Apocalypse: King of Zombies - Chapter 395

Chapter 395: Mosca Peak
Ethan didn’t even acknowledge him—just walked right past like he didn’t exist, heading straight toward the compound inside the wall.

Chris followed behind, then turned back to toss out a warning. “Kid, you oughta be grateful. He just saved your ass. And take it from me—don’t go doing anything stupid.”

Logan clenched his jaw, veins bulging on his forehead. He was fuming, but in the end, he swallowed it down and didn’t lash out.

Visitors showing up in the desert Oasis? That was rare enough to stir up a buzz.

People were whispering, curious about where these strangers had come from.

Thomas led Ethan and the others into a wide wooden cabin—the kind of place that passed for official around here. It was where the Oasis leadership lived.

The place was barebones. A few wooden chairs scattered around, dim lights flickering and crackling overhead.

That buzzing? Not ambiance—just the sound of a power grid on its last legs.

Resources in the Oasis were scarce. After the apocalypse, civilization here had been knocked back decades.

Inside, a group of people was already waiting. All of them part of the Oasis leadership. At the center stood an older man, maybe in his fifties, hair graying at the temples but neatly combed, eyes sharp and full of life.

As soon as Ethan and his crew stepped in, the man stepped forward with a warm smile.

“Welcome, welcome! It’s been a long time since we’ve had visitors.”

“Thanks,” Ethan replied casually, not really looking at him.

Behind him, Sean glanced around, unimpressed.

“Man, this place is a dump. Your lights are about to die.”

“Uh… yeah, we’re a little short on power,” the old man said with an awkward but polite smile.

Thomas quickly stepped in to make introductions. “This is Franklin Hawke, the Oasis administrator.”

“Oh…” Ethan nodded, noticing the resemblance between Franklin and that young guy outside—Logan. The connection was obvious.

But Franklin was clearly a different breed—calmer, more humble.

Ethan didn’t waste time. “We’re here looking for a meteorite slab. It’s got strange markings on it. Have you seen anything like that?”

“A slab? With markings?” Franklin looked completely lost. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Ethan could tell just by looking at him—this was probably a dead end.

Maybe it was time to head back and go hunt that S-class mutant after all…

Still, he raised his hand and pulled out the Star Map slab.

The dim room instantly lit up, bathed in a soft, glowing radiance. The intricate patterns on the slab shimmered with a mysterious energy, and the two embedded Radiant Crystals sparkled like stars in the night sky.

“Whoa!”

Gasps filled the room.

Everyone’s eyes widened, locked onto the artifact. Under the glow, they felt lighter, more alert—like their very cells were waking up.

A treasure.

This thing was a damn treasure.

“Any of you seen this before?” Mia asked, scanning the room.

Franklin finally snapped out of it and shook his head quickly. “No. This is the first time.”

Mia sighed inwardly. Great. If the Oasis didn’t have it, chances were it hadn’t landed here at all. And that meant the responsibility was on her.

But just then, a woman stepped forward, eyes fixed on the slab.

“I think I’ve seen light like that before.”

“Where?” Ethan looked up, his voice sharp.

“Mosca Peak,” she said. “It was nighttime. I was far away, but I saw this faint white glow coming from the mountain. Looked a lot like this. I remember wondering what the hell it was.”

“Helen, anything else? Try to remember,” Franklin urged, clearly eager to help.

She shook her head. “That’s all. I was being chased by a monster at the time—wasn’t exactly in sightseeing mode.”

“Ah… alright,” Franklin said with a sigh, nodding.

Ethan was already thinking it through. Mosca Peak… it was right between the Oasis and Albuquerque. He’d seen it on the way in. It was within the meteorite impact zone. There was a real chance the Star Map slab could be there.

“Looks promising.”

“Finally,” Mia exhaled, relieved. “We’ll head out tomorrow. With any luck, we’ll find the slab.”

But Franklin looked at them, hesitated, then finally spoke up. “You can’t just head up to Mosca Peak like it’s a walk in the park. That place is insanely dangerous. The cracks between the rocks are crawling with venomous snakes, and there are Mutant Wolf Spiders—probably hundreds of thousands of them.”

“What? That many?” Chris and the others were stunned.

They’d seen their fair share of chaos, but a swarm of hundreds of thousands of monsters? That was next-level.

Franklin nodded emphatically. “Some of those spiders are the size of a damn car. I’ve seen them myself.”

“Ugh, spiders again?” Sean muttered, pulling a face. “I hate spiders.”

Mia flinched too, remembering the human-faced spiders they’d run into in the forests near L.A.

“Karma’s a bitch, huh…” she murmured.

Ethan shot her a glance, then paused, thinking. After a moment, he said calmly, “It’s fine. I’ve got an idea. We’ll head out tomorrow and check it out.”

“Oh?” Mia raised an eyebrow, surprised he’d come up with something so fast. Typical Ethan—always a step ahead, always scheming.

At least now they had a lead. Ethan decided they’d rest for the night and make for Mosca Peak in the morning.

With that, the group dispersed.

Thomas led Ethan and the others to a guest room to rest.

Night fell quickly. Darkness blanketed the desert, with only a few scattered lights flickering inside the Oasis. Beyond the walls, the wasteland stretched into pitch black, filled with the distant howls of mutated beasts and the eerie rustling of creatures crawling through the sand.

Ethan had barely left Franklin’s place when a knock came at the door.

It opened to reveal a young man—Logan, Franklin’s son.

“Dad, that guy’s carrying something powerful,” Logan said, stepping inside. “That thing could boost our strength. With it, we wouldn’t have to be afraid of the mutants anymore.”

“What are you thinking?” Franklin frowned.

“What do you think I’m thinking? We need to keep them here,” Logan said bluntly.

Franklin waved him off. “Don’t start with that nonsense. Go do something useful.”

“Nonsense? Seriously?” Logan’s voice rose. “They’ve got my cousin’s stuff. I’m telling you, I think they’re the ones who got her killed. What are the odds they just happened to find it?”

Franklin shook his head. “You’re just making things up now. They didn’t even know your cousin. Why would they hurt her?”

“Because she was beautiful,” Logan snapped. “Maybe one of them got the wrong idea.”

Franklin stared at him, speechless for a moment. Then he sighed and spoke with a heavy tone.

“Son, I get where you’re coming from. If they were just some locals, maybe you could push them around. But these people came all the way from Los Angeles. That’s not something just anyone can do.”

“Everything about them screams danger. We don’t want to mess with them.”

“Ohhh…” Logan dragged out the word, clearly unconvinced. “Fine, we don’t mess with them. But they’re planning to go after mutant creatures. I don’t care how strong they are—no one’s stronger than a swarm of monsters.”

…