Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Near dawn, the Titan Apes’ furious roars finally died down. Ethan and Chris slipped back into the valley.

With several mutant beasts standing guard, Sean and the others had actually gotten a solid night’s sleep.

Besides, the mysterious energy in this place was thin, and the Nine-Star Dipper wasn’t visible. Even if they tried that ”stargazing to absorb energy” trick, it wouldn’t amount to much here. Better to rest up and recover properly.

The moment Ethan and Chris returned, everyone hurried over.

”How’d it go,Ethan? Any good haul?”

”So-so.” Ethan shook his head, not thrilled. ”I got a few dozen Tier 8 and Tier 9 crystal cores. But once they started clustering up, it got hard to pick them off.”

”I had it worse,” Chris said with a bitter smile. ”I only killed a little over ten. Spent the whole night getting chased by a huge pack of Titan Apes.”

”…”

”So even ambush tactics aren’t working anymore,” someone sighed.

”Yeah.” Ethan’s voice turned serious. ”They’re on guard now. Sneaking them is going to be tough from here on out.”

He rubbed his eyes. ”You guys keep watch. Chris and I are going to sleep for a bit. Wake us around noon.”

”Got it.”

They’d been running all night. Ethan, especially, hadn’t slept for two nights straight. He dropped and was out immediately, while the others kept watch around the valley.

It wasn’t until midday that they woke the two of them.

Then, under Ethan’s lead, the group moved into Titan Ape territory and stopped at a hidden mountain hollow.

This was the spot Ethan had picked last night—the best location.

It wasn’t too far from where the Titan Apes usually gathered, and it also wasn’t that far from the Bloodfang Wolves’ range.

By distance alone, the Titan Apes would arrive first. But with the Bloodfang Wolves’ noses, they’d definitely smell it too. And if they showed up to find Titan Apes eating the flesh of their own kind…

Chances were good the two groups would tear into each other.

That was exactly what Ethan wanted.

Once the Bloodfang Wolves and the Titan Apes start ripping each other apart, we’ll just sit tight… and clean up whoever’s left.

”Let’s get it started.”

Ethan pulled eight Bloodfang Wolf corpses from his storage ring. The others gathered branches and quickly threw together seven or eight crude roasting racks.

They hoisted the wolves up one by one, hanging them over the racks, then piled on a huge stack of dry firewood.

”Big Mike,” Ethan said, ”light it.”

”Uh…” Big Mike blinked. ”Shouldn’t we skin them first? Pull the fur?”

”Skin my ass. We’re not the ones eating. The burnt-fur smell’s even better.”

”Say no more!”

Big Mike swept his hand. Fireballs shot out, igniting pile after pile of wood.

Within minutes, that distinct stink of singed hair spread through the hollow, thick and greasy in the air.

Ethan nodded, satisfied. ”Alright. Let’s move. This time, we hide properly.”

He led everyone to the base of a cliff wall nearby.

”Garrick,” Ethan said, pointing halfway up the rock face, ”get up there and use your ability. Make us a hole big enough to hide in.”

”Got it.” Garrick nodded, then sprang up the cliff, grabbing a rocky protrusion with one hand while pressing the other palm flat against the stone.

Slowly, the cliff began to deform.

A cavity formed, the rock smoothing and shifting as if it were wet clay.

Garrick climbed into the opening and kept working from inside. A minute later, a cave took shape—small entrance, wide interior—perfect for tucking a whole squad out of sight.

Ethan and the others filed into the cave.

To be safe, Ethan had Garrick seal the entrance completely, leaving only a few tiny air holes for breathing.

Now all they had to do was wait for the show to start.

As the dry wood kept burning, the flames grew hotter and taller. Before long, the scent of roasting meat began to drift out—spreading farther and farther through the forest.

Out here, that smell was basically a lethal temptation.

The first ones it hit weren’t mutant beasts.

It was a group of more than a dozen Silverfox Squad members hiding not far from the hollow—tucked under a thicket, down in a dried-up drainage ditch that still reeked of stale water and mud.

And among them…

Sophia.

After they’d fled the valley, Sophia had tried to lead people straight to the exit. Only to discover the way out of this Void Realm was blocked. In the end, they’d gone in circles until they found this hidden spot and burrowed in.

Compared to the others, Sophia feared being caught by the Titan Apes more than anything. After hiding here, she hadn’t dared move around at all, terrified she’d get spotted again.

And honestly? The place was genuinely well-hidden. Even Ethan hadn’t noticed anyone squatting here.

These dozen-plus people were Silverfox Squad’s core—every one of them Tier 6, plus Sophia and Mark at Tier 7.

In the outside world, that lineup would make most people think twice.

In this Void Realm, they could only crouch in a stinking ditch, hardly daring to breathe.

Then the smell hit them.

Roasted meat—rich, oily, mouthwatering—rolling through the trees like a curse.

They hadn’t eaten properly in days, and their stomachs immediately started screaming.

As Tier 6+ Enhanced, they could go three to five days without food no problem… but that smell was vicious. It dug hooks straight into their brains.

”How is there grilled meat…? Someone’s cooking out here?”

”No way. Who the hell would barbecue in a place like this? That’s suicide.”

”Unless mutant beasts learned how to grill?”

”Who knows,” one guy whispered, licking his lips. ”But holy shit, it smells insane. I can barely take it.”

”Then don’t,” Sophia snapped coldly. ”If anyone makes noise, I’ll be the first to deal with them.”

Everyone immediately shut up.

Out loud, at least.

Inside, the resentment started bubbling.

She couldn’t even protect herself that night, and now she’s acting like a hardass?

She got taken that night. Everyone knows it. Now she’s pretending nothing happened.

Some things changed people. Permanently.

Before, Sophia had been the unquestioned authority in the squad—what she said went, period.

Now her influence had fallen off a cliff.

Even Mark didn’t look at her with that old devotion anymore. The way he glanced over was closer to disgust than admiration.

Sophia felt it. Every bit of it.

But what was she supposed to do—rewrite reality? She was the victim, sure, but it had still happened. She couldn’t erase people’s memories.

So she shoved all of it onto Ethan.

If he hadn’t shown up out of nowhere, taken Emily away, dug into the truth behind Emily’s parents’ deaths… none of this would’ve happened.

Just wait, Sophia roared inside her head. Once I get out, I’ll make you regret it. I swear I will.

Back in the cave, Ethan’s group breathed in the scent seeping through the tiny air holes, all of them looking half-drunk on it.

”Didn’t think Bloodfang Wolf would smell this damn good on a grill,” Big Mike muttered, licking his lips. ”I’m telling you, that meat has to taste incredible. Once we’re done with this place, I’m roasting a few for real.”

”Yeah, probably doesn’t taste bad,” Ethan said, nodding. ”Those white-furred apes seemed to love eating Bloodfang Wolf.”

Then his expression sharpened. ”Alright. Stop talking. Something’s coming.”

Everyone crowded up to the air holes to peek outside.

Ethan didn’t need to. He flipped on True Sight and watched the scene unfold as if it were right in front of him.

A moment later, several shapes appeared in the distance.

But what Ethan didn’t expect was that the first ones to arrive weren’t Titan Apes—and they weren’t Bloodfang Wolves either.

They were three small mutant beasts with long, exaggerated snouts and foxlike bodies.

The team stared, surprised. Another new species.

Judging by those noses, their specialty was obviously scent—no wonder they’d gotten here so fast.

What really threw Ethan, though, was the aura they gave off.

All three were Tier 10.

So this is another top-tier species…

The foxlike mutants padded up to the racks and stared at the charred Bloodfang Wolf meat with open curiosity. Like they’d never seen anything cooked like this in the forest before.

One of them lifted a paw, reaching toward the roasted meat—

And then a shadow knifed down from the sky, diving straight for the racks.

”A flying mutant beast!” someone hissed.

The squad went tense all over again.

They hadn’t expected a damn barbecue to draw this many monsters in so fast.