Kirin couldn't take his eyes off the soft green glow of the miraculous seedling. It was the only living thing he had encountered in this post-apocalyptic world, a testament to his newfound power and a glimmer of hope in the darkness.
He gradually focused his concentration, channeling the warm current of energy circulating within his body toward the fingertip touching the cotyledon.
Grow... he commanded in his mind.
As if responding to his thought, the green light on the sprout flashed brightly! The shoot began to elongate slowly, but at a rate visible to the naked eye. The pair of small seed leaves unfurled, revealing a new set of true leaves pushing out rapidly. In less than a minute, the seedling had grown almost an inch taller.
"Incredible..." Kirin murmured, forgetting himself. This wasn't just plant control... it was the acceleration of the life process itself!
He closed his eyes again. This time, he didn't look for light, but tried to "listen" to life, just as he felt from the seedling before him. In the profound silence of the basement, he sensed... something distant... deep within the earth. It was countless seeds in a state of dormancy, waiting for the right moment to sprout. It was a network of invisible fungi and microbes... a subterranean world still teeming with life.
The wonder didn't last long. Harsh reality pulled him back. He was still trapped in this concrete coffin. Admiring his new power was useless if he starved to death down here.
It was time to face reality.
He began his preparations methodically, as always. He pulled a sharp machete from his Inventory, sheathing it at the back of his belt for easy access. A steel crowbar was gripped in one hand, a high-powered flashlight in the other. He checked the emergency rations in his backpack one last time before starting the climb up the debris-strewn ramp.
The journey from B5 to B4 required both strength and caution. Large chunks of concrete blocked the path at intervals. He had to use the crowbar for leverage and his newly enhanced strength to slowly push them aside. The sound of steel scraping against concrete echoed piercingly through the silent space.
Upon reaching B3, he noticed a change... faint light from the outside was filtering down through the elevator shafts and stairwells, allowing him to see the surroundings dimly. The air here was tainted with the smell of rust and a burning scent that was much stronger than before. Wrecked cement trucks and construction machinery sat silent in the gloom like a graveyard of steel giants.
Kirin's heart beat faster with every meter of elevation gained. He gripped the crowbar tighter, moving as slowly and silently as possible.
Finally... he reached the Ground Floor.
The sight that greeted him made him freeze. More than half of the ceiling on this level had collapsed, revealing the sky above... a sky he had never known before.
It wasn't blue... but a murky, rust-orange color. The sun, which should have been blazing, was merely a dim white circle radiating almost no heat. Fine dust particles swirled in the air, rendering everything into a blurry nightmare.
Kirin hid behind a massive pillar that still stood tall, carefully scanning the outside world.
The world he once knew was dead.
The capital city, once filled with skyscrapers and vibrant lights, was now a landscape of twisted steel skeletons pointing skyward like the hands of the dead. The streets were choked with charred, piled-up car wrecks. Everything was coated in a thick layer of gray ash, making it look like a ghost town abandoned for centuries.
The silence... the eerie silence was the most terrifying part. No traffic noise. No voices. Nothing but the sound of wind whistling through the ruins like the wailing of spirits.
Then, his eyes caught movement...
On the empty street ahead, a figure was shambling slowly. It was the body of a man in a tattered office worker's suit, but his gait was wrong... his arms dangled at odd angles, one leg dragged along the ground, and his head was tilted back unnaturally.
It was the first living creature he saw... and it was no longer human.
Kirin stood still, observing "it" from safety. His brain analyzed coldly. There was no fear, only the curiosity of an observer. It's slow... its perception of the surroundings seems very low... it's just walking forward aimlessly.
As he focused on the target, the System window appeared again. This time, a small information box pointed specifically at the figure.
"The Game... has begun," Kirin muttered to himself.
He looked away from that zombie and swept his gaze around again... and then he saw them... another one crawling out of a wrecked bus... and two more wandering aimlessly in the distance.
They were everywhere.
Kirin retreated into the shadows of the construction site. He knew that going out to face the outside world right now was suicide. The first thing he had to do was explore his "home" thoroughly... survey the entire construction site for any remaining resources and find a way up to a higher, safer floor to use as an observation point.
Priorities shifted... His brain concluded rapidly. Before going out to hunt, build a safe nest.
His new objective was clear: Explore and secure this unfinished skyscraper to become his personal fortress.
He turned his back on the horrific view of the outside world and headed deeper into the building to find the fire escape. Fortunately, the main structure of the tower remained intact. He found the dark, dust-filled reinforced concrete stairwell. He ascended one step at a time, cautiously. The sound of his boots on the debris echoed terrifyingly.
Each floor he climbed was a reflection of human ambition halted midway. Some floors were just open spaces with towering concrete pillars. Some had brick walls built only halfway up. Wires dangled from the ceiling like deadly vines. The wind blowing through the gaps in the building whistled a mournful song of death.
Kirin didn't stop. He kept climbing higher. Floor 5... Floor 8... until he reached Floor 12.