Blue Star, Jinhai City.
"Meow~"
"What a pitiful little kitten. It must be a stray that couldn't survive on the streets nearby."
Zeng Mo looked at the little black cat covered in dirt and felt a pang of pity.
He crouched down, reaching out to stroke its fur, and gently lifted it into his arms.
The little black cat didn't resist. It seemed to enjoy being petted, and it arched its back slightly, letting out another "meow."
At that moment,
a speck of milky-white light rose from the kitten and floated onto him.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have gained a panthera-like intelligent species: the Bastian catfolk, a powerful divine system from the end times.]
[This system is designed to help its Host survive in the apocalyptic era that will descend upon the world three years from now, and become the strongest god among all those who awaken divine systems.]
[Apocalypse Panel activated.]
[Inventory Space activated.]
[Main Mission activated.]
[System Log activated.]
"System? Divine abilities? The end times? Believers? All humanity awakening divine systems? Becoming the strongest god?"
Zeng Mo was stunned by the voice that rang in his ears. Then he panicked.
He had been transported to a world that resembled Earth twenty years ago.
And now you were telling him that the apocalypse was coming?
He looked around in confusion.
In the public square, a group of elderly men and women were dancing in a simple formation, while a crowd of children played nearby.
On the busy street, a young man was pushing a cart and shouting as he sold vegetables. His clothes were ragged, but he waited patiently for customers, then began to move off in an orderly fashion.
Everything around him was peaceful. What did the apocalypse have to do with anything? Had he perhaps gotten too worked up studying for the university entrance exams, and started hallucinating?
"Once I get into a good university, I'll listen to my parents, go back home to the countryside, and live a peaceful life. Then I can inherit the family farm and become a landowner."
Zeng Mo thought to himself, but the feeling of having just awakened a system was all too real.
He couldn't help suspecting he was imagining things, so he tentatively said, "Apocalypse Panel."
In an instant,
a faint, translucent panel appeared in his field of vision, visible only to him.
[Name: Zeng Mo]
[Divine Name: Unchosen]
[Divine Level: 0 (0/100)]
[Divine System: Unestablished]
[Divine Nature: Uncondensed]
[Divine Domain: Unopened]
[Divine Skills: None]
[Divine Authority: Eye of Truth: Consumes 1 point of faith to investigate the information of a living creature or corpse.]
[Divine Fire: 0]
[Faith: 1]
[Believers: 1 devout believer]
[Survival Points: 0]
"Uh..."
After reading the panel, Zeng Mo looked toward the peaceful square, then down at the little black cat rubbing against his shoes.
It was just a dirty little kitten, but it had given him a system—and revealed the secrets written on it.
It had told him the world he was in was in the midst of the apocalypse!
"Doesn't that mean the apocalypse is already happening somewhere far away?"
"Since the apocalypse is real, having a system is a good thing."
"I just hope it's not one of those shady systems."
Zeng Mo picked up the dirty little kitten and walked over to a nearby stone bench. He took a deep breath and called up another panel.
"Inventory Space."
A panel resembling the interface of an online game inventory appeared before him.
There were twenty slots in all.
Beside it, Zeng Mo thought to himself: It should be useful for storing food, keeping items safe and fresh, and preventing them from spoiling. Each item stack could hold 999 units, and different items occupied separate slots.
He dismissed the inventory and called up the main mission panel.
[Main Mission: Become a Supreme God]
[Mission Description: The divine energy that has been nurturing Blue Star for three years is about to awaken. Under the impact of the first wave of divine energy, all things on the planet will evolve into various extraordinary species.
Some creatures will awaken their roots and evolve into intelligent species, then establish faith in divine systems and become the vanguard of the coming conquest of the cosmos.
You must survive in this apocalyptic era and cultivate your own believers. Once you have gathered a hundred or more points of faith, you can ignite your divine fire, open your divine domain, and become a true Supreme God. Only then can you resist the probing and invasion of alien gods from beyond the domain in the future.]
[Mission Objective: Obtain one hundred Survival Points.]
[Reward: A divine gift chosen at random.]
[Tip: Survival Points can help the Host draw the materials needed to cultivate believers, as well as powerful family members, skills, and even a divine domain.]
Zeng Mo read the introduction to the main mission, then looked at the system log.
[System Log: April 1, 2120. Divine energy erupted. Blue Star entered the apocalypse. Extraordinary species began to appear. Human civilization collapsed overnight. Darkness, slaughter, strife, and faith became the main themes of the new era that descended upon the apocalyptic world.]
[System Log: April 1, 2122. Zeng Mo gained a pan-believer and received a Bastian catfolk whose divine gifts included the ability to control supernatural creatures. The strongest divine system was activated.]
He took out his phone and checked the time on its screen, then looked at the time shown in the system log.
"The log says it's April 1, 2120, when the apocalypse began."
"But I'm in 2119. It's April 1."
"So it's not a hallucination."
"In one year, Blue Star will enter the apocalypse, human civilization will collapse, and an extraordinary age will begin."
"And today, three years later, I've just activated the system."
"In other words, my system arrived three years before the apocalypse?"
Having reached this conclusion, Zeng Mo felt unusually fortunate.
First of all,
the apocalypse wouldn't descend for another year.
The good news was that his system had arrived three years early. He could use that year to prepare himself and his family.
Zeng Mo sat on the stone bench, stroking the little black cat in his arms as he carefully considered how to make the most of that year and gain strength.
"Since the coming apocalypse will turn every living thing on Blue Star into a divine creature, then the one who rises above the rest will eventually become a god."
"Then I'll need lots of believers and a powerful race that can gather plenty of faith quickly, so I can open my divine domain and grow stronger as fast as possible."
"But how can I get more believers?"
Zeng Mo pondered for a moment, then glanced at the little black cat sleeping in his arms.
"Eye of Truth."
Zeng Mo silently recited the words in his heart.
A panel visible only to him appeared above the little black cat's head.
[Intelligent Species: Bastian catfolk]
[Bloodline: Royal (ordinary, elite, lord, king, epic, legendary, divine)]
[Age: 0 (0/100)]
[Name: Unnamed]
[Skills: None]
[Believer: Pan-believer (provides 1 point of faith per day)]
[Talent: Foodie]
[Analysis: A young catfolk with a trace of Bastian royal bloodline. Among a hundred thousand catfolk, one might not even find a young catfolk with a royal bloodline.]
"Royal bloodline?"
For once, Zeng Mo was glad he'd played a lot of online games.
He knew that when it came to characters or summoned creatures, the better their bloodline, the higher their potential.
And this little black cat's royal bloodline—
He believed it would certainly evolve into an extraordinary mount.
After all, based on the analysis of the Eye of Truth, even among a hundred thousand catfolk, one might not find a single catfolk with a royal bloodline.
"I didn't expect this little guy's bloodline to be so good. It can even provide me with one point of faith every day."
"Since that's the case, I'll accept you as my believer."
Zeng Mo glanced at the information panel above the little black cat's head and started thinking.
However,
the little black cat only looked up at him and purred.
"Meow?"
"You're hungry?"
"Come on, Master will take you to get something to eat."
Zeng Mo held the little black cat in his arms and walked toward a nearby shopping district.
Suddenly,
an urgent warning rang in his ears.
[Warning: You are about to encounter a Level 3 Undead Divine Creature. Given your Host's current strength, your race is at risk of being plundered by the enemy, and you may very well be killed and turned into an undead warrior.]
Perhaps to convey how serious the situation was,
a translucent panel that only Zeng Mo could see appeared before him.
The warning message on it was presented with such force that every character seemed to glow bright red.
The doors to the shop opened.
A tall figure in white armor, carrying a plastic bag, walked out.
As the figure left the store, Zeng Mo looked again at the panel shaking violently before his eyes. He opened his mouth, and a huge question mark seemed to pop out above his head.
The hell was this system? It seemed kind of unreliable.
Before you continue