Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System-Chapter 96: Third Wave (PS Bonus)

Author’s Note

This Chapter is a bonus release. Last week, the novel reached the Third in PS Competition. So this extra Chapter is a small reward and continuation for readers following the story.

If you’re enjoying this series, don’t forget to check out my other novel, Living With My Yandere Professor, and support it by adding it to your library.

"Anyone tired?" Isha shouted, her voice echoing across the wall.

"No, Captain!" Everyone replied in unison.

"Good," she nodded. "Take these five minutes. Recover your strength and gather your power. This time, we will fight below the wall."

"Yes, Captain!" Everyone responded, saluting sharply.

Immediately, they lowered their weapons, closed their eyes, and started adjusting their stance.

---

Time passed slowly. Then, 8:00 PM arrived.

The Necrotic Fog stirred violently as the portals within it flickered, unstable at first, before suddenly stabilizing.

This time, they were larger. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The mist had thickened even more than before, spreading wider and covering more ground. The air turned colder and heavier, carrying a stronger stench of decay.

From within the portals, shadows appeared. One by one, zombies stepped out.

But this time, their presence felt different, heavier, more oppressive. Their bodies looked slightly stronger, and their movements were less clumsy than before.

The number was even greater, more than double the previous wave.

The ground beyond the wall was quickly filled as zombies poured out continuously, their numbers swelling into a dense, moving mass.

And among them, the elites appeared again. Roughly the same number as before.

Fifty elite zombies, Berserkers, Leapers, Screamers, Rot Spreaders, and Armored, all mixed within the horde.

Seeing this, Isha felt a slight sense of relief. Her tense expression eased.

"This is manageable..." she murmured.

But then, a sound echoed, it was not the roar of the normal or elite zombies.

"ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR!!!"

The sound came from one of the portals, a larger one, much larger than the others. The fog around it churned violently, as if something bigger was forcing its way through.

Everyone’s attention shifted, and they saw, a massive hand pushed out first, thick, grotesque, with veins bulging like twisted ropes.

Then a foot stepped out."THUD!!!"

The ground shook. And finally, its full body emerged.

The Hulking Zombie - An Apex.

It stood over the others, easily towering above the entire horde. Its body was massive, swollen with unnatural muscle, its skin stretched tight and cracked in places. Dark veins pulsed across its arms and neck, and its chest rose and fell with heavy, beast-like breaths.

Its eyes burned with a faint, eerie glow.

Its arms hung low, nearly reaching its knees, thick enough to crush a human in a single grab.

"ROOOOOOOAAARRRRR!!!" It roared again, louder and more oppressive.

The nearby zombies reacted instantly, their movements growing more aggressive, as if responding to its presence.

On the wall, everyone froze for a split second.

"What the fuck...?" Ayesha muttered, her eyes wide.

Even from this distance, they could see it clearly. Because of its sheer size, it couldn’t be missed.

It was like a moving mountain among corpses.

Isha’s expression hardened again. Her eyes locked onto the Hulking Zombie.

"Captain... this really appeared now? It’s supposed to show up in the last wave, right?" Kavya asked, her eyes fixed on the Hulking Zombie. Her voice carried unease, because this was not normal.

Until today, no Apex Zombie had ever appeared before the final wave of Saturday. This was wrong, dangerously wrong. And they all understood it.

They only had half an hour to finish this.

"Yeah," Isha nodded, her expression turning completely serious. "I already had a bad feeling when the second wave brought fifty elites."

Then she shouted, "Everyone, this is not the time to play! Focus on the targets I assigned you. I’ll handle the Hulking."

The moment she finished speaking, she moved.

"THUD!"

Isha jumped down from the wall. Her landing cracked the ground slightly, and the very next second, she dashed forward, straight toward the Hulking Zombie.

She understood clearly, this had to end before 8:30. Or the cost would be too high.

"Yes, Captain!" everyone shouted.

Arjun moved like a storm around Isha. He didn’t fight the Hulking, he cleared the path. "BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Every normal zombie that came near her dropped. He ran ahead, beside her, and behind her without stopping, ensuring that not a single zombie could disrupt her advance. At the same time, his eyes tracked the Leapers, ready to intercept any that tried to break through.

On another side, James had already locked onto the Berserkers again. Through his scope, targets lined up. He took the bite of his apple.

"BOOM!"

One Berserker dropped. Another bite.

"BOOM!" Another fell.

For him, this was like a child’s play.

Meanwhile Pooja stepped forward, flames already dancing around her fingers. Without hesitation, she unleashed them.

"WHOOSH!"

Fire surged forward, engulfing the Rot Spreader Zombies. Their bloated bodies ignited instantly, and just like before, the flames spread to nearby normal zombies. One by one, clusters burned together, collapsing into charred remains. For her, just like James, it wasn’t a battle, it was a game.

Deepak had already shifted his focus to the Armored Zombies. His reinforced weapon fired in heavy bursts, each shot striking with enough force to stagger even their hardened bodies. Cracks began forming faster this time under his relentless fire.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Imran, Raghav, and Neha moved like a unit, a perfected trio. With Deepak suppressing the Armored Zombies, they were free to dominate everything else. Normal zombies couldn’t even get close.

Leaper Zombies, even in larger numbers, were nothing in front of them. Each leap was predicted by Neha, and Raghav crushed them head-on, Imran held the line like an unbreakable wall.

To them, it was like dealing with children.

Vikram watched everything unfold, and finally, he understood why they were called the frontline fortress, why they were trusted to hold the line. They were not just strong, they also had years of experience, which shaped them into instinct.

On the other hand, Vikrant continued his role flawlessly. Every time a zombie crossed the four hundred meter mark.

"BOOM!"

A shockwave blasted forward. Some zombies were torn apart instantly, while the rest were pushed back violently, their advance completely disrupted. They couldn’t even maintain momentum, and without momentum, they were nothing.

Meanwhile, Arjun had already finished clearing the path around Isha. With no interference left near her, he shifted targets, to the Screamers.

His figure blurred again.

"BANG! BANG! BANG!"

Each shot was a perfect hit. Before the Screamers could even complete their next scream, they were already falling. One by one, they dropped.

This time, the zombies were collapsing faster than the previous wave. Everyone was using their potential to finish it quickly.

Within minutes, most of the elites were gone. The normal zombies were almost wiped out.

And all of this happened before Isha had even fully begun her fight.

Because now, all eyes were shifting toward one thing, the Hulking Zombie.

The Hulking Zombie noticed Isha. Its massive head turned, and its glowing eyes locked onto her.

"ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR!!!"

The sound shook the air. But Isha didn’t slow down. Not even a little.

She looked and waited, till all the zombies, both normal and elite, had been cleared, burnt, shot, and crushed.

The Hulking Zombie stood alone amidst a field of corpses, its massive chest rising and falling heavily as its glowing eyes locked onto Isha, who now stood before it.

Vikram watched everything carefully. "What is Aunt’s power?" he asked, his eyes still fixed ahead. Until now, he had seen everyone’s abilities, but not hers.

"You’ll see," Sana replied calmly. She looked completely relaxed now. With all the other zombies gone, there was nothing left to distract their captain. And more importantly, there was no doubt, not even a little.

Vikram nodded slightly and focused again. His gaze sharpened as he looked directly at the Hulking Zombie. Within seconds, its information appeared before him.

Name: Hulking Zombie (Apex)

Strength: 35

Speed: 10

Stamina: 40

Reaction: 35

Abilities:

Brute Force — Every physical attack carries massive impact, capable of crushing defenses and creating shockwaves on impact.

Iron Flesh — Its skin and muscles are densely compacted, greatly reducing damage from bullets and normal attacks.

Rage Amplification — The more damage it takes, the more aggressive and powerful it becomes, increasing its strength and reaction speed.

Ground Smash — Can slam the ground with its arms, creating a localized shockwave that can knock back or destabilize enemies.

Pain Resistance — Feels minimal pain, allowing it to continue fighting even with severe damage.

Vikram’s eyes narrowed slightly. This wasn’t something that could be taken down easily. Its stats were built for raw dominance, strength, durability, and reaction speed. Even its weaknesses were minimal.

Then his gaze shifted toward Isha, who stood calmly before it.

#

Author Note,

I’m currently developing a bot based on a Plant Life System 🌱. It’s still in the development phase, but you can already explore and enjoy it! You’ll be able to discover different types of plants, collect Sprouts, and catch them. If you’re interested, feel free to join my Discord and be part of the journey 🚀

Also buy my privilege, and let’s me reach on the top ten. Thanks everyone for Powerstone and Golden Ticket.