Chapter One: Rebirth

Desolate and barren.

In the city, lush weeds sprout through the cracked pavement, and white bones litter the ground.

Lin Yi dragged his heavy legs, running with great effort.

His lungs burned with pain, each breath pulling at broken ribs in sharp agony.

Behind him were hordes of snarling zombies, their faces twisted in grotesque rage.

He dared not stop.

If he stopped, these reanimated corpses would tear him apart and devour his flesh.

Seeing the safety house he had built drawing nearer, a glimmer of hope appeared on his once-desperate face.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Open the door! Quickly, open the door!"

Lin Yi pounded desperately on the heavy iron door, the zombies closing in less than a hundred meters behind him.

The stench of decay was overpowering.

"I've brought the medicine! Open the door! Tang Wan!"

Inside the safety house were his fiancée and her family of three.

"Swish."

The window opened slightly, but the iron door remained shut.

An eye peered through the narrow iron window, full of concern.

Lin Yi recognized it was Tang Wan.

"Tang Wan! It's me! Open the door quickly!"

Lin Yi cried out with all his might, the wound on his chest expanding with every movement.

The blood seeping out drove the zombies behind him into a frenzy, their speed increasing sharply.

Upon hearing the noise, the eye behind the window shifted to look at the medicine Lin Yi held.

It was the fever-reducing medicine Lin Yi had risked his life to obtain for Tang Wan's younger brother.

"Lin Yi, I'll open the door for you right away."

The voice from inside was urgent, calming Lin Yi's panicked heart.

He would be safe once inside.

On the edge of the perilous city, this self-built safety house was his only refuge.

"First, pass the medicine through. I'll lower the iron bolt."

Lin Yi, feeling utterly exhausted, hurriedly pushed the medicine box through the iron window.

Yet, a vague unease gnawed at him.

Why… why not just open the door?

The hand inside the window swiftly snatched the medicine box but did not open the door.

"Tang Wan?!"

Lin Yi's voice was filled with disbelief and desperation, piercing through the night.

A chill settled in his heart, and he felt an icy coldness enveloping him.

Why… why is the door still not opening?!

He could already hear the zombies closing in behind him.

"Lin Yi, I see your chest is injured."

Tang Wan's voice faltered, no longer containing the original concern but sounding very calm.

It was as if she was speaking to a stranger.

"You might be infected."

"I won't let you in."

Lin Yi felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. The zombies had already pounced on him.

His flesh was being torn apart.

"Furthermore, let me tell you something."

"The captain of the safe zone has promised me that if I agree to sleep with him, I can enter the safe zone."

"Of course, you also have to die."

Inside the house, Tang Wan casually brushed her hair, her demeanor as composed as if she were chatting with Lin Yi on any other day.

Lin Yi was in disbelief, the shock hitting him like a thunderbolt.

The pain of having his flesh torn apart was overshadowed by her betrayal.

He cried out in despair, pressing his hand against the door, leaving behind bloody handprints.

"Why, why betray me?!"

His eyes widened in agony, feeling as though his intestines were being pulled out. An overwhelming sense of weakness washed over him.

Tang Wan's gaze remained calm, tinged with a hint of mockery.

"Because you're useless."

"I don't want to live every day hungry and terrified."

"He's powerful, an awakened one."

"And you, you're just an ordinary person."

The zombies clawed and gnawed at Lin Yi's head, their rotting, sharp fingers digging into his eye sockets.

"Daughter, why are you wasting time talking to this useless man?"

"Let him die somewhere far from our doorstep."

Inside the house, the warm light contrasted with the coldness outside.

Tang's mother took the bloodied medicine box with indifference and looked out the window coldly.

The three of them stood side by side, not relaxing until Lin Yi's body was completely devoured.

…

In the brightly decorated wedding room of Lin City.

"Lin Yi, why haven't you called your comrades to borrow money? What are you waiting for?"

It was Lin Yi's fiancée, Tang Wan, speaking.

She was like someone struggling in deep water.

Lin Yi jolted awake, gasping for breath.

The images from his near-death experience overlapped with the person before him.

It was a dream!?

His head throbbed with pain, and he could still vaguely feel the pain of being torn apart.

The pain was real, as if it had happened just a second ago.

He quickly looked at his phone.

"November 9, 2032"

Lin Yi's face was filled with shock, his throat dry.

No… this isn't a dream!

He had been reborn.

Back to three days before the apocalypse, the day he proposed to Tang Wan.

"Lin Yi, let me tell you."

"If you want to marry my daughter, the bride price must be increased by 200,000."

"Your younger brother Tang Tian is about to get married too. As the brother-in-law, you can't contribute nothing, can you?"

Tang Wan's mother gave a look to her younger son, signaling him to ask for money.

"Brother-in-law, aren't your comrades just discharged?"

"I heard they're getting quite a bit of severance pay. It's just borrowing some money, why are you so embarrassed to ask?"

Seeing Lin Yi standing there, Tang Wan frowned.

She had thought that Lin Yi, being an honest military man, would have some money saved up and would be a decent choice.

However, Lin Yi's hesitation and inability to come up with the money made her lose face.

"Aren't you close with your comrades? Can't you borrow this little money?"

Seeing Lin Yi's lack of response, Tang's mother snorted and raised her voice.

"Lin Yi, if you can't come up with the money, you might as well forget about this marriage."

"You have no sincerity at all. I used to think you were decent. Turns out you're just a miserly, impoverished man."

Tang's mother's words were filled with sarcasm.

Tang Tian, the younger brother, seemed to stir up trouble, quickly speaking up.

"Sis! Didn't a wealthy man pursue you before?"

"I think you should just forget about this poor guy."

"Find that Mr. Wang, he's rich! He even asked me what car I like!"

Among the incessant chatter, no one noticed the murderous intent in Lin Yi's lowered gaze.

In his past life, he had hastily married Tang Wan to fulfill his mother's wish.

Although rushed, he felt he had done everything required.

Buying a car, a house, and the bride price, all in full.

He even embarrassingly borrowed money from his comrades to complete the bride price.

But the day before the wedding, the apocalypse struck.

With his military background, Lin Yi struggled to keep his fiancée's family alive through the hardships of the apocalypse.

Even on the last day, when he was being devoured alive, he continued to fight for the so-called family.

That door had cut off his lifeline but had also shattered his naive kindness, destroying his misplaced sense of righteousness.

Harsh ridicule pulled him back to reality.

"Poor bastard, if you have no money, stop pretending."

"My sister married you because she thought highly of you. There are plenty of people who want to pursue her!"

"Boom!"

Lin Yi's foot exploded in a powerful kick, sending Tang Tian flying three meters away, doubling over in pain, his face flushed and bile spilling.

He was incredulous.

Tang Wan stared in shock as Lin Yi withdrew his foot, a cold shiver running down her spine.

It was the first time she had seen Lin Yi use violence. She never expected that the seemingly honest and mild Lin Yi would be so ruthless.

"Help! Help!"

Tang's mother, coming to her senses, screamed loudly, beating her thighs with her hands.

"You despicable scoundrel, how dare you hit my son!"

"Poor bastard, hitting people when you have no money! I'll sue you!"

"I'm calling the police right now! Forget about this marriage!"

"Shut up, old hag!"

Lin Yi approached Tang's mother, her sharp and sarcastic face irked him greatly.

He remembered those cold, indifferent eyes.

"Slap! Slap!"

One slap after another, he dealt blow after blow with unrestrained force.

It was exhilarating.

Lin Yi showed no restraint, quickly delivering a dozen slaps.

Tang's mother fell unconscious, collapsing like a broomstick thrown against the wall.

"Lin Yi, are you out of your mind!"

Tang Wan, stunned, screamed in disbelief.

"Out of my mind?" Lin Yi smirked cruelly, his murderous intent exploding in an instant.

He wanted these people to experience the agony and despair he had felt before his death.

Lin Yi, with no restraint, crushed Tang's mother's brittle leg bones, his gaze like a knife as he walked towards Tang Wan.

"Lin Yi!"

"What do you want to do!?"

"What do I want to do?" Lin Yi leaned slightly forward, his voice cold and chilling.

Tang Wan, sensing something, trembled in fear and hurriedly locked herself in a room.

"I've called the police!"

"The police are outside!"

Tang Wan, trembling, put her phone on speaker, the sound of the police siren audible on the line.

With the apocalypse imminent and accidents frequent, the faint sound of sirens and ambulances could be heard from outside.

Upon hearing the sirens being connected, Lin Yi paused, his gaze cold as he stared at the locked door.

With only three days before the apocalypse, any delay would waste precious time.

Wasting time meant wasting his chance at rebirth.

It wasn't worth it.

These worthless people didn't deserve to waste his precious time.

So…

Three days!

Lin Yi smiled cruelly and slowly turned away.

Three days later, the apocalypse would begin.

He was eager to see how Tang Wan and her family, without his desperate protection, would survive in this new world.

He hoped they would keep their current attitude in the face of the zombies.

The door and his death had completely transformed Lin Yi's life in this world.

In this life, he would only care about those he cherished.

He would never again cling to the outdated ideals of his past life.

No more being exploited!

He would grow stronger and survive in this brutal apocalypse.

Having decided to wait three days before taking action, Lin Yi would not waste any more time.

Kicking open the thin iron door, he strode confidently out into the night.

Faintly, Tang Wan heard the sound of him leaving.

As if coming to her senses, she began to loudly curse and frantically call influential figures for help.

It no longer mattered.

If Tang Wan wanted to make trouble for him, he wouldn't mind taking care of them on his way back.

Lin Yi suppressed his hatred.

Unnecessary emotions only clouded judgment.

In the coming days, he needed to not only gather sufficient supplies before the apocalypse but also prepare to awaken his abilities.

In three days, the end-of-the-world game would begin.

Zombies would spread a viral outbreak, beasts from other realms would appear, and countless strange supernatural events would sweep across the globe.

People would receive data panels as if in a game.

A fortunate few would gain supernatural powers at energy nodes, awakening special abilities.

In this new life, he would seize his destiny in his own hands.

This time, he would never again be a pitiful ordinary person struggling in vain.

Energy nodes would only appear briefly after the apocalypse began!

In his past life, he missed the chance to become an awakened one due to being dragged down by Tang Wan's family.

Now, he was determined to change all of that!

The first step in changing his fate.

"Fengming Road, No. 97!"