"...." Mia was at a loss for words.
"I don't want to."
"Oh..."
Ethan thought to himself, Well, if she doesn't appreciate it, then forget it.
His gaze shifted to the distance, where the aftermath of a massacre lay scattered. Among the corpses, it wasn't just zombies—there were strange lizard-like creatures too. Definitely unusual.
The Zombie King of Santa Monica was clearly trying to expand its territory into Los Angeles. If it didn't ss with the nearby shelters, it would probably end up encroaching on Ethan's domain sooner or later.
"How strong are the zombies in Santa Monica?" Ethan asked, trying to gather so intel.
Mia paused to think. "Their abilities are pretty bizarre. Last ti, we ran into a Zombie Siren. It could use its voice to either control people's minds or attack them. Besides that, there's also a group of 'Nagas.' They have this ability to paralyze people. You'd better watch out for them too."
"Got it..." Ethan nodded. It was obvious the shelter had been clashing with them a lot recently.
As a trade-off for the information, Ethan decided to share sothing of his own.
"I saw your five missing people when I ca here," he said slowly.
"What?" The mont those words left his mouth, everyone's expressions shifted to shock.
"Where are they?" Chris couldn't help but ask.
"They're dead," Ethan replied bluntly.
"..." A heavy silence fell over the group. But deep down, they'd already expected this outco.
Mia, for her part, wasn't surprised at all. She thought to herself, Even if they were alive... running into Ethan wouldn't have ended well for them anyway.
"They were killed by parasitic creatures from Santa Clarita," Ethan added, dropping another bombshell. "Those things can disguise themselves as humans to lure people in and infect them. For all you know, one of them might've already infiltrated your shelter. You'd better be careful when you get back."
"What?"
The group was visibly shaken. They'd heard of those parasites before—monsters infamous for taking down an entire city's shelter in the past. Their reputation was terrifying.
"Wait, those things made it to Los Angeles?"
"Oh my God! If they're in the shelter, we're screwed..."
"Maybe... maybe we shouldn't go back at all." Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire
"..."
Panic spread among the group like wildfire.
The thought of those parasites was enough to make anyone's blood run cold. The creatures were intelligent, masters of disguise, and could mimic human behavior perfectly. By the ti soone realized the truth, it was often too late—the people around them had already been turned into monsters.
"If this is true, we need to do a thorough investigation," Mia said firmly.
Ethan nodded. He'd brought it up for a reason. Keeping Los Angeles stable was in his best interest. If the shelter, with its tens of thousands of people, got overrun by parasites, the entire city would descend into chaos.
And most importantly... those parasites were terrible at preserving their "food."
"Alright, you guys figure it out. If things get out of hand, I'll step in and deal with it," Ethan said casually before turning to leave, his six bio-engineered "bodyguards" following close behind.
"..." The group broke into a cold sweat at his parting words. They understood exactly what he ant.
If he steps in to 'deal with it,' there probably won't be many humans left standing afterward.
"Hurry! Get the supplies back to the shelter and report the parasite situation imdiately!"
Everyone scrambled into action, rushing to return to the safety of the shelter as quickly as possible.
A short while later, Ethan made it back to his own territory.
He introduced his underlings to the six bio-engineered monsters and assigned each of them to oversee a specific area, much like the Zombie Kings did with their own minions.
With the addition of these creatures, the strength of his domain had grown significantly.
And just like that, the balance of power shifted once again.
...
At the Granary.
Not long after Ethan and Mia's groups had left, another team arrived from the distance.
Four figures in total—three n and one woman. Among them was a second-generation A grade cyborg. They were dressed in sleek black nano-combat suits, each bearing a red Genesis Biotech logo on their chest. The group exuded a sharp, no-nonsense aura.
This was a team sent by Sophia from San Bernardino. They had been patrolling the outskirts of Los Angeles, keeping a close eye on Ethan's zombie hive.
The scene at the granary was still grueso, the aftermath of the slaughter chilling to behold.
But the cyborg remained expressionless, its glowing green eyes scanning the area, locking onto various points of interest.
[Zombie remains... prolonged exposure to water has altered their evolutionary path.]
[Lizard creature blood... mutated marine iguana, the only sea-dwelling lizard species. Possible inspiration for Godzilla.]
[Bioweapon footprints... trace amounts of skin fragnts detected. Analysis reveals G-virus material. Hybrid mutation of human and virus.]
"....."
The cyborg's gaze swept across the scene, capturing every detail. Nothing escaped its notice as its AI processed data at lightning speed.
At the front of the group stood a young man with a cold, sharp expression. His na was Griff Black. His awakened ability was rare and formidable—spatial manipulation. As one of Sophia's top enforcers, he was known as one of the Four Knights of Bernardino.
"This Zombie King isn't your average one..." Griff muttered.
"No kidding. He's even injecting humans with the G-virus. Since when is that sothing a Zombie King does?" grumbled a towering man behind him, standing nearly 6'8" with a scowl on his face.
The lone woman in the group tilted her head, curious. "G-virus? Where'd he even get that?"
"Where else? Nathan must've handed it over," the big guy replied, clearly annoyed.
"....." The woman rolled her eyes, exasperated.
Over the past few weeks, they had been using drones to survey Ethan's territory. What they found was unsettling. His forces were packed with powerful subordinates, and even more bizarre, there were mutated humans in the area. So of them could even laugh and joke, blending seamlessly with the zombies.
Now, with the addition of six bioweapons, Ethan's domain had officially beco a no-go zone for humans.
"A death trap," Griff said, analyzing the situation. "Jessica didn't die in vain..."
"Captain Griff, what's the plan? This mission's looking pretty impossible," the woman asked, her voice tinged with concern.
Griff thought for a mont. "The higher-ups are mainly worried about this Zombie King attacking San Bernardino. Our job is to keep an eye on him, not take him out just yet."
"But... isn't it only a matter of ti before he sets his sights on San Bernardino?"
"Yeah," Griff nodded. "Once he's done consolidating his power here, he'll probably expand in our direction."
"His strength is overwhelming. We can't beat him in a straight fight. Maybe... we'll have to find a way to seal him off instead."
...
anwhile, back at Ethan's base, he was blissfully unaware of the team observing him from the shadows.
In this part of the city, he was the undisputed ruler. As long as he stayed ho, nothing could threaten his safety.
He poured himself a drink, taking a slow sip, his deanor relaxed and unbothered.
Out of the ten doses of G-virus he'd acquired, six had already been used. That left four. Ethan was now pondering where to find four more humans to experint on.
If the results continued to be promising... he could always pay Genesis Biotech another visit to restock.
Pulling out his phone, he began scrolling through online updates.
As expected, Genesis Biotech was still a ghost town—no new information, no activity. It seed they'd gone completely underground for now.
But on the official shelter network, a new announcent had just been posted, causing widespread panic.
"Breaking news: Reports suggest parasitic creatures from Santa Clarita may have infiltrated the shelter. A full-scale investigation will be conducted. Please cooperate with the authorities."
...
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