“Zzzzt… The current time is 10:23 AM, October 13, 2030.”
“This may be the final broadcast from this frequency.”
“Shanghu has fallen. It is now classified as an uninhabited zone.”
“Do not approach! Do not approach!!!”
“To all fellow survivors: Do not stare at the Blood Moon for more than three seconds. Do not greet the shadows beneath streetlights. Do not believe that your dead loved ones have come back to life!”
“The human spark… will never be extinguished!”
“Zzzzt…”
Chen Ye listened to the radio static, feeling cold all over.
A suffocating despair settled over the entire convoy.
Shanghu, one of the world’s greatest cities, had become a Forbidden Zone for Humanity.
…
The global outbreak of the Anomalies had begun only a few months ago.
Within a short time, some smaller countries had become Forbidden Zones for Humanity. Modern firearms and explosives were a joke against the Anomalies. They could not be killed—or at least, they were very hard to kill.
Chen Ye had fled Jiang City and joined other survivors in a convoy bound for the survivor base in Shanghu.
He rode with the convoy on an Old 28 Heavy Bike. A large bundle strapped behind the saddle held everything he owned.
Why was he riding a bicycle instead of driving a car, even in the apocalypse?
Chen Ye had tried. He had smashed a car window with a rock and opened the door, but without a key he could not start the engine. He was an ordinary man, unable to hotwire a car by touching two wires together the way people did in films.
Without a key, it was hard for Chen Ye to get a working car. No one had expected the apocalypse or thought to learn skills like hotwiring beforehand.
As for why he hadn’t secured an electric scooter or a motorbike?
For the same reason. Even this Old 28 Heavy Bike had been the only bicycle left in the shed.
The convoy was a motley collection of vehicles: modified off-roaders, buses, motorcycles, even Elderly Mobility Scooters and small electric scooters.
There were plenty of cyclists too. A bicycle could carry more and take a person farther than walking.
Everyone in this convoy had to carve two iron rules into their minds.
Rule Number One: Do not fall behind! Do not fall behind! Do not fall behind!!!
Rule Number Two: Stockpile as many supplies as possible.
The first rule took precedence over the second. Without supplies, one could still find a way to survive. Some kind soul might share what they had.
Or perhaps…
But if you fell behind, only death awaited.
Most of the convoy members were survivors fleeing Jiang City, aiming for the promised safety of Shanghu. As a top-tier metropolis, everyone believed Shanghu would have found a solution to the Anomalies.
But before they could even reach the destination, the radio shattered that hope.
Shanghu had become an uninhabited zone.
A mega-city with a population of tens of millions, gone.
Upon hearing the news, the weeping of despair rippled through the surrounding travelers. The tiny flames of hope that had flickered in their eyes turned to ashen grey.
The convoy moved on in a gloomy, uneasy silence.
As night fell, the convoy set up camp.
The Blood Moon rose above the treetops, casting a blood-red veil over the world.
An eerie presence spread across the land. The survivors lowered their sobs, seemingly afraid of disturbing the unknown Anomalies in the darkness.
Night was when the Anomalies were most active.
Faint cries for help came from distant towns that had become Forbidden Zones for Humanity, luring people to attempt a rescue. Such tricks were common among the Anomalies.
Chen Ye unstrapped his bundle from the back of the “Old 28.” He retrieved a camping pot, a Portable Gas Stove, and half a bottle of mineral water.
The pot and stove were scavenged items from his escape route. Scavenged alongside them was the Hand Crossbow hanging at his waist.
In this chaotic end of days, humans were sometimes far more terrifying than the Anomalies.
He tore open a packet of instant noodles, tossed the dry block into the pot, poured in the water, and ignited the stove. Blue flames licked the bottom of the pot, and bubbles began to rise sluggishly.
After a moment’s hesitation, Chen Ye added a single sausage to the mix.
This was his last canister of gas. Once it was empty, a hot meal would become a distant luxury.
Steam rose from the pot, carrying the smell of instant noodles. Chen Ye fell into thought.
Shanghu has fallen.
Where could he go from here?
He remembered a post he had read online before the outbreak.
It said: “Anomalies cannot be killed. Only those who awaken as Sequence Beyonders can kill them!”
At the time, he hadn’t believed it. He thought it was just some mental patient spewing abstract nonsense.
After the outbreak, he had tried shooting an Anomaly with his Hand Crossbow.
It had done absolutely nothing.
Sequence Beyonder…
The post mentioned there were many ways to awaken a supernatural Sequence. Some people awakened spontaneously, without warning. Others required an injection of something called a “Sequence Serum.” The post claimed there were hundreds of Sequences, each granting different abilities.
I wonder… what does the power of a Sequence Beyonder actually feel like?
The noodles smelled good. Chen Ye had disliked them before, but now he was lucky to have any. Many people did not even have this much to eat.
Nearby survivors swallowed as they smelled the noodles, greed showing in their eyes. Had Chen Ye not raised his Hand Crossbow, someone would have tried to snatch his food.
Some of them hadn’t eaten in a full day.
He finished the noodles quickly without once setting down his crossbow. Washing up would have to wait until he found enough water. Every drop was precious.
He lit the last cigarette in his pack, crumpled the empty box, and tossed it away. Cigarettes had become scarce supplies; every one he smoked left him with one less.
The faint glow lit the outline of his face. The mellow smoke in his mouth and nose eased his anxiety and uncertainty a little. He kept smoking until it smelled burnt, then threw it away.
With night upon him, Chen Ye reached into his bag for a blanket scavenged from a villa district, intending to make do with it until morning.
But the moment his fingers brushed the fabric, a string of text manifested directly in his mind.
[Upgrading the blanket requires consuming 129 Slaughter Points. Proceed with upgrade?]
Upgrade?
…
Fifteen minutes later, Chen Ye had grasped the meaning of the text floating before his eyes.
He had not awakened a Sequence ability. He had awakened an Upgrade System.
As long as he wished it, he could upgrade any item he touched. The blanket in his hand, the Hand Crossbow at his waist, or even the Portable Gas Stove he had just used.
The only requirement was Slaughter Points.
With enough points, he could even upgrade the blanket into a magic carpet.
After the initial rush of euphoria, Chen Ye felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him.
He had absolutely zero Slaughter Points.
Just as disappointment began to set in, a new line of text appeared.
[Considering this is the Host’s first time using this system.]
[This system can lend the Host 300 Slaughter Points. Repayment term: one month!]
I can take a loan?
Without a second thought, Chen Ye mentally clicked confirm.
An Anomaly might kill him tomorrow. In a world like this, he would be a fool not to take the loan.
With points in hand, Chen Ye turned his gaze to his bicycle.
For now, his Old 28 Heavy Bike was his most valuable possession, and upgrading it was the best use of his points. He had seen people fall behind and never catch up again.
The Convoy’s First Iron Rule: Do not fall behind! Do not fall behind! Do not fall behind!!!
Upgrade the bicycle with all my Slaughter Points!
Chen Ye attempted to send the command to the system with his mind.
The system responded immediately.
[Confirm using 300 Slaughter Points to upgrade the bicycle?]
Chen Ye confirmed instantly.
An hourglass countdown appeared, hovering above the frame of the “Old 28.”
[Upgrade countdown: 04:59:59]
[04:59:58]
…
The apocalyptic night was quiet. Perhaps because people had stopped moving about, even the stars seemed more numerous.
If not for the occasional, stifled sobs drifting from the darkness, Chen Ye might have thought the world hadn’t changed at all.
The horizon began to glow with the faint, pale light of dawn.
A system notification jolted Chen Ye awake.
[Upgrade complete!]