Big Ears glanced over and imdiately spotted a Zombie Siren stepping out from the disgusting horde of corpses. Her eyes were fierce, her face terrifying, and she was flanked by a group of elite zombies trailing behind her like a deadly entourage.
The mont Big Ears saw this, it clicked.
This was an ambush.
The zombies were brimming with murderous intent, closing in step by step. It felt like they were seconds away from tearing him apart. Big Ears' eyes darted around, his brain scrambling for a way out of this ss.
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"Wait, wait! Don't kill just yet!" he blurted out.
"Oh?" The Zombie Siren stopped in her tracks, her imposing figure towering over the scene.
"Queen Siren! It's !" Big Ears quickly followed up, his voice full of urgency.
The Zombie Siren froze, her expression shifting to confusion as she exchanged glances with the zombies around her.
"Who are you? And how do you know that na?" she demanded.
"Of course I know! You're the legendary ruler of Santa Monica! Your reputation precedes you—everyone's heard of you!" Big Ears' eyes darted nervously, his mind racing. Truth be told, he had no idea who she was. He'd just taken a wild guess based on her appearance, and by so miracle, he'd hit the mark.
Well, since it worked, might as well roll with it.
The Zombie Siren looked genuinely taken aback.
She wasn't even a big shot—just one of Azure Scaled's elite underlings. She wasn't a leader, let alone so kind of ruler. Hearing Big Ears talk her up like this left her completely stunned.
"Wait… am I really that famous?" she muttered, half to herself.
"Absolutely! You're just too humble, that's all. You don't care about fa, but trust , everyone on the outskirts of Los Angeles knows about you. Not just you, but your whole crew—they're all legends. We've admired you for ages!" Big Ears kept the flattery coming, his tone smooth and convincing.
The elite zombies around her blinked in surprise, exchanging glances. Wait, were they part of this "legendary" crew too? The idea was… oddly flattering.
But the Zombie Siren wasn't entirely convinced. Sothing felt off.
"Hold on a second," she said, narrowing her eyes. "You said you're from the outskirts?"
"Yeah, that's right! The city center's way too dangerous—I can't even get close," Big Ears replied quickly, his tone earnest.
"Oh, so you're not with them," the Zombie Siren mused, her mind working through the situation. The plan was to spread parasites into the heart of Los Angeles. If these zombies couldn't even get into the city, then… wasn't this whole operation pointless?
"Wait a minute… sothing's not adding up!" Her eyes suddenly sharpened as she stared Big Ears down, scrutinizing him. "You're a B-class zombie. That makes you a small-ti leader at least. You've gotta be one of the Los Angeles Zombie King's underlings. You're lying to !"
"I'm not lying! I swear I'm not one of his guys!" Big Ears protested, his voice rising in desperation. "The Los Angeles Zombie King doesn't even want ! Ask anyone on the outskirts—they'll tell you the sa. Honestly, I've been thinking about heading to Santa Monica to join you instead!"
His tone was sincere, his expression earnest. And, well, he wasn't entirely lying—Ethan really hadn't recruited him.
The Zombie Siren studied him closely, her gaze piercing. But… he didn't seem to be lying.
"So… what now?" she muttered, half to herself.
"Hey, hey, if you're looking for zombies in the city center, I can help you out!" Big Ears offered, his eyes lighting up with a spark of hope. "I've been hanging around the outskirts for a while, but I know a bunch of zombies in the city. If you need them, I can call them out for you. Easy!"
"That… actually doesn't sound like a bad idea," the Zombie Siren said, her tone thoughtful. She glanced at the mindless zombies from the outskirts, who were clearly too dumb to infiltrate the city. If they could spread the parasites directly into the city center, the damage would be so much greater.
The elite zombies around her nodded in agreent.
"If we can pull this off, Azure Scaled will be thrilled," one of them murmured.
"Alright, go ahead," the Zombie Siren said, turning back to Big Ears. "If this mission succeeds, I'll personally recomnd you to Azure Scaled."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Big Ears said, bowing his head repeatedly, a wide smile plastered on his face. But inside, he was a nervous wreck. This was it—the most critical mont of his escape plan.
Keeping his expression calm, he turned around and started walking toward the city, each step slow and deliberate.
In his head, he was chanting over and over: Don't follow … don't follow … don't follow …
Monts later.
Big Ears had managed to put about 100 feet between himself and the zombie horde. He let out a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, these zombies weren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.
Seeing that he was almost in the clear, his pace instinctively quickened. First a brisk walk, then a jog, and before he knew it, he was breaking into a full-on sprint.
But just as he thought he was ho free…
Zombie Siren furrowed her brow, her unease growing. "Wait a second… what if—just hear out—what if he actually does know so of the zombies in the city? What if he's running back to warn them?"
"Crap, you're right!" one of the elite zombies exclaid, snapping out of their daze. They turned to look, only to see Big Ears, who had gone from a casual jog to an all-out sprint, his legs pumping like a cartoon character as he bolted into the distance.
"Damn it! He's running! After him!" the elite zombie roared, their face twisting in rage as the realization hit—they'd been duped.
"ROAR—"
The zombies around them seed to co alive all at once, like a pack of rabid dogs unleashed. They charged forward with terrifying speed, their snarls echoing through the night.
But Big Ears wasn't just any zombie—he was a B-class. His speed gave him a slight edge over the average elite zombie. For now.
That's when it hit him. Literally. That eerie, haunting lody. The Zombie Siren's voice rang out behind him, the strange, otherworldly notes worming their way into his ears like a cursed lullaby. The sound was unnatural, like nails on a chalkboard mixed with a hypnotic hum, and it was ssing with his head.
Big Ears clenched his jaw, his hands flying up to cover his oversized ears. "Not now, not now!" he muttered to himself.
But his hearing was just too good. The soundwaves carried the Siren's ntal manipulation straight into his brain, bypassing his defenses. His vision blurred, his thoughts wavered, and his legs began to falter. One mont he was clear-headed, the next he was dazed, stumbling like a drunk.
The snarls and growls behind him grew louder. Closer.
Big Ears risked a glance over his shoulder and imdiately regretted it. The zombies were gaining on him, now less than 200 feet away and closing fast.
"No, no, no! I can't let this stupid song get to !" he growled, shaking his head violently as if trying to physically dislodge the sound from his brain. His eyes hardened with determination. He had to focus. He had to fight it.
But just as he steeled himself, his foot caught on sothing.
"AHHH—THUD!" Big Ears let out a startled yelp as he tripped and went sprawling face-first into the dirt. He hit the ground hard, skidding to a stop in a heap.
It was a tree stump. A stupid, dried-up tree stump he hadn't noticed in his panic.
For a mont, he just lay there, stunned. Then the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "No… no, no, no!" he muttered, scrambling to get up. But it was too late.
The snarls were deafening now. He turned his head just in ti to see the zombies closing in, their grotesque faces illuminated by the faint moonlight. They were only 30 feet away, their eyes wild with bloodlust.
With a final burst of speed, they launched themselves into the air, leaping toward him like starving wolves pouncing on prey.
"This is it," Big Ears thought, his heart sinking into his stomach. "This is how I go. All my cunning, all my achievents… and I'm gonna die because of a stupid tree stump."
The zombies were almost on him now, their horrifying faces filling his vision, their claws outstretched, ready to tear him apart.
But just as they were about to reach him, a sudden whoosh cut through the air.
CRASH!
A massive rock ca hurtling out of nowhere, slamming into the zombies with bone-crushing force. The impact sent them flying in all directions, their bodies tumbling like ragdolls.
"Uh…" Big Ears blinked, stunned. For a mont, he just lay there, staring at the chaos. Then, slowly, he turned his head toward the direction the rock had co from.
There, in the distance, was a towering, broad-shouldered figure barreling toward him like a freight train.
"Bulldozer!" Big Ears shouted, his voice cracking with a mix of disbelief and overwhelming relief.
"Big Ears!" the figure bellowed back, his deep voice carrying over the chaos.
"Bulldozer!" Big Ears called again, his voice trembling.
Tears welled up in his eyes as the realization sank in—he wasn't going to die here.
Not today.
Bulldozer had co for him.
...
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