Apocalypse: King of Zombies - Chapter 937

937: Can we trade powers?

937: Can we trade powers?

“That cat was probably someone’s pet before,” Henry guessed, eyeing the orange feline.

“Must’ve spent a lot of time around people.

Then after it mutated, its brain got a boost-now it can understand some human speech.” Ethan nodded, agreeing with the theory.

He crouched down and looked the orange cat in the eye.

“So what are you saying?

You want us to let you go… and you’ll be our pet?” The orange cat bobbed its head quickly, eyes bright with intent.

“And why the hell should I trust you?” Ethan asked, skeptical but intrigued.

“What if I let you go and you bolt?” Truth be told, he really did want a pet like this.

It’d be a hell of an asset.

But if loyalty wasn’t guaranteed, it wasn’t worth the risk.

The cat seemed to think for a moment, then lifted its head.

That’s when they noticed the small bell around its neck.

Because the cat had grown so much in size, the bell had been buried deep in its fur, cinched tight.

None of them had seen it before.

“You want me to take this off?” Ethan asked, puzzled.

The cat nodded again, eyes gleaming like it was handing over something precious.

Curious, Ethan reached out and tugged the bell free.

He turned it over in his hand.

Just a regular bell-nothing special.

But the orange cat stared at it with a look of deep reluctance, like it had just parted with its most treasured possession.

And in a way, it had.

That bell had been put on by its owner, the one person it’d loved most.

Even when it started to hurt, it had never tried to take it off.

Most cats were wild at heart, sure-but not all.

This one had lived with its owner for eight years.

Just the two of them, inseparable.

Then the apocalypse hit.

One day, its owner turned into a zombie.

That’s when the cat snapped-became aggressive, violent.

That’s why it had attacked Ethan’s group in the first place.

But deep down, it didn’t hate humans.

If anything, it longed for another bond.

It had thought it was going to die.

But when it heard Ethan’s words, it jumped at the chance to show its sincerity.

In its mind, giving up the bell-its most beloved thing-was proof enough.

Ethan, however, was still baffled.

This?

This is supposed to convince me?

But then he caught the way the cat looked at the bell-like it was watching a piece of its heart leave its body-and something in him softened.

He glanced over at Chris and Henry.

“Try easing off its legs a bit.” Chris raised an eyebrow.

“You’re not seriously trusting it, are you?” “Let’s just see what happens,” Ethan said with a shrug.

“If it tries anything, we kill it.

We caught it once, we can catch it again.” The cat was fast, sure-but not faster than Ethan’s eyes.

Chris hesitated, then sighed.

“Alright.” The two of them lifted their feet, staying ready to strike if needed.

The moment they did, the orange cat rolled upright in one smooth motion.

But it didn’t attack.

Didn’t run either.

Instead, it looked at the bell in Ethan’s hand, then quietly padded over and curled up at his feet.

“…” The group stared, more than a little surprised.

Ethan reached out and gently patted the orange cat’s head.

To his surprise, it didn’t flinch-if anything, it looked like it was enjoying it.

A grin tugged at his lips.

“Alright then.

From now on, your name’s Pumpkin.” “…” “Ethan, that name is…” Henry started, clearly unimpressed.

“What?” Ethan shot back.

“It’s…

perfect,” Henry said, deadpan.

“Heh, damn right it is,” Ethan said, pleased with himself.

Chris, still uneasy, frowned.

“You sure this is a good idea?” “Not completely,” Ethan admitted.

“We’ll keep an eye on it for now.” “If it really is loyal, though, it could be a huge boost to our strength,” he added.

“Alright, let’s go find that zombie.” “Got it,” Chris and Henry said in unison.

The three of them headed back toward Mirror Lake, Pumpkin trotting close behind.

Didn’t take long before they spotted a Tier 2 zombie loitering lakeside-looked like it was on a date with another undead.

“Pumpkin, go!” Ethan ordered, wanting to see what the cat could really do.

If it turned out to be useless, better to deal with it now.

Pumpkin seemed to understand exactly what he meant.

In a flash, it launched itself at the zombies.

It closed the distance in seconds, leaping straight at the Tier 2’s throat.

One swipe, and blood sprayed like a burst pipe.

The zombie roared and swung at Pumpkin, but the cat was too fast-darting and weaving, always just out of reach.

Each time it struck, it went for the neck.

Within moments, the Tier 2’s throat was shredded, vertebrae cracked, and the thing collapsed in a heap.

“Damn, that’s brutal,” Chris muttered, impressed.

Ethan nodded.

“Yeah.

It’s got bite.” By the time they walked over, Pumpkin had already taken care of the other, lesser zombie too.

As they approached, the cat bounded over to Ethan and sat proudly at his feet, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“Well done, Pumpkin,” Ethan said, scratching its head with a grin.

Chris stepped up to the corpse, raised his bat, and smashed the zombie’s skull with a wet crunch.

He dug around for a moment, then pulled out the crystal core.

“This one should go to Ethan,” he said, glancing at Henry.

“Obviously,” Henry agreed.

Chris handed it over.

“Here.” Ethan didn’t hesitate.

Both Chris and Henry had already caught up to Tier 2-he needed to push for the next level.

He swallowed the core.

Instantly, energy surged through him, flooding every vein, nerve, and muscle fiber.

Feeling the power settle in, Ethan exhaled.

“Yeah… definitely need Tier 2 cores to move past this point.” “The last Tier 2 zombie we know of is over by Patterson Hall,” he said.

“After that, it’s just massive hordes.

Not worth the risk.” “Then let’s take care of it today,” Henry said.

“New Tier 2s will probably pop up tomorrow anyway.” “Alright.

Let’s move.” They made their way toward Patterson Hall.

As soon as they arrived, all three of them stopped in their tracks, eyes going wide.

Zombies in pajamas-college girls, no less-bouncing with every step.

Compared to the ones over at Bates West, these were practically eye candy.

“Man, we should’ve been hunting zombies here from the start,” Henry said, whistling low.

“You sure you’re here to kill zombies?” Ethan gave him a look.

“He probably just wants to see if the pajamas are hiding any rot,” Chris snorted.

“…” “I can tell you right now,” Ethan said, deadpan.

“They’re not.” Henry blinked.

“How do you know?” “I can see through things, remember?” “…” “Ethan, let’s trade powers.

I take back everything I said-your ability isn’t weak at all.

It’s god-tier.

Please.” Ethan laughed.

“Too bad.

No trades.

Come on, let’s find that Tier 2.” He led them to a dorm building nearby, where the target was supposed to be.

But as they looked ahead, their jaws dropped.

“E-Ethan… you sure this one’s doable?” Chris asked, voice tight.

“When I scouted it, there were only twenty,” Ethan said, swallowing hard.

Now, the entire courtyard was packed.

Easily five hundred zombies, maybe more.

“Someone must’ve led them here,” Henry said.

“Yeah.

Look-fresh blood in the middle.

Some idiot probably screamed their lungs out and dragged every undead in the area over,” Ethan muttered.

“So… can we still fight this?” Henry asked.

“How?

There’s at least a hundred Tier 1s in there.

If we get surrounded, we’re screwed unless we can fly,” Ethan said.

“Guess we wait till tomorrow,” Henry sighed.

Chris glanced at Pumpkin.

“What if we send the cat in?

It’s fast-might be able to take out the Tier 2 and get out.” Pumpkin immediately arched its back, glaring at him like he’d just suggested it jump into a meat grinder.

Yeah, it understood that.

“Forget it.

Too risky,” Ethan said, shaking his head.

“We can skip this one.

Get some rest.

There’ll be more Tier 2s tomorrow.” “Alright,” Chris agreed.

They were just about to turn back when a sudden stampede of footsteps thundered behind them.

They spun around-and their faces went pale.

A group of college girls was sprinting toward them, screaming for help.

Behind them, a massive horde of zombies gave chase.

The girls spotted Ethan’s group and ran even harder, yelling louder.

“Shit!” the three of them cursed in unison.

Ahead of them, the five hundred zombies turned at the noise, eyes lighting up with hunger.

They started charging too.

Just like that, Ethan and the others were caught in a perfect pincer-zombies in front, zombies behind.

“Holy shit,” Henry groaned.

“We never should’ve come to Patterson Hall.” …