Survivors arrive at a supposed rescue shelter but are stopped by Orson's gatekeepers, who demand ten pounds of food per person. Hungry and out of supplies, one man offers crucial intel instead: he saw a figure at Sunglow Quarters controlling two mutant zombies like pets while holding a baby — a suspected Zombie King. Though skeptical, Orson realizes the high-level corestone could be either a treasure or a new threat. He orders everyone armed, detains the informant, and vows to crush the Zombie King in the cradle and retrieve the corestone, setting up an imminent armed strike.