Chaotic Apocalypse

How strong was humanity's ability to adapt?

Atop the low defensive wall, Chu Fei stepped on the corpses of the living dead, loaded his weapon, raised it, and fired—all in one fluid motion.

He had already grown numb to the nauseating stench of the living dead and the irritating flies.

Less than an hour after transmigrating, he was already holding his own.

The living dead kept falling, yet more kept surging forward.

His arms were already sore and numb, while wisps of blue smoke rose from the overheated muzzle.

Both man and gun had reached their limits, but Chu Fei did not dare stop.

Behind him was a group of children.

In truth, "Chu Fei" himself was only fourteen.

Another burst of bullets ran out. Chu Fei reached back, but grabbed nothing.

He turned around.

The boy in charge of ammunition cried out, "Big Fei Bro, there are... no bullets left. The grenades are gone too."

The defensive line guarded by the adults in the distance had long since run out of ammunition. They were already fighting with bayonets.

Chu Fei made a snap decision and shouted, "Fix bayonets! First team, prepare for battle. Second team, stand by. Third team, rest. Rotate every three minutes."

By then, the entire Shihe Village had been surrounded by the suddenly appearing living dead. There was nowhere left to retreat.

This low defensive wall was already their last line of defense.

Under the bright sunlight, triangular bayonets glimmered with a sinister sheen.

Watching the living dead close in without end, Chu Fei's youthful face tightened.

Hold on a little longer!

Their distress call had already received a response, but they still needed a little more time.

Chu Fei's resolve and calm gradually settled the terrified boys.

The living dead began climbing over the wall.

"First team!" Chu Fei roared. "Kill!"

"Kill!" The eight boys roared furiously, stabbing the living dead back down.

Wave after wave, they killed until Chu Fei's arms were numb, his voice hoarse, and his breathing as heavy as an ox's.

Screams rang out from time to time. The mouthparts of the living dead would pierce into the brain through the eyes, temples, and other places.

Suddenly, the old village chief's hoarse voice came through the loudspeaker. "Hold on a little longer! Flying Tiger City's rescue force is about to arrive!"

Chu Fei's eyes lit up.

A few minutes later...

Chu Fei's gaze dimmed again.

The three teams of boys had become two.

Another living dead rushed before Chu Fei, its reeking stench washing over him. But his numb arms no longer had the strength to raise his bayonet.

I did my best!

Is this the end?

Bang!

The living dead's neck exploded, its head left hanging in midair.

Chu Fei turned around.

A frenzy of bullets trailed streaks of blood, like steel spikes skewering one living dead after another.

In the blink of an eye, the area before Chu Fei had been swept clean. Purple-black blood splattered all over him.

Dense gunfire mixed with deep roars echoed through the wilderness.

"The rescue force really came!" Chu Fei lay on the filthy wall and looked into the distance.

At the end of the hillside, two trails of yellow dust billowed up as two black shadows came racing toward them.

Chu Fei froze. The reinforcements... were two... motorcycles?

But the next instant, Chu Fei's mouth fell open.

The motorcycles roared, and the living dead fell in sheets.

One motorcycle drifted up the wall and swept past Chu Fei in a posture parallel to the ground.

The low wall trembled as the "tires" scraped against it, throwing off showers of sparks.

Chu Fei saw a burly figure clad in full armor. Even the motorcycle's exaggerated "tires" were made entirely of steel.

Boom...

The motorcycle streaked past wildly, crushing several living dead beneath its wheels.

Only as he watched the speeding motorcycles did Chu Fei finally have time to sort through his memories.

This was... an apocalyptic world after the collapse of high technology!

A thousand years ago, the Yanhuang Federation's technology had reached the pinnacle of material civilization, its territory stretching beyond the Star River.

Later, for reasons unknown, runaway technology dragged the entire world into the abyss. In the blink of an eye, the flourishing age vanished, and the apocalypse descended.

As he thought, the old village chief's voice came through the loudspeaker, ordering everyone to gather in front of the village hall.

Before the village hall, Chu Fei got a clear look at the two outrageously designed motorcycles. Their entire bodies were made of steel, while their "tires" were riveted together from springs and chains.

The two fully armed riders stood nearby, one man and one woman, their helmets tucked beneath their arms. The man was burly, the woman sturdy. The man's left arm in particular gleamed with metallic light—it was actually a Mechanical Arm.

The old village chief was roaring at them, "We've paid protection money for decades, and you fucking sent only two people?"

The man replied irritably, "The entire Flying Tiger City region has been hit. Your place is already considered lucky—you only have stupid, clumsy living dead. Mutant beasts have appeared elsewhere. Want me to take you there for a look?"

The old village chief fell silent.

The man snorted and turned to Chu Fei. "Kid, what are you staring at?"

It turned out Chu Fei had been staring at him the whole time.

Chu Fei wore an "admiring" expression. "Are you Transcendent Humans?"

Awkward or not, he had to seize this opportunity.

Observing him up close, Chu Fei noticed that the man's left eye seemed to be an electronic eye.

The man smiled. "I'm merely a low-level Awakened."

Chu Fei's eyes lit up. "An Awakened?!

"I want to become an Awakened too. I want enough strength to protect the village."

The man smiled, though there was something odd about it. "Not bad. You've got ambition!

"But awakening isn't easy. First, you must study well. Then, you must use Big Data Cultivation to break through the Physiological Limit. Only then will there be the slightest possibility!

"Have you thought this through?"

"Study? Big Data Cultivation?" Chu Fei was a little bewildered. What did any of this even mean? Still, he said, "I want to try!"

There was only one chance, so Chu Fei got straight to the point.

The man turned to look at the old village chief. The old village chief nodded slightly. "His name is Chu Fei. He's fourteen. His parents died in the Beast Tide twelve years ago."

The man nodded faintly and said to Chu Fei, "I noticed you earlier. I do have a way for you to become an Awakened, but the price may be a little steep."

"What price?"

The man answered seriously, "Your life and your freedom!"

Chu Fei: ...

The old village chief spoke. "Xiao Fei, this is Captain Huang, from Dawn Academy.

"Awakened cultivation is almost never open to outsiders, or else the cost is exorbitant.

"In all of Flying Tiger City, only Dawn Academy is open to us.

"Besides, we are under Dawn Academy's protection. Dawn Academy must be our first choice. Only if Dawn Academy refuses can we seek another way."

Chu Fei frowned. Something felt off.

Captain Huang added, "Dawn Academy not only charges no fees, but anyone who voluntarily enrolls also receives a subsidy of five thousand."

Chu Fei froze again. They paid people to study?

Five thousand was no small sum.

Prices in the village were: ten dollars for one small smash-cannon, and one dollar for twelve bullets.

"That's money to buy your life," the female rider said, her voice rough and hoarse. "From then on, your life belongs to Dawn Academy. Even if you're beaten to death, no one will say a thing."

Chu Fei abruptly raised his head. He could be beaten to death?

The female rider said faintly, "Big Data Cultivation is difficult. Its core is learning, and one's capacity to learn... can be squeezed dry!

"In more than thirty years, Dawn Academy has accepted tens of thousands of students, yet trained only thirty-six Awakened.

"And Dawn Academy isn't an inn. Once you join, you cannot leave."

Chu Fei grew solemn. "What if I can't become an Awakened?"

"That depends on your learning ability. The best become technical staff, the middling become workers, and the rest become cannon fodder. Dawn Academy doesn't raise trash! Or rather, the apocalypse doesn't raise trash!"

Chu Fei fell silent, but three seconds later, he still gritted his teeth and said, "I want to try!"

Just now, he had been only 0.1 meters away from death!

This was the apocalypse. If he did not become an Awakened, he might die tomorrow.

Captain Huang smiled at the old village chief. "You've received one student who volunteered to enroll. Your village's quota for this year is complete."

Then Captain Huang took out a stack of banknotes made from Metal Paper and counted out fifty bills for the old village chief.

After hesitating briefly, the old village chief stuffed them all into his pocket and said to Chu Fei, "Consider it repayment for the cost of raising you all these years."

Chu Fei's heart instantly turned cold.

His parents had died protecting the village.

In the battle just now, he had refused to retreat even unto death—the original Chu Fei had in fact already died.

Yet Chu Fei said nothing. He did not even argue. Instead, an inexplicable sense of relief rose within him.

Fine. From today onward, I am myself. I have no further ties to Shihe Village.

His thoughts became clear.

Then his vision blurred. Faintly, he "saw" a dazzling "gem" floating in the depths of his consciousness.

The sensation vanished in a flash. When he tried to sense it more carefully, there was no trace left behind.

Even so, Chu Fei's heart skipped a beat.