In 2016, in the woods of Huazhong Business College in Yuzhou City, a seemingly rich second-generation heir was kicking and punching someone with several lackeys, cursing nonstop.
"Zhao Tianlei, have you even looked at yourself? You actually dare to set your sights on Shen Xinyu? Keep dreaming. Remember, Shen Xinyu is the girl I've chosen. Only I'm worthy of her. Since we're classmates, I'll let you off this time. But if there's a next time, I'll break your legs."
The rich heir was named Lin Mu. His name sounded refined, but his character was utterly vile.
Shen Xinyu was their classmate. She was twenty-one years old this year. During her first year at the college, she was discovered by a talent scout from Imperial City Entertainment Company. After a trial shoot for an MV, she became an overnight sensation. Commercials, films, and television shows came one after another, and then she entered the music industry as well. She was now a star active in commercials, film and television, and music.
Shen Xinyu's new production happened to be filming on campus today, drawing a huge crowd of onlookers. Seeing the goddess in his heart, Zhao Tianlei couldn't help fantasizing aloud, "If only Shen Xinyu were my girlfriend."
Unfortunately, Lin Mu, who was standing in front of him, heard those words. He flew into a rage and led several people in dragging Zhao Tianlei into the woods, where they beat him brutally. After Lin Mu and the others left, Zhao Tianlei got up and walked away. But the moment he took a step, he stepped on something and fell flat on the ground.
When Zhao Tianlei sat up and looked at the culprit that had tripped him, he discovered that it was actually a high-end, exquisitely crafted black box. Seeing someone approaching in the distance, Zhao Tianlei hurriedly stuffed it into his pocket and headed toward the dormitory. Everyone was in class at the moment, so there was no one in the room.
After locking the door, Zhao Tianlei opened the box and saw a black ring inside. The ring had an extremely strange and distinctive design, and its material looked very expensive as well. Driven by curiosity, Zhao Tianlei put it on his finger. It fit perfectly. Suddenly, something sprang out from the ring and pierced directly into his flesh. It didn't hurt much, but it still startled Zhao Tianlei.
"Host Number 0 has been activated. Waiting to scan physique."
A voice suddenly rang out. Zhao Tianlei immediately shouted in shock, "Fuck, what the hell? Who's talking?"
"Scanning complete. Number 0, you may call me the Virtual Main God. I am communicating with you through the ring on your hand."
"Number 0? Why are you calling me Number 0?" As Zhao Tianlei spoke, he tried to remove the ring, but it wouldn't come off no matter what he did.
"You were chosen by the Virtual Main God. Number 0 is your codename. In sixteen hours, a Biochemical Virus will erupt on Earth. Your mission is to slaughter zombies and save humanity."
Zhao Tianlei couldn't help laughing. "Fuck, do you take me for an idiot? You can actually spout a scam like this? Which pyramid scheme company are you from? You're saying I'm the savior, and all I have to do is pay some money to buy this ring, then go save the world and show off, right?"
"May I ask what 'show off' means?" The emotionless mechanical voice rang out, leaving Zhao Tianlei speechless.
"Fine, you win. Then let me ask what I'm supposed to do next. You said the apocalypse is coming and I have to save humanity, but I've never even killed a chicken before. How am I supposed to save anyone?"
"Gently rub the ring in your hand and silently recite 'activate' to open the Storage Space. There is a bottle of Virus Evolution Fluid inside. It can improve your physique and strengthen your abilities."
Zhao Tianlei tried it out curiously. A flash of light appeared, and a four-dimensional space measuring roughly one cubic meter materialized before him. Zhao Tianlei was instantly stunned.
It had to be known that with Earth's current technological capabilities, Storage Space technology was completely impossible. A glass bottle lay quietly inside the Storage Space, blue liquid swirling within it. It was presumably the Virus Evolution Fluid.
Zhao Tianlei asked curiously, "As long as I inject this stuff, I'll become as powerful as the saviors in the movies?"
"Virus Evolution Fluid is the original fluid for improving viral evolution. If Biochemical Virus is present in your body, injecting it will allow you to evolve. If your body contains no virus and you inject it directly, you will become a zombie."
Zhao Tianlei leaped to his feet. "I'm seriously about to say 'fuck'! You mean I have to deliberately let a zombie bite me, then inject this stuff to evolve? What if the zombie bites me to death?"
"If you are bitten to death by a zombie, the Virus Evolution Fluid will have no effect."
At that moment, Zhao Tianlei felt that this thing was just like the Sunflower Manual: to practice it, one had to castrate oneself first; to evolve, one had to commit suicide first. Deliberately letting a zombie bite him—what difference was that from suicide?
"I'll just accept my fate, then. You said I'm one of the chosen lucky ones, so how am I supposed to deal with those zombies?"
"Whoosh." Suddenly, Zhao Tianlei's vision went black. Countless images then flashed through his mind as if on fast-forward.
"These are the information files concerning the arrival of the apocalypse. I have stored them in your memory."
As he watched the images emerge in his mind, Zhao Tianlei couldn't help trembling. He had played zombie games and watched zombie movies countless times without ever feeling afraid or nervous. But after seeing these real images, he finally understood what true terror and the apocalypse were. These scattered memories provided Zhao Tianlei with a great deal of vital information. Food, water, medicine, heating supplies, and oil were all crucial survival resources.
"There is an Exchange System in the Storage Space. It contains resources, weapons, and special medicines. You can exchange for them using equivalent amounts of experience and crystal cores."
"Experience and crystal cores? What are those? And you called me Number 0—does that mean there are also Numbers 1 and 2?"
"I'm sorry. Those are all classified. Your current level is insufficient to access them. Once your evolution level rises, you may inquire about answers at the corresponding level. I will now shut down and enter hibernation."
"All right, I understand."
The communication ended. Zhao Tianlei felt as if he had been dreaming. If not for the ring on his hand, he couldn't have believed that the apocalypse would erupt in just over ten hours. At that moment, Zhao Tianlei felt extremely lonely. His parents had died when he was very young, leaving him with no attachments.
After leaving the dormitory, Zhao Tianlei took the little money he had and went to the school supermarket and cafeteria, where he bought large quantities of steamed buns, purified water, chocolate, hard fruit candies, and other snacks. Steamed buns took up little space and were easy to fill the stomach with. Chocolate and fruit candies were also valuable sources of calories. In particular, when people lacked strength while fleeing and suffered from hypoglycemia, these candies were practically miracle medicines.
After putting everything into the Storage Space, he bought some cold medicine, fever reducers, anti-inflammatory medicine, adhesive bandages, gauze, and disinfectant. These medicines were cheap, but at a critical moment, they could save lives.
By the time Zhao Tianlei returned to the dormitory, his three roommates had already come back. When they saw him, two of them continued with whatever they had been doing. One was Zhang Jun, and the other was Li Liang. Their families were well-off, but they were unwilling to be friends with a poor person like Zhao Tianlei.
The other was Wu Bin. His family was average, but he often helped Zhao Tianlei in daily life. Whenever Zhao Tianlei was bullied by Lin Mu and the others, Wu Bin would occasionally step in to mediate. That alone deeply moved Zhao Tianlei. The moment Wu Bin saw him return, he hurried over and asked, "Tianlei, you didn't go to class. I asked the teacher for leave on your behalf. Are you all right?"
Zhao Tianlei hurriedly replied, "Thanks. I'm fine."
After saying that, Zhao Tianlei felt a surge of emotion and spoke up. "Brothers, what I'm about to say may sound absurd, but I have to tell you. The apocalypse will erupt tomorrow, and countless zombies will appear across the world. By then, the outside will be a bloody hell. So tomorrow, everyone should stay in the dormitory for now. After the outbreak passes, we'll look for a chance to leave."
"Idiot. Have you got water in your brain? You've played too many biochemical games. Zombies?"
"The apocalypse? Fuck, you really can come up with anything. You lunatic."
Despite Zhao Tianlei's earnest concern, Zhang Jun and Li Liang burst into laughter. Wu Bin hurriedly pulled Zhao Tianlei onto the balcony and whispered, "Tianlei, are you all right? Why are you suddenly saying such stupid things?"
"Wu Bin, if you consider me your brother, stay in the dormitory with me tomorrow. Don't ask any questions."
The next morning, all the students went to class. Wu Bin looked at Zhao Tianlei and asked, "Tianlei, you wouldn't let me go to class today. What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Bang!" Zhao Tianlei didn't answer Wu Bin. Instead, he grabbed a chair and smashed it hard against the floor. The chair instantly shattered into pieces.
Zhao Tianlei picked up two chair legs and handed them to Wu Bin. "Brother, take these. They'll come in handy later."
"Tianlei, what's wrong with you? This chair belongs to the school. You'll have to pay for it if you break it..."
"Ah! What are you doing? Help me..." Suddenly, a heart-wrenching scream came from the corridor, alerting the two of them. Wu Bin immediately tried to leave the dormitory to see what was happening, but Zhao Tianlei grabbed him and pulled him back, then used the tables and chairs to block the dormitory door completely.
Immediately afterward, more screams and cries for help erupted all around them. The owners of those voices had clearly suffered immense terror or pain.
Wu Bin hurried to the balcony to look. All he saw were horrific scenes. Some students were attacking the people beside them like maniacs, tearing and biting them. The bloody sight nearly made Wu Bin vomit.
"Zhao Tianlei, what's going on? Hurry and call the police." As he spoke, Wu Bin quickly took out his phone and called the police, but all that came through was a busy signal.
Zhao Tianlei patted him on the shoulder. "Brother, the apocalypse has arrived."
In a secret base one hundred meters underground in a certain city, a young woman watched through a monitor as the ruined city sprawled across the surface and the streets filled with densely packed walking corpses. A trace of sadness appeared in her eyes.
"Dr. Zhao, the item has been successfully transmitted and activated. Its codename is Number 0. However, it was transmitted one day before the apocalypse, so Number 0 hasn't evolved yet."
"Mm. This is our only chance to save humanity. Even if we fail, we've done everything we could. Everything depends on whether the person we chose can become the savior of this apocalypse. Continue observing, and report immediately if anything happens."
Before you continue