The group charged up the mountain without hesitation.

With two Stage D Awakened leading the way, the remaining thousand-plus zombies didn't even make them flinch.

Zombies lunged at them constantly, but none could slow their advance.

Ethan and Chris took the lead, cutting a path straight to the summit like twin blades, the rest of the Fallen Star Squad right behind them.

Ethan still wielded his slightly warped barbell bar, while Chris dual-wielded two halves of one he'd sliced earlier.

Didn't slow him down at all—in fact, he was cutting through zombies even faster.

Once Chris coated the bars in that black energy, his kill speed went into overdrive.

His arms blurred, and any zombie that got close dropped instantly. The others watched with envy—Ethan included.

Eventually, Ethan borrowed the dagger from Chris and used [Telekinesis] to send it flying through the horde, the blade weaving through the air and stabbing into zombie necks with deadly precision.

Garrick, seeing how things were going, started hurling massive rocks into the crowd, flattening zombies by the dozen.

Sean activated his metal arm and began punching heads clean off with every swing.

The rest of the squad could only stand there awkwardly, watching the show.

Skinny Pete, who had just awakened his ability, was itching to jump in—but what was he supposed to do, charm a zombie?

So, the rest of them stuck to the basics—swinging barbell bars and smashing skulls.

In less than thirty minutes, they reached the summit.

That's where the real fight began.

They battled nonstop until after 5 p.m. By the end, every zombie had been wiped out—except for five Tier 5s with broken limbs.

Ethan had spared those on purpose. He planned to raise them into Tier 6s—Stage D zombies.

"Alright," Ethan said, brushing off some blood. "Let's go pick out a nice room."

There were eight luxury mansions at the top of the hill, each over 4,000 square feet, complete with gardens, courtyards, and swimming pools—definitely high-end real estate.

The air was clean, the view was incredible—no wonder rich people loved it up here.

The only downside? Grocery runs meant driving all the way down the hill.

Then again, people who could afford to live here probably didn't do their own shopping anyway.

All eight mansions had taken some damage, and the interiors were a mess—blood everywhere, furniture overturned.

Clearly, people had been living here when the apocalypse hit.

Honestly, survival odds in a place like this were way better than in regular neighborhoods.

Too bad their luck ran out—this place had spawned a Stage D zombie.

And for a zombie to reach Stage D that fast? No doubt it had hit Tier 1 on day one.

Zombies like that were absolute nightmares in the early days, when no one had time to react.

Even if there were survivors here, they probably didn't last long.

The group picked the least-damaged mansion and headed inside. They dropped their gear, cleaned up the place a bit, then collapsed onto the couches, completely wiped out.

Today had been brutal—over 5,000 zombies killed. They were all running on fumes.

"I'm gonna check the other mansions, see if there's any food left," Ethan said. "I'll cook something decent for you guys tonight. You rest up, then go dig out the crystal cores from those zombies. We worked hard for those—don't let them go to waste."

"Got it," everyone nodded.

"Ethan, we've already got a ton of crystal cores," Garrick said, frowning. "Do we really need to keep collecting the low-tier ones?"

"They're still energy," Ethan replied. "I've got a feeling they'll be useful later. Better to stock up now than waste time hunting for them later. If we can gather more, we should."

"Alright," Garrick said with a nod.

"Chris," Ethan added, "head down later and haul that iron cage up here. Set it up in the backyard and toss those Tier 5s in."

"On it," Chris replied.

Once the tasks were divided, Ethan headed off to check the other mansions, planning to gather whatever supplies he could find first.

These hilltop mansions, being so far from any supermarket, were bound to have stockpiled a good amount of food—bottled water, canned goods, pasta, big bags of rice, meat, dairy, frozen meals. The kind of stuff people eat daily and that stores well.

Sure enough, in the first mansion he entered, Ethan found a dedicated storage room packed with supplies: three fifty-pound bags of rice, frozen steaks, frozen pizzas, canned soups, beef jerky, flour, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, gourmet cheeses, luxury wines, and even organic veggie packs.

The other mansions turned up more of the same. Though two of them were oddly clean—too clean. Looked like the survivors there had lasted a while.

Unfortunately, once that Stage D zombie showed up, their fate was sealed.

Judging by how fresh the bloodstains were, the people in those two mansions had probably died just a couple days ago.

Ethan hauled everything back to their own mansion and stashed it in the storage room. With this haul, they wouldn't have to worry about food for a while.

Then he got to work cooking.

By the time night fell, the rest of the squad returned, lugging heavy packs.

It had taken them three hours to finish off the zombies, and another two-plus hours to dig out all the crystal cores.

Turns out, with so few people, even harvesting cores was a major operation.

That night, they sat down to a feast—celebrating their new home with full stomachs and sore muscles.

Over the next few days, Ethan led the Fallen Star Squad on sweeping raids through the surrounding area, clearing out threats and gathering resources.

Meanwhile, back at the Safe Zone, things were blowing up.

Under Zach's leadership, the National Guard broke away from the Safe Zone.

Mayor Marks was furious. He sent forces to intercept them.

A brutal battle followed. Both sides took heavy losses, but in the end, Zach managed to lead over three thousand soldiers out of the Safe Zone.

With the military gone, Mayor Marks seized full control and launched sweeping reforms.

He issued an ultimatum to all Enhanced and Awakened inside the Safe Zone: join his command—or leave.

That forced many Enhanced who didn't think they could survive outside to fall in line.

But others—those who craved freedom or had ambitions of their own—chose to walk away.

Inside one of the Safe Zone's buildings…

"Pack up. We're leaving," Miles said, slinging a backpack over his shoulder and looking at Connor.

But Connor didn't move.

"Miles, I've thought it through," Connor said seriously. "I think we're safer staying in the Safe Zone. We've got over a hundred brothers to look after."

Miles paused, then gave a small nod.

"Got it. Then I'm going. I hope you all make it."

He turned and headed for the door.

"Miles!" Connor grabbed his arm. "We've been brothers for years. Why can't you just stay with me?"

Miles looked him in the eye. "You remember what I said. If you joined the government, I'd leave."

"Why are you so against it? What's so bad about joining the government? We'd have food, shelter, safety. Isn't surviving the whole point of all this?"

Miles shook his head and gently pulled his arm free.

"We're not on the same path, man."

"Take care."

He turned and walked out.

"You walk out that door, I swear—you're gonna get yourself killed!" Connor shouted after him.

"Then that's my fate to face."

Miles didn't look back.

"Idiot," Connor muttered, clenching his fists in frustration.

…

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