Apocalypse: King of Zombies

In the central room of the compound…

The entire Fallen Star Squad was sprawled across the couches in the living room, chatting and unwinding.

After more than two straight weeks of non-stop, high-intensity zombie hunting, everyone was physically and mentally drained. So today, they’d finally decided to take a break.

Besides, there wasn’t a single zombie left within ten miles. Nothing urgent to clean up.

”Miles, any issues with the compound lately?” Ethan asked, glancing over at him.

”Nothing major. Just small stuff—I’ve got it handled,” Miles replied calmly.

”Hah, that’s what I like to hear. Honestly, putting you in charge of the compound was the smartest move I’ve made,” Ethan said with a grin.

He hadn’t been directly involved in managing the compound, but since they returned every night to sleep there, he’d seen firsthand how smoothly everything ran. Everyone had their roles, and the place was running like a well-oiled machine.

You could see it in people’s faces—smiles, relaxed expressions. They were genuinely happy with their lives here.

With over five thousand people now living in the compound, there were bound to be problems every day. But the fact that everything stayed so organized spoke volumes about Miles’ ability—and the guy didn’t even look stressed.

The real reason? Miles knew how to use people. Or more accurately, he knew how to win hearts. Even Ethan had to admit, that was impressive.

The dozen or so Awakened Miles had personally trained were not only powerful, but fiercely loyal. Ethan had no idea what kind of magic the guy had worked on them, but it clearly stuck.

”But Ethan,” Miles said, his expression tightening a bit, ”while things are fine now, there might be a potential problem.”

”What kind of problem?”

”Mutant beasts. We’re surrounded by mountains, and no one knows how many of those things are up there. If they ever decide to come down all at once, it could get ugly.”

”Yeah… that’s something we’ll need to keep an eye on,” Ethan nodded. ”But I wouldn’t worry too much. As long as we stay alert and keep our defenses tight, we’ll be fine. Mutant beasts fight each other too, and with Goldie—the mutated Bengal tiger—on our side, most of them will probably think twice before messing with us.”

”True,” Miles agreed.

”The zombies nearby are basically wiped out,” Ethan continued. ”I’m thinking of heading into the city tomorrow to check things out.”

”Yeah, we should,” Miles said. ”We’ve got enough food for now, but we’re running low on spices and basic supplies. We’ll need to restock from the county stores.”

”Ethan, wasn’t your aunt’s place in Redmont City?” Chris asked suddenly.

Ethan’s body tensed. After a moment, he nodded. ”Yeah. They bought a house there. But… they’re probably gone. Killed by zombies.”

”Alright, let’s not talk about that,” Ethan said quickly, brushing it off. ”We’ve got a rare day off—let’s play some cards.”

”Sounds good,” the others agreed, picking up on his mood and letting the subject drop. The room quickly shifted into a more relaxed, playful atmosphere.

There was still a mountain of things to handle in the compound, so Miles didn’t stick around for games. He got up and left to get back to work.

Mia, who didn’t know how to play, wandered off to the kitchen to make lunch.

The rest split into two groups—four playing a board game, three playing cards.

When it was time to fight, they fought with everything they had. But when it was time to rest, they knew how to enjoy it.

Balance—that was the key to surviving the apocalypse.

Redmont…

In the zombie-infested city of Redmont, a massive Safe Zone still stood strong.

Redmont was split into two main areas: the old district and the new. The old district had been densely populated before the apocalypse—and now, it was crawling with zombies, packed wall to wall with the undead.

The new district, on the other hand, had far fewer people, but it covered a much larger area.

Right now, at the site of the former government office building in the new district, a sprawling Safe Zone had been established.

It had originally been set up by the government.

At the start of the apocalypse, the Redwood County National Guard, county officials, and local law enforcement had moved fast, working together to carve out a Safe Zone.

Thanks to their quick response, many survivors in Redmont’s new district had made it through the initial chaos.

The old district, though, was a lost cause. Too many people, too many zombies. Rescue missions there were nearly impossible.

Eventually, the county officials and the National Guard agreed to launch a full-scale enhancement program.

One by one, survivors in the compound were enhanced. Under the Guard’s command, these newly empowered civilians joined large-scale zombie-clearing operations.

During one of those missions, they made a surprising discovery—three of the Enhanced had awakened.

That got the higher-ups excited. They immediately began focusing resources on training those three Awakened.

But they were too naive. They thought the apocalypse would bring people together, that survival would unite everyone.

They underestimated human nature.

During a rescue mission, the team was ambushed by a massive zombie horde. At the critical moment, the three Awakened turned on them.

Not a single member of the rescue team made it back—except for those three.

Afterward, they returned to the Safe Zone and slaughtered the top officials. With their Awakened strength, they seized control by force.

Now, Redmont’s Safe Zone was ruled by those three Awakened.

And one of them… was Ethan’s cousin, Kyle Cole.

Before the apocalypse, Kyle was a nobody—a slacker who couldn’t even get into college, wasting his days at home.

But now? Everything had changed.

Kyle had risen from deadbeat to one of Redmont’s three overlords. No one dared look down on him anymore.

Naturally, his mother—Ethan’s aunt, Diane Cole—rose with him. In the Safe Zone, she was untouchable.

Back before the world fell apart, rumors had swirled about how their family got the money to buy their house. Neighbors whispered behind their backs, and Kyle’s constant troublemaking only made things worse. Diane had endured a lot of humiliation.

But now? She was finally holding her head high.

Diane was the type to never forget a grudge. Any neighbor who’d ever talked trash about her—if they were still alive—had their mouths ripped open and were tortured to death.

After that, no one in the Safe Zone dared cross her again.

Inside a large house at the center of the Safe Zone, Diane lay stretched out on a plush sofa. Two women knelt beside her—one massaging her shoulders, the other working on her feet.

Both women had been forcibly taken by Kyle. They weren’t just there to serve him in bed—they had to wait on Diane hand and foot too.

But what could they do? In this world, resistance meant death. For ordinary people, the apocalypse was nothing short of hell.

Smack!

A sharp slap rang out.

”Is that all you’ve got?”

”I’m sorry, ma’am! I’m sorry!” The woman panicked, dropping to her knees.

”Enough. Get back to it.”

”Y-yes, ma’am.”

Tears welled in her eyes as she scrambled back up and resumed the massage.

Just then, footsteps echoed from upstairs. Kyle came down, lean and wiry, looking completely satisfied.

”Kyle,” Diane said with a hint of reproach, ”you can’t keep doing this every day. You need to show some restraint.”

”Mom, don’t start. I’m a Tier 6 Awakened. This is nothing. Didn’t you always want grandkids?”

”Alright, alright, I won’t nag. My Kyle’s made it big now. Let’s see who still dares say you’re not as good as that bastard Ethan,” Diane said with a proud smile.

”Hmph. Him? Compared to me?”

Kyle sneered. ”I just hope he’s still alive out there. If I ever see him again, I’ll make sure he understands—so what if he got into some fancy university? In this world, he’s nothing. I’ll crush him like a bug.”