The subordinate closed the door quietly, afraid he would disturb his young master from whatever it was his young master was doing. Liutenant Liang freed him from his job in the Liang residence, however, he still considered the young man his young master.
Liang Xingbai was stressed out. Piles of paperwork were messily stacked on his desk. Several of them only required his sign, most of them required him to take a look. Liang Xingbai wanted to return back to the relaxing old times, before the apocalypse, but it was simply not possible. Humans created their own doom, he knew that.
Sighing, Liang Xingbai pushed his paperwork away to get a short nap.
Ever since the incident with his brother, his brother held it against him for some reason, his father was even more wary against him, and things went worse. Everyone, every citizen of Base B was estatic, calling Liang Xingbai a hero. Even though he was a hero, no one actually gave him a rank raise, things went by like a wind, and that soldier who reported to him was also said to be a hero. He became the head of Base B and felt like he had enough authority to boss him around.
Though, there was no way his father would let that happen just like that. His son being bossed around was equivalent to himself being bossed around. Sooner or later, the head of Base B would get it. Though, if his father planned to rid of him, he might just let it slide with a few disowning papers.
Rubbing his hair furiously, he gritted his teeth and fell asleep.
The thirty minutes sleep was horrifying. He had nothing to say about it. The human like zombie, perfect, exactly like a human, led the zombies. He didn't know how, but other than the slightly paler complexion, there was nothing different about this zombie. The zombie was not only stronger, but he was an intelligent one. His mind worked like those old people in the laboratory. Those people, though not pleasant, had a lot of things to do about humanity's survival until this day. Even his father would think twice about offending them.
He felt his whole body became rigid as the subordinate ran into the room after breaking down the door. He saw Liang Xingbai, covered in sweat and face full of horror. Once being a servant for the Liang family, he knew how ruthless the master could be. Things that could faze the young master was close to nil. If it terrified the young master, then something grave happened.
"Young master?"
Liang Xingbai composed himself, easing his erratic breathing. The zombie had bright red eyes and a tuft of green hair. Although so, the zombie looked so much like a human that even his father would be fooled. Throughout his dream, he saw the zombie giving his army instructions, so it should have a language, it should be able to somewhat talk. If there was such a zombie, wouldn't mankind be in danger?
"I-I...I need to talk to Colonel Sanders, please," Liang Xingbai told his subordinate who immediately ran over to do what he was asked to. Thoughts ran through Liang Xingbai's head as he imagined humanity's tragic end. No, it could be prevented.
If he could just talk to the colonel.
The young colonel entered the office, everything was neat, everything but Liang Xingbai, whose messy appearance stuck out more than his usual neatly combed hairstyle and clean fresh face. Knowing that something was definitely wrong when Liang Xingbai's subordinate ran to his part of the barracks, he immediately rushed over to Liang Xingbai's.
The lad muttered words like a lunatic. Approaching Liang Xingbai, he placed a hand on his shoulders as he muttered calming words. Almost immediately, the other calmed down, slowly relaxing.
"What's wrong?" Colonel Sanders asked as the young man looked up.
"It's terrifying, you must listen to this Sanders, you must!" the young man stood up and grabbed another chair for the colonel to sit down, "make yourself at home. I don't have tea at the mom-"
"Forget about the formalities!" Colonel Sanders groaned, "you clearly overworked yourself, look at what you did to your own body. If your subordinate came running into my office panting like a dog just to relay a single message, that you want to meet me, that meant something important."
"It is," Liang Xingbai started, "it was horrible. I saw it, I saw it in my dreams, Sanders, one day, humanity will perish if they continued to develop this thing called the X-Solution. Instead of a human, it would end up in the hands of a zombie, who mingled amongst the humans, looking like a human."
"Wait, you expect me to believe that?" Sanders chuckled, "Liang my friend, you are too imaginative. How do you even know about the X-Solution anyways? You are certainly, most certainly dreaming."
"It is in my dreams! And I fear that it is true!" Liang Xingbai claimed.
"If the situation is this grave, I'll talk with the higher ups about this, you will probably get promoted for this piece of information," Colonel Sanders sighed as he stood up, "if it is proven true."
"Believe me, it is."
The next few days, everything was calm, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Sanders started to doubt Liang Xingbai. Instead of attacking, they somehow seemed to retreat. No one thought it was strange that the zombies retreated without a reason. Because of this sudden development, Liang Xingbai was brought in front of the head of Base A. Almost all high ranking citizens of Base A was there.
Before he came here, which he predicted would happen, he told the subordinate to move his mother and his siblings to a safe place he had provided somewhere on Earth, with a lasting way of survival until a new generation of humanity could probably save Earth.
When he saw the head of Base A, he couldn't help but open his eyes wide. It was the powerful zombie that he saw in his dreams. He felt like he choked on a piece of stone. The head of Base A looked at him with a smirk, as if telling him that he had failed, and nothing could ever stop him from ruining the world.
"Liang Xingbai, due to being the zombie king and trying to spread terror in the army despite the terror there already is, you are sentenced to a lifetime in prison," the man dressed in pristine white clothes, as if he was a holy one, smiled fondly at the man being judged, "God of War, Liang Bing, what do you have to say about this one?"
Liang Bing didn't even spare a glance, "He is not my son anymore, what do I have to do with this? A disowned child trying to gain recognition by spreading false rumours to slander you, it was definitely a false move on his part. He destroyed his own life, and not my hands."
"Throw him in the prison!"
The cells were cold and dark, walls covered in mold. There would be a high chance of turning into a zombie inside the prison, for the prison wasn't well maintained. Food were just scraps that others didn't want to eat in order not to waste food. If the others had a party, they would be lucky if they could get a lot of food scraps. The people in the prison were deranged, and one was very happy, the old head of Base B.
"You ruined my life once," the guy gruffed, "haha, karma came biting back at you."
But Liang Xingbai didn't pay any heed to the insane man. No windows, the only ventilation available were the bars at the door, which was always locked. The soldiers didn't even want to go in here, more than they despised going to the battlefield. Several cells were even filled with corpses that were not killed.
Months passed, Liang Xingbai didn't know when they finally freed him, when the people finally asked him how to defeat the zombie king. Accused of being the zombie king, tortured mentally inside the prison. Humans fell to the deception of the previously head of Base A, and they suffered the consequences, for not noticing the subtle hints as they were blinded by their insatiable greed.
"You make it happen, you let him roam free," Liang Xingbai chuckled, "you let him grow, and this is what you get."
Colonel Sanders looked at Liang Xingbai, who had grown a shaggy beard over the course of a few months. His skin became paler, with noticable eyebags and yellowed cornea. Although his teeth were relatively fine, they were slightly yellowed over time of not brushing and only eating scraps. The once majestic hero had now became so horrid, all in the hands of his own people.
The people he tried to protect.
Liang Xingbai called upon the subordinate, who stayed loyal to him even though he went to prison. He did not go to prison with him, but he still came up to Liang Xingbai upon orders. Though, Liang Xingbai could see the disappointment in his eyes, as if those eyes were trying to tell him something.
"Where is my mother and my siblings?"
The subordinate's eyes looked down at the floor as he whispered raspily, "I failed."
"What!?!" Liang Xingbai couldn't hold it anymore. He fell backwards and was caught by none other than Colonel Sanders. Narrowing his eyes angrily, he tried to steady himself, albeit with shaky legs. Malnourished for a few months, he certainly looked horrible. The subordinate coudn't say anything to prove himself. It was indeed his failure.
Colonel Sanders had nothing he could tell Liang Xingbai. He also didn't believe him, even after those years of contributions and no promotions. Even after he gained his current position because of his friend's advice.
"On the way there, the master sent Shadow Soldiers to kill madam and young master's siblings," the subordinate said, "I can't do anything, I just felt myself black out before I woke up with a note saying that they are close relatives to the traitor, and should be executed."
Liang Xingbai couldn't believe it. HIs father was ruthless.
The days until the final war, where humanity finally pitted their all to fight the zombies quickly came. Though, he was certain that there would be no way humanity would win. Not with how they believed that their lives were the most important, selfish, greedy, egoistical.
"Does humanity have a chance?" Colonel Sanders looked at the neatly presented Liang Xingbai, neatly presenting himself for his last war. The atmosphere was grim, all faces in the barracks were grim. Even those inexperienced young masters joined the war with no other choices.
All of a sudden, a young man just slightly older than Liang Xingbai ran up to him and shouted in a deranged voice, "It's all because of you! It's your fault! I should be the hero! I should be the one that saved EVERYONE! You should've become a slaughter, ready to be sacrificed for the GREATER GOOD!"
Everyone looked at the crazy young man. His third brother, eager to make a foold out of himself.
Though, before he could make a move to kill Liang Xingbai, the windows broke open, a torrent of zombies suddenly came in when they were least prepared. The zombies were intelligent, but not as intelligent as adult humans. Slowly, they were decreasing in number, slowly until only the high ranked ones left. They had the same, if not, higher intelligence than humans, difficult to defeat even with teamwork.
Though, the zombie king seemed to want to suspend things as he led the army of undead slowly, as they dodged the bullets and murder weapons the last of the soldiers threw out. The battlefield were filled with red, purple, and blue stains. Sometimes, even green pus coming out of dead zombies and dead soldiers who were contaminated. Everything looked like it came out of a horror movie.
"Liang, will humanity have a chance?" Colonel Sanders kept asking the young man, who was also hit by 'stray bullets'. Even so, he kept walking towards the undead army with a rifle in hand, eyes fixed on the zombie king.
With a firm grave voice, Liang Xingbai said, "No."
"Humanity destroyed themselves."
Then, Liang Xingbai was pulled over to the zombie king, the rifle falling down with a clank on the hard soil. Colonel Sanders could only watch as the zombie king watched Liang Xingbai with great interest, as if choking, but keeping him alive at the same time.
"You almost ruined my plans," the zombie king smiled deviously, "but, if we do not go opposite ways the next time we cross paths, we can both be great rulers."
And with that, the zombie king gave Liang Xingbai a painless death, respecting him by preventing his transformation. Although he seemed upset losing such a pawn, he was previously human, and even as a zombie, he still kept his promises.
"Humans! I killed your hero! It is time you will be erradicated!"
And with that, the zombies finally took over the last of Base A, and the last of humanity finally perished. The world was destroyed by the humans' own hands, they could do nothing but accept the fate they created themselves.
The zombie king sat on his throne, but even within his cold unfeeling heart, he felt lonely.
It was lonely being on the top.