Chu Fan suddenly came to a halt.
The emptiness in his pupils slowly regained a trace of focus.
The icy mask on his face also rippled with a faint change.
Just a moment ago, his heart had been steeped in desolation.
Ahead of him stood the army, blocking the way.
Behind him, a Giant Armored Beetle sealed off his retreat.
No matter which choice he made, it led only to death.
But compared to being riddled with bullets by the army—leaving his sister's corpse abandoned in the wilderness to rot and stink—turning back and being swallowed together by the raging flames of the Giant Armored Beetle was undoubtedly the better end.
Or perhaps… there was still a sliver of hope.
Waiting until the Giant Armored Beetle finished hunting and fell asleep, sneaking past it back into the city, finding a place to bury his sister's body, and then—
Revenge!
Even if the hard-won gap they had carved open might soon be sealed again by the army outside.
Even if he had to desperately lure giant monsters into killing one another, smashing another crack into the city wall, then spend another year or two digging it through.
Even if he had to face a fully armed modern military alone, like an egg striking a stone.
No matter how great the difficulties, no matter how insignificant his strength, he would try without hesitation.
If he could survive, this would be his only reason to live—his very meaning for living on.
But now…
Chu Fan took a deep breath.
He didn't think about the system that had appeared out of nowhere.
He merely uttered two words:
"Activate!"
[Ding. Apocalypse Catastrophe System successfully activated.]
[Please choose a type of apocalypse catastrophe.]
[1: Mechanical Catastrophe.]
[2: Swarm Catastrophe.]
[3: Undead Catastrophe.]
[The system will provide a priority recommendation based on analytical data.]
[Beginning scan of the regional environment in which the host is surviving.]
[Beginning analysis of host's survival status.]
[Beginning analysis of surrounding biological species.]
[Scanning…]
[Analyzing…]
[Scan complete.]
[Analysis complete.]
[Based on comprehensive data analysis, the system recommends that the host choose: Swarm Catastrophe.]
[Swarm Catastrophe will be more beneficial to the host's early-stage development.]
[If the host chooses the other two catastrophe types, there is a very high probability of premature failure during early development.]
Chu Fan: "Choose Swarm Catastrophe."
[Ding. Swarm Catastrophe confirmed.]
[Please select an area to deploy the Zerg Biological Main Hive.]
[Attention: The primitive Zerg Biological Main Hive is extremely fragile. The system strongly recommends deployment in an absolutely safe location.]
[...]
[Ding. Unknown lifeform detected ahead. Threat level to host: 100%.]
[System is urgently activating Host Protection Mode.]
[Beginning scan and analysis of unknown lifeform's physiological functions.]
[Scanning and analyzing…]
[Scan and analysis complete.]
[Based on the unknown lifeform's visual and olfactory characteristics, the system has automatically applied sensory shielding targeted at the host.]
[Shielding complete.]
[The unknown lifeform and its species will lose visual and olfactory tracking of the host. Effective duration: 60 minutes. Please locate a safe area as soon as possible.]
Hearing this,
Chu Fan immediately lifted his feet and walked toward the crack.
But just before entering it, he paused, turning his head to look toward the distant soldiers who were still aiming their cold gun barrels at him.
"My sister will not have died in vain!"
"One day, I will slaughter all of you!"
With a cold sweep of his gaze, brimming with boundless hatred, Chu Fan hugged his sister's corpse and slipped into the crack.
Passing through the several-meter-long fissure tunnel, he reached the entrance.
Just as the system had said, the Giant Armored Beetle—lying prone on the ground, clad in thick jet-black armor like a small mountain—showed no reaction at all, completely ignoring the human standing right before it.
After a brief pause, Chu Fan quickly circled around the Giant Armored Beetle.
The system's shielding function was essentially a form of invisibility.
Thus, Chu Fan no longer bothered hiding along the way.
He also didn't return to the ruins several hundred meters away. That place had only been a temporary shelter he and his sister used for convenience while digging the crack.
Passing through the ruins,
Walking straight for some distance,
Then winding around for more than half an hour,
At last, Chu Fan stopped at the entrance of an underground parking garage.
Seeing that the clutter piled at the entrance showed no signs of being disturbed or destroyed by monsters, he lifted a sheet of iron plating on one side and slipped inside.
Inside, it was pitch black, almost impossible to see one's own hand.
But three years of surviving in a doomsday city where all lighting facilities had long since collapsed had given Chu Fan excellent night vision.
Coupled with his deep familiarity with the place, after a brief adjustment to the darkness, he followed the sloping ramp downward.
He quickly weaved between rows of abandoned cars.
After several minutes, Chu Fan arrived at a security room against the innermost wall.
Inside the room,
The floor was covered with a thick bedding made from tattered clothes.
Around it were piles of daily necessities they had collected.
On the walls hung several strips of monster meat, smoked dry.
This was the siblings' real home—the place where they had spent most of the past three years.
But…
Now his sister was gone.
And with her, this home was gone as well.
Only he remained, utterly alone.
Chu Fan carefully placed his sister's body from his arms onto the bedding.
He then used clothes to gently wipe away the bloodstains around the bullet hole on her forehead.
But when he saw his sister's small face—pale, lifeless, and icy cold—his wiping hand involuntarily froze.
He did not cry like a coward.
What use was crying?
He had never been the type to sob and wail.
At this moment, the only thing growing in his heart was an intense hatred, so suffocating it nearly stole his breath.
Yet amid the fury, there was also endless confusion.
For example—why didn't the army kill him outright, instead only forcing him?
What exactly was their objective?
Of course,
No matter what the military's purpose was,
His own purpose was crystal clear.
Putting away his thoughts, arranging his sister's body properly, Chu Fan rose with an icy expression and stepped outside the security room. He swept his gaze over the empty, silent underground parking lot and spoke coldly:
"System, deploy the Zerg Main Hive!"
[Ding. Primitive Zerg Biological Main Hive confirmed for deployment.]
[Before deploying the Zerg Biological Main Hive, host, please note the following points.]
[1: After deployment, the system's mission will be largely complete. The main system will enter indefinite dormancy, retaining only passive auxiliary functions.]
[2: Once the Zerg Biological Main Hive is successfully deployed, the host's consciousness will automatically bind with the main hive, becoming the supreme ruler of the swarm.]
[3: The host may, according to personal will, lead the entire swarm to develop and grow stronger. The retained system functions will only assist and will not interfere.]
[4: Aside from the dozen or so native Zerg species produced after the main hive evolves to maturity, the host may obtain genetic material from other lifeforms through hunting,完善 the swarm's genetic chain, and create entirely new Zerg species.]
[5: The swarm possesses no individual consciousness. All individual awareness is concentrated together, forming a unique consciousness network.]
[6: All swarm individuals will maintain absolute loyalty to the ruler and will carry out any command issued by the ruler, even unto death.]
[7: Other Zerg-related information will be integrated into the host's mind at the moment of deployment.]
[Ding. Beginning deployment of the Primitive Zerg Biological Main Hive.]
As the system's voice fell,
In that instant,
The entire underground parking garage was suddenly swept by violent winds, with surging electric currents erupting everywhere.
Space itself trembled ceaselessly, as if it were about to be torn apart.
Soon,
Amid the howling gales, flashing arcs of electricity, and violently distorted air,
A ferocious lifeform, its entire body blood-red…
Gradually manifested out of thin air upon the ground.