Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Inside the Joint Operations Conference Room of the compound…

Ethan and his team took their seats one by one, facing General Cross and the other senior officers.

Despite sitting across from the former Joint Base Commander—now the leader of a compound with over 300,000 survivors—none of them looked the least bit tense.

General Cross had the kind of commanding presence that came from years in power and a lifetime in the military. Most people couldn’t help but feel the pressure when facing him.

But not these eight.

They sat calm, composed, completely unfazed.

That kind of ease didn’t come from arrogance—it came from strength.

General Cross studied them for a moment, a flicker of emotion in his eyes. Maybe awe. Maybe respect.

It had been years since he’d seen young people who could sit across from him like this and not flinch. He’d had his doubts before, but now? He was almost certain.

No one could sit through his presence like that without serious power backing them up.

”Ethan,” General Cross began, his tone polite, even apologetic. ”I want to say sorry for what happened earlier. If any of my people crossed a line, I’ll take responsibility.”

He didn’t lower his head, but his posture was open, his tone sincere. Whether before or after the apocalypse, he’d always been a man in power—but unlike many, he knew how to read the room.

And if these people really had taken down a Tier 9 zombie, then they had the power to flip this entire compound upside down.

That wasn’t someone you made an enemy of.

Ethan smiled. ”No need to apologize, General Cross. We were the ones who went overboard. We broke the compound’s rules—can’t blame your people for doing their job.”

”You’re being too modest,” Cross said with a chuckle. ”If you hadn’t held back, the Enforcement Division would’ve been a bloodbath. I should be thanking you for showing restraint.”

”Haha, then let’s call it even,” Ethan said easily. ”You mentioned earlier you had some questions for us?”

Cross nodded, his expression turning serious. ”I’m sure you’ve already guessed. I want to ask about the Tier 9 zombie. I have my suspicions, but I’d like to hear it from you directly. That thing was a massive threat to the compound.”

Ethan leaned back slightly, still smiling. ”No need to worry about the Tier 9 anymore. It’s not a threat to your compound—or anyone else—ever again.”

The room went still.

The compound’s leadership all felt a chill run down their spines.

So it was true.

General Cross exhaled slowly, nodding. ”I figured as much. Still hard to believe. We always thought the military’s firepower and tactical edge would keep us ahead of the curve. But you… just a handful of people, and you’ve already left us in the dust. I guess I’ve been living in a bubble.”

”Don’t sell yourself short, General,” Ethan said sincerely. ”We’ve just been lucky. Ordinary people can’t compare to the military’s organization and resources. Honestly, this compound is the most well-run and powerful one we’ve seen so far. That’s a credit to your leadership.”

”Oh?” Cross raised an eyebrow. ”Sounds like you’ve seen quite a few compounds.”

”Yeah, you could say that,” Ethan replied. ”We came from Starlight City. Ran into a lot of compounds along the way—some big, some small.”

”Starlight City!?”

The room stirred again. Several officers looked shocked.

”That’s over 600 miles from here!” Colonel Mitchell said, eyes wide. ”You crossed that distance in this apocalypse?!”

Ethan shrugged. ”Didn’t have much choice. My buddy here—his parents are in Clearford. With no internet or phones, we had to come check in person.” He patted Henry on the shoulder. ”By the way, General Cross, do you think you could help us find out if his parents are in the compound?”

”No problem.” Cross turned to a middle-aged man seated nearby. ”Director Vaughn, I want you to handle this personally. Can you get results by tomorrow?”

”Absolutely!” Vaughn said, thumping his chest. ”Consider it done.”

”Haha, guess some things never change,” Ethan joked. ”Still gotta know the right people to get things done.”

Vaughn chuckled awkwardly. ”To be honest, we were already looking into it. But things aren’t like they used to be—takes manpower to dig through the records. It’s slow going. But don’t worry, I’ll have my team work through the night if we have to.”

”Appreciate it, Director Vaughn,” Ethan said with a nod.

”No trouble at all!” Vaughn replied quickly, almost flustered by the gratitude.

Then General Cross leaned forward slightly. ”Right, Ethan—you mentioned wanting to make a trade with us. What kind of trade are we talking about?”

”Oh, right.” Ethan reached into his bag. ”I wanted to ask if you have any Tier 1 crystal cores in storage?”

”Tier 1 crystal cores?” Cross exchanged a glance with the others, a bit puzzled. ”We’ve got some, yeah. But you’re looking for Tier 1s?”

”Yeah,” Ethan nodded. ”Starlight City’s fallen. There are a lot of survivors there who are still just ordinary people. Without Tier 1 cores, they can’t awaken. And without that, they’ve got no way to defend themselves. But we missed the best window to hunt Tier 1 zombies—now they’re basically gone. So we’re hoping to get some cores to help them out.”

”I see…” Cross’s expression turned heavy. ”Didn’t expect Starlight City to fall so fast.”

He paused, then said, ”In that case, forget the trade. I’ll just give you some of our low-tier cores. No need to exchange anything.”

”Uh—no, no,” Ethan said quickly, waving his hands. ”A trade’s a trade. I can’t just take them for free.”

He wasn’t afraid of people treating him badly. What he hated was when people were too good to him. Debts like that were the hardest to repay.

”It’s fine,” Cross said. ”They’re just low-tier cores. If they can help the survivors in Starlight, it’s worth it.”

”You’re not even going to ask what we’re offering in return?” Ethan smiled, then pulled out a few Tier 6 crystal cores and placed them on the table. ”I was thinking of trading these for some Tier 1s. What do you think?”

When Ethan laid the Tier 6 crystal cores on the table, General Cross and the others couldn’t take their eyes off them.

Even Cross himself dropped the whole ”just take them for free” act. What Ethan had just pulled out was too tempting to ignore.

Tier 6 crystal cores were the rarest and most coveted resource in the entire compound.

Once someone reached Tier 6, they could advance on their own without needing more cores. In other words, Tier 6 was the graduation point—after that, crystal cores weren’t essential anymore.

Right now, 99% of the military’s Enhanced were stuck at the peak of Tier 5. Every single Tier 6 core was a potential breakthrough. Even someone with Cross’s authority and resources couldn’t afford to pass that up.

”How many Tier 6 crystal cores do you have?” Cross asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

”A few hundred, give or take,” Ethan said casually.

”A few hundred?!” Cross and the others nearly choked.

Their entire compound had only a few hundred Tier 6 Enhanced total—and this guy had that many cores just lying around?

That was insane.

”What kind of exchange rate are you thinking?” Cross asked quickly.

”Hmm… how about one to a thousand?” Ethan offered.

”One Tier 6 core for a thousand Tier 1s?” Cross repeated, stunned.

”Yeah.” Ethan nodded.

Honestly, that was already a generous deal. He’d originally planned to ask for a 1:2000 ratio, but Cross had left a good impression—so he was giving him a friendlier price.

Cross frowned slightly. The rate was fair, but the volume…

If Ethan had a few hundred Tier 6 cores, that meant he’d be asking for hundreds of thousands of Tier 1s in return. That was a massive number.

The compound still had tens of thousands of unawakened civilians. Cross had planned to distribute Tier 1 cores to them gradually, based on their contributions to the compound. They needed a steady supply to make that work.

But Tier 1 zombies were practically extinct now. Which meant Tier 1 cores were a non-renewable resource—every one they gave away was one they couldn’t replace.

Still… Tier 6 cores were even more critical right now. They were the key to pushing the military’s strength to the next level.

Cross thought it over for a long moment.

Then he clenched his jaw, made his decision, and slapped the table.

”Deal.”