Apocalypse: King of Zombies

After taking down the first Tier 8 zombie, Ethan and the squad didn’t stop to rest. They kept it going—wiping out two more hordes and killing two more Tier 8s before the day was over.

By sundown, they’d slaughtered over a hundred thousand zombies.

Even with Emily constantly restoring their stamina, that level of combat was brutal. Everyone was running on fumes by the end.

The difference between a major city and a rural county like Redwood... was night and day.

Redwood County had a total population of maybe three hundred thousand, and zombies were scattered thin across the area. Outside the core zones of small towns, even running into a few thousand was considered a big deal.

But in a real city? Zombies moved in organized crowds. You’d bump into tens of thousands just walking a few blocks. Without serious power, you wouldn’t even make it out your front door.

And with a bigger population base, the chances of high-Tier zombies showing up naturally went up too.

Take Redwood County—as big as it was, there’d only ever been one Tier 8 zombie. But in Clearford City? You could kill several in a single day. There had even been a Tier 9, once.

To be fair, time was a factor. It’d been almost half a month since they first took down a Tier 8. In the apocalypse, each passing day brought a real chance of new high-Tier monsters emerging. The longer this went on, the worse the creep.

Zombies, like humans, mostly capped out around Tier 5… but new Tier 6s popped up every day.

You could see the trend clearly just from the numbers.

Back during the defense of Fallen Star City, they’d faced 80,000 zombies—but only ran into 40 or so Tier 6s. This time? They killed 60,000 and found nearly 300 Tier 6s in the mix.

Zombies were evolving fast. And if humanity wanted to survive, it had to evolve just as fast—or faster.

Once they stripped the last wave of Tier 6 and up crystal cores, the squad was finally ready to head back. The rest would be left to the military to retrieve.

All in all, across three full waves, they’d collected over 700 Tier 6 cores, 11 Tier 7 cores, and 3 Tier 8 cores.

The last two Tier 8 cores went straight to Chris.

Yesterday, Ethan had killed a Tier 8 mutant vulture on his way back to Fallen Star City. Then later, when they bumped into the Silverfox Squad, he’d finished off another Tier 8 zombie.

Both of those crystal cores went to Chris.

Now, with today’s added haul, Chris—already nearing the peak of Tier 8—was finally maxed out at the Tier 8 threshold.

At this moment, Fallen Star Squad’s lineup stood as follows:

Ethan was Tier 9.

Chris and Skinny Pete were both Tier 8 peak.

The others had risen to mid-Tier 8 thanks to days of absorbing mysterious energy.

Emily was the only one still a bit behind—though she was catching up fast.

...

Back at their mansion inside the Clearford City compound, they hadn’t even sat for five minutes when Michael showed up.

”Director Michael—any news from your investigation?” Henry asked, a little anxious.

”There is.” Michael gave a short nod. ”Based on the time, number of people, and body types your sister reported, it lines up with Direclaw Squad.”

”I checked the logs personally. That day, they left the compound in full strength—but came back minus a dozen people.”

”Cross-referencing our data, the physical descriptions of those who didn’t return match almost perfectly with what we were told.”

”Time, numbers, appearances—all line up. I’d say there’s no doubt.”

”Got it. Then it’s them.” Ethan’s voice was calm, but tight with resolve.

”What did their captain say?” he asked.

”Direclaw Squad’s leader is Vince Redd. That day, he told the gate guards they got caught in a zombie attack. Claimed those people were killed in the field.”

”Heh. So he knows,” Ethan said flatly. Then he glanced at Michael, looking a little apologetic. ”I’m sorry if this puts you in a tight spot. I know this could cause trouble inside the compound. But this is personal—those people were the parents of a close friend. I have to deal with it. I hope you understand.”

”Ethan, come on. Don’t even say that.” Michael gave a stiff smile. ”For them to pull something like this? They deserve whatever’s coming to them. You’re helping us clean out the trash. We should be thanking you.”

In truth, the military didn’t care what soldiers did outside the compound. As long as you didn’t stir up trouble inside, it wasn’t their business.

But with power like Ethan’s?

Rules had to bend… real fast.

”Then I won’t hold back,” Ethan nodded. Then he turned to his team. ”Let’s go. Time to pay Direclaw Squad a visit.”

”Sir!”

”Uh—Ethan…” Michael hesitated. ”Don’t you want to know what their strength is like first?”

”No need,” Ethan said simply. ”Just tell us where they’re staying.”

”They’re in Sector Three—it’s home to the strongest squad in the compound right now!” Michael hurried to explain, hoping to manage expectations.

”Oh?” Ethan raised a brow, then gave a small smirk. ”Well, not after today.”

With that, he turned and led the Fallen Star Squad straight toward Sector Three.

Michael hurried after them and, spotting a nearby patrol, rushed over to issue urgent orders. ”Clear out the soldiers from Sector Three. No matter what happens there today—no one is to get involved. Got it?”

As Ethan’s team made their way into Sector Three, they turned plenty of heads. Curious onlookers from other parts of the compound trailed behind them, whispering among themselves.

It didn’t take long for them to reach the area occupied by Direclaw Squad. A bunch of their members were still out on the open training grounds, mid-drill when the crowd rolled in.

The drills stopped. Eyes turned. One man stepped forward with a scowl.

”This is Direclaw Squad territory. Who the hell gave you permission to come here—”

SLAP!

He didn’t even finish the sentence before the guy next to him smacked him hard across the face.

”Are you f*ckin’ trying to get us killed? Are you blind? You don’t recognize Fallen Star Squad?” The one who slapped him quickly stepped forward, forcing a fawning smile and bowing his head to Ethan.

”Mr. Ethan! Hello, sir. What—uh, what brings you here today?”

”Where’s Vince?” Ethan asked, tone flat.

”Oh, you’re looking for our captain? Right away, sir! I’ll call him down.” The man turned and shouted toward the building behind them. ”Get upstairs and tell Captain Vince Ethan is looking for him! Now!”

”On it!” one of the younger men answered, bolting for the stairs.

Moments later, a tall, broad-shouldered man in his thirties came hurrying down. A long scar split one side of his face, giving him a weathered, dangerous look. He stopped as soon as he reached the group.

”Uh… Ethan, right? You need something from me?” Vince asked cautiously.

Ethan gave a nod, then gestured to Emily, who stepped forward.

”You recognize her?” Ethan asked.

Vince stared at her for a long moment, eyes narrowing slightly in thought. Eventually, he tilted his head… and shook it.

”No. Don’t think I’ve seen her before.”

”Oh,” Ethan said lightly. ”Let me help remind you, then. She used to be with Silverfox Squad. She joined them after her parents were killed—by your men, if I’m remembering that right.”

There was a flicker in Vince’s expression—but it was gone almost instantly. The guy had a politician’s poker face.

”I think you’ve got the wrong man,” Vince said, raising his hands innocently. ”I really don’t know her. Go ahead, ask her yourself.”

Emily hesitated, glanced at Ethan… and then shook her head. ”Captain… I’ve never seen him before.”

Dead silence.

”See?” Vince gave a harmless smile. ”I mean, maybe there was some kind of misunderstanding? Look, I’m not a saint or anything, but come on—why would I go out of my way to kill the parents of someone I don’t even know? What kind of psycho does something like that?”

”Hmm,” Ethan nodded, as if thoughtfully considering the point. ”You’re right.”

Then he looked over his shoulder. ”Chris—take his arm.”

”!!!”