[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-apocalypse-king-of-zombies":3,"chapter-apocalypse-king-of-zombies-apocalypse-king-of-zombies-chapter-1248":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Apocalypse: King of Zombies",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},697345,930,"Chapter 1248: A Foundation for the Future","apocalypse-king-of-zombies-chapter-1248",1248,"\u003Cp>Capítulo 1248: A Foundation for the Future\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like Henry had guessed, this so-called Celestial Stairway was actually an insanely complex ritual circle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the ritual circle’s core—the runic disk—was embedded right on the 99th step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The complexity of it was on a completely different level from the ritual circle they’d seen on that altar before. This one was far more intricate—denser, deeper, and way harder to parse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Set into the runic disk were nine strange stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every single one of them radiated terrifying energy—more power than any crystal core Ethan had ever seen, not even close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under True Sight, Ethan could see something even crazier:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those stones could absorb mysterious energy on their own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The absorption rate was extremely slow, though. If Ethan hadn’t stared for a long time with True Sight, he wouldn’t have noticed it at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nobody knew how long this space had existed, but after who-knew-how-many years of accumulation, those stones were already full to the brim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…Though now they seemed a little less full.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the energy that had poured into their bodies earlier had come from these stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan only realized that during his own upgrade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before that, he’d been baffled—where the hell had that much energy even come from?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he had his answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the “stairs” below?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were just normal steps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All that pressure had been radiating from the runic disk. The closer you got to it, the heavier the pressure became.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now that Ethan had stuffed the entire runic disk into his spatial storage ring, the pressure naturally vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once they got back to Fallen Star City, he’d have Miles build an identical staircase. Then they’d install the runic disk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just like that—Fallen Star City would have its own Celestial Stairway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the energy inside those mysterious stones could be consumed. So it wasn’t like Ethan could let everyone line up and take turns milking it dry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the future, they could set up a merit system in Fallen Star City—only people with enough contribution points would be allowed to challenge it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, even though the Celestial Stairway only gave an energy reward on the first clear, people could still challenge it afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even without rewards, it could temper willpower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that pressure was incredible for body tempering, too. Train against it regularly, and your physical stats would keep climbing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something this good?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan obviously wasn’t letting it slip away. The reason he’d been “messing around” up there for so long was simple—he’d been figuring out how to pry the runic disk out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Chris and the others heard Fallen Star City would eventually have its own Celestial Stairway, their faces lit up one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They understood exactly what this meant for a compound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the kind of foundation that could let Fallen Star City rise for real.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grace—thank you.” Ethan looked at her, gratitude plain in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He honestly hadn’t expected that a casual act of help back then would lead to an opportunity this huge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What they’d gained on this trip almost matched everything they’d fought and bled for over the past half-year of the apocalypse. If not for Grace, they probably would’ve never found this place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The truth was, there were plenty of Void Realms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The problem was, almost none had been discovered—because every entrance was absurdly hidden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like this one. Who would ever guess it was tucked into a mountain ravine in the middle of nowhere? Without someone to lead you, you could search for a lifetime and still miss it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ethan, you really don’t have to,” Grace said, surprisingly clear-eyed about it. “If it weren’t for you guys, the three of us would’ve died a long time ago. And honestly, what you earned here—you earned it yourselves. We just showed you the way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Either way, we never would’ve found this place without you,” Ethan said seriously. “I’ll make it up to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What kind of reward?” Chloe asked, eyes shining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan only smiled. “You’ll see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grace laughed. “If it’s something from Ethan, it has to be huge. I’m definitely not turning that down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, we’re basically family now.” Ethan chuckled. “If Sean ever gives you trouble, tell me. I’ll handle him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Seriously?!” Sean stared at him. “What did I do to deserve that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright,” Ethan said, waving them on. “Let’s move. Everyone spread out and see if there’s anything else worth taking.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Got it!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They split up fast and started searching through the Void Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ethan, we’ve searched this place a bunch of times already,” Grace said. “There’s nothing left.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s fine.” Ethan grinned. “Let’s look again. At the very least, you guys never searched up top.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, they actually did find something—under the collapsed main hall up above, they dug out a few scattered weapons and a black box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The box was made of some kind of special material, probably meant to preserve something important.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan opened it and quickly found two ancient-looking books neatly placed inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Manuals?!” Everyone’s eyes lit up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan picked them up and flipped through a few pages, then could only sigh and put them away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yeah… this was going to need Miles to decipher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright,” Ethan said, tucking the box away. “Time to go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone nodded, and they left the Void Realm together, heading back the way they’d come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d only just made it out of the mountain range when a group of people suddenly came sprinting toward them like their lives depended on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind them, a massive tiger was charging after them, closing the distance fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One person after another got caught.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each time, the tiger’s jaws snapped down—and the unlucky runner was bitten to death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grace’s face went white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were people from her compound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Over here!” Grace shouted, yanking out her weapon and squaring up to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not far away, Jared and a few men were lying low behind a hill, watching with tense faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jared…” one man whispered nervously. “You’re really planning to get Grace and the others killed too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jared snorted. “They made the first move. Since they were so eager to hand the whole compound over to that man, I don’t owe them anything anymore.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes gleamed with excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once they’re dead, the compound is mine. I’ll build it up—make it bigger.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…But you like Grace,” the man said carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jared laughed under his breath. “So what? She’s always looked down on me. Then she turns around and goes with some other guy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He licked his lips, voice turning cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In the apocalypse, feelings are the cheapest thing there is. Only strength and territory matter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As long as I become the compound leader, the women in the compound… I can pick whoever I want.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s right.” The other two immediately piled on, eager to curry favor. “From now on, we’re with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group stared ahead, buzzing with anticipation—waiting for the mutant tiger to hit the crowd and tear them into bloody pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a second later, every expression on their faces stiffened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the savage, charging tiger suddenly stopped right in front of the fleeing group—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then turned around and bolted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What the hell?” Jared and the others went blank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It… it looks like it got scared off,” one lackey said, swallowing hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No way!” another snapped. “That’s a Tier 11 mutant tiger! Who the hell could scare that off?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a heartbeat later…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were going to have no choice but to believe it.\u003C\u002Fp>",1246,"2026-06-02T09:29:46.187Z",1,"novelbin.me","e1ce3deb1d9b77e686d35046fd20e633d7b8b9b6b57446fc6af4619779db60d6","apocalypse-king-of-zombies-chapter-1249","apocalypse-king-of-zombies-chapter-1247",1329,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fapocalypse-king-of-zombies-cover.jpg"]