Doomsday Start

A fourth-tier city, old district.

On this midsummer night, the air remained muggy despite the rain.

Under the orange-yellow streetlights, Wang Changle stumbled past a group of Grandpas sitting together, then turned into a dim alley.

Wang Changle's passing stirred the Grandpas to sudden animation.

"Sigh, what a sin..."

As Wang Changle was about to disappear into the darkness, he glanced back towards the alley.

He climbed the stairs, looking at the scattered trash in the hallway and the dark, empty doorways and windows.

It was hard to believe that in less than three months, the Neighbors who had vowed to stand together had all moved out of the complex.

The once noisy and lively complex was now desolate and silent.

He stroked the crude characters painted on the doorframe and gently pushed open the door, which was falling apart.

"Creeeak~"

The room was pitch black. Two freezers lay horizontally in the small living room.

Inside the freezers were the pale but peaceful Elderly Couple. Even though he cleaned them daily and replaced the dry ice, the bodies had eventually rotted, emitting a foul stench.

He stood there for a long time, finally sighing. Wang Changle picked up the medical kit from the cabinet and skillfully bandaged his own wounds.

Then, he took out a small notebook and crossed out a name in the middle. The small notebook was filled with names, and now it was filled with crosses.

This added to the fatigue on his already pale face.

"Hiss~"

Wang Changle slowly lay down. The moment his back touched the bed, the sharp pain made him hiss.

He glanced at the bandages wrapped from his back to his chest. Wang Changle helplessly changed his position, carefully lying on his side.

As soon as he lay down, his peripheral vision caught a family photo of three on the bedside table. In the photo, the Family of Three looked happy and joyful.

His gaze swept past the living room, and all he saw was white—desolate and bleak.

Even though the power was out, that patch of white was still so glaring!

In a daze, Wang Changle seemed to see many scenes.

He remembered how the Neighbors, who were offered only half the market price for their properties, had been indignant at his family's noodle shop.

He remembered their unwillingness and anger, how the businesses and Neighbors on the entire street had united, vowing to protest.

His Parents were not the most stubborn among them, nor the loudest, but they became the first 'chicken' to be sacrificed.

Wang Changle remembered that morning, he had rushed back from the provincial capital to help with his family's demolition matters. His Parents had pulled him aside, saying it was 'double happiness,' so they took a family photo.

Who would have thought that the family photo was taken in the morning, and his Parents were gone in the afternoon, in the blink of an eye.

"Bang!"

The Elderly Couple were both hit and sent flying by a runaway vehicle.

However, this morning, the driver who caused the accident, with a mocking smile on his face, tore up the materials he had spent months collecting, then trampled on them, speaking contemptuously.

What scattered and tore were not just materials; Wang Changle's dignity and hard work shattered along with them.

"Do I really have to accept my fate?! But... why? Why me?"

Wang Changle angrily pounded the wall. The violent movement caused his already injured wounds to reopen.

"Ah!"

The intense pain, coupled with the exhaustion of body and mind, caused Wang Changle's blood to stagnate, and he fainted.

"Cough, cough, cough."

Wang Changle was awakened by the thick smoke. All he could see was fire and smoke.

Many parts of the house were on fire, especially the freezers in the living room, which had become infernos.

"What's going on..."

As Wang Changle tried to get up, he found that the roof beam had collapsed, and he had lost all sensation in his lower body.

Gradually, he felt his breathing becoming more difficult, and his vision blurred.

"Am I... going to die...?"

But he couldn't die yet. He hadn't avenged his Parents, he hadn't found the mastermind, he hadn't made those people pay the price, he hadn't gotten revenge!

He wanted to live, he wanted revenge, he didn't want to accept this fate!

And just before Wang Changle lost consciousness, he vaguely heard.

"Hunter, Cycle Paradise, opens for you!"

[Body transfer in progress, 10%...25%...60%...100%, transfer complete]

[Contractor's body detected to be injured, repair in progress...]

[Hunter's consciousness is unclear, maintaining minimum survival status for now, duration 10 minutes]

[Detected Hunter's talent as Rare, additional 1 hour maintenance time granted]

In a patch of darkness, several lines of light blue text floated in the air, emitting a faint glow.

Beneath the light blue text, Wang Changle lay peacefully.

After a long while, Wang Changle suddenly opened his eyes, greedily breathing in the fresh air.

Upon waking, Wang Changle breathed in the fresh air while surveying his surroundings. Recalling the room filled with firelight and smoke, and the large freezer in the hall, he felt an urge to rush out.

It was then that he realized he seemed to have lost all sensation except in his head.

[Hunter, welcome back to Cycle Paradise]

Looking somewhat blankly at the line of subtitles above him, he couldn't quite comprehend it. Hadn't he died? How had he ended up in Cycle Paradise?

[Hunter, please sign the contract with Paradise as soon as possible, or you will die in 30 minutes]

Staring at the strangely appearing subtitles before him, he recalled the novels he had read in middle school. He found it somewhat unbelievable. Could there be some existence listening to his pleas?

"To join Paradise, what do I need to do? What will I gain?"

There was no love without reason in this world, and certainly no free lunch.

[By signing the contract, you will complete tasks released by Cycle Paradise in various 'Derivative Planes', obtain World Origin, and finally use the obtained World Origin to solidify rewards]

[Cycle Paradise is omnipotent.]

"Omnipotent? Then can it revive those who have already died?"

[Given your status as a Hunter, no!]

Looking at the subtitles appearing before him, he felt a pang of sadness.

"Then I need strength! I want revenge!"

[Cycle Paradise is omnipotent. As long as you can pay the sufficient price, you can obtain everything you desire!]

[Please communicate with 'Paradise' as soon as possible, or you will die in 15 minutes]

All the light faded, and the surroundings plunged back into darkness.

A sheepskin scroll, emitting a faint glow, slowly descended from the darkness and floated before Wang Changle.

Gazing at the light in the darkness, he knew this was his last chance.

[Sign contract? Yes/No]

"Yes."

Strange characters flashed on the sheepskin. Wang Changle had a premonition that this would be a turning point in his life. His blood stained the sheepskin crimson.

[Contract established! Commencing repair of Hunter's injuries]

A faint blue light descended from the void and enveloped him.

In just a few breaths, all his injuries were completely healed.

[Injuries repaired, Hunter's talent forcibly activated]

[Talent activated, semi-dataization enabled to intuitively display Hunter's overall quality]

[Warning: 'Semi-dataization' is only an auxiliary combat function. The Hunter will still die if vital organs such as the head and heart are severely damaged. Please face 'Derivative Worlds' with caution.]

Suddenly, a piece of basic information about Cycle Paradise flooded his mind.

Wang Changle knelt on the ground, clutching his chest as he tried to alleviate the sudden, intense pain. Vaguely, it seemed as if something was awakening within him.

[Hunter's exclusive trial begins. If the trial cannot be completed, 'Paradise' will strip the Hunter of their identity and they will become a Contractor.]

[Note: If the Hunter dies during the execution of a task in a Derivative World, they will die permanently.]

[Paradise's law: Everything is an equivalent exchange.]

As soon as Wang Changle stood up, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. The world spun before his eyes, and he lost consciousness.

[Teleportation commencing!]

Regaining consciousness again, Wang Changle found himself lying on a large bed. Judging by the room's interior, he was likely in a hotel.

A gentle breeze drifted in from the window, carrying a hint of freshness.

Just as Wang Changle sat up, intending to look out the window, a strong burning sensation suddenly spread across his arm.

Pulling up his sleeve, he saw a sword-shaped black tattoo had appeared on his left arm.

Those faint green characters also began to appear.

[Entering World: Doomsday Roulette]

[World Difficulty: Lv8 Nightmare (This difficulty is exclusive to the Hunter's trial)]

``` [World Origin: 0% (Exploring or interacting with characters in this world will grant World Origin. At the end of the world, it will be calculated with the mission difficulty to form the final reward.)]

[World Introduction: In 2220, Blue Star was designated as a trial ground by various races in the universe. Doomsday factors were scattered across Blue Star globally, causing 90% of humans to die and turn into zombies. Plants also evolved through mutation. Survivors can dig out crystals from mutated life and zombies they kill, and spin a mysterious roulette for a chance at survival.]

[Main Mission: Kill Monster Baby, 0/1]

[Side Mission: None]

[Warning: It is forbidden to mention anything about 'Paradise' in this world, or you will be forcibly executed!]

[Hint: This world is a high-level 'Derivative World'.]

[Hint: As this is the Hunter's first time entering a 'Derivative World', the Hunter will automatically master the language of this world for a period of 2 natural days.]

[World, Begin!]

Wang Changle immediately reached for the hotel phone by his bed and called the front desk, inquiring about the time and address.

This was the Pearl Grand Hotel on Wunan Road in Ping'an District, Yingcheng. The current time was 4:15 PM on September 10, 2220.

After confirming the exact time and address, he quickly ordered an exquisite dinner service from the front desk.

Besides work and study, his favorite pastimes were watching anime and reading novels.

The novel Doomsday Roulette was quite a hit among apocalyptic stories when he was in school, and he knew its content like the back of his hand.

According to the timeline, the apocalypse would begin in 25 minutes, or at most 30 minutes including the virus's spread.

At that time, all life on Blue Star would be plunged into a frenzy of evolution and survival.

He activated the Contractor's mark on his arm and selected to view his missions.

Main Mission: Kill Monster Baby

Mission Difficulty: LV8

Mission Information: Kill the Monster Baby by any means necessary.

Mission Time: Within 48 hours

Mission Reward: Activate Hunter identity

Mission Penalty: Forced execution

After reading the main mission details, Wang Changle couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh. He had anticipated the difficulty of the main mission, but he never expected the Hunter's missions to be so perverse.

Currently, he, Wang Changle, was just an ordinary LV1 person, yet he was in an LV8 world, taking on an LV8 mission.

He wasn't some combat expert, nor did he possess any superior skills.

And his target was that Monster Baby, who possessed many treasures, was protected by all monsters once it appeared, and was a pampered favorite skilled in summoning.

My goodness, this truly lives up to the hellish difficulty!

However, for Wang Changle, no matter what mission Paradise assigned him, he could only accept it now and do everything he could to complete it.

Trapped in endless darkness, he had to grasp at the light that appeared, no matter the cost!

Wang Changle had a feeling this would be a major turning point in his life, as well as the greatest crisis he would face.

But crisis, crisis, where there is danger, there is also opportunity. How to turn crisis into opportunity was the problem he needed to consider.

After a moment of silence, he opened his personal information.

Contractor 521668 (This is a false number to protect Hunter information; no means can lock onto the Hunter)

Name: Wang Changle (Hunter)

Level: LV1 (Tier 1) (Every 10 levels constitute a tier. Leveling up does not provide any attribute bonuses; this represents the Hunter's permission level within Paradise, corresponding to world and mission difficulty levels.)

Health: 100% (This data cannot be displayed specifically)

Mana: 60 (Intelligence * 10, current mana recovery rate is 2.5 per hour)

Strength: 5 (Affects attack power, carrying capacity)

Agility: 6 (Affects movement and attack speed)

Stamina: 5 (Affects health, defense, resistance to abnormalities)

Intelligence: 6 (Affects spell damage, mana, perception)

Charisma: 7 (Affects social interactions, summoning)

Luck: 1 (Affects item discovery, crafting; this attribute is extremely difficult to increase, please cherish opportunities to raise it, Contractor)

Note: Standard attributes for adult males are 5 points, and Luck is 1 point.

Killing Talent: Trait Absorption. After killing a target, there is a certain chance to obtain one of the target's trait cards. This talent can obtain a maximum of 3 cards per world, 0/3.

[Personal information is for the Hunter's convenience in assessing their own strength and is not related to true combat power. Attribute values influence the Hunter's physical fitness.]

After reviewing the information displayed on the personal status panel, he slowly calmed down and gained a general understanding of himself.

Wang Changle knew for sure that this was by no means a display of his true strength.

He indeed didn't have any particularly outstanding physical qualities, nor did he possess any combat skills beyond those of ordinary people.

However, having grown up in a noodle shop for years and then working in sales, he had an exceptional talent for processing and collecting information.

Furthermore, he possessed an understanding of the information disparity within the 'Doomsday Roulette' world; a massive information gap could grant him immense resources.

This was a trial mission exclusively for him, Wang Changle, so he didn't need to scheme against other Contractors. This greatly increased the room for maneuverability.

Secondly, although he wasn't skilled in combat, he didn't fear it. Sometimes, success hinged on one's willingness to sacrifice.

These two factors combined were Wang Changle's confidence in Cycle Paradise, and what he needed to do now was to turn that confidence into substance.

With this thought, Wang Changle began to recall information about this Derivative World, 'Doomsday Roulette.'

On September 10, 2220, in this world, Blue Star was chosen as a trial ground for myriad races. Under the bombardment of cosmic battleships, doomsday descended.

Deadly Lands opened, Secret Realms invaded, and various races from the universe descended upon Blue Star one after another.

Ninety percent of humanity turned into Zombies, and the flora and fauna also mutated and evolved. To aid human survival, the Roulette and Magic Crystals appeared simultaneously.

Doomsday Roulette: Diverse in category, roughly divided into levels 1-9. Each Roulette, depending on its quality, possesses varying amounts of rewards.

Zombies: Imperfect products of human evolution, carrying large amounts of bacteria. Divided into levels 1-9 based on their evolutionary stage. Humans scratched by them also become Zombies.

Mutated Lifeforms: Formed when plants or animals are infected by the doomsday factor. Divided into levels 1-9 based on their evolutionary stage. While they lack infectious capabilities, their attack power far exceeds that of Zombies of the same level.

Magic Crystals: Crystals found within Mutated Lifeforms and Zombies. Divided into levels 1-9, corresponding to levels 1-9 Roulettes. They are the activation currency for the Roulettes.

Deadly Land: Spaces formed by nuclear explosions and cosmic radiation, isolated from the outside by chaotic barriers. High-level monsters are common within.

Secret Realm: Places of civilization that failed trials in previous eras. Special spaces barely surviving, possessing incomparable special powers.

Ye Zhongming: The protagonist of this Derivative World, reborn 10 years after the apocalypse. He is the World's Son of this 'Derivative World.' He is skilled in close combat with blades and swords, decisive, and possesses rich combat experience.

Liang Chuyin: A female internet celebrity with a fiery personality, a loyal follower of Ye Zhongming, and one of his harem members.

Mo Ye: A former female police officer with good martial arts skills and an anachronistic sense of order.

Pu Xiuying: A university professor, beautiful and kind-hearted, but skilled in combat and possessing some "saintly" attributes. Big-breasted and brainless.

"Knock, knock, knock~"

"Sir, hello! Your dinner has arrived, please open the door!"

Wang Changle snapped back to attention at the sound. He opened the door, and the room service attendant pushed a dining cart into the suite.

While the hotel attendant turned to serve the dishes, Wang Changle grabbed the red wine bottle from the cart and swung it towards the back of the attendant's head.

"CRASH~"

The wine bottle shattered. The attendant, struck violently on the back of the head, collapsed to the ground with a look of utter shock, not even managing a groan.

He stepped forward to check the unconscious hotel attendant. The warmth of his touch and his faint breathing felt so real.

This was a true world, a world with genuine body temperature, not a virtual existence!

But, so what?

In less than an hour, the entire Blue Star would turn into a living hell. In this densely populated place, the probability of this attendant becoming a Zombie was far greater than his chance of survival.

Moreover, ever since his Parents became the first 'chicken' sacrificed, he knew he couldn't rely on anyone; people could only rely on themselves.

After experiencing several crises and being betrayed by everyone, he understood a truth while bedridden.

Good people don't live long; a man must be ruthless to succeed!

Since that was the case, he might as well make this guy his first Magic Crystal!

This was indeed a real world, and these people were flesh and blood individuals, but to him, their world and his world were no longer the same.

As a Hunter, Wang Changle would shuttle through one 'Derivative World' after another. He would experience worlds beyond the reach of ordinary people.

He might even have to help the 'Paradise' deal with some Violators in the future. This destined his world to be filled with bloodshed, slaughter, and death.

Therefore, no matter how real these 'Derivative Worlds' were, they held no meaning for him. Even less meaningful were compassion and baseless guilt.

What Wang Changle needed to do was to obtain the greatest benefits at the smallest cost.

Anyone in business understood the importance of initial accumulation; it determined your starting point.

This 'Derivative World' was Wang Changle's starting point, his first pot of gold in Paradise.

Therefore, he intended to earn this first pot of gold well. For this, he would spare no expense and resort to any means!

Stepping over a pool of red liquid, he tied the attendant's hands and feet together behind him with a bath towel, binding him like a large rice dumpling.

Just as he finished wrapping the attendant, a deafening roar echoed.

A futuristic battleship, like a star cruiser, sailed in from the horizon. Several streaks of light flashed, leaving behind several mushroom clouds that blotted out the sky.

In the blink of an eye, mountains turned into valleys, and plains became depressions.

The apocalypse had begun!

The hotel corridor instantly became chaotic. A large number of residents rushed out of their suites, fleeing downstairs amidst screams and curses.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Wang Changle snatched a Fire Axe from a fire cabinet in the corridor and, with good intentions, pressed the fire alarm.

Peeking through the peephole at the crowd outside, Wang Changle smiled.

Run, scream, and then all turn into Zombies!

The more Zombies there were, the more Magic Crystals there would be!