[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-apocalypse-king-of-zombies":3,"chapter-apocalypse-king-of-zombies-apocalypse-king-of-zombies-chapter-682":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},696700,930,"Chapter 682: The Black Market","apocalypse-king-of-zombies-chapter-682",682,"\u003Cp>When the kid started talking about his girlfriend, his voice was full of pride. \"So? Think it over again, will ya? As long as I can make money, I’ll do whatever it takes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let’s talk inside,\" Ethan said, not turning him down. He’d just arrived in town, and honestly, he could use a guide—someone who knew the lay of the land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ricky’s eyes lit up. He could tell there was a chance here, and he got excited fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He followed Ethan into the guest room. Thanks to the daily cleaning service, the place was still pretty tidy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s your name?\" Ethan asked first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m Ricky! C’mon, Dane, you forgot already?\" the kid replied with a grin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan nodded. \"I’ve had a lot on my plate lately. I’ve got a few questions for you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ask away! There’s nothing in this town I don’t know!\" Ricky said with total confidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t bluffing. He’d been running errands and doing odd jobs around town since he was a kid. People called him the walking encyclopedia of the slums.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan got straight to the point. \"I need a large supply of weapons. Know where I can get them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Weapons? You mean like alloy swords and stuff?\" Ricky looked confused. \"There’s tons of places in town that sell weapons. Hell, even the Mercenary Inn has some.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not that kind,\" Ethan said flatly. \"I’m talking about Lightsabers—powered by crystal cores.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ricky froze. \"Lightsabers... powered by crystal cores?\" He’d heard of them before—top-tier tech from human civilization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No way a slum merc could afford one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Awakeners in the Inner City had a hard time getting their hands on them. You needed serious power and status just to qualify. And the cost? Astronomical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"D-Dane, you’re not messing with me, right? If we could get our hands on those, why the hell would we still be mercs?\" Ricky’s voice wavered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his head, he was already dreaming—if he had a Lightsaber, he’d be living the high life by now...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan narrowed his eyes. He’d figured they’d be hard to get, but he hadn’t expected them to be this rare. Top-tier human tech... yeah, that wasn’t gonna be easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he didn’t just need a few—he needed tens of thousands. A massive order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well, sounds like you’re not cut out for our team, then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wait, no! Don’t say that!\" Ricky’s face fell. His mind raced. \"We could try the Black Market! Yeah! I’ve heard that if you’ve got the cash, you can buy anything there!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh?\" Ethan raised an eyebrow. \"That could work.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’d be a good chance to see just how far human tech had come. Maybe there was more than just Lightsabers out there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Take me there tomorrow.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sure thing! No problem!\" Ricky agreed instantly. He’d been around long enough to know where the Black Market entrance was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They called it the Black Market for a reason—everything there was shady. Stolen, looted, scammed—you name it, it was there. Nothing had a clean origin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that wasn’t even the worst of it. There were rumors of illegal human trafficking and other dark dealings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Ricky’s eyes wandered, a thought popped into his head. \"Hey, Dane—what about your other teammates?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They... went home,\" Ethan said casually, brushing it off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh... okay.\" Ricky nodded, not really getting it, but not pushing either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he headed off to rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was buzzing with excitement. Getting to work for Dane felt like a golden ticket. He was sure that joining a mercenary team meant money—real money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enough to pay his girlfriend’s tuition. Maybe even buy his way into the Inner City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once he crossed that line, he’d be someone. A real somebody.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That night, Ricky’s dreams were full of hope—bright, ambitious, and full of promise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no idea... the gears of fate had already begun to turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan’s first day in human civilization passed quietly—uneventful, really. Everything went according to plan, no surprises, no drama.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, the Outer Zone was even more barren than he’d expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure, there weren’t any zombies roaming around, but it was still a dog-eat-dog world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you wanted rare resources, you had to head into the Inner City. But Ethan wasn’t about to rush in just yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Instructors in the Inner City were no joke—each one was at least S+ rank. If there were thousands of them? That’d be a serious problem. And that’s not even counting the other top-tier elites.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is it just me, or did humanity evolve a little too fast?\" Ethan muttered to himself, something about it didn’t sit right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the Zombie Kings of Necroterra, humans didn’t seem to be at a disadvantage at all. In fact, they’d built a fully functioning society—organized, efficient, and powerful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t add up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan had a theory: maybe humans had discovered some kind of shortcut. A drug, maybe. Something that could accelerate evolution at an unnatural pace. If that were true, it had to be a top-level secret—something the elites kept hidden from the lower classes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A privilege reserved for the upper crust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time ticked by. The Mercenary Inn, while a bit chaotic, was surprisingly safe. Nothing out of the ordinary happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The whole town was under a strict curfew, too, which made the nights eerily quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just like that, a long night passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the crack of dawn, with the sky still a pale gray, Ricky came knocking—eager to prove himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Boss! So... am I officially part of your squad now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah,\" Ethan said without looking up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Should we, like, register somewhere or something?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No need. If I say you’re in, you’re in,\" Ethan replied casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, cool! Alright, let’s hit the Black Market. I’ve only ever heard about it—never been inside. No clue how it works, honestly. Kinda curious.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just get me there. That’s all I need,\" Ethan said, brushing off the details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They left the Mercenary Inn and stepped into the bustling streets. The town was already alive with activity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mercs were gearing up, prepping for missions. The roar of aircraft engines filled the air as sleek vessels shot into the sky, leaving trails of light behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entrance to the Black Market was located right on the edge of the Exile Zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Made sense—if anything went sideways, you could bolt straight into the Exile Zone, where there were no rules, no law, and no oversight from human civilization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About half an hour later, they reached the outskirts of town.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There! That’s the place,\" Ricky said, pointing ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a three-story building tucked into the far edge of the district. Looked like a regular shop from the outside—nothing flashy, nothing suspicious. Just a clever front for the Black Market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you’d never guess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Pretty well hidden...\" Ethan muttered, then walked straight in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, there was a counter, and behind it stood an old man, hunched over, scribbling in a ledger. He didn’t even glance up when they entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’re you looking for?\" the old man asked, voice dry and indifferent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lightsabers,\" Ethan said bluntly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could sense it immediately—the old man wasn’t just some shopkeeper. His aura was strong. S+ level strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If even the doorman had that kind of power, then the Black Market was no joke. Rumor had it the place was backed by some big-shot from the Inner City. Setting it up in the Outer Zone was just a strategic move—close to the Exile Zone, easy to disappear if needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man finally reacted, just a flicker of surprise in his expression. Slowly, he lifted his head, cloudy eyes scanning Ethan first, then flicking over to Ricky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, without a word, a wave of psychic energy swept through the room—subtle, almost undetectable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"S+ level psychic Awakener...\" Ethan instantly recognized it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man was probing them, quietly scanning their energy signatures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Strong, no doubt. But to Ethan?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still a small fish in a very big pond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...\u003C\u002Fp>",1324,"2026-06-02T09:29:25.995Z",1,"novelbin.me","c610dd42cec96841a343fe472ce46ab4b604ddc63543832baa2f0fb23b837c2d","apocalypse-king-of-zombies-chapter-683","apocalypse-king-of-zombies-chapter-681",1329,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fapocalypse-king-of-zombies-cover.jpg"]