【System successfully loaded. Memory transfer in progress…】
Chen Xi opened her eyes amidst a wave of dizziness. By the time she was fully conscious, she had also received all of the original owner’s memories.
The original owner’s name was also Chen Xi. She was currently a junior at S City University, and the place she was in now was a small one-bedroom apartment the original Chen Xi had rented off-campus.
Being an orphan with no family and very few friends, the original Chen Xi had to cover tuition and living expenses herself after entering university.
Sometimes, she worked late into the night. The dormitory building would already be closed, so to reduce hassle, she had rented a small apartment in an older neighborhood.
Her social circle was simple, and there was nothing messy going on. Since this was still the modern world, Chen Xi felt confident about her mission!
Chen Xi was a new intern at the Quick-Transmigration Bureau. She had already passed multiple assessments and training, and now all that remained was to complete this one transmigration assignment to officially join the organization.
Some small worlds often veered off their storylines for various reasons, and the Bureau’s mission was to maintain stability in these worlds.
As always, the intern assignments weren’t too difficult. Chen Xi’s task this time was simply to enter a small world as a side character or a passerby and ensure that the male and female leads reached a happy ending in their collapsing world.
“System, where are the male and female leads now?” she asked eagerly, ready to start the mission.
【Small world storyline loading…】
Once she fully absorbed the storyline, Chen Xi wanted to smack herself. Was this the modern world? No—it was clearly an apocalypse world! And there were zombies too!!!
She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was past 9 PM, and in less than three hours, the apocalypse would strike!
“Ahhh, System, why didn’t you warn me sooner?!”
Chen Xi hurriedly grabbed her phone and wallet, didn’t even have time to change her shoes, and rushed out of the apartment. She ran straight to the neighborhood convenience store.
Fortunately, this was an older neighborhood, mostly inhabited by elderly residents who were likely asleep at this hour, so the store wasn’t crowded.
Instant noodles, bread, biscuits, self-heating hotpots, microwavable rice… she even grabbed three massive 18.9-liter water jugs!
That was all she could carry. At checkout, she glanced at her phone: it was already 10:30 PM.
“Do you want these delivered?” the cashier asked, worried she couldn’t carry it all.
“No, thanks.” Delivery? No way. If someone delivered this now, she’d run right into zombies on the way back. Better not.
She stuffed all the food and water into a cart and left, reminding the cashier on the way out:
“There might be criminals in the neighborhood lately. If you see anything suspicious, lock the door and stay inside.”
“…Okay,” the cashier said, slightly stunned, then gratefully added, “Thanks for the warning!”
Chen Xi checked the time: 10:55 PM. She had to hurry!
She jogged down to the fifth floor—this old neighborhood was only five floors, and the original Chen Xi’s apartment was on the top floor.
After five or six trips, she finally got everything inside, locked the door, and double-checked the windows.
It was 11:25 PM. Less than half an hour to go!
Right—water!
She filled every basin, bucket, and cup in the apartment with water.
Once the apocalypse hit, she didn’t know when the water would stop. Even if there was water, she feared contamination. Better to store some now.
Chen Xi thought for a moment and posted anonymously online about the upcoming apocalypse. Time was too tight to prepare properly, but if even one or two people believed it, maybe she could save someone.
At 11:50 PM, she sat by the window, reviewing the storyline:
This small world was derived from a novel, originally a sweet apocalypse story. The male lead was the CEO of a large internet company in S City, and the female lead was one of his employees.
Because of a project deadline, on the night the apocalypse struck, the male lead, the female lead, and some other employees were working overtime past midnight.
When the apocalypse came, several people nearby turned into zombies. The male lead stayed calm, helped the survivors deal with the zombies, and then barricaded the office building. They survived inside for several days. The male lead awakened ice-based powers, and the other employees gradually awakened their own abilities.
Food became scarce, so the group, led by the male lead, went out to search for supplies.
Although the female lead had no powers, the jade pendant she wore contained a small space with a magical spring that could heal zombie infections and upgrade as time went on.
Together, the male and female leads cooperated, gathered food and water, expanded their team, and eventually built a base…
Through repeated dangers, they grew closer, and a romance subtly developed. By the end, the female lead’s spring produced a vaccine to prevent zombie infections, and the protagonists gradually eliminated the zombies. The apocalypse ended, and the world entered a new era.
But now, in this collapsed small world, the male and female leads weren’t together. Worse, the female lead had been killed before the ending, causing the small world to collapse entirely.
Thus, the Quick-Transmigration Bureau rewound the world’s timeline and sent personnel to repair it.
“But… wasn’t this mission supposed to be for intermediate or higher-level employees? Why send it to an intern?!” Chen Xi asked angrily.
【Sorry, Host. The system encountered a minor glitch and set your mission to Hard Mode…】
“A minor glitch? This is an apocalypse! I could die! How am I supposed to complete the mission?”
Though dying in a small world wouldn’t affect her real body much, failing the mission meant failing her internship assessment. She could end up a wandering spirit in space…
This was serious!
The system hesitated, then weakly replied:
【I’ll submit a report to the main system immediately to request a new small world for you.】
“Alright, thanks,” Chen Xi said. As she spoke, she felt the system vanish—probably off to see its superiors.
No matter what, Chen Xi still had to survive for the next few days while waiting for the result.
At midnight, a meteor suddenly changed course, piercing the atmosphere and heading straight for the ground. It broke into several pieces, scattering across the sky…
Like shooting stars, the entire sky turned an eerie blood-red. Many people stopped to stare…
Then, screams erupted worldwide.
People fell without warning, then rose again, their skin decayed, eyes gray-white, biting anyone nearby. Blood sprayed instantly, screams never ceasing…
The bitten soon died, then staggered up to attack the next victim. The world became a living hell.
Chen Xi watched from her window. Suddenly, she heard scratching at the door, accompanied by ragged breathing. Her heart raced with panic…