Apocalypse Startup
Jared Jones was your average college student, drowning in student loans and dreaming of a corner office. Then the Shattering happened. A global pandemic, caused by a bizarre mutagenic virus, transformed most of the population into zombies and mutants, collapsing civilization in a matter of weeks. Now, six months later, Jared survives by scavenging in the ruins of his former life, armed with little more than a sharpened pipe and a bitter sense of irony.
His life takes a dramatic turn when he's unexpectedly bound to the "Business Tycoon System," a powerful AI that appears as a holographic interface only he can see. The System claims its purpose is to aid in societal reconstruction and economic growth, and it has chosen Jared as its host. Initially skeptical and thinking he's hallucinating, Jared soon realizes the System is very real, and it offers him a unique opportunity: to rebuild society, not through force, but through business.
The System provides Jared with quests, blueprints, and skills, all geared towards establishing and expanding a post-apocalyptic enterprise. The new currency? Energy crystals, harvested from the bodies of the very mutants and zombies that threaten his existence. Starting with nothing but a ramshackle stall and a handful of scavenged goods, Jared embarks on a journey to become the ultimate post-apocalyptic entrepreneur.
He quickly learns that running a business in the apocalypse is no easy task. He faces constant dangers: ravenous mutants, desperate scavengers, and the ever-present threat of starvation and disease. He must learn to craft weapons, manage resources, negotiate with wary survivors, and defend his fledgling enterprise from those who would rather take than trade.
Along the way, Jared forms an unlikely alliance with Elara, a skilled scavenger with a deep knowledge of the mutated flora and fauna of the ruined world. Together, they face the challenges of the apocalypse, expanding Jared's business from a simple stall to a thriving trading post, and eventually, a beacon of hope in a shattered world.
But the System has secrets. Why was Jared chosen? What is the System's ultimate goal? And is there a way to reverse the Shattering, or is survival the only option left? As Jared's business grows, so too do the stakes, drawing him into a larger conflict that will determine the fate of what remains of humanity. He'll need to use all his business acumen, his growing combat skills, and the power of the System to not just survive, but to build a new world from the ashes of the old. The apocalypse may have ended the world as he knew it, but for Jared Jones, it's the ultimate startup opportunity.
