Chapter 475: Operation Lure Gator

“You’re being dramatic, Richard,” Leah said coolly. “This isn’t blackmail—it’s a business transaction.”

Richard’s face twisted with anger. “You don’t have the right to negotiate with me.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Leah’s tone turned playful as she slowly panned the camera. The feed shifted to show Frank—bloodied, tied tightly to a chair, a pair of dirty underwear stuffed in his mouth. He could only let out muffled, pitiful groans.

Then Nora stepped into frame, holding a knife. Without warning, she drove it deep into Frank’s thigh.

“AAAHHHH!”

Frank let out a guttural scream, his face contorting in agony as blood gushed from the wound. His eyes locked onto the camera, wide and desperate, silently pleading—Richard, help me!

Richard’s expression darkened. These two women were more ruthless than he’d expected. But still—he was Genesis Biotech. How could he let a couple of nobodies from a backwater shelter extort him?

“Hmph. Spare me the theatrics. Frank failed his mission. That makes him a liability. If you want to kill him, go ahead. That trick won’t work on me.”

“Wha—?!” Frank’s eyes went even wider, filled with disbelief and betrayal. His heart sank. He looked like he was about to cry.

“Well then,” Leah said calmly, “I guess that’s that.”

She gave Nora a nod. Nora raised the bloodstained knife again and pressed it against Frank’s throat. One more move and it’d be over.

Richard’s jaw clenched. He stared at the screen, watching the blade hover at Frank’s neck. One more second and—

“Wait!” he barked.

Leah paused, her lips curling into a sly smile. “What’s wrong, Richard? Having second thoughts?”

“What do you want?” he growled, finally giving in. He’d weighed the optics—if word got out that he let one of his own die like this, it’d destroy morale. Who’d be loyal to a company that abandoned its people?

Leah didn’t hesitate. “I’m not asking for much. Just ten A-grade crystal cores. You deliver them, and Frank walks free.”

“You’re insane.”

Richard’s fury flared. Ten A-grade cores—for Frank? That was daylight robbery.

“Why don’t you just rob a bank while you’re at it?”

“This is faster than robbing a bank,” Leah said with a shrug, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Richard stared at her, speechless.

This girl was no amateur.

After a long pause, he finally spoke. “Give me some time. I need to think this over.”

“Fine. You’ve got three days, Richard,” Leah said, her tone turning cold. “But if the hostage dies during that time… that’s on you.”

With that, the screen went black.

Silence fell over the office. Richard stood there, seething, his expression stormy.

It was bad enough he couldn’t beat the Zombie King from L.A.—now even some ragtag survivors from a shelter thought they could push him around?

Genesis Biotech was a powerhouse—wealthy, resource-rich, and filled with elite talent. They didn’t even bother acknowledging the Black Hand Legion’s street thugs, let alone the dirt-poor survivors from some backwater shelter.

The assistant, still standing nearby, asked cautiously, “Sir… are you really going to give them ten A-grade crystal cores?”

“If they’re bold enough to ask,” Richard said darkly, “then we’ll give them what they want.”

His eyes gleamed with malice.

“Send out an elite squad. I want those shelter Awakeners hunted down. And get me the footage of those two women—trace their identities, find everyone connected to them, and bring them in.”

“They think they can play games with me? They’re still too green.”

“Yes, sir!” the assistant replied, already understanding Richard’s plan. There’s no substitute for experience. This was a classic delay tactic—agree to the ransom to buy time, then strike hard and fast.

“Oh, and Richard,” the assistant added, “what about the Zombie King? How do we deal with him?”

That question made Richard’s headache spike.

He was good at crushing weak humans. But the L.A. Zombie King? That was a whole different beast.

Genesis Biotech’s top agents were already converging from across the country. But if the Zombie King kept intercepting them, the losses would be catastrophic.

Their so-called “ultimate defense line” hadn’t even been fully established—and it was already starting to crack.

“We absolutely can’t let that Los Angeles Zombie King run wild in Texas…” Richard muttered to himself. But then, a glint of inspiration flashed in his eyes—he had an idea.

“We’ll fight fire with fire. Let’s lure other zombie factions into San Antonio and let them clash with him. We don’t need them to kill the Zombie King—just keep him busy. As long as he’s tied up, he won’t be able to ambush our Awakeners.”

“Now that’s a solid plan,” the assistant said, eyes lighting up with admiration. This was classic set a thief to catch a thief. The Zombie King might be powerful, but when it came to strategy? Humans still had the upper hand.

After all, it was human intelligence that ruled the Earth for thousands of years.

And Texas was crawling with zombie factions. The most infamous of them all? A grotesque force lurking deep in the swamps.

Before the apocalypse, that swamp was a protected wildlife reserve, home to thousands of alligators. After the fall, many of them mutated. Some devoured so many zombies that they began to fuse with them.

The result? A terrifying fusion-type Zombie King known as—Gatorax.

Now, Genesis Biotech’s North American HQ had the firepower to take on Gatorax if they really wanted to. But the swamp terrain was a nightmare for human forces—dense, wet, and unpredictable. Any direct assault would be a bloodbath. So they’d left Gatorax alone.

Until now.

“Let’s draw that big gator out and sic him on the L.A. Zombie King.”

“Understood!” the assistant replied crisply, already fired up about Operation Lure Gator. Let the monsters tear each other apart—zombie versus zombie, may the ugliest win.

…

Meanwhile, in San Antonio…

Leah had just finished briefing Ethan on the ransom deal—ten A-grade crystal cores for Frank.

Ethan nodded, barely interested. “Small-time stuff,” he muttered. What he really wanted to know was something else.

“What’s the situation with the other shelters? You’ve been in contact, right?”

Since leaving L.A., he hadn’t heard from Mia, and he figured Leah might have some updates.

Leah answered immediately. “Ever since your L.A. horde started migrating, survivors everywhere have been panicking. A lot of them fled to the Mount Elbert Shelter—it’s become the de facto survivor HQ.”

“Mount Elbert’s also planning to gather all the 001-ranked Awakeners from the major shelters. They’re forming some kind of elite strike team. No word yet on what they’re planning to do with it.”

“Hmm… got it.”

Ethan nodded thoughtfully. The 001 Awakeners from each shelter were no joke—people like Mia and Robert were serious contenders. Not a force to underestimate.

…

High atop Mount Elbert, nestled in the rugged peaks, humanity had carved out a fortress-like mega-shelter. It had become the central hub for survivors across the region.

Lately, the population had exploded. Scientists—some of the best minds left on Earth—had gathered here, working around the clock on new tech and survival strategies.

In one of the steel-lined corridors, Mia strode briskly, her long hair flowing behind her. She had a purpose—she was heading to collect some of the latest research breakthroughs to bring back to L.A.

Among them? A prototype aircraft powered by crystal cores—similar to the ones Genesis Biotech used.

“Finally,” she thought with satisfaction, “I won’t have to borrow a ride from a certain Zombie King anymore…”

But just as she turned a corner, a voice called out behind her.

“Mia, wait up—I need to talk to you about something.”

She stopped, turning to see a tall, striking young man approaching, his expression serious.

…