Meanwhile…

"Ethan, that guy back there—he was a government official, right?" Sean asked, frowning.

"Yeah."

"So… we just killed a government official. Isn't that gonna be a problem?"

"It will," Ethan said calmly. "But not killing him would've been a bigger one."

Garrick scratched his head. "Well, I guess that means we've officially pissed off the government. We'll have to watch our backs from now on."

Ethan glanced at him, then at the others. "You scared?"

"Hell no," Garrick snorted. "It's the government, not God. The world's not what it used to be—what's there to be afraid of?"

"Good," Ethan said, nodding. "Remember this: in the apocalypse, power talks. As long as we're strong enough, even the government has to think twice."

He paused, then added, "Besides, they've got their hands full. They're not gonna go all-out over one dead Thomas—unless, of course, the government's started doing favors for private interests."

Chris's eyes widened. "Wait… you think this was personal?"

"Think about it," Ethan said. "Thomas showing up in Vivian's squad? Doesn't add up. There are people all over the place begging for help—why waste a government envoy on her team? Unless he wasn't there on official business."

He let that hang for a beat, then continued, "Some people are trying to build their own private armies."

The others exchanged looks, eyes narrowing.

"You don't mean…" Sean started.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Ethan cut in. "Point is—we move carefully from now on."

"Got it."

They made their way into another commercial district, and Ethan led them up the tallest office building he could find. From the rooftop, the city stretched out in all directions—broken, overgrown, and crawling with the dead.

This was Ethan's edge. High ground, wide view. The best way to spot high-tier zombies. It had never failed him.

Sure enough, it didn't take long before he locked eyes on a Tier 5 target. Without hesitation, he led the squad down to hunt it.

—Safe Zone—

When Mayor Marks got word that Thomas had been killed, his fury was immediate and absolute.

He issued a city-wide warrant on the spot. Ethan Cole's face—and those of his squad—were plastered across every wall, checkpoint, and digital board in the Safe Zone. Anyone who could provide information on their whereabouts would be rewarded with crystal cores from the Authority's own vault.

This time, Ethan had miscalculated. Mayor Marks wasn't letting it slide.

He wanted to send a message: even in the apocalypse, the government was not to be trifled with. Someone had to be made an example.

The moment the bounty went live, every half-decent Awakened in the Safe Zone lit up with excitement. A Tier 4 crystal core for a confirmed location? That was a prize too tempting to ignore.

For most Awakened, a Tier 4 core was a game-changer—power, status, survival. And now, all they had to do was find one squad of fugitives.

—Elsewhere—

Victor's estate.

"You're sure it's the group Ray mentioned?" Victor asked, eyes fixed on the house manager below him.

"Positive, sir. I showed Young Ray the photos. He confirmed it himself."

Victor leaned back, thoughtful. "Didn't expect them to piss off Mayor Marks this fast."

He smiled faintly. "All the better. Have Ray reach out to them tonight. Tell them if they join us, the Harlan family will guarantee their safety."

"Yes, sir."

While Mayor Marks was busy planning Ethan's capture, Colonel Reyes had bigger problems—namely, a Tier 6 zombie.

He'd already restructured his forces. Every squad sent out now had at least two thousand troops. He thought that would be enough.

He was wrong.

Just hours ago, one of those two-thousand-man units had been ambushed. They hadn't been wiped out, but the losses were brutal. Because this time, the Tier 6 had shown up.

It tore through the ranks like a demon, ignoring bullets, shrugging off firepower, and plunging into the heart of the formation with terrifying speed. The survivors described it like a nightmare—unstoppable, unkillable.

Reyes hadn't seen it himself, but the reports were enough to make his blood run cold.

Standard rifles and SMGs were useless. Heavy weapons could hurt it, but they were too slow, too clunky. The thing moved like a blur.

He'd known, deep down, that firearms might eventually lose their edge. But he hadn't expected it to happen this soon.

And now, for the first time, he felt real fear.

Because if guns stopped working, the Safe Zone wouldn't be safe for long.

And yet, some government officials still clung to the illusion of control—still thought they could rule the ashes like kings.

Colonel Reyes let out a long sigh, then pulled a crystal core from his coat pocket.

It was the biggest prize from the last operation—a Tier 5 core, gleaming faintly in the dim light.

According to protocol, any high-tier crystal cores were supposed to be turned over to the Safe Zone Authority for centralized distribution. The top brass—both military and civilian—would vote on how to allocate them.

But this time, Reyes wasn't handing it over.

Because lately, the votes had been skewed. The civilian leadership outnumbered the military, and if it came down to a show of hands, this core would almost certainly end up in some bureaucrat's drawer.

And for what? The soldiers were the ones out there bleeding for these things. The government officials just sat behind desks, managing spreadsheets and issuing orders from the safety of the base. What the hell did they need a Tier 5 core for?

Still, Reyes didn't plan to use it himself. It wouldn't do him much good.

He turned the core over in his hand, thinking. Then he slipped it back into his pocket and walked out of the room, decision made.

—Elsewhere—

The Fallen Star Squad, with Ethan at the lead, was still on the hunt for Tier 5 zombies.

But they were getting harder to find.

Even with Ethan scaling building after building, scanning the city from every rooftop, the results were underwhelming. By nightfall, they'd only managed to locate three.

Two had been holed up inside buildings—easy kills. They'd just blocked the exits and cut them down.

The third had been buried in the middle of a massive horde. That one had cost them time—over a thousand zombies had to be cleared before they could even get to it.

By the time they finished, the sky had gone dark. They had no choice but to head back to their base at Lakeview Estates.

Nighttime wasn't zombie-hunting time.

Most of the city's streetlights had long since been destroyed or knocked out. In the pitch black, the undead could see you—but you couldn't see them. Fighting like that was suicide.

Even Ethan wouldn't risk it unless he kept his [True Sight] active the entire time—and that burned through energy fast.

So once the sun dipped below the horizon, everyone knew the drill: get home.

The power grid hadn't completely collapsed yet, but no one dared turn on lights at night. It was like lighting a beacon for every zombie in a five-block radius.

Well—no one except Ethan's crew.

Lakeview Estates had been cleared of zombies weeks ago, and with no other buildings nearby, they could afford to keep the lights on. They only shut them off when it was time to sleep.

This time, they'd gone farther out than usual. By the time they made it back, the sky was fully black.

They hadn't even started cooking dinner when someone knocked on the door.

Ethan sighed and gave a small shake of his head, then motioned for Skinny Pete to get it.

"Seriously? No food again?" Pete grumbled as he opened the door.

Ray stood outside, looking mildly exasperated.

"Can you not?" Ray said. "This is important."

"Everything's important," Pete replied. "But it's the apocalypse. You show up at someone's door, you bring food. That's just manners."

"..."

"Let them in, Pete," Ethan said with a chuckle.

"Fine, come in. But next time, bring snacks or something."

"...Noted," Ray muttered as he stepped inside.

...

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