The moment Chen Chao woke up, he immediately felt that something was wrong. The rancid smell that had always filled the air was gone. There wasn't a trace of any unpleasant odor. His breathing was smooth, and the air felt refreshingly pure. Such clean air—this was even better than the Wild Refuge, not to mention any B-level base city!
"Where am I?" Chen Chao immediately opened his eyes.
What greeted him was a strange room of about ten square meters in size. It wasn't large, but the furnishings were lavish—an old-style soft bed, an energy-consuming chandelier, and a computer that only genetic researchers could afford. Everything was unusually clean. Not a drop of blood, not a hint of foul smell—there wasn't even any dust visible!
What's going on? Wasn't I killed by an awakened one? Chen Chao's memory was still stuck on the last moment of his previous life...
Chen Chao was a survivor from the apocalypse, coming from the dark era, year 167. His parents had passed away when he was young, and by the age of six, he had been forced to learn to hunt. Every day, he fought against the Rotten Claw young rats, using their decaying bodies to fill his stomach, living in the dark corners of the Wild Refuge.
Being an orphan in the wilderness was extremely difficult. Other orphans around his age either starved to death in the bleak corners, were eaten by infected corpses while searching for food, or were captured by wild raiders who turned them into food...
Chen Chao had carefully survived the harsh years, and at sixteen, luck finally smiled upon him. He captured a special infected corpse by chance, and by using the energy within it, he became an evolved one. In just three years, he rose from an F-level to an A-level evolved one!
This time, he tracked a rare A-level special infected corpse in the wilderness, preparing to kill it, but was ambushed by another awakened one. Without a chance to escape, he was torn apart in a single swipe. He died at the age of nineteen.
"Awakened ones are too strong..." Chen Chao snapped back to reality, still shaken. He hadn't been able to resist at all.
Suddenly, a strange, fragmented memory surged into his mind, violently colliding with his own memories. His head throbbed as if it were going to explode, and cold sweat poured down his face.
"Who is this? Also named Chen Chao? Nineteen years old, a freshman in college, living in 2017..."
Chen Chao was momentarily confused. Looking down at his body, it matched the fragmented memory exactly. This wasn't his A-level evolved body, but the body of this college student named Chen Chao! Same name, same age. One was a diligent student, the other had survived nineteen years in the apocalypse as an A-level evolved one!
"I didn't die. I've taken over this person's body..." Chen Chao marveled at the strange situation. Somehow, he had ended up in the world before the dark era, a time with no mutants, no infected corpses, and no monsters. The fiercest creatures here were supposedly unmutated lions and tigers, weak creatures compared to the mutated monsters. A gun could easily kill them. Humans were the undisputed rulers of the Earth.
In this world, people could enjoy three meals a day, turn on lights at night, and take showers whenever they pleased... Everything that had become unimaginable after the dark era!
Wait, today is December 21st? Chen Chao suddenly snapped out of his reverie. If he remembered correctly, the disaster would begin that very night. After sunset, the world would fall into the long and chaotic dark era...
The disaster would begin with a terrifying viral storm. The virus would spread through the air at speeds greater than 36 times the speed of sound, sweeping across the globe in no time. One-tenth of the world's population would be infected right away, turning into crazed, flesh-eating infected corpses. Anyone bitten or touched by them would also be infected and transformed into mindless, terrifying infected corpses.
Only half a day left until the disaster strikes!
Chen Chao wasn't panicking. Instead, he quickly calmed himself. He had heard knowledgeable elders say that, in the early stages of the apocalypse, the infected and monsters weren't too terrifying. They only had two to three times the strength and speed of ordinary people. With his A-level combat skills and years of survival experience, as long as he was cautious, he could survive.
"God has given me a second chance. I will make sure to seize it!" Chen Chao silently vowed. He started planning his preparations. Once the disaster struck, food would be the most crucial resource. When famine hit, even a bag of instant noodles could cost someone their life!
Chen Chao knew hunger well. When one was hungry enough, they would do anything desperate.
Aside from food, weapons were also essential!
"It's a pity that firearms are so strictly controlled here. Unlike in America, where you can find gun shops on busy streets, here you need a permit to buy one. Handguns are out of the question. But if I could get a long spears, or even an axe or a knife, that would be helpful."
Chen Chao had practiced with long spears since he was young—not handguns. Handgun ammunition was too expensive in the future, and before his evolution, he could barely afford to feed himself, let alone buy bullets. So, he had practiced using cheaper cold weapons! Of all cold weapons, he particularly loved the long spear. If he could get his hands on one, his chances of survival would increase dramatically!
Chen Chao quickly put on his clothes and went out. His wallet contained a bank card, several hundred dollars in cash, and a few thousand total. He planned to spend it all on food. First, water!
Once the disaster struck, the water supply system would break down. Even if some water plants survived, no one could drink the tap water. Who knew if there were infected corpses floating in the reservoirs?
He went to a purified water company and bought twenty barrels of purified water. Then, he wrote down a delivery address, with his sister as the recipient.
Chen Chao's parents were elite scientists who tragically passed away in a failed experiment, leaving behind just their two-year-old son and his eight-year-old sister. However, his sister was also affected by the experiment, and her physical growth halted at the age of eight, causing her to forever appear as a child. Chen Chao was raised by his sister, who took care of everything—cooking, laundry, and education. Fortunately, their parents left behind a significant fortune, preventing the siblings from living in poverty.
"I took over your body to be reborn, and I will protect your sister..." Chen Chao silently thought to himself.
After buying water, he proceeded to purchase rice, long-lasting vegetables, and processed foods. He also bought a lot of candy, instant noodles, and chocolate—foods that could fill the stomach and provide high calories. It took him quite some time to finish shopping. Then came the weapons. He traveled around most of the city but was unable to find a spear or a sharp combat knife, so he settled for an iron rod instead. Additionally, he bought several throwing knives for target practice. Aside from the spear, his most skilled weapon was the throwing knife. When he was young, he used to throw stones at the infected, and after becoming an evolved human, he crafted a set of throwing knives and trained his skills to A1 level! Lastly, he bought a pair of binoculars and two maps—one of the city and the other of the whole country. These items were as important as firearms in a world where the electronic network was collapsing. Understanding the geography was crucial.
At the Binjiang Residential Area, in front of Room 1601, Building 9, on the 16th floor:
Several buckets of purified water were stacked outside the door. Sitting on top of one of the buckets was a little girl in a black dress, looking around seven or eight years old. She had brown hair tied into a ponytail, wore black plastic frame glasses, and her face puffed up in annoyance. Her small body looked like a ticking time bomb, about to explode.
As soon as the elevator door opened, Chen Chao saw her. It was his sister—Chen Shiyu!
"You've gone crazy, haven't you?" Chen Shiyu clearly had run out of patience. As soon as she saw his face, she dashed over, her childish voice full of anger, "What are you doing with so much water and rice? Are you planning for a famine? My place is already full!"
"Sis!" Chen Chao scratched his nose awkwardly. It felt strange calling her in such a gentle tone. Since he could remember, he had never spoken like this before.
"Sis, my foot! And you still dare speak to me like that?" Chen Shiyu puffed her cheeks and glared up at him.
Chen Chao chuckled bitterly inside. This is her version of angry? He cleared his throat and softened his tone, "Sis, let's talk inside first."
"Hmph!" Hearing his softer voice, Chen Shiyu finally eased up a little.
Later, as the sun set, at the dinner table:
Chen Shiyu scanned the room full of rice and water. Veins were visibly throbbing on her forehead. She stared at Chen Chao and said, "Can you explain what's going on?"
Chen Chao kept his gaze fixed ahead, not even flinching, "I can explain, but... could you please put the knife down first?"
Chen Shiyu snorted and put down the kitchen knife, gritting her teeth, "If you don't give me a reasonable explanation, I'll freeze your bank account!"
Chen Chao thought to himself that the money was already spent, so freezing the account didn't really matter. He glanced at the time—night was falling, and the disaster would probably break out soon. No harm in telling her now. He looked at her seriously and said, "What if I tell you that the world is about to end soon? Would you believe me?"
Chen Shiyu stared at him for three seconds, then picked up the phone and dialed three digits: "Hello, is this 120? My brother is seriously ill..."
Chen Chao quickly snatched the phone away from her, hung up, and helplessly said, "In a few hours, you'll see that everything I said is true."