Chapter 20：Brain Nexus and core crystal
Just by thinking it, Zane kicked off a vibe that spread out from him like he was the epicenter.
This was Zane's new trick: [Dead Zone]!
Right now, this freaky power zone only stretched about thirty feet. Without meaning to, he caught Emma, who was just scrubbing the floor, right in the middle of it.
In a flash, Emma froze solid, shaking like she was stuck in a nightmare full of dead bodies and oceans of blood, terror ripping through her.
This was the hardcore clamp-down effect of [Dead Zone] on folks!
"What... what's going on?"
Emma was clueless. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zane, who had been chilling on the couch watching TV, had vanished into thin air.
Where did the boss bounce to?
Another slick feature of [Dead Zone] was going stealth.
But wait, there's more.
At that moment, Zane's world turned red, and the solid walls around him got all wavy, like he was looking through water.
He reached out, and dude, his hand just slipped right through the wall.
Then he stepped forward.
Zane walked straight through the wall from the living room to the kitchen like it was nothing.
Of course, no one else could see this wild scene!
Another perk of [Dead Zone] let Zane ignore all the usual rules, walking through walls or objects, or even tunneling through the ground.
Inside this freaky [Dead Zone], if Zane wanted, he could literally snatch someone's heart out without touching them!
"Man, this power is wicked..."
Zane was quietly impressed. Perfect for taking someone out or making a slick getaway, a ghostly corpse king who could vanish and walk through walls—who could mess with that?
Still, this space-bending power was a brain-drainer and couldn't be kept up non-stop.
As Zane strolled through the wall into the kitchen.
Back in the living room, Emma, now outside the freak zone, hit the floor on her knees, panting hard, feeling totally wiped.
"What just went down? Where's the boss?"
Just then, Zane strolled back into the living room from the kitchen.
"This..."
Emma's eyes popped.
The boss had been right there on the sofa a hot minute ago; how'd he roll in from the kitchen?
Totally weirded out!
A chill ran down her spine.
"Boss, what was all that?"
"Nothing much."
Zane played it cool. As he kept evolving, his talk game was back on point, smooth and kinda captivating.
From the outside, he looked just like any regular dude.
"Oh..."
Emma clammed up, not pushing it.
She went back to mopping the floor like her life depended on it.
Over the past couple of weeks, Zane's three zombie sidekicks had beefed up big time.
Jake had bulked up even more.
Dude was towering over two meters now, muscles popping out like he was auditioning for a mini Hulk role!
Zoe got a speed boost.
Zane saw her in action, spotting humans hunting for grub and swooping in like a tornado.
Her dual bone claws were a blur, tearing through her targets like they were paper.
Nathan, though, was the weirdo of the group.
He wasn't just into dissecting humans and munching on their organs.
Lately, he'd started chopping up other zombies too, tossing their bits all over the place like some gruesome jigsaw puzzle.
It's worth noting these three zombie lieutenants had gathered a bunch of followers.
They had the chops to be corpse kings, bossing around other zombies.
When they weren't on duty, they'd hang out near the skyscraper.
During this downtime, Zane let them run wild, beefing up on their own.
Zane also clocked another trend.
The street zombies were now booking it, outpacing regular humans, a big step up from their early stiff moves when the Apocalypse first hit.
Clearly, they were leveling up.
The zombie squad was on an evolution spree, getting tougher by the minute.
"I wonder how the humans are holding up?"
Zane pondered, lounging on the sofa, whipping out his smartphone to scoop some intel.
Humans were still sending out signals.
As he unlocked his phone, a notification snagged his attention: 'Quantum Leap Innovations has cooked up a zombie wipeout strategy.'
"Wipe out the zombies?"
Zane knew these guys.
Quantum Leap Innovations was big on virus and gene tech, kind of like the Umbrella Corporation from 'Resident Evil.'
They had a setup in Verdantia too.
Curious, Zane tapped the notification for the scoop.
Quantum Leap Innovations had engineered a bioweapon called 'Hunter One,' designed to trash zombies. They were gearing up for mass production.
The promo pic showed the 'Hunter' as a Franken-freak, nearly three meters tall, packing a Gatling gun, draped in ammo chains.
It sported a giant iron hammer on its back.
Its noggin was a mess of stitched scars, looking like a centipede had a field day on it—fierce and freaky.
Zane's take: uglier than a zombie...
Best not to mess with it.
Scrolling down, Quantum Leap Innovations had also dropped a press release.
'Our major corporations have set up safe havens. Survivors, head our way, and we'll keep you safe.'
The comments were a mixed bag.
"Quantum Leap Innovations is the bomb, leading the tech game, still kicking in the Apocalypse."
"Don't trust Quantum Leap Innovations' haven, they'll just experiment on you, no real protection."
"Could Hunter One be made from humans?"
"Stick to the official havens if you can!"
"....."
Zane skipped the rest.
Safe havens weren't his scene...
But the next news bit caught his eye.
It came from an official haven.
"After tests, some humans are evolving. They can sprint 100 meters in 6 seconds and throw punches with a ton of force. Experts say this power comes from a 'Brain Nexus' forming in the skull."
"If your head's itching, you might be evolving."
Looks like humans were changing too, but no special powers yet.
Experts said the 'Brain Nexus' would eventually turn into a 'core crystal,' and that's when the powers would kick in.
Evolution takes time.
No one just wakes up with superpowers.
That would be too easy...
Zane felt pumped. With his stash of flesh and the massive energy he'd soaked up, whether from humans or zombies, he was on track to be the first to form a core crystal and unlock some serious powers!