Chapter 467: Nothing worth telling

“Richard, you know my capabilities… I’m really not cut out for something this important,” Frank said with a pained expression.

He wasn’t being modest—his talent was abysmal. Since the apocalypse began, he hadn’t awakened any powers. The only reason he’d managed to become an Awakener with a Neurocore was thanks to enhancement serums, basically forcing the transformation.

Richard nodded, acknowledging the truth of it. Yeah, this might be a bit much for Frank.

“Activate T-08. Take a few elite squads with you and go find him.”

“Oh?” Frank’s eyes lit up, surprise flickering across his face.

T-08? That was one of the Gen-4 Cyborgs—top-tier combat unit, a real monster in the field. At this stage, T-08 was basically the crown jewel of Genesis Biotech’s military assets. A walking weapon of mass destruction.

Wait… I get to command T-08?

Frank’s mood did a complete 180. With T-08 and a few elite squads under his belt, he could practically walk sideways through Texas.

“Alright, with T-08 on our side, I’ll get it done. Guaranteed.”

“Then get moving,” Richard said.

…

Deep inside Genesis Biotech’s core facility, a maintenance pod hissed open with a sharp k-chunk, the door sliding to the right as a blast of icy vapor spilled out.

From within, a bald young man sat up straight, completely naked. His skin shimmered like liquid, morphing seamlessly into a full Genesis Biotech combat suit.

Etched into the back of his head were two bold, unmistakable characters: T-08.

His eyes flickered to life, artificial intelligence booting up. In an instant, he became alert, his gaze sharp and fluid—indistinguishable from a real human.

He stepped out of the pod and walked forward.

Outside the chamber, several elite Genesis Biotech squads were already assembled. Every one of them was an Awakener with a crystal core, armed with Crystal Core Firearms.

Leading the group was Frank, with his second-in-command standing beside him.

“Eight-ball, let’s roll out.”

T-08 gave a small nod. The moment he was activated, the mission data had already been uploaded to his system.

Without delay, the team departed from Genesis Biotech’s North American headquarters.

They rolled out in an armored vehicle, flanked by a drone squad overhead. The gear was top-notch—clearly, this mission was high priority.

Inside the vehicle, Frank sat with T-08 and his second-in-command, while the rest of the Awakeners followed on foot behind them.

A monitor up front displayed the drone’s live surveillance feed.

“Frank, where exactly are we supposed to start looking?” the second-in-command asked.

Frank shrugged. “Beats me. I’ve got no clue.”

The second-in-command thought for a moment. “Last time Clint contacted you, he was in San Antonio, right? Maybe we start there?”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Frank replied, shaking his head. “Clint got back to me after that. He even helped escort some Awakeners from Corpus Christi to our side. No way he’s still in San Antonio.”

T-08 turned his head, voice low and steady. “The one who replied to you… might not have been Clint.”

“…Shit.”

Frank and his second-in-command froze, the realization hitting them hard. Yeah… that was definitely possible.

If that’s true… then Clint might’ve already been taken out in San Antonio.

And whoever—or whatever—met up with the Corpus Christi Awakeners… what the hell was it?

“Damn…” Frank sucked in a sharp breath, a chill running down his spine.

Just then, the second-in-command seemed to remember something.

“Right! Frank, a few days ago, black mist started spreading again in San Antonio. And all the company’s zombies stationed there? Wiped out. The ones we’d driven out of the city? They’re back.”

“But Clint never mentioned anything about running into zombies,” Frank said, frowning deeply.

“Exactly,” the second-in-command nodded. “Which just proves it even more—Clint didn’t send that message. He was already gone.”

Frank’s face darkened. The whole situation was starting to feel seriously off.

San Antonio had always been a cursed place for Genesis Biotech’s Awakeners. Once, they’d teamed up with the Black Hand Legion, sending thousands of Awakeners to wipe out the so-called Zombie King from Los Angeles.

None of them made it back.

The city had become a graveyard—and a scar on their collective memory.

Frank’s second-in-command furrowed his brow, thinking hard. “You don’t think… that Zombie King from L.A. is back, do you?”

“Ah, shit… no way, right?” Frank’s heart skipped a beat.

He suddenly remembered—the last time people started vanishing, it was because of that Zombie King. Even Richard’s nephew got killed, and they lost a whole shipment of Crystal Core Armaments. It had been a bloodbath.

Now Clint and his team were missing too. The circumstances weren’t exactly the same, but the similarities were hard to ignore.

Frank turned to his second-in-command. “You go scout San Antonio first. Check the situation.”

The guy stared at him, deadpan. “…Seriously?”

Frank was already thinking ahead—if they ran into something they couldn’t handle, he’d have a head start to bail.

“Come on, man. How about we head to Blackhand City instead?” the second-in-command suggested, clearly not thrilled. “It’s probably those bastards from the Black Hand Legion. They could’ve ambushed Clint and now they’re playing the victim. Those street punks’ll do anything for a payday.”

Frank nodded slowly. “Yeah… that actually makes sense. Wouldn’t put it past them.”

“But let’s still check San Antonio first. If we don’t find anything, then we hit up Blackhand City.”

“…Right.” The second-in-command looked like he’d just been handed a death sentence.

He didn’t say it out loud, but the thought was clear: You’re sending me in as bait.

If the Zombie King really was back, going in first was basically suicide.

The armored vehicle rumbled forward, slow and jerky over the uneven terrain. The second-in-command sat stiffly, like he was on his way to the gallows.

But just then, the drone squad overhead zipped across the sky, scanning the area. No signs of zombies or mutants—just a few human figures crouched in the open field, digging around in the dirt.

“Hey, we’ve got people,” the second-in-command said, eyes locked on the monitor inside the vehicle. The drone feed had zoomed in on the group.

Judging by their ragged clothes and gear, they were probably survivors from a nearby shelter.

Frank glanced at the screen, but didn’t seem interested. “We’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“Wait, wait—what if we grab them and send them in to scout?” the second-in-command said quickly.

Frank’s eyes lit up. “Now that’s thinking. I like it.”

He grabbed the radio and barked out an order. “Team Three, break off and detain those survivors. Bring ’em in.”

The Genesis Biotech Awakeners in the rear immediately changed course, heading straight for the unsuspecting group.

…

Out in the field, four survivors were crouched low, carefully digging up wild vegetables. Three men and one woman, all focused on their task.

Food was scarce. Even a handful of roots could be boiled into a half-decent soup. In times like these, that was a luxury.

Funny enough, the only woman in the group was someone with a bit of history—Nora, Griffin’s ex-girlfriend.

Griffin had his balls crushed by some thug from the Black Hand Legion. After that, he’d ended up in the Los Angeles shelter, and he and Nora had gone their separate ways.

“Nora, tell us again about that time you and Leah went to Blackhand City,” one of the younger guys asked, curiosity in his voice.

Nora gave a small smile and shook her head. “Nothing worth telling. Better left in the past.”

“Aww, come on,” the guy said, disappointed, but went back to digging.

Then the ground started to tremble beneath them. A low rumble echoed across the plains.

They looked up to see an armored vehicle barreling toward them, flanked by a squad of Genesis Biotech Awakeners.

A loudspeaker crackled to life.

“This is Genesis Biotech. You there—drop what you’re doing and surrender immediately. Do not resist!”

It was Frank’s voice, booming from the vehicle’s mounted PA system.

…