413: Totally safe!
413: Totally safe!
When word got out that Ethan had returned in all his glory, the entire zombie horde erupted with excitement.
The seven Zombie Kings, including Bulldozer, stood at the front, radiating a fierce and intimidating aura.
Even Snowy, the zombie tiger, was thereâmuscles taut, eyes gleaming with primal energy.
Of course, the Four OverlordsâBig Ears, Mist, and the othersâwere present too, standing tall and alert.
Ethan broke the silence.
âEverything good while I was gone?â Bulldozer grinned, his massive jaw twitching.
âAll good, boss!
San Diegoâs zombies tried to mess with us a few times, but we sent âem packing every time!â PhD chimed in, adjusting his cracked glasses.
âLately, theyâve been focusing more on the Genesis Biotech shelters.
Havenât seen them around here much.â Ethan nodded.
âGood.
Just like I figuredâNightbaneâs not ready for an all-out war yet.
Heâs not gonna risk a sneak attack.â Then his tone shifted, a little sharper.
âWhat about the shady stuff theyâve been up to?
You guys dig anything up?â Lilâ Shroom stepped forward, her fungal tendrils twitching slightly.
âBoss, I used a spore-shifted bird to eavesdrop.
Picked up some chatter.
Nightbane managed to break into the San Diego branch of Genesis Biotech.
They didnât destroy all the tech when they evacuated.
Word is, they intercepted some kind of signalâŠ
from outer space.â Ethan raised an eyebrow.
âOuter space?
Seriously?â Lilâ Shroom nodded.
âYeah.
And it wasnât just any signalâit was one of ours.
Zombie communication frequency.
Humans canât even decode it.
Whatever it was, it mightâve been what pushed Nightbane to schedule the showdown with us two months from now.â Ethanâs eyes narrowed, his mind racing.
A zombie-only signal from space?
That was new.
Weird.
And kind of unsettling.
AliensâŠ
zombiesâŠ
alien zombies?
âYou catch any details about the message?â Lilâ Shroom shook her head.
âNope.
Super classified.
Probably only Nightbane and his Four War Generals know the full story.
The rest of the horde just knows somethingâs up.â Ethan fell silent, deep in thought.
A signal from deep spaceâŠ
What the hell could it be saying?
âŠWe are not alone?
Lilâ Shroom wasnât done.
âAlso, my spies spotted something else.
San Diegoâs nest has elite zombies thatâve been injected with both the X and Y viruses.â Ethanâs expression darkened.
âHuhâŠâ That wasnât good newsâbut it wasnât exactly unexpected either.
After all, Nightbane had taken over a state-level Genesis Biotech facility.
The guy who ran that place used to be the California regional director.
Heâd have access to all kinds of resources, including the X and Y viruses.
And probably in large quantities.
âDamnâŠ
Nightbaneâs no joke,â Ethan muttered under his breath.
Both he and Nightbane were top-tier Zombie Kingsâlegendary figures in the archives.
Each had their own elite forces.
This was shaping up to be a real clash of titans.
He wondered if the Genesis Biotech branch in L.A.
had cooked up anything new lately.
Itâd been quiet for a whileâtoo quiet.
Maybe it was time to pay them a visit.
After catching up with his crew and getting the lay of the land, Ethan casually waved his handâand with a thud, dropped the spoils of his Albuquerque hunt onto the ground.
Among the pile was the corpse of the Stone Scorpion King, towering over sixty feet tall, like a skyscraper rising from the street.
âHoly shit!â Bulldozer and the others gawked, eyes wide.
None of them had expected their boss to bring down a monster that massive.
And that wasnât allâthere were giant snake beasts, mutated venom scorpions, grotesque centipedes, and more.
Dozens of them, stacked into a grotesque mountain of flesh and chitin.
âSo many new flavorsâŠâ the zombies murmured, awe and hunger mixing in their voices.
This was clearly a âDesert Feast Deluxe.â Without hesitation, they surged forward, scrambling up the corpse pile, tearing into the meat with claws and fangs.
The street filled with the stench of blood and decay.
The sounds of ripping flesh and gnashing teeth echoed through the airâa full-blown zombie banquet in progress.
Ethan didnât stick around to watch.
Without a word, he turned and walked away from the feeding frenzy, heading toward the towering skyscraper that loomed over the city.
Big Ears was crammed in with the rest of the zombie horde, gnawing on a chunk of meat when he noticed Ethan walking away.
His eyes flickered with curiosity.
âDid the boss bring back any new zombies this time?â he asked, craning his neck.
âDonât think so,â Shrimpy replied, already distracted.
Big Ears let out a disappointed sigh.
Looked like his Overlord Squad wasnât getting any new recruits todayâŠ
But Shrimpy had already stopped listening.
His eyes were locked on the mountain of corpses in front of them, and he suddenly bolted forward like a kid at a buffet.
âShrimp!
I see shrimp!
So many shrimp!
Itâs all shrimp!!!â Big Ears slapped a hand to his forehead.
âDude, those are scorpions.
Just âcause theyâve got pincers doesnât make âem shrimp!â He shook his head.
Strength-typesâŠ
always a little short in the brains department.
Still, he wasnât about to waste time arguing.
The feast was disappearing fast.
âBetter grab a big one for myself.â His eyes landed on an 18-foot-long Stone Scorpionâsmaller than the king, but still massive.
He lunged at it and sank his teeth in with a loud crunch.
Only to immediately wince in pain.
âDamn, this thingâs tougher than beef jerky!
I think I just cracked a molarâŠâ The scorpionâs stone-like exoskeleton was way too hard for his bite.
He backed off, rubbing his jaw, muttering curses under his breath.
âŠ
Meanwhile, Ethan had returned home.
As usual, he went through his routineâchecked the perimeter, made sure everything was in orderâthen poured himself a glass of âjuice.â He pulled out the SS-grade crystal core from the Stone Scorpion King.
It pulsed with dense, pure energyâthick and heavy in his palm.
He hadnât tried one of these before.
Without hesitation, he popped it into his mouth.
The core melted instantly on his tongue, releasing a sweet, mellow flavorâlike honeydew melon, but richer, more intense.
âDamnâŠ
stuff that grows in the desert really is sweeter,â Ethan murmured, savoring the taste.
The energy surged through him like a warm current, spreading to every limb, every cell, reinforcing his already monstrous body.
This one core alone had enough juice to keep him powered for days.
Whatever Nightbane was schemingâsignals from space, virus-enhanced elites, secret techâit didnât matter.
In the face of overwhelming strength, all that crap was meaningless.
As long as he kept getting stronger, nothing else mattered.
âŠ
ElsewhereâŠ
Mia, Chris, and the others were still on the road, making their way back to the Los Angeles shelter.
Brandon glanced around the quiet forest trail and asked, âHey, how come we didnât run into any parasite freaks this time while looking for the meteorite?â Chris immediately started coughingâloud and fake.
âAhem!
Ahem ahem!â He shot Brandon a sharp look, eyes wide, practically screaming shut up.
Jenny, walking just ahead with her daughter Ellieâs hand in hers, had already picked up on it.
She turned, curious.
âParasite freaks?
What are those?â Brandon, oblivious to Chrisâs panic, answered cheerfully, âOh, theyâre these monsters that can take over human bodies.
They look totally normal on the outside, but theyâre super deadly.
One time, they attacked the shelter and killed, like, tens of thousands of people.
Right, Uncle Chris?â Chris forced a smile and nodded quickly.
âY-Yeah, yeah.
But I spotted them just in time.
If I hadnât, the whole shelter mightâve been wiped out.â Jennyâs face tightened.
Sheâd come to the L.A.
shelter for one reasonâEllieâs safety.
The idea of body-snatching monsters lurking around didnât sit well with her.
âAre theyâŠ
still around?
Is the shelter really safe?â âTotally safe!â Chris said, hands up like he was swearing on a Bible.
âI promise, all the parasite freaks were wiped out.
Thereâs nothing dangerous in the shelter now.
I swear.â Jenny hesitated, then nodded slowly.
âAlrightâŠ
I hope youâre right.â But just as they were passing through the last stretch of forest, nearing the outskirts of the shelter, a sudden roar shattered the calm.
It wasnât just one soundâit was two.
One was the guttural, rage-filled howl of a zombie.
The otherâŠ
was a human battle cry.
The clash of the two echoed through the trees, loud and violent.
Chrisâs eyes went wide.
âWhat the hellâŠ
is going on up there?!â âŠ
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