Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Stonebridge City Compound…

Stonebridge City Compound was a government-built stronghold. It covered several hundred acres and housed close to three hundred thousand people, making it one of the biggest compounds in the region—a true large-scale settlement.

Still, Stonebridge City itself had a population of more than two million. So even though the compound wasn’t weak, it could only hold a slice of the city. And it had to stay on constant alert for the day a massive zombie horde came crashing into its walls.

But a few days ago, a group of absolute monsters showed up in Stonebridge City.

A team twenty thousand strong—so powerful it was ridiculous—cutting through wave after wave of zombies like a rolling tide. They swept the streets clean with brutal efficiency.

Stonebridge City Compound’s leader, Edward Grant, had been drooling over them ever since.

And once he found out they’d come from nothing more than a small compound in some remote city, Edward couldn’t stop thinking about how to get them to join Stonebridge.

The problem was, he’d tried. Over and over. He’d opened negotiations again and again, offered piles of benefits… and they gave him nothing. Half the time they didn’t even bother responding.

Edward was stuck—furious and helpless. Their strength was too overwhelming to pressure them, and too valuable to let go.

At that moment, inside an office in the compound’s central district, Edward looked at his younger brother, Andrew Grant, who had just returned from Atlas City.

”So what’s Atlas City’s attitude toward all the other compounds?” Edward asked.

”Atlas City didn’t say anything about unifying everyone,” Andrew said, visibly relaxed. ”They basically tacitly allowed the other compounds to exist. They even told everyone to focus on developing and growing stronger.”

He leaned back, confidence creeping into his voice. ”Looks like we worried for nothing. With the situation the way it is, even if Atlas City wanted to manage everyone, they couldn’t. They’re stretched too thin. We can develop as boldly as we want—and once we’re strong enough, Atlas City won’t be able to touch us anyway.”

”Don’t get careless,” Edward said coolly. ”Just because they didn’t say it doesn’t mean they won’t do it. They might simply not have the manpower right now.”

He paused, then nodded slightly. ”But you’re not wrong. If our compound becomes strong enough, even Atlas City can’t control us. We’re too far away. There’s not much they could do.”

Edward’s gaze sharpened. ”Right. Did you exchange the crystal cores?”

”I did,” Andrew said, excitement flashing across his face. ”Just like you said—we synthesized everything into Tier 9 crystal cores. We traded in enough to get over a hundred Tier 9 cores.”

”Good.” Edward’s tone turned decisive. ”You and I—and a few key people—use those cores to push ourselves to the peak of Tier 9 first. We need to break into Tier 10 as soon as possible. The rest go to the loyal ones at the peak of Tier 8. Prioritize the Awakened.”

”Understood.”

Andrew hesitated, then sighed. ”Speaking of Awakened… that lightning-type Awakened we brought back a while ago is seriously strong. What a waste. The bastard would rather die than submit. If he’d given in, he’d be a huge asset.”

Edward chuckled, eyes cold. ”Strong, sure. But his weakness is obvious. He actually surrendered for a bunch of people who don’t even matter. That kind of person is a fool.”

He tapped the desk lightly. ”Controlling someone like that isn’t hard. As long as we control the people in his compound, sooner or later he’ll behave.”

Then his expression shifted, the earlier amusement fading into something sharper.

”But our top priority right now is figuring out how to pull that twenty-thousand-man team into our compound. From what I’ve observed these past few days… there’s a good chance every single one of them is Tier 9.”

”Every single one?” Andrew’s eyes went wide. ”Tier 9?!”

He nearly choked on the words. ”That’s twenty thousand people. Twenty thousand… all Tier 9!”

Andrew’s mind raced, then he blurted, ”From what I know, Atlas City Compound has less than a thousand Tier 9 Enhanced. How the hell could they have twenty thousand Tier 9s?”

”I can’t make sense of it either,” Edward admitted, voice low. ”But judging by their combat performance, it really is Tier 9—no doubt about it. Maybe they ran into some kind of massive opportunity.”

His eyes gleamed with a dangerous light.

”Either way, we have to bring them in. If we have that team, we wouldn’t even be afraid to go to war with Atlas City Compound.”

Andrew swallowed. ”But they don’t even acknowledge us. Do you actually have a way?”

”I do.” Edward sat forward. ”I dug up some information. They came from Redmont City in Redwood County. That’s our entry point.”

He spoke slowly, like he was laying a trap piece by piece.

”Their families are probably still in Redmont. While they’re still operating over here, you’ll take people to Redmont City and see if you can get control of their relatives.”

Andrew’s eyes lit up.

”As long as we have their families,” Edward said, voice calm and certain, ”I don’t believe they’ll refuse to join.”

Andrew nodded hard. ”Yeah. That works.”

He stood up immediately. ”I’ll go gather people and head to Redmont right now.”

Edward lifted a finger. ”Go—but don’t rush to act. Observe Redmont City Compound first. Get a clear picture of their strength before you make a move.”

”Don’t worry,” Andrew said. ”I know what I’m doing.”

”Good,” Edward said, waving him off. ”Go.”

Elsewhere…

Garrett had barely made it back to the Riverton City compound when a report hit his desk.

His people had found a special space hidden in a mountain range.

The news nearly made him jump out of his chair.

After his trip to Atlas City, he understood exactly what a special space meant.

This could be it. This could be the chance for Riverton City Compound to rise for real.

Then the follow-up report landed—and it wiped the excitement right off his face.

Nobody who went in had come back out.

Since discovering the special space yesterday, they’d sent four or five waves in. Every team vanished without a trace. No messages. No survivors. Not a single person returned.

Garrett’s stomach knotted.

Something was wrong. Whatever they’d found… wasn’t like Atlas City’s special space at all.

Just as Garrett was about to send in another group, one of his subordinates came sprinting in, pale and panicked.

”Boss—this is bad… It… it came out!”

Garrett stared. ”What the hell came out?”

”Boss! Something from inside the special space… came out!”

”You mean our people made it back?” Garrett’s face lit up, hope surging.

”N-no! Not our people. It’s… it’s a few guys who look wrong.”

Garrett’s brow snapped down. ”What do you mean, wrong?”

”A few people with a really weird appearance came out of that special space! And the second they stepped out, they killed everyone we had guarding the exit!”

The man’s voice cracked with fear.

Garrett’s blood ran cold.

”People with a weird appearance…” he repeated, the words tasting sour. ”You’re saying they’re from inside the special space? Living beings?”

”Yeah.” The subordinate’s hands shook. ”We’ve never seen anything like them. They have to be from in there.”

Garrett shot to his feet. ”Move. Take me there—now.”

Meanwhile, in the Yamato Empire…

After the apocalypse hit, the Yamato Empire suffered even worse losses than the Atlas Federation—its population density turned cities into slaughterhouses. Out of roughly 130 million, fewer than ten million survived.

Even so, the Yamato Empire’s military strength was terrifying. In the end, they managed to dig in and keep their footing in the ruined world.

With armed forces propping them up, more than a dozen large compounds endured. There were even two major compounds with populations over a million.

But a few days ago, Mount Fuji erupted, wiping out several small and mid-sized compounds in the surrounding area.

And that wasn’t the worst part.

The worst part was what came with the eruption.

As the volcano blew, a group of red-skinned humanoids appeared out of nowhere—creatures with strength so overwhelming it felt unreal. They moved in on the nearby compounds like an invasion force.

In front of them, even Enhanced were nothing—paper tigers. They were slaughtered casually, like the fight wasn’t even worth acknowledging.

The compounds’ artillery was even more useless. Shells slammed into those things and didn’t even leave a mark.

These red-skinned monsters loved to drink human blood and eat human flesh. Anyone they killed didn’t even leave behind a corpse—just a stripped skeleton.

It was worse than getting eaten by zombies.

Faced with monsters like that, the Yamato Empire’s Enhanced sank into pure despair. Nobody even dared to resist.

Against zombies, they could still imagine victory.

Against these things?

They couldn’t even summon the idea of fighting. It wasn’t a battle—it was a one-sided massacre.

And that despair spread fast, bleeding across the entire Yamato Empire.