Apocalypse: King of Zombies-Chapter 353: Lollipop Head

"Dad, this chocolate's for you," Naomi said, holding it out with a smile.

Hiro gently patted her head, his eyes soft with affection. "Nah, you eat it. You need the energy."

Around them, the others were busy unpacking their gear, pulling out whatever food they had left to refuel. Everyone was worn out, and it showed.

But it wasn't just exhaustion—some of their bodies had started to change.

One young man had a massive tumor bulging from his shoulder, nearly the size of his head. It looked grotesque, like something out of a nightmare. The mutation was from drinking contaminated water—clean sources had long since dried up.

Nearby, a teenage girl's face was covered in swollen boils, some as big as fists, others like peas. A few had even merged together, squeezing her eyes into narrow slits. Her skin was stretched and inflamed, the infection spreading like wildfire.

And they weren't the only ones. All around, more mutated survivors shuffled about—twisted, disfigured, barely recognizable as human anymore.

...

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Outside the town, Big Ears suddenly stopped dragging his feet. He straightened up slowly, brushing the dust off his oversized ears.

"They've stopped," he said, voice low. "They're holed up in that little town up ahead."

"Oh…" one of the other zombies muttered, nodding. Their glowing eyes narrowed, locking onto the town in the distance.

They were far from Los Angeles now. That town ahead? It was under San Diego's territory—not some no-man's-land.

The zombies Hiro's group had just wiped out? Those were under the command of San Diego's Zombie King.

"Humans actually ran here to hide?" Shrimpy muttered, his voice thick with disdain.

Mist looked confused. He was newer to the group and didn't know the history between Ethan and the San Diego zombie factions.

"What's the deal with this place?" he asked.

Big Ears puffed up, clearly enjoying the chance to tell a story. "Ah, that's a long one. You gotta go back to the Battle of San Bernardino. That's when we and the boss took down the Genesis Biotech outpost, wiped out the Rancho Cucamonga horde, and even killed that fat bastard—the Butcher Zombie King!"

He paused dramatically. "That was back in the day."

Mist blinked. "Wait, 'back in the day'? You mean this year?"

Big Ears shrugged. "Yeah, but saying 'back in the day' makes it sound more epic, y'know?"

Locomotive jumped in, picking up the thread. "That Butcher Big Ears mentioned? He was one of San Diego's Zombie Kings. That town up ahead? It's their turf."

"So those humans just wandered into enemy territory?" Mist said, catching on fast.

"Exactly," Big Ears nodded. "And they don't even realize how deep they're in it."Humans couldn't pick up on zombie brainwaves, so Hiro Saito and his crew had no clue. To them, this was just another abandoned town in the middle of nowhere.

They didn't know the zombies they'd just slaughtered had already sent out a psychic distress signal—one that was now echoing all the way back to San Diego.

Which meant something bad was coming.

Really bad.

If nothing went wrong, a full-blown zombie horde from San Diego would be here soon.

"Then what the hell are we still doing here?" Mist said, already panicking. "Let's get the hell out before they show up!"

He was always the nervous one, and the thought of a zombie swarm made his stomach turn.

But Big Ears twitched. His ears perked up. "Too late. They're already here."

"What? That fast?!" Mist's eyes went wide, glowing with fear.

"Awooooooo—!"

A chilling howl echoed from the forest behind the town, sharp and piercing.

Above, thick clouds swallowed the moon, plunging the world into darkness. A sudden gust of wind swept through the trees, bending them low, sending leaves flying in a chaotic swirl.

The forest rustled and groaned, as if something ancient had just awakened.

"Holy shit! Wolves too?!" Big Ears flinched, heart pounding. That howl had confirmed his worst fear.

"Quick! We need to hide—now!"

The four zombies scanned their surroundings and spotted a large pit nearby. Without hesitation, they dove in, crawling up to the edge and flattening themselves against the dirt. Only their eyes and the tops of their heads peeked out.

Four zombie heads, lined up in a neat little row, stared intently toward the forest.

Curiosity had gotten the better of them—they wanted to see what kind of force San Diego's Zombie Horde was bringing to the table. Call it recon.

A few tense seconds passed.

Then the trees began to shake. Leaves rustled, branches snapped, and a wave of dark, violent energy rolled out from the woods. Shadows flickered in the gloom, moving fast.

"Raaaargh—!"

With a guttural roar, the first wave of zombies burst from the treeline.

In seconds, the hillside was crawling with them—hundreds, maybe thousands. And these weren't your average shamblers. A good chunk of them were fast, agile, and clearly evolved. They tore across the landscape, heading straight for the town.

"They're pretty damn advanced," Mist muttered, eyes narrowing.

"Not bad," Big Ears agreed, watching them like a coach sizing up the competition.

"Where's their Zombie King?" one of them asked.

"No clue… hasn't shown up yet."

The others shook their heads. Not that it mattered—they weren't the target here. No need to panic.

But inside the two-story building in town, panic had already exploded.

Dozens of Japanese Awakeners were scrambling, nerves stretched to the breaking point.

Hiro Saito's eyes were wide with disbelief. "Where the hell did all these zombies come from?!"

He'd known something was wrong the moment that wolf howl echoed through the trees.

The young man with the tumor on his shoulder stammered, "M-maybe… maybe it was the zombies we killed earlier? Maybe they triggered the horde?"

"Damn it!" Hiro cursed, his brow furrowing. He hadn't expected that killing a few zombies would stir up this kind of hell. But now it was obvious—this town wasn't abandoned. It was part of a Zombie King's territory.

That was the only explanation for a horde this size.

"We can't stay here. We need to move—now!"

"Right!" the group shouted, bolting for the exits. No one bothered with their gear. Some didn't even try the door—they just smashed through the windows.

Outside, the night air was cool, but the danger was burning hot.

From the rooftops, elite zombies were already leaping down, snarling as they landed.

"Lightning Field!" Hiro shouted, summoning a crackling web of electricity around him. The electric net sizzled, frying the first wave of attackers and buying them precious seconds.

But not everyone made it.

A few stragglers were caught—tackled to the ground by the undead. Their screams tore through the night, raw and desperate, before being drowned out by the guttural roars of the horde.

Hiro didn't look back. He grabbed Naomi's hand and ran like hell, sprinting toward the edge of town.

Behind them, the zombies gave chase, relentless and fast.

...

Back in the pit, Big Ears and the others watched the chaos unfold like it was a live-action movie.

"Go, go, go! Don't let 'em catch you!" Big Ears whispered, eyes wide.

"Man, they're gonna get eaten if they keep running like that," one of them muttered.

"Tsk, amateurs. No technique at all," another added.

Mist slapped his thigh in frustration. "Damn it! We've been tailing those humans for ages—they're our prey!"

He wasn't just annoyed—they had a code. Ethan's code. You don't let your food fall into someone else's mouth.

"Wait… hold up. I think their Zombie King just showed up," Big Ears said, eyes lighting up.

"Oh?" The others turned to look where he was staring.

From the shadows of the forest, a figure emerged.

Even from a distance, something about it was… off. The body was thin, almost frail. The limbs were long and wiry. But the head—Jesus, the head was massive.

"What the hell is that thing? Big Head? Lollipop Head?" Big Ears muttered, squinting.

As the figure stepped out of the trees and into the open, the moonlight finally revealed its face.

It was gaunt, skeletal, with a grotesquely oversized skull. Veins bulged across its forehead like a roadmap, pulsing with dark energy. The features were crammed together, distorted by the sheer size of its cranium.

It looked like a nightmare come to life.

...