The end is coming

apocalypse

"Don't! Save me, someone save me!"

"What's happening to you? Stop biting, it hurts, it hurts so much!"

"Everyone, evacuate to the nearby buildings, run! Lift your head, no... no... don't come closer... Ah!"

Fang Li sat on the edge of the bed, listening to the noisy sounds outside, motionless as if in a daze, only the cold sweat on his forehead betraying his current panicked state.

There were no prophecies, no signs, not even a hint of abnormality, yet a disaster named the apocalypse had descended upon this land.

News broadcasts showed this tremendous change. Almost simultaneously, large-scale abnormal events occurred around the globe, turning familiar relatives, friends, into monsters thirsty for human lives.

Zombies.

For the people of the twenty-first century, this was not an unfamiliar term.

The news continued to roll, with many journalists risking danger to capture horrifying scenes. At this point, there were no more pixelations or scenes deemed unsuitable for children. In order to expose this sudden disaster or to preserve the last spark of humanity, the images on television, like the most colorful oil paintings, immediately captured everyone's attention.

Including Fang Li.

Those people, no, they could no longer be called people. Their swaying figures charged towards the surrounding living beings, their nails and teeth becoming weapons for zombie attacks. Teeth that were originally used to tear cooked food now became the fangs of ferocious beasts, fiercely biting into the bodies of the living.

Faintly, one could see that many of the corpses that were bitten and killed stood up staggering.

Zombie transformation!

According to reports, about ten minutes after being bitten, the human body began to convulse violently, losing consciousness after twenty minutes, stiffening after half an hour. And after forty minutes, the originally stiff body would become soft. Subsequently, the dead would rise again in another way, becoming one of the hunters.

As a university student, Fang Li was supposed to graduate in a year. But who could have imagined that during this precious vacation, he would encounter such a sudden change!

Fang Li had no relatives. A sudden car accident took the lives of everyone in the car, leaving Fang Li as the sole survivor and the only one left in the family.

Since junior high school, Fang Li had learned to face loneliness. Because there were savings and a house at home, Fang Li didn't have to live in a welfare institution. Volunteers from the welfare institution took turns taking care of him until after high school.

From the initial pain to the current acceptance, Fang Li had spent several years getting used to being alone. But enduring loneliness did not mean he wasn't afraid.

Fang Li was just an ordinary person. He didn't become a twisted recluse because of the death of his family, nor did he become an unpredictable eccentric. Life had to go on. He had friends, and there was also a girl he admired. He was just an ordinary person. If there was anything different about him, it was just that he bore all the burdens of an ordinary person alone.

So, faced with this sudden apocalypse, Fang Li also felt panic and fear. He trembled as he closed all the doors and windows, countless cries and howls echoing in the corridor. After blocking everything that could be moved at the door, he turned on the TV and sat somewhat dazed on the edge of the bed.

"What should I do?"

"Where should I go?"

"Can I survive?"

Fang Li roughly pondered about the future.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Open the door, save me!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Is there anyone? My wife has gone mad, save me... save me!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

This time the sound was particularly clear, because the person knocking on the door happened to be at Fang Li's door. The iron security door was knocked violently, startling Fang Li, putting him in a tense state of mind.

"Open the door!"

"Is anyone there?"

"Open the door for me!"

Urgent voices came from outside the door. From the sound of it, the person was a middle-aged man, Fang Li's old neighbor, a middle school teacher. In the past, he often appeared stern, even though Fang Li was already in college, he would still inquire carefully about his studies. He was a man who had been upright and conservative all his life.

But at this moment, playing the role of a stable figure all his life, he completely changed into another appearance. Perhaps it was due to excessive fear, his voice became sharp, perhaps the monsters were nearby, Fang Li's home became the man's last hope. Hence, from the initial shout, after a few seconds, it turned into almost desperate roars.

Fang Li even felt that the iron door couldn't withstand the weight of the other party and would collapse.

"Open the door!"

The hoarse voice came from the door, almost instinctively, Fang Li got up from the bed, sweating profusely, and walked towards the door, leaning forward to look through the peephole.

What he saw was a frantic middle-aged man. However, there was no trace of his usual composure. At this moment, he looked completely like a madman, vigorously pounding the door in front of him. His body was covered in blood, the most striking being the wound on his right cheek. The injury was so severe that even the bones were exposed.

Fang Li's pupils contracted suddenly. His right hand, originally placed on the door handle, recoiled instinctively. The other party was bitten? This was obviously the work of those monsters in the news.

Perhaps to confirm Fan Li's imagination, at the corner of the corridor, a woman emerged. She was still wearing an apron, with some oil stains on it. This was the man's wife. The two had been together for half a lifetime, considered a model couple in the building. But now, the once gentle and virtuous wife appeared ferocious. She lunged at the man, whose body had become weak. His neck was suddenly bitten, followed by the rupture of his major artery, causing blood to spray like a fountain, splattering on the surrounding walls.

He was dead.

The man, who had been pleading for help just a moment ago, collapsed in front of Fan Li's door, within arm's reach, inside and out. A corpse lay straight before Fan Li's eyes.

At that moment, Fan Li felt his heart clench, sinking to the ground. He listened to the sounds of tearing outside the door, feeling his consciousness turn icy despite the June heat, his teeth chattering involuntarily.

As an ordinary person, Fan Li had never seen a dead body up close before. His face turned pale, feeling life turn gray in an instant.

Muttering to himself, Fan Li was suddenly interrupted by a buzzing sound in his head, followed by a crisp voice: "Extreme panic detected, meets host requirements. Do you want to bind the Monster Summoning Manual?"

"What's going on?"

In his state of shock, Fan Li felt like he was experiencing the most surreal moment of his life.

"Advanced technology? Paranormal event?"

Accompanying Fan Li's doubts, the voice from before sounded again: "Meets requirements, do you want to bind?"

When the cold, emotionless mechanical voice echoed in Fan Li's mind again, he finally reacted.

Under normal circumstances, Fan Li might have suspected someone was playing a prank. But with zombies rampaging outside, everything had spiraled into an uncontrollable direction. Therefore, Fan Li decided to investigate. He said, "Bind!"

As soon as he spoke, the voice in his mind sounded again:

"Host binding successful. Congratulations, you have obtained the Monster Summoning Manual."

Fan Li felt dazed for a moment, then a line of holographic text appeared before him.

Monster Summoning Manual.

Status: Unopened

Monster Members: 0

Inventory: 0

Unlocked Achievements: None

Number of Draws: 1

Fan Li stared at the text in front of him, feeling bewildered. He had no idea how any of this had happened. It felt like a sudden apocalypse, leaving him utterly perplexed.

He scrutinized the text, the "Monster Summoning Manual." As a college student and a staunch atheist, Fan Li's years of conviction were immediately shattered within less than an hour, turning to ashes.

A lottery?

Did this mean he had the ability to draw once, like in a game, no matter how terrifying the subsequent expenses might be? Just like in games, there were always enough incentives during login to gradually lead one astray.

As a member of the new century, Fan Li often read novels or watched movies. As for his current situation, it could be summed up in one sentence: lucky to receive a cheat code!

However, Fan Li couldn't help but feel that the Monster Summoning Manual was too dark. In his view, it was a completely black book with no patterns on it, only densely packed white dots, each dot resembling a imprisoned grudge spirit. If he got too close, even his soul might be directly taken away!

"To try or not to try?"

"To try!"

Fan Li hesitated, but the dismal cries outside the window undoubtedly became the catalyst for his courage. Despite the eerie and inexplicable circumstances, for the sake of increasing his survival ability, he had to do it!

"Draw!"

Fan Li ultimately decided to follow the voice in his mind, uttering the two crucial words.

Immediately, the scene before Fan Li began to change. A pitch-black book appeared in front of him. As the book opened, a gust of wind blew, accompanied by wails and cries, contaminating Fan Li's spirit. His face turned pale.

Because in the moment the book opened, he heard countless chaotic voices.

"After the first glimmer of dawn, it's endless darkness again, the creatures of hell, an endless nightmare."

"I continue to burn my soul, carrying the taste of worship."

"Not only that, countless eerie and indescribable voices transmitted to Fan Li's mind. These voices came from different sources, whether it was eerie Qin opera tunes, the sound of wooden boards pressing, or the rotating sound of a music box. Countless voices intertwined, like a terrifying web enveloping Fan Li.

Not only that, Fan Li also saw some illusions in front of him. It was a narrow room, but it was densely packed with various items: red embroidered shoes, an ancient mirror, a European-style music box, a blood-stained chainsaw, and even a coffin adorned with talismans at the corner.

Whether it was the tones or the illusions, they felt like countless needles piercing into Fan Li's mind. Just when Fan Li's endurance was about to reach its limit, the illusions disappeared, and the black book stopped flipping, resting on a page.

There was an illustration of a music box on it, entirely white, with a girl wearing a beige skirt in the center. The girl had her arms open, right foot hooked back, in a dancing posture. However, the girl in the illustration was standing with her back turned, and Fan Li couldn't see her face.

[Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the item — Elli's music box.]

The mechanical voice appeared again in Fan Li's mind. The previously opened black book closed tightly again. After that, Fan Li felt dizzy and, before he could react, fell into unconsciousness.

"Mmm..."

When he woke up again, the sky had turned dark, and the room was in a state of deathly silence. Outside the window, the howls of zombies still echoed, sending shivers down one's spine.

The TV had lost its signal at some point, and all the screens turned into noisy snowflakes. Fan Li shook his head, got up from the ground, and when he glanced around in the faint light from the TV, he was surprised to find, on the other side of his bed, a girl wearing a skirt had appeared, doing ballet basic movements with her toes pointed.

Fan Li originally thought it was all just a dream, but the screams of the zombies outside shattered his wishful thinking.

Everything was real!

So... what he heard and saw before falling unconscious was also real!

Fan Li felt something was wrong all along. Compared to when the apocalypse just happened, he was unusually calm at this moment. Even with a creepy ballet girl less than two meters away, he didn't feel scared. Instead, he felt eager to walk up to her and find out what was going on.

The mechanical voice sounded in his mind again:

"Congratulations, Host, for binding the Monster Summoning Manual. This book seals countless ferocious monsters from different dimensions. The possessor gains the title of Monster Controller."

[Monster Controller: Activate special effect.]

Acquired special effect: Enhanced Fear Resistance.

The voice in his mind revealed the mystery to Fan Li. After binding, he successfully gained the title of Monster Controller, with the additional effect of enhanced fear resistance. Perhaps this was the fundamental reason why Fan Li could now face everything in front of him with calmness.

But one thing... Did the "monster" mentioned by the system refer to the little ballet girl in front of him?

Fan Li got up from the ground. Although he didn't gain strength, the enhanced fear resistance allowed his rationality to function at one hundred percent. He seemed to possess something extraordinary.

With this feeling, Fan Li walked to the bedside. Although fear resistance had been enhanced, this moment of unveiling secrets still aroused his curiosity. The girl looked like she was only seven or eight years old from the back, with a graceful figure, especially her ballet posture was extremely skillful. Fan Li couldn't imagine what kind of appearance she had that made the system recognize her as one of the monsters.

Perhaps sensing Fan Li approaching, the little girl also turned around at the same moment. It was this moment that made Fan Li feel his breath freeze.

The girl turned around, wearing a simple princess-style dress with a butterfly knot around her waist, giving her a sweet and noble feeling. Even at a ball, with this outfit, she would definitely attract attention as the cute protagonist. However, apart from the clothes, the girl's cheeks... she had no facial features!

Below her forehead was a giant blood-red mouth, surrounded by spiraling layers of sharp teeth. The densely packed teeth were gathered together, like the sharpest meat grinder. Fan Li had no doubt that if he reached in now, his arm would turn into minced meat in a few seconds.

Even though Fan Li was prepared, he couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed at this moment. He looked at everything in front of him and muttered to himself, "Is this my first... monster?!"