Chapter 1 – Rebirth

Volume 1: Apocalypse Beginning

"Ring ring ring, ring ring ring."

Wen Yu opened his eyes in a daze, his consciousness returning to his body along with the alarm ringing by his bedside.

"This, this is…"

Looking at the familiar Rental Room before him, and feeling his intact body, Wen Yu's thoughts involuntarily drifted back to just moments ago…

Just now, Wen Yu and his Hunting Squad were carrying out a mission.

As for the so-called Hunting Squad, it was nothing more than a third-rate team from a third-rate Settlement, and the strongest member of the squad-Wen Yu himself-was merely a newly promoted Level 2 Warrior.

For a team of this caliber, in the Apocalypse, everyone knew-they were nothing but a squad of cannon fodder.

And as for the mission, it was naturally a cannon fodder-level task…to attract the attention of a Level 5 Mutant Beast.

Then, lure it into the trap set by the Main Force Team. The huge rewards and sharp blades made Wen Yu unable to refuse this suicidal mission.

Unfortunately, cannon fodder can never change its nature.

When Wen Yu's Cannon Fodder Squad made contact with the target creature, they were immediately faced with as many as thirty Level 3 Mutant Creatures.

By the time Wen Yu realized the situation and turned to flee, a third of the Cannon Fodder Squad had already been torn apart.

And Wen Yu himself, just a hundred meters from the trap, had his head smashed by the Level 5 Mutant Beast with a single swipe.

Then, when Wen Yu opened his eyes again, what he saw was the small Rental Room he had lived in for three years.

"What…what is going on?"

Wen Yu immediately straightened up and stood by the mirror next to his bed.

Looking at himself in the mirror, his thin body had none of the strength it once had.

You know, before, even though he was just cannon fodder, he at least had the power of a Level 2 Warrior-his body strength was at least a ton, his muscles were well-defined, and his build was robust.

But now, the body before him was weak and frail, just like an ordinary big brother from the neighborhood.

The more Wen Yu looked at his body, the more familiar it felt, as if-as if this was how he looked before his job change.

"Could it be…?" Wen Yu seemed to have thought of something, suddenly darting to the computer and carefully checking the date on the screen.

"May 25, 2017-this is, this is when the Apocalypse began, this is a year ago. Could it be that I've been reborn? I've been reborn! Haha, hahahaha, hahahahahaha…"

Wen Yu's laughter grew louder and more manic. Thinking of his fate as cannon fodder in his previous life, he laughed and laughed until tears slowly streamed down his face.

If I could live my life over again, would I still be a cowardly piece of cannon fodder? Would I still accept the exploitation and contempt of the strong? Would I still live through those inhuman days?

"Never, absolutely not, absolutely not!" Wen Yu screamed madly. This was Heaven's favor, Heaven's gift to him.

Wen Yu took a deep breath.

"Ah…"

Suddenly, a scream shattered the peace of the Residential Area.

"What the hell, can't people get any rest?"

"Damn, are you crazy?"

"Damn it, screaming like that…"

Countless curses echoed from within the building, many people strongly protesting the sudden screams.

But instead of stopping, the screams only intensified, not just from downstairs, but from the corridors and inside homes-different screams and roars erupted everywhere.

"Help! Murder!"

"Honey, what's wrong, honey, don't bite me, ah, ah…"

Wen Yu suddenly had a bad feeling. He quickly locked his own door, grabbed a table and shoved it against the entrance, then hurried to the window to look downstairs.

He saw the source of the screams in the Residential Area-a newlywed couple, now suddenly showing affection in the plaza.

The man was fiercely holding his wife, frantically kissing his "beloved" on the cheek. Normally, this would be a beautiful scene-if not for the chunks of flesh and blood in the man's mouth.

Wen Yu had seen this scene in his previous life as well, because this was the first sight he witnessed when the Apocalypse arrived.

Back then, Wen Yu had vomited at the sight of blood and eyeballs flying everywhere. This time, he could only silently mutter in his heart: "What the hell."

Wen Yu knew the Apocalypse was coming, and he was fully prepared for its arrival in his mind.

But seriously, this was all just mental preparation-I'd only been reborn for five minutes, okay?

Taking five minutes to acknowledge and accept the fact of my rebirth already counts as having nerves of steel.

Then, just as Wen Yu thought about preparing some supplies and weapons, the Apocalypse had already planted a kiss on his smooth forehead.

"Heavenly Lord, are you messing with me? Where's the promised benefit for the Reborn? No benefits at all? At least give me a halfway decent weapon!" No matter how much Wen Yu complained, this was the reality he faced.

Wen Yu carefully looked around his tiny rental room, trying to find something-anything-that could count as a weapon.

But within three seconds, Wen Yu was already disappointed.

The rental room wasn't large to begin with, so of course there was no space for a kitchen, which meant there wouldn't be a cleaver or a meat-cutting knife to be found.

Helplessly, he picked up the fruit knife from the table and scraped the tip with his finger. "Something is better than nothing, right? Even if it's a fruit knife that struggles to cut apples."

At this point, Wen Yu could only find a bit of comfort in the fruit knife.

He checked his food reserves. As a lifelong single, an orphan without parents, and a shut-in who spent all day with his computer, he had plenty of instant noodles, plus a small can of fermented bean curd.

He remembered that in his last life, he'd managed to last a whole month thanks to two boxes of instant noodles in his room.

Before he starved to death, a Survivor Squad came searching for supplies-and then began his year-long journey as cannon fodder.

Wen Yu carefully packed his things, stuffing several packs of instant noodles, a few bottles of mineral water, and a few sausages into his backpack.

That was the basic gear he'd be taking. Then he found a mop, kicked off the head, and bound the handle tightly to the fruit knife-a makeshift spear, though its real combat power was still anyone's guess.

He put on his thermal underwear, then found some old books and magazines and wrapped them around his wrists. That would have to do for armor.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder, grabbed his spear, and slowly cracked open the door, making sure there was no danger in the hallway before opening it fully.

Wen Yu lived on the third floor. After opening the door, he saw the door across from him was half-open, with strange, wet sounds coming from inside.

"They were such a nice old couple. I guess I should help set them free." Wen Yu already understood that tragedy had befallen the kind elders next door.

Wen Yu quietly pulled open their door. The once-kind old man was now crouched over his wife, tearing at her with big, ravenous bites, his back to Wen Yu.

The old woman stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyes wide and lifeless.

Zombies-the symbol that the Apocalypse had begun.

The generally accepted view in later generations was that when the Demon Realm opened its passage and Demon Qi1 leaked into the world, some humans with no natural resistance mutated into these rotten, filthy monsters.

They might look terrifying and disgusting, but in truth, Zombies were the weakest creatures at the start of the Apocalypse. Their bodies were corroded by Demon Qi, causing their muscle tissue to soften and collapse, making them far weaker and slower than ordinary humans.

As long as people could overcome their fear and had a weapon capable of cracking open a Zombie's skull, even a woman could take out several Zombies in a row.

For Wen Yu, who had survived a year in the Apocalypse, these low-level creatures didn't scare him in the least.

Maybe the sound of the door opening had disturbed the feeding Zombie. The old man slowly turned his head, his pale pupils staring straight at the fully armed Wen Yu.

Wen Yu knew that striking first is best. He launched a flying kick that knocked the Zombie down and stomped on its body with force.

The Zombie kept struggling but had no strength to throw Wen Yu off, and its bloody mouth kept letting out furious roars.

Wen Yu ignored the Zombie's screams. Adjusting his aim, he drove the spear hard through the Zombie's eye socket. The Zombie on the ground twitched twice and then went still.

"Ding, killed one Level 0 Zombie, gained one Point."

Wen Yu let out a breath, looked at the Zombie lying on the ground, pulled out his spear, and a gush of filthy blood poured from the wound.

It had only been about ten minutes since the mutation, but the Zombie's blood was already noticeably darker. Wen Yu offered a silent moment of mourning, then walked over to the badly mutilated old woman and drove his spear into her skull.