Chapter 1: A Cruel Joke
A strange ceiling.
In the pure white hospital room, the beeping of the heart monitor sounded like some sort of countdown to death.
Shattered beams of sunlight filtered through the leaves outside, casting fragmented patterns on the floor. When the wind blew, those scattered patches of light danced upon the pale face of the young man lying on the bed.
The young man squinted uncomfortably, raising his right hand, which was connected to an IV drip. This body, which should have been brimming with youth and vitality, was now frail, as weak as withered leaves about to fall.
Three days? A week?
He might have been lying here for more than six months already.
Ever since the accident, he had lost all sense of time.
His parents, younger sister, relatives, and friends…
They were supposed to be attending the wedding of his cousin, who had married abroad, but instead, they perished in a fiery plane crash. Only Fang Ming survived.
Not that he fared much better.
Months of unconsciousness and being bedridden had left him with severe muscle atrophy. Now, he was practically disabled.
They say that those who are left behind suffer more than those who depart.
The dual blow to both his body and spirit had nearly broken him.
He had wondered why he didn’t perish alongside his parents in the crash. Why was he the one who had to survive?
“Fang Ming.”
As he was lost in thought, the door to his hospital room swung open, and a formally dressed man stepped inside.
It was Fang Ming’s lawyer, Zhang Wei.
To call him Fang Ming’s lawyer wasn’t entirely accurate. A twenty-year-old young man wouldn’t normally have one. Zhang Wei was actually an employee at Fang Ming’s father’s company, mainly responsible for handling the aftermath of the accident.
“The division of compensation responsibilities between the airline and the insurance company has been finalized,” Zhang Wei began, speaking in a businesslike tone. “Your mother, father, and sister will each receive a total of 4 million yuan and 3 million yuan, respectively.”
“Including your own compensation, the total for the four of you amounts to 11.7 million yuan. It is expected to be deposited into your account this afternoon…”
Zhang Wei relayed the result verbatim.
After a brief pause, the young man lying on the hospital bed merely nodded slightly, saying nothing.
Zhang Wei sighed.
As a longtime employee of Fang Ming’s father’s company, Zhang Wei had practically watched the boy grow up. From the moment Fang Ming had woken up, he had already said countless words of comfort and encouragement.
But at a time like this, no amount of consolation could truly help.
He needed more time.
“The doctors say that if you’re willing to undergo rehabilitation, there’s a high chance you’ll be able to walk again…”
“And your father’s company still has a lot of matters that require your attention…”
Zhang Wei trailed off.
For a young man who had just turned twenty—barely stepping into adulthood—having all of this thrust upon him at once was simply too cruel.
“…I’ll figure something out for those matters. You just focus on recovering.”
With that, Zhang Wei picked up his briefcase, quietly shut the door, and left.
As silence returned, Fang Ming lay in bed with his eyes closed once more.
Lately, every time he closed his eyes, the weightlessness of the plane losing control and the sky filled with flames replayed over and over.
In his mind, he had rehearsed countless times how he might have saved his family during the accident.
But no matter how many times he replayed the scene, the past could not be changed.
He simply wasn’t ready to face reality.
“Bzzz…”
The vibration of his phone pulled him out of his thoughts. Opening his eyes, he saw two new messages regarding incoming deposits.
One transfer was for 1.5 million yuan.
The other was for 10.2 million yuan.
Just as Zhang Wei had said, the airline and insurance company had compensated him a total of 11.7 million yuan.
If this had happened before the accident, Fang Ming would have been overjoyed by such a sum.
Just imagining all the ways to spend the money would have been enough to excite him.
But now…
His heart felt nothing.
He didn’t even know how a person who had lost all their loved ones and their ability to walk was supposed to spend such money.
In this world, money was merely a tool to exchange one person’s desires for another’s.
Yet now, Fang Ming had no desires left.
He didn’t even have the will to keep living.
“Bzzz, bzzz…”
As he was lost in thought, his phone vibrated again.
A flicker of confusion crossed his mind.
All of his closest friends had perished in the accident, and he had no relatives left to contact him. Apart from Zhang Wei, there shouldn’t be anyone else messaging him.
Struggling, Fang Ming lifted his weak arm and opened the message. The moment he read it, he understood.
[End of Days: Beta Test Begins]
[Dear Player,
You are cordially invited to become a privileged beta tester for End of Days—a revolutionary, immersive post-apocalyptic survival game!
In this hyper-realistic wasteland, you will experience the ultimate test of survival and the thrill of strategic cooperation. With just a few taps, you can build your own shelter and recruit NPC survivors of your choice!
Countless exciting adventures await you!
[Click to Download]**
Fang Ming skimmed through the message.
Just another spam text.
Was big data this unreliable these days?
He was a plane crash survivor who could barely lift his phone—where would he find the time or energy to play games?
“Delete.”
Just as he was about to press the delete button, his phone screen suddenly switched on its own.
[Download Complete!]
For a brief moment, Fang Ming thought he saw a warning about potential malware, but the alert disappeared almost instantly.
Then, his phone screen went completely black.
His expression remained calm.
Was this one of those scams that detected large deposits in someone’s account before hacking in and stealing everything?
Yet even if that were the case, Fang Ming didn’t care.
He had already seen the worst life had to offer.
After about five minutes, the screen lit up again.
It seemed to be an opening CGI scene. Fang Ming had no controls, only the option to watch the unfolding events.
The screen was monochromatic, dominated by black, white, and gray.
A thick mist loomed. Greenish-black rain appeared to be falling from the sky.
The camera shifted, focusing on a shelter marked "0331."
As the scene zoomed in, the layout of the shelter became clear.
A young girl wearing a black tactical vest was sprinting down a narrow corridor, clutching something that resembled a bread roll.
Afraid of catching the attention of the skeletal, predatory adults lurking nearby, she ran swiftly. Her long black ponytail swayed with her movements.
Reaching a dimly lit space, she knelt down and expertly pulled a small knife from her thigh holster. With practiced precision, she cut the bread into five pieces.
She handed them to her younger siblings, then to her parents, and finally to an elderly grandmother.
Although Fang Ming couldn’t hear any sound, he could tell from their lips and expressions that they were offering the food to the girl, urging her to eat.
She merely shook her head and carefully took out a canteen from behind her.
In the apocalypse, drinking water was a rare treasure. Her parents kept shaking their heads, refusing to drink, but she stubbornly insisted, pressing the canteen to her mother’s cracked lips.
Suddenly, the sky was illuminated by an ominous blaze.
From Fang Ming’s perspective, he could see something resembling a missile streaking across the sky.
Then, it struck the shelter.
A violent explosion erupted.
Flames and metal shrapnel engulfed the scene.
As the fire died down, the ruins came into view.
The girl sat alone in the wreckage, covering her face as she wept, her tears mixing with blood.
She was the only one left.
Her legs were crushed under the debris, leaving her to crawl forward with only her hands.
Desperately, she dug through the rubble, searching for her family—only to find shattered limbs and lifeless bodies.
At that moment, Fang Ming frowned.
His first thought was…
This had to be a cruel joke.
The game’s protagonist had been given the exact same tragic backstory as him.