The growls grew louder with every passing second.
Hunter led the three survivors through the blood-soaked university grounds, his Tyrant Blade resting on his shoulder. Every few meters, abandoned vehicles burned fiercely, sending thick black smoke into the sky.
The apocalypse had completely consumed Horizon National University.
Hunter suddenly raised his hand.
"Stop."
The group immediately froze.
"What is it?" Ethan asked nervously.
Hunter didn't answer.
His Blood Sense had detected something strange.
The countless crimson silhouettes of the zombie horde continued advancing from the front...
But another signal remained perfectly still.
It wasn't red.
It was golden.
Unlike every infected creature Hunter had encountered, this one possessed an unusually powerful life force.
It was watching them.
Hunter slowly looked toward the rooftop of the administration building.
A tall figure stood there.
Its body was almost human.
It wore the tattered remains of a black suit.
Long silver hair swayed in the wind.
Most terrifying of all...
Its eyes glowed like molten gold.
The creature smiled.
Then it disappeared.
Hunter's pupils contracted.
"So fast..."
He had barely perceived its movement.
Even with Predator's Instinct, he couldn't track it.
A System notification suddenly appeared.
Warning!
A High-Rank Mutation has discovered the Host.
Scanning...
...
Scan Failed.
The target's level greatly exceeds the Host's.
Hunter frowned.
The System couldn't even identify it.
That meant only one thing.
The creature was far stronger than the Elite Zombie.
"Move," Hunter said calmly.
"We leave now."
No one questioned him.
The four sprinted across the campus.
Behind them, the endless zombie horde poured through the shattered front gate.
Hundreds of infected students flooded into the university.
Within seconds, the courtyard Hunter had fought in disappeared beneath a sea of undead.
The survivors shivered.
"If we had stayed..."
"We would've died."
Hunter nodded silently.
His enhanced senses suddenly caught another sound.
Engines.
Several military trucks sped toward the university entrance.
Soldiers wearing combat armor jumped from the vehicles, immediately opening fire.
Ratatatatat!
Machine guns roared.
Dozens of zombies fell.
The survivors' faces lit up with hope.
"The military!"
"We're saved!"
But Hunter didn't smile.
Instead...
His expression grew even more serious.
Through Blood Sense, he noticed something the soldiers hadn't.
Several powerful life signatures were hiding beneath the horde.
Suddenly...
A massive mutated zombie burst from the crowd.
It slammed both fists into the lead armored vehicle.
BOOM!
The truck flipped into the air before crashing upside down.
The soldiers screamed.
Another mutation leaped over the barricade.
This one possessed four muscular arms ending in razor-sharp claws.
It tore through an entire squad in seconds.
Gunfire became desperate.
Blood covered the street.
Hunter watched silently.
"The military is losing..."
Before anyone could react, the golden-eyed creature appeared once more.
It landed on top of a streetlight.
The battlefield instantly became quiet.
Even the mutated zombies stopped attacking.
They bowed their heads.
Hunter's eyes narrowed.
"They're... obeying it?"
The golden-eyed creature slowly looked over the battlefield before pointing one finger toward the soldiers.
The zombie horde roared.
Like an organized army, thousands of infected charged together.
The military line collapsed almost instantly.
Hunter realized something terrifying.
The zombies were evolving.
Not only were stronger mutations appearing...
They now had commanders.
The apocalypse wasn't creating mindless monsters.
It was creating an entirely new civilization.
The System suddenly rang.
Emergency Main Mission Updated
Escape Horizon City.
Difficulty: A
Objective: Leave the city alive within 72 hours.
Current Survival Probability:
9%
Reward:
Bloodline Evolution
Rare Equipment Set
2,000 System Points
Failure:
Death
Hunter looked toward the burning city beyond the university gates.
Smoke darkened the sky.
Explosions echoed from every direction.
Helicopters crashed from the air.
Buildings burned.
Human civilization was collapsing before his eyes.
Hunter slowly tightened his grip on the Tyrant Blade.
"If I want to save my parents..."
"I have to become much stronger."
Behind him, Ethan and the two girls looked at Hunter with complete trust.
Without realizing it, they had already accepted him as their leader.
Ahead of them lay a city filled with death, evolving monsters, and unimaginable dangers.
But hidden somewhere within that nightmare...
Was the path to becoming the strongest Tyrant.