have to explain.” Mia didn’t press further.

With the Scorpion King dead, its minions had scattered in all directions, fleeing for their lives. The area was finally safe.

”Logan, the coast is clear. You can come over now,” Jenny called out.

But Logan just shook his head furiously, his whole body trembling like a leaf.

He’d seen the entire fight between Ethan and the Scorpion King—and it had scared the hell out of him.

And Ethan was a Zombie King, no less!

Thinking back to all the crap he’d said about him before, Logan felt a cold sweat break out. He was lucky Ethan hadn’t killed him on the spot—no way was he going to walk over there voluntarily.

”N-no, I’ll stay here. I smell bad... don’t wanna stink up the place.”

”Huh?” Chris and the others looked at him, surprised. Since when was this guy so... considerate?

Some people just grow up overnight. Guess Logan had finally learned a little humility.

With the Scorpion King taken down and the Star Map slab recovered, the mission was basically complete.

”So... are we heading back now?” Chris asked.

”Yeah,” Ethan nodded.

Chris perked up and quickly turned to Jenny. ”Jenny, come back to L.A. with us! We’ve got tons of resources there—you won’t be lacking anything.”

”I... I think I’ll pass,” Jenny said after a pause. ”I’m not really used to new places. Oasis might be a little short on supplies, but it’s not like we’re starving.”

Clearly, she wasn’t ready to leave her comfort zone for the unknown.

Chris started to panic. His sweet little romance was about to go up in smoke.

”Come on, think about it! Even if not for yourself, what about your daughter, Ellie? Don’t you want her to have a better life?”

That hit a nerve. Jenny hesitated immediately.

Kids were every parent’s weak spot. Everyone wanted their child to grow up somewhere safe.

Chris pressed on while the iron was hot. ”There are eighty thousand people in the L.A. shelter. It’s secure. Oasis is surrounded by desert and crawling with mutated monsters. What if something even stronger evolves out there? It’s just not safe.”

”Well... alright,” Jenny finally agreed. ”But Ellie’s still back in Oasis. We’ll need to go get her first.”

Chris lit up like a Christmas tree.

Finally! After all that convincing, she’d agreed to come to L.A.

He turned to Ethan excitedly. ”Let’s swing by Oasis to pick someone up, then head back to L.A. together, yeah?”

”Nope,” Ethan said flatly.

”...” Chris’s face fell. He looked like someone had just kicked his puppy. ”Come on, man, it won’t take long. Just a quick stop, I swear.”

”Oh, in that case, go ahead,” Ethan said with a nod.

Truth was, he was in a good mood after finding another piece of the Star Map slab. Felt like messing with Chris a little.

He wasn’t planning to leave right away anyway. He still had to check in with Jerky, Slick, and the rest of his crew—make sure everyone was squared away.

And with that, they started heading back down the mountain.

...

At the foot of the mountain, the scene was just as wrecked—scars of battle everywhere. The horde of mutated monsters had retreated, leaving behind a field littered with the corpses of Black-Skin Zombies.

Their bodies were torn and mangled, clearly gnawed on by the monsters, but surprisingly still mostly intact.

Apparently, even the mutated beasts couldn’t stomach the stench of Black-Skin Zombie blood. That’s how disgusting it was—so foul even monsters turned their noses up at it.

”Logan! Logan! We’re here to save you!”

Suddenly, a group of people came rushing up from the base of the mountain, faces full of panic and urgency. Leading the charge was none other than Logan’s father, Franklin, flanked by a few of Logan’s lackeys.

The moment Logan saw them, his blood pressure spiked. When he’d been getting chased by those Black-Skin Zombies, these guys had bolted faster than rabbits, leaving him to fend for himself in that nightmare.

”Oh, so you guys remember I exist now?”

”We, uh... we went to get help! That’s why we’re just getting here...” one of the lackeys mumbled, clearly guilty.

Franklin looked genuinely worried. Mosca Peak was basically a death zone for humans—everyone knew that. When he heard his son had gone up there, he’d nearly lost it.

”Logan, are you alright?”

”Still breathing,” Logan muttered.

Franklin’s heart ached at the sight of him—swollen lips, bruised and battered, even his ass looked like it had taken a beating. Front and back, the poor kid looked like he’d been through hell.

Not far off, Chris chimed in, ”If he hadn’t been with us, he’d probably be dead a hundred times over by now.”

”Oh—thank you! Thank you all for looking after my son. I really appreciate it,” Franklin said, bowing slightly in gratitude.

Chris waved it off. ”Don’t mention it. Just doing what anyone would.”

”...” Logan stared blankly, speechless. Wow, thanks for all the ’help,’ guys.

Honestly, if it weren’t for their so-called help, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state...

But given the situation, he didn’t dare say that out loud.

”Alright, let’s not waste time. We need to get back to Oasis,” Chris called out, eager to go pick up Jenny’s daughter.

”Yes, yes, of course!” Franklin nodded quickly. He just wanted to get his son somewhere safe—Logan looked like he was about to collapse.

The lackeys, trying to make up for ditching him earlier, rushed forward with awkward smiles, eager to help.

”Logan, let us give you a hand.”

”Mm, that’s more like it,” Logan said, nodding.

But the moment they got close, the stench of Black-Skin Zombie blood hit them like a brick wall—pungent, putrid, and absolutely revolting.

”Ugh!” One of them gagged, nearly throwing up on the spot.

”Logan, uh... you might have to walk on your own, man.”

Logan: ”...”

...