Seattle, Washington. October 14. 8:12 AM. Rain tapped softly against the windows of a small apartment on the 12th floor.
Ethan Cole groaned as his alarm clock screamed. "Five more minutes…" He rolled over and buried his face in the pillow.
Then every phone in the building buzzed at the same time. BZZZT.
Ethan blinked. "What the…?"
His phone screen lit up with a message he'd never seen before.
EMERGENCY ALERT: UNIDENTIFIED BIOLOGICAL OUTBREAK DETECTED. AVOID PHYSICAL CONTACT. REMAIN INDOORS.
Ethan sighed. "Another drill?" He got up and walked to the window.
The streets of downtown Seattle looked normal… at first. Cars moved slowly through the rain. People waited for buses.
Then someone screamed.
Ethan leaned closer to the glass.
Across the street, a man in a business suit tackled another man onto the sidewalk. They struggled. Then the man in the suit bit into the other man's neck.
Blood sprayed across the pavement.
Ethan froze. "…No way."
People started running. Cars crashed.
The bitten man stopped moving.
Then his body jerked.
Slowly… he stood up.
Ethan stepped back from the window. "This has to be a prank."
Suddenly— DING.
A glowing blue screen appeared in front of his eyes. Not on his phone. In the air.
[GLOBAL SURVIVAL SYSTEM INITIALIZING]
World Status: COLLAPSE
Zombie Virus Spread: 0.03%
System Users Selected: 10% of Humanity
Ethan stared. "…Am I dreaming?"
The screen continued.
User Detected: ETHAN COLE
Age: 23 | Occupation: College Student | Rank: F
Strength: 6 | Agility: 5 | Endurance: 5 | Intelligence: 7
Ability: None
Ethan rubbed his eyes. The screen didn't disappear.
"What the hell is this… a video game?"
Another message popped up.
FIRST QUEST AVAILABLE
Quest: Survive the First Hour
Time Limit: 60 Minutes
Reward: Beginner Weapon Box, +1 Stat Point
Failure: Death
A loud BANG slammed against Ethan's apartment door.
He jumped. Another BANG.
Someone—or something—was hitting it.
A voice growled outside. Low. Hungry.
"Uhhhhhhh…"
Ethan slowly backed away. "…You've got to be kidding me."
The system chimed again.
WARNING — Infected detected outside door.
The door shook violently. Wood cracked.
Ethan looked around the room in panic: kitchen, bathroom, balcony.
His eyes landed on a baseball bat leaning against the wall. He grabbed it with shaking hands.
The system screen appeared again.
TIP FOR NEW USERS: Destroy the brain of the infected to eliminate them.
CRACK.
The door splintered. A gray hand pushed through the opening. Then a face appeared—eyes clouded, blood running down its chin.
Ethan whispered, "…Okay."
He tightened his grip on the bat. "Let's see if this system thing actually works."
The door burst open.
The zombie rushed in.
Ethan swung.
SMASH.
The bat crushed into its skull. The body collapsed instantly.
Ethan stared at the corpse on the floor, breathing heavily.
Then— DING.
Zombie Eliminated
+10 EXP
Ethan blinked. "…EXP?"
Another message appeared.
LEVEL UP — Level 1 → Level 2
Stat Point Available: 1
Outside his apartment window, sirens screamed across Seattle. Smoke rose from downtown. Helicopters roared overhead.
And everywhere in the streets…
The dead were standing up.
The system displayed one final message.
WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE, USER.
SURVIVE… AND EVOLVE