After finishing their brutal combat training, a group of battered and bruised individuals was herded onto the beach and forced to run. "Kosaka, if this keeps up, our numbers will dwindle until there's no one left," a young man wearing glasses said as he trotted alongside the disfigured Kosaka. His voice was filled with urgency.
As a researcher, the man with glasses, Akita, understood their predicament all too well. Their priority shouldn't be revenge—it should be survival. "We need to regroup, take advantage of the reduced number of zombies, reclaim the cities, and rebuild our homes. Once we're stable, we can focus on reproduction and rebuilding our numbers. That's the only way our people have a chance at regaining their former glory. Revenge can come later!" Akita argued.
Kosaka's expression darkened, his scarred face contorting into a menacing snarl. "Akita, you coward!" he snapped. "Millions of our people were slaughtered! No matter what the cost, it's worth it for revenge!"
Akita held his ground. "But what if the cost is even worse?!"
Kosaka froze, his fury boiling over at the challenge. He turned to Akita, his eyes burning with rage. "You dare question me?!"
The ground around Kosaka trembled, and gravel within a wide radius began to levitate, swirling under his power. "The only purpose of our lives is revenge! For my wife! For your parents! For everyone we've lost—revenge!" Kosaka roared, his voice echoing over the beach.
The overwhelming pressure of his power bore down on Akita, forcing him to his knees. His legs sank into the sand, creating two shallow craters, and his face was pressed hard into the ground.
"Run… everyone… run…" Akita choked out, his mouth full of sand. His warning wasn't a plea for mercy—it was a desperate shout of alarm.
Kosaka frowned, following Akita's panicked gaze toward the horizon. His heart sank. Under the dim moonlight, the sea was receding at an alarming speed, exposing vast stretches of wet sand. "No…" Kosaka whispered, his face twisting in horror. He knew exactly what this meant—a tsunami was coming.
"Everyone, run!" Kosaka bellowed, his voice cutting through the chaos. The hundreds of people he had forced to run along the beach froze, their eyes widening as they saw the ocean retreating unnaturally far from the shore.
"It's a tsunami!" someone screamed, triggering a frantic rush inland.
The beach devolved into chaos as people sprinted for their lives. But before they could get far, a deafening roar filled the air. A massive wave, towering tens of meters high, surged toward the shore. It carried with it an acrid, indescribable stench that made those who smelled it gag. "What's that…?" Kosaka muttered, his eyes narrowing as he spotted something strange within the wave.
Under the moonlight, countless shapes could be seen writhing within the water. At first, they seemed like shadows, but as the wave drew closer, their forms became horrifyingly clear.
They were creatures—part human, part aquatic nightmare. Their upper bodies were humanoid, covered in a thick black shell, while their lower halves were a grotesque mix of fins, shrimp-like legs, and crab-like claws. "Enemies!" Kosaka shouted, his voice trembling as the realization hit him.
The tsunami crashed onto the shore with a thunderous boom, sweeping away everything in its path. Buildings crumbled under the weight of the water, and streets were submerged in an instant. From within the wave, the sea monsters emerged in a relentless tide, swarming onto land. Their shrimp-crab legs allowed them to move quickly, even on solid ground, and their sheer numbers were overwhelming. "Run!" Kosaka shouted again, but it was too late for many.
The survivors, battered from training, pushed their exhausted bodies to the limit, desperate to escape. But human speed was no match for the tsunami or the creatures it carried.
Kosaka fought valiantly, his mutant powers allowing him to hold his ground longer than most. But even he was no match for the endless swarm of monsters. "No!" Kosaka roared in despair as the creatures overtook him, tearing him apart. His screams were drowned out by the chaos, and when the tide receded, not a single trace of him remained.
The next morning. At NYC Base, the aftermath of the previous night's harvest celebration was still evident. The people's loyalty to Zack had reached new heights, and despite being given a day off, many workers, especially the older ones, chose to continue working. The steel mill hummed with activity as the workers poured their renewed energy into their tasks. Far from being fatigued, the celebration seemed to have reinvigorated them, boosting efficiency across the base.
Meanwhile, Zack was focused on his next technological project when Ego's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Sir, urgent news. It appears the Tianri's base survivors may be facing extinction."
Zack frowned, setting down the schematics he had been reviewing. "What happened?" he asked, his voice sharp.
Although Zack didn't particularly care about their fate, he was still curious about what could wipe out nearly one million people on the Island in a single night. "Sir, here's the footage captured by the LSI satellite during the event," Ego reported.
A live feed projected a high-altitude satellite image in front of Zack, showing the aftermath. "Abyss Crawlers…" Zack muttered, his face growing serious as he examined the overwhelming black tide moving across the image. His fears had come true—mutated sea creatures had started coming ashore.
In a single night, these creatures had overrun Tianri's last major base, slaughtering nearly one million survivors. By dawn, the Abyss Crawlers had retreated back into the ocean, leaving behind a gruesome scene of rivers of blood and destruction. "It seems things will become more dangerous," Zack remarked as he turned away from the satellite feed.
Ego's assessment was accurate—the survivors were on the brink of extinction. The previous disasters had left most of the country in ruins, with the remaining survivors forced to gather in the last intact base. This concentration of people, however, proved to be their undoing, leading to their complete annihilation. Even if a few individuals managed to escape, their numbers were now too small. "For hours, those Abyss Crawlers didn't return to the ocean… it looks like they've developed full amphibious capabilities," Zack said grimly.
"Ego, have there been similar incidents in other regions?" Zack asked.
"Yes," Ego confirmed. "Last night, some of the nordic's base was also attacked by sea creatures."
"Abyss Crawlers?" Zack asked.
"No. Satellite imagery shows the attack was carried out by a single massive sea creature. Unfortunately, the resolution wasn't high enough for a detailed analysis. The creature was eventually killed by the barbarian base," Ego replied.
Zack frowned. "Another mutated sea creature… It seems nature's mutations aren't limited to land. And it's not just zombies anymore—mutated creatures are spreading across all ecosystems."
Unlike zombies, these mutated animals retained their instincts and reproductive capabilities, giving them a significant evolutionary advantage. Normal species were being driven to extinction, while mutated creatures multiplied rapidly, dominating the food chain. "We need to upgrade our defenses," Zack said, his tone heavy with urgency.