Kirin opened his eyes in the serene silence of his familiar rental room. Yet, this calm felt eerily like the stillness before a storm. He could feel it in his bones... Today was the day.
As if to confirm his intuition, the System interface, which hadn't appeared for days, suddenly flashed into existence before him. The crimson letters caused his heart to skip a beat.
[WARNING: IMPACT IMMINENT IN 23:59:45]
The countdown had begun.
"Damn it," Kirin cursed softly. The thought of resting a little longer evaporated instantly. He shook his head to clear the drowsiness. This wasn't the time to lounge around! This place... this rental room with its paper-thin walls, was a death trap. It wouldn't withstand even the mildest tremor or falling debris.
He needed a bunker... and it had to be the best one he could find.
But where? This was Bangkok! A capital city of skyscrapers built on soft, sinking soil. It was hardly the ideal geography for surviving a meteor strike.
The businessman's brain began analyzing all possibilities with the speed of a supercomputer.
Option 1: MRT Subway Stations.
Option 2: Sewer System.
Option 3: Mall Underground Parking Lots.
Kirin pondered for a moment before his eyes lit up... He recalled data he had researched at the internet café... specifically regarding Mega-Construction Projects.
Option 4: Unfinished Condominium Construction Site.
He made his decision. This was the most calculated gamble.
Kirin wasted no time. He changed into the most practical outfit he had bought: a dark t-shirt, durable cargo pants, and most importantly, the high-quality combat boots he had invested heavily in. He pulled a few essentials from his Inventory into a small backpack: a high-powered flashlight, a survival knife, a bottle of water, and a few energy bars. Just for mobility in an emergency.
He stepped out of the rental room for the last time without looking back. The atmosphere in Bangkok today was terrifyingly normal. People rushed to work. Students walked to school. No one knew this was the last day of the world as they knew it.
Kirin blended silently into the crowd. He felt like the only actor who knew the ending of the play. It was a sensation both lonely and surreal.
"Enjoy your last cup of coffee, everyone," he muttered to himself with dark humor.
His target was a luxury condo construction site not far from the city center, located in a relatively quiet alley. He took a bus to the nearest stop and proceeded on foot to scout the area.
Standing across the street, he observed the site surrounded by head-high corrugated metal fences. "DANGER: NO ENTRY" signs were posted at intervals. This was it... his temporary fortress to survive the first wave of the apocalypse.
He spent nearly an hour walking the perimeter, looking for loopholes and observing the few security guards on duty. Finally, he found it... a corner of the fence behind an abandoned shophouse where a gap was just wide enough to squeeze through.
Kirin waited until late afternoon when most workers had left and the guards were resting in the shade. He seized the moment, slipping through the gap quickly and silently.
Inside was a world of concrete, steel, and silence. He moved past piles of construction materials toward the dark descent of the basement ramp. The smell of damp, curing concrete hit his nose.
He walked down... B1... B2... B3... The deeper he went, the more the noise of the outside world faded, leaving only the echo of his boots in the darkness.
Finally, he reached the lowest level... B5.
It was dark and chillingly cold here. Only dim light filtered down from distant ventilation shafts above. He chose the darkest, most obscure corner, sitting down against a massive concrete pillar that felt as solid as the roots of a mountain.
He slowly ate an energy bar, sipped some water, and waited...
The System window reappeared. The red numbers counted down mercilessly.
[00:10:00]
The final ten minutes...
Kirin stowed everything away. He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and meditated to calm his mind. He had done everything he could. The rest... depended on the "Blessing of Luck."
[00:01:00]
One minute...
[00:00:30]
Thirty seconds...
[00:00:10]
[9]
[8]
[7]
[6]
[5] ...He felt a faint vibration in the concrete floor beneath him.
[4] ...A low hum, like a sub-bass frequency, began to resonate in his ears.
[3] ...The vibration intensified rapidly!
[2] ...A roar from impossibly far away echoed until the earth itself shuddered!
[1] ...A blinding light, searing enough to hurt his eyes, flooded down from the ventilation shaft...
[0]
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!
The entire world turned white. A thunderous roar, louder than a thousand bombs detonating at once, slammed into his eardrums before everything... cut to black and eternal silence.