Zombie Apocalypse System

Chapter 4: Local Trash Master, First Challenge

...and triggering an air pressure explosion that sent Lord Bangkit’s front line flying like dry leaves in a storm!

BOOOOMMMM!

"Holy crap! Did you see that, Abby? A thousand coins flying at once—that’s pretty aesthetic, right?" Axel shouted loudly, his voice trying to compete with the boom of the explosion that had just leveled the line of steel shields in front of him.

"Aesthetic my ass! Axel, you just blew holes all over the asphalt in front of our bunker! Do you think that’s easy to fix?!" Abby’s voice shrieked from behind the bunker intercom, sounding somewhere between panic and awe.

"Chill, Abby! The asphalt is a problem for later! What matters is getting this trash out of the way first!" Axel grinned widely, his eyes fixed sharply on the thinning dust.

Suddenly, from behind the clouds of black smoke, a giant shadow lunged forward.

BRAAAKKK!

The steel bunker door Axel had just finished building was kicked with monstrous strength, vibrating violently. Lord Bangkit, his muscles tensing until his veins looked like electrical cables, stood tall in front of Axel. A cold machine gun barrel was now pressed right against Axel’s forehead.

"Heh, you cocky brat. You think playing with coin firecrackers is gonna scare me? You’ve got the wrong guy, you dog!" growled Lord Bangkit. His breath smelled of cheap tobacco and sweat.

"Whoa, take it easy, Mr. Tattoo. Your breath smells like a dragon with a mouth ulcer; you might want to step back a bit. It’s air pollution," Axel replied casually, not trembling at all even though the muzzle of the weapon was ready to blow his head off.

"You’ve still got a big mouth, huh? You see my men you just sent flying? You think they’re just some street punks?!" Lord Bangkit pressed the tip of his gun harder against Axel’s forehead. "Listen here, you brat! I don’t care how you got this fancy bunker or hot pizza in the middle of the apocalypse. Now, everything in here—including the food and your girl—belongs to me! Got it?!"

"Whoa, did you hear that, Abby? He wants our pizza!" Axel actually chuckled, glancing at the surveillance camera above the door.

"Axel! Don't be crazy! That’s a live machine gun! Stop acting so tough!" Abby screamed over the intercom, her voice trembling.

"Shut up, woman! One more sound out of you and I’ll blow your boyfriend’s head off!" Lord Bangkit barked at the bunker door. He turned back to Axel with red eyes full of greedy lust. "Where’s the key?! Hand it over now or I’ll splatter your brains all over the place!"

"The key? Oh, I’m really sorry, Mr. Tattoo. My bunker uses a facial recognition system. And sorry again, but your face doesn't meet the 'handsome' criteria for my system," Axel answered, looking dismissively at the tattoo on the man's neck.

"Bastard! You’re really courting death, aren't you?!"

"Death is already bored of me, man. We’ve been friends since this morning," Axel gently flicked the muzzle of the gun away with one finger, his movement so calm it made Lord Bangkit hesitate for a moment. "Listen to me carefully, Lord Trash. You have two choices. First, you leave right now with whatever men you have left and go find food in some other dumpster. Second, you stay here, and I make you regret ever being born into this ruined world. Which one do you choose?"

"Third choice: I kill you right now!" Lord Bangkit pulled the trigger.

CLICK!

No explosion. No bullet came out.

"Huh?! Why is it jammed?!" Lord Bangkit panicked, pulling the trigger repeatedly, but the weapon remained dead silent.

"Oh, sorry about that. When I flicked it earlier, I used Critical... Thousand-Fold Mechanical Damage. I think the insides of your gun are basically iron mush now," Axel laughed mockingly, his face turning ice-cold in an instant.

"What... what kind of magic are you using, huh?!" Lord Bangkit threw his useless gun aside and immediately grabbed Axel’s collar. "I have a Muscle Strengthening System! I can crush your bones with just one hand!"

"Your muscles are big, sure. But your brain seems to have been left behind in your mother's womb, hasn't it?" Axel didn't resist; he let his body be lifted slightly by the giant man. "Abby! Check the outside temperature; it’s starting to get hot out here!"

"Axel! He’s going to hit you! Watch out!" Abby screamed hysterically.

Lord Bangkit had already raised his right fist, which was the size of a melon, ready to smash Axel’s face. "Die, you little pest!"

Axel only sighed. His free hand reached for a rusty iron pipe lying next to the bunker door. As soon as his fingers touched the pipe, a lethal silver aura immediately enveloped the old metal, making it vibrate at such a high frequency that it emitted a terrifying humming sound.

"Mr. Tattoo, do you know the difference between being hit by a hand and being hit by a pipe with a thousand-fold critical increase in hardness?" Axel asked quietly.

"Huh?! What do you mean—"

"I mean... like this!"

Axel didn't swing. He simply touched the tip of the iron pipe to Lord Bangkit’s stomach.

[1000x Critical Triggered on Physical Attack!]

[Effect: Internal Destruction Shockwave!]

DUUUMMMM!

It wasn't the sound of metal clashing, but a heavy thud like a giant hammer hitting a pile of meat. Lord Bangkit’s body, weighing nearly a hundred kilos, shot backward like a bullet, slamming into a junk car until it was completely totaled, then continued to bounce until it smashed through the wall of a shop across the street.

"Damn... and I only barely poked him," Axel muttered, staring at his iron pipe, which was still glowing silver.

"AXEL! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Abby shouted, her voice cracking over the speaker.

"I just gave him an education on the new laws of physics, Abby. Chill," Axel walked slowly toward the shop that had just been destroyed by Lord Bangkit’s impact.

Lord Bangkit’s remaining men nearby were all frozen in place. Their weapons trembled in their hands. They saw their boss—who supposedly had the best muscle-strengthening system in the area—just get sent flying with nothing but a rusty pipe.

"Hey, all of you! Still want free pizza?" Axel asked, looking at them one by one.

"No, sir! Mercy, sir!" one of the henchmen shouted, throwing his machete to the ground.

"Good. Now, take your boss—who’s basically mush now—and get out of here. If I see your faces again within a one-kilometer radius of my bunker... I won't be using a pipe." Axel raised his index finger toward them. "I’ll use a finger flick with a thousand-fold critical. Want to try it?"

They all immediately scrambled away, dragging Lord Bangkit’s unconscious and blood-covered body from the ruins of the shop.

"Sigh... these tough guys are so noisy," Axel wiped his iron pipe, and the aura vanished.

"Axel! Get inside now! Are you crazy, showing off your power like that in the open?!" Abby opened the bunker door slightly, poking her head out. "Do you know that my sensors just detected that your explosion earlier attracted the attention of something much bigger than just some street thugs?!"

"Something bigger? Like what? Another dragon? Or a 'Lord' with a flashier crown?" Axel walked into the bunker casually, ignoring Abby’s warning.

"I don't know! But the energy frequency isn't normal! It’s like there’s an eye watching us from a distance!" Abby pulled Axel’s hand inside and immediately locked the steel door tight. "Do you really want to make the whole world our enemy in a single day?!"

"Well, isn't that the goal, Abby? So they know there’s an Architect here they can't push around." Axel sat in his teak wood chair and picked up the slice of pizza he had put down earlier. "Pizza really does taste better after a workout."

"Workout my ass! You were almost shot dead, you idiot!" Abby stood in front of Axel, hands on her hips, her face flushed red with a mix of anger and relief. "What if your critical system had failed?! Did you even think about that?!"

"Abby, listen to me," Axel put down his pizza, his eyes looking at Abby with such seriousness that she fell silent. "In this world that’s already gone mad, hesitation is deadlier than a bullet. I know my system won't fail, because this system gets its energy from my will to stay alive. And I... I don't plan on dying anytime soon."

Abby was stunned for a moment. She could see a glint in Axel’s eyes that wasn't just arrogance, but a terrifyingly absolute conviction. "But still... you should be more tactical. By showing off your power like that, people are going to get curious. We need more defense than just concrete walls."

"That’s why I need you, the Strategy Queen," Axel grinned again, returning to his casual mode. "I’ve got the muscles and the criticals; you’ve got the brains to make the blueprints. Now, you said someone’s watching us? Can you find out who?"

Abby took a long breath, trying to calm her heart. She went back to her monitor desk. "I’m trying to track the signal. It’s strange; the signal isn't from a system satellite, but from a very sophisticated handheld device. Much more advanced than my watch from earlier."

"Human too?" Axel asked while chewing his pizza.

"Seems like it. And they’re very good at covering their tracks. But they managed to leave one small ping at the coordinates of the insurance building at the end of the street," Abby pointed to the screen displaying a map of the surrounding area.

"The insurance building? Isn't that near the wolf monster nests we passed earlier?" Axel frowned.

"Yeah. That’s why I’m confused. How can someone just stay there without being attacked by those monsters?" Abby stared at the screen anxiously.

Axel stood up from his chair. He grabbed his iron pipe again. "Then they’re no ordinary person. Or they have a trick similar to mine."

"You’re going to go see them?! Now?!"

"Of course! Better I go to them than let them cook up some rotten plan for us tonight." Axel walked toward the door. "Abby, you guard the bunker. Set the Sentinel Railgun to auto-mode. If anyone approaches this door besides me... blast them, no questions asked."

"Axel! Wait! Don't be reckless!" Abby tried to grab Axel’s arm. "I’ve got new data! There’s a massive movement from the west! It’s not one person—it’s an army!"

"What army now?! Mr. Tattoo’s friends?!"

"No! The signal is different! This... this is a military signal, but the code is corrupted! It looks like mercenaries who got buffs from this apocalypse system!" Abby’s voice rose even higher. "There are hundreds of them, Axel! They’re bringing tanks!"

Axel stopped right in front of the door. He was silent for a moment, then a small laugh escaped his mouth. "Tanks, huh? Abby, do you know what I just thought of?"

"What?! Don't tell me you're going to 'critical' a thousand tanks!"

"No, that’s a waste of energy." Axel turned to Abby with the wildest smirk she had ever seen. "I’m going to harvest those tanks, then I’ll turn them into a mecha fleet for you. How about it? You want a giant robot to keep you company while you cook in the bunker, right?"

"You’re truly insane, Axel! But... if you can actually make mechas out of those tank wrecks..." Abby paused, her engineer’s imagination starting to run wild. "I’d need at least ten micro-scale fusion engines to stabilize the energy!"

"Chill. Give me those tanks, and I’ll give you a battalion of war robots." Axel pressed the door release button. "I’m heading out. Don't miss me too much."

"Axel! Be careful! If you die, I can't open this bunker door from the inside because the sensor only recognizes your face!" Abby shouted as a very pragmatic farewell.

"Damn, you’re so caring!" Axel laughed loudly as he jumped out of the bunker.

The air outside was growing thick with the smell of gunpowder and gasoline. From a distance, the rumble of heavy engines began to be heard. Abby was right; a line of armored vehicles was coming into view at the end of the highway, crushing the remains of small cars that blocked their path.

Axel stood in the middle of the road, alone, holding the rusty iron pipe in his right hand. In front of him, hundreds of mercenaries with futuristic weapons began to take aim.

"Hey, you guys inside the tanks! I need materials to build some robots! Thanks for going through the trouble of delivering them right to my front door!" Axel shouted loudly, his voice echoing between the crumbling buildings.

One of the tanks rotated its cannon muzzle, aiming directly at Axel’s chest.

BOOOOMMMM!

A large-caliber shell was fired. The projectile hurtled forward with terrifying speed, carrying destructive power that could level a small building.

Axel didn't dodge. He simply raised his left hand, his palm wide open toward the shell flying at him.

"Abby, watch this... Critical... Thousand-Fold Energy Absorption!"

Right as the shell touched Axel’s palm, the explosion that should have obliterated his body was instead sucked into a small vortex of silver light in Axel’s hand, and...