Apocalypse: King of Zombies

After listening to the audio, Ethan sat in silence for a long moment.

Then he turned to look at Mia. Right now, even with the combined power of the entire planet, there was no way to restore her memory. But out there—on other planets in the universe—there was a good chance someone could.

The real kicker? Those alien races had never stopped eyeing Earth like a prize. Their desire to conquer this planet hadn't died down one bit.

Who knows—maybe one day they'd figure out a way to get here.

As for Ethan, his body's evolution had pretty much hit a wall. There were no more worthy opponents, no more prey to hunt.

Devouring those low-grade crystal cores barely did anything for him anymore.

Maybe... it really was time to venture beyond Earth.

So, Ethan finally replied, "Let's get started on synthesizing the tablet."

"What???"

Dr. Morgan's reaction came fast and loud, a string of question marks flooding the screen.

"You've been ignoring that guy this whole time! What changed? And that 'Voidborn Undying'—he's obviously full of crap. He's baiting you, trying to lure you in with that tablet. If you fall for it, you're walking right into a trap!"

"I know."

"You know and you're still doing it?" Dr. Morgan was even more baffled now.

Ethan paused for a moment, then replied, "Synthesizing the tablet doesn't have much to do with him."

"Oh... I see."

It took a while before Dr. Morgan responded again. He didn't try to talk Ethan out of it anymore—he'd probably figured out what Ethan was really after.

...

News that Ethan was going to synthesize the tablet spread like wildfire.

And yeah, it was a bombshell.

The major powers, which had been lying low for a while, were suddenly thrown into chaos again.

"What? Ethan's heading to another planet?" Chris's jaw dropped in disbelief inside the shelter. His mouth was open wide enough to fit a whole goose egg.

Leah, standing next to him, rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "He's already the top dog on Earth. No one can touch him. Isn't that a good thing? Why risk going off-world?"

"You think... maybe it's to help Mia get her memory back?" Chris's eyes lit up.

They'd talked about this before—if Earth couldn't help Mia, would Ethan actually go off-planet?

But back then, everyone agreed: knowing Ethan's personality, he wouldn't take that kind of risk.

"Tch, guess Ethan really meant it. He's willing to go beyond Earth just to help Mia recover her memories," Leah said, a little awestruck.

"Yeah... who knows what's out there. It's gotta be insanely dangerous," Chris muttered, clearly uneasy.

After all, every alien creature that had shown up on Earth so far had been bad news.

Brandon, who'd been quiet the whole time, finally spoke up. "I don't think Ethan's going off-world just for Mia."

...

But the place where the news hit hardest? The corpse nest in Los Angeles. After all, this directly involved them.

"Finally! The boring days are over!" Laura grinned wide, practically buzzing with excitement.

For her, peace was torture. She thrived on chaos. Only bloodshed could fill the emptiness inside her.

Bulldozer rolled his eyes. "What the hell are you so happy about? Boss might not even take you. He'll probably take me and leave your crazy ass behind."

Schlick—

Laura's razor-sharp steel claws instinctively stabbed into his side.

Meanwhile, Big Ears and the other four zombie elites were holding an "emergency meeting."

"Looks like the path to becoming a true overlord... never ends," Big Ears sighed.

Shrimpy scratched his head. "So we just become the overlords of the universe, right?"

"Exactly!"

Big Ears nodded hard. "You always get me. We'll head to other planets, recruit some badass underlings—how cool would that be?"

"But... what's actually out there, beyond Earth?" Mist asked, eyes full of curiosity.

Locomotive thought for a second. "Probably a bunch of powerful creatures. Maybe other Zombie Kings. Maybe humans. Who knows."

"Will there be shrimp?" Shrimpy asked.

"..."

The entire corpse nest was buzzing with speculation. Even Dee had stopped bouncing around.

All the Zombie Kings were guessing, throwing out wild theories.

But they all had one thing in common:

They were dying to know—what the hell was waiting out there, beyond Earth?

Over the past few days, Ethan had been laying low, quietly making meticulous preparations.

He barely showed his face, focused entirely on restocking his supplies and organizing everything into his spatial storage ring. Not just food, but all the essentials—clothing, utensils, hygiene products—you name it.

And it wasn't just the small stuff. He packed trucks, aircraft, generators, and all kinds of energy sources.

He figured if LORN and the Voidborn Undying were so desperate to get to Earth, it probably meant their own resources were running dry—or their environment was completely trashed.

So, Ethan made a trip to a nearby river and collected a good amount of fresh water.

"Can you even grow crops on alien planets?" he wondered, then shrugged and scooped up a bunch of soil too.

Not that he planned on farming for food—he just wanted to plant some flowers and greenery. Something familiar. Something that felt like home.

After a full month of prep, Ethan was finally ready. He double-checked everything, made sure he hadn't missed a thing.

Now came the real deal—assembling the final piece of the tablet.

His plan was to go alone first, scout out the situation on the other planet. If it looked safe and promising, then he'd bring his zombie crew over.

After all, his army was massive now—easily in the millions. Moving them recklessly could cause chaos.

And then, the day arrived.

Ethan stood in a wide-open field on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Overhead, drones buzzed in the sky as representatives from every major human faction gathered to witness the event.

Genesis Biotech had sent people, including Nathan's team. The LA shelter was there. Even Mount Elbert Shelter had dispatched observers.

And scattered across the field were the Zombie Kings—each one radiating power, each one watching intently.

Behind them stood legions of elite zombies, their presence heavy and intimidating.

"Boss, once you're over there, don't forget to come back for us!" Bulldozer called out in his usual booming voice.

Ethan gave a simple nod. "Yeah."

He stepped into the center of the clearing and, with a wave of his hand, summoned the three tablet pieces he'd already assembled. Each one glowed with two embedded Radiant Crystals, and the moment they appeared, a blinding light burst forth, so intense it forced everyone to shield their eyes.

"It's happening—it's really happening!"

The human factions watching through drone feeds tensed up, hearts pounding. Even though they weren't there in person, the moment felt electric.

Chris leaned forward, worried. "This is his first time using something like this to teleport. What if it doesn't work? What if he gets lost in space?"

"Yeah... I think he's kind of gambling on this," Leah said, biting her lip.

Brandon waved a hand dismissively. "Relax. Even if he ends up on another planet, he can still send a signal back to Earth. He won't get lost."

"True!" The others nodded in agreement.

At Genesis Biotech, Nathan sat in his office, eyes locked on the live feed along with his top brass.

"So the boss is really heading off-world... What if someone attacks L.A. while he's gone?"

"Come on, who'd dare?" his secretary said, trying to reassure him.

"Yeah... good point." Nathan kept watching the screen, where the three tablet pieces were now glowing with an almost unbearable brilliance.

It was hard to imagine what would happen once the fourth piece was added.

And then, Ethan flipped his hand—and the final piece appeared.

This last tablet had come from Genesis Biotech's headquarters. It only had one Radiant Crystal embedded in it, but it still radiated a soft, glowing light.

The beams from all four pieces began to intertwine, twisting and merging together, the energy building fast.

...