At midnight sharp, Ethan, Chris, Henry, and their orange tabby, Pumpkin, climbed back up to the rooftop to stargaze.
No matter how exhausted they were, this ritual was non-negotiable. Stargazing wasnât just a habitâit was their edge, the secret sauce that kept them ahead of the curve.
They stayed up until five in the morning, then dragged themselves back to the dorm for a nap.
The next few days fell into a rhythm: zombie hunting by day, sleep and stars by night.
After the incident at the main dining hall, Ethan had grown even more cautious. He wouldnât make a move until heâd triple-checked that the coast was clear.
Fortunately, Tier 3 zombies were becoming more common. Each one still came with a pack of lesser undead, but with more of them around, it was easier to find isolated targets.
In just three days, the trio managed to take down eight Tier 3s.
Once Henry leveled up to Tier 3, Ethan claimed the rest of the crystal cores for himself, pushing his strength to the very peak of Tier 3.
It took seven Tier 3 cores to max out that tier. And the higher you climbed, the more cores it tookâeach step up the ladder got steeper and slower.
Now at the Tier 3 cap, Ethanâs strength had broken past 2,000 poundsâhe was clocking in at over 2,200. That was well beyond the limits of a normal human body.
By his estimate, most Tier 3s hovered between 1,400 and 1,800 pounds of force. His extra power? That came from the mysterious energy he absorbed every night while stargazing.
Each night under the stars gave him a boost of over 60 pounds. After seven nights, that added up to more than 400 pounds of bonus strengthâenough to absolutely steamroll anyone else at his level.
Chris and Henry had each gained around 160 pounds of extra strength too. It didnât sound like much, but this was a long game. Over time, that edge would only grow.
Back on campus, fewer than a thousand people were still alive. Out of more than thirty thousand students and staff, only a sliver remained. The survival rate was terrifyingly low.
That number included the five hundred whoâd escaped the main dining hall, thanks to Vivianâs help. Sheâd gotten them out of the academic buildings too.
Now, new power squads were popping up all over campus. Many of them had members whoâd reached Tier 2, and they could handle regular zombie mobs without breaking a sweat.
But with power came ambition. And with food running scarce, tensions between groups were flaring. Fights over supplies were becoming a daily occurrence.
Even Ethanâs crew had been approached by a few teams trying to strong-arm them into joiningâonly to get their asses handed to them.
Day 11 of the apocalypse. Grad apartments.
"Ethan, weâre out of food," Chris said, rummaging through his backpack with a sigh. "Weâve gotta go scavenging today."
"Not much left on campus," Henry muttered, frowning. "The convenience stores and the bigger supermarkets near school are all locked down by the stronger teams. Itâs gonna be tough."
"Yeah," Ethan exhaled. "Might be time to leave campus."
He didnât say it lightly. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasnât ready to let go of the university grounds.
Sure, it was dangerous hereâbut it was a closed system. Zombies from outside couldnât get in easily. Compared to the chaos beyond the gates, campus was still safer.
Plus, they knew this place. Every building, every shortcut. Out there, itâd be a whole different gameâharder, riskier.
But they didnât have a choice. The food was gone. Staying meant starving.
"Letâs hit one of the big supermarkets first," Ethan said. "See if we can scrounge up enough for today. Tomorrow, we move out."
"Got it."
The three of them slung on their backpacks and left the dorm, heading toward one of the larger supermarkets on the edge of campus.
When they got there, the front doors were shut tight.
Ethan activated his True Sight and scanned the interior. Nearly fifty people were inside.
But that wasnât what he cared about.
What mattered wasâwas there any food left?
Ethan scanned the supermarket interior through the metal shutter. The shelves out front were nearly stripped bareâbut the storage room in the back still held a decent stash.
That was all he needed to see.
He smiled faintly, then stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Whoâs there?" someone called out, startled.
"Could you open up?" Ethan said politely. "We just need to grab some food."
"Thereâs nothing here. Try somewhere else," the voice replied, curt and defensive.
"Weâll be the judge of that," Ethan said, still calm. "Just open the door. Itâs not exactly built like a fortress. Wouldnât want to break it."
"I said thereâs nothing! Get lost! If you so much as touch that door, Iâll kill you!" someone snapped from inside.
He barely finished the sentence before a loud
bang
echoed through the air. A hole burst open in the center of the shutter, and a boot punched through.
Then two hands gripped the edges and tore the metal apart like it was cardboard. A moment later, three figures stepped through the gap.
"!!!"
"The fuck?! You broke our door? You got a death wish?!" the guy in frontâbrown hair, built like a linebackerâexploded with rage.
But before he could charge, someone behind him tugged his sleeve, voice trembling. "Rick... itâs them. Itâs
those
three."
"I donât give a damn whoâwait, shit." Rick finally got a good look at them. His face drained of color.
"Uh... Ethan. Didnât realize it was you guys. My bad," he said quickly, backing off.
"You know me?" Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Who doesnât?" Rick gave a sheepish laugh. "Everyone on campus knows who you are."
"Really? Iâm that famous?"
"Well... you might not know this, but some of the teams have been keeping tabs. Ranking the most dangerous groups on campus. You three? Top of the list."
"Thereâs a ranking?" Ethan blinked. "First Iâve heard of it."
"You guys always operate solo. Donât really mix with the other teams. Makes sense you wouldnât know. But for the rest of us, itâs kind of... essential intel. You guys donât need it. We do."
Ethan shrugged. "Whatever. I donât really care. Got any food?"
Rick hesitated, clearly torn. But in the end, he didnât dare lie. "Yeah... weâve got some left."
He turned to the others. "Go grab the food from the storage room."
"Wait, seriouslyâ"
"
Now.
"
"...Fine."
The others trudged off reluctantly. Food was survival. They didnât have much left, and no one wanted to hand it over. But when you were dealing with
these
three? You didnât have a choice.
A few minutes later, they came back carrying two boxesâone full of crackers, the other of bread.
"Will this be enough?" Rick asked, voice careful.
Ethan tossed over their three backpacks. "Fill âem up. And grab a few bottles of water while youâre at it."
"Sure thing." Rick didnât even blink.
Soon, the packs were stuffed, and Rick handed them over along with several bottles of water. He hesitated, then asked, "Ethan... with your strength, why not recruit more people? Right now, all the teams are at each otherâs throats. If you wanted, you could unite the whole campus."
"Not interested," Ethan said, slinging on his pack. He turned and walked out, Chris and Henry right behind him. No drama. No second thoughts.
Rick stood there, watching them go.
"Rick... they took so much. When the boss gets back, heâs gonna kill us," one of his guys muttered, face pale.
Rick sighed. "What the hell was I supposed to do? You wanna stop those three? Be my guest. When the boss shows up, weâll just tell him the truth. If heâs got the balls, he can go ask for the food back himself."
...