[Congratulations, Host, for acquiring an S-rank character, Simon Riley (Ghost). His implanted identity is a childhood friend of the Host. After retiring from the military, he discovered the Host was abducted by the anti-government organization, The Syndicate, and is now initiating a rescue.]
Listening to the system's cold introduction, Dominik looked at the holographic photo before him, momentarily forgetting the previous warning not to speak. He couldn't help but murmur, "Gho... Ghost?"
This system had brought Dominik immense shock. Summoning... so it was summoning characters from games.
Just as the system implanted memories related to Simon (Ghost) into Dominik's mind, several muffled thump... thump... sounds came from outside the truck.
Immediately after, the few gang members outside the truck stirred for a moment, then fell silent.
A short while later, the heavy canvas covering the back of the truck was abruptly pulled open.
At this moment, Dominik saw Simon standing in front of him, wearing dark red tactical sunglasses, a skull mask, and oversized communication headphones.
Simon's upper body was clad in a brown short-sleeved shirt with a tactical vest over it, while his lower body consisted of black cargo pants. A dagger hung from his waist, and he held a SCAR-L assault rifle in both hands.
Looking at the bewildered Dominik, Simon said indifferently, "Yo, you're not stupid, are you?"
Hearing Simon's calm yet magnetic voice, Dominik's eyes involuntarily began to redden, and the stone weighing on his heart finally dropped.
"Hmph!" Dominik forcefully sniffed, his body trembling, and excitedly said, "S-Simon, help me untie myself."
Simon looked at Dominik's disheveled state, helplessly shook his head, and drew his dagger to cut the plastic ties.
"Ah~" Dominik stretched his slightly numb hands. Just as he was about to step out of the truck, he glanced at the others huddled in the corner. After a moment of thought, he said to Simon, "Untie them too."
"Mm." Simon merely nodded, saying nothing more, and used his dagger to cut the ties of the remaining five people.
[Received emotional feedback from Simon Riley (Ghost). Degree: Goodwill. Points awarded: 5.]
Emotional feedback?
Dominik, who had stepped out of the truck, suddenly heard the system's unique cold voice in his mind.
Furthermore, due to the emergency just now, he hadn't finished listening to the system's self-introduction.
So Dominik thought, System, continue introducing yourself.
[This system includes a character gacha system. Gacha is divided into four ranks: B, A, S, S+.]
[B is a Blue gacha card, 75 points per draw.]
[A is a Purple gacha card, 150 points per draw.]
[S is a Gold gacha card, 225 points per draw.]
[S+ is a Red gacha card, acquisition method unknown.]
[Points are awarded based on human emotional feedback towards the Host, divided into positive and negative emotions.]
[Positive emotions: Goodwill, Gratitude (Trust, Affection) correspond to 5, 10 points respectively.]
[Negative emotions: Disgust, Fear (Hatred, Animosity) correspond to 5, 10 points respectively.]
[Note ①: Each human can generate a maximum of four emotional responses towards the Host; points cannot be repeatedly gained from the same person.]
[Note ②: Each summoned character has their own thoughts. If the Host's ideals diverge from theirs, they may leave or even turn against the Host. Please be aware, Host.]
Along with the system's explanation, a table also appeared before Dominik's eyes, as if his retinas had a built-in holographic projection...
"Thank you!"
"Thank you... Thank you!"
Just as Dominik was about to continue studying his system, the rescued people repeatedly thanked Simon, then scattered and ran off into the dense jungle in different directions.
"Sigh!" Looking at the fleeing people, Dominik felt a bit regretful. If only he had rescued them himself, he might have gained 25 points.
"Alright, don't just stand there looking stupid. Let's go." At this moment, Simon handed Dominik an AK-type rifle he had scavenged, then prepared to walk towards the village outskirts.
Dominik looked at the blood-stained gun in his hand, stunned. "Wait... this gun is?"
Simon stopped at his words, turned to face Dominik, and tilted his head, motioning for Dominik to look behind him.
Dominik turned his head and saw the several corpses lying in the mud. The metallic smell of fresh blood instantly rushed into his nostrils...
"Ugh!"
Dominik clutched his abdomen and instantly bent over to vomit. Since there wasn't much food in his stomach, he threw up very acidic bile.
"Phew... ha..." Dominik wiped the corner of his mouth, unable to bear looking at the twisted corpses on the ground.
Dominik wasn't squeamish about blood in movies; rather, he couldn't calmly accept the reality that people had just died in front of him.
Ten minutes ago, he was still living in peaceful, civilized Europe. Now, he held a rusted assault rifle, staring at dead bodies in a Myanmar jungle.
"Alright." Simon, who had appeared beside Dominik at some point, gently patted his shoulder and said in a comforting tone, "You'll get used to it later. We need to leave here before the others arrive. Let's go."
"Later?" Dominik looked at Simon with a puzzled expression and asked, "Do I still have to face situations like this?"
In a safe house on the outskirts of Mong Pawk.
Dominik held a tablet, quickly scanning the information on the screen, his head swaying slightly as he finished each paragraph.
By the end, Dominik's hands trembled, and he tossed the tablet onto the bamboo bed, looking at the thatched ceiling with a heavy heart.
He could finally confirm now that he was really in the Golden Triangle. Yes, that lawless, chaotic region where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet.
But the situation was worse than simple drug lords.
Based on the news reports, on July 15, 2026—which was the day before yesterday—an unknown virus had fully erupted in the Shan State of Myanmar.
Of the region's population, an estimated one-quarter had already become infected.
Early symptoms of infection included high fever and exhaustion, progressing to severe skin ulceration in later stages, followed by falling into a coma.
When infected individuals reawakened, they would attack indiscriminately. Their intelligence appeared severely diminished, and they assaulted others only by scratching, clawing, and biting.
It was known that the virus could not be transmitted through the air; infection only occurred after being bitten or scratched by an infected person.
The entire onset process was extremely brief, taking only about ten minutes from a normal person falling into a coma to entering an attack state.
Biting, scratching, infection? Virus?
"This..." Dominik scratched his hair with both hands, sighing helplessly. "Isn't this just zombies?"
Dominik's information processing capability had almost reached its limit. First, transmigration, then a system popping out, and now a zombie crisis in Southeast Asia.
It was confirmed that the current year was 2026.
Since he was on Earth, it meant there were safe zones. The international community would surely intervene.
Being on Earth meant that even if a zombie crisis broke out in Myanmar, he could escape to a safe country, or perhaps Europe had already closed its borders...
"Yes, they are zombies."
Simon, who was sitting by the window peering through the blinds, heard Dominik's murmur and replied.
"Um..." Dominik grabbed a wooden chair and sat next to Simon, then asked, "Simon, what's the situation in this village now? And why did The Syndicate kidnap me?"