Chapter 1069: Want to Live?

After Ethan and the others left, Miles stepped in front of the remaining two hundred-plus Enhanced.

Originally, there had been over five hundred Enhanced in the compound. Chris had slaughtered around two hundred, the others had taken out another hundred-plus, and now only these two hundred or so were left.

At this point, they were already scared out of their minds. But none of them dared to run. All they could do was stand there, frozen, waiting for judgment.

“Want to live?” Miles suddenly asked.

“Yes!” A chorus of nods followed, heads bobbing like woodpeckers.

“Good. I’ll give you a chance to live. Just one. Whether you can hold onto it—that’s up to you.”

He continued, “For now, you’ll stay here in the compound and work. I’ll be watching. If you prove yourselves useful, maybe you’ll get to stay long-term.”

“Of course, you’re free to resist. Or run. If you can escape, well, that’s your skill.”

“But let me remind you—every member of the Fallen Star Squad is Tier 6. And every single one of us is Awakened.”

“So before you decide to rebel or bolt, ask yourselves: do you really think you can get away from us? If you try and fail, you’ll end up like him.”

Miles pointed to Blake, lying not far away—half his body stripped to bare bone.

A visible shudder rippled through the crowd.

They’d seen exactly how Blake ended up like that. The image was burned into their minds. A walking nightmare.

“Don’t worry! We’re not going anywhere! We’ll work hard, do whatever you say!” the Enhanced shouted, scrambling to show loyalty.

Run? Against a squad of Tier 6 Awakened? That was suicide.

They didn’t doubt a word Miles said. They’d seen the squad’s power firsthand. Every one of them was Tier 6, with awakened abilities.

As for the captain—the one who hadn’t even made a move yet—was he above Tier 6? They didn’t know. But if Miles said so, it was probably true.

Just the thought of someone stronger than Tier 6 made their hearts tremble. That kind of power was insane.

Miles went on, “Honestly, I’m not worried about you running. With your level of strength, even if we let you go, you wouldn’t survive. The zombies out there aren’t exactly friendly.”

“But since you’ve chosen to stay, from now on, you follow my orders. I’ll put together a list of rules. Everyone follows them. Break one—die.”

No sugarcoating. No second chances. Miles laid it out, plain and brutal.

Everyone stiffened, then quickly nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

Miles added, “And don’t look so damn miserable. This might actually be a chance for you.”

“If you prove yourselves, you’ll become part of this compound. Being with us is a hell of a lot better than following that loser Knox.”

“With our strength, even if nothing else, at least you’ll be safe in this apocalypse. You won’t have to fear anyone when you go out. Wherever you go, people will think twice before messing with you.”

At that, the Enhanced perked up, eyes lighting with hope.

Yeah… these guys were monsters. If they joined them, didn’t that make them monsters too?

If you can’t beat them—join them. That was the smart move.

In an instant, what had started as forced submission turned into genuine willingness. Now they were all thinking the same thing—how do I prove myself?

Miles knew exactly what he was doing.

Scare them shitless first—then give them a reason to stay.

In the apocalypse, everyone wants to follow the strong.

And the strength of the Fallen Star Squad? No one dared question it.

After finishing his little “pep talk” with the Enhanced, Miles turned and walked over to the large group of workers.

Compared to the Enhanced, he was much gentler with them.

And honestly, they were way easier to deal with.

These people had already been living rough in the compound. All Miles had to do was promise them better housing and double the daily supplies, and they were instantly grateful—like he’d just saved their lives.

After more than a month of apocalypse hell, they’d long since accepted reality.

At this point, all they wanted was to survive. A roof over their heads and food in their stomachs—that was enough. Anything more was a luxury they didn’t dare dream of.

Once the conversation wrapped up, Miles ordered them to move the corpses off to the corner.

Those bodies could probably feed a few high-tier zombies. No point letting them go to waste.

Then he told Skinny Pete, Sean, and Big Mike to head back and bring over Pumpkin the orange cat and the others, and to drive the FMTV military truck back to the compound while they were at it.

…

Inside one of the rooms in the compound’s central building, Joe had already woken up. He was sitting with Chris, quietly sharing everything he’d been through since the world fell apart.

Ethan and Henry sat in the living room nearby, watching the father and son reunion in silence.

“Ethan,” Henry said suddenly, “once things settle down here, I want to go back. Just once.”

“Alright,” Ethan nodded. “We’ll go with you. But you’d better be ready. Chris’s situation? That was one of the lucky ones.”

“Yeah,” Henry murmured, nodding.

A few minutes later, Chris and Joe stepped out of the room.

Joe looked like a different man—gone was the broken, hollow shell from before. He seemed more alive now, more grounded.

What had kept him going all this time was the hope of seeing Chris again. Now that his son was back, safe and sound, nothing else mattered.

The moment Joe saw Ethan, his eyes lit up. He rushed over and grabbed Ethan’s hand, his voice thick with emotion. “Ethan! I can’t believe I’m seeing you again! Chris told me—if it weren’t for you, he’d be dead a dozen times over. I don’t even know how to thank you.”

“Uncle Joe, come on, don’t say that,” Ethan said with a grin. “Chris and I have been best friends since we were kids. We’ve always had each other’s backs. If it weren’t for him, I’d be dead too. So really, don’t thank me.”

“Yeah, yeah… you’re right. Doesn’t matter now. You’re both alive—that’s all that counts.” Joe’s eyes shimmered with tears.

He’d always liked Ethan. It was because of Ethan that Chris had grown stronger, more confident. His grades had shot up too.

Back when Chris used to bring Ethan home all the time, both Joe and Chris’s mom had been more than happy to have him around.

“Dad, this is Henry—our roommate,” Chris said, introducing him. “He’s an Awakened with healing abilities. I can’t even count how many times he’s saved my life. The injuries on your body, your hands and feet—he’s the one who healed them.”

“Nice to meet you, Uncle Joe,” Henry said quickly.

“Nice to meet you too. Thank you, Henry. Really.”

“No need to thank me. I was just doing what I could.”

“Chris is lucky to have friends like you,” Joe said, his voice full of gratitude.

“Chris,” Ethan said, turning to him, “go grab some crystal cores from Miles later. Let’s get Uncle Joe up to peak Tier 5 tonight. I’ll transfer an ability to him after that.”

“Got it,” Chris nodded.

“Start with Tier 1 cores and work your way up. Don’t skip tiers, or his body won’t be able to handle it,” Ethan reminded him.

“Understood.”

“Once he’s Awakened, let’s have Uncle Joe help manage the workers here in the compound. He seems well-liked. Having him in charge should make things smoother.”

“Alright.”

“Wait, me? I’m just a worker—I don’t know anything about managing people,” Joe said quickly, waving his hands.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Joe,” Ethan said with a smile. “With Miles around, you won’t have to do much. Just keep an eye on things, help out where you can. Chris and I will be out a lot—we won’t have time to stay here and handle everything. Think of it as helping us out.”

“Well… alright then.”

“One more thing, Uncle Joe,” Ethan added, his tone turning serious. “This is the apocalypse. It’s not like before. If someone steps out of line, you’ll need to punish them. If you’re not sure how to handle it, just tell Miles. He’ll take care of it.”

“Got it.”