Liam Carter died at 8:12 p.m. on a rainy Friday night.
The last thing he remembered was his mother screaming, his father slamming the brakes, and a blinding pair of headlights.
Then—nothing.
No pain. No air. No sound. Just a vast, echoing silence.
When he opened his eyes again, he wasn't in a hospital.
He was lying on cracked pavement beneath a bleeding sky.
The clouds above were torn open like veins, leaking crimson light across a decimated city. Skyscrapers stood like black teeth against the dusk, their windows shattered, their bones hollow. Fires raged in the distance. Something screamed inhumanly just out of sight.
Liam sat up with a gasp.
His school uniform was still on, torn at the elbow. No blood. No wounds. Just... alive.
"What the hell…" he whispered.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
A soundless chime echoed in his head. A glowing red box appeared in front of him, floating like a ghost:
> Welcome, Host.
System Binding Successful.
You have been selected to participate in the Apocalypse Protocol.
Quests will be assigned shortly. Failure to comply will result in TERMINATION.
Liam staggered to his feet, heart hammering. "What is this? A dream? VR?"
The interface disappeared just as quickly, replaced by a flickering minimap in the corner of his vision. A glowing path extended ahead, toward the rubble-strewn streets.
"Okay. Think. What's happening?" he muttered, looking around.
No cars. No people. No birds. Just a chilling wind and the smell of smoke.
Then he saw them.
Two figures limping down the street—humanoid but wrong. Skin gray and peeling. Jaws slack, teeth broken. One of them had no lower jaw at all, just a gaping, tongue-writhing hole.
Zombies.
"Okay. Not VR. Not a dream," Liam whispered, backing away.
One of them locked its milky eyes on him. It let out a wet moan and broke into a shuffling sprint.
[ALERT: FIRST COMBAT SCENARIO INITIATED.]
[System Tip: Flee or fight. Your fate begins now.]
"Great advice!" Liam turned and ran.
The world blurred past in shades of gray and rust. He dashed through a narrow alley, leapt over a pile of trash, and burst into what used to be a small market. Shelves were toppled, blood was splattered across the tiles, and something buzzed near a headless corpse in the back.
Liam dove behind the counter, panting, chest burning.
The zombie skidded to a stop at the entrance. It sniffed the air, then turned toward the alley and groaned again—calling others.
Liam clenched his fists.
He'd played zombie games. Watched movies. But this was different. The scent. The heat. The sheer wrongness in the air.
And yet—he wasn't entirely afraid.
Some part of him buzzed with a strange calm. Like this wasn't his first death.
[New Quest Unlocked.]
A fresh panel appeared in his vision.
[APOCALYPSE QUESTS: CHAIN ONE]
• Survive your first night
• Bond with at least one female survivor
• Eliminate a Class-E undead
• System Integration must reach 10%
> Reward: Stat Unlock, Ability Tree Access
Another message blinked beneath it:
[Mainline Curse Chain: The Harem of Fifty]
> In order to maintain spiritual coherence and anchor your soul in this world, you must:
– Form intimate bonds with 50 women in this reality.
– Unite at least 10 of them in a Ritual of Synergy.
– Discover and complete the Apocalypse Cure.
Failure = Death. Again. This time, permanent.
Liam read it twice. Then again. His stomach dropped.
"Bond? With fifty… women?"
The screen pulsed.
[Yes.]
"Like… emotionally? Or—?"
[Any kind of bond. But deeper connections yield greater strength.]
"…This is so messed up," Liam muttered. "Who the hell made this system?"
Suddenly, he heard movement outside.
A shadow staggered into the store. Not the zombie.
A girl.
She looked about nineteen. Long black hair, blood on her sleeves, clutching a makeshift spear. Her left leg was gashed open, and she was limping hard.
She saw him—and flinched.
"You infected?" she hissed, pointing her spear at him.
Liam raised both hands. "No! I'm… not. I just woke up here. I don't know what's going on."
She narrowed her eyes, still keeping her distance. "If you try anything, I'll jam this through your eye."
"Understood," Liam said quickly. "Name's Liam."
The girl hesitated. "Maya."
Another groan echoed from outside.
Maya cursed and slammed the door shut, shoving a shelf against it.
"Damn rotters are everywhere," she muttered, sliding down next to the counter, breathing hard.
Liam offered his bottle of half-melted water. She eyed it, then took a sip.
"I was part of a group," she said. "They're dead now. All of them. My sister too." She looked away.
"I'm sorry," Liam said quietly.
Maya gave him a sharp look. "You're too clean. You've been here five minutes, haven't you?"
Liam hesitated. "I… yeah. I think I just got thrown into this."
She stared. "Thrown in?"
Before he could explain, the System pinged again.
[Candidate Maya: Bond Potential Detected.]
> Begin emotional dialogue. Support her emotionally or physically to initiate bond.
Bonded targets increase survival rate by 18%.
Bonus XP unlocked.
[Do you wish to proceed?]
Liam closed his eyes. This was insane.
But the world was burning. Zombies were everywhere. And this girl had just lost everything.
He leaned forward.
"Listen… I don't know what's going on, or why I'm here. But if we're both trying to survive, maybe we should stick together. I can help fight. I'm not strong, but I'm fast."
She gave him a skeptical look. "I don't trust easily."
"Neither do I," he admitted. "But right now… I don't want to die alone again."
Maya blinked. "…Again?"
Liam shook his head. "Long story."
She was silent for a moment. Then she said, "Fine. For now. But if you get bitten, I won't hesitate."
"Fair."
[Bond Initiated: Maya – Rank 1]
> [Passive Skill Gained: Shared Awareness Lv.1]
Maya's enemy alerts will ping your minimap.
Emotional proximity boost enabled.
A warm light flashed in his chest. Maya flinched.
"What the hell—?"
"I'll explain later," Liam muttered, rubbing his temples.
Outside, the groans were growing louder.
"Get ready," Maya said, standing.
Liam reached for a rusted pipe under the counter.
Together, they stood at the shattered door.
Two strangers. One broken world. And a curse neither of them chose.
The undead were coming.
And so was everything else.