Kane had to catch the macaque before the Infected evolved， before it grew too strong.

  He needed to bind it， raise it. It would be his first line of defense.

  The Infected felt like the rightful rulers of this new world. Even if they did nothing， they evolved at a terrifying rate.

  In his past life， some lucky Infected had gorged on fresh flesh and Star Shards， growing into unstoppable monsters in months.

  The Infected he’d just killed were worthless.

  They hadn’t consumed any Star Shards， hadn’t evolved an Infected Core.

  There was no point in butchering them.

  On the way to the primate enclosure， he didn’t run into any more human Infected. But there were plenty of Infected animals.

  Kane used his speed to avoid them all. Most animals had natural physical advantages， and when they turned Infected， they were a nightmare to fight.

  ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

  SCREECH! SCREECH!

  From far ahead， Kane heard the chaotic sounds of a fight. He slowed his pace， staying low.

  A small， thin macaque was leaping from rock to rock， its face twisted with fear. Dozens of Infected macaques had it cornered， lunging at it over and over， rabid with hunger for fresh flesh.

  They didn’t recognize their former troop mate. Their milky white eyes held nothing but mindless bloodlust.

  Kane didn’t move to help. He knew this macaque wouldn’t die that easily. In his past life， it had grown into a C-Rank beast， the undisputed king of this zoo.

  He hid behind a broken wall， pulled his gas mask over his face， and took out the Potent Stun Dust. He crushed it with the handle of his cleaver， wrapping the powder in a scrap of toilet paper.

  Then he sat back， and watched the fight unfold， ready to strike.

  SCREECH!

  The small macaque darted between the rocks， fast as lightning. But there were too many Infected. It could only run， screaming in terror.

  For some reason， Kane got the feeling it didn’t want to hurt the Infected macaques.

  Suddenly， one of the Infected macaques raked its cws across the small macaque’s thigh. It let out a cry that was almost human， tears streaming down its face.

  It hesitated for a split second. That was all the Infected needed.

  One of them grabbed its tail， lifting it into the air. It opened its jaws， ready to bite down on the macaque’s rear.

  That’s when everything changed.

  The small macaque screeched at the top of its lungs. One of its legs， no bigger than a human infant’s， swelled and expanded in the blink of an eye， until it was the size of a fully grown adult macaque’s leg. It kicked backward with all its might.

  Bang!

  The Infected macaque holding it went flying， its skull smashing against a rock and bursting like a watermelon.

  The small macaque froze， clearly not used to the change. It stood there on one giant leg， the other tiny and stick-thin， looking ridiculous.

  Kane’s eyes went wide from his hiding spot. This was definitely the macaque from his past life.

  By the time it was C-Rank， it could grow its entire body to massive sizes. Right now， it had only just awakened its mutation.

  After killing one of the Infected， the macaque bared its teeth， screeching at the remaining Infected， trying to scare them off. But the Infected had no fear. They charged again.

  The chase started all over again.

  The macaque darted between the rocks， but with one giant leg and one tiny one， it was clumsy， uncoordinated. It was slower than before， not faster.

  Within a minute， it was covered in cuts and scrapes. Its cries for mercy did nothing.

  The Infected weren’t going to let their prey escape.

  Finally， something in the macaque snapped. Its eyes went hard， vicious. One of its paws swelled to massive size， and it grabbed the nearest Infected macaque by the skull.

  Bang!

  It crushed it like a grape.

  In that instant， the scared little monkey was gone. Its face was twisted with rage and savagery.

  It darted at the next Infected， smming its giant paw into its skull and bursting it open. But tears still streamed down its face， faster than ever.

  Kane watched it， silent. He saw himself in that macaque.

  In the early days of the Colpse， he’d been scared too. He’d cried. He’d grieved for the dead.

  But he’d learned. From fear to strength， and from strength to cold， hard cruelty. He’d killed to survive. Infected， and humans alike.

  In this cruel world， everyone was just trying to stay alive.

  Including this terrified， vicious little macaque.

  Minutes ter， all the Infected macaques were dead. Their broken bodies littered the ground.

  The macaque stood there， trembling all over.

  It was like it had just woken up， realizing it had killed every st member of its troop.

  Even if it didn’t understand why they’d turned on it.

  It was covered in blood. It stared at the bodies of its family， and cried.

  It was so distraught， it didn’t hear the man creeping up behind it.

  Suddenly， it caught a whiff of a strange， sweet scent. The world spun around it. It stumbled， and colpsed to the ground.

  It looked up， right before it bcked out， and saw a‘pig-faced monster’ walking toward it， smiling.

  The‘pig-faced monster’ was Kane， wearing his gas mask. He was grinning as‘friendly’ as he could， to make a good first impression on his first bound beast.

  【Adolescent Macaque: Unranked Mutated Beast. Strength 14， Agility 17， Stamina 9， Spirit 7. Bloodline Abilities: Giantification， Berserk.】

  Kane grabbed the macaque by the tail， lifted it up， and strode away.

  …

  When the macaque woke up， it was in a small， enclosed space， surrounded by chunks of concrete. It tried to move， and found itself tied up tight. And there was a human there.

  No. The pig-faced monster.

  It recognized his eyes. The ones that had smiled at it， right before it passed out.

  Kane saw it wake up， and smiled even wider. He pulled out a smoked chicken leg， tore open the packaging， and took a huge bite.

  “Want some?”

  He asked， mouth full of food.

  The macaque’s nose twitched. Its eyes locked onto the chicken leg， wide and hungry.

  Mutated Beasts in the Colpse were always starving.

  “Let me introduce myself.” Kane said， his voice calm.“I’m Kane Voss. Your future master. I’m going to bind you to my will.”

  “Now， you can fight it， if you want. It’ll work either way. But you’re my first bound beast， so I’d rather you come willingly.”

  “Obey me， and you’ll never go hungry again. Fight me， and you’ll never eat again.”

  He stepped forward， pced a hand on the macaque’s head， and unleashed his SSS-Rank Ability.

  Soul-Binder.