Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Hierarchy Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Hierarchy “Good,” HQ said with a determined nod.
“I’ll go there myself.
As for your reward, it will delivered later.” With that, HQ left the zombie king’s palace, his mind filled with thoughts of finally capturing the blue cat.
He didn’t know why the cat had destroyed so many institutes, but he was going to find out.
However, as soon as HQ left, the zombie king’s expression shifted.
The zombie king sat back down on its throne and closed its eyes.
As it did, a vivid memory flashed in its mind, one it hadn’t thought of in years.
It was a memory from a time when it had been human.
In the memory, the king wasn’t a monster.
It was a person, living in a world that hadn’t yet been overrun by zombies.
The scene that played in its mind was of a small, injured blue cat, lying helpless in its arms.
The blue cat was hurt, its body weak, its breathing shallow.
The zombie king—back when it was human—had cared for the cat, holding it close, trying to nurse it back to health.
It remembered how, over time, the blue cat had begun to change.
Slowly, it had transformed, evolving into something new.
First, it became a small wolf cub, still fragile, still needing protection.
The person who had once been the zombie king had been astonished by this transformation, but instead of fear, they had felt a deep sense of connection to the creature.
The wolf cub had stayed with them, growing stronger each day, eventually turning into a full-grown wolf.
It was no longer just a pet—it was a protector, always by their side.
The bond between them had been unbreakable.
But then the memory blurred.
The zombie king couldn’t remember what had happened next, how it had all fallen apart.
It knew that something terrible had occurred, something that had torn the wolf from its side.
And now, seeing that sketch of the blue cat had brought all those old memories rushing back.
The zombie king opened its eyes, its glowing gaze filled with a deep, unspoken sadness.
He had once believed that holding onto his human intelligence was a blessing, but now he wasn’t so sure.
The longer he lived as a zombie, the more he realized how difficult it was to bridge the gap between what he had been and what he had become.
In those early days, right after he had turned into a zombie, he had tried to keep his distance from humans, hoping they would leave him alone.
They attacked him on sight, just as they did with every other zombie.
It didn’t matter that he could still think, that he could understand them.
To the humans, he was just another monster.
Sometimes, he wanted to ask them why.
Why did they hate him so much?
Wasn’t he just a human with a disease?
He had never asked, though.
He knew there was no point.
They wouldn’t listen.
And now, after seeing the blue cat’s picture, something inside him had awakened again.
He had sent some of his zombie followers to try and bring the blue cat to him, but something had stopped them.
There was a strange barrier, a dangerous blue wall that seemed to surround her.
Each time his zombies got close, they were electrocuted, their bodies shaking in agony as they fell to the ground.
The zombie king had watched this from a distance, feeling helpless.
It was then that the reality hit him.
He wasn’t human anymore.
No matter how much he remembered or how much he understood, the truth remained: he was a zombie, and humans feared him.
He glanced down at his own pale, decaying hands.
The thought of ever being seen as human again was laughable now.
Still, part of him wanted to meet the blue cat, to understand why she was hiding behind the barrier.
But how could he approach her when even his own kind couldn’t?
As he thought about it, a bitter truth started to sink in.
Even if he did find the blue cat, she might not recognize him.
Just as humans feared him, perhaps the blue cat would, too.
After all, she had been involved in taking down so many institutes, fighting back against those who tried to control her.
What reason would she have to trust him?
And then there was another problem—the other zombie kings.
The more he met with them, the more he realized that they had no interest in peace.
Unlike him, they had no memories of their past human lives, no lingering sense of who they used to be.
All they cared about was destruction.
They wanted to wipe out the remaining human bases and finally take over the world.
The zombie king had tried to talk to them, to convince them to consider another path.
But his words fell on deaf ears.
The other kings saw him as weak for even thinking about humans in a different way.
They didn’t care about his past, his memories, or his desire for a peaceful solution.
To them, he was just a foolish leader who didn’t understand the truth.
Now, as he sat alone on his throne, the zombie king realized just how isolated he had become.
He didn’t belong with the humans, but he didn’t fully belong with the zombies either.
He was stuck between two worlds, neither of which accepted him.
Suddenly the zombie king felt a strange fluctuation in the air, he stood up abruptly.
The fluctuation was very strong and could only be sensed by the zombie king.
They could feel a powerful zombie being born.
The first thought the zombie king had was…did the other zombie king succeed in taking down a powerful human?
The zombie king gritted his teeth.
If they did succeed then, the other zombie king could command the powerful person and cause chaos.
After all, zombie king has their own hierarchy.
As long as his subordinate bites down a powerful human, that powerful human will have to come under his administration.