Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The sharp, searing pain coursed through her nerves, jolting every cell in her body into action. The killing instinct within her was on the verge of erupting.

That single stab triggered Mia's awakening ability, [Deadly Pain]. Her aura surged, growing stronger by the second. On her right wrist, a bracelet displayed a glowing indicator:

Pain Level: 10%

"Huh?"

The young man in the leather jacket immediately sensed something was wrong. He tried to pull his alloy dagger back, but Mia's grip was like a steel vice. No matter how hard he struggled, the blade wouldn't budge.

In his frantic attempts to free the weapon, the dagger sank even deeper into her flesh. Blood oozed out, dripping through Mia's fingers.

The pain level continued to rise.

15%.

Crack!

Mia suddenly exerted force, snapping the blade in half with her bare hands. Holding the broken shard, she lunged straight for the man's temple.

Thud!

The man didn't even have time to react. A sharp, stabbing pain exploded in his head as warm blood trickled down the side of his face. His vision blurred, and his consciousness began to fade.

"This… this is supposed to be the sweet girl?"

That was his final thought before his pupils dilated, and his lifeless body collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

In mere moments, Mia had taken down an Awakener who had already formed a crystal core.

Gideon and the others froze, their pupils contracting in shock. They couldn't believe what they had just witnessed. The seemingly delicate girl had turned out to be utterly ruthless.

"She killed him that easily?"

"Something's… off about her."

"Everyone, stay alert. This girl is way more dangerous than she looks!"

"..."

The group's expressions grew grim.

When Mia had killed the man, her face had remained calm, completely unperturbed. Her movements were precise, efficient, and merciless—clearly the work of someone who had done this many times before.

Mia lowered her gaze to the corpse at her feet, as if suddenly remembering something. Slowly, she crouched down. Using the broken alloy blade, she pried open the man's skull. Then, with her pale fingers, she reached inside and began to rummage around.

"What the hell is she doing?"

Ethan couldn't help but ask, his curiosity piqued. Watching her movements, he was reminded of the time back at the orphanage when she helped prepare meals, kneading raw meat with her bare hands. The sticky, slimy sensation had been enough to make anyone gag.

Before long, Mia found what she was looking for. She yanked out the man's crystal core, her hands now drenched in blood, along with bits of red and white matter clinging to her fingers.

She stood up and walked over to Ethan, holding the bloodied core out to him.

"You gave me bread. I'm giving you a crystal core in return."

"Oh…"

Ethan nodded, realizing she'd been thinking about this the whole time. Just like before, she was still as impatient as ever.

But as he looked at her outstretched hand, dripping with blood and other unidentifiable substances, he hesitated.

"Uh… doesn't seem very sanitary, does it?"

"It's fresh out of the skull. Still warm. Clean and hygienic," Mia replied, as if trying to reassure him.

To Ethan, the scene was like someone spilling a bowl of beef stew on the floor—broth mixed with chunks of meat spreading everywhere, making it impossible to step anywhere without feeling queasy.

He stayed rooted in place, unwilling to move.

Mia's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced at him, her expression puzzled. "What are you hesitating for?"

"It's just… eating like this doesn't feel very elegant," Ethan said, trying to keep a straight face.

"..."

Mia's face darkened. Mimicking his earlier tone, she snapped, "Take it or leave it!"

...

The group of onlookers, including Gideon, stood frozen in place, too stunned to speak.

This girl was terrifying. There was nothing "gentle" about her, contrary to what the leather-jacketed man had claimed. If anything, his death felt entirely deserved.

At the same time, a question lingered in their minds:

Is she really from the official shelter?

Why does she seem even more brutal than us?

The Black Hand Legion had done their share of atrocities—cannibalism, torture, murder—but there was one thing they lacked compared to Mia: her unnerving calmness.

"Wait… hold on…"

Suddenly, Gideon noticed something alarming. He scanned the group in front of him, his eyes moving from Ethan to Chris, counting each person carefully.

No matter how he counted, there was one extra person.

"Emily, didn't you say there were six of them? Why are there seven now?"

"I…"

The short-haired girl furrowed her brows, her expression growing increasingly grim.

"Gideon, one of them… doesn't seem human."

"What?" Gideon's eyes widened in disbelief.

He trusted Emily's psychic perception—it was rarely wrong.

Not human?

Then what were they?

Following Emily's gaze, Gideon looked toward Ethan. He saw him casually pick up the blood-soaked crystal core and place it in his mouth, savoring it as though it were the sweetest delicacy.

The answer became glaringly obvious.

A zombie.

Gideon's heart sank. The people from the official shelter were traveling with a zombie?

The absurdity of the situation was almost too much to process. A wave of intense danger washed over him as he glanced around.

Right now, their only advantage was their numbers.

"Forget everything else. Kill them. Everyone, attack!"

"Got it."

The others nodded silently.

In an instant, the battle erupted. Members of the Black Hand Legion activated their awakening abilities, their auras flaring like wild beasts ready to pounce.

Mia turned her head to glance at Ethan, her expression still calm. "Stay here. Don't move. I'll go collect a few more crystal cores."

"Huh?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

But before he could respond, Gideon and his main fighters had already closed in on Mia.

Gideon's awakening ability was metallic skin, which made his body incredibly durable. His skin shimmered as it transformed, his entire body covered in a gleaming silver layer. Every movement he made produced the sound of clashing steel, as though he were wearing a full suit of armor.

With a swing of his massive fist, carrying the force of a wrecking ball, he aimed straight for Mia's face.

Mia didn't flinch. She calmly raised her slender arm to block the attack.

Boom!

A dull thud echoed as Mia absorbed the blow, though the sheer force pushed her back several feet. Her arm trembled, a sharp pain radiating through it.

Pain Level: 19%.

Gideon's metallic face twisted into a grin. "Now! Hit her!"

"On it!"

Behind him, Emily responded immediately, unleashing a psychic attack. Her mental energy surged like a tidal wave, crashing into Mia's mind and triggering a mental storm.

Mia's head felt like it had been doused in boiling oil. The excruciating pain clouded her thoughts, and her vision blurred as her consciousness began to waver.

Gideon seized the opportunity, his massive fist swinging down again, this time aiming to crush her skull.

But then, the numbers on Mia's bracelet shifted.

Pain Level: 27%.

Her eyes snapped into focus, their clarity cutting through the haze. The pain didn't weaken her—it made her stronger.

In a flash, she clenched her fist and struck Gideon's chest with a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

Boom!

Even with his metallic body, Gideon's chest caved in under the impact. The sheer force of the blow sent him flying backward like a ragdoll, crashing through a wall and burying him under a pile of rubble.

"What… how is this possible?"

Emily's eyes widened in horror. Her leader, Gideon, had been sent flying despite her psychic attack. Her face twisted with rage, the Black Hand Legion tattoo on her cheek seeming to writhe like a living thing.

But there was no time to dwell on it. She quickly turned her head, searching for Mia to launch another psychic assault.

However, when she looked up, she was met with a pale, delicate face—Mia's face—already inches from her own.

"...!"