**
**Boom!**
A thunderous explosion shattered the silence, accompanied by flickering flames outside the window and the tremors of an entire building, jolting Luke from his shallow sleep.
He opened his groggy eyes and instinctively leapt to his feet. The slight lag in his brain caused him to momentarily overlook the unfamiliar surroundings.
He took a step toward the window, trying to see what was happening outside. However, the next moment, a wave of dizziness washed over him—an overwhelming vertigo akin to severe low blood sugar caused his knees to buckle. He almost collapsed to the floor.
At that moment, Luke had no idea what was happening. Or rather, the situation left him no time to process anything at all.
Gripping the furniture for support, he staggered upright. It was only then that he realized the dizziness wasn't caused by his own body but by the entire building shaking beneath his feet.
Coupled with the ominous rumbling from outside, which sounded like the earth itself was groaning, Luke's foggy mind snapped into focus.
**An earthquake?!**
Without hesitation, Luke steadied himself and rushed to the window, shouting loudly over his shoulder.
"Old Zhang! Chen-ge! It's an earthquake!"
In his last memory, he and his two roommates had just celebrated a birthday with a drunken night.
Never could he have imagined that what awaited them was not the sunrise of the next day but a heart-stopping disaster.
Luke's voice was quickly swallowed by the cacophony of noise, and his body froze as he finally took in his surroundings.
**Where is this place?**
The unfamiliar bed, strange furniture, and even the apartment's layout—it was all completely foreign to him. This wasn't a shared apartment but a slightly upscale studio.
It reminded him of a model apartment he had visited once while house-hunting.
As Luke's thoughts ran wild—
**Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!**
A sudden, rapid gust of wind roared from outside.
He turned his head toward the source and saw a helicopter spinning out of control. Its body swayed dangerously, losing all stability as it hurtled toward a high-rise building.
Eyes wide, mouth agape, Luke could only watch the completely out-of-control helicopter.
**Boom!**
A deafening explosion sent shockwaves blasting through the air, shattering the window in front of him into pieces.
Fortunately, his position at the edge of the window kept him from being hurt by the falling glass shards.
The helicopter crash was only a minor prelude to this disaster. Outside, a chain reaction of car collisions unfolded on the highway below, igniting raging flames.
In an instant, the entire street turned into a sea of fire, filled with screams and cries of despair.
Staring at the hellish scene outside, Luke pinched his thigh hard, forcing himself to calm down despite the chaos.
The sight of cars crashing and lives extinguished before him was something he had never witnessed before. Yet, compared to the grand spectacle of the helicopter crash, it seemed almost insignificant.
Feeling the pain in his leg, Luke could tell his heart was racing. He had no idea what was happening or what this situation entailed.
But he knew one thing—if he wanted to survive, he had to make the right decision now!
Clenching his fists tightly, Luke's eyes darted around the scene outside.
The question of how he had ended up in this strange apartment wasn't helpful right now. To ensure his safety, he needed to figure out what was happening outside.
At first, Luke thought it was an earthquake. The trembling building was no joke—he had almost fallen to the floor. The whole structure was shaking.
But he quickly ruled out an earthquake.
Though he had never experienced one, he understood the basic characteristics. Earthquakes usually involve violent vertical tremors, followed by erratic horizontal shaking that often lasts for a while.
However, apart from the initial tremors and the mild aftershock from the helicopter's explosion, the building had stopped shaking. This suggested the situation outside wasn't a natural disaster.
In a way, this was good news for Luke.
Judging by the height of the window, he was on at least the 20th floor. If it were an earthquake, he wouldn't have enough time to escape to a safer location.
After calming down slightly, Luke began scanning the scene outside for more details. Amid the chaos, only by understanding the cause of the disaster could he find a sliver of hope.
The cries outside continued as Luke climbed up to the window for a better view. Because of the height and distance, he couldn't make out what people were shouting.
But one thing was clear: everyone outside was a foreigner. These tiny figures, black and white, filled the streets, with no sign of the familiar yellow skin of his people.
**"So… I've traveled abroad?"**
A sudden realization struck Luke, and his heart pounded even harder.
Disaster + foreign country—this was a recipe for no survivors.
Even amid the chaos, Luke swore that his mind was in even greater turmoil.
Too much information flooded his brain, drowning him in a sea of scattered thoughts. It was nearly impossible to focus.
While Luke tried to organize his thoughts, a figure running on the street below caught his attention.
It was a young girl in a down jacket, too far away to make out her features, but she seemed petite.
Yet none of that mattered. What mattered was that as she ran, her entire body began to disintegrate.
Not just a simple disintegration—her body dissolved rapidly into black ash!
There were no screams, no warning. She simply disintegrated into dust mid-stride, the remnants carried forward briefly by inertia.
Luke had been watching the street the entire time, and the girl's eerie demise unfolded right before his eyes.
In that moment, Luke's eyes froze, his expression stiffening.
All the chaotic thoughts in his mind vanished, replaced by a single, chilling realization:
**Thanos just snapped his fingers!**
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*This is just the beginning, brothers. I hope you'll continue to support this journey! This time, it will be a completely different adventure. Stay tuned!*
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**(End of Chapter)**