Verge of Despair, Deciding to Spend Life Playing on Smartphone

"Come on, just let me in. I'm willing to be the baggage boy! I'm even fine if you give me clean water to sate myself!"

"Fuck off!"

After being thrown away from the gate once more, Keith Flintwood finally gives up going inside the only encampment near his house.

It's been five years since he woke up in this apocalypse. He was one of the lucky people who got inside the cryogenic procession to preserve humanity from the unprecedented crisis it finds itself. The viral outbreak that mutates every living beings.

They were promised that when they woke up, they will find themselves in a world more prosperous than ever. He was also hopeful at that. Who would have thought that the whole world failed and the result is that dystopian setting full of dangerous mutated beasts around.

He has been trying to survive, scavenging around and taking any leftovers from the major groups on this region. He was really desperate to survive at first.

Though as the time passes, his will to live on is being shaved due to how pathetically he tries to live. He didn't want to continue like this. Always begging to have even a bit of their food, and trying to ration it for a week.

He has been pretty malnourished himself, and his throat still felt dry despite drinking the remaining drop of water in his satchel. There is nothing else he can do anymore other than to wait for an opportunity, or wait for his death.

"I don't want this anymore..." He muttered to himself as he trudges back to his basement.

This is a dilapidated house just a few kilometers away from the encampment he wanted to enter awhile ago. This has been his base of operation two years ago as it feels the safest and there are no monsters on the vicinity lurking around. So long as he closes the hatch leading to this basement, no one will know there is someone living here.

There is ample oxygen here. There is a pipe that leads to the outside, which gives him enough oxygen. The light is manually powered through the kinetic generator, which is one of the most lamest technology created on his time a hundred years ago. It helps him a lot now even if it can only power the single electrical lamp besides it.

There is a single bed in there and laid in there is one of his other weapon like his crowbar. This one is a worn fire axe. It's edges are chipped and a bit blunted due to many uses over the years, but it is still one of his trusted weapons along with his crowbar.

He put the small shoulder bag he is wearing on the bed and then put both the crowbar and the fire axe on the side of the bed before he laid there. Looking at the ceiling with a frown on his face.

He can understand where they are coming from. He is weak looking, and he looks like he can't even lift. It's even true because he can't actually life heavy objects anymore due to always feeling hungry and not having enough nutrition.

That doesn't mean he is satisfied. This is his life on the line. He wanted to get inside the encampment because it is more safer there than living by his own. Even if he has this basement, he still have no food and water. He will have to go outside and scavenge for the remains the other survivors left.

He thinks he can't survive doing just that. Resources are scarce, mostly consumable ones like food and water. Farms are very valued on this world because barely a percentage of the total population of the world knows farming. Most of the veteran farmers a hundred years ago died or didn't get the chance to be taken to the cryogenic procession.

Even those who got in the cryogenic procession died when they first awakened on this dangerous world. The survival rate on their first year awakening on this world is at 0.1% at maximum.

He was one of the luckier ones to survive because he tries to do so scampering around and hiding like a rat. Only scavenging whatever he can get from the remains of the others.

It's the only thing he can do. He can't even fight a stronger mutated monster because he has a weak gripping and swinging strength. He is unlike those people who have their own strength, some even evolved to become much better than an average human.

He can only deal with the weaker monsters which are the basic zombies. Those zombies were practically wiped out in this zone a year ago so he has nothing to worry about that anymore.

That doesn't mean he have the leeway to be complacent. Mutated monsters can still come in waves to this zone. Only the nearest encampment is the largest faction in this zone who kept doing their daily patrols to clean up any monsters who got inside here.

He was practically nothing compared to them. He has to worry about his food and water, along with worrying whether a zombie might suddenly pop behind him and pounce at him. There are also worries whether some of the lunatics, survivors who have gone crazy or just generally bad people, who might suddenly rob him just because they can.

He always manages to run away from those kind of people. Though he knows that sooner or later, he will slipped up and he will be killed by those lunatics.

There is nothing else he can do anymore but to hope for the best. He hated it, and he didn't want to live like this anymore.

Will he continue living like this? Always living like a rat?

"No.... I give up...." He muttered that. His voice laced in despair.

There is nothing for him to live in anymore. He has no family, nor even someone he can spend his time with. Any person he has encountered has either thrown him away or betrayed him. There is no way he will have the hope to live by his lonesome.

"... Right, I'll just do what I like to do..." He said, before taking the phone that is always on his pocket.

This is his smartphone. It is of the generic brand, but he likes it since he got it from his family on his thirteenth birthday. Since then he always plays games and watch videos with it.

He likes playing with his smartphone. It is the time when he still have all the time in the world. Not worrying about whether he will survive tomorrow or not.

"Right, I'll just do it until I die... at least I will die doing what I like the most..." He told to himself while smiling wryly. Looking very worn.

He opened the phone and unlocks itself. It's charge is full, which is a bit surprising for him. He thought it won't have any charge as he was on the outside for a long time, and he will have to use the charger and the kinetic generator to charge it again.

He shrugs his shoulders and just swipes his fingers to look at the applications in there. His eyes locks on the strange app that he was unfamiliar with.

"Huh.... Everything App?" He muttered while raising his eyebrow.

Though he quickly stops thinking about it and just picks it out of curiosity. He didn't want to think anymore and just satisfy himself to his last moments.

As he opens the Everything App, it suddenly gave him a lot of options. It goes from Farms, Car Dealership, Video Game Company, Market, Bank, Factory, City Simulator, Tower Defense, Monster Ranch, etc.

It's literally all over the place. As if the developer of this app just wants to cram anything they can think of.

"When did I install something like this?" He wonders to himself before shaking his head. "Whatever, it is a good time waster. I'm sure I might find some satisfaction with this!"

With those words, he picks the Farms. Then he was surprised to see that the other options acquire a lock icon. Which seems to indicate that he can't pick them anymore after picking this Farm.

"... So it's a game.... then does that mean I need to do something to unlock those?" He muttered to himself in wonder.

Regardless, he continues clicking on the Farm. Poking OK before he can enters inside it.

The Farm section of the Everything App first showed a flat land full of grasses, before showing a barn to the side. Then nine squares of brown dirt was introduced to him. After that he was given his starting money and his starting seeds, which he will need to plant on his plot land. Those plot land being the nine squares of brown dirt.

He got a potato seed, so he immediately poke those nine squares and plant the potato seeds there. He only needs to wait for a minute before the plants grows and he can harvest them. Each potato seed gives nine potatoes. Each potatoes can be sold to the shop, or he can plant them again to give him nine potatoes once more.

He can upgrade his farm through the shop too, and even buy other seeds to acquire more. It's a really simplistic game.

A few hours later, and his farm is already so large. It was easy to grind on this game. There are some things that are a bit grindy, like upgrading the barn to accept chickens, cows, and sheep, though he manages to do it.

As he looks at the amount of vegetables and fruits in his farm, he can't help but think how good it is to have something like this in real life.

When he clicks on the storage and picks the Potato to sell some of it. His eyes locks on the option which says [Release]. He has been curious about it.

He thinks it might be something like throwing away his produce. Though he can't find any use of it because his storage has no limits. There is no reason for him to throw away his plants.

He decided to try it anyway. Putting a hundred potatoes on the Release button and then poking the Confirm button.

His eyes widened in shock when suddenly, a brief flash occurs on the side of his bed. Instincts moves him as he quickly put his phone to his side, and takes the crowbar leaning besides his bed.

His eyes narrowed for a bit, before widening in shock when he saw a box in there.

"What?"

That was his first question, though as there seems to be no hostile creatures within, he decided to check what the box is about. When he opened it, he let out another surprised gawk.

Within are a hundred potatoes, all of it freshly harvested.

"Wait.... did I just get it from that game!?" It's the only thing he can think of.

A hundred potatoes, the same number as the one he releases on his game.

His eyes stared at the potatoes. His mind swirling for a bit in confusion, anticipation, and interest.