Lei Jiang City.
Yun Hua University.
It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, the kind that usually passed without leaving any memory behind.
Sunlight drifted lazily through the dormitory windows, spreading across the floor in pale streaks. The campus was unusually calm. Most students were either out enjoying their weekend or sleeping through the day.
Inside Room 407 of the boys' dormitory, the air felt still.
Six metal beds stood in two neat rows. Clothes were draped over chairs. Snack wrappers and empty cups covered the desks. The faint smell of instant noodles lingered in the room.
Only one person was present.
Lin Ye stood in front of a slightly cracked mirror, adjusting his shirt.
His movements were slow.
Measured.
He stared at his reflection for a long time without speaking.
The face looking back at him was young. Calm. Ordinary.
But his eyes were different.
They carried something heavy. Something that did not belong to someone his age.
After a while, he finally spoke.
"…I really came back."
His voice was quiet.
There was no excitement in it.
Only certainty.
Ten years.
He had lived through ten years of a world that no longer existed.
Memories surged through his mind without warning.
Collapsed buildings.
Endless screams.
Blood staining the streets.
People begging for help that never came.
And then the final moment.
A shadow covered the sky.
Wings made of bone stretched across the heavens.
The Abyssal Bone Dragon descended.
Its presence alone crushed everything below it.
Lin Ye remembered standing there, weapon in hand, knowing there was no chance of victory.
He remembered hesitating.
Just for a moment.
That single moment had decided everything.
His fingers tightened slowly.
A faint tremor passed through his hand.
"I shouldn't have hesitated…"
The regret had followed him even after death.
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the battlefield was gone.
No destruction.
No monsters.
Only the quiet dorm room.
Then it came.
A voice.
"You insignificant beings…"
It echoed directly in his mind.
Cold.
Distant.
Without emotion.
Lin Ye's gaze sharpened instantly.
It had begun.
"I am the Overseer."
"I have grown tired of watching your kind live meaningless lives."
"You will now enter the System."
Everything froze.
The air stopped moving.
The light itself seemed to pause.
Even the dust in the room hung motionless.
Lin Ye could not move his body.
But his thoughts remained completely clear.
He had experienced this once before.
"Struggle."
"Grow stronger."
"Survive."
"Or die."
A brief silence followed.
Then the voice continued.
"The countdown begins."
"5…"
Lin Ye slowed his breathing.
There was no panic.
Only focus.
"4…"
His eyes shifted slightly.
Beside his bed stood a red-handled fire axe.
It was exactly where it had been in his previous life.
Back then, he had not even noticed it.
This time, it was the first thing he looked for.
"3…"
His heartbeat began to rise.
Not from fear.
From anticipation.
"2…"
Everything was the same.
The same room.
The same moment.
The same beginning.
"1…"
"The System has been activated."
Time resumed.
Sound rushed back all at once.
Screams echoed across the campus.
Footsteps pounded through the hallways.
Something shattered in the distance.
Lin Ye moved instantly.
He reached out and grabbed the fire axe.
His grip was firm.
Steady.
It did not feel like the hand of a college student.
It felt like someone who had fought for years.
Because he had.
A faint blue screen appeared before his eyes.
[Welcome, Player]
Lin Ye stared at it quietly.
Then he let out a slow breath.
"It's started."
Outside, a scream cut through the air.
"Help me!"
Another voice followed.
"What is happening?"
Lin Ye walked toward the window.
His steps were calm.
Controlled.
He already knew what he would see.
When he reached the window, he looked down.
The campus had fallen into chaos.
Students ran in every direction.
Some tripped and fell.
Some did not get back up.
Others had already changed.
A boy tackled a girl in the courtyard. He bit into her shoulder with savage force. Blood sprayed across the ground.
The girl screamed.
Her voice was sharp and desperate.
More figures gathered around her.
Their movements were stiff.
Their eyes were pale.
Their mouths were stained with blood.
They tore into her flesh without hesitation.
Lin Ye watched in silence.
His expression did not change.
"Zombies…"
His voice was low.
"They always appear first."
He studied them carefully.
Slow movement.
Poor coordination.
But relentless.
"They're weak at the start," he said quietly. "But once they surround you, it's over."
He had learned that through experience.
Suddenly, loud knocking shook the dorm door.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Lin Ye! Open the door!"
The voice was filled with panic.
Zhang Wei.
His roommate.
Lin Ye did not move.
He turned his head slightly and looked at the door.
In his previous life, he had rushed over.
He had opened it without thinking.
He had nearly died because of it.
"Please! Something's wrong outside!"
The knocking became frantic.
"Open the door!"
Then the voice broke.
A wet, choking sound followed.
Silence.
Lin Ye tightened his grip on the axe.
"…Too late."
A scratching sound began.
Slow.
Uneven.
Something dragged against the door from the other side.
The sound was unnatural.
Then the wood cracked.
A hand burst through.
The skin was torn.
The fingers twisted at strange angles.
Dark blood dripped down.
The door shook violently.
The thin wood splintered further.
Then it broke.
The door burst open.
A figure stumbled inside.
Its head tilted.
Its eyes were completely white.
Blood covered its mouth.
Zhang Wei was gone.
What stood there was a corpse driven by instinct.
It let out a low growl.
Then it lunged forward.
Fast.
But not fast enough.
Lin Ye stepped forward.
His movement was direct.
Precise.
The fire axe rose high.
Then came down with full force.
The blade struck the skull.
A heavy sound echoed through the room.
The body froze.
Then collapsed.
Silence returned.
Lin Ye stood still.
His breathing remained steady.
He pulled the axe free.
Blood dripped onto the floor.
Then a voice sounded in his mind.
[You have killed a Level 1 Zombie][Experience gained][Condition met: Player awakened]
A new screen appeared.
[Name: Lin Ye][Level: 1][Class: None][Title: None]
Strength: 11Agility: 12Vitality: 10Spirit: 13Endurance: 10
A warm sensation spread through his body.
His muscles tightened slightly.
His senses sharpened.
Even the air felt clearer.
Lin Ye looked down at his hands.
"This feeling…"
He clenched his fist.
Strength.
Real strength.
Even at level one, the difference was clear.
He had relied on this power for ten years.
And now he had it again.
Lin Ye lifted his head and looked toward the window once more.
Outside, the world was collapsing.
Screams echoed without end.
Smoke began to rise in the distance.
Fear spread faster than the infection itself.
But Lin Ye's expression remained calm.
"This time…"
His voice was quiet.
"I won't fall behind."
He would take every opportunity.
Every resource.
Every advantage.
He would not hesitate again.
He would not regret again.
Because he knew something no one else did.
This was only the beginning.
And far worse things were coming.
Inside Room 407, the apocalypse had already begun.
And so had Lin Ye's second life.