Apocalypse: King of Zombies

"What's the plan now?" Richard asked, his tone low but urgent.

"Obviously, we need to send someone out to investigate—figure out what the hell's going on," Vanessa replied without hesitation.

"Yeah." Richard nodded, already thinking along the same lines.

After all, Lucas was his nephew—his own flesh and blood. The kid had just vanished without a trace. As his uncle, he couldn't just sit back and do nothing.

"So... we're still working together on this?" he asked.

"Of course. No problem." Vanessa agreed right away. Getting in bed with Genesis Biotech was a huge win for her—no way she was letting that go.

Then she laid everything out for him, detail by detail. The whole bizarre situation—how thousands of people had disappeared without a sound from both campuses in Blackhand City...

Richard listened, his expression darkening with every word. The whole thing was beyond strange.

And yet... something about it tugged at his memory. Like he'd heard of something like this before.

Genesis Biotech had deep roots and access to a massive trove of classified data. Without wasting time, Richard started digging—pulling up files, even cracking open the Zombie King archives.

...

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the land.

The air had cooled, carrying a sharp edge. A gust of wind swept across the barren ground, howling like a ghost. Dust spiraled up, danced in the air, then scattered into the distance.

Ethan and the others were on the move. Their destination: a zombie-controlled zone. Before the world went to hell, it had been a sleepy little town with fewer than 4,000 people.

"We're almost there," Leah said, pointing ahead.

"Oh..." someone murmured.

They all looked up. In the distance, a cracked and overgrown road led into the city. Abandoned cars lay rusting on the sides, some tipped over, vines crawling over their frames.

On either side of the road stood crumbling buildings—old gas stations and convenience stores, their walls split with deep cracks, half-collapsed. Shards of broken glass glittered in the fading light, some still stained with dried blood. The sight was chilling.

A few zombies wandered aimlessly nearby, their groans low and guttural. In the last rays of sunlight, their shadows stretched long and thin across the ground.

Further ahead, the city itself was shrouded in a thick, black mist. The deeper into the city you looked, the denser the fog became—visibility dropped to almost nothing.

"What the hell is that fog?" Chris asked, frowning. After surviving half a year in this post-apocalyptic nightmare, he knew better than to trust anything that looked off—and that mist definitely looked off.

Leah nodded. "Yeah, that's the Zombie King's doing. It's one of his abilities—he can generate this Mist. Makes it easy for him to hide."

Chris blinked, surprised. "Seriously? That's a thing?"

"Yep," Leah said. "Looks scary, but he's not actually that strong. Probably just a B+ class. If it weren't for the Mist giving him cover, the other Zombie Kings would've wiped him out by now."

Chris let out a breath, visibly relaxing. "Pfft. Whatever. Even if it's dangerous, I'm not worried. I've already formed my crystal core—I'm an Awakener now."

"Then let's move," Mia said. "Sun's almost down."

They planned to slip into the city before nightfall.

Ethan's eyes narrowed as he stared ahead. Back when he had his own territory, he used to send patrols out to keep intruders from sneaking in.

Now the tables had turned—he was the one sneaking in.

They moved toward the city, disturbing a few low-level zombies along the way. Nothing serious—Chris and the others took them out with ease.

Before long, they reached the edge of the Mist.

By now, the last light of the sun had vanished. Darkness settled in.

The black fog wrapped around the city like a funeral shroud. Even with the enhanced vision of an Awakener, it was hard to see more than a few feet ahead.

The ruined streets around them blurred into shadow. Here and there, they caught glimpses of zombies drifting through the gloom.

And from somewhere deep in the darkness, the occasional snarl or guttural roar echoed out—sharp, angry, and far too close.

"This place is seriously creepy," Chris muttered, gripping his tachi tightly as his eyes scanned the fog-drenched street.

Leah gave a small nod. "Relax. It just looks scary. We'll be fine as long as we find a place to lay low."

"Yeah, but I gotta admit—it's a damn good hiding spot," Chris replied, still on edge.

This black mist didn't just mess with visibility—it also scrambled mental perception. Even psychic-type Awakeners had their senses dulled in it.

Ethan's gaze swept the surroundings, and a thought struck him. The Mist ability—sure, it wasn't offensive, but it had serious tactical value. If someone like Laura or Little Shadow, both masters of stealth, had this kind of cover? They'd be unstoppable. The element of surprise alone would boost their combat effectiveness by a mile.

"Raaagh—!"

A sudden snarl cut through the silence. A few zombies, previously wandering aimlessly in the fog, had caught their scent. Driven by pure instinct to devour flesh, they charged out of the mist.

"We got this," Chris said, stepping forward with the others. Their titanium-alloy machetes gleamed as they rushed in. A few quick swings, and the zombies were down—no sweat.

These were just bottom-tier undead. Even a newly awakened fighter with a Neurocore could take them out.

But then, from deeper in the darkness, came a different sound—scratching, scraping. Like claws dragging across concrete and brick.

"Elite zombies," Mia said calmly, not even needing to look. Her instincts told her everything.

Everyone tensed, eyes narrowing as they peered into the fog. Through the haze, they could just make out several figures clinging to the side of a tall building.

They moved with eerie grace, crawling like spiders up the wall.

Their glowing eyes pierced the mist, locked directly onto the group.

"Yeah... elites are gonna be a pain," someone muttered.

No one dared let their guard down. They had no idea how many were out there. If this turned into a full-blown horde, they'd be in for a brutal fight.

But then—something weird happened.

The elite zombies didn't attack.

Instead, the moment they spotted the humans, they froze... then backed off.

In seconds, they vanished into the black fog, slipping away like shadows.

"Uh... what?"

Everyone blinked, stunned.

"They just... left?"

"What the hell was that? Some kind of trap?"

"Beats me..."

Ethan, though, could feel it. The zombies weren't scheming. They were just... scared.

Straight-up chickened out.

"Whatever," he said, brushing it off. "Let's just find a place to hole up for the night."

"Yeah, this spot looks good."

The others agreed. The sky had gone pitch black, and after a long day of travel and tension, everyone was running on fumes.

They found an old library nearby. Surprisingly, it was zombie-free and relatively clean.

They cleared a space, stacked up some books to use as makeshift bedding, and honestly? It wasn't half bad.

"This place isn't too shabby. Bit dark, but we'll manage," Chris said, trying to keep spirits up.

Mia nodded. "Could be worse. It's not like we're in a Black Hand Legion compound with all the bells and whistles."

But just as she finished speaking, a loud thud echoed from outside—like something heavy had just hit the ground.

Everyone snapped to attention, turning toward the sound.

Then they saw it—Ethan, standing calmly, waving his hand as objects began materializing out of thin air.

A hand-crank generator. Capacitors. Transformers. Even a few industrial-grade light fixtures.

"This stuff's from the Blackhand City compound," he said casually.

...