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.
Shut up???
The face of Jia Chunjie changed from white to green and then to dark. He coldly looked at Chu Han as hostility surged out from his heart. How dare Chu Han to ask him to shut up?
He also got the iron net for their car. He was a cook but a cook should also have salary. He did not eat more than Chen Shaoye’s! Chu Han raised his guard only against him and the rest of three people also did the same thing. It was very obvious since he was not allowed to participate in any discussion.
Shit! Chu Han was only a common person only with better skills.
Jia Chunjie did not know that Chu Han had checked the meltdown system and he could judge the loyalty of his team members clearly and directly. The loyalty of Jia Chunjie was still zero.
Jia Chunjie just hid his emotions and smirked, "Yes, I should not bother you."
"We should leave the highway." There was expectation and ambition in the eyes of Chu Han. He should be the first one to find the airdrop bag since he had been a few days earlier than the others.
——————
Ange Town was a very small town. However, its population was at more than a hundred thousand people but compared to the very large population base of China, it was still considered small.
The one hundred thousand population meant that there would be eighteen hundred zombies!
To save gasoline, Chu Han`s group abandoned two of their cars and fit five people in the G55. The vehicle was so large and the food in the rear seats had been cleared so the 5 people were still comfortable.
Chu Han drove the vehicle to the town slowly and quietly. Closed and messy shops lined the roadside. There were only one or two shops open but they were very scary. Bones and dark blood littered those shops. Limbs were scattered along the road. The entire town was quiet and ghostly.
There was an extremely thick rancidity diffused in the air.
"Why did we come here?" Shang Jiuti, clearly confused, looked at Chu Han, "We could get food and gasoline without entering town."
Chu Han just ignored it since he could not say that he came from the future and he knew that there would be an airdrop bag.
"Hey.!" Jia Chunjie grinned, "Making a decision without caring for the security of your mates. You could not force us to die although you are the leader. There should definitely be many zombies here!"
Chu Han calmly replied, "You could leave; besides no one is forcing you to die."
"Leave?" Jia Chunjie counterattacked with cold eyes, "We only have one car yet you want me to be bitten by zombies here as I leave on my own?"
"It was you that choose to follow us at that time." Chu Han looked at him from the rear-view mirror. He just glanced at the two women and Chen Shaoye, "We would find an inn and settle down when we clear the zombies. And then we should find a car and food. So it was your choice to stay or leave at that time."
He meant Shang Jiuti, Eighteen and Jia Chunjie when he said those words. Chen Shaoye whose loyalty was up to 90% was impossible to leave and Chu Han was only here for the airdrop bag.
"We won’t leave." Eighteen stared at Jia Chunjie. The gentle face of a little girl was confirmed, "I will follow you until you get to Shi City!" Shang Jiuti just took back her eyes from the scary view outside as she said, "No objection."
Jia Chunji choked as he has no good feelings to Chu Han, but he wanted to go to Shi City with the help of Chu Han. It would be so dangerous if he left by himself.
"Hay, Brother Chu. I am just scared!" Jia Chunjie changed his tone, "I was just afraid that everyone would meet with dangers as I still would want to go with you."
"Up to you." Chu Han cared nothing about the choice of Jia Chunjie. He could continue to be a cook or he could leave.
Having gotten rid of horde of zombies carefully, Chu Han and his group found a broken inn. There was a toppled plaque with the words "Chenguang Inn" on the front door. There were zombies wearing uniform when they opened the door. There was wreckage at the corner. A female zombie just licked the ribs of the person on the wreckage. There was some rotten meat which surprisingly held no biting marks.
Some flies and maggots were staying on the bone. The female zombie wanted to catch the creeping worms and then put them in its mouth. Different from the other zombies with bulging stomachs, it has been hungry for a long time.
"Glurgh---" Chen Shaoye disgustingly made a vomiting sound. He turned around as it was so putrid.
"Get off." Chu Han parked the vehicle in the quiet parking lot which was at the back of the inn. He held no emotions to the atrocious scene at a very short distance. He had been used to it.
"Are we going to stay here?" Jia Chunjie felt detested about this nasty place, "I suggest we should find a better place. Although it is a small town, there should be some three-star hotels, or some two-star hotels. We had no choice when we were poor before but now we don`t have to worry and you still choose such a place. It is so nasty!"
Chu Han held his axe tightly as he parked the vehicle, looking at Jia Chunjie without emotion, "The same as always, you can leave if you have objections."
It was inappropriately situated and it would have no business with the only result of complete collapse in civilized times. But it was the safest since there were less customers which in turn meant less zombies.
Certainly, Chu Han had no obligation nor patience to explain to the person with zero loyalty to him.
Chen Shaoye, Shang Jiuti and Eighteen just kept silent and followed Chu Han as they took different weapons.
"Fuck!" Jia Chunjie cursed Chu Han in a place that Chu Han could not hear him. "Brain-impaired!"
Several people walked without making a sound as they went close to the entrance of the inn.
The inn was so small, with only two stories encompassing its entirety. There came a pungent rancidity which they have already deduced as the smell of a zombie. There were several zombies in the hall of the ground floor as with the rear door and stairs Chu Han and his group are taking. He just went to the stairs without getting the attention of the several zombies.
"We`re not going to kill them?" asked Chen Shaoye in a tensed manner.
Chu Han shook his head and asked the people with him to keep silent with a gesture of his index finger as they went up to the second floor.
There was a dark corridor in the second floor. A dark red carpet two meters wide was sprawled upon the floor, they weren`t sure as to it was the real color of the carpet or it was just stained by blood. There were no zombies in the vicinity but the rancidity was still as thick. Closed wooden doors with a distance of a meter apart from each other lined the sides of the corridor. The dim light through the narrow window made the corridor even more terrifying.
The footsteps of Chu Han were silent. He would stop for a while to investigate carefully either through smell or through his hearing when he walked through each room.
Jia Chunjie at the back was in contemptuous disregard of Chi Hun`s actions. He thought there should be nothing alarming here and standing and stopping by each door was just useless.
Suddenly, Chu Han stopped in front of a ragged door as he held his axe and just let his powerful legs flail up front---
Bang!
A kick hit the door!