Apocalypse: King of Zombies

General Cross nodded, then said in a heavy voice, ”One piece of good news. Two pieces of bad.”

The room sank instantly.

Sean, Big Mike, and Skinny Pete all went pale.

”Start with the bad,” Ethan said.

”Alright.” Cross exhaled. ”According to Ironhaven City’s investigation, Whitefall City fell a long time ago. The entire city is zombie territory now. There are basically no survivors.”

He didn’t sugarcoat it.

”So… the odds of surviving in Whitefall City are close to zero.”

Big Mike swayed on his feet. Still unwilling to let go, he forced out, ”Is it possible people escaped to the outskirts?”

”We can’t rule it out,” Cross said, ”but if they weren’t strong Enhanced, they probably couldn’t make it out. The main roads are completely packed with zombies.”

”…”

Big Mike went silent, eyes unfocused.

Ethan reached out and patted his shoulder, then looked back at Cross, signaling him to continue.

”Also—Ironhaven City.” Cross’s voice turned even lower. ”The situation at the Joint Military Base was too severe. By the time the military finished clearing the infected inside and managed to build a compound, the best rescue window was already gone.”

”They did eventually establish the compound, but there are fewer than a hundred thousand survivors.”

He paused for half a beat.

”Unfortunately, the people in the information you provided… they aren’t in the compound. And the residential area at the address you gave—by the time the military reached it, there were no survivors left. So…”

”…”

”I understand,” Sean said, voice rough. After that, he just stared at the floor.

They’d all braced themselves for this possibility, but hearing it out loud still hit like a punch.

Ethan looked at General Cross again. ”You said there was good news too. That’s from Goldcrest City, right?”

”Yeah.” Cross nodded. ”Goldcrest City sent word back. The two people you’re looking for are still alive, and they’re inside the Goldcrest City compound.”

”Really?” Skinny Pete snapped his head up, excitement breaking through the shock on his face.

”Really,” Cross confirmed. ”Leonard’s not an easy man to deal with, but when there’s something to gain, he takes it seriously. He won’t lie about this.”

”Thank you, General Cross,” Skinny Pete said, genuinely moved.

”It’s nothing.” Cross waved it off, then added, ”But Goldcrest City is almost a thousand miles from here. You planning to go pick them up?”

”We’re picking them up,” Ethan said without hesitation. ”Don’t worry about the distance. We’ve got our own way.”

”Good.” Cross nodded. ”Then I won’t meddle.”

Ethan hesitated, then asked, ”General Cross—one more thing. On the way back, we noticed Clearford City doesn’t seem to have a single zombie left. What’s going on?”

Cross let out a tired breath. ”Yeah. That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”

”We’ve been sweeping Clearford City the last few days,” he continued, ”but yesterday the zombies in the entire city pulled out—fast. Like they got orders.”

”We sent scouts. They found the zombies massing in one direction. We suspect a powerful Zombie King appeared over there—at least Tier 10, maybe higher.” His expression tightened as he spoke.

”All of them gathered together…” Ethan frowned.

”Looks like the zombies are starting to make big moves too.”

”You’re not wrong,” Ethan said, nodding once. ”It’s probably a high-tier Zombie King.”

Cross looked at him, conflicted and embarrassed. ”So, Ethan… what do you think we should do next? A million-level zombie tide—if they hit the compound, I honestly don’t feel secure. Especially since we’re running low on ammo.”

Ethan thought for a moment, then said, ”How about this. Send more scouts. Keep tracking them. If you can identify where that Zombie King is, tell me.”

He lifted his eyes, calm as if he were talking about chopping firewood.

”When the time comes, I’ll go in and cut the Zombie King down. That’ll solve it.”

”…”

General Cross and the others just stared at him.

Killing a Zombie King in the middle of a million zombies—pure fantasy.

But the way Ethan said it made it sound like a routine errand.

And the messed-up part was… coming from him, it didn’t even sound like bragging.

If anyone else had said that, they would’ve written him off as crazy on the spot.

”Ethan, are you sure you can handle it?” General Cross asked, unable to hide his worry.

”Relax,” Ethan said, confidence rock-solid. ”As long as it hasn’t reached Stage C, it doesn’t matter how many zombies it has around it—they won’t be able to save it.”

”Stage C?” General Cross and the others looked at him, confused.

”That’s Tier 12,” Ethan explained. ”After you become Awakened, a kind of constellation-map interface appears in your head. It looks like the Big Dipper System, except there are two extra stars. We call it the Nine-Star Dipper.”

He tapped his temple lightly, trying to keep it simple.

”I named the stages based on the number of stars, kind of like game progression. When you hit Tier 6, the first star—Alkaid—fully lights up. We call that Stage D. At Tier 12, the second star—Mizar—fully activates. That corresponds to Stage C. After that it goes Stage B, Stage A…”

”Nine-Star Dipper… Stage C…” General Cross repeated, mulling it over. ”I’ve gotta say, your naming system’s pretty interesting. Might be worth bringing up with the other compounds. Seems like we could get everyone to standardize the Tier divisions.”

”Sure,” Ethan said. ”We’ve just been calling it that the whole time.”

Cross nodded. ”Alright. Then I won’t keep you. I’ll arrange more scouting right away and try to pin down that Zombie King’s position as soon as possible.”

Honestly, that was why he’d rushed over in person. If the Zombie King problem had a solution, he could finally breathe again.

”Good,” Ethan said. ”Oh—also, can you tell the person in charge at Goldcrest City we’ll be going to pick them up in the next day or two? Have them make arrangements.”

”Of course,” Cross said. ”I’ll coordinate with them.”

After General Cross left, Ethan reached out and patted Sean and Big Mike on the shoulder, one after the other.

”If you want to cry, then cry,” he said quietly. ”Don’t swallow it.”

Sean drew a deep breath and forced a thin smile. ”I’m fine. I was prepared for this.”

Big Mike nodded too, voice rough but steady. ”Don’t worry, Captain. We’re not that fragile.”

Ethan looked around at the rest of the squad. ”And you’ve got us. We’re family.”

”Yeah.”

”Mm.”

Ethan turned to Mia. ”Let’s stay in today and rest. Mia, cook something good. We wanna drink tonight.”

”Okay.” Mia nodded and headed for the kitchen.

Ethan looked at Skinny Pete. ”Tomorrow I’ll go with you to Goldcrest City and bring your parents back. We’ll have Golden Eagle Nugget and Dire Eagle Pebble fly us over. Shouldn’t take long.”

Skinny Pete’s eyes lit up. ”Alright. Thank you.”

”Quit thanking me,” Ethan said. ”That’s what we do.”

Soon, Mia and Emily were busy in the kitchen, while the guys stayed in the living room, talking about dumb stories from their days at Starlight State University.

Since Sean and Big Mike were in a bad place emotionally, nobody touched the cards.

Before long, dish after dish hit the table. They drank, talked, and kept each other company until late into the night.

Early the next morning, Ethan had everyone stay back at the mansion while he took Skinny Pete out of the compound.

The moment they stepped outside, two massive flying mutant beasts swept in from the sky.

People nearby jumped, startled by the shadows overhead.

But once they spotted Ethan, they relaxed like it was just another Tuesday.

By now, the Fallen Star Squad had basically been mythologized inside the compound. Nothing that happened around them felt surprising anymore.

Ethan knew that too. So he didn’t bother hiding it—he had Golden Eagle Nugget and the others come straight to the compound gate. No point making them trek out somewhere remote.

Ethan and Skinny Pete climbed onto the backs of Golden Eagle Nugget and Dire Eagle Pebble.

With a single powerful beat of their wings, the two giant birds launched upward, shooting into the air and flying off into the distance.

Everyone watching wore the same expression—pure envy.

Soaring through the sky was a dream most people never got to touch.

And now someone was doing it like it was normal.

”Man… I’m so jealous of the Fallen Star Squad,” someone muttered. ”If I could join them, I’d laugh myself awake in my sleep.”

”In broad daylight, huh? What kind of dream is that,” another guy snorted. ”With your strength, you think you can join the Fallen Star Squad?”

”Can’t I at least dream?”

”I wanna know what their requirements even are,” a woman said. ”How’d Emily get in?”

”I’m telling you, the minimum has to be being Awakened.”

”Well, great,” someone sighed. ”Then I’m screwed.”