"Man, these bios are a trip," Zane chuckled as he scrolled past Landon's profile. The shelter's website wasn't just about the rescue squad; it had a whole mess of sections like help requests, community aid, and chat forums.
The chat was buzzing with folks letting off steam.
"Yo, I'm starving over here! Anyone got a bite to eat? I'll trade you some modeling tips..."
"Dude, wish I could help, but I'm scraping the barrel too."
"I'm so hungry, I could whip up some 'milk' for ya..."
"The guy above, you talking real milk or what?"
"LOL, I scored a quarter of a ramen block for digging yesterday. Didn't even water down the soup, just to flex a bit."
Clearly, the shelter was on a tight leash with resources, but hey, people power keeps the wheels turning, hence the whole rescue gig.
In the mix, someone dropped a link to a report from Quantum Leap Innovations.
'Check it out, our latest scoop says high-level zombie skulls can be turned into Brain Nexus. Humans who get a hold of this stuff can boost their strength big time. So, we're launching the 'King Hunt Operation' to bag us some zombie kings!'
Quantum Leap Innovations, once famous for their 'Zombie Wipeout Strategy', were now stirring the pot with their new zombie king roundup.
As Zane mulled this over, a gut-wrenching sob broke his train of thought.
"What's got him bawling now?"
It wasn't Zoe; this cry was all Jake.
Zane swung the door open, and there stood Jake, muscles stacked, but with a nasty burn mark on his mug and a couple of bullet wounds that seemed to be healing up.
"Wuuu wuuu wuuu~~~"
Jake, now evolved enough for basic feels, was sobbing his heart out.
"Some dudes roughed me up..."
"What went down?" Zane asked.
"Wuuu wuuu, wuuu wuuu, wuuu."
Jake flailed about, trying to spill the beans but his smarts weren't quite there.
Just then, Nathan popped out from behind him.
"It's the humans... they've taken over the joint, looking to hunt us. One of them's got a Core crystal, can whip up flames and all."
"Gotcha," Zane nodded, piecing it together.
Once a human's Brain Nexus evolves into a Core crystal, they get special powers. This one could play with fire.
"Core crystal... wonder how that tastes?" Zane mused. He'd tried mutated beast meat and Brain Nexus before, pretty tasty stuff, but never a Core crystal. Bet it's a cut above.
After chilling at home for a couple of weeks, Zane figured it was time to hit the streets. He signaled his crew to gear up for a hunt.
"Roar—"
Jake wiped his tears, let out a mighty roar.
That roar set off a domino effect. Thousands of zombies nearby perked up, their roars filling the air.
Zane stepped out, flanked by his three lieutenants: Jake, Xiao Ba, and Nathan.
Trailing them, a massive horde of fierce zombies ready to rumble.
This massive crew of zombies, straight out of a horror flick, could totally rule in this end-of-days chaos. Even the mutated rats and snakes peacing out on the streets couldn't handle their vibe and bolted.
"Let's roll out!"
"Roar—"
On Zane's cue, the zombies belted out a beastly roar and stormed off, making a beeline for the prison.
...
Meanwhile, inside the prison, over a hundred folks from 'Quantum Leap Innovations' were on lockdown. They were all suited up in battle gear, chilling behind the high walls and watchtowers. Regular zombies? No sweat, they couldn't touch them.
In a cozy room, Finnley Pratt, a dude who could play with fire, lounged on a couch while a couple of ladies kept him company in a way that was definitely NSFW.
For Finnley, scoring company in this wrecked world was a piece of cake—just toss them some bread.
Pre-apocalypse, Finnley was just another office guy. Now, he's living it up with Quantum Leap Innovations, enjoying the good life.
"Living the dream~~"
Finnley couldn't help but grin.
Not many folks had managed to snag a Core crystal like him.
After offing some top-tier zombies and snagging their Brain Nexus, Finnley was a big deal among the humans.
"Man, I could totally be the main guy in a doomsday flick," he thought.
In this wild new world, he had grub, drinks, and the ladies who wouldn't even look his way before were now at his beck and call. Talk about a glow-up...
Suddenly, someone burst in.
"Mr. Finnley, our drones just spotted a zombie mob heading this way."
"Zombie mob?" Finnley stayed cool as a cucumber.
He figured if there was a mob, there had to be a zombie boss. Perfect chance to grab another Brain Nexus.
"Let's check it out."
Finnley climbed up to the watchtower and peered out. Sure enough, there was a dark swarm on the move.
Countless zombies were sprinting, their roars non-stop.
"They look tough... Let them get closer, then light 'em up."
"Roger that," came the reply.
As the zombie squad got near, on command, the guards unleashed a storm of bullets.
But Zane's crew, a bunch of evolved tough guys with healing powers, shrugged off the bullets.
They picked themselves up and kept charging.
Soon, they were piling up against the high walls, stacking up like a gruesome ladder.
"Hehehehe~~"
Zoe cackled, her leap game strong. She used a zombie as a springboard and vaulted onto the wall.
With a slash of her claws, she took out a guard.
Meanwhile, Jake grabbed a massive rock, spun around like he was in the Olympics, and launched it.
"Boom!"
The rock blasted the watchtower, sending folks tumbling down.
"Something's fishy..."
Finnley sensed trouble, realizing these weren't your average zombies.
Then a crossbow bolt zipped past.
It nailed a guard right next to him in the head.
"What the...???"
That's when Finnley really got the picture...