"Miss Aria is blessed with good fortune. I'm sure she'll make it through safely," one of the Monroe family elites said reassuringly.

Claire, however, couldn't shake her worry. "That Zombie King is ruthless and unpredictable. Who knows when he might change his mind?" Her voice trembled with anxiety—just the thought of her daughter in his hands was enough to make her stomach twist.

The Command Cruiser surged forward at full throttle, a streak of light tearing across the sky.

It wasn't long before they reached the outskirts of Xenorift—and what they saw made their blood run cold. The battlefield between the mutant beast horde and the Zombie Horde was a scene of utter devastation.

The ground was cracked and scorched, trees lay splintered and broken, and the air still carried the acrid scent of plasma burns. In some places, the earth had been blackened by the blast of a Starbreaker Cannon.

"This is... brutal."

The Monroe elites exchanged uneasy glances. "Looks like the Zombie King went head-to-head with the Xenobeasts."

Claire wasn't surprised. "It was bound to happen. Zombies are bloodthirsty monsters, and Xenobeasts are savage and territorial. Put them in the same place, and it's a massacre waiting to happen."

But what about Aria? Was she caught in the middle of all this?

Claire's heart pounded harder.

"Let's follow the trail of destruction. It should lead us to them."

...

The Command Cruiser dove deeper into the continent. As they flew, Claire's frown deepened. The Zombie Horde had carved a path straight through the jungle.

Among the fallen trees were the mangled corpses of Xenobeasts, blood soaking the ground. Some had been torn apart, others gnawed down to the bone.

The zombies weren't just savage—they were overwhelmingly powerful.

"What kind of zombie force is this...?" Claire muttered, shaken. She'd assumed the two sides were evenly matched, but this... this was a slaughter. The zombies had practically wiped out the entire Xenorift region.

"Aunt Claire!" A young man rushed over, breathless. "Radar just picked something up ahead!"

"What is it?" Claire asked quickly.

"A Dreadnought-class Starcruiser!" he said, his voice heavy with awe.

Claire fell silent. She knew what that meant—they were about to come face-to-face with the terrifying zombie faction.

Even as an SSS-rank powerhouse, she couldn't help but feel a chill crawl up her spine.

She glanced around. The other Monroe elites were just as tense, their expressions grim.

But no matter what lay ahead—fire, blades, or death itself—she would go. She had to. Her daughter was out there.

"Let's move in."

...

At the edge of the ruins, the zombies stood like sentinels, exuding a menacing aura as they guarded the perimeter, waiting for Ethan to return from the Forbidden Zone.

"I've got a feeling," Big Ears said, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the horizon. "When the boss comes back, everything's gonna change."

"What kind of change?" Shrimpy asked, curious.

"We're going back to Necroterra. We'll take back what's ours, tear through the continent, and wipe out the Heartland Zombie Kings. Then we'll be the strongest force on all of Originis," Big Ears said with a grin.

"You serious?"

"Dead serious. When that day comes, we'll be so powerful, the whole world won't be able to touch us. Honestly... it's gonna be lonely at the top." Big Ears let out a wistful sigh.

Shrimpy didn't seem too impressed. "So... are we ever going back to Earth?"

"Uh..." Big Ears blinked, caught off guard. "I mean... probably? Yeah, I think so."

Moments later, a flicker of light appeared on the distant horizon—fast, sharp, and heading straight toward them like a missile.

PhD and the other Zombie Kings stepped out from the Dreadnought-class Starcruiser's command deck, their eyes narrowing as they spotted the incoming vessel.

At the same time Claire spotted them, they had already locked onto her. The scanners on the Dreadnought were far more advanced than anything the humans had—nothing escaped their notice.

"Humans incoming," one of the zombies growled.

The undead around them stirred, snarling and twitching with excitement. Their bloodlust was palpable, their growls echoing like a low thunder across the battlefield.

The Command Cruiser slowed noticeably as it approached, clearly wary. It came to a hover at a cautious distance from the Dreadnought-class Starcruiser, not daring to get too close.

Onboard, the tension was suffocating.

"Are they gonna attack us?"

"Hell if I know…"

Everyone was on edge. And as they stared at the massive Dreadnought-class ship—once a symbol of human technological brilliance—now under the control of zombies, a bitter sense of irony settled in.

With a mechanical hiss, the Command Cruiser's hatch slid open.

Claire stepped out, the wind whipping through her hair. Her sharp eyes scanned the deck of the Dreadnought, where a sea of zombies stood packed together, their grotesque forms twitching with anticipation.

At the front stood several powerful Zombie Kings, their presence unmistakable.

"Where's your boss?" Claire called out, cutting straight to the point. "I'm here to negotiate with him."

"Our boss isn't here," PhD replied coolly. "You can't talk to him right now."

"Not here?" Claire and her team exchanged surprised glances. The tension in her chest eased slightly upon hearing that the white-shirted Zombie King wasn't around.

It was like that feeling when the scariest teacher suddenly leaves the classroom.

"Where'd he go?"

"Forbidden Zone," PhD said flatly.

Claire's brows lifted, and a strange sense of relief washed over her. Things just got interesting.

The Forbidden Zone was infamous—deadly beyond belief. Even SSS-ranked human elites had gone in and never come back. If that Zombie King didn't make it out either… well, that would certainly change the game.

Her mind started racing with possibilities. "What about my daughter? Can I see her?"

"No."

"What? Why not?" Claire's voice sharpened, her confusion growing.

PhD didn't hesitate. "Because your daughter is in the Forbidden Zone too."

Claire's eyes went wide. It was like the ground had been ripped out from under her.

She staggered back two steps, her face pale, her body frozen in shock.

Aria… had gone into the Forbidden Zone?

The hope she'd been clinging to shattered in an instant.

"Aunt Claire!" a young man rushed forward to steady her, catching her before she could fall.

The other Monroe elites quickly stepped in, trying to offer comfort.

"Ma'am, please don't panic. Just because she's in the Forbidden Zone doesn't mean she's dead."

"Yeah, the odds are slim, but there's still a chance—maybe one in ten thousand."

"Miss Aria is blessed. She's strong. She'll make it out…"

"Shut up!" Claire snapped, her voice sharp with fury. "None of that helps right now."

She clenched her jaw, her mind racing. Words were useless—what she needed was action.

After a long, tense pause, she seemed to come to a decision. "I'm not letting Aria face that place alone."

"Huh?"

Everyone around her froze. They knew exactly what she meant.

Claire was going in after her.

A wave of respect rippled through the group. Claire's love for her daughter was fierce, unwavering. She was willing to risk everything.

"Aunt Claire," the young man said solemnly, "with your strength, I believe you can find Aria and bring her back. You'll both make it out."

Claire nodded, her eyes thoughtful. "But I'm not going in alone."

As she said it, her gaze swept over the young man from head to toe.

"Uh…" he blinked, suddenly remembering how his big mouth had gotten him into trouble before.

Shit.

...

After a quick discussion, the group agreed—Claire and the young man would enter the Forbidden Zone to rescue Aria.

PhD watched them prepare, but didn't lift a finger to stop them.

If they wanted to go in, let them.

The more, the merrier.

He watched as Claire and the young man approached the edge of the Forbidden Zone. The air shimmered, space itself rippling like water.

Then, in a blink, the two of them vanished—swallowed whole by the shifting veil of the Forbidden Zone.

...

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