Apocalypse: King of Zombies

At this moment, Ethan was walking through an open plain, heading back to Los Angeles. In the distance, a river flowed gently, surrounded by lush greenery.

The small animals that had been parasitized by monsters were nowhere to be seen now. Occasionally, a few zombies wandered aimlessly, drifting through the landscape.

But then, out of nowhere, a deafening roar erupted in the distance, like a massive bell shattering the sky, its echoes lingering in the air.

The nearby zombies, previously sluggish, instantly became ferocious, as if summoned. They charged madly toward the source of the roar.

Ethan understood the meaning behind the sound—it was clearly a signal for a zombie attack.

"Is there a Zombie King out hunting?" he wondered to himself. But in this post-apocalyptic world, it wasn't exactly a rare occurrence. He'd seen it all before.

The direction of the roar, though, seemed to be coming from Rancho Cucamonga.

Ethan didn't dwell on it too much. He continued along the riverbank, making his way back to his territory.

As soon as he stepped onto the city streets, several Zombie Kings—Bulldozer, Laura, PhD—and a group of elite zombies immediately came to greet him.

"Hey, boss, you're back!" Bulldozer grinned, his tone carrying a hint of anticipation. Of course, he was wondering if the boss had made a good haul during his hunt—maybe even something with a new flavor.

Ethan didn't waste any words. With a wave of his hand, he tossed out all the monster flesh he'd brought back.

And this time, there was a lot—enough to pile into a small mountain. Among the haul were some premium cuts, like tentacles as thick as oak barrels—what you might call "grilled giant squid on steroids."

"Holy crap…" Bulldozer and the other zombies' glowing eyes flickered with excitement. They hadn't expected this much, and most of it was high-quality stuff—what they called "Sandwich Cookies."

"Dig in," Ethan said casually before turning and walking away without looking back.

The zombies' eyes lit up with excitement, and they immediately dove into a ravenous feast.

"As expected of the boss—he always delivers."

"Yeah, the boss never lets us down."

"This is amazing…" The zombies couldn't help but marvel.@@novelbin@@

Soon, the street was filled with the sounds of flesh being torn apart, chewed, and devoured. The heavy scent of blood filled the air, and the sight of the feeding frenzy was nothing short of chilling.

Not far away, Big Ears came rushing over. Since there was so much food this time, he'd finally get a share for himself.

He grabbed a tentacle and started chomping down on it with gusto.

Big Ears was almost moved to tears.

For once, he didn't have to eat leftovers.

He was overwhelmed with happiness.

And with so much food, there was no way they'd run out—absolutely no way…

As he ate, he couldn't help but think of his good buddy, Shrimpy. Too bad Shrimpy had gone back to Santa Monica and was missing out on this feast.

Just as he was feeling sentimental, a zombie figure appeared at the corner of the street, carrying a massive mutated lobster on its back.

"Huh?" Big Ears noticed something and immediately turned to look.

The zombie shouted loudly, "It's me, the ruler of Santa Monica—Shrimpy is back!"

Big Ears: "..."

…

Ethan returned home and, as usual, took a hot shower. He changed into a white shirt, poured himself a glass of juice, and began consuming crystal cores.

He first took out the red crystal core from the parasitic monster's leader. Its energy was pure, radiating an eerie red glow that was both dreamlike and mesmerizing.

This was an S+ grade crystal core, even stronger than the one from the Azure Scaled Zombie King he'd encountered before.

Ethan swallowed it in one gulp. The crystal core melted in his mouth, incredibly sweet—like biting into a lychee.

Different monsters' crystal cores had different flavors.

But they were all delicious.

The crystal core dissolved into a warm current that flowed through his entire body. As the energy was absorbed, Ethan's Zombie King physique grew even more powerful. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire

"S+ grade crystal cores really are something else…" Ethan thought to himself, savoring the experience. The energy from this single crystal core would take him days to fully absorb.

But crystal cores of this caliber were incredibly rare.

Given the current stage of biological evolution, they were undoubtedly at the top of the food chain.

Afterward, Ethan stayed home, with nothing much to do. He pulled out his phone and started scrolling.

"Let's see if there's any news…"

Before long, the official website of the shelter updated with two new announcements.

"Breaking news: The monster leader in Santa Clarita has been defeated! Our team successfully broke through and brought back a significant amount of critical supplies. Additionally, they've returned with Santa Clarita's No. 001 S-Class Awakener—Robert."

"He's coming to Los Angeles?"

Ethan pondered for a moment. It made sense—after all, Robert had avenged his greatest grudge. There was no reason for him to stay in Santa Clarita anymore.

For Ethan, this was good news.

Another tool in the toolbox.

But it wasn't the first announcement that caught Ethan off guard. It was the second one.

"In Memoriam: The Rancho Cucamonga shelter has been overrun by zombies. Tens of thousands of humans have perished, devoured by the undead. A few survivors managed to escape and have fled to San Bernardino."

"The Rancho Cucamonga shelter was breached…" Ethan muttered to himself.

He recalled Locomotive mentioning that Rancho Cucamonga had a Zombie King with a particularly strange ability—Dream Invasion. Its power was formidable.

What's more, the attack had been timed perfectly. The Zombie King had struck while Zane and his team were off in Santa Clarita, leaving the shelter defenseless. This showed that the Zombie King wasn't just powerful—it was strategic and intelligent.

Ethan's thoughts drifted back to the tsunami-like roar of zombies he'd heard on his way home.

It was likely the sound of the assault on the human shelter…

The most critical factor, though, was that Rancho Cucamonga's Awakeners—No. 002, No. 003, No. 004, and No. 005—had all been killed by Ethan himself. With their deaths, the shelter's fall was inevitable.

But this also meant that Rancho Cucamonga had now birthed an undisputed zombie overlord.

Having such a presence in a nearby city…

It made Ethan feel uneasy.

...

The next few days passed without incident. The territory returned to its usual calm, and everything proceeded as normal.

The Zombie Kings roamed about freely. When they got hungry, they'd head to the river to grab some fish from Sprout. Occasionally, they'd bask in the glow of Radiant Crystals, enjoying a sort of "sunbathing." Life was, in a word, relaxing.

Big Ears, in particular, was in high spirits these days—his good buddy Shrimpy was back.

He, Shrimpy, and Locomotive, the trio of zombie misfits, had gathered at the edge of the territory.

"Who would've thought we'd all evolve into absolute overlords? Thinking back on everything we've been through, it really wasn't easy," Big Ears said, his tone tinged with nostalgia.

Locomotive chimed in, "Well, Shrimpy and I are the undisputed overlords of two cities. Big Ears, you're still a level below us."

"…" Big Ears' face darkened. But after thinking about it, he had to admit it was true.

The Azure Scaled Zombie King of Santa Monica had been taken out by Ethan, and no other powerful Zombie King had risen to take its place. So, Shrimpy calling himself the ruler of Santa Monica wasn't exactly a stretch.

"This won't do. I need to claim a city for myself too," Big Ears thought, feeling a sudden urgency. Random rampages and mindless killing just weren't cutting it anymore. To stay relevant, he needed to become a ruler—someone with a title worth bragging about.

As he was mulling this over, his large ears twitched.

He picked up on faint sounds.

"Huh?" Big Ears lifted his gaze and looked ahead.

He spotted a group of zombies approaching from outside the territory.

Their faces were twisted and terrifying, their eyes filled with malice.

It was clear at a glance—they weren't locals.

…