Ding!
[ If you will be given a choice, do you want to remain as norms, living peacefully with the limited lifespan of yours, or live in a world filled with danger and have an infinitely small chance to strive for immortality?
Countdown for the apocalypse: 02 hours, 30 minutes, and 25 seconds! ]
"This f*cking thing again? What kind of ad can pop up every 3 hours and ask the same questions again and again?!
"The heck, there's not even an accept or decline button on this ad or videos that show its features."
In the small, cramped room, where red and blue lights can be seen flickering, illuminating the whole room non-stop, a thin young man, at the age of 23, stared at the screen of his phone annoyingly.
The game he was playing earlier was again interrupted by the ad that originated from who knows, causing his tired eyes with signs of redness due to lack of sleep to turn gloomy.
Although this isn't the first time that this had happened and had already been occurring for some time—3 days to be exact—Naib still felt helpless.
What's worse is that when the ad appeared, he could only wait patiently before it disappeared on its own since there's no 'x' button on the ads.
"Good thing though that I'm not the only one experiencing this, or else I might have already smashed my brand new, fully paid IPhone 25 pro max and bought a new one."
Yes, that's right; other than his phone, which was fully paid, all kinds of electronic devices worldwide also received the familiar ads, causing outrage from billions of users.
Unfortunately, despite this, no one was able to fix or pinpoint the origin of the ad; hence, people could only wait for the timer to reach zero and see what would happen.
"Apocalypse huh? Who would want that to happen, and who is twisted enough to create this kind of mass panic ad?! Tsk, never mind, better to eat something first before playing again."
Tossing the phone in his hand to his bed, Naib began heading outside his university dorm.
...
Swish~
The burning ball of light, rising from the east, cast a yellowish light throughout the encompassing land—its warmth enveloped the land, driving the humidity away.
In an instant, after exiting his dorm, Naib was instantly greeted by numbers of students outside.
Each one is busy on their own affairs as they move unceasingly throughout the corridor—mostly passing in front of him, yet not a single one pays attention to his unkempt appearance.
A testament to his unpopularity...
Already used to this, Naib made his way toward the cafeteria, buying the cheapest breakfast he could afford before silently sitting at the farthest table.
As for why Naib only bought the cheapest, it's not because of his brand new, fully paid phone that cost a hefty sum; it's because he prefers the taste of the cheapest food.
(Yeah... No one's going to believe you.)
At the same time, while eating his dinner and breakfast, noise from other students in the cafeteria entered through his ears.
Out of boredom, Naib perked his ears and listened to the people talking nearby.
Person #1: "Dammit! I couldn't even play properly. The ad kept popping up on my screen."
Person #2: "Don't mention it... I was about to release my pent up stress 3 days ago when the notification about some shit apocalypse appeared on my screen. Do you know how scared I was at that time?!"
Person #3: "Sigh, at least it didn't cost you anything. I thought my phone back then was invaded by a virus and ended up spending hundreds to fix it..."
Hearing this, the two near Naib's table cast a look of pity on their friend, patting the downcast man's shoulder before continuing eating.
No longer mentioning their misfortune, the three shifted their topics elsewhere.
Person #2: "Right, have you seen the video of protesters?"
Person #3: "Are you talking about the people preaching and spreading rumors that the end was near because of the damn ads? Don't bother about it; the rumors about apocalypse always happen every year, yet we are still breathing."
Person #2: "But what if the ads held some truth? What would you choose?"
"Maybe I'll try the difficult part."
"Same" ×2
Finishing his dry breakfast, Naib immediately exited the cafeteria and headed back to his dorm.
Reaching for his phone, Naib's face finally broke with a smile upon seeing the absence of the ads. Without further ado, he immediately opened the game app he was playing earlier before continuing to rank up his character.
Fortunately, since it's Sunday today, he doesn't have class, allowing him to play to his heart's content for the whole day.
As for the ad, based on its frequency of appearing, it wouldn't show up in another 2 to 3 hours, giving him plenty of time to satisfy his gamer's blood.
...
Time passed by. Without even noticing it, 2 hours had passed.
Naib, whose eyes were still glued on the screen, suddenly let out a curse when the familiar ad appeared on his screen. However, this time, instead of the similar text, the ad showed a different message.
Ding!
[ 50.0001% of this world population choose to strive for far-reaching immortality. Following the wishes of the masses, this world would now plunge into apocalypse, awakening the hidden horror beyond and the talent hiding in everyone's blood...
Survive and strive. The longer you hold on for life, the longer the suffering will be.
Countdown for the apocalypse: 0 hours, 4 minutes, and 58 seconds. ]
"Ahhhh!!! What is that?!"
"This, RUNNNN!"
"Save your self..."
In an instant, after reading the ad, loud shout, carrying both fear and panic, abruptly echoed outside Naib's door, making Naib's face, which was in the middle of cursing to freeze.
No longer caring about the ad and afraid that something happened outside his room, he immediately went out, only to see students running around in panic. However, noticeably, most of them keep glancing at the sky, clearly which their fear originated.