"An SS-rank fighter, huh?" Ethan tilted his head slightly, his gaze sharp and focused.
Then, without hesitation, he clenched his fist and swung his arm forward. His sheer power was like a speeding freight train, his iron fist bursting forth like a dragon breaking free from the sea.
Ethan, using only the flesh and blood of his Zombie King body, t an alloy weapon head-on.
Clang!
The mont their attacks collided, the sound of tal striking tal rang out, and a shockwave rippled outward in all directions.
Ryuji's hands, gripping his katana tightly, split open at the base of his thumbs, blood seeping out. His katana trembled violently, letting out a long, high-pitched hum, as if it were wailing in agony. The wind energy that had been wrapped around the blade dissipated instantly, and the crackling lightning energy shattered apart.
Crack.
A sharp, crisp sound echoed in the air. A visible fracture had appeared on the alloy blade.
But that was only the beginning.
The crack spread rapidly, branching out like a spiderweb, covering the entire length of the blade. Then, unable to withstand the pressure any longer—
Boom!
The katana shattered into countless fragnts, tal shards flying in all directions.
Ryuji, struck by the overwhelming force, was sent hurtling backward like a baseball blasted out of the park. His body flew over a hundred feet before crashing heavily onto the ground, leaving a deep impact.
"What… the hell just happened?" David's eyes widened in shock. The entire exchange had happened in the blink of an eye. One second, Ryuji had charged forward, and the next, he was sent flying back.
Even his alloy katana had been obliterated.
The gap between them was massive—completely different leagues.
But in David's mind, their strength should have been sowhat comparable.
"Ryuji, didn't you say you were SS-rank?"
"I… I have both wind and lightning abilities at S-rank. If you add them together, that makes SS-rank, right?"
Ryuji coughed up blood as he struggled to get back on his feet, looking utterly battered.
"...???"
David's face was full of question marks. That's not how rankings work!
What kind of dumbass logic was that?
Sure, having dual S-rank abilities made Ryuji stronger than a regular S-rank, but he was still far from true SS-rank power.
Which ant he never stood a chance against Ethan.
Realizing this, David felt a wave of despair wash over him. This idiot just got killed… Who the hell taught him math?
If he had known Ryuji's real strength, he never would've co to L.A. in the first place.
Now, there was no escaping death.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a sharp pain shot through the back of his neck—an elite zombie had sunk its teeth into him. The searing agony made his reaction sluggish.
Before he could even process what was happening, more zombies lunged at him from the front, knocking him to the ground.
Three, four zombies piled on top of him, their teeth tearing into his flesh.
David's vision blurred. His consciousness began to fade.
But in his final monts, one last thought surfaced in his mind—
If I get another life… I swear I'll ask how rankings work before following anyone anywhere…
Against the overwhelming Zombie Horde, the humans never stood a chance.
They barely lasted a few seconds before being overwheld, one after another.
Their screams of agony filled the air, desperate and shrill, but they were soon drowned out by the sickening sounds of flesh being torn apart.
The horror of the apocalypse was suffocating—hopeless, rciless, and absolute.
Ryuji, already injured from Ethan's punch, had no strength left to resist. Surrounded by several Zombie Kings, he was ultimately devoured, his body disappearing beneath a swarm of undead.
No miracles happened.
Every last human was wiped out.
Laura, her claws dripping with blood, held up a freshly extracted crystal core. With reverence, she presented it to Ethan.
Ethan's lips curled into a faint smile, clearly pleased.
"Well done."
…
After picking up his takeout, Ethan turned and headed upstairs.
Behind him, the streets remained a scene of carnage. The zombies continued their grueso feast, the sounds of tearing flesh and cracking bones filling the air, the thick scent of blood hanging heavy.
Ethan had just acquired a dual-elent S-rank crystal core—wind and lightning—as well as several A rank cores. His dwindling supply had been replenished.
Not bad.
He pulled out two Radiant Crystals and placed them on the windowsill, then resud absorbing the energy from the crystal cores, pushing his evolution forward.
With that matter settled, Los Angeles returned to its eerie version of normalcy.
The next few days passed without incident.
But—
Over in San Bernardino, Sophia was growing restless.
Sitting in her office, she frowned in deep thought. Ryuji had been gone for days now, and there hadn't been a single word from him. It was as if he had vanished into thin air.
"Looks like their mission failed," she muttered.
"Failure is the norm in life. Success is the exception," Jacob remarked from beside her. After a brief pause, he added, "Sophia, maybe you should try looking at the bright side."
She raised an eyebrow. "And what bright side would that be?"
"Well… maybe Ryuji has finally reunited with his people." Jacob smirked.
"..."
Sophia's expression darkened. That was absolutely useless to her.
Not that she cared about Ryuji's death.
He wasn't one of her own.
Dead was dead.
At most, she had lost a few expendable guides—not exactly irreplaceable assets.
"That Ryuji was never as strong as he claid. There's no way he was SS-rank," she concluded.
Jacob nodded. "Exactly. If he really were SS-rank, he'd already be ruling over his own territory. No way would he be wandering around like a stray dog."
"You've got a point." Sophia agreed without hesitation.
The two of them didn't dwell on Ryuji's death for long. But their previous conversations with him had provided so useful intel—specifically, about Japan.
Apparently, parasitic creatures existed there as well. And more importantly, there was another Radiant Crystal.
The last Radiant Crystal they had tracked had ended up in Angeles National Forest, only to be snatched by a Zombie King. That loss still gnawed at Sophia.
So whenever Radiant Crystals were ntioned, she paid extra attention.
Additionally, Japan was ho to nurous second-stage mutated creatures. Their genetic material could be of imnse scientific value—perhaps even the key to developing a new evolution serum.
"We should consider sending a team to Japan," Sophia mused aloud.
Jacob raised an eyebrow, imdiately catching her implication. "Japan? That place is a death trap. People are doing everything they can to escape, and you want to go in?"
"In this apocalypse, nowhere is safe," Sophia countered. "Our company's research on evolution serums has hit a dead end. It's been ages since we've made any breakthroughs. If we stay stagnant, that's a bad sign."
If they wanted progress, they had to take risks.
High risk, high reward.
Jacob nodded slowly. "Fair point. We could give it a shot. Maybe send a few scouting teams first. We've taken in a lot of survivors from Rancho Cucamonga recently—why not use them? Let them test the waters. And if they don't make it… well, no big loss."
"That was my thought too," Sophia admitted. "But they're too weak. I doubt they'd be much help."
Jacob glanced at her. "Then do we have any better candidates?"
Sophia didn't answer right away. She fell into deep thought, her fingers tapping lightly against the desk.
Then, after a long pause, she suddenly lifted her head, her gaze locking onto Jacob.
"…How about you go?"
Jacob: "..."
...
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