Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Skinny Pete soon led the group into the living room.

”Have a seat,” Ethan said, gesturing toward the couch.

”Thanks.” Ray and Evan sat down, while their two bodyguards remained standing behind them, silent and watchful.

Ethan activated True Sight and gave them a quick scan. His expression shifted—surprise flickering across his face.

He hadn’t paid close attention before, but now he saw it clearly: the guy in front of him was an Awakened. And not just any Awakened—this one had some serious juice.

Metal-type ability, from the looks of it. The ability to partially metalize his body, boosting both offense and defense by a huge margin.

A power like that? In a fight, he’d be a nightmare. Anyone at the same Tier wouldn’t stand a chance.

And all four of them were already at the peak of Tier 3. They were probably just waiting for the Tier 4 zombie in the backyard to break through, so they could harvest its crystal core and push themselves up to Tier 4.

Yep. Backing matters. Even in the apocalypse, the right connections could keep you ahead of the pack.

Ray leaned back, tone casual. ”Zombies are everywhere out there, but you guys still head out every day. I’m guessing you’re pretty strong?”

Ethan gave a helpless shrug. ”Strong? Not really. Just don’t have a choice. Gotta go out and scavenge, or we’ll starve holed up in here.”

Ray’s mouth twitched. ”Heh. You’re a funny guy. If I hadn’t seen you haul back carts full of supplies, I might’ve actually believed that.”

”Come on, it’s the apocalypse—who isn’t short on food? If you guys are doing so well, maybe lend us a little? We’re down to scraping the bottom of the veggie bin over here.”

”...”

Ray gave a stiff chuckle. ”Sure, sure. We’ll see what we can do.”

Ethan tilted his head. ”If food’s that tight, why not head to a Safe Zone? With your strength, I’m sure you could make it.”

Ray snorted. ”Safe Zone doesn’t even come close to this. I’ve never lived in a place this nice. Figured, end of the world and all—might as well see what it’s like to crash in a luxury home. If I die tomorrow, at least I got to sit on a rich guy’s couch.”

”No kidding,” Ethan said, leaning back into the cushions with a satisfied sigh. ”Rich folks really know how to live. This place is ridiculously comfortable.”

Evan shot him a look—the kind of look rich kids gave when they saw someone who’d clearly never set foot in a place like this before.

Ray chuckled. ”Yeah, luxury’s nice and all, but it’s temporary. This place isn’t exactly Safe Zone secure. If a horde rolls through one day, it’s game over.”

Ethan shrugged. ”Eh, worth it. I’ve had my taste. If I get eaten by zombies tomorrow, at least I went out in style.”

”...”

Ray leaned forward slightly. ”There’s only six of you here. Ever think about joining a bigger faction? It’d be safer, more stable.”

”What kind of faction are we talking about?”

”Well, the world’s not what it used to be. These days, power comes from resources. A lot of the big corporate families are building private teams to fight the undead. Join a major family, and you get perks—supplies, crystal cores, even a luxury lifestyle. You could keep living like this, maybe even better.”

”Sounds pretty good. Which family are you with?”

”We’re with the Harlan family,” Evan said, puffing up with pride. ”This is Ray, the eldest son of the Harlan family. Most powerful family in Starlight City.”

”Oh, Ray, huh? Pleasure to meet you.” Ethan smiled politely. ”But the government’s still around, isn’t it? What, you guys planning to replace it?”

”...”

Ray forced a laugh. ”Come on, you know how things are. The government can’t keep up anymore. It’s a free-for-all out there. In this new world, strength rules. Aligning with a powerful faction is the only way to rise above the chaos.”

”So how strong is the Harlan family, exactly?”

Ray straightened up, clearly proud. ”We’ve got over a hundred Tier 3 Enhanced, more than a thousand at Tier 2. Tier 1s? Too many to count.”

”Damn. That’s impressive.” Ethan raised an eyebrow. ”So what does it take to join the Harlan family?”

”If you’re Tier 3, I can approve it on the spot. You’d get full access to the family’s resources.”

Ethan gave a regretful smile. ”Ah… Tier 3, huh? That’s a shame. Not a single one of us here has hit Tier 3.”

Ray’s brow furrowed. This wasn’t what he’d expected. In his mind, anyone bold enough to venture out daily in this hellscape had to be at least Tier 3. But now Ethan was telling him—not a single one of them had reached that level?

”If your combat ability’s exceptional, even peak Tier 2 would be acceptable,” Ray offered, lowering the bar.

Ethan shook his head again. ”Nah, doesn’t look like we make the cut. None of us are at peak Tier 2 either.”

Ray stared at him, incredulous. ”You’re kidding, right? Not even peak Tier 2? Then how the hell do you walk around out there like it’s nothing?”

Ethan shrugged. ”We don’t go far. Just scavenge around the neighborhood. Maybe we’ve just been lucky—haven’t run into anything too nasty yet.”

Ray studied him closely. Ethan didn’t look like he was lying. His expression was too relaxed, too casual.

Did I misjudge them? Ray thought. Are they really just low-Tier Enhanced?

If that was the case, then this whole visit had been a waste of time.

Suppressing the urge to lash out, Ray forced a smile. ”Well, we’ve taken up enough of your time. We’ll head out for now—maybe drop by again sometime.”

”So… does that mean we can still join your group?” Ethan asked, eyes wide with hopeful curiosity.

”I’ll run it by the family,” Ray said, voice tight. ”No promises.”

”Sounds good.” Ethan watched them leave, the corners of his mouth curling into a cold, amused smirk.

”Ethan,” Sean said thoughtfully, ”looks like the Harlan family’s making some serious moves.”

”They’ve been pulling strings long before the world went to shit,” Ethan replied. ”Now that everything’s collapsing? Of course they’re making their play.”

”If this keeps up, it’s gonna turn into a full-blown power struggle.”

”Maybe. But that’s still a ways off,” Ethan said. ”The National Guard’s still intact. Federal response teams are active. Right now, they’re the strongest force on the board.”

”Yeah, but the military’s focused on the zombies. Once they’re worn down from that fight, these families are gonna start crawling out of the woodwork.”

”So what do we do?” Sean asked.

”We stick to the plan. Focus on leveling up. As long as we’re strong enough, it won’t matter who’s fighting who—they won’t be able to touch us.”

”Besides,” Ethan added, ”zombies are getting stronger. Smarter, too. Harder to kill by the day. If we don’t deal with that threat, what’s the point of winning any power struggle?”

”True.” The others nodded in agreement.

”But Ray’s getting too close,” Ethan said suddenly. ”If we’re not careful, he could drag us into their mess. I’m thinking… maybe we should kill him.”

”...”

”You serious? That’d be poking a hornet’s nest. The Harlan family would go ballistic. A family like that? They’ve definitely got access to heavy weapons. We’d be in deep shit.”

”I’m not worried about that,” Ethan said calmly. ”Worst case, we relocate. What bugs me is wasting that ability of his. I wonder if there’s a way to take it for ourselves.”

”He’s Awakened?” The group’s eyes widened.

”Yeah. And not just any Awakened—he’s got a high-tier combat ability. Partial metalization. Boosts both offense and defense. If I’m right, once he levels up enough, he’ll be able to metalize his entire body. He’d be a walking tank.”

”Damn, that’s insane.”

”Exactly. That’s why I’m hesitant to kill him. If we get strong enough, maybe there’s a way to extract or replicate his ability.”

”So… do we kill him or not?”

Ethan thought for a moment, then shook his head. ”No. Let’s keep him alive—for now.”

...