Painful...

Extremely painful...

Pain?

...

...

What's happening?

The pain is disappearing.

Now, I am not feeling any pain. Not only pain, I can not even feel my body.

Somehow, it feels empty.

I am feeling somewhat empty.

In the next moment, he sat up in his stupor and tried to look around. He found himself in an unfamiliar environment. It seemed like he was lying in some alleyway. He tried to examine his physical condition, but...

...

...

What is this?

My hands have become lumps of rotten flesh. There is pus and blood flowing down my arm. The surprising thing is that I don't feel anything. Neither physical pain nor mental disarray.

My memories are also a mess. I can not recall anything. I do not even remember my name. I can only vaguely remember that I used to be a torturer.

...

...

Hmm... I can remember if I think hard. I remember working a brutal job for some shady organization. But I can not recall my name.

First of all, I should be dead. The organization should have killed me to prevent any leak of information. I vividly remember a dagger slit my throat. However...

I am still alive (?). And where is this place? It looks like my body was thrown away in this alley.

Most importantly, what is this feeling? This numbness like I am not connected with reality. I feel like I am incomplete. And I still can not remember my name.

What is my name?

Think. Think.

Who am I?

The more he thought, the more he heard his brain buzzing . He could hear indistinct murmurings.

They're all begging. Begging to spare their lives or let them die.

'Pl-please don't kill me...'

'Let me die already...'

'Spare me, I b-beg you...'

'''...Agraz '''

Like a thunderous roar, he heard a cacophony of voices. At last, the voices started shouting the same thing.

I see. I am... Agraz.

The moment this thought came to Agraz, he felt the empty feeling vanish. It faded away like it was never there.

After sorting out his memories, he tried to stand up. After mustering up his strength, he stood up wobbly. He tried to scan his surroundings.

After looking around, all Agraz could see was a dark alley with garbage laying all around. There was a dumpster. However, it seemed to be full of garbage.

Reigning in his distracting thoughts, Agraz quickly tried to get out of the alley and go to a hospital. After all, it seemed like there was blood flowing from not only his arms but his whole body. If he did not get medical treatment fast, he would die from blood loss.

Agraz walked in the darkness of the night, until the intersection came into sight. It seemed like there were some people walking along the intersection. He tried shouting for help.

"Grahhh..."

However, he was only capable of making a blood curdling groan. That's when he realized that even his vocal cords have been damaged. He could hardly make any sounds. He tried to walk towards the group.

And that's when he saw it.

Their faces illuminated by the dim light of the moon. Blood was flowing down from their face. They were gazing blankly with their decayed eyes, wearing tattered clothes. Their teeth and nails a shade of yellow.

The moment Agraz saw their faces, he quickly and silently hid behind a dumpster.

Hmm... Something is extremely wrong. They look like zombies. Tattered clothes, rotten body, decayed eyes, blood and pus flowing everywhere... This definitely screams the word "Zombie".

Wait...

Agraz hastily examined his own body...

Tattered clothes, blood and pus flowing down from everywhere, rotten flesh... Did I get bitten by the zombies? No, it's too early to make that assumption. First, I need to verify something.

Agraz looked around. He saw an empty can by his feet. He picked it up and threw it a distance away from the zombies. The can made a crisp clunk sound.

As soon as the sound was heard, all the zombies turned their heads simultaneously. And started sprinting towards the sound and groaning like monsters in the deep darkness of night. After reaching the location of the can, they started searching around aimlessly.

They are really acting like zombies.

Hmm... From this, I can conclude that they are attracted to sound. So, by moving silently and out of their sight, I believe I can get around safely.

Agraz quietly got out of his hiding spot and head in a different direction. He kept a close eye out for the zombies behind him. Just as he was about to turn a corner, a zombie's face appeared in front of him.

Agraz stood still and stumbled back, prepared to flee in the event of an emergency. However, contrary to his expectations, the zombie merely went about its way, swaying from side to side.

Agraz stood rooted to the ground and stared at the zombie with a sense of dumbfoundedness.

Hmm... My initial thought was that a zombie would pounce on me and make incomprehensible noises. But it ignored me. Is it because I am similarly infected?

If I'm infected then it's a serious problem. I don't want to become a mindless zombie roaming around the streets.

Just as this thought came to him, Agraz saw a window on the other side. He came before the window and checked out his appearance.

A man with a head full of black hair. He was roughly 1.80 meters in height. He had deep grey eyes, looking like a dead fish. However, a spark of intelligence was evident in those decayed eyes. His skin was whiter than a corpse. His lips dried and his teeth a shade of yellow. The hideous wounds that stretched across his entire body were causing blood and pus to flow.

Wait... Something is terribly wrong. This is not my face. Even if I exclude the decayed eyes and the blood smeared here and there, it is undoubtedly not my face. Even my body. I was a 2 meters tall giant.

What's happening? Even if my face was altered through surgery, changing a person's height is an extremely difficult task.

Hmm... A different body, my supposed death and an apocalyptic scene where zombies roam around... Don't tell me, it's that thing! The thing that's currently trending all over the internet!

Reincarnation!

Wait... It's too much of a leap in logic. It could be anything. Maybe I am experiencing a lucid dream. Or maybe this is a huge prank orchestrated against me by some lunatic. Or maybe I am in hell, banished for my cruel deeds against those poor souls.

Even if I reincarnated, why am I a reincarnated as a zombie? Is this karma? By the way, am I really a zombie? But I can think and act rationally. Is it because of my reincarnation? My soul possessing the body of a zombie and destroying the rotten soul inside? Thus, I am born?

Hmm... Am I even on earth? Is earth experiencing an apocalypse? Or is it a parallel universe, where the apocalypse struck?

There are too many questions, but I don't have enough information to reach a conclusion.

After finishing his inner monologue, Agraz started to walk around. He wanted to survey his surroundings first and take actions later.

After searching around a bit, he finally got out of the narrow alleyway and onto the main road. There were many cars laying around in the middle of the road. Some zombies were loitering around here and there.

Most importantly, there were bloodstains everywhere. Like someone trying to draw a painting with the blood of hundreds. It was truly a bloody masterpiece.

Agraz walked towards the cars and started searching around. Most of the cars were unlocked, like their owners were in a hurry to leave.

After searching around for a while, Agraz found many things people left behind. He found a military combat knife, a flashlight with batteries, some miscellaneous items and a smartphone, which had no use as it was not charged.

Agraz collected the useful items in a bagpack that he found. He also found a Glock G19 with some bullets. However, that was not the most useful thing he found. The most useful item he found was the map of the world.

Hmm... The topography is the same. There are seven continents and the sizes match. The map was also created in English. However... The names of countries are not matching.

...

...

Considering this is not a fake map, I really might be reincarnated in a parallel world.

Silently, Agraz stared at his own dark gray eyes in the rearview mirror while he sat in the car seat. He sighed silently.

Sigh.

I didn't have many good memories of my previous world, so even if I am really in a parallel world, I don't feel that depressed. Just a slight feeling of melancholy and confusion.

Shaking off the unnecessary thoughts, Agraz began organizing his plans for the future.

First, I should survey the surroundings. I should also try to determine the characteristics of a zombie. Do zombies need food or sleep? What are the strengths and weaknesses of a zombie?

Hmm... Should I actively try to search for humans or should I avoid them for now? From the state of the city, I don't think humans will be of any help. They should be busy fending off hordes of zombies and locating supplies.

Even if I meet humans, the first thing I will be greeted with is a bullet. Hmm... I will avoid humans for now.

Finally, the crucial question: will I receive a golden finger?

Activate system.

[Ding!]

Yep... There is, in fact, a system!