Strongest Deliveryman In The Apocalypse

There was a reason the Regional Industrial Plant was so far away from the rest of civilization.

One primary reason was the immense noise that it generated. It would undoubtedly attract all kinds of Monsters towards it, and so if it existed in an Inhabited Zone, it would cause all sorts of trouble for the people there.

Another reason was the waste!

The Regional Industrial Plant supplied electricity, as well as all manner of resources for the entire Sector. Naturally, that meant it was very large and could handle an immense load, but it also meant its waste product would be incredible as well.

Toxic emissions. Poisonous sewage. Dangerous Radiation.

These were only a few of the many adverse effects that this Plant would have on its immediate surrounding. All of this meant that anywhere this Plant was located couldn't be occupied by people.

It was a dangerous place: constantly emitting and attracting dangers.

But—

"Despite all of these reasons, I bet they would honestly have preferred to have this Industrial Plant as close to civilization as possible…" A mysterious man wearing a pitch-black hooded robe muttered to himself as he watched the large Industrial Plant from a distance.

The entire Plant was so large that it spanned across multiple cities.

It felt like its own giant metropolis—though it appeared more dystopian than anything else.

The man in the dark hooded robe chuckled loudly.

"But this Industrial Plant is too large and vital. After the fall of humanity, they couldn't create another one as grand as this, so even though they lost this territory to the Monsters, they had to maintain their most prized creation."

Indeed! This Industrial Plant had existed before the Apocalypse.

It was a vital aspect for the area before the world turned into its current state, which made it even more important for Sector E. After all, the government currently lacked the resources to create another Plant.

They could only try their best to preserve the one they already had.

"Do you understand now, Tiko?" He turned to a creature that sat right next to him. It had the appearance of a cat, but it looked… odd.

This cat had three eyes, two normal ones, and one on its forehead. It had ginger fur, with dark marks around it like a tiger. It also had a horn poking out if its head, though it still looked cute since the cat was petite.

Even though it had a mutated appearance, it remained the regular size of a cat.

And it looked adorable.

"Meow."

"The Council has given its orders. They've been planning to take down this place for years, and it seems that time has finally arrived. I feel bad for Sector E, but it can't be helped…" The hooded man slowly rose to his feet and wiped the dust from his coat.

"Meow."

"Once the Council of Shadows has their eyes on something, they won't stop until they get it."

"Meow."

"I know what you mean…" The man sighed, slowly shaking his head. "Why make this Apocalyptic world even more difficult? After all, the government of Sector E is barely managing as it is already."

"Meow… meow."

"Disrupting this Industrial Plant will mean that the Sector will be stranded, which means overreliance on the Corporations." He shrugged, his sighs growing louder. "That's what the Council of Shadows wants to see, so there's no helping it."

"Meow."

"As long as the government gives in to the demands of the corporations, only a few million lives will be affected at most. At least… most of them will survive the age of darkness that is to come."

"Meow."

The man in the coat smiled softly, bending low to pet his cat and also carry it on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know that too." A somewhat sad, almost regretful expression played on his concealed face. "But what am I to do? I'm just a loyal dog who does what the Council wishes, in the end."

"...."

The cat didn't say anything anymore.

It didn't have to.

"In any case, the S Rank Riders are really impressive, aren't they? Despite all we've been throwing at them, they remain resilient and have held down the fort for this long…"

Despite saying this, the man's grin only became wider.

"But, with this next wave of attacks, their luck is about to run out!"

After all, the Council of Shadows had a secret weapon that even the United Government had no idea about. This weapon was obtained after spending much of their wealth and resources dedicated to achieving desirable results.

Finally… they succeeded!

The Council finally obtained the ultimate strength in the Apocalypse:

Power to control Monsters!

"Watch out world, and prepare yourself!" The man brought down his robe, finally revealing his gray hair that danced with the violent winds around him.

His azure eyes burned bright, and his middle-aged face gleamed with horror.

"A Catastrophic Monster Wave is about to commence!"

*********

Alarms blared within the Command Center of Sector E.

All the Zone Leaders gathered in the Roundtable, with Sharon taking the stage while having a panicked expression on her face. Sweat covered her visage, and her body trembled due to the severity of the situation.

Still, she forced herself to address everyone.

Even now, alarms constantly blared in the Command Center, and in all the important areas of power in the Sector. Zone E-46 had sent their reports, alongside several others, all complaining of the same thing.

—A Sector-wide Power Outage!

"The matter is very urgent. We have experienced Power Instability before, and even Outages in some Zones in the past, but this is the first time in decades that we have had a Sector-Wide Outage." Sharon spoke, her voice shaking with emotion. "That can only mean one thing…"

All the leaders nodded and swallowed hard.

They understood.

"The Regional Industrial Plant has fallen under immense attack and has suffered very high damage!"

What did this mean?

It meant that despite having all their S Rank Riders protecting the Industrial Plant, disaster was still able to strike such a pivotal place that ensured humanity's survival.

This wasn't just bad, it was horrific!

"The last thing our satellite picked up was traces of a Monster Wave. The fact that our S Rank Riders were overwhelmed means this has to be a Catastrophic Monster Wave."

When Monsters gathered together and attacked en masse, it was called a Wave. This usually never happened, since Monsters lacked intelligence and so cooperation among them was very rare.

But, in some cases… It happened.

And just as Monsters had Ranks ascribed to them, Monster Waves had categories.

Mild—At least a C Rank Monster is among the wave.

Severe—At least a B Rank Monster is among the wave.

Dangerous—At least an A Rank Monster, or multiple B Ranks are among the wave.

Disastrous—At least an S Rank or multiple A Ranks are among the wave.

Catastrophic—Multiple S Rank Monsters are among the wave.

Extinction—An SS Rank Disaster Monster is among the wave.

In essence, this Catastrophic Monster Wave featured the presence of several S Rank Monsters.

Sector E's situation had never looked so grim.

Even the threat of the Deepcrawler King was nothing compared to the current crisis they faced.

At such a juncture, Sharon only had one final option—one last card she could play.

"Call Rider Sobin for me! Right now, he's our only hope."