Genesis Biotech was a global leader in biotechnology. They had even launched rockets into outer space and maintained partnerships with nurous countries, wielding vast resources and influence.
The branch in Los Angeles was just one of their many outposts, but even in this apocalyptic world, they were thriving.
"Genesis Biotech probably has a ton of good stuff…" Ethan thought to himself, already scheming.
But Genesis Biotech had at least a thousand Awakeners under their command. While Ethan was strong, he wasn't invincible. Taking them all down by himself was out of the question.
Even if he brought Bulldozer, Laura, the PhD zombie, and his two thousand elite zombies, breaking into their base still wasn't guaranteed.
Unless… he could command a horde of a million zombies. Then, he could storm anyone, anywhere, without hesitation.
Maybe it was ti to expand his territory.
Ethan's current two-thousand-strong zombie army only controlled the area around his building. He had initially gathered them just to keep his ho base secure and avoid being disturbed.
But now, Ethan was starting to think bigger—recruiting more forces, conquering new lands.
Over the next few days, Ethan continued his routine of devouring at and drinking blood. He absorbed all five crystal cores he had collected, significantly boosting his strength.
His Domain of the Dead expanded in range and could now be fully unleashed for twenty minutes, with even greater destructive power.
Nightfall.
Darkness blanketed the earth, and a blood-red moon hung high in the sky, staining the heavens with its ominous glow. It was yet another night of carnage.
The area around the building had been restless lately. Zombies from other territories had been wandering into Ethan's domain, growling at Bulldozer and his crew in a clear display of provocation.
These clashes often escalated into vicious brawls, with the two groups tearing into each other.
Of course, Bulldozer wasn't one to back down. He smashed the heads of any intruding zombies without hesitation.
Ethan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing into the darkness outside.
Suddenly, a faint squeaking sound echoed through the desolate streets. Monts later, pairs of glowing green eyes appeared, flickering with bloodlust.
From the sewers along the roadside, a swarm of massive rats erged. Each one was the size of a small pig.
The rats squealed and sniffed the air, clearly searching for prey. It didn't take long for them to lock onto the zombies below the building. With a frenzied charge, they sward over one of the zombies, sinking their sharp teeth into its flesh.
"ROAR—"
The zombie let out a pained howl as the rats clung to its body, biting and tearing. It staggered, trying to shake them off, but it didn't last long.
Within monts, the zombie collapsed to the ground, and the rats devoured it completely, as if it had lted into the swarm.
These mutated beasts treated zombies as a delicacy.
The commotion quickly drew the attention of other zombies, who charged at the rats in retaliation. But the rats were incredibly agile, darting back and forth with ease, making them nearly impossible to catch.
So of the rats even taunted the zombies, zigzagging around them and dodging their attacks, leaving the zombies growling in frustration.
Just as the rats were reveling in their dominance, a shadowy figure suddenly appeared, moving like the wind. With a flash of razor-sharp claws, the rats were sliced into pieces, their bodies falling to the ground in six neat segnts.
It was Laura, the female zombie.
Her speed and agility were unmatched, allowing her to easily overwhelm the rats. A sinister smile spread across her face as she turned the slaughter into a twisted ga.
But she wasn't the only one joining the fray.
From the shadows, a hulking figure erged. Bulldozer stepped forward, his massive hands grabbing a rat mid-air. His fingers tightened, and despite the rat's frantic kicking and high-pitched squeals, it was no use. With a sickening crunch, Bulldozer crushed the rat in his grip.
He licked the blood off his hand, his face lighting up with excitent.
Without missing a beat, he stomped forward, crushing another rat under his boot, reducing it to a bloody pulp. Then, he grabbed two more rats, twisting them apart with his bare hands as if he were snapping cucumbers in half.
The rats, clearly intimidated, began to scatter in all directions. Within monts, the swarm had vanished into the darkness, leaving the streets eerily quiet once more.
"Hehehehe~~~"
Bulldozer chuckled foolishly, holding two blood-soaked rats in his massive hands. He jogged off to a nearby alley, where he began gnawing on them like they were roasted sweet potatoes. Blood splattered everywhere, drenching his face in crimson.
He didn't dare eat them out in the open. Ethan had made it clear: Stop eating filthy things. That's junk food. If the boss caught him, he'd probably get scolded—or worse, looked down on.
Incidents like these—rat attacks or zombie provocations—had been happening frequently over the past few days. Ethan had grown so used to them that he didn't even bother intervening anymore.
...
The next morning.
Thick, oppressive clouds blanketed the sky, so dark they looked like ink. Before long, rain began to pour down in sheets. But this wasn't ordinary rain.
Mixed in with the raindrops were tiny black worms, falling from the sky like so grotesque gift from above.
It was a worm rain.
The worms, each about the size of a pinky finger, landed on the streets and abandoned vehicles, making a faint plip-plop sound as they hit the surfaces. Within minutes, they covered the ground in a writhing, squirming mass.
"Ugh…" Nina, who was inside the building, felt a chill run down her spine. The bizarre occurrences of the apocalypse were becoming more and more unsettling. Worm rain? What next?
Ethan stood by the window, his sharp gaze fixed on the scene outside. His brows furrowed slightly.
"What awful weather…"
He recalled a news report from before the apocalypse. Back then, there had been stories of "fish rain" in so places, caused by tornadoes sucking fish out of the water and dropping them from the sky. This "worm rain" was probably sothing similar.
But these worms weren't ordinary. Their mouths were lined with sharp, needle-like teeth, and they burrowed into zombie flesh with terrifying speed.
Zombies that were once agile and strong beca stiff and unresponsive after the worms entered their bodies, as if their movents were no longer their own.
Fortunately, Ethan's zombie underlings were highly intelligent. Before the worms could burrow too deep, they yanked them out and, in so cases, stuffed them into their mouths, chewing them up with relish.
Bulldozer, in particular, was completely unfazed. His thick skin made him practically immune to the worms' bites. He grabbed a handful of them and, like a kid eating chips, dumped them into his mouth all at once.
Apparently, he liked the taste.
He tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and let the worms rain directly into his mouth, as if he were drinking the rainwater.
"Ahhh—thank you, Mother Nature, for this feast!" he exclaid, his voice booming with delight.
...
The worm rain didn't last long.
Within a few minutes, it stopped, leaving the streets littered with worms.
They didn't seem to like sunlight, so they quickly burrowed into the sewers, soil, or cracks in the walls to avoid exposure.
In the alley next to the building, Bulldozer crouched near the wall, his massive fra hunched over. He scooped up a handful of worms from the ground and began popping them into his mouth one by one, like he was snacking on sunflower seeds.
Laura and the PhD zombie walked by and stopped to watch him, tilting their heads in curiosity.
"Hey, the boss said not to eat junk food," Laura reminded him, her tone half-scolding.
"Shhh!" Bulldozer pressed a finger to his lips, signaling for her to keep quiet. He didn't want Ethan to find out. Then, with a mischievous grin, he held out a handful of worms to Laura.
Laura tilted her head, her glowing eyes studying the wriggling worms for a mont. After so hesitation, she picked one up and popped it into her mouth.
"Mmm… not bad!" she said, her face lighting up with surprise.
The next thing you knew, she was crouched next to Bulldozer, the two of them munching on worms like kids sneaking snacks behind their parents' backs.
The PhD zombie, arms crossed and leaning against the wall, watched them with a look of utter exasperation.
"You two are going to get caught."
"We won't," Laura said confidently, not even looking up. "The boss loves staying inside. He barely ever cos out."
She seed to know Ethan's habits well.
But just as she said this, a shadowy figure appeared at the entrance of the alley. A pale, sinister face erged from the darkness, its expression cold and unreadable.
...
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