As I wake up from my sleep and stretch, I can't help but sigh as I will once again have to go to that bullshit company where I earn minimum money. Shaking my head, I get off of my bed and walk to my bathroom, drowsily washing my face, after which I head back to my room and change into my office suit and head downstairs to make something quick to eat before washing my hands.
Ready to leave to work I walk towards my door, but before I can open it, my body suddenly froze up, which naturally panicked me a lot as I had no idea what happened. I couldn't even make any sounds or move my eyes, which freaked the heck out of me. then, a semi transparent screen appeared in front of my eyes.
[Hello to all humans, this is God. For a reason I won't explain, Earth will be thrown into an apocalypse. For those of you who have seen any apocalypse movie or show, you know what it is. For those who haven't, it means that zombies will roam the world and try and eat you. If you get bit or scratched by them, you will turn into a zombie within 15 minutes, not more. It could even take less time than that sometimes. Since humans are naturally a weak race who are only creative, you will all be given a Core AI which will assist you in surviving this apocalypse. It will act similar to a System inside of a game, where you can increase your levels by killing zombies, which will in turn increase all of your attributes by 2 every level. You will also obtain points which are the currency for the shop which will have everything that Earth has, in any period of time. You could buy any type of clothing or food, swords or nukes. It all depends on how many points one has. There are also skills in this apocalypse, but nothing like magic. there will be skills that could increase your skill at driving or cooking and even your marksmanship or stealth. It all depends on luck as you can only obtain them by killing zombies. As for the attributes, while they will increase by 2 for everybody no matter what, the starting attributes won't be the same as some people are naturally stronger than others. Now then, enjoy your apocalypse and good luck surviving until the end.]
Or so the screen who claims to be God says. Honestly, I didn't believe it at first, but when I was finally able to move my body once again, I walked back towards my room and sat on my bed, staring at the different screen that appeared.
[Greetings to User. Would you like a rundown on the Core AI usage? Yes/No]
I moved my finger and pressed the 'Yes' option, which resulted in another new screen appearing in replacement towards the last one.
[The Core AI has 3 functions. The first one is the Status function, which will allow the User to check his/her name, gender, race, age, level, title, attributes, skills and points. Next is the Shop function, which is where you can buy the equipment to survive the deadly apocalypse. You can buy all types of weapons, such as swords from ancient times, and even nuclear weapons with enough points. There are also clothes and food, which can be used in case you need them. The final function is the Level function, which is how User's increase their power. By killing a zombie, a white orb will be absorbed from their body to the User's, which will act as 'Experience', which will gradually raise the level of all User's the more is absorbed. Each level will increase all of the attributes by 2 points. Every 10 levels will grant the User a skill point, which can be used to increase the proficiency of any skill the User wishes as long as they have it. Skills can only be obtained by killing zombies, and the stronger the zombie, the higher the chance. Also, zombies will also continue to grow by eating humans, so watch out for that. To access the any function of the Core AI, just think it in your mind or say it aloud, whichever the User prefers. Now then, would the User like to open their Random Starter Pack? There are 3 types of Starter Packs, one which is based more towards combat, one which is based more towards survival and hiding and one which is based more towards both. Would User like to use his Random Starter Pack? Yes/No]
Reading the information on the screen, I am honestly glad it tells me everything I need to know. The fact that zombies can get stronger the more humans they eat is a bit unnerving, but it was to be expected when we have the Core AI which can help us get stronger. I press the 'Yes' option again and a military backpack with a bunch of pockets appears before me.
[User has obtained the Mixed Starter Pack. User will be given a military backpack with a Colt M1911 handgun that comes with 5 clips of ammo, a Bowie Knife, food and water that would last 7 days and a set of military clothing that comes with a holster for knives and handguns.]
Looking at the military backpack in front of me and reading the screen, I am honestly glad that my luck was this good. Not only do I get a handgun with a good amount of ammo and a strong knife, I also get food and water to last me for 7 days and a set of military clothing, which will allow me to store useful items on my body for easy access.
It's not hard to change into the military clothing, so I get into it in a couple of seconds and then throw my office clothes I will never be wearing again in my life to a random corner in my room. I place my Colt M1911 into the handgun holster on my belt and my Bowie Knife on the other side in another holster while carrying the backpack in my arms downstairs to the kitchen after putting a few sets of clothing I might need in the future.
Getting to the kitchen, I gather a few cans of food I had in my cupboards and a few bags of crackers or cookies and stuff them into my military backpack with the other food I was given. Honestly, I was quite lucky with what I was given. Since I am quite adventurous I had rented guns at the shooting range a few times, and the handgun I used the most was the Colt M1911 which I was given. While my aim isn't the best in the world, I am definitely better than the average person and even most police officers. Recalling the Status function, I think to myself and bring it up.
[Name: Long Wei
Gender: Male
Race: Human(Chinese)
Age: 24
Title: None
Level: 1[0/50]
Strength: 13
Agility: 9
Vitality: 11
Intelligence: 7
Points: 0
Skills Points: 0
Skills: None]
Indeed, I was right. Since I would go on hikes or sometimes go for runs around the city, my body was indeed strong, which I can assume from my attributes. I don't know what the common attributes for people are though.
[The common attributes for an adult are 10.]
Oh, that helps. This Core AI is indeed useful, huh. So that means that my physical strength is 30% stronger than common and my body is slightly stronger than common. My agility is nearly at that of the common people while my intelligence is quite lower... Not surprising since I hated studying.
Hm, I need 50 experience to level up to the next level, but how much do each zombie give? I guess I will have to kill one to find out, huh. Still, from what I know, there were a total of 4 or so trillion people in the world this year... Just how many zombies will there be...
Shaking my head and getting rid of that terrifying thought, I decide to leave my house as it is definitely not a safe place to be considering the fact it is just a common cheap house with two floors. Heck, it doesn't even have a basement.
Before I open the door I peek out of the window and I unsurprisingly see cars crashed together, all flipped and burning. Hell, I can even see dead people who have burnt bodies, which I surprisingly don't find disgusting. What the hell is wrong with me?
[User has been detected to have the title Cold Blooded.]
[Cold Blooded: The User will not feel anything when faced with the death of people or even himself, allowing the User to not enter a panic in a battle of death or the likes.]
That... is good. That will help me a lot. I will be able to survive much easier with this since there will be death all over the world. With this, I won't hesitate to kill people who are attacking me, much to my relief since that could cause my death.
I can see a few people wandering around outside with backpacks on. Out of the dozen or so people I saw, only two or three of them actually have guns, much to my surprise. I guess that means my luck was much better than I thought it was.
Should I go out and join them? I will be with a larger group of people which will let me survive much easier and kill zombies easier while also having some form of safety with them, which is a bonus. The downsides are that they might be greedy about the equipment I have, such as my M1911 or Bowie Knife, or even my military backpack. Decisions, decisions... Screw it, I will go solo. It is much safer than joining a random group who might turn on me for my stuff.
Luckily there is a backdoor in my house, so I won't be noticed by the group who might come to me or straight out attack me, which is a relief. Closing the curtain I head to the other side of the house and look out the window, finding nothing in sight, which is good.
I quietly open the door step outside, not bothering to close the door as I have nothing useful left inside. I walk a few meters away from my house and decided to walk through the alleyway instead of the open street as it won't make the target of other people for now.
I walked through the alleyway which is thankfully not dark since it is currently almost the afternoon, meaning the sun is nearly at it's peak, bringing light to the dark alleyways, which is a relief. I barely walk through the alleyway for half a minute before I heard a groan directly behind me, causing my to react.
Danger!
I jump forward as fast as I can and turn around, and I saw a definite zombie biting towards where my neck was a moment ago, causing me to sigh in relief that I could react in time. Having the Cold Blooded title doesn't make me the strongest fighter all of the sudden.
I was about to grab my M1911 but then grabbed my Bowie Knife instead as it won't make sound, which would in turn draw the attention of any nearby zombies towards me, which would be dangerous. It will also save my ammo for when I really need it.
Gripping my Bowie Knife in my right hand, I patiently wait for the zombie to come closer to me, watching it's movements as closely as I can. Then, it stepped onto a broken piece of concrete, it's body tilting downwards and almost falling over.
A chance!
I instantly pounce towards the staggering zombie, thrusting my right hand forwards and towards the top of it's head, my Bowie Knife passing through it's skin and into it head easily before pulling it back out and backing up a few feet, staring at the zombie which instantly fell to the ground.
[User has killed a Zombie(Common) and obtained 10 experience. and 2 points.]
Looking at the white orb that suddenly came out of it's body and flew into my right hand, a screen appeared and informed me of the gains I got from killing the zombie, which was 10 experience and 2 points. That means i need to kill 4 more zombies to level up. 2 points is probably not a lot, but that hopefully means that the items in the shop aren't that expensive, as it would take a while to get stuff then.
I pull out a clothe I prepared for this situation and wiped the blood off of my Bowie Knife before putting it back in it's holster and then I turned around and continued walking through the alleyway. I am currently heading to the shooting range as it is the smartest decision currently. Not only are there guns and ammo that could be of use there, the owner of the place is also trustworthy and is a good friend of mine as I go there 4 or 5 times a month to shoot guns with him.
At this point I am thankful for my house as it is close to the shooting range, taking me 15 or so minutes to walk there after I left my house. Looking at the familiar place, I was relieved and quietly walked towards it, looking around for any signs of danger. Not finding any, I test the door and was surprised that it was unlocked.
Deciding to be safe, I pull out my M1911 and turn off the safety before walking inside, looking around at every corner of the place just to be safe. Not long later, I enter the section where the guns are normally stored and was not surprised to see the owner here.
He turned around the second that I saw him clearly, and when he saw it was me he relaxed, and I could clearly see him lowering a shotgun that was about to be aimed at me. Wiping the sweat on my forehead away silently, I walk over to him and plop down beside him on a chair.
"Man am I glad you didn't shoot me there, Shi Zhao."
"You were lucky. If it was not you or Ren Lin, I would of chased you away with my shotgun here."
So Shi Zhao says while proudly lifting his shotgun towards me, causing me to silently laugh. Ren Lin is another person who comes here occasionally and is on good terms with both me and Shi Zhao. Shi Zhao is in his early thirties while Ren Lin is surprisingly only 17. I was surprised when he told us his age when he first came 4 months ago, as he was indeed quite young. Still, we didn't care about it and we even got along well. Concerning him, he is one of those rich kids, so he should still be alive as he has plenty of bodyguards who are skilled in his family.
"So, why are you here, Long Wei? Don't tell me you came to loot me of my guns here, eh?"
Looking at the shrugging and laughing Shi Zhao, I patted his shoulder and nodded my head in agreement.
"Indeed. I came here to loot you, my friend. I was lucky enough to be given this M1911 and 5 clips of ammo along with this Bowie Knife, but this sure as hell won't let me last long in an apocalypse. As such, I naturally came here to loot you of some good guns."
I put on a natural smile that looked fake as all hell as Shi Zhao looked at me in disbelief, before he started laughing loudly as hell with tears in the corner of his eyes.
"Hahahahahaha! Of course you freaking did! I wasn't as lucky as you and only obtained a months worth of food and water along with some sturdy clothes in a hiking pack, but I have hundreds of guns so I don't care. Come! Let's get you a good setup."