The voice was the call of Death itself, chilling the people to the bone and extinguishing all hope in their hearts.
The terrifying zombies in front of them seemed to be activated. They let out fierce snarls, their eyes glinting with bloodlust.
Tank was especially excited. His Boss had arranged a Buffet today, with over two hundred dishes...
"ROAR—"
Tank let out a monstrous cry and charged toward the crowd with his subordinates.
The people screamed and wailed, scattering in all directions, but the zombies tackled them one by one, pinning them to the ground and tearing at them.
The scene descended into utter chaos.
The moment they opened the doors, the people had stepped into the abyss.
Nathan was completely despairing. Having over-exerted his Psionic energy, he had no strength left to resist.
It was only now he realized:
This trained horde of zombies was the same group that had overrun the prison and killed Jasper.
And Ethan had already evolved into a Zombie King!
A Zombie King with a Domain was an almost unbeatable existence.
"How... can humanity possibly survive?"
This was Nathan's last thought before he died. A monstrous pain shot through his body; Sub-Eight had disemboweled him.
With the Tech Corp personnel dead, any resistance from the remaining ordinary people was futile. They fell one after another, quickly consumed by the zombies.
This was the true apocalypse: a world saturated with blood and slaughter, leaving everyone helpless and lost.
Before long, the screams of the people completely disappeared, replaced by the sounds of zombies tearing and feeding.
The entire mall had fallen. Not a single person survived!
Ethan's expression was indifferent as he stepped outside.
Tank, Sub-Eight, and the others followed him respectfully.
"Time to head back..."
...
After killing Nathan and his group, Ethan had gained five Crystal Cores. He absorbed three of them and felt his power surge.
He seemed to be nearing the edge of another evolution...
However, the energy from the three Crystal Cores was immense and would require time to fully process, so he temporarily kept the remaining two.
On the way back, the sky was already growing faintly light. Before the apocalypse, this would have been a bright, hopeful sunrise.
But before him was only wreckage and scattered corpses. The entire city looked like a ruin.
As Ethan led his subordinates through a park, he saw bloodstains and a pungent stench of decay everywhere.
Scattered zombies were moving about, some of them still retaining their pre-death habits.
For example, an old man was vigorously hitting his back against a tree, exercising. Even though his flesh was bruised and torn, he continued relentlessly, leaving bloody streaks on the cracked bark.
Another old woman was pushing a wheelchair, walking stiffly in circles across the plaza, tirelessly repeating the same action.
Ethan glanced at her.
He noticed a massive rat in the wheelchair, gnawing on something with gusto, its two claws gripping the object.
A little later, a few younger zombies appeared ahead. These were not as stiff as the others, a clear sign they had fed recently.
"ROAR—"
One of the zombies opened its mouth, showing sharp teeth, and let out a snarl directly at Ethan.
"Hm?"
Ethan looked over. He was surprised that such a small zombie dared to challenge him.
However, a message was conveyed through the zombie's roar:
"This is its boss's territory. Others are not allowed to trespass..."
Clearly, it belonged to a different group; this area was the territory of another Zombie King.
That explained its audacity...
Ethan understood.
Tank, whose temper was short, saw a zombie roar at his Boss. He took two enormous steps forward, grabbed the zombie by the neck like a chick, and slammed it heavily onto the ground.
"SPLAT!"
The small zombie was shattered into pieces, its blood splashing everywhere. Tank had treated it like a Firecracker toy...
Still not satisfied, Tank laid waste to the other zombies standing nearby in a few vicious punches and kicks.
He then returned to Ethan's side, looking triumphant, as if to say, "Praise me!"
"Let's go. We're heading home."
Ethan paid the incident no mind, and led his subordinates away.
But in the distance, on a park hillside, a group of zombies watched the entire scene.
The leading zombie was tall, nearly seven feet. Its skin was pale red.
Black veins bulged across its face, the patterns clearly visible, giving it a terrifying appearance.
Around its neck was a dark, furry thing that looked like a Big Scarf.
"My King, those humans in the mall were hunted by them," a nearby zombie signaled, having clearly evolved a significant level of intelligence, comparable to Sub-Eight's.
"Hnnnngh—"
The leading Zombie King let out a low growl.
He considered that mall his territory. The humans inside were supposed to be his to slowly devour.
But now they had been hunted by other zombies!
"This town ain't big enough for the both of us." Killing was the zombie's instinct; they could consume each other's Crystal Cores to absorb energy.
"It's about time... to expand our territory..."
This Zombie King's eyes flashed with bloodlust, already viewing Ethan and his group as prey.
For his horde to grow stronger, he had to hunt and kill other Zombie Kings.
"Squeak—Squeak-Squeak—"
The 'Big Scarf' around his neck suddenly let out strange squeals. It was a giant rat, and what was even more horrifying was that it had a human head, covered in fine black hair, making it look incredibly grotesque!
...
Ethan returned home, took a bath, and changed into clean clothes.
Stella was quick and efficient, keeping the house immaculate, with every item neatly arranged—comforting even to someone with OCD.
After all, other servants might just lose pay for being lazy, but if she didn't clean well, she could lose her life...
Seeing Ethan change, she immediately took the clothes to wash.
In the mall, Ethan hadn't engaged in much physical contact with anyone, but his white shirt still carried a faint smell of blood.
Stella could smell it clearly.
"B-Boss, you went out to eat again?"
"Yeah, Buffet," Ethan answered casually.
"Hiss....."
Stella flinched. It sounded like a major incident, but she didn't dare ask more and quickly went to wash the clothes.
Ethan took out his phone.
He checked the online information. Since his 'big job' was just finished, Tech Corp hadn't noticed yet.
The official website still announced that the 'Hunter King Operation' preparations were proceeding smoothly and would begin soon...
The comments below were numerous.
"If they can clear out the zombies, that's great. We can rebuild our homes. I hope this operation succeeds!"
"Tch! Tech Corp is running human experiments. They don't care about humanity. They're just hunting zombies to develop themselves, purely for selfish gain."
"I wonder how this operation will turn out. We'll just have to wait and see!"