………
Lin Ye pushed himself up from the cold, white tiles. A sharp pain lanced through his mind as lines of text flashed before his eyes.
[System loaded]
[Acquired Sanctuary: Apocalypse Apartment, Room 304]
[Acquired Apocalypse Survival Novice Pack *1]
[Innate Ability drawn: D-Level Personnel Simulator]
[For more information, please check the System interface]
[Apocalypse Survival, officially beginning]
‘What the hell is this?’
Lin Ye tried to sort through his chaotic thoughts and opened the System interface, which was connected to his consciousness.
[Personal Information]
[Sanctuary Information]
[Trade]
[Communications]
The System interface only had these four sections, and Lin Ye examined them one by one with his mind.
[Personal Information]
[Name: Lin Ye]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 24]
[Innate Ability: D-Level Personnel Simulator]
[Note: None]
Lin Ye tapped on his Innate Ability.
Support us at pawrea𝑑.com .
[D-Level Personnel Simulator]
[Allows for the random simulation of one D-Class Personnel on a mission each day.]
[Note: Why would anyone want to go looking for death?]
Lin Ye: ‘Huh?’
[Sanctuary Information]
[Level: Basic]
[Status: Completely Safe (7 days)]
[Note: Please upgrade your Sanctuary's level within 7 days.]
"So how do I upgrade it? You could at least list the requirements!" Lin Ye complained.
The trade section already had several pages of listings, but they were all people trying to trade junk for food and water. There wasn't a single serious trade among them.
The Communications section was the most active.
It was split into three channels: World, Regional, and Friends.
No one could post in the World channel. Despite having over ten billion people in it, it was completely silent.
Lin Ye didn't have any friends yet, so his Friends channel was also empty.
Regional (999,997/1,000,000)
"How did three people die? Didn't it say the Sanctuaries are completely safe?"
"They must have gone outside. There are weird things out there."
"I'm in an apartment. Where is this?"
"Hahahaha! I awakened a System! I'm never eating beef again!"
"Idiot, everyone has a System."
"There are monsters outside, don't go out!"
"Bullshit! I've read novels like this. Now is the golden time to find supplies. Whether you become a big shot depends on what you do now!"
"Ooh, another dozen or so dead."
"Idiot, if it wasn't dangerous outside, they wouldn't have given you a completely safe Sanctuary."
"That makes sense, I guess. Good thing I didn't go out."
"Damn! So you didn't even go out!"
"Is Li Hongwei here? I'm your dad."
"Do you all have Innate Abilities?"
……
As more people woke up, the chat channel flooded with messages. Lin Ye had to slow down the feed to read them clearly.
Most of the messages were people looking for friends and family, but it seemed rare for acquaintances to be assigned to the same region. He had no idea how the System's sorting process worked.
All one million people in the region seemed to have been assigned to the same area. The Sanctuaries weren't far apart; Lin Ye could even hear noises coming from the ones nearby.
Strange footsteps echoed from the hallway. Through the peephole, he could only see a section of the empty corridor.
A thick, white fog drifted outside the window, and occasionally, enormous shadows would pass through it.
Lin Ye opened the Apocalypse Survival Novice Pack. Inside was a 500ml bottle of mineral water, a bag of sliced bread, and a kitchen knife with a 30-centimeter blade.
The Sanctuary was only about thirty square meters. The main door opened into an area with a sink and a stove. Opposite the sink was a bathroom with a flushing toilet and a showerhead. A sliding door separated this area from the bedroom, which contained only a desk, a bed, and a window looking out into the world. That was the entirety of the Sanctuary.
Lin Ye turned the faucet, but nothing came out.
Of course, there wasn't a drop of water in the bathroom, either. It seemed the water had been off for a long time.
The stove had no gas, and the electrical outlets were dead. It was fine during the day, but at night, he'd probably have to rely on the light from the System interface.
However, since the System interface was connected to his consciousness, it was hard to say whether it could actually illuminate the physical world.
‘What should I do? With just this little bit of food, I won't survive for more than a few days.’
Lin Ye had no desire to explore the outside world. After all, not a single person in the regional chat had reported coming back alive.
Plenty of people, however, were claiming the outside was full of good stuff, encouraging others to go explore.
But even now, Lin Ye hadn't seen a single screenshot of the outside world.
He had, however, seen quite a few people trying to sell lewd pictures.
Regional (999,845/1,000,000)
Over a hundred people had died in less than ten minutes. Even if there really were supplies outside, Lin Ye had no intention of venturing out to get them.
‘I guess my only option is to try my Innate Ability.’
Lin Ye scratched his head. Judging by the description, he had a feeling this wasn't a proper Innate Ability. It felt less like a power and more like a suspicious job posting.
………
Hummm...
Lin Ye awoke to the steady hum of a moving vehicle. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit. There were four other prisoners in the transport vehicle with him, all wearing the same uniform. Four heavily armed guards sat in the front section, separated from them by a wire mesh screen.
‘Damn it, I knew this would happen!’
Lin Ye cursed inwardly. A moment ago, he had been sitting on the bed in his Sanctuary. The instant he used his Innate Ability, he'd been transported here.
The most terrifying part was that the body he now occupied wasn't his own. It belonged to a sturdy, fair-skinned young man.
[Simulating D-Class Personnel: Kenneth]
[Simulations Remaining: 10]
‘What does '10' mean?! Does the simulation end after ten attempts, or do I really die after the tenth one?’
Lin Ye roared internally. This damned ability was just as unreliable as he'd feared. He had no idea what a D-Class Personnel was supposed to do, and he only had ten chances for trial and error.
"Don't be nervous," the guy in the next seat said, seeming to notice something was off with Lin Ye. He patted Lin Ye's thigh. "It's not like being nervous will help, anyway."
You're a real comfort.
Lin Ye pushed his hand away. "What are we here to do?" he asked.
Lin Ye knew nothing and had to risk arousing suspicion to ask.
Just then, Lin Ye realized they weren't speaking any language he knew, yet he could understand and communicate with them perfectly.
It was like a translation program had been installed in his brain.
"Who knows? Forget us, even those guys with the guns probably don't know what we're doing. Otherwise, they wouldn't need us to be the trailblazers."
The guy sighed and closed his eyes, as if resigned to his fate.
Lin Ye didn't press further. It seemed his 'companions' didn't know much more than he did.
Before long, the transport vehicle pulled to a stop outside a villa.
The Regulatory Personnel and D-Class Personnel disembarked in an orderly fashion. The captain of the Regulatory Personnel was a tall, Black man.
"Number One."
One of the D-Class Personnel stepped forward. A member of the Regulatory Personnel fitted him with a communication helmet equipped with a camera, then sent him into the villa alone.
Several Regulatory Personnel watched the feed on a laptop.
After five minutes, the captain suddenly said, "Number Two."
Proofreader: Peter Pan