Zombie Apocalypse System

Chapter 6: Shadow Figure, Watching Eye

—times pure gravity!"

BOOOOMMMM!

The silver energy blast slammed into the atmosphere, creating a shockwave that flattened buildings within a two-block radius. The System Guardian forces, who had been arrogantly soaring on their wings of light, suddenly dropped like termites sprayed with insecticide.

"Holy crap, what was that?! My tablet screen is glitching out so bad!" a woman exclaimed from behind the ruins of an insurance building down the street. Her fingers danced wildly across the flickering red holographic screen. "The destructive power... insane, a million terajoules? Is this guy really human or just a walking bug in this broken world?!"

Abby, a former tech conglomerate heiress now on the run, held her breath. She adjusted her tactical glasses, which had almost slipped down. "Analyze data! Hurry up, you little punk!" she ordered the small AI in her tablet.

"Damn it, my system can't read the frequency! These numbers are off the charts!" she muttered again, her eyes wide as she saw Axel's energy graph jump past the maximum limits of her most advanced sensors. "That guy... Axel, right? He just renovated a base with a few hammer taps? And now he's turning system forces into biscuit crumbs? This makes no sense!"

"I need to move now, or I'll miss the boat," Abby thought to herself. "The world's already gone to hell, and that guy... he's the key to me staying alive. But if I make a wrong move, I might just get a 'crit' a thousand times over from him."

Abby peeked again from a crack in the concrete. Down below, Axel stood casually in the middle of the blast crater, as if he'd just finished a light warm-up at the gym, not annihilated an army of gods.

"Hey, tablet! Tell me, is he aware I'm here?" Abby asked softly, her voice almost lost in the strong winds left by the explosion.

"Signal indicates subject gazed toward these coordinates for 0.5 seconds, Miss," the tablet's flat, mechanical voice replied.

"No way! So he knows?!" Abby immediately ducked, her heart pounding like she was being chased by a debt collector. "Crazy, crazy, crazy! I'm wearing an optical camouflage cloak worth billions, how could he see me?!"

"Subject's energy allows for dimensional space scanning, Miss. Your camouflage is useless against the Abyssal Architect."

"Shut up! Don't make me more scared!" Abby snapped at her own tablet. "But seriously, I don't have a choice. If I stay here, the system portal will open again, and I'll just be easy prey for the high-level monsters that are about to descend."

"I have to get closer to him. It's now or never!" Abby took a deep breath, trying to calm the trembling in her hands. "But how do I even start? Should I yell, 'Hey, bro, wanna form an alliance?' or something? My head might be gone before I even get to say 'Hello'!"

Abby looked at Axel again through her digital binoculars. She saw Axel lifting a large steel pillar with just one hand, then planting it into the ground like someone sticking a toothpick into a meatball.

"Holy cow, is that strength or a god-tier construction worker?" Abby gasped in awe. "If I had him on my side, I could rebuild my dad's ruined empire. I have the blueprints, he has the power. Perfect match, right?"

"But the problem is, he looks so cold. His eyes... like ice cubes in the North Pole. Not friendly at all," Abby muttered. "Should I use my charm? But in an apocalypse like this, are heiress-like tactics still effective?"

"Suggestion: Subject values efficiency over aesthetics, Miss."

"I know! Do you think I'm stupid?!" Abby snorted. "I'll offer him technical data that isn't in this system. I'll prove that my brain is a far more valuable asset than all the gold in the old world!"

Abby started packing up, folding her tablet to pocket size. "Okay, target locked. Mission: Approach Axel, don't die, and get absolute protection. Wish me luck, little robot."

"I do not have prayer protocols, Miss."

"Ugh, you're no fun at all!" Abby grumbled, crawling out of her hiding spot, moving nimbly among the concrete debris.

However, just as she stepped down a ruined staircase, a low growl came from behind her. Abby froze. The hairs on her neck stood on end.

"Damn it... what now?" she whispered in fear.

"Miss, biological sensors detect ten Nightcrawler units within a five-meter radius. They have locked onto your position."

"Bastards! Why now?!" Abby drew a small plasma pistol from her hip, but she knew that weapon wouldn't be enough against ten monsters at once. "I was just about to find protection, and now I'm going to be a corpse first!"

"Grrrrrr... KRAAAAA!"

A creature with slick black skin and dagger-long claws leaped from the darkness of the upper floor, landing right in front of Abby. Its poisonous saliva dripped onto the floor, creating a sizzling sound as it touched the concrete.

"Hey, ugly monster! Back off! I don't taste good, I'm full of sins!" Abby yelled, trying to scare the monster away even though her legs were trembling badly.

"Miss, I suggest you immediately run towards Axel's coordinates."

"Do you think I'm not running?! I'm trying here!" Abby fired her plasma pistol, hitting the monster's shoulder, but the creature only grew angrier. "Ugh, this is getting worse! Axel! Hey, Crazy Architect! Help me, will you?!"

Abby ran as fast as she could, leaping over large holes in the building's floor. Behind her, the sound of monster claws scraping against the walls grew closer.

"Come on, Axel, look over here! Can't you hear a pretty girl screaming for her life?!" Abby muttered in frustration. "Don't just focus on that steel pillar!"

She reached the edge of a collapsed third-floor balcony. The drop below was about ten meters, and Axel was still busy with his construction down there.

"Screw it! I'll just jump!" Abby prepared to freefall, but suddenly her arm was yanked by something cold and incredibly strong from the darkness beside her.

"Huh?! What is this?!" Abby shrieked in surprise.

A much larger Alpha monster than a regular Nightcrawler emerged from the shadows, gripping Abby's arm so tightly her bones felt like they would shatter. Its yellow eyes stared at Abby with ravenous hunger.

"Let go of me, you demon! My pistol... where's my pistol?!" Abby panicked, her weapon having slipped from her grasp when she was pulled.

"Miss, your heart rate is at a critical level. Chance of survival: 0.01%."

"Don't tell me that damn number! Axel! HELP!" Abby screamed with all her might, her voice echoing among the building's ruins.

Down below, Axel suddenly stopped his activity. He slowly turned towards the insurance building, looking directly at where Abby was cornered by the giant monster.

"Who's making all that noise?" Axel muttered coldly. He twirled his iron pipe, which still emanated remnants of silver energy. "Just disturbing someone while they're working."

"Hey! Help me! I have important info for you!" Abby yelled again, her voice growing hoarse with fear as she saw the monster's jaws beginning to open wide in front of her face.

Axel merely snorted. "Important info? Probably just wants a free ride."

"I swear! I know the secret of the system server you just destroyed! I can help you upgrade this fortress to be ten times stronger!" Abby desperately lied a little to grab Axel's attention.

Hearing the words 'upgrade' and 'fortress', Axel's eyes glinted slightly. "Okay, that sounds pretty interesting. But I don't like helping people who can only scream."

"So what do you want me to do?! Die first before you help me?!" Abby cursed, trying to kick the monster's face.

"Relax. I just want to see how long you can last," Axel said, resting his iron pipe on his shoulder, with no intention of rushing to help.

"You bastard, Axel! I'm really going to die!"

The Alpha monster roared loudly, its other claw already raised high, ready to cleave Abby's body into three pieces. Abby closed her eyes, resigned to her tragic fate. "Damn it... my dream of becoming a world ruler ends here because of that indifferent guy...."

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, a small object shot up from below, slicing through the air with a sharp whistling sound. It wasn't a bullet, but a small pebble wrapped in a dazzling silver aura.

BOOM!

The pebble struck the Alpha monster directly in the center of its forehead. Instead of bouncing off, the pebble exploded with a force equivalent to a Molotov cocktail amplified a thousandfold. The monster's head instantly disintegrated, splattering black fluid all over Abby.

"Huh?! I... I'm still alive?!" Abby opened her eyes, gasping for breath. The giant monster's body collapsed in front of her, lifeless.

"Hey, Noisy Girl!" Axel yelled from below, still in a relaxed posture. "Get down here now if you don't want me to let the other monsters eat your legs."

"You jerk! Can't you help a little more elegantly?!" Abby yelled back, though inwardly she was immensely relieved. "How am I supposed to get down?! The stairs are destroyed!"

"Just jump! I'll catch you!"

"Jump?! It's ten meters, you idiot! Do you want me to die with broken bones?!"

"Do you want to jump or do you want me to send another pebble your way?" Axel asked in a threatening tone.

Abby swallowed hard. She saw nine other Nightcrawlers starting to crawl out of the shadows, surrounding her position. "Okay! Okay! I'll jump! But you better catch me!"

Abby closed her eyes again, then recklessly plunged from the third floor. "Aaaaaakkkkkhhhh!"

She felt a strong wind hit her face, her heart seemingly stopping as gravity pulled her down. However, before her body touched the ground, she felt a pair of incredibly hard—almost steel-like—arms perfectly catch her.

"You're pretty heavy, huh?" Axel muttered right in front of Abby's face.

Abby opened her eyes, her face only a few centimeters from Axel's cold but very masculine one. "Hah... hah... Thanks, you rat. But I'm not heavy, it's because my tablet is heavy!"

"You talk a lot for someone who just almost became monster droppings," Axel said, roughly setting Abby down, making her stumble slightly.

"That hurt, you know!" Abby straightened her clothes, which were covered in monster blood. "My name's Abby. And like I said, I have something you need."

Axel looked Abby up and down with a scrutinizing gaze. "Something I need? Besides your voice, which is making my ears ring, what else?"

"Don't be so arrogant! I saw how you struggled using just muscle to renovate this base. That's not efficient, Axel! You need system integration, you need proper energy management so your critical hits don't make this building collapse instead!" Abby pointed at the steel pillar Axel had just planted. "Look at that, the angle is off by three degrees. If there's a system quake, that pillar will fall!"

Axel glanced at his pillar, then looked back at Abby. "You know about energy management?"

"I'm the former heiress of the biggest tech conglomerate in this country, you idiot! I designed the city's security system before this apocalypse came! If you give me access to your devices, I can increase your construction efficiency by two hundred percent!" Abby lifted her chin, trying to look important.

"Two hundred percent? That's tiny," Axel scoffed. "If I handle it, everything goes up a thousand percent."

"Yeah, but you can't manage the details! You're just an Architect with a big hammer, but you don't have the brains!" Abby retorted sharply.

Axel fell silent for a moment. He considered Abby's words. She was right, all this time he had only used pure strength. If he had someone who could manage strategy and technology, his empire's expansion would be much faster.

"Okay, Abby. I'll give you a chance," Axel finally said. "But remember, the moment you make a mistake that harms me, I'll throw you into a system portal without mercy."

"Tch, so fierce. But okay, I accept the challenge," Abby grinned, feeling victorious. "Now, where's the control room? I want to start working."

"Hold on," Axel stopped Abby by the shoulder. "You said earlier there was a secret about the system server I destroyed. What is it?"

Abby looked at Axel with a serious expression. "This system... it has a 'Self-Repair' mechanism. The forces you just destroyed were only the first wave. They'll come back with even crazier power, and they already have data on your critical attacks."

"You mean they'll have immunity?" Axel frowned.

"Not immunity, but adaptation. They'll use an energy frequency opposite to your silver aura," Abby explained. "That's why we need a multi-phase shield. And I need rare materials to build it."

"Rare materials? Where do we find them?"

"Inside my father's underground laboratory. But that place is now controlled by a group called 'The Reapers'. They're a faction that gained system power through dirty means," Abby's voice trembled slightly as she mentioned the name.

"The Reapers? Another tacky name," Axel snorted. "Okay, we'll go there tomorrow. For now, help me finish this outer wall."

"Now?! It's already night, Axel! Nocturnal monsters will get even fiercer!"

"That's good, actually. Their body materials are decent for increasing my system points," Axel said, pulling his iron pipe again. "Come on, don't be a baby. You said you wanted to prove your brain is a valuable asset, right?"

Abby let out a long sigh. "I feel like I just walked into the mouth of a crocodile bigger than that Alpha monster."

"Good that you realize that," Axel said, starting to walk towards his steel pillar. "Hey, Abby! Why are you just standing there? Grab your tablet, calculate the coordinates for the watchtower over there!"

"Hold on, you jerk! I'm looking for a signal!" Abby followed Axel from behind, but her eyes secretly remained vigilant, observing her surroundings.

She knew that even though Axel possessed god-like power, this world still held many far more dangerous secrets. And behind the shadows of the ruined buildings, she saw something that made her break out in a cold sweat again.

"Axel... do you see that?" Abby whispered, pointing towards the sky.

"See what?" Axel looked up.

The moon, which had been silver, was now slowly turning blood-red. And in the center of that moon, a numerical symbol appeared, spinning rapidly.

"Is that... is that the 'Countdown'?" Abby asked with a trembling voice.

"Countdown for what?"

"For the System 'Update' Phase Two... Axel, if that number hits zero, all the monsters in this world will get an instant evolution!" Abby stared at her tablet screen, which was now emitting a loud warning sound.

Axel looked at the number on the moon, which showed sixty minutes remaining. "An hour, huh? Enough time to build another tower."

"ARE YOU CRAZY?! WE HAVE TO HIDE! PHASE TWO EVOLUTION MEANS ALL MONSTERS WILL HAVE LORD-LEVEL POWER!"

"Exactly, isn't it more exciting?" Axel grinned widely, his eyes glinting with excitement. "I'm curious what it feels like to 'crit' a Lord-level monster a thousand times over."

"I've really allied myself with a lunatic," Abby muttered, slapping her forehead.

They began to work under the eerie red moonlight. Abby quickly calculated construction algorithms, while Axel executed each step with his insane power. A thirty-meter-tall watchtower stood erect in just fifteen minutes.

"Done! Now install the sensors!" Abby ordered.

Axel ascended to the top of the tower with a single massive leap. He planted the sensor device he had just upgraded with a critical hit. "Sensors active! What are the results?"

Abby looked at her screen. "Holy crap... the range is up to ten kilometers! And... wait, there are many red dots moving fast towards us!"

"Many? How many?" Axel descended back down.

"Hundreds... no, thousands! Axel, they're all monsters that have started mutating prematurely!" Abby panicked. "They seem to be attracted to your silver energy that leaked earlier!"

Axel clenched his fist, a silver aura beginning to envelop his entire body until he looked like a falling comet. "Good. I actually need a lot of materials to build a nuclear fusion fortress."

"Axel, don't joke around! Thousands of monsters are no laughing matter! We have to get into the bunker now!"

"No time to hide, Abby. If they want to come, then fine, I'll welcome them with a red carpet," Axel said, walking to the middle of the empty highway, facing the thousands of red dots that were beginning to appear on the horizon.

The growls and thundering footsteps of thousands of monsters made the ground shake violently, stronger than any earthquake. Abby stood behind Axel, holding her plasma pistol with trembling hands.

"Are you sure you can handle all of this?" Abby asked softly.

"Just watch. And don't forget to record it, so you can show your grandkids later that you once saw the real apocalypse," Axel said, raising his iron pipe, pointing it forward.

"System... prepare all my energy. I want to use a high-level conceptual technique," Axel whispered to himself.

[WARNING: EXCESSIVE ENERGY USAGE MAY RESULT IN LOCAL REALITY DAMAGE!]

"I don't care. Do it now!"

The monster army was now less than five hundred meters away. They consisted of various types of mutants, ranging in size from small dogs to massive semi-trucks. Their eyes all glowed blood-red, filled with a lust for killing.

"Abby, get back into the tower! Now!" Axel ordered without turning his head.

"But you—"

"I SAID GET BACK!" Axel snarled.

Abby immediately ran into the watchtower and tightly closed its steel door. She peeked through a small crack, staring at Axel's back as he stood firm, facing thousands of monsters.

"Come here, you system trash!" Axel roared loudly, his voice thundering, defying death.

He raised his iron pipe high into the sky. The silver aura around him exploded violently, creating a pillar of light that pierced the black clouds. The entire surrounding area suddenly fell silent; even the monster's roars seemed to be sucked away by the air pressure Axel generated.

"Critical... Thousand Waves of Annihilation... EXECUTE!"

Axel swung his iron pipe towards the ground, and just as the metal tip touched the asphalt...