BRRING, BRRING.
Wen Yu opened his eyes groggily, his consciousness returning to his body with the ringing of the alarm clock by his bed.
This, this is...?
Looking at the familiar rental room before him and feeling his unscathed body, Wen Yu's thoughts couldn't help but return to just a moment ago...
Just a moment ago, Wen Yu and his Hunting Team were on a mission.
The so-called Hunting Team was nothing more than a third-rate team from a third-rate settlement, and the strongest in their team, Wen Yu himself, was just a newly promoted Level 2 warrior.
Everyone in the apocalypse knew that this kind of team was pure cannon fodder.
And the so-called mission was, naturally, a cannon fodder-level task: attracting the attention of a Level 5 mutant beast. Then, luring it into the main combat team's pre-set trap.
The huge rewards and sharp swords made it impossible for Wen Yu to refuse this suicidal task. Unfortunately, cannon fodder can never change their inherent nature.
The moment Wen Yu's cannon fodder team made contact with the target creature, they found themselves facing as many as thirty Third-level mutant creatures.
By the time Wen Yu realized the situation and turned to flee, a third of his cannon fodder team had already been torn apart.
As for Wen Yu himself, his head was smashed by the Level 5 mutant beast a hundred meters from the trap.
Then, when Wen Yu opened his eyes again, he found himself in the small rental room where he had lived for three years.
This... how is this possible?
Wen Yu quickly sat up and walked over to the mirror by his bed.
Looking at himself in the mirror, his weak body possessed none of the strength it used to have.
Before, although he was cannon fodder, he still had the strength of a Level 2 warrior. His physical strength was at least one ton, and his body was muscular with clearly defined lines.
Now, the body before him was thin and frail, just like an ordinary guy from the neighborhood.
The more Wen Yu looked at his body, the more familiar it felt, as if he had returned to how he was before becoming a warrior.
Could it be? Wen Yu seemed to have thought of something and suddenly rushed to the computer, meticulously checking the date on it.
"May 25, 2017. This is... this is when the apocalypse began! This is a year ago! Is it possible... I was reborn? I was reborn! Haha, hahaha, HAHAHAHA..."
Wen Yu's laughter grew louder, more maniacal. As he thought of his fate as cannon fodder in his previous life, tears began to trickle down his face even as he laughed.
If I could start my life over again, would I still be cannon fodder? Would I still accept the exploitation and scorn from powerful experts? Would I still live that horrific life again?
"No! Absolutely not! Absolutely not!" Wen Yu shouted frantically. This was heaven's favor, heaven's gift to him.
Wen Yu took a deep breath.
"AH—!"
Suddenly, a scream shattered the tranquility of the residential complex.
"What's going on? Can't people get some rest?"
"What the hell is wrong with them?"
"Damn it, that scream is creepy as hell!"
Countless curses erupted from the building as many people voiced strong protests against the sudden scream.
However, the screams did not stop; instead, they intensified. Different screams and roars were heard not only from the lower floors of the building but also from the corridors and even inside apartments.
"Help! Someone's killing people!"
"Honey, what's wrong with you? Stop biting me! AH! AH—!"
Wen Yu suddenly had a terrible premonition. He quickly locked his door, found a table, and hastily shoved it against the door. Then he hurried to the window to look down.
He saw the source of the screams in the residential complex. A recently married couple was now putting on a grotesque public display in the community square.
The man clung tightly to his wife, frantically kissing her cheek. This scene, which would normally be a lovely display of affection, was marred by the bits of flesh and fresh blood in the man's mouth.
Wen Yu had seen this exact scenario in his past life; it was the first thing he witnessed when the apocalypse arrived.
The sight of blood and eyeballs splattering all around had nearly made Wen Yu vomit in his past life. In this life, all he could do was mutter bitterly in his heart, "Son of a bitch."
Wen Yu knew the apocalypse was coming and had mentally prepared himself in advance.
But that preparation was only in his mind. Not even five minutes had passed since his Rebirth.
In that short amount of time, confirming and accepting the fact of his own Rebirth was already a testament to his strong mental fortitude.
Just when he thought he should start gathering some supplies and Weapons, the apocalypse, like an ardent lover, had planted a kiss on his smooth forehead.
"Heavens, are you messing with me again? What happened to the benefits of being a reborner? Even if there are none, at least give me a usable Weapon!" Regardless of Wen Yu's complaints, the situation was what it was.
He carefully examined his tiny rented room, hoping to find something, anything that could be used as a Weapon. Within three seconds, he was disheartened.
The room was small to begin with and didn't have space for a separate kitchen, so he naturally wouldn't find a cleaver or a butcher knife there.
He reluctantly picked up the fruit knife on the table and lightly scraped its tip with his finger. "Something is better than nothing, right? Even if it's just a fruit knife that would struggle to cut an apple."
At this point, Wen Yu could only find some solace in the fruit knife.
He then checked his food stash. As a long-time bachelor, an orphan, and a hardcore homebody who spent most of his time with his computer, he had plenty of instant noodles, along with a small jar of fermented bean curd.
He remembered that in his past life, he had managed to survive for a month relying on the two boxes of instant noodles in his room.
Before he starved to death, a survivor team searching for supplies had found him, and thus began his year-long journey as cannon fodder.
Wen Yu carefully packed his belongings, putting several packs of instant noodles, a few bottles of mineral water, and some sausages into his backpack.
These were the basic supplies he planned to take. Then he found a mop, kicked off the head with a few stomps, and tightly bound the handle to the fruit knife. A simple spear was freshly made, though its actual combat effectiveness remained to be seen.
He dug out his thermal underwear and put it on, then found some old books and magazines and wrapped them around his wrists and forearms. This was his makeshift armor.
With his backpack on and spear in hand, Wen Yu slowly cracked open the door. After confirming the hallway was clear, he cautiously opened it fully.
Wen Yu lived on the third floor. Upon opening his door, he noticed the door to the apartment opposite was ajar, and strange, wet squelching sounds came from inside.
"They were such a nice old couple. It's probably best to put them out of their misery." Wen Yu understood that tragedy had befallen the kind elderly couple across the hall.
Silently, he pushed open the opposite door. He saw the once-kind old man with his back to him, hunched over his wife's body, tearing at it with large bites.
The old woman's eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Zombies—the harbingers of the apocalypse.
The accepted view in later times was that with the opening of the Demon Realm's passage, the leaking Demonic Qi transformed some humans, those without antibodies, into these rotting, filthy monsters.
Although they looked terrifying and disgusting, these zombies were actually the weakest monsters at the beginning of the apocalypse. Their bodies, corroded by Demonic Qi, suffered from softened and collapsing muscle tissue, making them far inferior to ordinary humans in both strength and speed.
As long as humans could overcome their fear and had a Weapon capable of cracking a zombie's skull, even a woman could kill several of them.
For Wen Yu, who had survived a year in the apocalypse, such low-level creatures couldn't incite any fear in him.
Perhaps the sound of the door opening had disturbed the feasting zombie. The zombified old man slowly turned his head, his pale, lifeless pupils fixing on the fully equipped Wen Yu.
Wen Yu, naturally understanding the principle of striking first to gain the advantage, launched a flying kick that knocked the zombie down, then firmly stepped on its body.
The zombie struggled, but it lacked the strength to throw Wen Yu off. Its bloody mouth continuously let out roars.
Wen Yu ignored its cries, adjusted his angle, and ruthlessly thrust the spear into the zombie's eye socket. The zombie on the ground twitched a couple of times and then stopped moving.
"Ding! Killed one Level 0 zombie. Gained one point."
Wen Yu breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the fallen zombie, he pulled out his spear. A gush of foul blood flowed from the wound.
Though it had only been a zombie for less than ten minutes, its blood had already noticeably darkened. Wen Yu silently mourned for a moment, then turned to the unrecognizable old woman and plunged his spear into the corpse's head.