The music played softly through the eyepad resting in the twin's ear, defying the carnage that painted the sky in fire.
Happy my mother day,
These men be thinking they dominant until I make my mother the queen of the world,
She held me down through the pain and the flame,
Now I'm stackin' this bread, drippin' in pearls...
The male twin's head turned slowly toward the explosion above, the wreckage of the blimp collapsing in a fiery arc across the city. His dead eyes blinked once—then froze.
A faint chime echoed in his mind.
ALERT!
A glowing notification appeared in front of him like a hologram burned into his vision:
> [SYSTEM INITIATED]
"Welcome, Contender. This is your new life—fragile, temporary, and teetering on extinction."
"You are not alone. There are fifty zombie contenders who, like you, were transferred into this world. A brutal competition begins now."
"Every two months, the five contenders at the bottom of the leaderboard will be executed by Death, one of the Seven Horrors. To survive, you must rise."
"Convert humans. Grow your horde. The more zombies under your control, the further you stay from elimination."
"Only three contenders will remain in the end. The rest will fall."
"To ensure fairness, leveling is available. Your current rank is: Zombie. Below is the progression tree and their abilities."
ZOMBIE RANK SYSTEM
(From Base to Ascended)
1. Zombie
Abilities: None. You are a mindless shell with faint memories.
Weaknesses: Vulnerable to fire, holy relics, sunlight slows movement.
2. Zombie Novice
Abilities: Control up to 2 basic zombies.
Gain: Slight speed increase, partial resistance to pain.
Requirement to Advance: Convert 10 humans.
3. Ghoul Initiate
Abilities: Control up to 5 zombies, including one mutated (stronger, faster).
Gain: Enhanced bite strength, night vision.
New Skill: Ferocious Roar – momentarily stuns nearby humans.
Requirement to Advance: Dominate a human shelter.
4. Ghoul Commander
Abilities: Control up to 15 zombies, command one elite (more intelligent zombie).
Gain: Increased tactical awareness.
New Skill: Pack Coordination – temporarily boosts all zombie movement and aggression.
5. Rotting Lord
Abilities: Control up to 50 zombies, immune to decay.
New Skill: Corpse Bloom – summon fresh undead from nearby corpses.
Aura: Spreads disease in a 10-meter radius.
6. Death Warden
Abilities: Control up to 150 zombies. Immune to all non-magical damage.
New Skill: Viral Plague – infects entire buildings.
Gain: Begins to emit death aura, able to reanimate fallen enemies.
7. Lich
Abilities: Control up to 300 zombies, create permanent undead generals.
New Skill: Soul Anchor – bind your soul to an object, preventing true death unless it's destroyed.
Gain: Mastery of necrotic magic, partial skeletal transformation.
Aura: Mind manipulation over weaker humans and zombies.
8. Phantom Lich (Hidden Evolution)
Abilities: Control unlimited undead, phase between realities.
New Skill: Night March – teleport entire undead legions across great distances.
Requirement to Unlock: Kill a Seven Horror or consume the soul of a rival Lich.