Chapter 1: The Apocalypse Rewind, Re-entering The Abyss
“Ugh...”
“It’s over! I’m dead!”
Jolted awake by excruciating pain, Shen Hao stared in confusion at the clock:
[June 7, 2055, 08:50]
What was going on?!
Just moments ago, he had been in the final showdown against the ultimate boss. The Boss was down to its last ten hit points. Then, an ambush—a blade stabbed straight through his heart. The strike was swift and merciless, instantly shredding his heart into pieces.
Before a scream could escape his lips, he found himself back in his apartment in Shengang City—three years in the past.
[Ding! System binding successful…]
[System will activate automatically once the host enters the game…]
“A game... and a system?” Shen Hao rubbed his ears. The voice came from within his mind, not an auditory hallucination.
It was confirmed. He had been reborn, and he’d brought a system with him.
The familiar game lobby interface automatically projected into his room.
[Server Launch Countdown: 09:18⇀17⇀16…]
This was “The Abyss,” a full-dive simulation game with an apocalyptic survival theme. Its main selling point was an ultra-realistic experience. Players uploaded their consciousness to gain an immersive, lifelike gaming experience.
In his previous life, “The Abyss” had taken the world by storm upon its release. As the game progressed, people made a terrifying discovery: the abilities gained in-game began to feedback into reality. Soon after, the entire world descended into madness.
...
“My cheats arrived early. Now, I hold the script!” Shen Hao’s lips curled into a cold smirk. “Liu Qing, Liu Ruyan... How should I make you two die?”
It took him all of three seconds to outline a hundred different death scenarios for his backstabbing ex-girlfriend.
Liu Qing, his former lover. A billionaire CEO of a sizable gaming company, tall and elegant (though that was irrelevant now).
Liu Ruyan, Liu Qing’s twin sister. Both sisters were masters of deception. The elder sister played the gentle, caring, and intellectual type; the younger sister was the passionate, elusive temptress.
In his past life, he, a world-class game architect, had been completely manipulated by this sister duo. In just two years, Shen Hao single-handedly restructured Liu Qing’s nearly bankrupt company, took it public, and propelled her into the ranks of the billionaires.
When “The Abyss” era arrived, Shen Hao cleared the path ahead, while the Liu sisters leisurely followed behind, reaping all the benefits. It wasn’t until the very last moment that they finally bared the fangs they had hidden for years.
A cold, emotionless “Thanks.”
Then, a blade in the back from Liu Qing, stealing the prize he had risked his life to obtain…
His phone vibrated with a notification.
[Server Launch Countdown: 04:14…]
A message from Liu Qing: “Sweetie, did you sleep well? I’m pulling overtime at the company. I’ll come to you as soon as we finish evaluating ‘The Abyss’...”
A message from Liu Ruyan: [Animated GIF]. “Brother-in-law, help me choose a pair of stockings, which one looks better, purple or black? I made some chicken soup and wanted to bring it to you, but sis is working overtime. She hasn’t been home for days...”
[Animated GIF], Read.
Shen Hao tossed his phone aside. At this moment, the Liu sisters had no idea what the launch of “The Abyss” truly signified. They were still fantasizing about manipulating him into developing a rival game to compete for the market.
“I’ll let you two linger for a few more days. This time, we’ll play this game slowly!”
Shen Hao collected his thoughts and calmly awaited the server launch. The top priority was to enter the game. Leveraging his knowledge of the game, Shen Hao was confident he could gain immediate feedback and cure his leg injury. Once his mobility was unrestricted, dealing with the Liu sisters would be effortless.
[Server Launch Countdown: 00:01…]
[Data collection complete. Player model created successfully…]
[Welcome to The Abyss…]
[Enter the light gate to begin your ultimate survival journey!]
“Should I go through?” A hint of panic stirred within Shen Hao.
He had been lingering in the game lobby for over ten minutes. “The Abyss” was a hyper-realistic game of unknown origin. Once players entered, all their sensations were indistinguishable from reality. After collecting player data, the game would “fix” the players’ physical defects, allowing them to start the game in the initial state of a normal, healthy human.
But at this moment, Shen Hao couldn’t feel his body at all; it was as if he were transparent, a ghost.
After repeatedly re-entering the game and calling for the system to no avail, Shen Hao began to hesitate. Should he just try... floating through?
[Ding! System loading complete…]
[Detected that the host has entered the game. The Apocalypse Nurturing System is now activating…]
[Attribute Panel Activated:]
------------------------
Host: Shen Hao
Status: Spectator, Ordinary Human (Unawakened)
(In Spectator state, the host cannot directly participate in the game.)
Constitution: 6
Strength: 5
Agility: 4
Intelligence: 9
(The maximum base attribute value for an ordinary human is 10 points.)
Psionic Power: 2 (Temporarily granted by the System)
(The host’s Psionic Power can be enhanced through awakening, leveling up, etc.)
(The host’s Psionic Power cap determines the number of targets that can be bound.)
Bound Targets: None
Available Binding Slots: 2
(The host can choose to bind to any form of life in the game world. Subjective binding; cannot be refused.)
(Once a binding is established, it cannot be undone.)
(When a bound target’s attributes increase, the host receives attribute feedback: Requires the bound target’s Loyalty to be greater than 10 points. The higher the loyalty, the greater the feedback.)
(The host can attempt any method to increase a bound target’s loyalty. Loyalty may also decrease.)
(A bound target’s loyalty maxes out at 100 points, representing absolute loyalty to the host.)
(If a bound target dies, the host will randomly lose a certain percentage of attribute points.)
------------------------
“Interesting!” Shen Hao experimented, darting back and forth across the game lobby several times. No stamina was consumed; the movement felt incredibly effortless and weightless. His speed wasn’t extreme, roughly equivalent to a normal human sprinting at full speed. His field of view was limited to a radius of about fifty meters.
But it was more than enough!
“The Abyss” had just launched. The game world was in its early apocalyptic stage, with the primary danger coming from mindless zombies created by an unknown virus. From his Spectator perspective, whether guiding survivors to safety or leading zombies to blockade them, he was a bug-like existence.
[Detected abnormal player data. Commencing data repair…]
[Warehouse data repair completed.]
A game notification sounded. Shen Hao was ecstatic.
The game warehouse in “The Abyss” wasn’t a standard feature. It was an exceedingly rare spatial ability. In his previous life, it was precisely by awakening the warehouse ability early on that Shen Hao managed to overcome all obstacles and become a top-tier powerhouse.
“Time to level up, quickly!”
After a brief inspection, Shen Hao exited the warehouse space. He confirmed it was his game warehouse from his previous life, but ninety percent of the area remained locked due to his insufficient level.
“Let’s see where I’ll end up this time...” Passing through the light gate, Shen Hao once again entered the world of “The Abyss”:
[Time: 21:20]
[Spawn Point: Anning City]
[Drop-off coordinates generating randomly…]
……………………
[Location: Anning University, Girls’ Dormitory Building D, Room 308]
[Time: 22:30]
Xia Chuxue was pressed flat against the door, as still as a gecko.
A moment later, utter despair washed over her.
The one-eyed zombie outside remained frozen in its one-legged stance, unmoving for three whole days. The dark, bloody eyeball swiveling animatedly in the peephole was a clear sign it was alive and... well.
In a battle of endurance against a zombie, Xia Chuxue had lost completely.
“I’m really going to die this time.” She collapsed weakly onto the floor.
She had truly underestimated the one-eyed zombie’s patience and its sheer determination to pounce and devour her brains.
She opened her phone: No Signal. Battery: 1%.
It was the fifth day of the zombie crisis.
The fifth day without any phone signal.
The fourth day without power.
Her third day of starvation...
No one knew how this disaster had started. Even less was known about whether the chaos would ever end. At this moment, Anning City was like an isolated island, completely severed from the outside world.
...
Xia Chuxue took deep breaths, her eyes fixed on the three “items” before her:
A broken mop handle, a five-centimeter fruit knife, and two shoelaces from her sports shoes.
“You can do this, Xia Chuxue!”
“The one-eyed monster has one eye. You have two. The advantage is yours!”
“It’s sixty years old. You’re eighteen. The advantage is yours!”
“It’s not a zombie. It’s just a dog!”
“Open the door, dodge, stab its eye!”
“You can win!”
After three minutes of frantic self-encouragement, Xia Chuxue prepared for action. On the fifth day of being trapped, she was finally making her last stand.
“What a naive woman.” Even the unflappable Shen Hao couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing her call the zombie a dog.
He was currently in his transparent “ghost” state, sitting directly opposite Xia Chuxue, who remained completely unaware of his presence.
He had found her ten minutes ago, while she was still imitating a gecko on the door. Before her, he had scouted two other groups of survivors.
One group was in the boys’ dormitory. Over thirty people, already beginning to organize and show combat potential. The leader, a guy with a defined eight-pack, was exceptionally fierce. Shen Hao watched them clear the last limping zombie from their building and had nearly decided to make the eight-pack leader his first Bound Target.
Unfortunately, their luck was poor.
The limping zombie had been the dorm manager in life, and he had owned four dogs.
Predictably, the eight-pack leader and his thirty-plus fervent young followers were instantly wiped out by four zombie Dobermans. The floor was littered with bone fragments.
The second group was three girls hiding in a water room.
All three were... heavyweights. Their combined weight far exceeded five hundred pounds.
Shen Hao was somewhat tempted. With his guidance and their robust physiques, the three had a chance to survive longer in the apocalypse.
But then, a dramatic scene unfolded.
The three women turned on each other with scissors, fighting over the last remaining steamed bun.
Jets of blood sprayed out, painting the ceiling red.
By the time Shen Hao left, all three women were lying still on the ground.
Now, back to observing Xia Chuxue.
Her “mop spear” was successfully assembled. She stood up and tested its heft. It felt good.
[Target meets binding criteria.]
[Bind?]
Shen Hao closed the prompt and adjusted his angle, continuing to observe. Xia Chuxue found a set of sportswear. She took off her dress and changed into the sportswear...
“Confirm binding.”
[Target bound successfully.]
……………………
(Chapter End)
PS: Character Portraits
Shen Hao
Male, 20 years old. Our male protagonist standing 180cm tall and weighing 65kg. He confidently claims to have an eight-pack, carrying himself with a mix of witty cunning and unwavering moral principle.
Xia Chuxue
Female, 18 years old. A university student with twin tails, standing 170cm tall and weighing 52kg. She is resilient, adorable, and sweet—a blend of inner strength and charming innocence.
