Gunfire roared and echoed through the lab as people unleashed everything they hadâbullets, grenades, raw fury. No one could wrap their heads around it: how the hell did a zombie outbreak start in a high-security lab?
Luckily, the zombies werenât that strong. Wiping them out was just a matter of time.
But thenâeverything changed.
A sudden, crushing pressure swept through the room like a tidal wave. It hit all at once, thick with a chilling, almost primal dread that made everyoneâs heart skip a beat.
"What the hell is that?"
People froze, breath caught in their throats, eyes wide with panic.
The pressure kept building, like an invisible hand tightening its grip around the entire room. A few of the weaker ones couldnât take itâtheir bones cracked and shattered under the force. They dropped to the ground without even a scream, lifeless.
And then, through the chaos, Ethan stepped forward.
"Zombie King?" someone whispered.
The captain of the City Guard spotted him first. No hesitationâhe yanked a metal baton from his belt. With a flick, a blade of pure energy extended from it, glowing hot.
Without a word, he charged straight at Ethan, lightsaber raised.
He didnât stop to think. The moment he saw Ethan, instinct took overâattack first, ask questions never.
But before his blade could even come down, Ethanâs katana flashed.
Too fast to dodge.
Shhhkâ
The captainâs head flew clean off. His body crumpled to the floor, twitching.
The rest of the squad froze in horror. Eyes wide, they scrambled to aim their crystal-core firearms, fingers tightening on the triggers.
But Ethan was already on them.
He moved like a shadowâone moment gone, the next right beside them. His katana danced through the air, slicing through flesh and armor alike. A few tried to run, but the moment they stepped into the Domain of the Dead, they were crushedâbones snapping, bodies collapsing.
Dozens of guards, wiped out in seconds.
Then came the swarm.
Zombies poured out of the elevator shaft, clawing their way up and flooding the corridor. They sprinted toward the surface, screeching, snarling, driven by madness.
These low-level undead werenât meant to kill. They were cannon fodderâmeant to draw fire, sow chaos, and overwhelm defenses.
...
Meanwhile, the city above was already spiraling into chaos.
Fires burned in several buildings, smoke curling into the sky. Zombies ran wild through the streetsâbut they didnât last long. Drones hovered overhead, firing pinpoint laser shots that blew holes straight through their skulls.
Within moments, enforcement teams moved in, sweeping the area and clearing the bodies before the virus could spread any further.
They were fast, efficient, and ruthless.
A few vials of zombie virus werenât enough to bring down the city. At worst, it was a nasty distraction.
Howard Hawke, the head of the powerful Hawke family, had already received word of the zombie outbreakâand that his own lab had fallen. That alone told him this wasnât some random accident.
"Lock down the entire district. Shut down all transportation. I want every single person checkedâno exceptions," Howard growled, his voice low and cold, like a storm about to break.
The pressure radiating off him was suffocating, impossible to ignore.
It was the kind of oppressive force only an SSS-rank could emit.
"Yes, sir!" his subordinates snapped to attention and rushed to carry out his orders.
Moments later, another man burst into the room, breathless.
"Sir! Weâve finished reviewing all surveillance footage. Weâve identified someoneâheâs the one who released the virus!"
"Who? Show me," Howard demanded, stepping forward.
The man quickly brought over a portable terminal and pulled up several images.
It was Rickyâcaught on camera at multiple outbreak sites.
"This little bastard... has he lost his mind?" Howard clenched his fists, barely holding back his fury. But even as he spoke, he knewâRicky wasnât the mastermind. There was someone else pulling the strings.
The subordinate continued, "Before the outbreak in our lab, Young Master Trent went inâwith Dorian and a few other heirs from the major families."
"What?" Howardâs heart sank like a stone.
"Whereâs Trent now?"
"I... Iâm not sure," the man stammered, clearly nervous.
Howardâs temper flared, a surge of heat rushing to his head. He started pacing, agitated, like a caged animal.
"My idiot son might be reckless, sure, but heâd never do something this insane. Thereâs no way he released the virus himself..."
Just then, another manâmiddle-aged, with a strong resemblance to Howardârushed in.
"Brother! I just heard from Dorianâs servant. Apparently, he and some classmates were throwing a party, playing some kind of thrill-seeking game... and then, suddenly, everyone in the house vanished. Dorianâs missing. You donât think something happened to him, do you?"
Howard froze mid-step. His brow furrowed deeply, and a terrible suspicion began to form in his mind.
If someone dug a little deeper, theyâd find that Ricky and Dorian had serious bad blood between them.
And that was all Howard needed to connect the dots.
This whole thingâit started with Dorian. And it wasnât just some accident. It was a setup. A massive, calculated conspiracy.
"If Iâm right... then a Zombie King has entered the city."
"What?!"
The room fell silent. His subordinates stared at him, stunned.
A Zombie King? That serious?
Howardâs expression darkened. Not only was his own son involved, but so were the heirs of other major familiesâand they were all tangled up with this Zombie King.
God knows what that creature might do to them. But odds were, they were already dead... or worse.
A Zombie King with powers like that? Thereâs no way it had good intentions.
"He was after the lab. That means heâs probably still near the entrance," Howard said, voice sharp with urgency. "Mobilize everyone. I want that Zombie King foundâno matter what it takes. And put the entire city on Level One combat alert!"
"Yes, sir!"
The response was immediate and thunderous. Everyone knew this was no ordinary crisis. No one dared waste a second.
The Hawke family was in charge of Inner City security, which meant they had access to a massive arsenal of resources.
The city plunged into chaos.
Drones and aircraft swarmed the skies like angry hornets, sweeping low and scanning every inch of the streets. Enforcement squads and City Guard units deployed en masse, locking down neighborhoods and setting up checkpoints.
Meanwhile, Ricky was holed up in a dark alley, a baseball cap pulled low over his face. He tugged the brim down further, trying to stay hidden.
He could feel itâthings had spiraled way out of control.
The sky buzzed with drones, sweeping in tight formation, scanning everything. City Guards patrolled the streets in squads, rifles at the ready.
At this point, his only shot was to escape the Inner City and make it to the Exile Zone. Maybeâjust maybeâheâd have a chance out there.
But with all transportation shut down, airspace locked down, and even the Skywall sealed tight, that plan was looking more impossible by the second.
"Am I really out of options?" Ricky muttered, glancing around. He spotted a few residential buildings nearby.
Maybe... take hostages?
He shook his head. No good. The City Guard wouldnât hesitate to shoot through civilians if it meant taking him down. They didnât play by the rules.
As he weighed his options, a voice suddenly rang out from the street.
"Hey! Whoâs hiding over there? Step out now for inspection!"
"Shit," Ricky hissed, his body tensing.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two guards approaching fast, weapons drawn.
...