Apocalypse: King of Zombies

That night, Ethan and the others ate a huge, lavish dinner inside the mansion.

Miles hadn’t been exaggerating—those chefs he’d hired were the real deal. Honestly, they were even better than Ethan. Everybody ate until they couldn’t stuff in another bite.

It wasn’t like they’d been starving since the apocalypse started, but a meal this good? This was a first.

”Man… that was incredible,” Big Mike said, rubbing his stomach.

”Feeling satisfied?” Ethan laughed. ”Then later you’re cleaning up the dishes.”

”Isn’t that what the cooks are for?”

”They just cooked you a feast like that, and you’ve got the nerve to make them wash up too?”

”…”

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone turned in early.

In the middle of the night, they all climbed out of bed again and headed up to the rooftop to stargaze and absorb mysterious energy, pushing their Tiers higher.

Honestly, having a rooftop built for it was pure luxury. Lying back on a lounge chair felt a million times better than freezing on some hard floor.

They’d never missed a single night of absorbing mysterious energy under the stars. After these past few days, Ethan had already started charging toward the peak of Tier 11.

Chris and the others were still stockpiling energy, getting ready to break through to Tier 11 in one shot. Even using the method from the Energy Absorption Technique book, it would still take another seven or eight days.

Right now, there weren’t any Tier 11 zombies or mutant beasts they could hunt. So this was the only way to level up.

The others weren’t in a rush. Their strength was already way beyond most people’s. The one who really couldn’t afford to slack was Skinny Pete—he had an important job.

He needed to control that white-furred ape leader.

But to control a Stage C (Tier 12) white-furred ape chief, Skinny Pete had to break into Tier 11 first. Otherwise, there was a good chance he wouldn’t control it at all—and the backlash would hit him instead.

Luckily, things were still pretty friendly between them and the apes for now. The ”control” was just a safety measure, because that pack of white-furred apes was way too strong to take chances with.

And it wasn’t just their group. At this very moment, basically everyone in Fallen Star City was using the same method—lying on rooftops and absorbing mysterious energy to raise their Tier. Every residential building in Fallen Star City had a flat roof for exactly this reason.

It was one of the biggest reasons Fallen Star City’s overall strength was so terrifying.

The only exception was Jaxon and his people, who had just arrived and were still sleeping like the dead.

Without Miles giving the order, nobody was going to tell them about the method recorded in the Energy Absorption Technique book.

Early the next morning, Miles gathered all twenty thousand Enhanced together.

He didn’t say much. Just that the members of the Fallen Star Squad had gone into a dangerous area and brought back a batch of crystal cores for everyone.

These twenty thousand had all been handpicked by him—people with extremely high loyalty—so there was no need for a long speech.

Then he lifted a hand and used his ability, [pocket dimension], pulling all the crystal cores out of that separate space.

When a mountain of high-Tier crystal cores appeared in front of them, everyone present froze in shock.

”No way… I’m not seeing things, right? Tier 8 and Tier 9 crystal cores piled up like a damn hill?!”

”If we’re actually awake, then yeah—those are Tier 8 and Tier 9 crystal cores.”

”Gulp…”

”It’s hard enough to find a Tier 9 zombie these days. Where did the Base Commander and the others get so many Tier 9 crystal cores?”

”It’s insane, but… if it’s the Base Commander, it suddenly makes sense!”

”Yeah. The Base Commander isn’t human. He’s a god!”

”Alright, enough,” Miles cut in again. ”Stop yelling. Line up and come claim the crystal cores you each need to reach Tier 9.”

”Hell yeah!”

”Thank you, Base Commander! Thank you, Deputy Commander! Thank you to the Fallen Star Squad!”

Everyone was practically vibrating with excitement. Tier 9—something that used to feel completely out of reach. And now they had a chance to get there this fast. It felt like a dream.

Then they formed several lines and, one by one, stepped forward to collect the crystal cores they needed.

Everyone claimed crystal cores according to their own strength. Not a single person took even one extra.

Everything they had came from Fallen Star City. Without Fallen Star City, they would’ve died in this apocalypse a long time ago—there was no way they’d be standing here today, let alone reaching this level.

In their hearts, they’d already accepted Fallen Star City as their real home. Of course they weren’t going to get greedy over a little advantage like this.

Fallen Star City wasn’t like other compounds. Resources here were abundant. A lot of problems that plagued other compounds simply didn’t exist here—and that was the perk of having fewer people, but stronger ones.

So Miles didn’t copy Clearford City’s management style. Instead, he kept power concentrated in his own hands.

Not far away, Ethan and the others watched the scene and quietly nodded.

You had to admit it—Miles really knew how to win people over. Just from their eyes, Ethan could tell these people were genuinely grateful to Fallen Star City. People like that were safe to use.

Before long, all the crystal cores had been distributed. A small portion still remained, and Miles swept those into his separate space.

Maybe it was time to expand the official forces again.

Then everyone sat right down on the ground and started breaking through on the spot.

It didn’t take long. The entire twenty-thousand-man force finished their breakthroughs.

Fallen Star City had just hit its true peak—twenty thousand Tier 9 Enhanced. Who could possibly stand against that?

Even Ethan and the others felt their blood surge as they watched.

He was sure of it: the moment this power went public, it would shake the world.

Miles looked just as fired up.

”Since you’ve all advanced to Tier 9, I’ve got a mission for you!”

”We’ve basically cleared out the zombies in the nearby counties and the suburbs. Next, we’re preparing to attack Harrison City. Just in time, the compound over there has been breached—this is our chance to move!”

”You have one hour.”

”We move on Harrison City at 10:00 AM.”

”Yes! Deputy Commander, don’t worry—we’ll complete the mission!”

Twenty thousand voices roared back in perfect unison, faces lit with excitement.

Their strength had just skyrocketed. They were itching for a real fight—and now one was being delivered right to their doorstep. The Deputy Commander really got them.

”Mhm. But Harrison City already has Tier 10 zombies, so stay sharp.”

”Relax, it’s just Tier 10. With this many Tier 9s, what’s there to be afraid of?”

”Haha, exactly. Tier 10, my ass. It used to feel untouchable—now if it shows its face, we’ll beat the crap out of it!”

”As long as you’ve got confidence,” Miles said, smiling. ”But you won’t need to handle Tier 10. The Base Commander will be going too—he’ll be leading the Fallen Star Squad. Don’t embarrass yourselves in front of them.”

”The Base Commander is going too?!”

”Awesome! We finally get to see the Base Commander fight again. It’s been forever!”

”You guys have seen it—we haven’t even gotten the chance yet. This time we’re watching close.”

”Haha, it’ll blow your eyes right out of your sockets!”

”Alright,” Miles said, cutting through the noise. ”Go back and rest. Gather here at ten!”

”Got it!”

The crowd quickly dispersed. Ethan and the others walked over to Miles.

”Captain, what do you think?” Miles asked, looking at Ethan.

”Not bad.” Ethan grinned. ”Back then we were talking about building a Stage D army—Tier 6. Now we’ve jumped straight to a Tier 9 army.”

”Haha. And they’ll only get stronger. A Stage C army—Tier 12—isn’t impossible.”

Ethan nodded. ”I don’t have any other demands. Just one—loyalty has to be guaranteed.”

”Don’t worry, Captain. I keep tight control over the official ranks.”

”Good.” Ethan met his eyes. ”I trust you.”