The Apocalypse

The sky was gray in a deadly silent city. A blood-stained flyer was carried by the wind, finally landing at a doorway. The occasional mournful cries of passing birds created a depressing, suffocating atmosphere.

This was Xiang Nanchuan’s third day in the apocalypse.

He sat on a bench, staring blankly at the zombies roaming outside. This was once Xizhou City’s bustling commercial street, now a zombie paradise.

Thinking back to three days ago when he opened his eyes and saw the streets teeming with zombies, he was nearly terrified. However, his expressionless face allowed him to maintain composure even in the depths of fear.

Before the apocalypse, Xiang Nanchuan was just an ordinary wealthy second-generation kid, with sixty-year-old parents and a husky, and at an age where marriage was a given.

He remembered that he had gone out drinking with a few friends the night before, returned home drunk, and fell asleep on the sofa. When he woke up, he found himself here.

 He initially thought it was a joke from a friend, but then, a metallic voice dinged in his head, telling him he had been chosen by the Time Travel Association to be the supermarket manager for this time and space, and that he must complete all tasks before returning.

The other party called itself “system.”

Xiang Nanchuan was furious. Why had this so-called Time Travel Association forcibly bound him and made him perform such tedious tasks? He wanted to go back! He was afraid of dying, so why would he willingly come to this haunted place filled with zombies?

Then, the system’s words stunned him.

 The system said, “Have you forgotten that you’re already dead?”

As the system finished speaking, memories suddenly flooded back into Xiang Nanchuan’s mind. He suddenly remembered that the night before, he’d returned home completely drunk and forgotten to lock the door, leading to a burglary. His memory was so muddled. Xiang Nanchuan only remembered a scuffle with the man, who ultimately stabbed him in the heart, killing him.

Recalling this, Xiang Nanchuan slumped to the ground, staring blankly at the ground for a long moment. After a long pause, he said, “After completing this mission, can I really go back?”

The system replied coldly, “Since I brought you here, I can let you go back.”

Xiang Nanchuan believed it, grasping at the last straw. He had no choice but to trust the system. He had to go back.

After calming down, Xiang Nanchuan finally faced the situation.

Seeing that he had calmed down, the system sent him a document.

 After receiving the information, Xiang Nanchuan learned that his current world was a parallel universe, but this world was experiencing the greatest disaster in history—the zombie crisis.

He was on a commercial street in a fourth-tier city in central Country C.

It was the twenty-ninth day of the zombie outbreak, and many people had already developed superpowers. These people were called “superpowers user” Zombies possessed a substance called a “crystal core” in their brains that provided them with energy.

The first day of the apocalypse coincided with daytime, when the commercial street was often crowded. The area outside was swarming with zombies, and pools of dark red blood covered the ground. It was a terrifying sight.

Across from him stood a high-end clothing store. The window panes had been smashed, and several mannequins had fallen to the floor. The clothes on the hangers looked as if they had been snatched away. A white dress that had fallen to the ground was stained a shocking crimson red.

Xiang Nanchuan forced himself to look away and turned to observe his surroundings. It was a small shop, less than 20 square meters, with only three or four empty shelves and a single cash register, giving it a very spartan feel.

The system told him that this supermarket only accepted gold coins, which customers could exchange for various items, including crystal cores. While this world didn’t have Jack Ma, others had invented convenient payment systems, and unmanned supermarkets were no longer news. After exchanging their gold coins, customers could simply pay at the cashier by scanning their faces until all their gold coins were deducted.

If customers were satisfied with their purchase, their reputation would be shared. This reputation was equivalent to a five-star rating and could be used to upgrade the supermarket.

The system then gave him a generous gift package.

Xiang Nanchuan clicked on the package, summoning a ninja stock clerk.

The ninja stock clerk was dressed in black, and his face covered with a cloth, revealing only a pair of dark eyes. Upon his summoning, he began to flicker back and forth. A few seconds later, the empty shelves were filled with apples and oranges.

 At this moment, the warehouse’s alarm beeped, signaling a shortage of supplies.

Xiang Nanchuan asked the system where to restock.

The system replied, “Your gold coin balance is zero. You cannot restock. Manager, please attract customers, sell goods, earn gold coins and reputation then upgrade your supermarket.”

Before Xiang Nanchuan could ask, the system spoke again, “Issuing the first task: Manager, attract a customer within 24 hours. Failure will result in a loss of reputation.”

Xiang Nanchuan immediately said, “There’s not a single person alive outside. How can I attract customers? Besides, this shabby supermarket only sells apples and oranges. Only a fool would come in and buy anything!”

The system feigned silence.

Xiang Nanchuan clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and said in a negotiating tone, “One day is too short. I can’t complete the mission, and it won’t benefit you, right? Can you extend the mission a little? Five days, okay?”

After a moment, the system finally spoke. “Five days won’t work. Three days at most.”

Xiang Nanchuan gritted his teeth. “Three days!”

However, today was already the third day. If the mission wasn’t completed before six p.m., it would fail.

During these three days, Xiang Nanchuan sat at the door. He was lucky enough to see a few people running frantically from the electronics store across the street. Perhaps too frightened, they rushed into the zombie swarm without knowing where to go, and were soon surrounded by the zombies.

 The zombies opened their mouths and bit the men’s necks, their shrill screams echoing through the commercial street. Seeing the blood spurt out, Xiang Nanchuan’s pupils shrank. He subconsciously took a few steps back, bent over, and began to retch.

His fingers trembled uncontrollably, and his teeth chattered. Before arriving in the apocalypse, he had never even seen a dead person. Seeing such a bloody and brutal scene, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t afraid. He wanted to go back. His parents were old and would definitely not accept his death. They were still waiting for him to take over the company, so he had to go back no matter what.

By the time he had adjusted, the zombies outside slowly dispersed. The men had become zombies with dull eyes, and some missing limbs. They crawled slowly away, leaving a glaring trail of blood on the ground.

Xiang Nanchuan silently calculated that the transformation from the zombie bite took about half an hour.

 His current body was that of an ordinary person. Having barely managed to survive, he absolutely couldn’t let the zombies bite him.

As long as he stayed inside the supermarket, he wasn’t in immediate danger. But if he didn’t leave, how would he attract customers?

Xiang Nanchuan asked the system if there was any way to transform him into a superpower user.

The system replied, “Complete three tasks, and you’ll be rewarded with a superpower inducer.”

After hearing the system’s answer, Xiang Nanchuan’s frown relaxed slightly. This was probably the only good news he’d heard in the past few days.

Two days passed, and Xiang Nanchuan couldn’t help but feel anxious. He woke up before dawn to open his shop, waiting from morning until afternoon. Still, there wasn’t a single living person on the street. Even if there were, they would simply become food for the zombies.

A month had passed since the zombie outbreak, and Xizhou City had long since lost power and water. Those who had food at home should have run out, but in those three days, he had seen only a few people escape. Xiang Nanchuan wondered if there were any living people left on this commercial street. Their sense of smell was acute. Xiang Nanchuan once tried to leave a store, but as soon as he took a step, the zombies outside turned stiffly and looked over. Frightened, Xiang Nanchuan retracted his foot. Unable to smell any living breath, the zombies quickly turned back and continued their roaming.

Another time, Xiang Nanchuan walked out of a supermarket when the zombies made a “ho ho” sound and pounced on him with nimble movements. Frightened, he immediately retreated back into the store, but accidentally bumped into a shelf and stumbled to the ground. His heart pounded wildly. He clenched his fists, taking several deep breaths before calming down.

From that day on, he never dared to step outside the supermarket again. After dying once, he had become incredibly precious about his life.

 But it was already the third day, and Xiang Nanchuan was restless. His stomach rumbled, and with a wavering feeling, he turned his head to look at the shelves. A section of the once-filled shelf was now empty. These past few days, Xiang Nanchuan had been eating apples whenever he felt hungry, and before they were even sold, he’d already devoured a third of them. If this continued, even if he couldn’t complete the mission, he’d starve to death here.

Just as Xiang Nanchuan was debating whether to go out and try again, a fist-sized fireball suddenly flew over and struck a bereft head.

It was a superpower user!

Xiang Nanchuan suddenly stood up.