Chapter 1: Doomsday Countdown

Global Announcement: The Japanese Battle Zone has been obliterated by fourth-rank sea beast attacks. Every human in the region is dead!

Global Announcement: The South Korean Battle Zone has been destroyed. The countdown to annihilation has begun!

Global Announcement: The North American Battle Zone has been destroyed. The countdown to annihilation has begun!

…

【Highest Command of the Huaxia Military Zone: All Awakeners, report to the final defense line and join the fight! The structure is collapsing! Fight with all your might! I shall die alongside you!】

…

Detonate the nuclear bombs, Commander! Let the third-rank Awakeners bear the most powerful warheads to go out in a blaze! Even if it means death, we will die with dignity!

No… wait a little longer! Wait for Yenir to break through! We still have hope!

…

So close… just that little bit more, and it would have been different!!

…

Crackle—crackle

Ladies and gentlemen, I am Chu Tian, the Supreme Commander of the Huaxia Battle Zone.

Fifteen minutes ago, Yenir—the sole divine-level talent of the Huaxia Battle Zone—fell in battle.

The final defense line has collapsed. Three minutes ago, we launched our final assault against the sea beast horde armed with nuclear warheads.

In 3 minutes and 15 seconds, 1.76 billion tons of nuclear warheads will detonate over the Capital Zone. This strike is expected to wipe out the remaining mutants—our final gift to humanity.

There was once hope that our nation could nurture a fourth-rank powerhouse capable of saving us all. But due to misguided decisions, we wasted precious time and severed humanity’s last hope. I and all our high command bear inexcusable responsibility.

If given another chance, I would gladly sacrifice my life to atone for our mistakes.

Finally, may humanity endure.

Crackle—

Inside the Capital Command Center, Chu Tian—clad in military-green combat gear—slowly pressed the red button, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.

Across all seven continents—six have fallen. Humanity’s countdown to extinction has begun.

Gazing at the live footage of areas swarmed by mutants, his heart was filled with regret and defiance.

That is the place where Yenir fell in battle.

Yenir, the Huaxia Battle Zone’s most gifted talent—a genius, theoretically the only pure-blood human capable of breaking through to fourth rank.

He was also our hope to rescue us from this apocalypse.

But they ‘discovered’ Yenir too late—finding him among the survivors only seven months ago. By then, he was merely an ordinary man struggling to survive in a refugee camp.

The ‘cost’ of this delay was that, in the end, the entire Huaxia Battle Zone had no time to elevate him to fourth rank to counter the final catastrophe.

Inside the command room, countless resentful eyes turned toward the Supreme Commander’s retreating back.

If given another chance, they longed to start over and amend their mistakes.

Had they found Yenir sooner and trusted his talent, perhaps this tragic fate could have been avoided.

After a deep sigh, the red button was pressed without hesitation.

In an instant, massive fireballs erupted in dazzling light, their intense heat and brilliance consuming everything in their path.

………..

Morning News: Today is Apocalypse Calendar 0061-11-06. Plan 337 for establishing a Safe Zone is scheduled to launch today.

Breaking News: Safe Zone No. 67 in the East Sea has come under attack by sea beasts. Local survivors, please evacuate immediately.

International News: Nuclear contamination in the Japanese Battle Zone has worsened, with a surge in radioactive lifeforms. Coastal survivors, stay alert…

..

Rusty iron bars; a dark, damp detention cell. The seawater, whiffed with the stench of decay, filled his nostrils.

In the corner, Yenir struggled to open his eyes as a splitting headache pounded him.

Listening to the news broadcast outside the iron window above, he felt momentarily disoriented.

Didn’t I already die? After the Capital fell, wasn’t I supposed to have perished in battle?

The news crackled through intermittently, as though coming from a distant source.

“He’s awake? Has he turned into a zombie or what’s going on?”

“Should we just kill him already!?”

“Zombie? For God’s sake, don’t you know whether he’s infected or not?”

Before Yenir could regain his senses, two dull exclamations of surprise echoed from outside the cell.

Two soldiers clutching assault rifles glared at him with hostile expressions.

Yenir staggered to his feet, his pupils contracting as a flood of memories rushed into his mind.

The detention cell… The New Era…

November 06, 0061!?

A scene both familiar and strange.

In an instant, as key details fell into place, Yenir realized he had been reborn three years earlier—the very day of the talent test!

Before he could recall more, the soldiers outside exchanged glances as one hesitantly murmured:

“What do we do? It seems he’s actually awake.”

“Somebody doesn’t want him to take the test, but the test is underway out there. If he causes a scene…”

With a harsh tone, moments later, another soldier furrowed his brows and said:

“Then kill him. The money’s already been collected.”

“He’s a useless waste—if he dies, they’ll just say he turned into a zombie.”

No sooner had the words died away than the lead soldier sneered, opened the cell door, and advanced with his rifle drawn.

“Kid, if anything, it’s your fault for waking at the wrong time.”

“Had you stayed unconscious, you might not have died.”

His tone icy, he aimed his rifle at Yenir, ready to pull the trigger.

In the corner, freshly risen Yenir’s eyes hardened. With the wisdom of his past life, he instantly gleaned critical details from their conversation.

In my previous life, I was rendered unconscious—was I tampered with!?

In an instant, a series of tragic memories flashed through his mind.

In his last life, he was meant to take the test today. But a coma forced him to miss it, dooming him to struggle as an ordinary man amid the apocalypse.

A year later, disaster struck; his safe zone was overrun, and his sister and mother perished gruesomely at the hands of the infected.

For the next three tumultuous years, he wandered in despair—until, after fleeing with refugees to the Capital, it was discovered that he possessed divine-level talent!

Yet by then, the Huaxia Battle Zone had completely fallen, leaving no resources or time for his growth.

The thought that he possessed unparalleled talent—capable of saving a collapsing empire and reaching the pinnacle—filled him with hope and anguish.

But because others wasted his most precious time, all his efforts proved futile.

In that moment, Yenir felt a surge of murderous rage welling within him.

Everything was still possible… I can save those dearest to me and put an end to this apocalypse!

Click.

The sound of a bullet chambering echoed. Seeing a rifle aimed at him, Yenir instantly knew what he must do.

He raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed coldly on the two soldiers.

You want to kill me?

The next moment, without waiting for a response, Yenir unleashed his full strength and lunged sideways toward the nearest soldier.

An elbow to the throat! Disarm! It all flowed in one seamless move!

Bang! Bang!

Their weapons flared as they cross-fired.

Within 0.3 seconds, two abrupt gunshots shattered the confines of the cell.

Splatters of blood erupted as two bullets struck, ripping through foreheads. The gray walls were smeared with red and white gore.

The battle was over.

After confirming the guards were dead, Yenir clutched his rifle and quickly scavenged the bodies before his cold gaze fixed on the iron door to the outside.

In his previous life, missing the test had been no accident…

Who could be behind it? Thinking frantically, Yenir quickly sifted through his memories for a suspect.

Moments later, his eyes sharpened.

No time for regrets—the immediate priority was the test. He could not afford to miss it again!

With only three years until the final catastrophe, time could not be wasted any longer!

Resolutely, Yenir took a deep breath and strode over the corpses.

If he remembered correctly, this test—the most crucial since the reformation of the Huaxia Battle Zone—would grant the chosen one full support from the entire zone!

However, just as he was about to dash into the nearby square to take the test, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out:

“Beep. The Doomsday Sword God System has been bound. Bound User: [Yenir]!”

“Bound user, please touch the Test Crystal in 30 minutes to unlock system functions! If untouched, this system will vanish after 31 minutes.”

“Once activated, all your sword skills will be amplified into Forbidden Sword Techniques!!”

“Countdown: 30 minutes 59 seconds—”

His steps faltered briefly as Yenir raised an eyebrow in shock.

The system has appeared?! But why is it the Sword God System? Shouldn’t it be the Doomsday System?

Ever since the apocalypse erupted a century ago, the system that descended from the heavens has powered humanity’s resistance against monsters.

Under normal circumstances, each survivor receives a Doomsday System upon awakening—just like in a game.

For a moment, Yenir was both surprised and intrigued by this new system within him.

Wiping away a smear of blood from his face, his indomitable will allowed him to accept everything instantly.

Had rebirth changed everything?

It doesn’t matter—as long as it makes me stronger, I welcome any power!

As footsteps resumed, Yenir flung open the iron door of the makeshift detention center, and blinding light burst into the darkness.