After an unknown amount of time had passed, Haizaki's consciousness gradually returned. He groggily opened his hazy eyes, his head still spinning slightly.
He unconsciously thought that he had not slept this deeply in a very long time.
The next moment, the scene flashing through his mind made Haizaki widen his eyes. He reacted immediately, rolling and springing to his feet.
He remembered.
He had returned to 2019, accepted the mission of the "Trans-Spatiotemporal Human Civilization Salvation System," and entered an unknown apocalyptic world.
This was an apocalyptic world.
A world filled with danger.
Haizaki instinctively slowed his breathing, sharpened his focus, and carefully observed his surroundings with a vigilant gaze.
The word "apocalypse" represented danger and death.
In such a world, he had no choice but to remain cautious. Otherwise, even dying with an intact body would be a luxury.
His gaze swept across the surroundings, and at some point, a sharp dagger had appeared in his right hand.
This was a modern apartment room. The bed and furniture all matched contemporary living standards. There was nothing particularly unusual.
Except for one thing—
The air.
Haizaki took a breath. The dust lingering in the air made him uncomfortable.
Frowning, he carefully approached the window. Daylight had already arrived, and sunlight illuminated the land, bringing brightness to the city.
High-rise buildings stood tall, shops lined the streets—there was nothing resembling the apocalyptic scenes in his memory.
This made Haizaki suspect that he might have entered the wrong setting.
The world he had entered was an apocalyptic world?
That couldn't be possible.
How could an apocalyptic world still have a completely intact city?
Raging fires of war, lingering smoke, endless gunfire and explosions, and streets reduced to rubble by collapsing buildings—those were what truly matched the word "apocalypse."
"Wait. Something's wrong."
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he finally realized the source of the sense of dissonance.
There was no sound.
Not a single sound that should exist in human society—no traffic noise, no voices of pedestrians, none of it.
Haizaki pinched his thigh. The sharp pain made it clear that he was not dreaming.
Could it be that this area had already fallen and become a lifeless dead zone? But if it had fallen, why was the city still intact?
Thinking this far, Haizaki's heart sank. The situation seemed to be the worst possible opening.
"System…"
Haizaki began to contact the auxiliary spirit.
As long as it responded, everything could be confirmed.
"You have successfully entered the 'Solitary Apocalypse' world. You are now granted a beginner's gift pack. Please choose one skill from the following options. Countdown: thirty seconds…"
— Vehicle Driving Skill, D-rank
— Aircraft Piloting Skill, D-rank
— Ship Piloting Skill, D-rank
The voice echoed in Haizaki's mind. At this moment, he completely confirmed that he was indeed in an apocalyptic world called "Solitary Apocalypse."
Solitary Apocalypse…
Judging from the literal meaning alone, it implied loneliness, isolation, solitude—meaning… no people?
"I choose Aircraft Piloting Skill, D-rank."
Among the three skills, he only had prior experience with driving vehicles. Aircraft and ships were modes of transportation he had never touched.
The moment the selection was completed, Haizaki felt something surge into his mind. Knowledge of aircraft piloting and the physical sensation of operating one became a part of him.
Haizaki gained a greater sense of confidence and assurance. He clearly understood that each additional skill meant a higher chance of self-preservation and survival.
"What is my mission?"
"Main mission one: survive for three hundred and sixty-five days."
"Are there other main missions, side missions, or hidden missions?"
"..."
"Can I return to my world midway?"
"Before completing the mission, the system user cannot return to the initial world."
The auxiliary spirit's cold, mechanical responses made Haizaki realize that he would have to remain here for a full year before he could possibly return.
However, what caught his attention was the system referring to his world as the "initial world."
"Why do you call my world the 'initial world'?"
Haizaki asked the question.
But no matter how he tried to contact the system afterward, it remained silent. This forced Haizaki to temporarily give up on obtaining further useful information from it.
...
Haizaki began searching the room he was currently in.
The three-bedroom, two-living-room, two-bathroom apartment was not large. In less than three minutes, he had conducted a basic inspection and found nothing noteworthy.
In the end, his gaze stopped on the desktop computer in the study.
He thought of the best way to obtain information about this world.
Haizaki pressed the power button. The tower hummed to life, the monitor lit up, and as the desktop loaded, Haizaki stared intently at the icon in the lower-right corner.
The network icon showed a normal connection. Internet access was available.
"Good… very good."
Facing the fact that the network was still operational, Haizaki could not help but smile.
As long as the internet existed, he could obtain the widest range and largest volume of information in the shortest amount of time.
"Click, click…"
With rapid mouse and keyboard inputs, Haizaki began searching for information using a search engine. He found nothing abnormal. As for keywords like corpses or Collapse Beasts, none existed at all—only entertainment works unrelated to any apocalypse.
However, he soon noticed a problem.
All information updates online stopped three days ago.
After realizing this, Haizaki logged into several popular websites. The result was the same—every update stopped at April 2nd, three days prior.
It was as if on April 2nd, everything had been pressed pause and cut off from the flow of time.
At this point, Haizaki could no longer obtain any useful information from the internet.
There was only one option left.
He had to go outside.
And that meant taking risks.
He did not know what lay beyond—what lurked within this silent city. Perhaps nothing at all, or perhaps deadly, mysterious creatures hidden in the shadows.
Haizaki lowered his footsteps as much as possible and stepped out of the apartment with caution, arriving at the street.
Turning to look down the road, he saw cars quietly parked on the streets, well-decorated storefronts, and intact buildings.
Only one thing was missing—
People.
Not a single human figure.
No engine noise, no horns, no human voices. Everything felt eerie and unsettling.
One street was like this. One city was like this. Was the entire world the same?
A chill crept up from Haizaki's feet to the top of his head.
His body trembled slightly.
All the humans in the world had disappeared. Only he remained.
"Hoo… hoo…"
Consciously adjusting his breathing, Haizaki gradually suppressed the unease in his heart.
Combining the system's naming of this world, he now had a deeper speculation about the "Solitary Apocalypse."
But was the Solitary Apocalypse really nothing more than humanity's disappearance? Were there truly no other threats?
Haizaki found it hard to believe that an apocalyptic world could be this low in difficulty.
If water and food were not lacking, completing Main Mission One—surviving for three hundred and sixty-five days—was something he believed he could accomplish, even alone.
Haizaki firmly believed that his psychological resilience was strong enough. He would not suffer a mental breakdown due to loneliness and isolation, let alone fall into depression or commit suicide.
If the Solitary Apocalypse was truly limited to this, then surviving alone for a year would not be a problem. He knew that enduring for one year would allow him to return, giving him hope to persevere—especially since there was also an assistant in this world.
He was not alone.
But was it really that simple?
Haizaki remained doubtful.
...