The sky was now blanketed in yellow sand. A modified off-road vehicle roared across the desert, leaving a trail of dust in its wake. Scattered across the barren landscape stood grotesque creatures, their humanity long stripped away. Hearing the whistle of the vehicle, they sluggishly began to respond, their movements stiff and puppet-like. Their bodies, a mix of decaying flesh and exposed bone, barely resembled humans anymore.
The vehicle's reinforced front rammed through them without hesitation. The impact was brutal, splitting them in half. Even so, the creatures, seemingly impervious to pain, continued crawling in the direction of the vehicle as it sped away, their mouths emitting guttural howls.
The passengers in the car appeared indifferent to the gruesome scene. They had grown used to it. Reaching the camp before nightfall was critical. These monsters were sluggish during the day, but at night, their speed and aggression multiplied, and worse, mutated variants would emerge.
The driver, shielding themselves from the harsh desert conditions, wore sunglasses to block the glare of the sun and a scarf that covered half their face and neck. The heat during the day was oppressive, and the sunlight unbearably fierce.
"Boss, we've got a job. Some rich kid's paying us 100,000 to guide him into the Yellow Sand Wastelands," said a voice from the passenger seat.
Chu Ling, seated in the driver's seat, didn't respond immediately. Her eyes remained fixed on the horizon, where the sky was a dull, murky gray. The sun always seemed to set faster here. The swirling sand hinted at an impending sandstorm. As her thoughts drifted, she recalled her first day in this world, six months ago, on a similarly stormy evening.
Yes, Chu Ling wasn't originally from this world. This apocalyptic wasteland was the setting of a novel she had once avidly followed, 'My Wife Is Mute In Apocalypse'. She had loved the book, especially the heroine's wife, Gu Xiyan.
In the novel's lore, humanity's downfall began in the year Sirius 5000, when a meteor crashed into the planet, triggering catastrophic changes. When scientists attempted to study the meteorite, it suddenly fractured into four pieces, which flew off in different directions. What followed were four apocalyptic calamities: endless sandstorms in the south, perpetual ice and snow in the north, colossal tsunamis in the east, and suffocating smog in the west. These disasters ravaged the planet, consuming cities, civilizations, and lives.
But that was only the beginning. Those who perished in the calamities didn't stay dead. They returned as mindless monsters, attacking the living. Anyone bitten or scratched by these creatures would inevitably transform into one of them.
Amidst the chaos, humanity's most advanced families discovered a sanctuary immune to the four disasters. There, they built a new nation—the Empire—and welcomed survivors, establishing a new regime. The year the Empire was founded was declared the first year of the Imperial Calendar.
For fifty years, the calamities continued to rage, only beginning to subside after that time. The Empire remained isolated, believing that no other survivors existed beyond its borders. However, the outside world was not empty. As the disasters receded, people began to venture out of the Empire to scavenge for resources. Despite the relative safety within the Empire, resources were limited, and those who couldn't contribute to scientific advancements were left to fend for themselves.
Desperation drove the impoverished to leave the safety of the Empire and explore the wastelands, scavenging for supplies to trade for money. Over time, a new profession emerged—mercenaries, who would take on any job for the right price. Chu Ling was now one of them.
Six months ago, however, Chu Ling had been nothing more than a regular university student. She had been reading a novel when her life took a bizarre turn. In the novel, the female protagonist gained a survival system that acted as a cheat code in the harsh post-apocalyptic world. The protagonist, an ordinary person at the bottom of society, had her fortunes change after rescuing Gu Xiyan during a scavenging mission.
Gu Xiyan fell for her savior, and with her help, the protagonist thrived. The system allowed her to rise from nothing, building her own base, rallying survivors, and eventually challenging the Empire itself, becoming the ruler of the post-apocalypse.
Chu Ling didn't care much for the protagonist, though. What fascinated her was Gu Xiyan, the mute woman with a tragic backstory. Was it pity? Compassion? She wasn't sure. From the moment Gu Xiyan was introduced, she had embodied the trope of the beautiful yet tormented genius. Born mute, her name, Xiyan (cherish words), was both ironic and cruel. In a world like the apocalypse, children with disabilities were seen as burdens.
Yet, Gu Xiyan's extraordinary genetic makeup caught the attention of the powerful. She was taken in by a prominent family, the Gus, but her new home turned out to be nothing more than a gilded cage. Incredibly intelligent, she began contributing to groundbreaking research at a young age, though all her achievements were credited to the Gu family.
When she came of age, the eldest son of the Gu family, Gu Jingbo, announced an engagement to her under the guise of 'keeping it in the family'. In reality, it was a ploy to control her completely and claim all her future research as Gu property.
This alone was enough to infuriate Chu Ling. But when Gu Xiyan finally found the courage to leave the Gu family, with the help of the protagonist no less, and began aiding her savior in overthrowing the Empire, the ultimate betrayal came. Gu Xiyan, who had given everything to help the protagonist succeed, became nothing more than a stepping stone. The protagonist, having 'won' her, started flirting with other women, veering into a harem-like narrative.
As a fan of pure romance, Chu Ling couldn't tolerate it. She dropped the novel and angrily left a scathing comment, calling the author out for ruining such a promising character.
She had been in the middle of writing her rant when a truck's horn blared suddenly. Her phone flew out of her hand, and the next thing she knew, she was airborne, hit by a truck.
Her last thought before blacking out was: I wasn't done yelling at the author!
When she opened her eyes again, everything hurt. She was lying in the middle of a sandstorm, coughing and spitting out sand. Disoriented, she wondered if she'd been buried alive. The familiar city streets were gone, replaced by an endless expanse of desert and debris.
Before she could fully panic, a flood of foreign memories surged into her mind—fragments of this body's previous owner's life. But frustratingly, they only lasted up until the moment of death.
The first thing that came into view was a face covered in stubble, with a deep scar running across his cheek, a striking feature on his rugged face.
"Are you sure about leaving her here? Is this really okay?" a younger man, seemingly his subordinate, asked hesitantly.
"She's been scratched by a monster and is running a fever that won't go away. She's bound to turn sooner or later. …Yeah, no matter where she goes, she's dead anyway. Might as well leave her here,"
As their footsteps faded into the distance, Chu Ling found herself half-buried in the sand, her mind replaying the desperate cries that echoed from this body's memories:
"I don't want to die… I don't want to die! Why… I just wanted to live… If only I could start over…"
As the fragments of the previous owner's life dissolved into nothingness, the pain that had wracked Chu Ling's body miraculously disappeared. She dusted the sand off her clothes and slowly stood up. Reality began to sink in—she had crossed into another world.
It wasn't hard to piece together: she had likely died in her original world from the truck accident, and by some bizarre coincidence, her consciousness had taken over this body at the exact moment its original soul had departed.
Pressing a hand to her forehead, Chu Ling confirmed she no longer had a fever. The desert stretched endlessly in every direction, and she had no idea what to do. That was when a mechanical voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
[Greetings, Host. I am the Sirius System. Due to an unidentified error, your consciousness has been transferred to this world. We apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, the soul that originally inhabited this body has departed, and we are unable to return you to your previous world as your original body has already perished. To assist you in surviving in this world, we will provide you with an Apocalypse Survival System!]
Chu Ling froze for a moment, but quickly processed the situation. She couldn't go back—there was no use dwelling on it. Accepting this reality was the only path forward. And wait… wasn't this whole scenario suspiciously similar to the plot of the novel she had been reading? The heroine had also been implanted with a system that served as her cheat for survival. If she could get a similar system, wouldn't surviving in this apocalyptic world be a breeze?
The system, sensing her agreement, began its process.
[Installing system… 3… 2… 1… Installation complete. Congratulations, Host. The 'Shut-in System' has been successfully installed.]
"…Wait. WHAT system did you just install?" Chu Ling's alarm bells went off immediately. Something was wrong.
[The Shut-in System, Host.]
By the time she realized something was amiss, it was already too late. The system interface appeared in her mind, displaying a shop panel. The system allowed her to exchange gold coins for various items, but upon closer inspection, her options were depressingly limited. The only item currently unlocked was a classic beef-flavored instant noodle cup, priced at 1 gold coin each.
The kicker? Buying 100 instant noodle cups came with a free apocalypse-grade hot water kettle, powered by a special crystal that didn't require electricity.
"…What is this?! Where's my apocalypse survival system?! My badass arsenal of futuristic weapons?!" Chu Ling demanded.
[Apologies, Host. That particular system has already been implanted into the protagonist of this world. Therefore, we could only assign you an alternative system.]
"This is a scam! A total rip-off!" Chu Ling yelled, but the system had already gone silent, ignoring her protests. Left with no other choice, she could only accept this absurd reality.
Surviving the desert was her immediate concern. The horizon offered no signs of shelter or civilization, only an endless expanse of scorching sand. Searching through the system's shop panel, Chu Ling noticed that her starting balance was 100 gold coins. With a resigned sigh, she purchased 100 instant noodle cups in one go.
Thankfully, the system came with spatial storage, so she didn't have to lug around 100 cups of noodles as she walked. The free apocalypse-grade kettle appeared in her hands. It resembled an ordinary electric kettle, except for the glowing red crystal embedded in its base. To her surprise, it came pre-filled with water, and it only took a minute for the crystal to boil it.
She tore open a cup of noodles, poured in the hot water, and waited a few minutes. The smell of beef broth wafted through the air, bringing a small sense of comfort. Taking a bite, Chu Ling realized it tasted exactly like the instant noodles she used to eat—delicious but ordinary.
She sighed. "How am I supposed to survive the apocalypse with instant noodles of all things?"
As she pondered her next move, the rumble of an engine broke through the silence. A modified off-road vehicle stopped nearby, and a group of burly men climbed out. Their eyes immediately locked onto the steaming cup of noodles in Chu Ling's hands, their expressions ravenous.
"Miss, what… what is that you're holding?" one of them asked, his voice hoarse. "We've been starving for days…"
Seeing their desperate state, Chu Ling hesitated for a moment before pulling out a few more cups of noodles. Boiling water was still available in the kettle, so she quickly prepared servings for the group.
The men dug in, their faces lighting up as they ate.
"This… This is amazing! What is this heavenly food?!" one exclaimed, slurping down the noodles.
Chu Ling blinked. Have… have these people never eaten instant noodles before?
The men explained that they had been stranded in the desert for days. Though their vehicle was still functional, they had run out of food. Grateful for her help, they offered to give her a ride.
Luck seemed to be on Chu Ling's side. Thanks to the group's vehicle, they managed to escape the desert and arrive at a rescue base the next day.
The first thing Chu Ling did was find a mirror. Staring at her reflection, she noticed that this body bore an uncanny resemblance to her original one. The only differences were the weathered texture of her skin, likely from prolonged exposure to the elements, and a faint, vertical scar running through her left eyebrow. Her once smooth, fair complexion had become rough and sun-damaged.
Touching her face, Chu Ling sighed. "Does this world even have skincare products? How am I supposed to find a boyfriend looking like this?"
Despite her complaints, she quickly adapted to her new reality. As a lifelong single woman obsessed with novels and anime, Chu Ling's vivid imagination and quirky personality helped her accept the bizarre situation with surprising ease.
After speaking with the mercenaries who had helped her, Chu Ling learned more about this world. To her shock, the events they described matched the plot of the novel she had read almost perfectly. That's when she realized the truth—she hadn't just crossed into an apocalyptic world. She had entered the novel itself.
The realization came with a strange detail. In the novel, there had been a minor mercenary character named A-Chu, who was part of the protagonist's original team. The author had mentioned A-Chu briefly, describing her as someone who clashed with the protagonist. Eventually, A-Chu disappeared from the story entirely, her fate left unresolved.
"Damn it. Was I cannon fodder?!" Chu Ling cursed.
But her thoughts soon turned to another oddity. Why had the mercenaries reacted to instant noodles like they'd never seen them before?
It clicked. The novel had mentioned how humanity's technology had regressed during the Empire's 50 years of isolation. Many foods and luxuries from the old world had been lost. These people didn't even know what instant noodles, soda, or fried chicken were.
A grin spread across Chu Ling's face. "This Shut-in system… might actually be useful!"
For the first time, she felt a spark of hope.