"Ahh!" The people who were burned screamed, twisting their bodies in pain. They held the injured areas and let go a moment later, as it would only increase the pain.
"Mom, it hurts," a boy roared as his entire arm burned. He stood up and froze—his mother had already become a charred corpse. Hundreds of screams echoed through the ruined street around him.
His case was just one of many. A young man with his leg burnt jumped on his other leg as he yelled, "Sara, where are you... Dear?" His face paled as he found the corpse of a young woman.
"So what would it be?" Game Master muttered as the wheel began to slow down. He waved his finger behind his back, which glowed for a moment with crimson light.
Across the world, hearts pounded as the wheel slowed to a crawl. Even those thousands of kilometers apart felt as though they were standing beside the wheel.
Tick! After a few moments, the pointer landed on a purple area and stopped. People stared at the purple section, unsure what it meant.
"There you have it." Game Master clapped his hands and glanced at the girl, who tilted her head. "What is this?"
"For playing, I’ll give you a gift," he said, clenching both fists and pointing them at her. "Pick one."
"Hmm." The girl glanced at both closed palms with a frown. After thinking for a bit, she smiled. "I’ll pick the right one."
A gold-colored, high-quality paper note with the number "10000" on top left and bottom right appeared as he opened his palm. "Here is your gift."
The girl took it and scrutinized it. It was like a money note worth 10000, with a multicolored circle in the middle and, in the center, a big symbol ₳.
"Is it money?" she asked, folding it and placing it neatly in her pocket.
"Yes, it is," The Game Master nodded. "With that you can buy food..." He was cut short as the girl raised her excited voice, "Can I buy a Barbie doll?"
"Yes, you can." He patted her head. "You can buy anything in the store, which opens after the game starts."
"Yay!" The girl raised both hands excitedly, completely unaware of the blood and burning cars around her. She couldn’t see blood as the Game Master used his strength to affect her vision; in her eyes, she was standing on the empty road with her mom.
Game Master floated up and announced, "Now your fate has been decided." The wheel appeared on screens, slowly, as shards began to fall from the right corner, revealing the word ’apocalypse’.
Just when the words of the actual theme were about to be revealed, the screen changed back to the game master.
"What?"
"Just show it."
They shouted, unable to contain their emotions.
"Don’t be in such a rush." Game Master shook his head. "Before I reveal it, why don’t you suggest which type of apocalypse you would like?" He held his chin. "If I like it, I might use it for the next round."
"It’s the AI apocalypse," someone yelled from their huge villa, peeking out from a window. His voice spread through the screens, echoing through the world.
More voices echoed through screens across the world.
"Desert."
"Slow zombie."
Voices erupted across the world, each trying to outshout the others. More voices shouted different answers from homes, streets, and buildings across the world.
"Ice."
"Ocean."
In a two-story house, a kid with huge glasses hissed as he listened to the voices through the monitor. "Tch! fools," he cursed, his voice loud enough to echo through the room and sweep to the next buildings, "None of them understood what apocalypse truly meant."
"What zombie, what ocean?" He thud!punched the wall, his knuckles turning red, but he didn’t care. "It’s Blackout Apocalypse. If it’s chosen, I guarantee, the least people would die."
His voice, to his disbelief, spread throughout the world, from the screens.
"Hmm." Game Master nodded. ’Indeed, there are people who could pick well.’ Even he was impressed that someone had listed out the easiest one to survive.
"What kind of apocalypse?" A middle-aged man’s raspy voice spread. "Is it even an apocalypse?"
"It’s indeed an apocalypse," the kid hissed. "First, can you tell me what apocalypse even means?"
The middle-aged man fell silent. Many tried to question or explain, but their voices couldn’t get through the screen.
The kid explained, rubbing his nose, "An apocalypse is when the whole world breaks and changes forever. A blackout apocalypse is when the power goes out, but it never comes back on." He shook his head. "Why couldn’t anyone think of this?"
"If that’s all, it’s indeed the easiest to survive." Many began to nod.
"Yes, indeed," Game Master agreed, but raised his brows. "However, ladies and gentlemen, if this apocalypse appears, you will all lose technology." He pointed toward cars and mobiles on the ground. "These things will perish and cannot be built again."
Blackout apocalypse is the easiest way out of all apocalypses, but also a dead end, unlike others, where they could outgrow and survive with new inventions.
"In simple terms, you’ll be stuck in an eternal Steam Age," The Game Master simplified. Though he didn’t mention that they could wield magic and other powers.
Everyone fell silent. "Well, there you have it." He clapped his hands. "That’s all. Let’s check the current theme."
The wheel appeared back on screens. The entire world paused.
"Blackout." Many people prayed for the easiest way. "Ice." Seven prayed for what they remembered.
"Zombie," a few people hissed with twisted grins. "I just need to withstand a bite and turn zombie with a human mind."
The words were revealed in the wheel as shards fell, revealing each letter. E, I, B.
Zombie Apocalypse!
Everyone was glued to their screen. Then cheers, screams, and curses erupted from every screen.
"There it is, humans," The Game Master smiled. "Zombie Apocalypse. I think everyone should be familiar with it."
He waved his finger; many movies, novels, anime, and games flashed on screen. Dill vs Tim. Agent 47. Nine Hours. Nine Days...
"Your world has a good amount," he adjusted his coat. "Now, zombies are the same as shown in that content."
"Zombie." Many people around the world took a relieved breath, cheering themselves. "I can do this. I watched a lot of zombie content." Every person imagined a different future.
"Crap!" However, there were opposite reactions as well. "Why zombie of all things? One bite and done for!"
While there were optimistic people as well, "Do people gain power if they survive a zombie bite?"
The seven had completely different reactions. They froze, broke into a sweat. "How?"
"In my past life, it was clearly Ice Apocalypse."
"No!... My memories are no use." A kid stared at the screen, his face turning pale. "Is it the butterfly effect?" They felt they’d lost their advantage before they could even put it into use.
"In novels, didn’t they pick treasures, maneuver, and such from past life memories?" This was the question they all had.
Why did they have a different scenario?
"Game Master." They roared, directing their fury at one figure. "Does he know? Or it’s a coincidence?"
Game Master nodded to himself. ’Good, now, seven regressors. Let’s see how you’d do without your advantage!’
He declared with a wide smile, "Now, everyone, you have fifteen minutes to prepare, and one hour to reach the portal."
A luminous blue panel flashed in front of everyone.
[ Main Quest 1—Survival
Objective: Reach the portal within one hour
Quest starts in 00:15
Reward: Unlock levelling and Store ]
The countdown began.