Chapter 1

The sun is shining brightly in the sky.

Xu Zhou sat up from the bed.

Golden light shone through the windowsill and onto the broken glass on the floor. A breeze blew by, carrying the dust in the air all over her face.

She sneezed.

She blinked at the unfamiliar and dirty scene before her.

She must not be awake yet.

Continue lying down during the day, close your eyes, and restart.

Ten minutes later, Xu Zhou was forced to accept reality.

A sandstorm hit the coastal city, sweeping through her home, destroying everything, and finally perfectly bypassing her as she lay dead on the bed.

Who believes it?

She scratched her head, furious and helpless.

The screens of mobile phones and computers are black and cannot be turned on; the room is a mess, with no electricity or water; the food is rotting and emitting a foul smell; there is silence outside the window, and at a glance, the city is deserted with dilapidated and faded houses collapsing.

Xu Zhou stood on the balcony.

What is going on?

When I wake up, I am the only one left on earth?

"Hello, respected ally."

"It is now the fourth year of the apocalypse, May 17, 2967 Earth's lunar calendar, Monday, and the weather is sunny."

A mechanical sound rang out.

"who?"

The sound that appeared out of nowhere made Xu Zhou take a defensive posture and be alert to his surroundings.

"Don't panic."

"I exist in your mind for now."

"I'm Reward System No. 7528. I hope we can have a pleasant time working together!"

The mechanical sound started again, narrating the reality of the earth-shattering collapse in a very calm voice.

On September 25, 2963, at 10:30 PM on the Earth's lunar calendar, a disturbance in the magnetic field at the center of the Milky Way galaxy caused intense radiation to rapidly spread outward, affecting the entire galaxy. A contagious virus erupted across Earth, a disaster that struck without warning. In an instant, some humans were infected and transformed into zombies. Riots erupted, plunging humanity into despair.

The roar sounded, and the end was coming.

The natural disaster struck with unpredictable force, catching everyone unaware. Overnight, nearly half of humanity was reduced to zombies. Despite immediate suppression, the zombie horde could not be stopped as it descended upon the defenseless humans. Countless people fell, only to be followed by countless more rising to their feet, a mighty force marching across the streets.

The survivors fled in all directions, looking for hope of survival.

After the initial dark period, some survivors gathered and began to establish a base. They cleared the corpses, built shelters, and gathered resources, striving to save themselves. One base after another rose from the ground, protecting the surrounding land.

Up to now, it has been four years since the end of the world.

"The end of the world?"

Xu Zhou was shocked and terrified.

Looking over, the city's tall buildings seemed dwarfed against the gray sky. Her legs gave way, and she clutched the railing to steady herself, unsure how to process the news.

She only remembered that she was happy yesterday that she had a weekend off the next day. Although something unpleasant happened in the evening, she believed that she could explain it clearly the next day. She didn't expect that it would become the doomsday after one night.

She just woke up from a nap.

"I, do you know how my parents are doing? And..." Xu Zhou looked panicked and asked the mechanical voice hurriedly.

She wanted to say something else, but stopped herself in time.

System 7528 ignored her subsequent words and only answered the previous question.

"Inquiries revealed that two people were deceased."

"My condolences."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Zhou could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, tears streaming silently, her body trembling slightly, her hands clenched tightly. For a long time, she curled up into a ball, her head buried in her arms, and only faint sobs could be heard.

She was clearly talking to them on the phone yesterday, saying she would take them out for fun during National Day.

…

Sensing Xu Zhou's emotional fluctuations, the system sighed.

Browse the database, find a light music, and start playing it.

The sobbing stopped abruptly.

Xu Zhou raised her head and cried, "You're so annoying... why are you playing the wedding march?"

After saying that, she curled her lips and cried even louder.

"Sorry, sorry."

The system hurriedly turned off the light music.

Sigh again.

——

Xu Zhou was born in an ordinary family.

Both parents were orphans. They fell in love freely, worked hard together, and built a small home of their own in the city where they were drifting and helpless.

She is a child born in love.

Parents were a new identity they were both encountering for the first time, but being a child was not. The love they both lacked as children was projected onto her, shaping who she is today.

He could always sense her emotions immediately, knew what she needed, treated her like a friend, taught her to be independent, didn't put pressure on her, tried his best to give her the best within their means, and recorded all the important moments in her life, big and small...

Their love gave her the best confidence.

"Our past can't be undone, but your present is just the right time." Mom helped her braid her hair and carefully adjusted her collar.

Her father was packing her things, holding a piece of bread in his mouth. He ate a few bites and echoed her mother's words: "That's right, as a child, there's no need to worry. Just be happy."

The two of them took her to the primary school gate.

"We'll wait for you to come back. Please tell us quietly how the food tastes. Mom and Dad haven't eaten lunch in elementary school yet."

"good."

She waved and walked into the campus.

Looking back, the two of them were arm in arm, their backs getting further and further away.

…

Xu Zhou opened his eyes.

She wiped away the tears from her eyes.

Her parents' figures were getting farther and farther away, but she was still standing still.

"They definitely want you to live well." said the system.

It also "saw" Xu Zhou's dream.

It swore it hadn't done it on purpose. It was simply that it was now symbiotic with her, and her emotions were so volatile that its own programming had allowed it to passively capture her dreams and analyze them.

Sometimes being too strong can also be a burden.

The system sighed silently.

"I know," Xu Zhou said softly, "but I regret not being able to see them for the last time."

After the college entrance examination, her parents moved to Loujiang Town, which is thousands of miles away from her city.

"It's not too late to go now." The system suggested, "It's still possible to send them on their last journey."

Xu Zhou hesitated.

She really wanted to agree, but the reality was that it would be difficult for her to find her parents on her own.

"Can you help me?"

"able."

"What do you want?"

"I want you to complete the task."

The system explains why Xu Zhou woke up four years later.

The system's original destination was the neighboring galaxy. However, it encountered a meteor shower en route, consuming a significant portion of its energy. Coupled with the hasty journey, it ultimately ran out of energy and was forced to fall to Earth. When the central magnetic field became disrupted, emergency mode automatically bound the nearest eligible individual, Xu Zhou.

Afterwards, the system used up its remaining energy to activate the protective shield and remove the virus from Xu Zhou's body. After the energy returned to zero, the system entered hibernation, and Xu Zhou also fell into a deep sleep.

This sleep lasted for four years.

The system absorbed the scattered energy around it, ended its hibernation, and woke up during the day. In order to successfully travel to the next galaxy, it needed to complete its mission during the day and obtain enough energy.

"The task is very simple, you just need to give others a reward."

The system spoke in a brisk tone.

In its view, compared with the strategy systems of its contemporaries, the tasks it released were simply a godsend.

"Who are you rewarding?"

"How do I reward?"

"What reward?"

Continue asking three questions during the day.

Not to mention who the reward is given to, as far as she knows, most rewards are for live broadcasts and videos. Just talking about this, are there such good network conditions in Doomsday?

It's like letting a fish swim freely in the desert.

"Use this."

As soon as he finished speaking, a 15-inch electronic screen appeared in front of Xu Zhou. In the middle were written four big words "Not connected yet". On the next line were small words "Rewards are not enabled, please click to start connecting". In the upper left corner was "Personal Information" and in the upper right corner was "Reward Details".

Click "Personal Information".

【Name】Xu Zhou

Level 1

Click on "Reward Details".

[No reward information found]

Simple and plain.

Xu Zhou was a little suspicious that this was an internal test version that was rushed out at the last minute, and it was completely different from the live broadcast interfaces she had seen before.

"Don't underestimate its simplicity; it is indeed simple," the system continued. "But it's enough. Click Start, and it will automatically search for reward recipients. Once the reward is found, click the reward button, and the task is complete. Don't worry about insufficient account balance; I'll pay for it. You're currently at level 1, so you can only reward once a day."

"Won't you give me a rebate?" Xu Zhou asked.

After listening to the introduction of the system, her role was just a tool, similar to turning on the power switch of the extension cord, turning on the electrical appliances, and letting them operate on their own.

but why?

So simple, can't it do it on its own?

"You haven't paid anything, why should you gain anything?" The system doesn't understand.

"Why should I pay if I don't gain anything?" Xu Zhou asked back.

?

The system curled up into a ball of black lines.

Something seemed to be wrong, but it couldn't quite put its finger on it.

"You're not right. I won't listen."

The system is just playing rogue.

Um?

Is this okay?

Now it was Xu Zhou's turn to be stunned.

"What if I don't do the mission?"

"Then I'll just have to spend the rest of my life with you."

The system replied regretfully, and played a wedding march.

“…”

"Turn it off."

Xu Zhou's face turned black.

"Why? We haven't even reached the entrance ceremony yet."

Having said that, the system still turned off the music immediately, but the tone was full of regret.

"I'll leave tomorrow."

Lie down during the day, close your eyes, and cover yourself with a blanket.

She had to find her parents quickly. After completing the mission, she had to order a song "Thousand Miles Away" from the system, and she had to ask for surround sound.

"By the way, who should I give the tip to?"

"Zombies."

"to whom?!"

Xu Zhou woke up in shock, his face full of disbelief.

"Zombies." After carefully examining Xu Zhou, the system decided it was natural. "If you don't reward zombies, who do you want to reward?"

“Give it to someone.”

The system fell silent and began frantically searching the database. After a few minutes, it found it.

"It's not impossible, but I have to spend money to change my reward identity."

"How much?"

"It's more expensive than my fare to the next galaxy. Also, the reward funds are not transferable. You have to spend money to convert zombie funds into human funds before you can use them."

"sleep."

Xu Zhou lay down immediately without hesitation for a second.

What a joke, does she look like a rich person?

It is better to go to bed early and get up early to keep healthy.

"good evening."

The system plays a lullaby.

"……roll."

She must order two songs of "Thousand Miles Away" to the system.

——

The sky is beginning to brighten.

Zombies are strolling along Central Avenue.

Xu Lu practiced Tai Chi on the balcony.

"Don't you really need background music?" The system was still struggling.

"unnecessary."

It's definitely not because she doesn't trust its taste in music.

"All right."

System failure should be ok.

The next second, a pure broadcasting voice sounded.

"I'm reborn. In my previous life, I was a system that no one loved..."

“…”

Continue closing your eyes and taking deep breaths.

Forget it, I won’t bother with non-human creatures.

"I'm doing the task now, turn on the screen quickly."

"Okay." The system responded happily after successfully completing the task with just a little trick.

The electronic screen appeared, and Xu Zhou began to click carelessly.

When she woke up early in the morning, the system tried to make her finish her daily tasks and get on the road quickly. To this end, it played the wedding march five times, the school bell six times, and the beginning of the suona pure performance ten times, with the purpose of making her unable to bear it and take the initiative to ask for tasks.

It worked.

Now when she thinks about it, the short essay still echoes in her head.

The more she thought about it, the more she regretted it. She should have mentioned the task later. She hadn't heard the follow-up to the essay yet.

The circle stopped rotating.

A silhouette of an avatar appears on the screen. No information can be seen from the silhouette, and there are two options below: "Reward" and "Reselect".

"Can I still choose zombies?"

"In theory, yes."

I clicked "Reselect" and it turned again.

It was still a head silhouette, no different from the previous one.

"Open a blind box?"

"How exciting."

Hearing this, Xu Zhou raised an eyebrow and looked left and right. This silhouette's hair was a little short. Would it be okay to reselect it? She clicked "Reselect" again.

This is a big headache, let’s re-elect.

This one has a short neck, please reselect.

This one has no eyes, reselect.

This ear catches the wind, please choose again.

…

The day continues to come again and again.

"you."

The system hesitated to speak.

It understood that she was taking revenge, pure revenge.

"I was wrong. I won't play music again next time."

The system surrenders.

It doesn't understand that a man's knees are made of gold. It only knows that its knees are made of composite materials and can kneel.

"That's it."

Continue to choose and click "Reward" when you are satisfied.

The next second, the "Reward" option turned gray, and a colorful flower effect quickly flashed around the profile picture. After half a minute, the effect disappeared and the screen disappeared.

"Gone?" Xu Zhou asked.

"Gone." The system confirmed.

Boring, she thought there would be a live broadcast.

Continue stretching during the day.

She had to warm up before setting off in case she encountered zombies and suddenly got a cramp and sprained her ankle while running.

The system hid in a corner, frantically clicking on the screen for a long time, but nothing happened. Only one message was updated in the "Reward Details": [Xu Zhou] rewarded [Xun Chun] with a garden.

The system threw away the screen and muttered to itself.

The beta version is useless. Not only can you not choose the recipient of the reward at level 1, there is not even a live broadcast. I will have to reflect this issue when filling out the questionnaire next time.

——

"Turn right ahead."

The system acts as a navigation system diligently and responsibly.

Xu Zhou walked out of the alley and turned right onto the main road. She looked back and saw several zombies slowly coming out of the road on the left and turning into the alley she had just walked out of.

The zombie's body was stiff, its limbs twisted, its head drooping, its body bluish-black, its clothes tattered, its bones exposed where its flesh had rotted away. It staggered with every step it took, occasionally dropping bits of debris.

Xu Zhou suppressed the urge to vomit, turned around and walked forward.

Along the way, she encountered many zombies.

Facing a zombie for the first time, her heart was pounding like thunder. Nausea and fear quickly took over her mind, and she could hardly move her legs. Fortunately, the zombie was a little far away from her and turned left to enter another road.

She gasped for breath in her place.

I thought I was mentally prepared, but when I actually encountered the zombies, I found that I was not prepared enough.

"It's okay, it's normal the first time." The system comforted her.

"Thank you for your useless comfort." Xu Zhou replied weakly.

"You're welcome." While navigating, the system quietly flipped through a few pages of the emotional intelligence encyclopedia. It didn't matter; a single failure meant nothing. Sooner or later, it would become the king of emotional intelligence.

Afterwards, Xu Zhou had the system remind her to take a detour earlier. She was very open-minded. Although she couldn't face zombies yet, she could hide. She had the advantage of hiding, and she wouldn't waste it.

But she will still try to overcome it slowly.

Start by looking at the zombie's back.

I just don’t know what impact it will have if she rewards the zombies.

Xu Zhou shook her head, no longer thinking about it. She climbed up to the rooftop of a low building and looked down at the intersection.

The intersection was a chaotic mess of cars, buildings crumbling, and traffic lights abandoned. It was the perfect embodiment of the bustling traffic of peacetime, yet also the epicenter of disaster. The blood on the road had congealed black. She watched quietly, already imagining what had happened.

In the face of natural disasters, humans are as small as dust.

Her heart sank.

After a long time, the wind started to rise.

Xu Zhou looked in the direction where the wind came from, and saw a gloomy scene.

"The zombies are entering the city!" The system's roaring voice sounded.

"I saw it."

The grayness became clearer and clearer. It was a group of zombies coming towards this side, and there were roars one after another.

Xu Zhou squatted down, covered his ears, and stared at the group of zombies.

She didn't plan to change places. One reason was that the system said she was safe, and another reason was that she wanted to train herself and get used to zombies as soon as possible.

It was still a thousand miles away from Loujiang Town, and sooner or later she would have to get used to the fact that it was the end of the world.

The zombies came like a tide, staggering, with empty eyes, shouting, and walking forward blankly.

The thought of "The Walking Dead" flashed through Xu Zhou's mind. She tried hard to suppress her physiological reaction and control herself from looking too closely.

"The recipient of your reward is coming over here," the system suddenly said after the zombies had passed most of the way. "The one at the back, on the right."

"Do you think I can recognize you just by looking at a silhouette?" Xu Zhou said, still looking to the right.

Dust was raised, and following the light, a familiar face came into Xu Zhou's sight.

She was stunned and stood up subconsciously.

She opened her mouth.

"Search..."