The Activated Host Number 0

In 2016, within a small grove at Huazhong Business College in Yuzhou City, a guy who looked like a rich second-generation, accompanied by a few lackeys, was beating someone up and yelling insults.

"Zhao Tianlei, look at yourself. You dare to have ideas about Shen Xinyu? Dream on. Remember, Shen Xinyu is the girl I, this Young Master, have my eye on. Only I am worthy of her. Since we're classmates, I'll let you off this time. If there's a next time, I'll break your legs."

The rich second-generation guy was named Lin Mu. His name sounded refined, but his character was extremely poor.

Shen Xinyu was their classmate, 21 years old this year. In her first year of enrollment, she was discovered by a scout from Imperial City Entertainment Company. After a trial MV shoot, she became uncontrollably popular. Commercials, movies, and TV dramas followed, and then she ventured into the music industry. Now, she was a multi-talented star in commercials, film, television, and music.

Today, Shen Xinyu's new drama was being filmed on campus, attracting a large crowd of onlookers. Seeing the goddess of his dreams, Zhao Tianlei couldn't help but fantasize, "If only Shen Xinyu were my girlfriend."

However, these words were overheard by Lin Mu, who was standing in front. Lin Mu immediately flew into a rage, leading his group to drag Zhao Tianlei into the small grove and beat him severely. After Lin Mu and his group left, Zhao Tianlei got up to leave. The moment he took a step, he stepped on something and fell to the ground.

As Zhao Tianlei sat up, he looked at the culprit that tripped him – a high-end, exquisite black box. Seeing people approaching not far away, Zhao Tianlei quickly stuffed the item into his pocket and headed towards the dormitory building. Everyone was in class now, so there was no one in the dorm.

After locking the door, Zhao Tianlei opened the box. Inside was a black ring. The ring had a peculiar and unique design, and its material looked very high-end. Driven by curiosity, Zhao Tianlei put the ring on his finger, and it fit perfectly. Suddenly, something shot out of the ring and pierced his flesh. Although it didn't hurt much, it startled Zhao Tianlei.

"Host Number 0 activated. Awaiting physical scan."

A voice suddenly rang out. Zhao Tianlei exclaimed in shock, "What the hell is this? Who's talking?"

"Scan complete. Number 0, you can call me Virtual Main God. I am communicating with you through the ring on your hand."

"Number 0? Why do you call me Number 0?" Zhao Tianlei said, trying to take off the ring, but it wouldn't budge.

"You are the person chosen by the Virtual Main God. Number 0 is your codename. In 16 hours, a biochemical virus will erupt on Earth. Your mission is to kill zombies and save humanity."

Zhao Tianlei couldn't help but laugh, "Holy crap, do you think I'm an idiot? You expect me to fall for this scam? What pyramid scheme company are you from? You say I'm a savior, and all I need to do is pay some money, buy this ring, and then I can act cool and save the world, right?"

"What is 'acting cool'?" The emotionless mechanical voice asked, leaving Zhao Tianlei speechless.

"Alright, you win. Then I'd like to ask what I should do next? And you said the apocalypse is coming, and I have to save humanity, but I've never even killed a chicken before. How can I save anyone?"

"Gently rub the ring in your hand and mentally recite 'activate' to open the storage space. Inside, there is a bottle of Virus Evolution Fluid that can improve your physique and strengthen your abilities."

Zhao Tianlei tried it out of curiosity. With a flash of light, a four-dimensional space about one cubic meter appeared before him. Zhao Tianlei was stunned.

He knew that with Earth's current technological capabilities, such storage space technology was impossible. Inside the storage space lay a glass bottle filled with blue liquid, presumably the Virus Evolution Fluid.

Zhao Tianlei couldn't help but ask curiously, "If I inject this, will I become as powerful as the savior in the movies?"

"Virus Evolution Fluid is the original fluid for improving viral evolution. If you have the biochemical virus in your body and inject it, you will evolve. If you don't have the virus and inject it directly, you will turn into a zombie."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianlei jumped up, "I can't believe this! You mean I have to let a zombie bite me first, and then inject this stuff to evolve? What if I get bitten to death by a zombie?"

"If you are bitten to death by a zombie, the Virus Evolution Fluid will have no effect."

At this moment, Zhao Tianlei felt like he was reading the Sunflower Manual – "To practice this art, one must first castrate oneself." To evolve, one must first commit suicide. Letting a zombie bite him was no different from suicide.

"I'll just accept my fate. You said I'm the chosen one, so how should I deal with the zombies?"

"Whoosh." Suddenly, Zhao Tianlei's vision went black, and countless images flashed through his memory as if in fast-forward.

"This is information about the impending apocalypse. I have stored it in your memory."

Looking at the images appearing in his mind, Zhao Tianlei trembled. He had never felt fear or tension when playing zombie games or watching zombie movies. Seeing these real images now, Zhao Tianlei finally understood what true terror and the end of the world were. These scattered memories provided him with crucial information: food, water, medicine, heating supplies, and fuel were all important survival resources.

"The storage space has an exchange system. There are resources, weapons, and special medicines. You can exchange them with equivalent Experience and Crystal Cores."

"Experience and Crystal Cores? What are those? And you call me Number 0, does that mean there's a Number 1 and Number 2?"

"I'm sorry, that is classified information. You are not qualified to inquire at your current level. Once your evolution level increases, you will be able to query answers of the same level. I am now going to shut down and enter hibernation."

"Okay, I understand."

The communication ended. Zhao Tianlei felt like he was dreaming. If it weren't for the ring on his hand, he wouldn't believe that the world would end in just over ten hours. At this moment, Zhao Tianlei felt incredibly lonely. His parents had died when he was very young, so he had no one to worry about.

He walked out of the dormitory, taking the little money he had, and went to the school supermarket and cafeteria. He bought a large amount of steamed buns, purified water, chocolate, and hard fruit candies. Steamed buns took up little space and were filling. Chocolate and fruit candies were also valuable sources of calories. Especially if he lacked energy while escaping, these candies would be like powerful tonics for low blood sugar.

After storing the items in his storage space, he also bought some cold medicine, fever reducers, anti-inflammatory drugs, bandages, gauze, and disinfectant. These medicines were cheap but could be life-saving in critical moments.

When Zhao Tianlei returned to the dormitory, his three roommates were already back. Seeing Zhao Tianlei return, two of them went back to their own business. These two were Zhang Jun and Li Liang. They came from well-off families and didn't want to be friends with poor people like Zhao Tianlei.

The other one was Wu Bin. His family background was average, but he often helped Zhao Tianlei in daily life. Occasionally, when Zhao Tianlei was bullied by Lin Mu and others, Wu Bin would step in to mediate. This alone touched Zhao Tianlei deeply. Seeing Zhao Tianlei return, Wu Bin immediately went up to him and asked, "Tianlei, you didn't go to class. I asked the teacher for leave for you. Are you okay?"

Zhao Tianlei quickly replied, "Thanks, I'm fine."

After speaking, Zhao Tianlei was moved and said, "Brothers, there's something that might sound absurd, but I have to tell you. Tomorrow, the world will end. There will be many zombies appearing globally, and the outside will become a bloody hell. So, tomorrow, everyone should hide in the dormitory first. After the initial outbreak point, we'll find an opportunity to go out."

"Idiot, your brain is waterlogged. You play too many zombie games, zombies?"

"The end of the world, holy crap, you can really come up with anything. You're crazy."

Despite Zhao Tianlei's good intentions, Zhang Jun and Li Liang burst into laughter. Wu Bin, however, quickly pulled Zhao Tianlei to the balcony and whispered, "Tianlei, are you okay? Why are you suddenly saying such foolish things?"

"Wu Bin, if you consider me a brother, then stay in the dormitory with me tomorrow and don't ask any questions."

The next morning, all the students went to class. Wu Bin looked at Zhao Tianlei and said, "Tianlei, why didn't you 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 slammed it forcefully onto the ground. The chair immediately shattered into pieces.

Zhao Tianlei picked up two chair legs and handed them to Wu Bin, saying, "Brother, take these. You'll need them later."

"Tianlei, what's gotten into you? This chair belongs to the school. If you break it, you'll have to pay..."

"Ah, what are you doing? Help!" Suddenly, a piercing scream came from the corridor, alerting the two of them. Wu Bin immediately wanted to go out and investigate. However, Zhao Tianlei pulled him back and blocked the dormitory door tightly with tables and chairs.

Immediately after, screams and calls for help erupted from all around. The owners of these voices were clearly experiencing immense terror or pain.

Wu Bin rushed to the balcony to look and saw scenes of carnage everywhere. Some students were attacking people around them like madmen, tearing and biting. The bloody scenes almost made Wu Bin vomit.

"Zhao Tianlei, what in the world is going on? Hurry up and call the police." As Wu Bin spoke, he quickly took out his phone to call the police, but only a busy signal came through.

Zhao Tianlei patted his shoulder and said, "Brother, the apocalypse has arrived."

In a secret base a hundred meters underground in a certain city, a young woman watched the dilapidated city on the ground and the dense walking dead on the streets through a monitor. A hint of sadness appeared in her eyes.

"Dr. Zhao, the item has been successfully transmitted and activated. Its codename is Number 0. However, the transmission occurred the day before the apocalypse, so Number 0 has not yet evolved."

"Yes, this is our only chance to save humanity. Even if it fails, we've done our best. Everything depends on the person we've chosen, whether they can become the savior of this apocalypse. Continue observing and report immediately if there are any developments."