Chapter 1

On December 15, 2012, Lin Chen opened his eyes; his phone displayed 7:03.

It wasn't the pain of being gnawed on by zombies, nor the cold that cracks bones, but the ceiling of his rental room.

He sat up, and a system prompt blasted: 【Doomsday Survival System bound. Countdown: 30 days. Zombie outbreak on January 15, accompanied by a blizzard.】

Memories of his past life slammed into him.

Having his supplies snatched by Su Qing and Zhang Hao, being pushed into a horde of corpses,

and finally freezing into a hard block in the snow.

Relatives closed their windows, friends hung up the phone; only Xia Nuan,

the girl who always saved him hot coffee in the company breakroom,

secretly stuffed half a piece of bread into his hand and said, "Hold on."

Later, he heard that while searching for him, she was trapped in a stairwell by zombies.

"Main mission: Find Xia Nuan within 24 hours and ensure her safety.

Reward: Physical enhancement, 10-square-meter storage space. Failure: Erasure."

Lin Chen didn't hesitate; he threw on his coat and rushed out.

His keychain clattered against the door, jingling.

He grabbed it and ran, bumping into his neighbor, Wang Dama, in the stairwell.

She asked, "Going to work?" He didn't look back, just roared, "Emergency."

Downstairs, he hopped on a shared bike; the chain was a bit stuck,

creaking as he pedaled.

He stomped on the pedals, the cold wind pouring into his collar,

freezing his neck stiff.

The system panel floated before his eyes: 【Xia Nuan's current location: Building 3, Room 502, Sunshine Residential Quarter, Chengnan District.】

In his past life, he only knew Xia Nuan lived nearby, but didn't know the specific address.

This time, the system marked the coordinates directly, like a navigation arrow pinned to his retina.

Riding to the residential gate, the security guard stopped him: "Register."

Lin Chen fished out his ID card and slapped it on the table; he didn't even pick up a pen,

using his fingernail to scratch his name onto the registration form.

The guard cursed him as a "lunatic," but he had already rushed into the building.

The elevator stopped at the 3rd floor; the door opened, and an older woman carrying groceries stepped out.

Lin Chen squeezed in and pressed the 5th floor; the moment the elevator door closed,

he heard a scream from outside—it was the neighboring unit.

Someone had tripped, and groceries were scattered everywhere.

He ignored it; the system prompted: 【50 meters from Xia Nuan.】

He reached the 5th floor; the hallway light had a bad connection, flickering on and off.

The door to 502 was ajar; Lin Chen pushed it open,

seeing Xia Nuan squatting on the floor packing luggage.

She looked up, her eyes full of shock: "Lin Chen? How did you..."

"Don't ask." Lin Chen interrupted her, scanning the room.

The suitcase was stuffed with compressed biscuits and bottled water,

and cold medicine and bandages were piled in the corner.

His heart sank; did she know too?

"You dreamed about it too?" Xia Nuan stood up, her voice trembling,

"Dreaming of so many people turning into monsters, the snow, blood everywhere..."

Lin Chen didn't answer; the system prompted: 【Mission progress 50%: Contact target.】

He grabbed her suitcase: "Let's go."

"Where to?" Xia Nuan shrank back,

"My parents are coming back tonight; I have to wait for them..."

"They won't come." Lin Chen stared at her,

"In my past life, on this day, they went on a business trip out of town, got trapped there after the city was locked down,

and never came back."

Xia Nuan's face turned pale, her lips quivering: "How do you know?"

Lin Chen didn't explain; he grabbed her wrist and walked out.

Her hand was very cold, as if it had been plunged into ice water.

Arguments from neighbors echoed in the hallway, probably over parking spaces.

Lin Chen dragged her toward the stairs, the sound of their footsteps making the stairwell hum.

"Let go of me!" Xia Nuan struggled,

"Tell me clearly first, what is going on!"

Lin Chen stopped and turned to look at her.

There were tears in her eyes, mixed with fear and confusion.

He took a deep breath; the system prompted: 【21 hours remaining.】

"On January 15, the zombie outbreak happens, and there will be a heavy snow." He spoke rapidly,

"Su Qing and Zhang Hao will steal my supplies and get me killed.

You will be trapped in the stairwell by zombies while looking for me.

Now, come with me, and stay alive."

Xia Nuan froze, tears hanging on her eyelashes.

Lin Chen didn't wait for her to react; he continued dragging her down.

At the stair corner, a child ran over holding a toy gun,

almost bumping into them; Lin Chen sidestepped to avoid him.

The child's parent cursed him for being "blind," but he ignored it.

Leaving the building, snow pellets began to drift down.

Lin Chen stuffed Xia Nuan's suitcase into the basket of a shared bike,

rode one himself, and had her sit on the back seat.

She hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the corner of his shirt and sat on.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her voice pressed against his back.

"The suburban warehouse." Lin Chen pedaled, "I rented it; it can be reinforced."

Passing a supermarket, he turned in, pushed a shopping cart, and rushed to the food section.

Instant noodles, canned goods, chocolate—he grabbed whatever he saw.

Xia Nuan followed behind, tossing lighters and candles from the shelves into the cart.

The cashier's eyes widened while scanning; Lin Chen scanned the payment code directly,

and walked out without waiting for change.

"Wait!" Xia Nuan grabbed hand warmers from the shelf and stuffed them into the shopping bag,

"It will be very cold when it snows."

Lin Chen felt a stir in his heart; in his past life, he had frozen to death.

The system prompted: 【Supplies obtained: Hand warmers x20, mission progress 60%.】

Halfway there, Xia Nuan suddenly said: "I have medicine in my bag, for fevers.

Last time you had a cold, I saw you looking for medicine in the office."

Lin Chen didn't look back, just gave a hum.

The system panel flickered: 【Target trust +10.】

By the time they reached the warehouse, the snow was heavier.

Lin Chen opened the door; inside were the steel plates and rebar he had bought yesterday.

Xia Nuan looked at these things, her eyes wide: "You knew all along?"

"Yeah." Lin Chen moved the supplies inside, "The system."

Xia Nuan didn't ask again; she followed him to organize things.

She lined up the canned goods, sorting them by expiration date, her movements efficient.

Lin Chen looked at her profile, remembering how she looked when she gave him the bread in his past life,

and the burn scar on the back of her hand, which she said was from cooking.

"Is your hand okay?" he asked suddenly.

Xia Nuan paused and looked at the back of her hand: "It healed long ago."

The system prompted: 【Mission progress 80%: Target safely entered safe house.】

Lin Chen walked to the corner of the warehouse, lifted a wooden board, and revealed the cellar entrance underneath.

He turned on the light; inside were several cases of bottled water:

"Stay here tonight; it's safer than upstairs."

Xia Nuan peeked in and nodded: "I'll tidy up."

As she went down, the stairs creaked.

Lin Chen followed behind, suddenly hearing the sound of a car outside.

He rushed to the window and saw Su Qing and Zhang Hao getting out of a car,

walking toward the warehouse door.

"Damn it." Lin Chen cursed under his breath.

The system prompted: 【Warning: Dangerous target approaching, 100 meters away.】

Xia Nuan poked her head out of the cellar: "What's wrong?"

"Hide well, don't come out." Lin Chen grabbed a steel pipe from the side,

"I'll handle it."

He had just reached the door when Su Qing kicked it open:

"Lin Chen, where did you hide the supplies?"

Zhang Hao followed behind, holding a baseball bat.

Lin Chen didn't speak, gripping the steel pipe tightly.

The system prompted: 【Side mission: Repel Su Qing and Zhang Hao.

Reward: Steel pipe reinforcement (hardness +5).】

"Speak up, are you mute?" Su Qing took two steps forward,

saw the canned goods on the floor, and her eyes lit up, "They're really here, hurry and move them!"

Zhang Hao rushed over with the bat; Lin Chen sidestepped to avoid him,

and smashed the steel pipe onto his arm.

Zhang Hao screamed, and the bat fell to the ground.

Su Qing screamed and lunged over; Lin Chen didn't dodge,

grabbing her hair and slamming her against the wall.

With a "thud," Su Qing slid down the wall, her forehead bleeding.

Lin Chen picked up the bat and smashed it against Zhang Hao's leg again,

hearing the sound of bone cracking.

"Get out." He roared.

Zhang Hao dragged his broken leg, supporting Su Qing as they ran outside.

The sound of the car starting was loud, and it quickly disappeared into the snow.

Lin Chen panted; the system prompted: 【Side mission complete, reward issued.】

The steel pipe became heavier, its surface glowing with a cold light.

Xia Nuan came out of the cellar, her face pale: "Did you kill someone?"

"No." Lin Chen shook his head, "Just broke a leg."

She didn't ask again, walked to his side, and handed him a piece of chocolate:

"Eat something."

Lin Chen took it, peeled off the wrapper, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The sweet, cloying taste spread, and he suddenly felt it wasn't so cold anymore.

The snow was still falling; the warehouse door wasn't closed tightly, and the wind whistled as it poured in.

Lin Chen looked at Xia Nuan's profile; the system panel displayed: 【Main mission complete, reward issued.】

A warm current surged through his limbs; he clenched his fists,

feeling his strength had increased significantly.

"We'll take turns keeping watch tonight." He said.

Xia Nuan nodded, tore open a hand warmer, and stuck it to his back:

"This will be warmer."

Lin Chen didn't move, listening to her breathing and the sound of the wind and snow outside.

The despair of his past life seemed to fade a bit; at least this time, he wasn't alone.

The system prompted: 【Countdown: 29 days, 23 hours.】

He knew this was just the beginning, but with Xia Nuan there,

it didn't seem so difficult anymore.