How strong is human adaptability?
On a low defensive wall, Chu Fei stood atop a pile of corpse remnants, reloading, raising his gun, and firing — all in one fluid motion.
He had become numb to the disgusting stench of the undead and the buzzing of flies.
It had been less than an hour since his arrival, and he was already holding the line alone.
The undead kept falling, yet more kept coming.
His arms were sore, and the barrel of his gun was so hot it gave off wisps of smoke.
Both man and weapon were at their limits — but Chu Fei didn't dare stop.
Behind him were a group of children.
In truth, Chu Fei was only 14 years old.
Another magazine emptied. Chu Fei reached back but grasped nothing.
He turned his head.
The boy in charge of ammo cried out, "Big Fei bro, no… no more bullets. No grenades either!"
The adult line of defense in the distance had long since run out of ammunition — they were now fighting with bayonets.
Chu Fei made a snap decision and shouted, "Fix bayonets! Team One, battle-ready! Team Two, prepare! Team Three, rest! Rotate every three minutes!"
At that moment, the entire Shihe Village was surrounded by suddenly appearing undead — there was no way back.
This short wall was the final line of defense.
Under the blazing sun, triangular bayonets gleamed coldly.
As the undead crept closer, Chu Fei's youthful face tensed.
Hold on just a bit longer!
The distress call had been answered, but they still needed time.
Chu Fei's composure calmed the frightened boys.
The undead began climbing the wall.
"Team One!" Chu Fei roared. "Kill!"
"Kill!" Eight boys shouted, stabbing the undead back down.
Wave after wave of killing — Chu Fei's arms were numb, his voice hoarse, his breathing like a bull's.
Screams rang out from time to time — the undead would pierce brains through eyes, temples...
Suddenly, a loudspeaker crackled with the village chief's hoarse voice:
"Hold on a bit longer! Rescue from Flying Tiger City is almost here!"
Chu Fei's eyes lit up.
A few minutes later…
His gaze dimmed again.
Team Three was now just two teams.
Another undead lunged at him. Its stench surged forward, but his numb arms could no longer raise the bayonet.
I tried… Is this the end?
Bang!
The undead's neck exploded — its head was suspended mid-air.
Chu Fei turned.
Mad gunfire rained down, leaving streaks of blood like steel rods skewering the undead one by one.
In the blink of an eye, the area in front of Chu Fei was cleared. Dark purple blood splattered all over him.
The rapid fire mixed with deep rumbling echoed through the mountains.
"Reinforcements are real!" Chu Fei clung to the filthy wall, peering into the distance.
Two trails of yellow dust surged down the hillside — two black shadows raced toward them.
Chu Fei froze. Reinforcements… were two motorcycles?
But in the next moment, his mouth dropped open.
The bikes roared, mowing down the undead in swaths.
One of them drifted up the wall, riding parallel to the ground, brushing past Chu Fei.
The wall trembled. Sparks flew as the "tire" scraped against the wall.
Chu Fei saw it clearly: a towering figure in full gear, an outrageous motorcycle with solid steel tires.
Boom...
The vehicle plowed through several undead.
As he watched the speeding machines, Chu Fei finally had a moment to collect his thoughts.
This is... a post-apocalyptic world after the collapse of high-tech civilization!
A thousand years ago, the Yanhuang Federation had reached the pinnacle of material civilization, spanning galaxies.
Then, technology spiraled out of control and dragged the world into the abyss.
In a blink, prosperity vanished — the apocalypse descended.
While he was thinking, the speaker blared again — the village chief called everyone to gather in front of the community center.
At the village center, Chu Fei got a good look at the two bizarre motorcycles: full steel frame, wheels made of springs and chains.
Two fully armed riders stood beside them — a man and a woman, helmets under their arms.
The man was burly, the woman muscular. The man's left arm shimmered metallically — it was a mechanical limb.
The village chief roared, "We've paid protection fees for decades, and you send just two people?!"
The man scowled, "All of Flying Tiger City is a mess. You're lucky it's just dumb undead here. Some places have mutant beasts. Want me to take you there for a look?"
The chief fell silent.
The man grunted and turned to Chu Fei. "What are you staring at, kid?"
Turns out, Chu Fei had been staring the whole time.
Face full of admiration, Chu Fei said, "Are you superheroes?"
Awkward or not — he had to seize the opportunity.
Up close, Chu Fei noticed the man's left eye was likely an electronic implant.
The man smiled, a bit oddly. "I'm just a low-level Awakener."
Chu Fei's eyes lit up. "Awakener?! I want to be one too! I want the strength to protect my village!"
The man chuckled. "Not bad, got ambition!
But awakening isn't easy. First, you need to study well, then break through your physical limits via Big Data Cultivation — only then do you have a slim chance.
You sure you're ready?"
"Study? Big Data Cultivation?" Chu Fei was confused — what did that even mean?
But he still said, "I want to try!"
Opportunities come only once. Chu Fei cut straight to the point.
The man turned to the chief. The chief nodded slightly. "His name's Chu Fei, 14. His parents died protecting the village during the Beast Tide twelve years ago."
The man nodded. "I've been watching you. I do have a way for you to become an Awakener, but the cost is high."
"What cost?"
The man answered seriously, "Your life and freedom."
Chu Fei: "…"
The village chief spoke, "Xiao Fei, this is Captain Huang from Dawn Academy.
Awakener training is rarely offered or is extremely expensive.
Across all of Flying Tiger City, only Dawn Academy is open to us.
If they don't take you, you have no other choice."
Chu Fei frowned. Something felt off.
Captain Huang added, "Dawn Academy doesn't charge. If you sign up voluntarily, they even give you 5,000 bucks."
Chu Fei was stunned. Getting paid to study?
That's a lot — in the village, 10 bucks could buy a mini firecracker launcher; 1 buck could get 12 bullets.
The female rider spoke up in a rough voice, "That's hush money!
After this, your life belongs to Dawn Academy. If you die, no one will care."
Chu Fei looked up sharply. He could die?
The female rider said coldly,
"Big Data Cultivation is hard. Its core is learning — and the ability to learn… can be exploited!
In over thirty years, Dawn Academy has taken in tens of thousands of students, but only 36 Awakeners were born.
And once you join — you can't ever leave."
Chu Fei asked solemnly, "What if I fail to awaken?"
"Depends on your learning ability.
Top-tier? You become a technician.
Mid-tier? Laborer.
Bottom-tier? Cannon fodder.
Dawn Academy doesn't raise useless people — and neither does the apocalypse!"
Chu Fei fell silent. But after three seconds, he clenched his teeth and said:
"I want to try!"
He had been just 0.1 meters from death moments ago!
In this apocalyptic world, if you're not an Awakener, you could die tomorrow.
Captain Huang smiled at the village chief. "Got one volunteer — your village's yearly quota is done."
Then, he pulled out metallic bills, counted 50, and handed them to the chief.
The chief hesitated but pocketed them all. "Take it as repayment for raising you."
Chu Fei's heart instantly turned cold.
His parents had died defending this village.
In this battle, he had fought to the death — his former self had already died.
But he said nothing. He didn't argue.
Instead, he felt an odd sense of relief.
Fine. From today on, I am me — and I have nothing to do with Shihe Village anymore.
That thought passed through his mind.
Suddenly, his vision blurred — and he vaguely "saw" a radiant gem, floating deep in his consciousness.
The feeling vanished in an instant.
No matter how hard he focused, it left no trace.
Even so, Chu Fei's heart skipped a beat.
(End of the Chapter)
[Translated Web Novel]
Original Title: 元宇宙进化 (Yuán Yǔzhòu Jìnhuà / Metaverse Evolution)
Author: 试剑天涯 (Shì Jiàn Tiānyá)
Translated by: DaoOfFatness [actually it's CHATGPT, I'm just uploading it]