"Ah～"
In a shelter converted from an underground bomb shelter near Danfeng Bailu Community in Shencheng, Su Mu let out heart-wrenching howls, his body thrashing desperately.
But having been ambushed, his hands and feet were nailed to a cross, leaving him utterly immobile!
His violent struggles only tore his wounds wider, doubling his agony.
"You people of Great Xia have an old saying: A wise man adapts to circumstances!"
"I'm sure these torture tools here will pry your mouth open!"
"I hope you'll cooperate with us—tell us how to become a superhuman, and we won't treat you badly!"
A thin, balding man with glasses, who'd been praying devoutly before a Buddha statue, straightened up, counted the prayer beads in his hand, and turned around slowly to speak.
"Pah, Yamamoto, you beast in human skin!"
"After the catastrophe, you led thugs to butcher so many neighbors just to steal supplies, and now you're greedy for the way to become a superhuman!"
Su Mu spat a mouthful of blood onto the bald man's forehead, gasping, "I'll never tell you!"
Yamamoto Eiichiro pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the filth from his forehead, his face turning livid as he roared, "Torture him! I don't believe we can't make him talk!"
Several Japanese men pounced on Su Mu like wolves, and at once, his screams echoed without end.
"Boss, it was me who lured Su Mu into the ambush. That's how you caught him so easily!"
A beautiful woman stepped out of the shadows of the underground warehouse, clung to Yamamoto Eiichiro's arm, her full chest brushing gently against it as she purred, "When you hand out supplies later, you must give me more!"
"No problem!"
Yamamoto Eiichiro slid his hand lewdly into her clothes. "As long as you keep cooperating, there'll be plenty of rewards!"
"That fool had no idea I've been yours all along. I drugged him without a hitch!"
"By the way, Su Mu once told me—superhumans' blood has a special power!"
The woman's eyes lit up. "If we drink his blood and eat his flesh, maybe we'll awaken superpowers too!"
This woman was none other than Yan Qingshu—the goddess Su Mu had spent over two years pursuing before finally winning her over.
After the catastrophe, if he hadn't given her shelter and food, she would've starved long ago. And she was the only one who knew his secret: he'd awakened as a superhuman.
He'd never imagined this vicious woman would repay kindness with betrayal—colluding secretly with her former Japanese boss, luring him into the Japanese ambush, and now inciting them to devour his flesh and blood!
"That makes sense!"
At her words, Yamamoto Eiichiro and the others' eyes glowed. They pounced on Su Mu like mad dogs, tearing and biting, greedily sucking his blood, ignoring his howls entirely!
In this post-apocalyptic world, where order had collapsed and morality rotted away, people fought to the death over a single sausage—let alone the chance to become a superhuman!
Agonizing pain seared through his body, but Su Mu could only scream, watching helplessly as these beasts tore chunks of his flesh and swallowed them alive!
In his final moments, he dimly saw Yan Qingshu jostling among them, tearing at his body like a maniac, shrieking, "I told you this secret! I deserve more of his flesh and blood!"
Su Mu panted heavily, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Yan Qingshu, filled with loathing and regret. He hated himself for not seeing her true nature sooner! If he could live over, he'd never be such a fool, never show mercy to anyone!
As his blood drained, Su Mu's vision went black, and he lost consciousness!
But in the next instant, he opened his eyes and With a rushstood up from his seat.
The hellish scene he'd just endured was still vivid, his body still tingling with the phantom pain of flesh being torn away!
Su Mu panted, sweat pouring off him, soaking his clothes in moments.
"What's happening? Didn't those Japanese beasts kill me?"
Regaining his wits, Su Mu looked around.
The place was familiar—it was his workstation at the company.
Pang Yan, from the adjacent desk, asked concernedly, "Mu Tou, are you okay? You look terrible!"
This neighbor, who lived in the same community, had starved to death shortly after the catastrophe when raiders stole all her supplies. How was she standing here, alive?
Su Mu's mind was muddled. He glanced down at his unharmed body. The office's central AC hummed, the comfortable temperature feeling alien.
In the early hours of August 30, 2034, the sun, disrupted by a supernova explosion, underwent violent changes, its heat plummeting sharply. Blue Star was hit by the global Cambrian Storm!
Temperatures crashed worldwide, and snow fell nonstop for over two months, burying the entire land!
Shencheng, where Su Mu lived, in the south, saw daily temperatures of minus 40 to 50 degrees Celsius.
At the poles, it was said to reach a terrifying minus 100 degrees!
In such extremes, most life on Blue Star froze to death outright.
Humans, sheltered in buildings, still lost over half their number. And as supplies ran out and the cold intensified, some turned on their fellow humans!
In the apocalypse, cannibalism was common—humanity and morality were jokes, money and status worthless!
After two months of ice age came a Eerie recovery (eerie resurgence).
Bodies of humans and creatures that died from cold, hunger, or disease reanimated into zombies, infected by a mysterious virus. Those who'd eaten human flesh also turned—into zombies with partial intelligence!
A handful of survivors underwent genetic mutations, awakened superpowers, triggered by high-energy particles, ionizing radiation, gamma rays, and more!
Remaining plants, insects, birds, beasts, and fish mutated too. Dimensional rifts opened, spilling monsters from other worlds. The global apocalypse had arrived!
Su Mu calmed down, checked his phone. The time: 3:30 PM, Monday, July 31, 2034!
Exactly one month until the apocalypse!
"I must have been reborn!"
Su Mu took a deep breath, realizing what had happened.
Those months in the apocalypse couldn't have been a dream—the pain of being eaten alive was too real!
"Sleeping on the job? I'm docking your pay!"
"Finish this document by working overtime tonight! If not, no bonus for the whole year!"
Before Su Mu could fully recover, a short, plump woman marched over, threw a document at him, and shrieked, pointing at his nose.
Liu Yan, supervisor at this Japanese-owned company, was sharp-tongued and cruel—adept at fawning over Japanese managers, but ruthless to her compatriots, punishing even small mistakes harshly!
"Shut your damn mouth, you spineless fool! I quit!"
Su Mu sneered, swatted her hand away, hurled the document at her fat face, and strode out of the office, leaving Liu Yan and colleagues stunned.
The apocalypse was coming. He had to rush to stock supplies for the blizzard in a month. No time to waste on this Japanese lackey!
"Ah～ How dare you treat me like this!"
Liu Yan couldn't believe it. Su Mu, always meek and exploitable, had grown a backbone—quit on the spot!
She screamed insults as she came to her senses, but Su Mu was already gone, out of earshot.
Outside, the street bustled with crowds and cars. The mall's big screen showed the 2034 World Cup in full swing.
Peace and vitality everywhere.
But Su Mu knew it would all vanish in a month!
He walked into a nearby Mixue Bingcheng, bought an iced lemonade, drank it in one go, and sighed, tears streaming.
"This tastes amazing!"
In the apocalypse, clean water was a luxury—let alone lemonade!
"Heaven gave me a second chance. This time, I'll survive!"
"As for those who drank my blood and ate my flesh... wait and see. They'll die far more miserably than I did!"
A sharp glint flashed in Su Mu's eyes, survivor's resolve hardening.
He wanted to kill Yan Qingshu and the others at once, fueled by past hatred. But reason held him back.
With a month till the apocalypse, money and supplies mattered most.
Revenge now would land him in jail, waiting to die.
Better to let them live a month—then make them suffer after the end!
His priority: get tons of money fast, hoard supplies, build a doomsday fortress, and live comfortably through the apocalypse.
Then, safe and secure, he'd make those beasts pay.
Startup funds? Around a billion.
US dollars.
Su Mu hadn't retained his past-life superpower. But he knew of an item that could bind to a legendary system! Last time, he'd just bound it, never got to stock supplies or upgrade his safe house—betrayed by Yan Qingshu, who'd learned his blood's secret, and killed by those Japanese.
First step to changing fate: 888 Xufei Road, "Dream Love" Jewelry Store.
That's where his cheat lay.