Chapter 1: Zombie Outbreak, System Awakens

In the year 2050, inside Dorm 101 of Donghai University.

“Ring, ring…”

The phone alarm rang, and its owner, Liang Yu, skillfully hit the snooze button.

With a sleepy face, he opened his eyes, having played games all night and slept until now.

It was already dark outside. Liang Yu turned on his phone, placing the pillow under his chest, and started scrolling through videos.

Seeing the three empty spots around him, Liang Yu was speechless. His three roommates must have gone to dinner without him!

So, Liang Yu turned off the video and called one of his roommates, Li Liang, hoping he’d bring back some food.

He hadn’t eaten all day. If he didn’t eat something soon, his body wouldn’t hold up!

The phone vibrated for a while, but there was no answer. Liang Yu decided to hang up and send a message instead.

If he sees it, great. If not, instant noodles it is.

Then he continued watching videos.

Unbeknownst to him, the world outside had already changed.

Liang Yu was watching videos when he unknowingly fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already daylight.

He shook his groggy head and got out of bed.

“Gurgle…”

Liang Yu rubbed his stomach, which hadn’t had food for a day, and looked around for something to eat. He spotted a piece of bread on the table, dry and unappetizing.

He didn’t know how long it had been there, but he was too hungry to care. He grabbed it and took a bite, his face contorting in pain.

It was truly awful.

Liang Yu stumbled to the bathroom to spit it out, then rinsed his mouth to get rid of the taste.

He washed his face and looked at the bright sunshine outside.

His gaze shifted downward, and what he saw made his face twitch unnaturally.

A dozen ragged, lifeless-eyed people were gnawing on a corpse.

Not just there, but on the football field, basketball court, and hidden in the bushes, they were everywhere.

Seeing the bloody scenes, Liang Yu couldn’t hold back and dry-heaved.

After calming down, a terrible thought crossed his mind. Could these be zombies?

Had the things from movies become reality!?

Liang Yu slapped his face. It hurt. It wasn’t a dream!

The next second, a mechanical voice sounded in his ear.

“The zombie apocalypse has arrived, system integration begins!”

Before Liang Yu could react, a successful integration prompt sounded.

“Integration successful. The host will gain all abilities from zombie-themed movies and TV shows. Please check.”

A transparent panel appeared before Liang Yu. It was then he realized that the apocalyptic system, something only found in novels, was happening to him.

Liang Yu was a bit excited. His trembling right hand slowly raised to click ‘receive.’

In an instant, countless zombie movies and TV shows appeared in his mind.

There were a few Liang Yu had seen, like “Train to Busan,” “Resident Evil,” “28 Days Later”…

And the popular zombie TV series “The Walking Dead.”

Looking at these flashing movies, Liang Yu wondered what they were meant for.

“Implantation complete, beginning skill acquisition!”

Hearing this, Liang Yu gasped. All survival skills from the zombie world.

Learning these would mean he could thrive in this zombie-infested world.

After the scene ended, countless skills began to learn automatically.

“Comprehensive combat skills acquired…”

“All types of firearms skills acquired…”

“All types of vehicle driving skills acquired…”

…

With a “learning complete,” Liang Yu felt ready.

He excitedly whispered, “Zombies, your doomsday has come!”

Immediately, Liang Yu began searching the dorm for anything useful.

Looking at the three empty spots, he knew he had to find his three roommates. Though they often bickered, their bond was strong!

With the system-learned skills, Liang Yu was confident he could teach them, even if just a few.

Having allies is better than being alone!

After gathering, Liang Yu began organizing.

There were two weapons: a pair of nunchaku his roommate Hong Shan often played with, and a dagger Liang Yu had bought. Though not sharpened, with Liang Yu’s current strength, it could still kill zombies!

The biggest headache was food. Only five packs of instant noodles, a bottle of mineral water, and a bag of spicy strips that couldn’t stave off hunger.

Then there were the medicines, only some cold and fever medicines, which were the least useful in the zombie apocalypse!

In a zombie apocalypse, the most useful are anti-inflammatory and pain relief medicines!

Liang Yu packed these into his backpack, hung the nunchaku on his waist, and wielded the dagger in his hand.

Next, Liang Yu organized the disposable chopsticks his roommate had taken from the cafeteria. These, in Liang Yu’s eyes, could also be weapons.

Sharpening one end, they could easily pierce a zombie’s body, reaching the head for a fatal blow!

There were over thirty pairs of chopsticks. Sharpening them all was a huge task.

Liang Yu chuckled bitterly, then got to work. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could search for resources.

Liang Yu placed the chopsticks at the corner of a broken iron staircase, one by one.

Soon, two hours later, all the chopsticks were sharpened.

Liang Yu found a rubber band, secured all the sharpened chopsticks together, and placed them in the inner pocket of his jacket for easy access during attacks.

Next, he planned to rest and eat something. Since yesterday morning, Liang Yu had only eaten a piece of stale bread, which he spat out.

If he didn’t eat, even with all these powerful skills, he wouldn’t make it out of the dorm before dying!

Tearing open the instant noodle package, crushing it, and sprinkling the seasoning, Liang Yu took his first bite of apocalypse food.

After finishing a pack, Liang Yu instantly regained his strength, stretching his muscles.

Time to head out, ready to show his skills!

With his backpack on, Liang Yu cautiously opened the dorm door, peeked out, and found the hallway safe!

But he didn’t know if there were people in the dorm.

Liang Yu proceeded cautiously, looking around, hoping not to meet any zombies around the corner.

After a round of inspection, not a single dorm was unlocked. They probably all went out during the disaster, or maybe they were cramming for exams.

Sometimes, lying around on weekends is the right choice.

Seeing the locked dorms, Liang Yu couldn’t open them now, but there should be spare keys at the dorm supervisor’s downstairs.

No rush now, once the outside resources and zombies are dealt with, he can come back to scavenge these dorms.

Life, after all, should be sweet after the bitterness.

In zombie movies, some people forget to stay vigilant because they have plenty of resources early on.

This mindset is dangerous in the apocalypse, forgetting the zombie threat outside.

Liang Yu prepared to go downstairs, head outside the dorm building, to search for his roommates and clear zombies.

His first search target was the cafeteria. Judging by the number of zombies outside, the outbreak likely happened yesterday!

Liang Yu’s roommates probably went to the cafeteria for dinner yesterday. If they encountered the outbreak, knowing their personalities, they’d hide in the cafeteria, which had many cold storage rooms. Turning off the temperature would be a good hiding spot.