Sea of the Undead

"Hey, what's your name?" The lion broke the silence first, turning to look at Yang Tian, ignoring the scowl of the hound beside him.

"Yang! You can call me 'Young,'" Yang Tian replied, his hand absentmindedly touching the knife at his belt. One truth remained regardless of the world: the most dangerous adversaries were always your own kind.

"So... you're from where?" the lion asked, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Sorry, but..." Yang Tian gave a bitter smile and shook his head. What could he say? That he was from another dimension? No one would believe that!

"Hmm?"

"I can't remember much of the past... I only know my name is Yang," Yang Tian shrugged.

"Alright..." The lion frowned. After a moment, he asked, "Do you know why all these zombies suddenly vanished?"

"Not sure... They've been slowly disappearing over the past few days, until now they're completely gone. Maybe it has something to do with that night when the entire city roared," Yang Tian speculated.

"You heard those screams too?" The lion's expression darkened, deep in thought. He shook his head. "Of course, you were in the city too. How could you not hear it?"

"Boss! We've got a situation!" a frantic voice suddenly broke through on the radio, interrupting the lion's questions.

"What is it?" the lion demanded.

"They're coming! Somehow, they know where we are! They're closing in from all directions! Damn it, we're surrounded!" The panic in the radio operator's voice was unmistakable.

"You guys..." Yang Tian started to ask their intentions, but the lion grabbed him roughly.

"Get in the car! Wait around any longer, and you'll end up one of them!" The lion pushed Yang Tian towards a vehicle—code-named Snow Leopard. "Take him! We need to move out, now!"

Everyone's faces grew grim as they quickly jumped into their vehicles, the convoy of mercenaries speeding away.

The engines roared at full throttle, and after nearly ten minutes of speeding through empty streets, Yang Tian saw a sight that took his breath away. What had once been an empty avenue was now filled with shambling figures. The zombies that had vanished without a trace were back—countless numbers of them pouring in from every direction. Even from a distance, it was clear: they were closing in, as if to wrap Yang Tian and the others in a deadly embrace.

"When did they start to get smart?" Yang Tian's face turned serious. Zombies were already terrifying as they were, but when they developed even a rudimentary level of intelligence, the situation became infinitely worse.

"It's not 'they'... it's 'it,'" Snow Leopard, the driver, spoke through gritted teeth, slamming down the gas pedal. He nodded toward a distant high-rise building.

Yang Tian looked up. Straining his eyes, he saw a figure standing on the rooftop—a giant zombie, like something straight out of a video game. His pupils dilated as shock coursed through him. The realization was almost more stunning than the endless sea of the undead.

It was the game boss!

A towering figure, nearly two meters tall, with emerald green hair and crimson-stained skin. Needle-like pupils gave it an unearthly, predatory look. Among the hordes of regular zombies, it stood out like a nightmare brought to life.

The colossal zombie, exuding an aura of arrogance and dominance, stood atop the building. Suddenly, it let out a guttural roar—a sound filled with pure, malevolent rage that reverberated across the city.

"Roooaaarrr~"

More cries followed, echoing through the dark streets. A sinister, deafening symphony of madness began to rise as the zombies moved, waves upon waves charging toward the three escaping vehicles.

Chapter 3: Unprepared But Not Defeated

Yang Tian was overcome with awe and fear. He had experienced the terror alone before, but now, as the focal point of the monstrous horde, the fear was on an entirely different level. The bloodthirsty roars and waves of killing intent swarmed around them like a storm. Yang Tian, who had only killed a few zombies before, couldn't help but tremble.

"We've been hunting that one for a long time," Snow Leopard explained, his voice steady despite the chaos. "It's our mission here. It's escaped from us four times already, each time coming back stronger. Now it seems we've pissed it off for good—tables turned, predator and prey reversed." Snow Leopard glanced at Yang Tian and added dryly, "Kid, you're unlucky. You weren't even supposed to be on its hit list."

"Damn it! You mercenaries are going to get me killed!" Yang Tian clutched his knife, his knuckles turning white from the pressure.

"Listen, kid," Snow Leopard spoke, his rare humor surfacing despite the situation. "Complaining isn't going to help. There's one thing you can do to save yourself."

"What is it?" Yang Tian looked over at Snow Leopard, hoping for a serious answer.

"Pray to that old guy in the sky."

"Pray?"

"Yeah, pray. It might be the only thing a rookie like you can do... or maybe you could take that gun and send a few zombies up to meet the old guy. Let him deal with them," Snow Leopard sneered, keeping one eye on Yang Tian as he spoke, a subtle glimmer in his eyes.

The roar of engines filled the air, and soon, Yang Tian saw one of the mercenaries climb out onto the roof of the lead car, setting up a mounted machine gun. The barrel flared as it spat fire, mowing down the wave of zombies surging toward them.

Within minutes, the cars had collided with the first lines of the horde.

"Boss! This side is their weakest point! These damn things are slow—if we move fast enough, we can break through before they surround us completely!" A shout crackled over the radio—Silver Fox's urgent voice.

"Yeah, yeah, but there are just too many of them! Get through one wave, and there's another right behind it. Damn that zombie leader!" The lion snarled in frustration, slapping the leg of the gunner in the back. "Hound, conserve your ammo! We need to get out alive, not burn through it all!"

"Got it, boss!" Hound barked, reluctantly easing off on the trigger.

Yang Tian turned toward Snow Leopard, hope in his voice. "You guys can make it out, right? I mean, you're good at chasing targets—so you must be good at running from them too?"

Snow Leopard chuckled. "Kid, you remind me of myself when I first started. Full of hope and naive questions." The mercenary in the back, known as Black Bear, laughed, joining in. "Yeah, when I was a rookie, I used to sound like that too—full of dreams and fantasies."

"Shut up, you old fart," Yang Tian snapped, turning his attention back to Snow Leopard. "Give me a gun."

Snow Leopard handed over an MA41. Black Bear smirked. "Want me to show you how to load it, rookie? How to switch out the—"

His voice cut off abruptly as Yang Tian expertly checked the rifle, swiftly loading it with practiced ease.

"Oh... my God," Black Bear muttered, his eyes widening. "Kid, maybe before you lost your memory, we were in the same line of work."

Snow Leopard glanced back, his eyes briefly meeting Yang Tian's. For a moment, something shifted in his gaze—an acknowledgment of the person Yang Tian might have been.