Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Atlas City’s compound had been lively lately. New people arrived every day, and the compound had even set aside a whole section specifically to receive Enhanced from other compounds. They provided comfortable lodging and plenty of food.

The reception detail was no joke, either. Every soldier assigned there was Tier 6 or above. The patrol teams in that area were Tier 7 and up, with squad leaders at Tier 8—equipped with laser weapons.

Almost every Enhanced who came through was left stunned by how strong Atlas City’s compound was.

That was part of the point.

One of the goals of hosting this Federal Emergency Summit was to flex—use the meeting to intimidate the other compounds, to make sure nobody got any funny ideas. Apocalypse or not, Atlas City was still the capital of the Atlas Federation.

And judging by the results, it worked. At the very least, most Enhanced couldn’t help feeling a cautious fear toward Atlas City’s status.

Of course, some people just sneered at the little show.

And those people, without exception, came from compounds with terrifying strength—or they themselves were terrifying.

The Atlas Federation was huge. It didn’t lack talent.

Up to now, the federation had eighteen large compounds. Sixteen were government-built… and two weren’t.

It made sense that the government could build large compounds early on—back then, the advantage in weapons and resources was overwhelming.

But for ordinary people to build a large compound?

That was basically climbing into the sky with bare hands.

The fact that the entire Atlas Federation only had two non-government large compounds said everything.

Strength, ability, luck—you needed all three.

Anyone who could pull that off was a true standout of the apocalypse.

Right now, in the crowd, a man around thirty stared at the laser weapon in a patrol leader’s hands, surprise flickering across his face.

”Gotta admit,” he said, ”Atlas City’s R&D is legit.”

”Yeah,” someone beside him agreed. ”No idea how hard those things hit, though. Think they can punch through even our lowest-Tier protective armor?”

”You’re overthinking it,” another person said with a snort. ”Our armor came from that special space. Even the lowest Tier can tank damage from a Tier 9 Enhanced. You telling me a laser rifle hits as hard as a Tier 9 Enhanced?”

”Fair. Still, I’ve got a feeling Atlas City’s compound has stronger weapons than this. We might not be scared of them, but we should avoid picking fights if we can.”

”Relax,” a fourth voice cut in. ”We’re here to trade crystal cores. Once we’re done, we go back and run our own little kingdoms. I’m not trying to get cozy with the government.”

A pause.

”What if this is a trap?”

”Probably not. If Atlas City really wanted to control the other regions’ compounds, they’d do it one at a time. They wouldn’t gather everyone in one place and pull something big—that would just paralyze the entire Atlas Federation.”

”Yeah,” someone said, nodding. ”True.”

”And while we’re here,” the first man added, lowering his voice, ”we can use this chance to scope out the strength of the other compounds.”

His gaze sharpened.

”Especially the people from the other non-government large compound. You all know how hard it was for us to get where we are. If they could also build a large compound as civilians, they’re absolutely not to be underestimated.”

He leaned back slightly. ”Compared to that, the government Safe Zones aren’t actually as scary. The threat of modern weapons is only going to keep shrinking.”

”Mhm,” another person said, eyes narrowing with interest. ”I want to see what they’ve got—how they reached the same height we did.”

In a different room…

A young man, twenty-six or twenty-seven, lounged in a chair with a drop-dead gorgeous woman draped across his lap. One hand wandered under her clothes, making her shiver and bite back noises, but his eyes stayed fixed on the man standing below him.

”So?” he asked lazily. ”How’d the investigation go?”

”Boss,” the subordinate said, head lowered, ”based on what we’ve confirmed, Atlas City compound currently has eight Tier 10 Enhanced.” (It had originally been seven. Emily killed one, and over this stretch, two more broke through.)

”Eight?” The young man’s expression finally tightened a fraction. ”Not bad. That’s Atlas City for you.”

He shifted his gaze. ”What about the other Enhanced who came in?”

”Among the outsiders who’ve arrived, we’ve already identified five Tier 10 Enhanced. Three of them are from the other large compound.”

The young man nodded. His fingers pressed harder, and the woman in his arms let out a string of breathy, involuntary moans.

”Figures,” he said, voice low. ”If you can build a large compound as a civilian, you’re not doing it with luck alone.”

”So that means,” he went on, ”inside Atlas City compound right now—besides us—there are thirteen Tier 10 Enhanced?”

”At least thirteen,” the subordinate said. ”Whether there are more we haven’t found yet… we can’t say.”

”Alright.” The young man flicked his hand. ”Get out.”

”Yes, boss.”

The subordinate hesitated at the door. ”Boss… when we were digging, we also heard something. I don’t think it’s likely, so I’m not sure if I should—”

”If you already think it’s bullshit, why waste my time?” The young man waved him off again, impatient. ”Out.”

He had more important things to do than listen to rumors.

”Yes.”

Once the door closed, the room quickly filled with soft, muffled moans.

…

As more and more people poured into Atlas City’s compound, the strain on public security kept climbing.

The ones showing up weren’t random survivors—they were compound leadership. Most of them were proud, prickly, and used to being the biggest fish in their own pond. Clashes were inevitable. Fights, too.

Fortunately, inside Atlas City compound, people still held back a little. And with the Security Force mobilized, nothing escalated into a major bloodbath.

After six straight days of constant arrivals, the traffic finally started to slow.

By then, anyone who could make it had basically made it. The ones who hadn’t either chose not to come… or died on the road.

So far, a total of 980 people had arrived, representing more than 120 compounds.

With everyone waiting on edge, the summit finally opened on the morning of the seventh day.

To be honest, nobody was here because they loved meetings. Everyone had exactly one goal: trade for higher-Tier crystal cores.

Atlas City was clearly playing games—the exchanges wouldn’t begin until after the meeting ended—so people had no choice but to sit down and behave.

At the head of the long conference table sat Maxwell and Atlas City’s leadership.

The representatives from the five major compounds took the seats closest to them.

Behind those were delegates from several large compounds, and behind them, representatives of mid-sized compounds.

The arrangement made the power structure in Atlas City painfully obvious.

But something else caught everyone’s attention almost immediately.

Three of the major compounds were seated on the right side of the table, and the other two sat on the left.

Yet beside those two…

There was still an empty chair.

And not just any chair—a seat positioned even closer to Maxwell than theirs.

Nobody knew who it belonged to.

Whispers spread through the room like a slow ripple.

Who was important enough… to sit above the five major compounds?

It was already past the scheduled start time, but Maxwell still hadn’t begun.

Yesterday, Ethan had told him he’d attend today as Fallen Star City’s representative. So Maxwell was waiting.

As for whether that would offend other people… he didn’t have much choice. Between offending everyone else and offending Ethan, the answer was pretty simple.

Thankfully, Ethan didn’t make him suffer too badly.

He was only two minutes late.

”Sorry, everyone,” Ethan’s awkward voice cut into the conference hall. ”Slept in.”

Then he walked straight to the empty seat beside the two major compounds… and sat down like it was the most natural thing in the world.

All around the room, brows furrowed.

Who the hell was this guy? What did he have to do to deserve that seat?

But in the crowd, a few people spotted Ethan—and their eyes lit up.