Chapter 479: Huh? Finally?

Richard blinked, completely dumbfounded. That was definitely not something a zombie should be doing. But then he thought of Ethan—always in that crisp white shirt—and suddenly, it clicked.

No way… Did he actually tame the entire Gatorax zombie horde?

If that was true, it was beyond dangerous.

He immediately barked into his comms, “Stop staring and get your asses back here! Now! Move it!”

“Oh—oh! Got it!” one of the Awakeners on the other end replied, scrambling to obey.

But before they could move, the comms crackled with static—radio interference, like something was messing with the signal.

And then, just as the team turned to leave, Ethan appeared right in front of them. His eyes were cold, sharp—like he was staring at a bunch of corpses.

He knew something was off. Gatorax had been lured out of the swamp, and that didn’t happen by accident. So he came to check it out—and sure enough, he found a squad of Genesis Biotech Awakeners.

“You’re the ones who sent the amphibious troops here?”

The group froze, stunned silent, like their souls had just left their bodies.

The team captain’s hands trembled as he picked up the comm again.

“Ri… Richard, we’re not getting out of here.”

“He… he found us…”

Then came the screaming.

The comms erupted with a blood-curdling shriek—raw, agonized, and full of terror. It was the kind of sound that made your skin crawl and your heart drop into your stomach.

Richard’s face went pale. Cold sweat poured down his forehead as he slammed the comms off.

Huff—huff—huff—

He was gasping for air like he’d just woken up from a nightmare.

His assistant rushed over, alarmed. “Richard, are you okay?”

“I… I’m fine. That team we sent out—they’re not coming back.”

“What?”

The assistant’s eyes widened in shock.

Richard didn’t answer right away. He took a moment to calm himself, but his mind was racing.

Every Awakened operative he’d sent had been wiped out by the Zombie King. And the zombies they’d tried to lure away? Ethan had absorbed them into his horde.

It was like he was eating their lunch and stealing their silverware—taking everything without hesitation.

“What the hell are we supposed to do now?” Richard muttered under his breath. Even at an all-you-can-eat buffet, there were limits.

His assistant looked just as worried. “Richard, I think we really can’t contain this Zombie King anymore.”

“Yeah,” Richard nodded grimly. “We should’ve taken him out back when the outbreak first started. If we’d thrown everything we had at him then, maybe we could’ve crushed him before he got this strong.”

But that window had long since closed. Ever since the Los Angeles horde started moving, it had been a countdown to disaster.

“So… what’s our next move?” the assistant asked.

Richard shook his head. “No more sending teams to die. We’ve already lost too many Awakeners. Our strength is bleeding out, one cut at a time. If this keeps up, we’ll collapse before the horde even reaches us.”

“Yeah, I agree,” the assistant said. “But that means we’ll have to delay our strongest defense plan.”

“We don’t have a choice,” Richard said. “We wait.”

He still had one last card to play—the Perfect Team.

They’d been in development for months, a top-secret project using cutting-edge Cyborg tech. Genesis Biotech had poured everything into them—money, manpower, resources. If anyone could go toe-to-toe with the Zombie King, it was them.

And hopefully, they’d arrive before the Los Angeles horde reached Texas.

“Where’s the horde now?” Richard asked.

“They’ve already covered most of the distance. If nothing changes, they’ll hit the Texas border in about a week.”

“Alright,” Richard said, trying to steady his nerves. Just thinking about a hundred thousand zombies bearing down on them made his stomach twist.

“Tell all our Awakeners—no unnecessary missions. Avoid any contact with the Zombie King. Until the Perfect Team gets here, we don’t make a single move against him. We can’t afford to lose anyone else.”

“Understood!” the assistant replied, then hurried off to relay the orders.

Once, Genesis Biotech’s North American HQ had been the dominant force in Texas—untouchable, always on the move.

But ever since Ethan showed up, they’d been forced into hiding. No more bold moves. No more dominance.

They’d been completely shut down.

And they knew it.

…

Back in San Antonio, after Ethan had taken out a few more Awakeners, he returned to the city center.

The Gatorax crew had all finished their showers by then—clean as a whistle. They stood in neat rows, looking respectful… and more than a little terrified.

Big Ears noticed their nervous faces and tried to reassure them. “Relax, seriously. The boss is actually a pretty chill guy.”

“R-Really?” Gatorax wasn’t convinced. Nothing about Ethan screamed “chill.” More like “kill-you-with-a-glance.”

“But Big Ears, I really owe you one. If you hadn’t spoken up for me, I’d probably be dead right now.”

Big Ears gave a modest cough. “Ah, don’t mention it. I’m one of the old guard, y’know? Put in my time, earned my stripes. My word still carries some weight.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Gatorax nodded eagerly.

“I always thought you were something special, Big Ears. You must’ve been through some serious battles, huh?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Big Ears said, puffing up a bit. He pointed to the oversized fang-shaped earring dangling from his ear. “See this? ‘The Big Tooth Earring.’ Took it off a Zombie King I personally took down. Bastard was tough as hell.”

“Whoa, that’s badass!” Gatorax’s eyes lit up with admiration.

Big Ears clapped him on the shoulder like a seasoned vet passing the torch. “Stick with it, kid. I started out as just another grunt too. Now I’m part of the core team. And hey—there’s a new target on the horizon. Some arrogant group’s been making noise. I’m thinking of wiping them out. You want a shot at glory? This is it.”

“Hell yeah, Big Ears! Who are they? I’m Gatorax—I don’t back down from anyone! Just say the word, I’m in!”

Big Ears grinned. “Genesis Biotech.”

“Uh…” Gatorax froze. “Wait, the Genesis Biotech?”

He stared at Big Ears, trying to figure out if he was joking. The guy said it so casually, like he was talking about taking out the trash. Was he really that strong?

Big Ears just shrugged. “Don’t sweat it. We already wiped out one of their branches. Piece of cake. If you don’t believe me, ask Shrimpy.”

Gatorax immediately turned to the quiet zombie nearby. “Yo, Shrimpy, is that true?”

Shrimpy looked at him, paused, then asked in a deadpan voice, “You guys got shrimp in the swamp?”

…

Over the next few days, San Antonio settled into an eerie calm. After several failed attempts, no more Awakeners showed up. It was like the city had been blacklisted—no more “deliveries.”

Meanwhile, Leah and her crew were getting antsy. They were holding Frank hostage, hoping to trade him for supplies with Genesis Biotech. They’d given Richard three days to respond.

“Leah, the deadline’s almost up. Why haven’t we heard anything from Richard?” a young man asked, pacing.

“No idea,” Leah said, frowning.

Nora, arms crossed and eyes cold, snapped, “Screw it. Let’s just kill the bastard.”

“Mm-mm-mm! Mmm-mm-mm!” Frank, tied up nearby, started panicking, shaking his head violently. His eyes were wide with fear, muffled sobs escaping from behind the gag.

But just then, Leah’s phone rang—its cheerful ringtone cutting through the tension like a knife.

“Huh? Finally?”

She snatched it up, but when she checked the screen, her brow furrowed.

It wasn’t Richard.

It was the shelter.

…