Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”This thing’s pretty damn nice.” Ethan turned the weapon over in his hands, genuinely impressed. ”Atlas City, huh… no wonder. They actually built something like this.”

Mia walked up, also eyeing it with curiosity. ”The Atlas Federation’s research division is insanely strong. And Atlas City’s the capital—its R&D isn’t something you can underestimate.”

”The firepower’s no joke,” Chris said, rubbing the spot on his palm where the shot had hit. ”I’m guessing it could seriously hurt a Tier 9.”

He’d taken a round head-on. If it could make him feel pain, it was already way beyond any pre-apocalypse gun.

”Guess Atlas City didn’t reclaim a megacity with twenty-something million people for nothing,” Sean muttered.

”Yeah.” Ethan nodded. ”We’ll bring it back and let Miles take it apart. See if we can make something similar. Though it burns crystal cores… I doubt a single core can fire many shots. Kinda wasteful. For us, it’s more efficient to just raise our Tier.”

”That’s true for us,” Mia said calmly. ”But for a giant compound like Atlas City, there’s no way they can give everyone high-Tier crystal cores. Weapons like this are perfect for special posts—deterrence, security, key personnel. And out in the field, with something like this, even low-Tier Enhanced could kill higher-Tier zombies.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly, conceding the point. ”Fair. Then we’ll hand it to Miles.”

”You thieves!” Bennett snapped, face twisted with rage as he stared at Ethan. ”That’s mine—!”

”It’s mine now,” Ethan said flatly.

”…”

Bennett’s chest heaved. ”You—! You’re insane! Killing people in the compound, and now you’re robbing me in public! You’re finished! You’re all finished!”

He glared daggers at Ethan, yanked out a radio, and was about to speak—

—when Ethan casually raised the laser weapon and aimed it right at Bennett’s forehead.

Bennett went white. The radio slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground.

”Hey—uh—don’t do anything crazy,” Bennett said fast, voice cracking despite himself. ”This thing… it can misfire!”

He knew exactly how strong that weapon was. Even at peak Tier 8, if Ethan pulled the trigger from this distance, Bennett was dead. No dodging it. No praying for luck.

Around them, the spectators were completely frozen.

Nobody expected it to escalate this far.

They were openly going against the Compound Security Force—wasn’t that basically declaring war on the government?

”Put the weapon down!” a furious shout rang out. ”Do you even know what you’re doing?!”

Another squad of Compound Security Force troops came rushing in, uniforms flashing as they pushed through.

Ethan glanced at them, a crease forming between his brows.

Atlas City’s response time was that fast?

Then more came.

And more.

In the blink of an eye, the crowd was driven back and cleared out, and the street filled with security—hundreds, then thousands—forming a tight ring around Ethan’s group.

Ethan’s expression hardened.

Now he could smell it—an ambush dressed up as ”law enforcement.”

He’d felt something off from the moment those guys started catcalling Mia and Emily in the middle of the street. And now, with the incident barely even started, they had thousands of Security Force here?

No matter how efficient Atlas City was, mobilizing this many people should’ve taken at least half an hour—unless they were already nearby.

And having thousands of Security Force staged in one area was not normal.

”Captain,” Mia said under her breath, eyes sweeping the perimeter, ”something’s wrong.”

”Yeah.” Ethan nodded slightly. ”Someone’s setting us up.”

”But we just got here,” Sean muttered, confused. ”Who would already be targeting us?”

Ethan’s voice went flat. ”We’ve got an enemy in Atlas City.”

The answer hit everyone at once.

”The Hale Family,” Chris said, eyes sharpening.

Ethan’s gaze turned cold. ”Yeah. It’s them.”

He looked at the tightening ring of uniforms, then back at Bennett—like Bennett was just a pawn standing on the wrong square.

”I wasn’t even planning to go looking for trouble,” Ethan said quietly. ”They came to us.”

His tone dropped another degree.

”In that case… the Hale Family doesn’t need to exist anymore.”

At the center of the compound, inside Maxwell Kane’s home…

The dining table was packed with food—enough to feed a small squad twice over.

Maxwell Kane sat with his son Ryan and his daughter Aurora, waiting in silence.

Maxwell had taken this lunch seriously. He’d had the kitchen start early, personally made time, and set aside all other work just to wait for Ethan’s group to arrive.

The Hale Family wanted to move against those people. The proposal hadn’t passed at the meeting, but Maxwell knew the Hales too well to believe they’d just drop it.

So he’d planned to use this meal to feel them out—first, to get a clearer sense of their true strength; second, to read their attitude, so he could decide how to respond.

He was the one who least wanted a fight. Whoever won, the losses would be catastrophic.

In times like this, every loss weakened their odds of survival. He had to find a way to stop a war before it started.

”Ryan,” Maxwell asked, glancing at his son, ”you’re sure they’ll come at noon?”

”They should,” Ryan said confidently. ”They agreed yesterday. They wouldn’t stand us up.”

”Alright,” Maxwell said, forcing himself to sit back down. ”Then we wait a little longer.”

”Dad.” Aurora frowned, still not quite buying it. ”This isn’t like you. Are they really worth you waiting like this?”

Her father was the Commanding General of the Atlas Federation—the highest military commander they had left. Before the apocalypse, she’d never seen him look this keyed up over anyone, like he was worried the other side might not show.

”They’re absolutely worth it.” Maxwell’s gaze was steady. ”If they show up, that’s them giving me face. And this meal matters.”

He looked at her sharply. ”When they get here, be polite. Got it?”

”I know.” Aurora nodded, but her curiosity only grew. What kind of people made her father act like this?

Right then, the steward came sprinting in from outside, out of breath.

”General Kane—bad news! Something happened!”

Maxwell shot to his feet. ”What happened?!”

”It’s Ethan’s group—they clashed with the Security Force. The Security Force across the entire compound has been mobilized. They’ve surrounded them!”

”What?!” Maxwell’s face changed instantly.

”How?” he demanded. ”What the hell happened?”

”I heard… they killed someone inside the compound. The Security Force moved to arrest them. And—” the steward swallowed, ”—word is they also attacked Security Force personnel.”

Maxwell’s expression sank.

The exact thing he’d been afraid of… happened anyway.

Ryan’s brows knotted. ”That doesn’t make sense. I’ve interacted with them. They seemed like good people. Why would they suddenly kill someone?”

”Because someone provoked them,” Maxwell said, voice tight. ”General Cross told me this already—they’re strong-willed. Treat them well and they’ll treat you well. But if someone crosses them, they don’t care who it is. They kill on the spot.”

”But they just got here,” Ryan insisted. ”Who would go out of their way to mess with them?”

”I don’t know,” Maxwell said, already moving. ”But we need to get there—now. This is about to turn into something huge.”

He turned to the steward. ”Walter. Notify Nathaniel and Vincent. Get them back immediately.”

”Yes, sir!”