The night vision binoculars slipped out of Brandon’s shaking fingers, crashing hard against the concrete floor of the balcony. His face was completely drained of color, his skin as white as a fresh sheet of paper.Inside the bright, warm lounge of the sports complex, Sarah was sitting on a soft sofa, painting her nails with a pink bottle she had stolen from the campus store. She looked up and giggled."Brandon, sweetie, what is taking Vance so long?" Sarah asked, her voice sweet and annoying. "Did he bring back those nice blankets from the library yet? And tell him to bring some fresh clothes too. I hate wearing the same jacket twice."Brandon turned around slowly, his lips trembling so hard he could barely form a word."Vance is dead," Brandon whispered, his voice hoarse with absolute horror.Sarah stopped her nail polish brush in midair, blinking her big eyes. "What? What do you mean dead? Vance had guns and twenty guards!""He hung him!" Brandon shrieked, suddenly grabbing his own

Fang moved like a streak of black lightning. The massive shadow-wolf leaped high over the fallen dining tables, his bone-spikes flaring with dark energy as he clamped his jaws around the spider queen's thick throat.The spider queen let out an ear-splitting screech. Its massive head jerked back, missing Kai's face by a fraction of an inch. Green acid dripped onto the floor right beside Kai's ear, melting a deep hole into the hard concrete."Good boy, Fang!" Kai shouted, his muscles bulging as he pulled against the sticky silk.With the spider queen distracted and thrashing wildly to shake Fang off its neck, Kai activated his boosted strength. He drove his elbows backward, straining every muscle in his back and legs. The thick white web stretched, groaned, and finally snapped under the sheer force of his upgraded attributes.Kai broke free, rolling across the floor and popping back up to his feet in one smooth motion.The spider queen slammed its heavy body against a concrete pillar, k

Sarah dropped the white flag onto the wet dirt, her knees shaking as she took small steps toward Kai.Her mascara was smeared all down her cheeks, and her designer clothes were ripped at the elbows. She wiped her nose with her sleeve, letting out a small, pathetic sob that sounded totally fake.Fang let out a low, dangerous growl, his black fur standing up straight. Kai raised a hand, making the giant shadow-wolf freeze in place."Kai! Oh, my God, Kai, you are alive!" Sarah cried out, her voice high and trembling. She rushed forward, throwing her arms wide as if she was going to hug him like old times. "I knew you were too strong to die! I prayed for you every single night!"Kai did not move an inch. He stood as still as an iron statue, his dark eyes staring at her without a single drop of warmth. His long blood-bone spear rested over his shoulder, the jagged tip glowing with faint green venom energy.Sarah stopped two feet away, her arms dropping when she saw his cold face. She looke

The bright indoor lights of the central gymnasium flickered as Kai stepped onto the polished floor.His heavy boots clicked against the wood, sending cold echoes through the large room. Behind him, Fang let out a soft growl, while the five purple-eyed zombie thralls stood ready.Inside the iron sports cage, Brandon held his silver handgun in one hand and a black electric cattle prod in the other. His expensive designer clothes were stained with sweat, and his eyes bulged with pure madness. Surrounding the outside of his iron cage were twenty starving, bruised student hostages, tied together with thick yellow rope."I am warning you, Kai!" Brandon screamed, waving the sparking cattle prod right near a young girl's wet cheek. "Stay where you are! If you take one more step, I will shock all of them to death! I will blow their heads off! I have nothing to lose!"The tied students wept silently, their shoulders shaking as they cowered against the metal bars. A few of them looked up at Kai

Kai stared down at the glowing leather map laid out on the metal desk. The big blue circle marking the city center military base hummed with faint magic power.Right beside the map sat three polished wooden boxes filled with glowing, high-tier beast cores that Brandon's father must have bought before the apocalypse completely collapsed the city."City center base," Kai muttered softly, his dark eyes narrowing. "A place where the old rich lords are trying to rebuild their comfy thrones."He did not rush to pack his bags. Kai knew that going to a massive military base as a weak survivor was foolish. In a big city base, those military captains and rich leaders would try to take his weapons and command him like a dog. He needed to make his own foundation so strong that no army could ever force him to bow.Kai reached into the wooden boxes, picking up five bright red beast cores. Each core was as big as an egg, pulsing with pure, wild energy."Extract," Kai commanded in his mind.Red light