With the entire Atlas Federation watching, Fallen Star Squad wiped out their first Yamato Empire compound.

Out of the hundreds of thousands inside, most were killed. A small number managed to escape, but in an apocalypse crawling with zombies, their odds of surviving weren’t great.

Tens of millions of Federation citizens watched it like a feast.

And just like that, Fallen Star Squad’s status in the Federation hit a new peak. They weren’t just strong anymore—they were untouchable. The kind of people everyone pointed at and called idols.

In a world where hope was getting harder and harder to find, their strength gave the Federation something simple and addictive:

A reason to believe they might actually make it.

Before the world ended, if Fallen Star Squad had slaughtered tens of thousands—even if those people were Yamato—there would’ve been plenty of bleeding hearts screaming about morality.

But it had been almost a year since the fall.

Anyone still alive had seen mountains of corpses. Anyone still alive had blood on their hands.

And honestly? Even before the apocalypse, the Yamato Empire weren’t that different from zombies—invading, ambushing, slaughtering.

Henry finally shut off the camera.

Then the squad went full "bandits passing through," turning the compound upside down. They hauled out rare materials and supplies... and crystal cores piled so high it looked ridiculous.

And the "porn stars"?

Yeah. They were real.

They’d been hidden in a building in the back.

When the squad pushed into that place, the sight nearly made everyone’s eyes short-circuit.

The building was huge. Hundreds of women lived inside, and every one of them was gorgeous—faces, bodies, the whole package.

And they were all dressed in different outfits. Like somebody had turned a costume shop into a bunker.

Maid uniforms. Flight attendants. Nurses. JK outfits. Black stockings, white stockings. Some outfits sheer. Some not. Everything you could think of.

The squad just stood there, stunned.

Gotta admit... this compound really knew how to "live."

No wonder they hadn’t seen any pretty women outside during the fight.

They’d been keeping them all back here.

Looks like the Yamato Empire really turned indulgence into an art form after the apocalypse.

Ethan couldn’t help wondering if the other compounds were like this too. Because this was—honestly—kind of insane.

The women were crouched on the floor, shivering. Clearly, they’d heard what happened outside.

But the looks on their faces didn’t exactly scream fear... if anything, it felt more like temptation.

And Fallen Star Squad were all young men and women with blood still hot in their veins.

A scene like this? It was hard not to get pulled in.

Mia glanced at Ethan. "Well? Are they pretty?"

"Uh..." Ethan coughed, suddenly very interested in the wall. "They’re... okay."

Mia’s eyes narrowed a little. "Then we don’t have to look. Let’s go, okay?"

"...Okay," Ethan said, and tried to turn—

—but his eyes weren’t exactly cooperating.

Mia leaned in close, voice so soft it barely counted as sound. Her cheeks were bright red.

"If you really like this kind of thing... I could wear something like it for you..." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Ethan snapped his head around and stared at her.

With Mia’s face and figure, if she put on any of that—

Yeah. That would be a problem.

Heat rushed through him, fast and blunt. Lately, this girl was getting more and more proactive.

And... honestly?

He didn’t hate it.

"Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go," Ethan said immediately, turning toward Big Mike and the others with righteous outrage. "What’s so special about this? Doesn’t the Atlas Federation have beautiful women too?"

"We do," Skinny Pete said honestly, eyes still glued to the room, "but not this... extreme."

"...."

"Alright," Chris cut in, voice firm. "Look if you want, but don’t get any ideas. We’re Fallen Star Squad. We’ve got a reputation to keep."

As he spoke, his eyes flicked—almost unconsciously—toward Emily.

"Exactly," Ethan said, riding the momentum. "We’re Fallen Star Squad. What kind of woman can’t we get? Once things stabilize, I’ll set every one of you up with somebody."

He’d basically been playing matchmaker lately—and every couple he’d arranged had somehow worked out.

"...Fine." Reluctantly, the others pulled their eyes away.

Truth was, they mostly just liked looking.

If it came down to actually doing something... they probably wouldn’t. Not with women like this. Too many red flags, and not exactly clean.

"Ethan," Chris said, looking at him. "What do we do with them?"

Killing them... yeah. Even for them, that was a hard line to step over.

Ethan hesitated, thinking it through. Then he shook his head. "Forget it. Leave them. We’re hitting the next compound."

"...Alright."

They turned to go.

But the moment they started moving, the hundreds of women inside suddenly dropped to their knees like a wave.

One of them—pretty, shaking—forced out broken Federation Standard.

"Please... you take us... with you. We take care you... make you feel... very good."

They weren’t stupid. If Fallen Star Squad left, there was a good chance they’d end up as zombie food.

The implication in her words made everyone’s minds jump somewhere unpleasant, and a cold shiver ran through the group.

"Yeah... no thanks," someone muttered. "We wouldn’t survive that."

A moment later, they mounted their flying beasts and left the compound behind.

In the days that followed, Ethan and the others rampaged through the Yamato Empire without restraint.

Compound after compound fell.

Crystal cores stacked up. Rare resources poured in until it felt like they couldn’t even carry it all.

And across the Yamato Empire, a fear deeper than anything the apocalypse had taught them began to spread—thick, choking, and constant.

They’d lived with the end of the world for a long time.

But this?

This was different.

Yamato Empire High Command.

Ryuji Takahashi—the current top leader of the Yamato Empire—sat with the rest of their highest-ranking officials in a sealed meeting room.

Every face was tight. Every brow furrowed.

"Takahashi-san," one senior official burst out, furious, "the whole Yamato Empire is panicking. This can’t go on! Are we seriously saying the Yamato Empire can’t deal with a handful of Atlas Federation invaders?!"

"Deal with them?" Takahashi shot back, exasperation leaking through. "How? You’ve all seen the battle footage. Their strength is at least Tier 15 and up. So tell me—how do you ’deal with’ that?"

"Then we just watch?" another man snapped. "At this rate it won’t be long before they reach Edo City. And then our nation is finished!"

That hit like a stone.

The room fell silent, because everyone could see it: the direction the blade was moving, and who it was aimed at next.

"How did those Atlas Federation invaders get this strong?" someone demanded, voice raw. "The apocalypse happened the same day for everyone! We don’t even have Tier 12 here—how are they that high?"

"Who knows?" someone else said harshly. "This isn’t the time. The problem is: what do we do? Those people are like lunatics—killing across Yamato nonstop. If we don’t stop them, Yamato is over!"

"This is your fault, Ishikawa," another official snarled. "If you hadn’t suggested luring those Infernals into the Atlas Federation, we wouldn’t be in this mess!"

"You’re blaming me now?" Ishikawa shot back, face red. "Everyone agreed. And if we hadn’t diverted the Infernals, we might’ve been wiped out by them already."

"That’s ridiculous," someone cut in. "There are still Infernals over there and they’re not slaughtering like this. They killed a lot at first, sure, but now they don’t even kill that much. They just eat. Keep them fed and they settle down. With our population, we could’ve fed them for a long time."

"Wait..." Takahashi’s eyes sharpened, a spark igniting. "Infernals."

The room quieted immediately.

Takahashi leaned forward. "Why don’t we lure Fallen Star Squad to the foot of Mount Fuji? Infernals come out there all the time. We use the Infernals to wipe them out for us."

For a beat, nobody spoke—then faces shifted, hope creeping in like a drug.

"Oh..." someone said, almost reverent. "Yes. Takahashi-san... brilliant."