"Big brother, tomorrow… can we finally escape?"
"Big brother, once we escape, can we eat big white steamed buns?"
"Big brother, once we escape, can we wear pretty, warm clothes?"
"Big brother, once we escape, we won't have to worry about those monsters breaking in every night anymore, right?"
Inside a ruin where more than half the structure had collapsed, a little girl of around ten years old nestled in the arms of a young man in his early twenties. She lifted her dirty little face and asked again and again.
"Yes. Tomorrow we'll escape. Don't worry—everything will be there,"
Chu Fan said with a smile, gently stroking his sister's small head.
With his other hand, he tightly gripped a weapon made from a steel rebar over a meter long.
As he comforted his sister, Chu Fan couldn't help lifting his eyes, unable to hide the excitement, toward the pitch-black night sky.
Beneath that night sky—
Within the city shrouded in darkness—
Terrifying monster screeches rang out from time to time,
Accompanied by dense, creeping rustling sounds.
Chu Fan had long since grown used to it.
Three years.
He had survived for a full three years in this monster-infested, seemingly forgotten apocalypse city.
Three years ago, just after transmigrating here—before he even had time to understand this world—countless monsters descended, turning the entire city into hell.
Countless people died because of it.
His father was torn apart by monster claws while protecting the family of three.
His mother, in order to buy a slim chance of survival for the siblings, lured the pursuing monsters away alone—and was never heard from again.
In three years' time, he lost his father in this world, lost his mother, lost all his relatives…
In the end, only his young sister remained.
Although Chu Fan wasn't this little girl's biological brother, after relying on each other for so long, they were closer than blood.
It was precisely because of this sister's companionship that he had been able to endure for so long.
Otherwise, trapped in a city where death lurked everywhere, he would have long since ended his life in loneliness and despair.
Fortunately, all the persistence—every sacrifice—had been worth it.
Because tomorrow, the two of them—the last surviving people in the entire city—would finally escape this hell.
Mixed with the occasional monster screeches, his sister slowly fell asleep in his arms.
Chu Fan, half-awake and half-asleep, gradually closed his eyes as well.
Early the next morning,
The biological clock formed over countless days caused the siblings to wake at the same time.
As usual,
No words.
No communication.
The two silently and swiftly sorted their respective "equipment."
But unlike the numbness and lifelessness of the past, both faces were now filled with barely restrained excitement, and a beautiful longing for the future.
Once everything was ready,
Chu Fan took his homemade sheet-metal shield in one hand and his steel-rebar spear in the other, cautiously stepping out of their hiding place first.
His sister, Chu Yue, followed closely behind, carrying a smaller "spear" and "shield" of her own.
Outside the building,
As far as the eye could see,
There were only ruined structures and broken walls, utterly desolate.
Green vines and moss covered the remains of the ruins.
A rotten, moldy stench of decay filled the air, rushing straight at them.
In the distant sky, flocks of monsters flapped their wings, occasionally passing by as shrill screeches echoed.
And several hundred meters to the north stood a massive city wall that pierced the clouds, so tall its top could not be seen.
That was the wall of the apocalypse city—one on each of the four sides—sealing the entire city inside like an airtight prison.
Back then, monsters had flooded into the city from all directions.
At first, none of the remaining survivors could break through the overwhelming monster hordes to escape.
It wasn't until half a year later, when the monsters on the outskirts became sparse, that some people managed—after endless peril—to flee the city.
But waiting for them outside were towering walls that had somehow been erected on all sides.
Some people fell into complete despair.
Others believed it was hope.
With communications collapsed and no knowledge of the outside world, the isolation of the apocalypse city at least suggested that the rest of the world hadn't fallen. As long as one could escape, survival was possible.
Yet the four walls were like an insurmountable chasm—tall, thick, incredibly sturdy, without the slightest gap. Impossible to climb, impossible to destroy by human means.
Gradually, everyone gave up hope.
Everyone except Chu Fan.
Clinging to that final sliver of hope, he brought his sister this far. Success was closer and closer—so close it was almost within reach.
"Sis, we'll be able to escape very soon."
"But remember—until we succeed, we absolutely cannot let our guard down. Otherwise, everything we've done could be wasted."
Behind a broken wall, Chu Fan spoke sternly.
Seeing his sister straighten her little face, give a firm "Mm," and nod vigorously, he climbed onto the rubble and peeked over the moss-covered wall toward the northern city wall—and the enormous monster crouching beneath it, like a small mountain.
The monster was covered head to toe in thick, pitch-black armor plating, with as many as six pairs of jointed limbs extending from its sides.
From afar, it looked like a beetle magnified countless times, several times larger than a heavy truck.
Many monsters within the city had territorial instincts, and this "Giant Armored Beetle" was no exception. This area was its domain.
A year ago, Chu Fan and his sister had risked near-certain death to lure another giant monster weighing dozens of tons into this territory, forcing the two monsters to fight.
In the end, the intruder was killed by the Giant Armored Beetle.
But during the battle, the two monsters had smashed a crack into the city wall.
Over the following year, Chu Fan's daily task was to take advantage of the beetle's hunting trips, slip into the crack, and embody the spirit of "grinding an iron rod into a needle," chiseling away at it bit by bit.
As of yesterday, it was almost completely dug through.
If nothing went wrong, today he could open a passage wide enough for a person to pass.
"Roar—"
In the distance,
As always, the Giant Armored Beetle, newly awake, raised its head and let out a thunderous roar to proclaim its territorial dominance.
Then it propped itself up on six massive limbs, lifting its colossal armored body, and lumbered away to hunt and feed.
A few minutes later—
"Go!"
Chu Fan rushed forward first.
At the base of the wall, a half-meter-wide crack was clearly visible, stretching upward along the wall.
To giant monsters, this gap was insignificant—but for humans, it was already more than enough.
Reaching the crack, Chu Fan didn't hesitate for a second and plunged inside.
His sister, Chu Yue, consciously stayed outside, gripping her spear and shield, her bright black eyes scanning the surroundings as she kept watch.
The city wall was extremely thick—several meters at least.
The deeper he went, the narrower the crack became.
At the very end, it was barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways, with clear signs of manual chiseling on both sides.
At the innermost point, there was a tiny gap no bigger than a thumb.
A beam of sunlight pierced through from outside, illuminating the dark fissure—and lighting up Chu Fan's increasingly excited face.
"Bang! Bang!!"
"Bang bang bang!!!"
Aiming at this gap that symbolized freedom and safety,
Chu Fan raised the steel rebar and began hacking at it like a madman.
Sparks flew.
Dust billowed.
Fragments of stone sprayed onto his hands, leaving red welts and wounds—but Chu Fan paid no attention, had no time to care, and dared not stop for even a moment.
The Giant Armored Beetle returned roughly every two hours—without fail.
Which meant he had to either break through and escape before it returned, or withdraw in time.
Otherwise, once trapped—
Even hiding inside the crack would mean death. There was a high chance the beetle's keen sense of smell would find him.
Though its massive body couldn't fit inside, the high-temperature molten flames it could spew would absolutely flood the entire crack.
"Bang! Bang!!"
"Bang bang bang!!!"
Amid the repeated, violent impacts, time slipped away.
The gap that had once been no bigger than a finger gradually widened, visible to the naked eye.
After who knew how long,
Chu Yue's voice suddenly came from outside.
"Big brother, safe time is up."
"…!"
Chu Fan paused.
"Safe time" referred to one and a half hours—the window for a safe retreat.
But looking at the basin-sized gap already carved out, Chu Fan unwillingly raised his aching arms again and swung the steel rebar with all his strength.
"Bang bang bang!!"
"..."
More than ten minutes later—
"Big brother, we're at the critical point!"
"Wait a bit longer!"
Chu Fan let out an unwilling roar through clenched teeth.
The hands gripping the steel rebar were already torn and bleeding, ravaged by flying debris.
But not long after, his sister's panicked voice rang out again.
"No! Big brother—the big bug is back!"
Outside,
Chu Yue stood with her back against the crack, staring at the black silhouette slowly emerging in the distance. Her filthy little face was filled with anxiety and terror.
As the massive, pitch-black armored body drew closer, the overwhelming pressure intensified, making her small, frail body tremble uncontrollably.
But when she realized that her brother inside the crack showed no sign of stopping—clearly planning to gamble everything on breaking through—
Her trembling suddenly stopped.
The panic on her face slowly faded, replaced by resolve… and reluctance.
Three years of hellish living had forced her to mature far beyond her age.
In this city full of danger, she was not her brother's burden—she was his greatest support.
At a critical moment,
She knew what she had to do.
"Big brother… I'll go lure the big bug away…"
"You… you must live. You have to escape…"
Wiping her tear-blurred eyes,
Chu Yue raised the tiny steel-rebar spear in her hands, arching her small body like a bristling wild kitten.
Locking her gaze onto the Giant Armored Beetle now fully in view, she was just about to charge forward recklessly—
When suddenly, a hand grabbed her from behind and yanked her straight into the crack.
"Stupid little sister!"
"If you die, then even if big brother escapes alive—what meaning would that have?"
Covered in dust, Chu Fan raised a bloodstained hand and lightly tapped her head, scolding her.
After that one rebuke, he hurriedly pulled her deeper into the crack.
At the far end, the opening had already been widened to half a person's height.
His final burst of frantic digging had knocked loose several stones. Though still not spacious, it was more than enough for their thin bodies to pass through.
...
Outside the crack,
The rising morning sun stretched the shadows of the two figures—one large, one small—long and narrow.
Their disheveled hair and filthy bodies made them look like two pitiful beggars.
Yet the joy of escaping death stood in stark contrast, bright smiles revealing rows of white teeth.
"The feeling of seeing daylight again… it's really good."
Chu Fan held his sister's hand with one hand, shielding his eyes from the dazzling sunlight with the other, filled with both emotion and bitterness.
After adjusting for a moment, he lowered his hand.
When he saw, several hundred meters away, neatly arranged tank formations and dense ranks of soldiers, the last trace of unease in his heart vanished instantly.
"It's the military!"
"The outside world really is safe—it hasn't fallen!"
Pulling his sister along, Chu Fan ran toward the troops, shouting for help.
But the next second—
His steps came to an abrupt halt.
"Stop!"
"Get back!"
Cold, emotionless words rang clearly from a loudspeaker.
Before Chu Fan could react, all the tanks raised their icy gun barrels, and every soldier lifted their pitch-black rifles.
"Get back!"
"No one is allowed to leave!"
The frigid command rang out again.
And in the very next instant—
"Bang!"
A sudden gunshot exploded.
Beside him, his sister's frail body was blasted backward onto the ground, blood spraying in a horrifying arc.
Buzz—
Chu Fan's body shuddered violently, his mind exploding in an instant.
His eyes were vacant and unfocused for a long while before he slowly, tremblingly turned around.
Staggering over, he crouched beside his sister, reaching out with violently shaking hands, hardly daring to believe what he was touching—the sister who had accompanied him for three full years.
Feeling her body grow colder and colder,
Staring at the massive, bleeding bullet hole in her forehead—
Chu Fan's eyes gradually turned blood-red.
Then,
He slowly raised his head,
Fixing the army in his sight with bone-deep hatred and fury, releasing a silent roar and accusation.
Why?
Why!!
Three years of struggle.
Three years of barely surviving.
After finally escaping alive from the jaws of monsters with his sister—
Why did she die to your bullets?!
Why!!!
But no one answered.
No one explained.
There were only those cold, repeated commands.
"Get back!"
"Those who disobey orders—execute immediately!"
At this moment,
Chu Fan's ashen heart froze completely, leaving only endless, sky-high resentment.
After a pause, he trembled as he lifted his sister's corpse into his arms, turning back under coercion, retreating step by step.
At the same time,
A cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his ears.
[Ding. Do you wish to activate the Apocalypse Catastrophe System?]
[Completely destroy this world!]