The Apocalypse Begins

Dog Fighting.

This is the murky underbelly of J City.

Where there is light, there is darkness. This is an eternal truth. Even in today's civilized world, in certain corners, the most primitive and filthy scenes still play out.

This is a Colosseum where participants from all over bring their trained dogs to fight. In these 1v1 battles, the only rule for victory is survival.

The fights are brutally savage. To increase their dogs' aggression, owners deliberately starve them for days before the competition, turning them into ravenous beasts, eager to feast on their own kind. Some owners even inject stimulants into their dogs or apply anesthetics to their bodies before the fight.

These fighting dogs have no right to forfeit. Under the shouts of the crowd, they can only bite, roll, bleed, spill their intestines, and collapse…

This is humanity.

A species that has dominated the world, standing at the pinnacle of all life. For certain purposes or hobbies, humans can be more violent than scorpions, more ruthless than wolves.

Outside an unassuming door.

Chen Feng stared coldly at the simple entrance in front of him. With only a short time left before the apocalypse, he had no interest in watching a dog fight.

In his previous life, this catastrophe had struck too suddenly. By the time Chen Feng reacted, the world around him had turned into a hellscape, with zombies rampaging and savage creatures running amok. The once-mighty human race became nothing more than prey, marking the beginning of a long and bloody chapter.

Compared to the sluggish zombies, the most terrifying beings in the early days of the apocalypse were those that had unlocked their genetic chains. These creatures, some of which exhibited atavistic traits, not only gained incredible strength but also possessed terrifyingly bizarre abilities.

Like elite monsters in a game, their appearance rate was low, but their power was terrifying.

Cerberus.

That was its name—a symbol of both terror and honor.

In his previous life, this beast had slaughtered an entire district of humans. It stood five meters tall, with fiery red fur and the ability to spew molten lava.

Unlike ordinary savage creatures, elite monsters with special abilities were truly horrifying. In his past life, the national forces had only managed to bring down the Cerberus after suffering tremendous losses.

Even three days after its death, the Cerberus's body remained scorching hot. As the first formidable creature Chen Feng encountered during the apocalypse, the Cerberus left an indelible mark on his memory.

What stood out most in his memory was the character "斗" (meaning "fight") carved into the Cerberus's back. According to some insiders, this was the mark of the dog fighting ring in J City. Every fighting dog had its fur shaved off and a character carved into its skin before entering the ring, the pain fueling their ferocity.

And this was why Chen Feng had come here.

He needed to find the creature that would soon transform into a monster.

Firearms were strictly prohibited in China, and with only a few hours left before the apocalypse, acquiring a Cerberus was more beneficial to Chen Feng's plans than stockpiling useless weapons or food.

Knock, knock…

With that thought, Chen Feng didn't hesitate and knocked on the wooden door in front of him.

"Who is it?"

The door creaked open, and a young man wearing a vest and cloth shoes poked his head out. He glanced left and right before warily turning his gaze to the stranger in front of him.

A lackey.

As part of the grey underworld, this place had its own set of rules. Whether you were a dog owner or a gambler, you needed a referral to enter.

This lackey had clearly never seen Chen Feng before, so his expression darkened, a cautious look on his face.

"I'm here to buy a dog."

"What dog? This is Zhang's Noodle Shop!"

Time was running out, and Chen Feng had no time for pleasantries. He opened the bag in his hand, revealing ten stacks of hundred-yuan bills.

Alone, with no family or ties.

This was all Chen Feng had. To spend it all on a dog might seem insane to others, but in a few hours, when the apocalypse began, money, property deeds, and businesses would be worthless. In this new world, it wasn't about how strong your connections were—it was about how hard your fists could hit.

No one would turn down money.

The lackey, realizing this was beyond his authority, hesitated for a few seconds before quickly going inside to report to his superiors.

…

People die for wealth.

The allure of money quickly made Chen Feng a guest in this beast ring.

The shopfront was a grain store, but beyond it was a hidden world. As they entered a small room, the sound of shouting and the roars of agony reached Chen Feng's ears.

The thick stench of blood.

This was undoubtedly the Colosseum. A group of people surrounded an iron cage, shouting at the top of their lungs. Inside, two pit bulls were locked in a savage embrace, biting and tearing at each other. Blood, entrails, and discarded trash littered the floor, creating a gruesome scene.

At that moment, a bald middle-aged man with tiger tattoos on his arms approached Chen Feng.

He was the owner of this place.

The lackey's report had surprised him. Dogs held different meanings for different people. For some, they were food or tools; for others, they were friends and companions.

In the past, many people had come here to pick out fighting dogs. Those dogs were lucky, chosen by buyers and spared from death.

Prices ranged from a few thousand to tens of thousands, but what the tattooed man hadn't expected was to see someone like Chen Feng, who didn't play by the usual rules.

This was a young man, about 1.75 meters tall, with fair skin and no obvious muscle. He looked more like a recent college graduate than someone involved in the grey underworld. Normally, someone like him would be terrified in such a place, but instead, this young man exuded an inexplicable calmness. His eyes were deep and cold, like a still spring.

A strange fellow.

The tattooed man smirked and mentally labeled Chen Feng.

"I'm here to buy a dog." This was the second thing Chen Feng said as he threw the money at the tattooed man. Without waiting for a response, he moved past him and looked at the fighting dogs nearby.

Time was running out.

He needed to find the "Cerberus" quickly.

Fighting dogs didn't wear armor. In these battles, there was no absolute king. Even if a dog won, it would suffer severe injuries, losing its ability to fight again.

To put it simply, this was a gamble. The fighting dogs were like chess pieces, and while ten thousand yuan might not seem like much, it was more than enough to buy a piece before the game began.

Chen Feng walked by each fighting dog, carefully observing them.

"No."

"No."

"None of them…"

After examining the dozen or so fighting dogs, Chen Feng frowned. He hadn't found the Cerberus.

"Did I guess wrong?" A glint flashed in Chen Feng's eyes as he approached the tattooed man and asked in a deep voice, "Are these all the fighting dogs you have?"

"These are the best fighting dogs here. The only others are the ones that failed…" The tattooed man answered truthfully, given the money Chen Feng had offered.

"Failed?"

Chen Feng's expression stiffened, and his pupils narrowed. He seemed to have overlooked something important. After a pause, he said, "Take me to the ones that failed."

"Uh…"

The tattooed man was taken aback.

After years in the grey underworld, the man sensed a strange danger emanating from Chen Feng.

How eerie.

The tattooed man couldn't quite describe the feeling. Although Chen Feng seemed like a fledgling, he gave off an inexplicable sense of dread.

Chen Feng's indifference to life, honed through more than a decade of survival in the apocalypse, had seeped into his very bones.

…

The room was abandoned, filled with seven or eight mangled fighting dogs. The dead and dying dogs were discarded like garbage, the room reeking of blood, entrails, and brain matter.

"I found it!"

Chen Feng's body suddenly stiffened, his pupils narrowing to slits. His hands grew cold, but he was absolutely certain that he had found what he was looking for.

A weak Tibetan Mastiff.

Its body looked as if it had been skinned alive, most of its fur torn off, leaving only a bloodied mass. But despite its condition, the dog's eyes were open, filled with a grim, unyielding light.

Chen Feng would never forget that look.

Pale pupils, streaked with green veins, resembling a sinister spider's web. Just meeting its gaze sent a chill down his spine, evoking a suffocating sense of dread.

Cerberus.

This was the beast that would bring endless terror to J City.

"I'll take this one."

Chen Feng's tone left no room for doubt. Under the tattooed man's perplexed gaze, he acquired this dying creature.

…

One hour left until the apocalypse.

An empty room.

Chen Feng stood expressionless as he looked at the fighting dog, which was on the verge of death. Who would have thought that in less than an hour, this miserable creature would become a nightmare for everyone?

Food, water, and some simple bandages.

Although such care seemed unnecessary for a dog blessed by fate, Chen Feng wasn't willing to risk any mistakes at this critical moment.

Simple treatment was still necessary.

At first, the fighting dog was hostile toward Chen Feng, but after a while, when it realized that Chen Feng was truly helping it, the dog's wary, gloomy, and angry eyes softened into ones of dependence, acceptance, relaxation, and even gratitude.

Gratitude.

A trait shared by all intelligent creatures.

This powerful potential—this unusual ability—might be the very reason it became an elite monster.

The fighting dog now saw Chen Feng as a lifeline, a driftwood in the sea of its loneliness. Chen Feng had become its hope, its savior.

Favorability +100

In simpler terms, Chen Feng had gained the NPC's favor. When the apocalypse began, with the Cerberus's favor, Chen Feng could live under its protection, perhaps even command it.

This wasn't just wishful thinking.

In the apocalypse, there were tales of lucky survivors who had found a weak little creature on the roadside and raised it, only to discover that it had extraordinary talents. It grew rapidly, not only protecting its owner but also elevating them to the ranks of the powerful.

Now, it seemed Chen Feng had stumbled upon a similar opportunity.

Chen Feng stood still, watching the hands of the clock on his wrist—tick… tick… 12 o'clock...

"Buzz…"

A massive sound erupted, signaling the spatial shift, the first herald of the new era.

The apocalypse had truly arrived!

In an instant, the fighting dog's body began to change. It trembled violently, and then its body started to swell. The gaping wounds on its body began to close up, covered by a layer of brown-red plasma. Its pupils turned a fiery red, like bloodshot eyes after intense suffocation, radiating an extreme sense of terror and eeriness. A scorching energy emanated from its body.

Its injuries were healing at an incredible rate.

Gene reboot? Or some other unknown force?

In just a few minutes, the miserable dog had transformed into a completely new form.

Although it was still weak, and its body hadn't yet grown to the five-meter height Chen Feng had seen in his previous life, the aura it now exuded was already terrifyingly fierce.

And yet, what surprised Chen Feng even more was the look the beast gave him—not one of the viciousness and cruelty it showed when hunting prey, but one of reliance and affection. For the first time since the apocalypse began, Chen Feng's cold, calculating mind wavered, and a slight curve formed on his stiff lips.

The next second.

He grabbed a shovel from the corner of the room and brought it down hard on the Cerberus's head.

Bang!

Bang!

Chen Feng's eyes were cold as he stood in the empty room, repeatedly striking the Cerberus on the head with the shovel—once, twice, three times...

The newly evolved Cerberus was still incredibly weak. It needed time to become the nightmare it was destined to be.

But...

It would never live to see that day.

Blood spattered.

Bright red liquid dripped onto the ground.

Blood.

It pooled on the floor as the Cerberus's wounds, which had just started to heal, tore open again. But even as it lay dying, Chen Feng didn't stop.

In fact…

His grim smile only grew wider.

The violent tremors continued.

The Cerberus's head was smashed, its blood and brain matter pooling together, filling the room with a pungent stench...

Everything happened too suddenly.

Chen Feng's hands trembled slightly as he looked at the beast that had just shown him affection, a creature that could have been tamed. There was no guilt or remorse in his eyes as he spoke: "The apocalypse is ruthless. In the face of survival, even blood relations can be discarded, let alone an ungrounded kindness?"

It was dead.

Compared to a living Cerberus, this corpse was what Chen Feng truly desired.

At that moment, Chen Feng felt a familiar yet strange power resonating within him as the spatial shift continued.

Simultaneously, his body began to undergo its own transformation.

After one last glance at the bloodied mess on the floor, Chen Feng knelt down and plunged his hands deep into the flesh. His expression turned solemn, his tone icy cold: "Rotting flesh buried deep in the darkness, heed the ancient pact, listen to my whispers, break the boundaries of time and space, and emerge... my companions from the abyss…"