Apocalypse: King of Zombies

As the aircraft climbed higher into the sky, it gradually leveled out, gliding smoothly like a ship drifting through a sea of clouds.

Big Ears and the rest of the corpses were plastered to the windows, wide-eyed and gawking at the view.

Ethan, meanwhile, sat off to the side, casually scrolling through his phone.

Not all of the Zombie Kings had joined this migration. PhD had stayed behind to guard the nest.

Ever since he’d modified Laura, it was like he’d opened the door to a whole new world. After the battle with Nightbane, there were plenty of zombies left with missing arms and legs.

PhD had plans for them—he wanted to rebuild them all, piece by piece, and create a full-on ”cyber-zombie army.”

The Genesis Biotech branch warehouse in San Diego still had a ton of leftover materials. Might as well put that junk to good use.

PhD had also sent over a document—Genesis Biotech’s infamous ”Zombie King Files.”

Ethan scrolled through the contents.

According to the file, including himself, there were a total of nine powerful Zombie Kings.

Each one was a tyrant in their own right, the kind of apocalyptic nightmare that had wiped out thousands—if not tens of thousands—of humans. They were walking disasters.

But six of them weren’t even in the U.S. Of the three that were, Ethan had already taken out Nightbane.

That meant, as of now, there was only one other Zombie King left in the States, according to Genesis Biotech’s records.

And that one? Way out east. Too far to worry about for now.

Besides, Nightbane had been top-tier. Even if this other King was just as strong, it was unlikely they were stronger. Odds were, they wouldn’t be a match for Ethan.

Still, Ethan kept a close eye on the other Zombie Kings.

He needed high-grade crystal cores to break through to SSS rank.

After absorbing Nightbane’s core, his mental power had skyrocketed. He’d even started developing illusion-casting abilities. If he could get his hands on more cores, who knew what else he might unlock?

At the very least, it would boost his strength—and maybe even make his illusions capable of doing real damage.

Right now, the aircraft streaked across the sky like a rainbow-colored blur. After about two hours, they crossed into Texas.

Ethan’s plan was to hit up the Genesis Biotech base or Blackhand City first—see if he could scavenge some high-level crystal cores. He knew the terrain well by now. Might as well thank them for their generous ”donations.”

The aircraft began to slow, gradually descending.

Through the windows, they could see the ruined city below. In the wake of the apocalypse, skyscrapers had crumbled, and everything in sight was a mess of debris and decay.

”We’re here! Look, that’s my old turf down there!” Mist shouted, practically bouncing with excitement.

”Oh? Not bad. Looks pretty big,” Big Ears said, squinting out the window.

Shrimpy’s eyes lit up. ”Think there’s any tasty shrimp down there?”

”...” Mist’s face went dark. ”This isn’t a coastal city. Where the hell would shrimp come from?”

”Damn. That’s a shame,” Shrimpy muttered, shaking his head.

As the aircraft descended further, the streets below came into clearer view—but they were completely deserted. Not a single zombie in sight.

”Wait, where are my guys? They’re all gone?” Mist’s voice wavered with unease.

”Maybe the humans wiped them out?” Shrimpy offered casually.

But Mist’s heart skipped a beat. That... actually made sense.

Last time, Genesis Biotech and the Black Hand Legion had sent a massive force to this city to hunt Ethan down. They’d lost thousands of elite troops in the process.

After Ethan left, maybe they’d snapped and taken it out on the local zombies—slaughtered every last one of them.

”Boss, do you think... all my brothers are dead?” Mist asked, his voice tight with worry.

Ethan scanned the streets below. Empty. No trace of zombie energy. It was impossible to say for sure.

”I don’t know. Let’s take a look around first.”

”Yeah, okay!” Mist nodded quickly, eyes glued to the window, searching desperately.

So instead of landing right away, the aircraft began sweeping the city and surrounding areas, scanning for any signs of life—or undeath.

But the streets remained eerily quiet. Packs of rats scurried through the ruins, squeaking and screeching as they foraged for food.

The fact that rats were roaming around so freely meant one thing—there hadn’t been any zombie activity here for a long time.

”We’re screwed! Totally screwed!” Mist groaned, slumping in despair. He was convinced now—his crew was toast.

”Bet it was Genesis Biotech. Bastards probably wiped them out!”

”Mist, don’t worry,” Big Ears said, puffing up his chest. ”We’re the Overlord Squad. We’ve got your back. Just say the word, and the four of us will raze Genesis Biotech to the ground!”

”Uh…” Mist blinked, caught off guard. Suddenly, revenge didn’t sound so appealing anymore.

Ethan, meanwhile, was thinking it through. Even if Mist’s crew wasn’t dead, something had definitely gone wrong. Either way, they weren’t in the city anymore.

He steered the aircraft toward the outskirts, scanning the open plains beyond the ruins.

Finally, the sensors picked up movement—zombies. A lot of them. At least a hundred, clustered into a horde, snarling and howling as they chased something.

Up ahead, a few zombies were sprinting for their lives, agile and fast, putting serious distance between themselves and the pack.

Big Ears squinted at the fleeing figures, a flicker of recognition in his eyes. ”Hey… are those your guys?”

”Yes! That’s them!” Mist’s face lit up with excitement. ”That’s my crew!”

So they weren’t all dead—but they were in deep trouble, being hunted down by their own kind.

Among the pursuing horde was a B-class squad leader, eyes glowing with bloodlust, radiating pure aggression.

”Don’t let them get away! Wipe them out!” the leader roared.

”RAAARGH!” the horde bellowed in unison, charging forward like a tidal wave of rage.

The squad leader was the fastest of them all, surging ahead of the pack with terrifying speed. His movements were sharp, enhanced—clearly the result of some kind of modification.

”Looks like a Genesis Biotech creation,” Ethan muttered, watching closely.

The fleeing zombies glanced back and saw the squad leader gaining on them. Panic hit them like a brick wall.

”Shit! He’s fast!”

”He’s juiced up on some kind of evolution serum—we can’t outrun that!”

”If only our old boss Mist was here…”

”Forget it! Just hang on a little longer! The rest of the crew’s up ahead—if we have to, we’ll make our last stand there!”

They pushed themselves harder, sprinting with everything they had.

But the squad leader was elite—top-tier. No regular zombie could match that kind of speed. The gap between them was closing fast.

Just as he was about to catch up—

A small forest appeared ahead, dense with underbrush and shadowed by thick trees. From the tall grass, more zombies began to rise, hidden until now.

At the front stood one with a makeshift crown of woven grass on his head, blending into the foliage.

”You really won’t stop until we’re all dead, huh?” he growled, eyes burning with fury.

Seeing his comrades being hunted down, he launched himself forward, fist cocked back, and slammed it toward the squad leader.

”Huh? Who the hell—” The squad leader barely had time to react, crossing his arms to block.

THUD!

The impact sent him flying back dozens of feet, skidding to a stop as he struggled to regain his footing.

The zombie with the grass crown stood his ground, eyes locked on his enemy, radiating a fierce determination. He wasn’t backing down.

”I am Fear,” he said coldly. ”And I’ve come to fight.”

”…What?”

The squad leader blinked, confused, sizing him up.

”Fear? That’s your name? What, am I supposed to be scared of you or something?”

…