In White Emperor City
Novak sighed and collapsed onto the sofa, rubbing his temples, which were still throbbing. A rare look of frustration crossed his face.
He had been too optimistic.
His plans had been thorough—meticulous, even—but reality had a way of disrupting even the best-laid strategies.
Returning from the Abyss, he no longer needed to concern himself with its development. With Baphomet and Zogwort overseeing operations, the construction of the city would proceed smoothly. The arena and chamber of commerce would function as planned, step by step.
There was only one thing he truly needed to focus on:
Strength.
His plan was straightforward.
First, he would accelerate the growth and evolution of Biochemical Disaster, slaying 100,000 zombies and 100 mutant zombies in the process.
Then, once he reached level 20 or so, he would challenge the Hell-level Plague Sewer dungeon again. If successful, he would attempt to enter Hell itself—searching for further information about hell while hunting powerful prey.
If all went well, obtaining SSS-grade devil blood would be the ultimate prize, marking the completion of this phase of his plan.
However—his first step had already hit a roadblock.
Killing 100,000 zombies was not an issue.
If he wanted, he could summon endless hordes with ease.
But—where was he supposed to find 100 mutant zombies?
White Emperor City had been gradually expanding its influence over De M-anila, the sprawling metropolis nearby. The Ocean Blue Villa District, where White Emperor City was located, had already been mostly cleared.
Of course, millions of zombies still roamed the city.
De M-anila, after all, was one of the largest cities in the Faeloria Country, home to over ten million people before the apocalypse. Eradicating every last undead was an impossible feat—at least, not in the short term.
Even so, something felt off.
Novak sat on the sofa, deep in thought, ignoring Ruri, who was crouching at his feet.
In the beginning, when he first obtained the Biochemical Disaster, he hadn't paid much attention to its evolution requirements.
Why would he?
In the later years of the apocalypse, nearly every zombie had undergone mutations. Back then, mutated zombies were as common as evolutionists—it was simply a natural progression.
But now, two months into the apocalypse, something was wrong.
The zombies' evolution was lagging behind.
Compared to the rapid growth of human evolutionists, the undead were evolving at an unexpectedly slow pace.
Yet decades later, these very same zombies—now referred to as "The Undead"—would become the greatest enemy of all evolutionists on Kepler.
So… when did they suddenly grow stronger?
Novak frowned, thoughts racing.
In his previous life, he had been reborn over 70 years after the apocalypse.
Much of his past had faded, buried beneath the weight of time and irrelevance. After all, many things simply hadn't mattered to him back then.
Yet the impact of these forgotten events on the world had been massive.
Something was missing.
Novak could almost see it—fragments of memories like scattered stars in the void.
In the early days of the apocalypse, there had been a series of major events—world-shaking incidents that set everything into motion.
Some of them had been opportunities—opportunities he had once known about.
But after changing professions and gaining full authority over the Abyss, many of those opportunities had become meaningless to him. There was no point wasting time chasing what he no longer needed.
However… when it came to zombies…
There had been an event.
An event that altered the course of the entire world.
But what was it?
Novak's mind burned with the question. His mental energy surged, scouring through the long-buried remnants of forgotten history, searching for the answer.
What happened… in the beginning?
At that moment, a special pop-up window appeared in front of Novak's eyes.
It wasn't a private message, nor was it a task notification or upgrade alert.
This was different.
A world notification—a message directly from the Cosmic Will itself.
And it wasn't just him.
From the way Ruri suddenly froze, Novak knew that she had received the same notification.
This was an Evolutionary Announcement—a message that every Evolutionary participating in this cycle of the Gods and Devils Trial Field was forced to see.
In every apocalypse, such an announcement appeared only once—at the very beginning.
But now, less than two months later, the announcement had returned.
[Cosmic Will Notification]
The first Trial Field World Fusion will begin in seven days!
The fusion world will become a Biochemical Zombie World.
After fusion, the evolution rate of zombie creatures will accelerate! New variants will emerge!
Primary fusion areas: Cities, towns, and all major human gathering locations.
Estimated expansion: 44 million square kilometers!
(Note: Any settlements built using a "Construction Token" will remain unaffected! All other locations—including wilderness areas—will be expanded accordingly.)
[Cosmic Will Notification]
In 30 minutes, the "Biochemical Zombie World" Secret Realm will open for exploration!
All Evolutionaries who are Level ≥ 10 and have completed their job transfer may enter!
Performance-based points will be awarded! New point-based rewards and functions available for exploration!
The moment this message appeared, it echoed across the world, appearing in front of every Evolutionary.
Novak froze.
Then, a spark ignited in his mind—something that had been buried in the depths of his memory suddenly lit up like a beacon.
Yes!
World Fusion!
His eyes flashed with realization.
For some time, he had felt like something was missing—a piece of history he should have remembered.
Now, he knew what it was.
In his previous life, Kepler had become a hundred times larger.
The Faeloria Country, vast as it was, had expanded so much that even mid-level Evolutionaries struggled to travel beyond their immediate regions.
Take De M-anila and D-avao, for instance.
Right now, they were barely a thousand miles apart.
But in the future, the distance would stretch to tens of thousands—if not hundreds of thousands—of miles.
What kind of expansion was that?!
And more importantly—how did it happen?
This was how!
Every once in a while, World Fusion would occur.
With each fusion, new maps emerged.
New dungeons appeared.
New world-class secret realms were unlocked.
And every first fusion event was an incredible opportunity for Evolutionaries.
The very first fusion that Kepler experienced was this one—the integration of the Biochemical Zombie World!
It was after this event that zombie evolution exploded, allowing the undead to advance at the same rate as Evolutionaries.
Novak snapped out of his daze, his mind sharpening.
Ignoring Ruri, who was equally stunned, he focused his thoughts.
The first time around, countless Evolutionaries had no idea what a "Biochemical Zombie World" truly meant.
But he did.
This was more than just a merging of worlds.
It was the beginning of something far greater!
And this time—he would be ready.
This wasn't the kind of zombie apocalypse found in movies or television.
It was far worse.
A world that had been completely annihilated by biochemical zombies.
Humanity was gone.
Every city, every civilization—devoured.
All that remained were endless hordes of the undead.
The universe was simply too vast.
Endless dimensions and realms, each holding unimaginable worlds, all with their own unique scenarios and histories.
The Biochemical Zombie World was no exception.
But world fusion—as dictated by the Cosmic Will—was never random.
Take the Biochemical World, for instance.
Even though the zombies there possessed terrifying strength, they lacked intelligence.
There was no civilization, no progress—just a world of mindless slaughter.
That's why the Cosmic Will had chosen to merge it with Kepler during this cycle of the Gods and Demons Trial Field.
It was a gradual process, an experiment in survival.
In gaming terms, it was like merging servers.
If a server's player base dwindled, there was no reason to keep it running.
The same logic applied to universal expansion—merging weaker or stagnant worlds into larger, more dynamic ones.
This wasn't just about expanding territory; it was about evolution.
Driven by the Cosmic Will, the zombie species in the Biochemical Zombie World were about to undergo a new stage of evolution.
And it had happened before.
In his previous life, when this Biochemical Zombie World fused with Kepler, the virus mutated.
Zombies that once mindlessly roamed the streets evolved.
Some gained intelligence.
Some learned to hunt strategically.
And eventually, they started calling themselves the Undead.
This was the true purpose of world integration.