The horde responded as one, rushing to the zombie's call. They piled onto each other, creating a grotesque pyramid of bodies beneath Zack. The writhing, climbing mass rose higher and higher, growing taller with every moment. It was a horrifying sight—a tower of corpses clawing its way toward him.
"Did the zombie just… retreat?" Erza gasped, her voice heavy with exhaustion as she watched from the construction site. She stared in shock as the wave of zombies that had surrounded them suddenly turned, heading toward the mushroom clouds. From her vantage point, she could see only a growing black mound, rising like a dark mountain on the horizon.
"Ego, scan it," Zack ordered, his calm voice cutting through the chaos as he hovered above the rising corpse tower.
"Analysis complete," Ego replied. "This zombie isn't human. It's made entirely of pathogenic material."
Zack's brow furrowed. "Not human? Are you saying this could be a mature form of the Sarcoma?"
"Yes, sir," Ego confirmed.
Zack's mind raced. "Track where the last horde came from."
A red route appeared on his display, marking a path on the map. Zack narrowed his eyes. "They're heading for the nuclear power plant."
The confirmation solidified his suspicions. Below him, the tower of zombies continued to rise, now nearly at his level. "Ego, deploy the spider," Zack said, his voice steady.
From above, a helicopter hovered as a mechanical spider dropped from its hatch, plummeting toward the horde. Its countdown timer was already active.
"Sir, you need to leave the area immediately," Ego urged.
Zack glanced one last time at the leader zombie, locking eyes with the creature. It tilted its head upward, letting out another silent roar of defiance. Ego's voice sharpened. "Sir, now!"
Finally, Zack fired his thrusters, blasting away from the scene at supersonic speed. Moments later, a bright flash lit the sky. The spider detonated, unleashing a sphere of white-hot energy. A mushroom cloud rose in its wake, engulfing the zombie horde below. Those caught in the center were vaporized instantly; others at the edges were charred to ash in the intense heat.
At the heart of the explosion, the leader zombie disintegrated in seconds. Without it, the rest of the horde scattered, wandering aimlessly once more.
Miles away, inside an armed helicopter, a woman in a sleek black combat suit watched the scene unfold on a monitor. Her expression was calm, but her eyes betrayed her shock. "The leader… it's dead," she said quietly.
Beside her, a rough voice broke the silence. "Plum, how are you going to explain this to the ?"
A heavily-accented Russian voice chimed in. "We were supposed to bring it back alive." The speaker was a towering man with a metallic sheen to his skin, his massive frame barely fitting into the cramped helicopter cabin.
In the corner, a man dressed like a traditional Japanese warrior sat silently, his mask concealing his expression.
The woman, Plum, shot the Russian a sharp glare. "I don't answer to anyone," she said coldly in his language.
The giant opened his mouth to argue but hesitated when he saw a strange flicker of white light in her eyes. He quickly shut up, shrinking back into his seat. Plum scoffed, turning her attention back to the monitor. Her gaze softened as she stared at the ruined city in the distance. 'I'm sorry… Mom couldn't save you…' she thought, a hint of sorrow crossing her face.
If Zack or Sophia had been there, they would've been stunned. Plum was none other than Lillian Lane—Sophia's mother.
The leader zombie's death brought the nightmare to an end, but the cost was devastating. The outskirts of New York City were reduced to a scorched wasteland. Roads, towns—everything had been obliterated in the blast. The hydrogen fuel cell's radiation turned the area into a lifeless zone, and radioactive dust began to spread.
Flying over the ruins, Zack's expression darkened. "Now I see why they call nukes the Sword of Damocles," he murmured. He had underestimated the destructive power—and the aftermath—of the hydrogen fuel cells. While not as devastating as a nuclear bomb, their radiation fallout was still deadly.
"This isn't a sustainable weapon," he decided. "When I get back, I'll cancel the self-destruct setting on the spider drones." With that, he turned his attention to designing a safer alternative.
As Zack returned to the construction site, the scene was grim. The once-overwhelming horde was gone, but their remains covered the area. Corpses filled every low-lying spot, forming hills of rotting flesh. The stench of decay was overwhelming.
"Ego, how many units are still functional?" Zack asked as he landed.
"Four mechanical dogs are operational," Ego replied. "Three are heavily damaged, and two are beyond repair. None of the spiders are functional; four are damaged, and six are completely destroyed. To prevent accidents, I've disabled their batteries."
"Scrap the damaged ones for parts," Zack ordered. Immediately, the remaining dogs began dismantling the broken machines, sorting usable components into neat piles.
In the distance, a helicopter approached, skirting the edge of the radiation zone. On the ground, Sarah, her red hair disheveled, led a group of survivors toward Zack.
"You…" Sarah hesitated, looking at him. "You saved us."
"Z-Zack…" she stammered. "I don't even know what to say…"
The helicopter began to land, its rotors kicking up dust. Zack glanced at it, then back at Sarah. "If you've got something to say, just say it. Am I that scary?" he asked with a faint smile.
Taking a deep breath, Sarah steadied herself and forced her voice to sound confident, the same energy she had as "Erza" coming through. "Zack, we want to join you!"
Zack blinked, caught off guard for a moment, before quickly piecing it together. "Alright."
"Huh? You… agreed?" Sarah stammered, just as surprised as the survivors standing behind her.
"Yeah," Zack said casually. "I don't mind having more people around. Food and water aren't a problem for me—I've got an unlimited power supply, and the drones help maintain order. Adding a few extra mouths isn't a big deal. But," his tone grew sharper, "you'll have to prove yourselves useful. You'll work for me."
"No problem!" Sarah agreed without hesitation. As someone who had managed a survivor base before, she knew the struggles of taking in new people—food shortages, riots, theft. What she didn't know was that Zack had already planned for such problems. He wasn't taking them in out of kindness—he needed workers.
The helicopter landed, and Zack gestured toward it. "Get on."
Sarah nodded but only managed a single step before her legs gave out and she collapsed.
"Erza!" The survivors rushed toward her in panic, but Zack caught her just before she hit the ground.
"Ego, scan her," he ordered.
"Her neural activity is weakened," Ego replied, its voice steady. "Moderate damage to her nervous system, likely from overusing her abilities."
"She's fine," Zack told the others calmly. "Just passed out from exhaustion." He gently placed Sarah on the back of a mechanical dog, which carried her onto the helicopter.
The survivors murmured their thanks, helping load supplies onto the chopper before boarding.
"Ego, stay with me," Zack said firmly, heading for the cockpit.
Starting the helicopter, Zack lifted off, the second chopper—controlled by Ego—rising right behind them. On the way to the steel plant, Zack spotted a group of three bombers and a fighter jet flying in formation in the opposite direction.
Switching to the radio frequency, he made contact. "Antonny, is that you?"
The response crackled through. "Yeah. We're heading back to the Capital base. Running low on fuel."
"Thanks for your help earlier," Zack replied sincerely, but his eyes shifted toward Ego.
"Ego, follow them. I want intel on the Capital's situation."