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.
*Crack!*
Immediately after he opened the door, Chu Han plunged his axe into a zombie’s head without looking!
*Psht!*
The axe lodged firmly in the zombie’s skull. The zombie’s eerily pale pupils and chapped skin were mere centimeters away from Chu Han. Warm blood and gooey brain matter splattered all over his face, and the unique, rotten smell of zombie innards diffused across the room and hallway.
The zombie’s head was completely mangled, and it let out a final gasp before its eyes dimmed.
With his accumulated experience, he instinctively knew that there was a zombie standing a meter away from the door.
Chu Han wiped his face and grunted as he pulled out the axe. The lifeless zombie fell to the ground, scattering the surroundings with bloody flesh and grey brain matter. The scarlet blood dyed the white brick a revolting shade of dark red.
Although Chu Han didn't recognize the zombie, he wouldn't show mercy even if he previously knew it.
Even so, his body was pitifully weak. The weight of the axe was one-tenth lighter than the military ones he wielded in his previous incarnation. However, he required both hands to use it effectively, and even that took a great toll on his body; he was currently gasping for breath after his battle with the zombie.
There was originally only one zombie beside the door, but the noise attracted the other zombies in the corridor. Each zombie listened intently, and they lumbered slowly towards the source of the noise. They were covered in rotten meat and blood. Their faces were unnaturally pale, and their white eyes lacked pupils. All of them gestured threateningly as they headed towards Chu Han.
*Aghh!*
*Howl!*
More than ten zombies entered his field of vision. Their ferocious growls sounded menacing. The current atmosphere in the dim corridor was extremely horrifying.
The reborn Chu Han lacked the super-strong body of his previous incarnation. He was currently too weak to deal with dozens of zombies simultaneously. Actually, he was unsure if he could even deal with four or five zombies.
Once bitten by a zombie, one would become infected with the zombie virus.
Besides, there were at least a dozen zombies, all filled with mad rage; they were akin to wild beasts that had been starved for days. They rushed at Chu Han frenziedly as they smelt the scent of fresh meat emanating from him. Their sharp fingernails were extended, each one dripping with red blood.
They wanted to gnaw on the flesh of Chu Han, dismember his body, and feast on his innards!
Chu Han remained beside the door frame. Although these zombies lacked intelligence, they jostled forward in a swarm. The area was a dead end, making it impossible for Chu Han to battle a dozen zombies in unison, but taking them out individually was possible. Now, the danger only came from one direction, which meant that he could wield his axe freely as he was behind the line marking the entrance.
It was the most basic principle of survival during eschatology: utilizing all the different elements to stay alive.
Since his stamina was insufficient, Chu Han rotated the axe and changed to hacking with the axe’s blunt end. The situation could turn dangerous if the axe head became too deeply lodged in a zombie’s head to pull out.
*Howl!*
A zombie rushed towards him.
Chu Han mercilessly hacked the axe downwards with a savage expression!
*Puff!* The zombie’s eyeballs were crushed, and a revolting mixture of black zombie blood and pus flowed out from the blood vessels. The gooey brain matter splattered all over Chu Han.
Two zombies killed!
Come on!
Chu Han didn't bother to wipe away the disgusting mixture of pus and blood stuck to his face, neck, tongue, and nostrils.
When the second zombie collapsed lifelessly, the third zombie instantly pounced on Chu Han. It opened its huge, smelly mouth impossibly wide, ripping its pale skin up to the ears. Its gums, with fragments of human organs stuck to it, were creaking loudly. The zombie felt an overwhelming desire to sink its sharp teeth into Chu Han’s soft neck.
Chu Han had no time to rest his aching muscles and recover his ragged breath. He raised his arms and fiercely hacked the axe downwards, smashing the zombie’s teeth.
The heavy axe combined with Chu Han’s powerful blow shattered the zombie’s jawbone, and it flew away towards the adjacent wall. The severed tongue looked similar to a fat, rotten loach.
*Pah!* Chu Han fiercely spat out the zombie flesh and black blood. He had nearly swallowed them. He often did this in his previous incarnation because he couldn't afford to pay attention to hygiene during a fight. However, his current virus resistance was too weak.
His energy was rapidly consumed by the intense combat, and his weak body seemed to be adapting after he had killed three zombies. Chu Han fought with great skill, and the fighting experience he had previously accumulated superimposed with his current actions.
As he fought, Chu Han became braver as his will to survive and find his family became firmer. An ordinary axe was being wielded skillfully. Dozens of zombies were slaughtered, and their corpses were piled up at the entrance.
*Crack!*
The head of the final zombie was smashed by the axe.
Chu Han panted heavily as he surveyed his surroundings while keeping a firm grasp on his axe. Although the corridor was dim, he confirmed that this floor was clear and no zombies remained since they lacked the intelligence to hide. The occasional sound of frenzied thumping could be heard as the zombies displayed their excitement upon hearing a disturbance in the corridor by smashing into a door.
He picked his way through the pile of dead zombies and headed towards the stairs. He couldn't kill zombies every time he met them. It was important to conserve his stamina in order to survive. Besides, there were no humans in the rooms if there were zombies thumping the door. There were only two possibilities: one was that the human had been eaten by a zombie, and the other one was that they had been transformed into a zombie after being infected.
Even then, he would pay no attention to living people since they were afraid of opening the door when listening to such a huge commotion. After all, he was not some kind of altruistic saint.
Chu Han’s dormitory was on the third floor, and he trod softly, making a conscious attempt to muffle the noise of his footsteps. After a while, he arrived at the ground floor whilst killing five zombies on the stairs. The eschatology began at 6 a.m. The dormitory attendant had yet to open the dormitory door, so there was still a big, sturdy lock securing the iron door. The attendant had been transformed, and she was currently pacing around her house like an idiot.
Chu Han knew that he lacked the power to cleave through the iron lock. Besides, the resulting noise would attract numerous zombies. He could also see the shambling zombies waiting outside the gate. They would throw themselves at any fresh flesh with reckless abandon; even the blood on the ground wasn't spared from their feeding frenzy. They would greedily lick it with their revolting tongue, lapping up every last drop of blood.
He had no choice but to enter the house of the attendant in order to acquire the key if he wanted to open the gate. However, if the door was locked from the inside, it would be very troublesome.
Suddenly, Chu Han had a sudden flash of inspiration. He could find an unlocked room and climb out from the window.
He pressed his body to the corner of the wall, intently listening to the sounds in the corridor. Judging by his previous experience, there were approximately ten zombies on this floor.
Chu Han stretched out his head in order to observe the environment.
Abruptly, a zombie appeared from the room opposite of him. It sniffed suspiciously with its nose before an excited glint flashed through its eyes. The yellowish-green saliva sprayed out from its mouth splattered everywhere. It opened its mouth and roared ferociously, heading towards Chu Han.
Although Chu Han was glad since the opened door was such a short distance away from him, he was forced to repeat his previous actions in order to reduce the danger.
The speed of a newly infected zombie was slower than a human being, so he could definitely make it.
He showed no trace of hesitation and ran frantically. He grasped the chance to enter the room and stood at the doorway upon confirming the safety of the room.
His next series of action was extremely smooth. Although his current strength and speed were lacking compared to his previous incarnation, he still retained his experience and fighting skills. After he ran into the dormitory room and chose a good position, he turned around, intending to meet the zombie’s furious charge head-on. He wielded the axe and hacked it downwards!
*Puff!* The head of the zombie was split vertically in two by the axe, and brain fluid trickled out for a while before the zombie collapsed listlessly onto the floor.
Chu Han waved his fatigued arms before pulling out the axe which was deeply lodged into the skull.
The noise attracted the remaining nine zombies. He did not close the door; instead, he stealthily positioned himself behind the entrance. The muscles of his arms tensed up in anticipation as he prepared to swing his axe when the zombies appeared in front of him.
Banging noises reverberated continuously, but although his strength was somewhat depleted, Chu Han remained calm and composed. After an intense fight, he finally killed all the zombies.
Next, Chu Han pulled out the cork of the water bottle in his backpack. He slowly drank the water inside, savoring each drop. Humanity’s intelligence should be appreciated as they were able to manufacture such a convenient thing. He picked up his axe after drinking and entered the corridor once again.
Although his originally frail heart was tempered into iron by those ten years, he didn't transform into a mad beast without any sense of morality. He still kept the nature that every human being should possess. Although he could not save everyone in danger, he would assist the people in the dormitory to the best of his ability.
He was not afraid of zombies as he had been reborn, and he knew the rules of survival. Others would be at a loss, as this would be their first time experiencing such a situation. Human beings were social animals; only by getting together would they dare to brave the crisis.
The majority of the zombies outside listened to the noise coming from the room and gathered outside of the iron gate. Their ash-gray arms were extended, exposing the bones underneath the rotting flesh. They made a futile attempt to squish through the gate. They felt no pain, which meant that a portion of the zombies’ rotting flesh was crushed when they squeezed too hard. The pieces of meat hung limply from their bodies, and the gate was coated with a thick layer of their dark, viscous blood.
The distance between Chu Han and the gate was only several meters, yet all seven meters were densely packed with zombies. He completely ignored their menacing growls, instead lining up the lifeless zombie corpses from the stairs. He arranged a line of them up to the door of room 104. He managed to find a marker pen in the room and wrote on the door: ‘Here is the exit. The door is unlocked.’
A normal human would think the zombie line was weird when they saw the gate was locked. Although it was scary and ugly, it was obviously artificial. They would be able to escape if they saw it.
After leaving the dormitories, Chu Han moved at a moderate pace. He paid close attention to his surroundings, ensuring that he kept close to the walls. Although zombies were relatively scarce in the first stage of the eschatology, it didn't mean that there were none. Being cautious at all times was one of the most important lessons he had learned in those years.
Chu Han left the building when it was safe. As he prepared to deal with the zombies in order to exit through the school gate, he heard a loud cry from the back of the window.
"Chu Han! Chu Han! Help me! I'm here! Turn around!"
"Shit, stupid cunt!"