Chapter 595: Something felt... off.

Chapter 595: Something felt… off.

Just as Daniel was reeling in shock, a vine—thick and sinuous like a serpent—suddenly shot out from the abyss and wrapped itself tightly around his neck.

He didn’t even have time to react. One second he felt a sharp constriction around his throat, the next, a crushing wave of suffocation hit him. The vine yanked hard, and his body lurched forward uncontrollably.

“Ahhh—!”

He plunged headfirst into the abyss, swallowed by the endless darkness. His scream—raw, piercing—echoed through the chasm, lingering long after he vanished.

“Captain!”

A few of his teammates behind him cried out in horror, frozen in place by the sudden, nightmarish scene.

“He got pulled down!”

“What the hell was that thing?!”

“No idea!”

“…”

Terror washed over their faces. They stared, wide-eyed, at the edge of the cliff, hearts pounding.

Then came a sound—soft at first, like something slithering or scraping. Nails against rock. Or maybe clawing through ice. Just hearing it made their skin crawl.

Dark shapes began to emerge at the cliff’s edge.

They stepped slowly out of the shadows.

The first thing they saw was Laura’s face—twisted and grotesque. Her mouth stretched unnaturally wide, all the way to her ears, revealing two rows of razor-sharp teeth. It was the kind of smile only a monster could wear—gleeful, hungry, thrilled at the sight of prey.

“Hehehehehe…”

Her eerie, bone-chilling laugh cut through the howling wind.

The humans froze, expressions blank with shock. Their bodies trembled involuntarily, every hair standing on end. Fear gripped them like a vice.

“There really are monsters!”

“Run! Run!”

“…”

They didn’t think. They didn’t plan. They just turned and bolted, panic driving their every move.

But the moment they laid eyes on Laura, their fate had already been sealed.

She moved like a blur, claws flashing. The fleeing humans were nothing more than helpless prey.

In mere seconds, she sliced through them—heads flying clean off.

Their headless bodies collapsed to the ground with heavy thuds. Warm blood sprayed into the freezing air, turning instantly into a ghostly white mist before crystallizing into ice.

“All done, boss,” Laura reported casually, glancing to the side.

“Mm.”

A voice answered from the darkness.

Ethan stepped forward, his figure slowly coming into view. He wore a white dress shirt under a thick white fur coat, the wind tugging at the hem as he looked down at the corpses.

Steam still rose from the fresh blood, reminding him of something—like the beef pot pie they used to serve back at the orphanage, fresh out of the oven…

Behind him, the other Zombie Kings—Little Shadow, Sprout, Shroom—closed in, flanked by a squad of elite undead.

Snow swirled around them, dusting their bodies in white. But their eyes still burned with savage intent. The cold hadn’t dulled their bloodlust one bit.

They could sense it—more humans, huddled inside the tents up ahead.

The snow-covered mountain looked less like a campsite and more like a frozen graveyard. And every last human here was about to become prey for the Zombie Kings.

The real slaughter was just getting started.

“A temporary camp, huh? Out here in the middle of goddamn nowhere?” Ethan muttered, eyeing the tents with mild curiosity.

He wasn’t in a rush. He wanted to see what these humans were planning.

But honestly, with his crew here, there wasn’t much to think about.

They’d just steamroll the whole place. Simple as that.

…

Daniel’s blood-curdling scream had already jolted the Awakener squad from Genesis Biotech into high alert.

Inside the tent, everyone’s expression darkened.

“Shit! Someone just fell off the cliff!”

“Did he slip on his own?”

“No way…”

“…”

They all knew—no Awakener would make such a rookie mistake.

The man leading the group, a middle-aged veteran, slowly stood up. His face was calm, but his eyes were sharp—he’d sensed something long before the scream.

“Zombies are here. Grab your weapons. Get ready to fight.”

“What? For real? Monsters?”

The group stared at him, stunned. None of them had expected zombies to make it all the way to the mountaintop.

The man nodded.

“Yeah. And they came prepared.”

“Got it, Boss Ray!” they responded in unison, their expressions hardening. Weapons were drawn, and one by one, they rushed out of the tent.

The leader, Ray Whitaker, followed them out into the storm.

Outside, the wind howled and snow whipped through the air. Then came the guttural roars of the undead—feral, bloodthirsty. From the shadows, twisted faces emerged, charging straight at them.

“Holy shit! These zombies are freakin’ terrifying!”

The Awakeners from Genesis Biotech were visibly shaken. These weren’t your average shamblers—they were highly evolved, elite-class undead. And among them were several Zombie Kings.

Panic surged, but instinct kicked in. Energy flared around the humans as they activated their powers, launching a desperate counterattack.

But the power gap was massive. It was like trying to stop a freight train with a toothpick.

In the chaos, Sprout unleashed a swarm of writhing vines, wrapping around the humans and crushing them like insects.

Laura darted through the crowd like a phantom, her claws slicing through flesh. Blood sprayed in her wake, and not a single corpse was left intact.

Ethan stood at the rear, calm and composed in his white fur coat, watching the carnage unfold.

He didn’t care much about these humans. Letting his crew tear through them was more than enough. They’d be wiped out in no time.

The real reason he’d come to the mountaintop was to gather intel—see if Genesis Biotech had uncovered anything about the Star Map tablets.

But something felt… off.

There were over a hundred tents in the camp, yet only a dozen or so had lights on. Only a handful of people had come out to fight.

The rest of the tents were pitch black. Silent. No movement. No signs of life.

“What the hell? Who’re they setting up all these tents for—ghosts?”

Ethan turned his gaze toward the back of the camp and spotted a fleet of aircraft—dozens of them. But with this few people, there was no way they needed that many.

Something wasn’t right.

No—something was seriously wrong.

Those dark, silent tents… there was something inside them. Something different.

Meanwhile, Ray Whitaker had stepped onto the battlefield. His brow was furrowed, his face grim.

“So many zombies… Even if you overrun the camp, you’re not walking away from this unscathed!”

He raised both hands, and twin auras flared to life—one icy blue, the other blazing red. The two opposing forces clashed and swirled, creating a volatile storm of energy.

Ray slowly brought his hands together, fusing the elements. Ice and fire intertwined, blue and red spiraling into a chaotic, pulsing core. The power surged, growing more unstable—and more deadly—by the second.

Then he hurled it.

BOOM!

The explosion rocked the entire mountaintop. Snow blasted into the air, the wind scattered like torn fabric, and the mountainside trembled. Below, the snowpack gave way, triggering a massive avalanche.

The shockwave vaporized dozens of zombies on the spot. Even some of the Genesis Biotech Awakeners were caught in the blast, their bodies torn apart in an instant.

Sprout barely managed to react in time. He summoned his Absolute Domain, vines erupting in all directions to shield the remaining undead. The barrier absorbed most of the impact, sparing them from total annihilation.

But even so, many of his vines were shredded, reduced to ash and drifting smoke.

“Damn, that guy’s strong!”

The Zombie Kings exchanged glances, surprised.

They’d expected a one-sided slaughter. They hadn’t counted on a human this powerful showing up.

Ethan narrowed his eyes, watching everything unfold. That fusion blast—he recognized it.

It was the signature move of Genesis Biotech’s fourth-generation Cyborgs.

…

Here’s a redemption code for everyone: