Chapter 670: What kind of trouble are you in?

Over the next few days, things stayed quiet around the Solaris Citadel. Ethan and his squad didn’t run into any trouble. The zombies that had come from Earth were settling in on Originis, and the corpse nest was still undergoing renovations.

Fortify the base, stock up on supplies.

That was the plan.

Outside the corpse nest, Petal had planted rows of what looked like flower fields—but they were actually deadly traps, designed to lure and kill intruders.

Lil’ Shroom was busy too, planting surveillance nodes all over the place. These sprouted into red, fleshy growths—part biological, part mechanical—serving as the nest’s early warning system and defense turrets.

Everything was running smoothly. Efficient. Controlled.

At the heart of the corpse nest, in a wide-open clearing, sat a sleek aircraft. Its streamlined body gleamed with futuristic tech—clearly not from around here.

It was a trophy, taken by one of Ethan’s students during a Hunt Trial. The pilot had been a human from the far side of the Exile Zone, part of a different human civilization.

Back then, Dreadpaw had shown up before Ethan could really check it out. But now, with time on his hands, he planned to dig into it—see what kind of tech humans were packing these days.

Maybe, just maybe, there was something in there that could help Mia get her memory back.

Ethan stepped aboard the aircraft. The interior was surprisingly spacious and clean, divided into several compartments—cockpit, living quarters, and more.

The living quarters looked a lot like a dorm room. There were clothes, toiletries, and other everyday items scattered around.

Nothing too interesting there.

But then he noticed the books.

“Huh. Let’s see what they’ve been studying,” Ethan muttered, flipping one open at random.

The writing inside was nothing like Earth’s. It resembled hieroglyphs—complex, but not entirely indecipherable. He could make out enough to get the gist.

It made him wonder—was there some ancient connection between Earth and Originis? Maybe humans had originally migrated from here to Earth…

The books covered a range of topics—zombie classifications, evolutionary paths, survival strategies. Nothing too surprising.

One book, though, was a geography text.

According to it, Originis had three known continents:

Necroterra—the zombie domain.

Terran Reach—where the humans lived.

And Xenorift—home to all kinds of alien species.

The names said it all.

Xenorift, in particular, was a chaotic mess of biodiversity. One of the species mentioned was the same kind of parasitic monster that had once appeared on Earth.

As for the rest of the creatures? Countless. Uncatalogued. Like Necroterra, Xenorift was considered a no-go zone for humans—too dangerous to explore fully.

“Well damn… learned something new today.”

Ethan waved his hand, storing the books away for later. He figured he’d study them when he had more time.

After all, knowledge is power. You never know when a book might save your life—or help you save someone else’s.

Next, he headed to the cockpit. The control panel was covered in buttons and switches, all of it looking way too complicated at first glance.

But the ship was equipped with an AI interface. Smart tech. Even a total rookie could fly it with the system’s help.

Suddenly, the screen lit up.

[Incoming radio signal detected. Would you like to access it?]

The AI’s mechanical voice echoed through the cockpit.

“Radio signal?” Ethan raised an eyebrow, surprised.

Then again, it made sense. LORN’s signals could reach Earth and scam Genesis Biotech out of their minds. Human communication tech was clearly next-level.

So this aircraft picking up a signal? Totally plausible.

“Access it,” Ethan said.

A moment later, several audio files popped up on the screen and began playing automatically.

“Leia, how’s the Hunt Trial going? Everything okay with the students?”

“I’ve been thinking… once you’re back, let’s get married. We can have the principal officiate the ceremony.”

“Leia? Why aren’t you answering? Please respond if you hear this.”

“Come on, talk to me. Are you still mad at me or something?”

“…”

The voice on the other end was a young man’s—tinged with static, growing more anxious with each message.

Sounded like one of the instructors from their academy.

The messages had been coming in over the past few days. One after another. Every single day.

Too bad… the woman he was calling out to—Leia—was already dead. Killed in Necroterra.

She wasn’t coming back.

“So damn tragic…”

Ethan shook his head quietly, a flicker of sympathy in his eyes. He had a soft spot for stories like this—couldn’t stand watching people suffer, especially when it came to heartbreak.

But the school messages weren’t the only signals the aircraft had picked up.

More transmissions were coming through.

Ethan chose to access them too.

“Is anyone out there? Please, help us! We’re a mercenary team hired to hunt zombies—we’re trapped in Necroterra and in serious trouble.”

“We’re begging you, please. We’ll reward you handsomely if you help us.”

“…”

The voice was a woman’s—shaky, on the verge of tears, pleading. It tugged at something in Ethan. She sounded desperate, scared out of her mind.

“Humans? Trapped… asking for help?” Ethan muttered to himself.

He wasn’t the type to turn a blind eye. If someone was suffering, he felt compelled to at least listen.

So after a moment’s thought, he sent a reply.

“What kind of trouble are you in?”

He wasn’t committing to anything yet—but it didn’t hurt to ask.

The response came almost instantly, like someone drowning who’d just spotted a lifeline.

“We were hired to hunt zombies, but something weird happened. There was a small corpse nest here, and overnight—it turned into a forest.”

“We’re stuck inside it now. We’ve lost our bearings, and our aircraft’s out of power. Please… we’re begging you, get us out of here.”

“This forest… it’s not right. Everything about it feels wrong and dangerous… sob…”

The woman’s voice cracked, panic rising with every word. She sounded like she was barely holding it together.

Ethan stood still, brows furrowed.

“A corpse nest… turned into a forest overnight?”

Now that was something you didn’t hear every day.

On Originis, plant life was rare to begin with. For a corpse nest to suddenly morph into a forest? That was bizarre—unnatural.

But it was also a warning.

Even if zombies holed up in a nest, it didn’t mean they were safe. Strange things could still happen. This was the end of the world for every species, after all—no one was truly safe.

“Where are you?” Ethan typed back.

A moment later, a set of coordinates popped up on the screen.

“Here! sniff Thank you, thank you so much for coming. You’re a good person… really…”

Ethan studied the coordinates. The screen quickly calculated the distance.

To his surprise—it wasn’t far at all.

Made sense. Most humans didn’t dare venture deep into Necroterra. They stuck to the fringes of the Exile Zone, where the risk was lower.

“Still… this could be a threat to me too,” Ethan thought, eyes narrowing.

The last thing he wanted was for his own corpse nest to suddenly turn into a haunted forest overnight.

“I’ll check it out.”

“Okay! We’re staying inside the aircraft—we won’t move an inch,” the woman replied quickly.

Ethan tapped the coordinates. The AI chimed in:

[Destination set. Initiate flight?]

He confirmed.

The aircraft’s lights flickered on. Engines roared to life, blue flames blasting from the rear thrusters as it lifted off the ground with a deep, rising hum.

Now that his corpse nest was stable, it was time for Ethan to stretch his legs a bit—get a better sense of what was really going on out there in Originis.

Time to see what kind of nightmare those humans had stumbled into…

…