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Apocalypse Meltdown

One day, darkness enshrouded the world. According to the Meltdown theory, Earth’s magnetic field faced a change, and along with it, natural laws changed too. Though some laws related to physics could still be applied, a lot of scientific theories and laws had been overturned, prompting everyone to re-discover their underlying principles. Humanity’s scientific foundation was not the only one which faced changes; the field of genetics had transformed too. One of the biggest disasters brought by the magnetic field’s change was the zombification of more than 80% of the world’s population. After years of struggling, a few lucky survivors would evolve and awaken a hibernating power hidden in them. Chu Han was never that lucky… While holding on against the first wave, humans weren't the only ones getting stronger. Soon, phase-1 zombies evolved into phase-2 then phase-3 and so on. Ten years after the mysterious meltdown, the world dominated by humans changed hands. Zombies were the new overlords, and humanity was facing extinction. One day, Chu Han`s consciousness returned ten years before the end of the worlds. A loud noise awakened him in Minqiu University’s dormitory. With only one day to prepare before the Apocalypse’s outburst, he slowly realized that he had been reincarnated! Chu Han’s sudden reincarnation brought an unexpected power, which he hadn’t in his previous hellish world. To be more precise it wasn’t a power, but a system! The Meltdown System! Despite losing his monstrous strength gained through years of harsh training, Chu Han was confronted as the Meltdown System could grant him talents in exchange for credits, which he could get with every zombie he killed. This is a story about a world on the edge of ruins, the Meltdown System, and Chu Han, trying his best to save the people he could not save before.

Twenty-Two Knife Flow · Ciencia y ficción
Sin suficientes valoraciones
296 Chs

The Zombie-hitting Car

Editor: vb24

Killing intent appeared in Chu Han’s eyes.

‘How stupid!’

Turning back, he looked at where the voice came from. The voice's origin was the ground floor of the boy’s dormitory. Duan Ming had opened the window and was shouting at Chu Han, who stood about a hundred meters away from him. Because of his loud shouting, the zombies, which were previously wandering about aimlessly, now slowly shambled towards Chu Han’s location.

"Chu Han! Help me! I will give you money! My father is…" Duan Ming yelled loudly as he saw Chu Han turn away.

Chu Han didn’t bother to stay behind. Instead, he found a thick patch of vegetation and bent his body, slipping into it. He covered ground fast and vigorously without making any noise. The low bush obscured his figure.

Strutting out in front of a group of zombies was almost akin to suicide.

He didn’t give two shits about Duan Ming. So what if he was wealthy and his father held a lofty position? Money would be worth nothing soon, and the world would revert to the original era, which exchanged commodity with commodity. Your previous identity and occupation meant little in the eschatology.

Duan Ming was overcome by a surge of overwhelming rage upon seeing Chu Han leave decisively. He was shocked by the drastically changed surroundings after the onset of the eschatology, and he was too afraid to open the door. While he was watching Chu Han escape alone, he suddenly recalled the incident in the corridor from yesterday.

Duan Ming saw a glimmer of hope and immediately beseeched Chu Han for aid. Unexpectedly, Chu Han left without even responding!

When Duan Ming was thinking about how to escape and teach Chu Han a lesson, an agitated and scary snarl abruptly drifted into his ears.

*Roar!*

A zombie pressed its face against Duan Ming’s window. Its tongue was soaked with blood, and its rotten gums and teeth were mere centimeters away from him. A foul rotten stench wafted into his nostrils, and an ugly face with vicious pupils entered his vision.

*Bang!* Although Duan Ming was frightened out of his wits, he still managed to shut the window in time!

Fortunately, his reactions were swift, so the zombie was prevented from entering. However, the noise attracted more zombies, and he could see that there were at least 50 zombies congregating outside his window.

Duan Ming locked the window and drew the curtains, attempting to isolate himself from outside. However, much to his dismay, the din made by zombies hitting the window persisted. The frequency and intensity of their pounding was increasing by the second, and it now sounded like the high-speed pumping of a machine.

The frenzied beating was interspersed by powerful, bloodthirsty roars; the whole situation was akin to suffering in the depths of hell.

Duan Ming was totally at a loss, as he knew the group of zombies would soon break in.

Although the strength of zombies at the first stage was rather weak, 50 zombies smashing a window together was nothing to scoff at. Like how constantly dripping water eroded stone, the window could only block the zombies for a while.

Most people in the building witnessed the scene as Duan Ming’s plea for help was extremely loud. Upon seeing Chu Han leaving with his backpack slung on his back, the idea to escape from the building unconsciously formed in their minds.

People hesitated when it came to packing their things. It was currently noon; right now, they should be eating chicken legs in the canteen, or sharing a good meal with their girlfriend at a restaurant. However, the eschatology was flung upon them, and there was little food stocked in their dormitory. The need for food caused them to face reality.

The people who shared the same dormitory and weren’t transformed into zombies were more courageous. They observed the situation outside through the crack of their door and, with time, more and more doors were opened. They wielded steel rods, torn from bedframes and many planned to leave with their companions.

Nevertheless, the majority of the people chose to stay inside their dormitories and took out their now-useless phones. They attempted to request for aid and report their situation to the police, but it was a futile measure.

The survivors who made it to the corridor on the ground floor were greeted by a shocking scene. They stood there, dazed, as if they were in a dream. Foul-smelling decapitated heads and gooey brain matter littered the dimly lit corridor. Dozens of zombie corpses formed a grotesque line; the severed head of one zombie and the feet of another were connected neatly, striking the survivors with a combination of dread and horror.

Who did it? Who on earth could kill ten zombies in one breath?

Most of the survivors trembled violently, and some weak-willed survivors retched onto the ground.

After following the zombie line, they felt their heads spin upon seeing the words scrawled on the door of room 104. A huge amount of courage was needed to face multiple zombies, yet someone still left them a chance to escape.

Was this Chu Han’s doing?!

No, it couldn’t possibly be Chu Han!

——————

Chu Han didn’t walk to school gate and leave the building; instead, he headed towards the parking lot. He wasn’t foolish enough to travel by foot. During the early period of the eschatology, the road was relatively clear. This meant that a vehicle was the best mode of transportation.

He killed a few zombies on his way before climbing over a bar and passing through a shortcut to reach the parking lot. Finally, just as he had hoped, several vehicles were parked there!

There was a red Ferrari 458 and even a G55.

Chu Han felt excited when he caught sight of the G55. The G model ranked among the top ten civilian vehicles in the eschatology due to its strong cross-country ability and toughness. The front bumper was especially sturdy; it wouldn’t break even after crashing into a reinforced steel bar.

However, due to its limited capacity, it wasn’t suitable for a team of more than 10 members, so it was ranked below vans and buses.

For now, Chu Han planned to rush to Anluo to pick up his parents. He currently had no intention of forming a team, and since the G55 was more maneuverable than a van, it was the most suitable car for a single person to use.

Chu Han walked up to the driver’s seat and peered through the window, carefully examining the car’s interior. He noticed that the previous owner had kept the interior very clean. There were some adorable decorations and a photo of a boy and a girl.

Coincidentally, the boy in the photo was someone he met half an hour ago: it was Duan Ming. The girl was one of the campus queens of Mingqiu University, Ji Qingliu.

The car was Ji Qingliu’s. To be precise, Duan Ming gifted it to her. The Ferrari 458 which Chu Han ignored was Duan Ming’s vehicle.

Chu Han narrowed his eyes, and a long-forgotten memory resurfaced. He suddenly bared his teeth in a savage and ferocious smile.

Chu Han retreated two steps before raising his axe fiercely. He moved forwards and smashed the rear seat’s lock.

*Clang!* His mighty blow shattered the window, scattering shards of glass everywhere.

*Didididididi—*

The G55 emitted a loud alarm. The loud noise caused Chu Han to feel a slight sense of anxiety, and although his actions were swift, the alarm was too loud. He looked up and saw dozens of zombies approximately ten meters away from him rushing towards his location.

Chu Han opened the car door and jumped into the G55. He flung his backpack to the side and crawled to the driver’s seat. He crouched below the steering wheel with the axe, using it to pull out the wires forcefully, thus enabling him to connect the right ones.

Doing this would start the vehicle’s engine; in fact, he had done this countless times in his previous incarnation.

Electrical devices such as phones and computers were rendered obsolete by the arrival of the eschatology. Chu Han suspected this was due to the unknown energy which coursed through the Earth during the eschatology. Hence, such high-end electronic products were now useless.

Vehicles still functioned, but any internal functions didn’t work, with the sole exception of radio broadcasting. Although the national power supply system and the internet had collapsed, the powerful government still took it upon themselves to find a solution.

The radio broadcasting system wasn’t very complex, and it would soon be repaired. In his previous incarnation, the radio had been the only method of gathering information from across the country. The government planned to drop rescue packs to all cities using airplanes. These packs included all kinds of first-aid goods, weapons, and food. At that time, the military would also receive orders to leave with the remaining survivors.

However, Chu Han couldn’t wait for that day. He had to rush to Anluo!

Several of the faster zombies had managed to reach the G55, and they extended their sharp fingernails, scratching the window. Foul-smelling pus leaked out from the cracks in their skin, leaving revolting white stains on the windscreen. Zombies poured in from every direction, encircling his car. They used the most direct and wildest method: pounding on the car until it broke.

They wanted to tear the person in the car into pieces and devour every scrap of his flesh, even the impurities in his organs. More and more zombies swung at the G55 with their fists, causing the car to shake violently. The front windscreen was smeared with dark blood and rotten chunks of flesh. The car would soon be toppled by these frenzied zombies.

*Bang!*

At a crucial time, Chu Han finally managed to connect the right wires, and the car started with a loud roar. Chu Han turned his gaze towards the zombies that almost drowned the vehicle.

He stepped on the accelerator fiercely!

*Bong!*

It ran like a wild shell. The huge 1.9-meter-tall car crashed into the group of zombies!

The mindless zombies had no idea how to dodge, and even if they did, it was too late. Chu Han held his foot firmly on the accelerator, causing the cross-country vehicle to race forward and scatter the zombies like bowling pins.

*Bang bang bang!*

Several particularly fierce zombies which couldn’t wait to kill Chu Han were crushed to death. Chu Han identified the direction he needed to go and rushed out of the parking lot, heading towards the school gate.

——————

"What should we do, Ding Xue? What should we do?" Ji Qingliu’s eyes were red and swollen as she paced the dormitory. The campus queen displayed none of the elegance or beauty which befitted her title; instead, she was currently a despondent and messy wreck.

Ding Xue was in a similar state, but she had managed to keep her tumultuous emotions in check. She gripped a baseball bat tightly, her body stiffened by a mixture of fear and adrenaline. The bat was coated with a thick layer of blood and pus, dying it red and white.

A female zombie, bludgeoned by the baseball bat, lay lifeless on the ground opposite them. Grey brain fluid covered the ground, the bedsheets, and the curtains. Mangled bone fragments and gooey brain matter were strewn across the dormitory floor, and dark blood painted the dormitory walls a disturbing shade of red.

The two zombies were formerly their roommates. Luckily, they slept on the top bunk, allowing them to respond promptly to the sudden, frenzied attack. Their energy was wholly expended on killing these two zombies, and these 20-year-old youths’ mental states were shattered.

The duo had almost succumbed to despair when they heard the whistling of a vehicle passing by and a loud "bang." The sound was clearly audible in such a strange, silent environment.

"Is someone driving a car?" Ding Xue’s eyes immediately became focused. "Someone escaped!"

The duo hurried over to the window and happened to see a cross-country vehicle heading for the school gate. It sped past like the wind, scattering countless zombies like limp ragdolls.

Ji Qingliu failed to recognize her own car since the G55 looked totally different after being bathed in the blood of numerous zombies. She tugged on Ding Xue’s hand excitedly as her desire to escape grew stronger.

Ding Xue and Ji Qingliu weren’t the only ones who saw the car speed past the school gate; countless boys and girls bore witness to the scene from their windows. Their eyes filled with hope as they, too, had a chance of escaping the building if someone else managed to succeed.

Chu Han was oblivious to the fact that his departure had stirred the hopes of the other students. Understandably, he didn’t expect to meet his classmates from Mingqiu University one day down the line...