Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”I know they’re strong,” Dominic said, face set, ”but they’re not invincible. If every family sends out their Tier 10 Enhanced, plus the laser weapons we’ve developed, it’ll be enough to kill them. If we don’t move now and they get even stronger, then we really won’t be able to do anything about them.”

”I’m against it,” Maxwell said bluntly, making his stance crystal clear.

Alexander’s eyes shifted. ”Charles. What do you think?”

Charles considered for a moment, then said, ”This is too rushed. We need to observe for a while longer before making any conclusions.”

Alexander’s brows drew together. Then he looked at Gabriel. ”And you?”

Gabriel hesitated, choosing his words carefully. ”Honestly, I think Charles is right. We can watch how they behave inside the compound first. If they really are as lawless as you’re saying, then we can move later. That’s not too late, right?”

Dominic cut in immediately. ”Gabriel, as far as I know, your boy offended them back in Clearford City. With their temperament, if they run into your son Julian in the compound, there’s a good chance they’ll kill him on the spot.”

Gabriel’s face twitched. ”Uh… then I’ll go back and keep him on a tight leash. I won’t let him go out for a while.”

”You’re really going to make your own son hide at home because of a few people?” Dominic scoffed.

”It’s fine,” Gabriel said, forcing a smile. ”Him behaving for a while isn’t a bad thing.”

”…..”

Seeing he couldn’t pull Gabriel into his camp, Dominic could only swallow his frustration.

A joint meeting of the Five Families only happened for major decisions.

And any decision needed at least three families supporting it to pass.

But now the Kane Family was openly opposed, while the Whitakers and Mercers were both choosing to wait and see.

It was obvious this resolution wasn’t going anywhere.

”Alright,” Charles said, shutting the momentum down. ”Let’s put this aside for now. We’ll watch how they act inside the compound first. Alexander—anything else?”

”No.” Alexander shook his head, unable to hide his disappointment. ”Nothing else.”

”Then we’ll adjourn. Everyone, go back.”

”Fine.”

”Wait.” Alexander suddenly looked straight at Maxwell. ”I’ve heard the Kane Family has been getting very close to that group. I hope General Kane understands where his loyalties lie. Today’s meeting… it won’t somehow reach their ears, will it?”

Maxwell’s face hardened. ”What do you take me for? I know my position. Don’t worry about that.”

”Good,” Alexander said quietly.

Not long after, everyone left one by one.

Back at home, Dominic’s expression stayed heavy as he faced Alexander. ”Dad… this is going to be hard. If the other families won’t agree, just us and the Caldwells might not be enough to take them down.”

”I know,” Alexander said, almost too calmly. Then his mouth curled into a cold smile. ”But if they won’t agree… who says we can’t make them agree?”

Dominic’s eyes sharpened. ”Dad, you mean…?”

”I’ve looked into that group’s temperament.” Alexander’s voice dropped. ”Overbearing. Violent. If someone provokes them, they don’t care where they are—they’ll kill on the spot.”

He leaned forward slightly. ”Arrange for some people to go stir up trouble with them. As long as they kill someone, we blow it up—make it impossible to ignore. Charles hates evil with a passion. When the time comes, he might be the one demanding punishment.”

Alexander’s smile turned sharper. ”And then we’ll see how Maxwell protects them.”

Dominic’s breathing steadied, understanding clicking into place. ”Got it. I know what to do.”

”Mm.” Alexander nodded. ”Keep it clean. No loose ends.”

”Don’t worry, Dad.”

On the other side, by the time Ethan and the others got back to the compound, it was already late.

They’d originally planned to go eat at the Kane Family’s place, but it was too late—and after grinding all day, nobody felt like dragging themselves across town for a formal dinner. So Ethan told Ryan to head back first. They’d go tomorrow instead.

Back at their place, Garrick collapsed onto the bed. Within minutes, he was snoring. He’d pushed himself way too hard today.

Henry, on the other hand, pulled out the phone, then grabbed pen and paper and started copying the ritual circle from the photos line by line. He was completely locked in.

The rest of them messed around for a bit, then turned in as well.

In the middle of the night, they climbed up to the rooftop again to stargaze and absorb that mysterious energy.

By morning, the last two holdouts in the Fallen Star Squad—Big Mike and Emily—had both broken through to Tier 11.

That made it official.

The entire Fallen Star Squad was Tier 11.

Ethan himself was already at the peak of Tier 11. One more step and he’d be able to light the second star on the constellation map in his mind, reaching Stage C (Tier 12). When that happened, his strength would jump dramatically.

After sunrise, they went back to catch up on sleep, and didn’t crawl out of bed until after eleven.

At this point, they didn’t need to rush out at dawn every day to farm zombies for strength. The zombies outside still weren’t even their Tier, so there was no reason to grind themselves into the ground. If they could sleep more, they slept more.

Once they were up, everyone washed up quickly and headed out.

They’d promised Ryan they’d come eat at the Kane Family’s place. It was basically noon already—perfect timing to show up for lunch.

Walking along the main road through the compound, surrounded by a bustling crowd, it honestly felt like being back before the apocalypse.

Atlas City’s compound management really was impressive. A super-compound with nearly three million people, and you could barely find any brawls or street fights.

They’d barely finished that thought when a big group of people came charging straight toward them.

Everyone on the road hurried out of the way, like they were terrified of getting in their path.

”Move. Don’t block the road!”

A young guy leading the pack shot Ethan a nasty look when he saw them standing in the middle.

Ethan frowned. But thinking about the meal they were headed to, he couldn’t be bothered to waste energy on trash like this. He simply led his team off to the side.

Unfortunately, sometimes you don’t go looking for trouble—trouble comes jogging over with a grin.

As the group passed, the guys up front suddenly noticed Mia and Emily.

Their eyes lit up.

”Damn, she’s hot.”

”Holy shit—seriously. Especially the taller one. Prettier than any celebrity from before.”

”Heh. No wonder the air felt extra fresh when I walked out today. So this is my lucky day.”

Ethan and the others’ expressions darkened. Even in Atlas City, there were scumbags like this?

Then the lead young man stepped right in front of them. He ignored Ethan completely and looked straight at Mia and Emily.

”Hey, beauties. You new to the compound? Want us to show you around, help you get familiar?”

Mia gave him a cold glance and couldn’t even be bothered to respond.

Emily, however, tilted her head with wide, innocent eyes. ”How’d you know we just got here?”

The guy grinned like he thought he was charming. ”Because gorgeous girls like you are the center of attention anywhere you go. If you weren’t new, I would’ve met you already.”

”Oh.” Emily smiled sweetly. ”Thanks. But I think you should leave soon… or it might get really ugly for you.”

”Ugly?” He burst out laughing. ”Beautiful, you might not know this, but my brother’s the Security Captain for this area. Around here, I’m the one who makes other people suffer. Nobody makes me suffer.”

”Is that so?”

A cold voice cut in.

Then—

Boom.

A heavy impact rang out. The young man’s body flew like he’d been hit by a train, smashing into several people before tumbling across the ground and rolling to a stop.

Chris lowered his leg and curled his lip.

”Can’t stand guys like you.”