(Author's note: some of you might notice some inconsistencies in Kaden's behavior in this chapter, but it's not a mistake on my part, so put down the torches as everything will be explained at the end of chapter 22.)

"Alright, everyone, let's get this meeting started!" Kaden exclaimed while clapping his hands to get the attention of the many contestants gathered on the top floor of the skyscraper where he usually stayed.

"I'm sure that everyone already knows why I invited you all here today!" Kaden exclaimed after pausing for several seconds while waiting for the contestants to stop murmuring. 

"But before we get to that, we need to decide on some simple rules to make sure that everything goes smoothly," Kaden added with a serious expression on his face.

"Oh yeah? And I suppose you already have those so-called rules figured out already?" asked a thin, tall elderly man with short white hair slicked backward while narrowing his eyes. 

"That would be correct, number 99," Kaden replied with a smile. "Number 82, and I already thought of several necessary ground rules," he added while pointing at the brown-haired 82.

"So, not only did you already decide the rules without consulting any of us, but you're trying to intimidate us into submission by mentioning this brute next to you?" the elderly man, number 99, asked again.

The reason number 99 called the number 82 who was standing next to me a brute is because the latter was less than subtle these past couple of days, having multiple violent encounters with other contestants.

"Not at all," Kaden replied in an easygoing tone, shrugging his shoulders. "What we came up with is simply the groundwork, and it's open for discussion," he added, and number 82 nodded his head with a low grunt. 

"You are more than welcome to object to whatever you find disagreeable, or make your own suggestions, once I state the basic rules," Kaden concluded, causing the elderly to nod with a frown. 

"Now as I was saying," Kaden remarked, clearing his throat. "Rule number one: no infighting until we put down the undead king," he stated while raising one finger. 

"Rule number two: those who aren't with us are against us!" Kaden added with a sharp look in his eyes, raising a second finger. "If we come to an agreement here today, then we will hunt down and kill everyone in the area who wasn't part of this meeting before going after the undead king," he added while waving his hand to the side. 

"That way, we'll make sure no fence-sitters would reap the benefits while we risk our lives," Kaden explained, causing everyone to nod while conveying their agreement. 

"Rule number three: the rules of this agreement are only effective until the undead king dies," Kaden stated as a smirk made itself apparent on his face. "Make of that as you will," he concluded while giving the gathered crowd a meaningful look.

"Now, if you have any objections or suggestions, then speak, so we can move on to making a plan," he asked, pausing and waiting for the crowd to process his words.

"What if someone breaks these rules?" asked a bald, middle-aged man wearing a black eyepatch on his left eye with a thoughtful expression.

"Trouble makers, whether they be, you, me, or anyone present here will be hunted down and killed along with the fence-sitters," Kaden replied with an icy smile. 

"There will be no buts, ifs, or exceptions of any kind, and death will be the only fate waiting for anyone breaking the rules," he added with an unconcerned attitude, still smiling coldly.

"I can get behind that," the middle-aged man said with a smile, nodding in satisfaction. "Any others, questions, objections, or suggestions? Kaden asked as he turned to look at the rest of the contestants. 

"No? very well," Kaden remarked, intending to move on to the planning phase of the meeting, but he had to stop at the sound of loud noises coming from outside. 

"What's all the ruckus?" Kaden asked with a frown, and many good number of contestants immediately made their way to the windows to see what was happening outside. 

"This is bad!" said the elderly contestant, number 99 said with a frown as soon as he took a look outside. "The undead are surrounding the building and making their way inside!" he added, taking out a short sword, preparing himself to fight. 

"Someone must be luring these damned creatures here!" said a young man with short blonde hair, taking out two small scythes and preparing himself to fight as well. 

"Did you do this?" number 82, the muscular brown-haired contestant, growled as he turned to look at Kaden. "It must be him. He's the one who brought us here!" said the elderly man, number 99, with a scowl, brandishing his sword and preparing to charge at Kaden. 

"Can you not insult my intelligence?" Kaden said with twitching eyes. "I'm trapped here with you people too if you haven't noticed already!" he added with a scowl of his own.

"Besides, If I wanted to make a trap for you lot, then I wouldn't do it here where I keep all of my supplies," he added in a calm tone, causing the elderly man to nod with an awkward expression. 

"Then who the hell did this?" number 82 asked again in an outraged tone, promptly turning into a gigantic humanoid bear as the first undead creature finally arrived at the meeting room. 

"We can worry about who did this later!" Kaden said with a frown, materializing several aura knives and throwing them at the incoming zombies. 

"We need to get out of here first! Everyone on me!" he instructed as he covered himself in aura armor, spearheading the charge towards the exit. 

With someone leading by example, the contestants had no choice but to follow behind Kaden's back as they began killing their way downstairs in an attempt to break out of the encirclement. 

All contestants showcased many unique powers, some of them using superhuman strength and speed to fight off the zombies, some of them shooting energy and elemental beams out of their bodies. 

But the ones that stood out the most were number 82, the brown-haired muscular man, and 99, the white-haired elder, and the middle-aged man with the eyepatch, number 234. 

Being a giant humanoid bear, it was not strange at all for number 82 to stick out like a sore thumb as he ripped all undead in his path to shreds with his claws.

However, the elder, number 99, stood out for a completely different reason as he gracefully danced around the zombies, decapitating everything within his line of sight with precise and sharp swings of his short sword. 

And then there was number 234, who smiled like a maniac as he swung his two axes at the undead as he occasionally threw one of his axes, retrieving with a simple hand gesture and causing it to fly back to his hand. 

But despite their valiant efforts, their group still suffered some casualties while making their way down, with at least seven of them dying or having to use badges in the process before they reached the building's exit, only to find themselves still surrounded by undead.

"Charge towards the south. That's where they have the least numbers!" Number 99 instructed with a shout as he jumped into the air to scout the surroundings, and the group obliged, quickly charging in that direction. 

Kaden was the first to charge at the undead, materializing a great sword he created from aura in his hand followed closely by the humanoid bear, the short sword wielding elder, and axe wielding middle-aged man.

The group of contestants cut through the undead creatures like a hot knife through butter. But they slowly lost momentum as the casualties accumulated over time, forcing them to come to a screeching halt merely twenty meters away from the end of the encirclement. 

"Why aren't these damned creatures attacking?" Asked number 82 with a frown while panting. "Something is happening!" number 234 said with a frown of his own as the zombies behind them split apart, creating a path for a single person to walk through. 

And something did walk through the path indeed, but it wasn't human. It was a tall skeleton with bright white bones, wearing a jagged black suit of armor and a red crown on its bony head. 

The skeleton undead stopped a distance away from the group, staring them down with its eye sockets that shined with sinister purple light, seemingly trying to convey something in the usual indecipherable language special undead spoke. 

"That should be the undead king!" Kaden said with a frown as soon as he laid eyes on the skeleton. "Are you sure?" number 99, the elder, asked in a skeptical tone, raising an eyebrow. 

"I'd say that the crown and the grand entrance are the proof we need to identify it," Kaden replied in an exasperated tone, his eyes twitching in annoyance. "But yeah, I'm sure," he concluded with a shrug. 

"Our target is in front of us, and we have nothing to lose, as we all have extra badges!" Kaden exclaimed while pointing at the undead king. "Now we only need to put it down, so we can resume killing each other!" he concluded as the group immediately began charging towards the undead king, ignoring whatever the thing was trying to say,

The undead king seemed to have understood what Kaden said and screeched in response as the undead creatures began charging towards the contestants as well.

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