July 15th, 2030 — 03:02 AM, Eastern Sector
The sirens had been wailing for thirteen minutes straight.Then, suddenly... silence.
I crouched behind the overturned ambulance, one hand clutched to my chest. My breaths came shallow, not from panic — I was used to panic — but from the hollow ache of my ribs pressing against my lungs.
Two cracked. Maybe three.
The city was on fire, but no one was screaming anymore.
"Stay down, Kai. Just stay down."
I told myself that over and over, but something was wrong with the silence. It wasn't calm. It was... waiting.
The sky above was still red. Not like a sunset, no — red like it had split open. A long, jagged tear stretching across the clouds, pulsing with light.
Like the world itself had been gashed open and left to bleed.
That's when I heard it.
A voice. Not from the sky. Not from the burning buildings. Not even in my ears.
It was inside my mind.
[Initializing Survival Interface v1.0...][Warning: Earth designated as Failed Civilization Node.][System Deployment: GLOBAL RESET.][Welcome, Player.]
A blinding flash hit my vision. For a second, I thought I had died.
Then I saw it — a translucent blue interface floating mid-air. Just like a video game HUD, except… this wasn't a game. This was the real world.
[GLOBAL RESET INTERFACE]
Name: Kai Mercer
Health: 41%
Status: Internal Injury (2), Malnourished, Adrenal Overload
System Core: UNLOCKED
Base Class: Civilian
Evolution Tree: Dormant Main
Objective: Survive for 30 days
Failure Condition: Death
I blinked. Once. Twice.
The screen didn't go away.
What the hell is this?A hallucination?A near-death coma dream?
But then the next line appeared:
[All Survivors have received the same interface.]
[There are no chosen ones. Only survivors.]
[Your actions will define your system's evolution.]
Something deep in my gut went cold.
Everyone got this?What kind of world were we in now?
I pushed myself up against the ambulance, pain surging through my chest. The city around me was unrecognizable — buildings half-collapsed, cars turned over, flickers of red energy crackling in the air like broken lightning.
I wasn't a soldier. I wasn't a superhero.I was a paramedic dropout with shaking hands and a brain wired for stress.
And now, apparently, I had thirty days to survive in a world that looked like Hell's junkyard.
A low growl echoed from across the street.
I froze.
Something was moving behind the husk of a delivery truck. Not a person — too low, too fast.
Another growl. Wet. Unnatural. Hungry.
[Warning: Level 2 Mutant Detected — 17 meters][You are unarmed. Escape Recommended.]
"Great," I muttered, trying to steady my breathing.
I looked around. No weapon. No allies. No strength.
Then something flickered in the System window.
[Optional Tutorial Activated] > Scavenge a usable item > Use terrain for advantage > Survive the encounter
The mutant stepped into view.Its skin was split with glowing veins, eyes white and boiling.Half its face was melted off — the other half looked like a wolf's snout grafted onto a man's skull.
It sniffed. Snorted. Turned its head toward me.
It sees me.
Run?No — I'll die if I run.
My eyes flicked to the collapsed scaffolding above.
One loose support beam. Held by frayed cables.
Then, I saw it. An emergency crowbar lying in the gutter.
[Scavenge Opportunity Detected][Success Chance: 61%]
That's better than zero.
I dove. Pain exploded through my chest. My fingers wrapped around cold metal.
The mutant lunged.
[Terrain Use Detected. Optional Evolution Path Branching…][Condition: Hold 5 seconds.]
I rolled under the wrecked scaffolding, mutant clawing after me.
I wedged the crowbar under the support beam.Gripped it. Pulled with everything I had.
The cable snapped.
The beam fell.
CRACK.
Silence again.
I coughed, blood spilling from my lips — but I was alive.
The mutant was not.
Then something unexpected happened.
[You have survived your first encounter.]
[New Trait Unlocked: Adaptive Tactician]
[System Evolution Path: INTELLIGENCE-BASED UNVEILED]
[You are eligible to unlock your first Blueprint Node.]
My heart skipped.
I didn't have power.I didn't have weapons.But I had something better:
A system that evolved based on how I thought.
Then the sky screamed.
Not thunder.
Not wind.
A voice — deep, ancient, and wrong — roared across the world.
[ALERT: ENTITY-CLASS THREAT SPAWNING IN 10 MINUTES IN YOUR ZONE][All Players are advised to find shelter immediately.]
My breath caught.
I just used my only trap.
And I had ten minutes until something even worse arrived.