Chapter 4
545words
The world fell terrifyingly silent.
The survivor count froze at 100.
A cold, mechanical voice echoed across the wasteland.
"Phase one screening complete."
"100 survivors remaining. Initiating phase two: zombie apocalypse."
"Happy hunting, tributes."
The moment those words faded, I switched all monitors to external feeds.
On screen, the corpses of freshly-killed tributes suddenly twitched.
Then another. And another.
The charred, mangled bodies creaked and twisted as they rose from the ground, defying all natural laws.
In their hollow eye sockets burned the same crimson glow as the planet's molten core.
The virus spreading through volcanic ash—or rather, the ancient plague awakened by my manufactured disaster—revealed its true horror.
"AAAAH! MONSTERS! WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE THINGS?!"
"HELP! STAY BACK! OH GOD, STAY BACK!"
The public chat flooded with screams and desperate pleas. Tributes who'd just celebrated surviving my trap found themselves in a deeper nightmare.
I muted the public channel. The carnage held little interest for me now.
My fortress lay three hundred meters beneath the earth.
The surface chaos couldn't touch me here.
I activated the final defense protocol.
At the base entrance, a massive alloy mesh rose from underground, sealing off the entire perimeter. Above it, an invisible electric field crackled, ready to incinerate any airborne threats.
The satellite feed flickered through the ash cloud, but I still caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.
Luna.
She was cornered by zombies, backed against crumbling ruins, clearly desperate.
She was powerful, but the zombies were endless.
Just as I thought she was finished, a different kind of monster appeared at the edge of the frame.
It towered over the other zombies, a jagged bone crown erupting from its skull. It moved not with shambling steps but with predatory grace.
The Zombie King.
It ignored all other prey and charged straight for Luna.
SQUELCH!
Its claws tore through Luna's protective suit and impaled her shoulder.
Black-purple veins spread rapidly from the wound.
I picked up my tea, ready to enjoy watching her transformation into one of those mindless beasts.
But Luna let out a chilling laugh just before the infection could consume her.
In her hand appeared a pulsating pink cocoon of light.
"A-class ability: Love Cocoon."
With her remaining strength, she pressed it against her chest.
The cocoon melted into her body, and a pink energy wave expanded outward with her at its center.
The Zombie King, jaws inches from her throat, suddenly froze.
Its crimson eyes fixed on Luna, no longer filled with hunger but with... devotion.
It dropped the chunk of flesh from its mouth and gently—almost tenderly—caressed Luna's cheek.
Then it unleashed an earth-shattering roar.
The surrounding zombies immediately backed away, forming protective rings around Luna.
I spat out my tea. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!"
Seriously? Zombies can fall in love now?
Over the comm channel, Luna's voice returned with a hint of manic triumph.
"Vesper, darling... just you wait!"
She had somehow reverse-infected the Zombie King, becoming the queen of this undead army through her "Love Cocoon."
I watched the survivor count plummet as her zombie army rampaged across the wasteland.
200... 150...
Finally, it stopped at 50.
I cut the communication.
"Well played."
