Chapter 1081: The Calm Before the Storm

As Raymond died, two glowing orbs drifted up from his head and shot into the air.

“Two?” Ethan blinked in surprise.

But he figured it out quickly—one was Raymond’s Innate Ability, the other was the skill he’d gained after reaching Tier 6.

With his [True Sight] active, Ethan could instantly read the details of both.

Raymond’s Innate Ability was Light-type. He’d unlocked two skills: Energy Blade and Energy Barrier.

The Tier 6 skill he’d chosen, though, was pretty useless—just enhanced hearing. No wonder the guy never used it in combat.

Ethan’s [Telekinesis] could only control one orb at a time, so he didn’t hesitate—he went for the Innate Ability.

He guided the glowing orb toward his own forehead.

It floated to a stop just in front of his brow, but the moment it tried to merge, a powerful wave of rejection surged through him. It couldn’t fuse at all.

“Just as I thought.”

Ethan wasn’t surprised. He’d already suspected a person could only have one Innate Ability. If that weren’t the case, he’d have stacked a dozen powers on himself by now.

If he couldn’t do it, then obviously Chris and the others couldn’t either.

He turned to Jacob. “Lie down.”

“Oh—okay.” Jacob dropped to the ground without hesitation.

Ethan directed the orb toward Jacob’s forehead.

But just as it was about to merge, Jacob’s whole body started trembling violently, like he was in unbearable pain.

Ethan frowned and muttered to himself.

“Doesn’t work either?”

“Must be because Raymond’s ability evolved when he hit Stage D. A Tier 5 Enhanced can’t handle a post-evolution Innate Ability.”

“I wonder if it’ll work once someone reaches Tier 6. Or maybe once it’s transferred, it doesn’t count as an Innate Ability anymore?”

“Whatever. Let’s test it.”

He pulled the orb back from Jacob’s forehead.

“Miles, give him a Tier 6 crystal core. Let’s push him up a tier.”

“Got it.” Miles nodded and handed over a Tier 6 core.

Jacob stared at the crystal, eyes going red.

He’d been stuck at the peak of Tier 5 for ages. A Tier 6 core was something he’d dreamed about every night.

If it were Raymond or any of the others, they’d never have given it to him.

He’d thought he’d never make it to Tier 6 in this lifetime.

But now, these people were just handing it to him—no strings attached.

“Th-thank you, Ethan! Thank you, Miles!” Jacob was shaking all over, overwhelmed.

“Alright, enough. Swallow it already—we’re not done with the experiment,” Ethan urged.

“Right!” Jacob quickly gulped down the crystal core.

Five minutes later, his eyes snapped open, full of excitement.

“Ethan, I—I awakened an ability!”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s just a basic skill. Lie back down,” Ethan said, waving him off.

Controlling the orb wasn’t hard, but holding it steady for five minutes was exhausting.

“Oh, okay.” Jacob was confused, but he didn’t argue.

Ethan guided the orb back to Jacob’s forehead.

This time, it merged smoothly.

“Whew…” Ethan let out a breath. He was starting to piece things together.

Looks like Stage D Awakened abilities could be transferred—but only to someone who was also Stage D or higher. Below that, it just didn’t work.

Thinking about it, Ethan felt a twinge of regret for killing Kyle so early.

If he’d waited until tonight, maybe he could’ve made another Awakened.

But then he remembered Kyle’s face and shook his head.

That guy was better off dead. Keeping him around for even a few more hours would’ve been a pain in the ass.

“Get up. See if you feel anything different in your head,” Ethan said, looking down at Jacob.

“Okay.” Jacob scrambled to his feet and focused inward. His eyes widened.

He raised his hand—and a glowing energy blade formed in his palm.

“This… this is Raymond’s ability!?”

“Yup. I transferred it to you. You’re an Awakened now,” Ethan said.

“!!!”

“You can do that!?” Jacob looked like his brain had short-circuited.

“With us, nothing’s impossible,” Ethan said calmly. “Miles is the one who got you this chance. From now on, stick close to him and support him well. If you prove yourself, I’ll consider letting you join the Fallen Star Squad.”

“Y-yes! Thank you, Boss Ethan! I swear I’ll give it everything I’ve got—no matter what it takes!” Jacob was so overwhelmed he could barely speak.

It was like a dream.

Not only had he reached Tier 6, he’d become one of the rare Awakened.

And now, he even had a shot at joining the Fallen Star Squad.

A team where every member was a Tier 7 Awakened.

The sheer joy hit him like a truck—his face flushed bright red.

“Alright, you can head back now.”

“Yes, sir!”

After Jacob left, the group sprawled out in the backyard, gazing up at the stars while quietly absorbing the mysterious energy in the air.

The next morning, after a quick breakfast, they got ready to head over to the old city district to check things out.

But the moment they stepped outside, they saw Tyler sprinting toward them, his face grim.

“Captain, bad news—the zombies from the old city are moving this way!”

“Haven’t zombies from that area wandered over before? What’s got you so worked up?” Big Mike rolled his eyes.

“This time’s different. I think… I think the entire old city horde is coming,” Tyler said, voice tight with tension.

“!!!”

“What exactly happened? Why would they all suddenly move at once?” Miles asked, frowning.

“I don’t know the full details yet. One of the guards on watch just told me—he was scanning the area with binoculars and saw a massive wave of zombies pouring out of the old city, all heading this way. He estimated at least sixty thousand of them.”

“!!!”

“Has anything like this ever happened before?” Miles asked.

“Never. Since this compound was built, the worst we’ve seen was an attack by a little over ten thousand zombies. Back then, the government’s heavy weapons made a huge difference, and we had a lot of Enhanced inside the compound. That’s how we held the line. But this… this is on a whole different level. I’m telling you, it looks like the entire old city horde is on the move.” Tyler’s voice was shaking now.

Everyone fell silent, the weight of the situation sinking in.

“If I had to guess,” Ethan said suddenly, “a Tier 8 zombie just emerged in the old city.”

“Tier 8!?”

All eyes snapped to Ethan in shock.

“Yeah. Only a Tier 8 zombie could unify the entire old city horde.”

“This compound’s always been dangerously close to the old city. The only reason we’ve been safe until now is because the zombies were fighting among themselves for territory.”

“But once a Tier 8 shows up, that power struggle ends. A Tier 8 can dominate the entire region.”

“And once the zombies are united, their first target… will be us.” Ethan let out a sigh.

“Shit… what do we do? There’s nearly eighty thousand zombies over there, and with a Tier 8 leading them? Not to mention all the Tier 6 and Tier 7s that are probably mixed in—how the hell are we supposed to hold that off?” The group’s anxiety was written all over their faces.

“Let’s go take a look first,” Ethan said quietly.

“Yeah,” the others nodded, their expressions heavy.