THE MASSACRE BEGINS

"DON'T MOVE."

The deep voice echoed in the air.

Raka, Bayu, and Nadia stood stiffly, their bodies tired and covered in wounds. In front of them, five armed men stood in a semicircle formation, each pointing a rifle at their heads.

In the middle of the group, the Bald Commander stared at them with a cold smile.

"Do you think you can run away from me, brats?"

Raka clenched his fists, his mind spinning quickly for a way out.

They were outnumbered.

They were exhausted.

Bayu was injured.

They were in the worst position.

The Bald Commander approached with a leisurely pace, as if he knew they had no other choice.

"You made a mess in my place, killed my men, and now you think you can just run away like that?"

He laughed lowly. "Stupid."

Raka's eyes narrowed. He knew this kind of person.

Arrogant. Sadistic. Full of revenge.

This kind of person would never let them live.

But he needed time.

"If you want revenge, why don't you shoot them now?" Raka challenged.

The Bald Commander grinned. "That's too easy."

He turned to his men. "Tie them up. We'll take them to the base."

One of the men stepped forward with a rope in his hand.

Raka had only a few seconds to decide:

1. Fight now, even though they'll most likely die.

2. Follow them to find a chance to escape later.

He looked at Nadia and Bayu.

Bayu was still holding his bleeding shoulder, his face grimaced in pain.

Nadia looked at him, her eyes full of fear, but also trust.

They waited for Raka's decision.

Damn it.

There was no other choice.

"Fine," Raka said coldly. "We'll come."

The Bald Commander smiled with satisfaction. "Clever."

They were tied up and dragged back to hell.

The journey back to the gang base took two hours of agony.

Bayu lost a lot of blood, his face became paler. Nadia remained silent, her eyes blankly staring at the road.

Raka continued to think.

They returned to the place they had just destroyed.

To a place worse than hell.

And this time, they were not guests—they were prisoners.

As soon as they arrived, the base's occupants immediately cheered.

"Look who's back!"

"Hahaha! This kid caused trouble, now he's back as a little dog!"

Several men approached, staring at Nadia from head to toe with thirsty gazes.

Raka clenched his fists.

Damn.

They were dragged to the middle of the base's yard.

Commander Botak stepped forward, raising his hand to silence his men's cheers.

He looked at Raka.

"You know I'm a good person, right?" he said with a cruel grin.

Raka remained silent.

Commander Botak approached and hit Raka's stomach with his knee.

BUAGH!

Raka fell to his knees, blood flowing from the corner of his lips.

"Open your eyes, brat," he hissed. "This world is not the old world anymore. Nothing is free. If you can't be useful, you'll be trash."

He turned to his men.

"Take this girl to the warehouse."

"NO!!!"

Nadia struggled as two men dragged her.

Raka immediately got up, his eyes full of anger. "DON'T TOUCH HER!!!"

However, before he could move, something hit the back of his head.

DARK.

Raka woke up with his head throbbing badly.

He was in a dark room, with only a dim light in the corner of the ceiling.

His hands were tied to the back of a chair.

Beside him, Bayu sat limply on the floor, his face pale and covered in sweat.

Damn. Nadia?

She's not here.

The door opened.

Commander Botak entered, followed by two armed men.

He smiled. "Are you awake, brat?"

Raka stared at him with hatred.

The Commander approached, looking down at him from above.

"I'll give you a choice."

He crouched down, looking directly into Raka's eyes.

"Join me… or you'll die slowly."

Raka controlled his breathing.

Inside his head, he opened his status screen.

[PLAYER STATUS: RAKA WIRATAMA]

Level: 4

HP: 160/160

Strength: 18

Endurance: 16

Agility: 15

Skill: Corpse Domination Lv.1

I have to find a gap.

He stared at the Commander calmly.

"…What's the guarantee if I join?"

The Commander grinned. "Smart. You'll live comfortably. You'll get food, weapons, and women if you want."

Raka pretended to think. "And if I refuse?"

The Commander stood up. "You're going to die, and your girl is going to be my people's toy."

Raka clenched his fists.

The option of joining was just nonsense.

A man like this would never let his enemy live.

But he needed more information before he could act.

"I need time to think," Raka finally said.

The commander laughed. "You have until tomorrow morning."

He turned to his men. "Give them a little 'entertainment'. Let them know what will happen if they refuse."

He turned and walked out.

As soon as the commander left, the two armed men advanced.

One of them kicked Bayu in the stomach.

BUAGH!

Bayu screamed in pain.

Raka gritted his teeth.

"Damn you guys…"

The other man pulled Raka's hair and whispered something in his ear.

"This world belongs to the strong, kid. If you're weak, you'll be stepped on."

Raka stared at him coldly.

In his head, he began to formulate a plan.

They thought they had won.

They were wrong.

Because tomorrow morning…

He would finish them all off.

Raka sat still, his body still tied to the chair. The room was dark and the stench filled the air. Beside him, Bayu collapsed weakly, his breathing heavy from the gunshot wound in his shoulder.

Outside, the sound of footsteps and the rough laughter of the gang men could be heard faintly.

Nadia was still nowhere to be seen.

Damn.

He had to act immediately.

Raka closed his eyes for a moment, opening his status screen in his mind.

[PLAYER STATUS: RAKA WIRATAMA]

Level: 4

HP: 160/160

Strength: 18

Endurance: 16

Agility: 15

Skill: Corpse Domination Lv.1

Damn. Still not enough.

I need more power.

However, he still had one trump card—the Mutation Core Fragment he obtained after defeating the giant zombie.

[Use Mutation Core Fragment?]

Without hesitation, he chose YES.

DING!

[Corpse Domination Skill has evolved to Lv.2!]

- Can control 3 zombies simultaneously.

- Control time extended to 30 minutes.

Raka smiled faintly.

Now, let the massacre begin.

Outside, two men stood guard at their cell door.

One of them turned to his friend. "So you think the kid will submit tomorrow?"

The other laughed. "If he doesn't submit, we'll blow his head off."

Suddenly—

GRRRRR!!!

A low growl was heard behind them.

The two men turned… and their faces instantly paled.

The two bodies they had left in the trash pile moved.

Zombies.

"WHAT—?!"

Before they could react, one of the zombies pounced on them!

"ARGGHHH!!!"

The first man was bitten in the neck, blood spurting everywhere.

The other tried to pull his gun out, but the second zombie grabbed his hand and slammed his head against the wall!

CRASH!

His head cracked like a melon.

Blood sprayed onto the floor.

Meanwhile, inside the cell, Raka smiled in satisfaction.

"This new skill is really helpful."

He had just controlled the two corpses outside the cell.

The corpses crawled inside and immediately cut the ropes that bound Raka and Bayu.

Once free, Raka immediately stood up and stretched his muscles.

"Bayu, can you still walk?" he asked.

Bayu, though still weak, nodded. "Don't leave me."

Raka patted his shoulder. "Relax. We're the ones going to hunt now."

Raka and Bayu walked slowly inside the headquarters that was starting to become quiet.

Most of the gang members were already asleep or drunk.

This was their best chance.

They walked through the hallway, accompanied by two zombies that were still under Raka's control.

Every time they found a guard, Raka immediately gave an order:

"Kill them silently."

GRRRRR!!!

The zombies charged silently, ripping out their targets' throats before they could scream.

One by one, Raka finished off his enemies.

He was no longer a survivor.

He was a predator now.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the back of the base.

A large warehouse with a tightly closed iron door.

Two men stood guard in front of it, chatting and laughing.

They didn't even realize that death was waiting for them.

Raka gave an order to the zombies he was controlling.

The two zombies crawled behind the guards, then slammed their heads against the wall hard!

CRASH!

They didn't even have time to scream before their skulls were crushed.

Raka immediately pulled the key from one of the corpses and opened the warehouse door.

As soon as the door opened—

"NADIA!"

Nadia, who was sitting in the corner of the room with her hands tied, turned her head with wide eyes.

As soon as she saw Raka, her tears immediately flowed. "Raka…!"

Without hesitation, Raka immediately untied her.

Nadia immediately hugged him tightly. Her body was shaking, but she was still alive.

"We have to go now," Raka said quickly.

But before they could move—

"HAHAHAHA! YOU THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE?!"

They turned around.

At the warehouse door, the Bald Commander stood with a gun in his hand.

Behind him, five armed men stood with bloodthirsty gazes.

The commander laughed loudly. "I admit, you're good, kid."

He raised his gun, pointing it at Raka's head.

"But you're going to die now."

Raka stared at him, then smiled.

"…You think you've won?"

The Bald Commander narrowed his eyes. "What?"

And at that moment—

GRRRRRR!!!

From the back alley, ten zombies appeared and charged in!

The Bald Commander's face instantly turned pale.

"WHAT—?!?!"

"ATTACK THEM."

The zombies pounced brutally.

"ARGHHHH!!!"

The first two men fell instantly, their necks torn in an instant.

The Bald Commander tried to shoot, but one of the zombies grabbed his arm and bit his shoulder brutally!

"ARGHHH!!!"

He struggled, trying to shoot, but the bullets he fired missed the wall.

His men tried to fight back, but they were outnumbered.

One by one, they fell.

Blood flowed flooding the floor.

Meanwhile, Raka, Bayu, and Nadia remained standing in place, watching the massacre without expression.

When it was all over, only the Bald Commander was left.

He was sprawled on the floor, his body covered in bite wounds, his face pale from losing a lot of blood.

Raka walked over to him, squatting beside him.

The commander coughed, blood coming out of his mouth.

"L-Lo… monster…" he hissed weakly.

Raka just smiled.

"…In this world, only monsters can survive."

Then, without hesitation—

SRATTT!!!

Raka's knife slit his throat.

The commander fell silent, his eyes wide and blank.

He was dead.

Silence.

Raka stood, staring coldly at Commander Botak's corpse.

Nadia held his hand tightly.

Bayu, though still wounded, smiled weakly. "We won?"

Raka sighed.

"…Yes."

But this was just the beginning.

Out there, the world was still ruled by death and monsters.

And they had to become stronger if they wanted to survive.

Raka looked ahead.

Their struggle had just begun.