As night fell, the city lights began to twinkle.

  Kris dragged his exhausted body out of the company gate.

  His eyes were dark from continuous overtime work, and his head was heavy with fatigue.

  He sighed, "These damn KPIs are going to be the death of me."

  "This month's bonus is gone again, what bad luck!"

  Kris muttered under his breath, tightened his coat, and hurried towards the subway station.

  Suddenly, a blinding flash of light passed, and Kris instinctively closed his eyes.

  When he opened them again, the scene before him was astonishing.

  The familiar streets were gone, replaced by a dilapidated road.

  The surrounding skyscrapers were still standing, but they were in ruins, with peeling walls and shattered windows, as if gnawed by some monster.

  Cars were overturned haphazardly on the road, some still emitting black smoke, the air filled with a pungent smell of burning and a nauseating stench of blood.

  Most terrifyingly, there were slow-moving, rotting monsters wandering the streets, growling low, their hollow eyes gleaming with bloodlust.

  "What the hell is this place? A movie set?" Kris panicked, looking around, pinching his arm hard, "Ouch, it hurts! This isn't a dream!"

  At that moment, a cold mechanical voice echoed in his mind, "Welcome, players, to the apocalypse game—Endless Abyss!"

  Kris shuddered, almost jumping, "Who? Who's speaking?"

  "I am the DM of this game," the voice said without emotion, "To put it simply, you've been chosen to participate in this survival game."

  "Survival game? What do you mean? I didn't sign up for any damn game!" Kris suppressed his fear, shouting.

  "Unfortunately, you have no choice."

  "This game world is over 100 times the size of Earth and is currently overrun by zombies and various mutated creatures, with extremely harsh living conditions. Your goal is to survive in this world."

  "Wait, you mean we're not in our original world anymore?" Kris keenly caught the key information.

  "Correct, this is the Endless Abyss, a truly existing parallel world," the DM (Dungeon Master) replied,

  "Let me also remind you that if you die in this game, you'll die in reality too."

  "What?!" Kris's face turned pale, "This is murder! I want out! I want to go home!"

  "Sorry, once the game starts, there's no quitting," the DM shattered his illusion mercilessly, "If you want to live, strive to survive in this world."

  Kris wanted to ask more, but the cold mechanical voice cut him off, "Now, I will introduce the basic rules and precautions of the game to all players. Please remember them well, as they relate to your life safety."

  Despite his reluctance, Kris had no choice but to listen.

  "First, killing zombies earns you Energy, the most important resource in this world, which can be used to exchange for various supplies, talents, and skills."

  "Second, resources in this world are extremely scarce, especially clean water and food. Drinking unclean water or eating spoiled food can cause illness, and in severe cases, death or transformation into a zombie."

  "Third, each player possesses a Collect skill, allowing you to gather various resources, but the process consumes time and stamina and may attract zombies or other players."

  "Fourth, this world is full of dangers, including zombies and mutated creatures, as well as harsh weather, traps, and other malevolent players. Always stay alert and trust no one easily."

  "Fifth, there will be a Blood Moon every month, during which zombies and mutated creatures become more ferocious and their numbers increase significantly. Prepare in advance."

  "Sixth, various resource points and Safe houses will randomly refresh on the game map. Specific information requires players to explore on their own."

  "Seventh, players can obtain generous rewards by completing tasks issued by the DM. The higher the difficulty, the richer the rewards."

  "Eighth, a Chat channel is built into the game, allowing players to communicate within it."

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "Ninth, this world contains various powerful mutated creatures and BOSSes. Killing them can yield rare materials and equipment, but the risk is extremely high."

  "That concludes the rules," the DM announced coldly, "The game officially begins now. Good luck to all players!"

  "Wait! I still have questions..." Kris shouted hastily, but the DM had vanished without a trace.

  "Damn it!"

  Kris couldn't help but curse.

  What kind of place is this?

  Throwing people into this hellhole without any tutorial and just starting?

  At that moment, a series of low growls approached, interrupting his thoughts.

  Kris turned sharply to see several zombies shambling towards him from down the road.

  They were rotting, emitting a foul stench, their hollow eyes gleaming with bloodlust, like beasts spotting prey.

  Kris's pupils contracted sharply, a chill running from his feet to the top of his head.

  He realized now that everything the DM said was true. This wasn't some prank, but a brutal survival game!

  What to do? What to do!

  Kris's mind raced, forcing himself to calm down and start observing his surroundings.

  He was standing on a ruined road, surrounded by dilapidated skyscrapers, with various scrapped cars scattered across the street.

  Not far away, the zombies were getting closer.

  He had to find a place to hide! Kris's eyes darted around, searching for a possible hiding spot.

  Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a supermarket sign.

  The supermarket was at the corner of the street, the sign still intact, faintly showing the word "supermarket."

  As Kris saw the supermarket, a striking prompt suddenly appeared before his eyes:

  [Hint: There are 46 zombies, 3 basic supply chests, and 1 intermediate supply chest inside this supermarket]

  What is this?

  Kris was stunned for a moment, was this part of the game?

  Wait, he realized immediately, if this were built into the game, wouldn't this apocalypse game be too easy?

  Could this be the 'golden finger'? Kris had read many web novels.

  Before he could think more, he looked at the gym next to the supermarket, and another prompt appeared:

  [Hint: There are 6 zombies and 2 boxes of food inside this gym]

  Kris's eyes lit up, these hints were incredibly useful!

  He could clearly see the number of zombies and the resources in each location, which undoubtedly greatly increased his chances of survival.

  However, the most urgent matter now was to escape these zombies.

  The supermarket had too many zombies, too risky, and although the gym had fewer zombies, Kris didn't think he was capable of handling six zombies yet.

  He had to find a safer place!

  Kris's eyes continued to search around, and then he saw a hardware store in the distance.

  A prompt immediately appeared before his eyes:

  [Hint: There are no zombies and 1 Basic supply chest inside this hardware store]

  No zombies! And a Basic supply chest! This was a godsend!

  Kris was ecstatic, he could no longer care about anything else, he sprinted towards the hardware store.

  The zombies behind him seemed to sense his intention, their growls became more urgent, and their steps quickened.

  Kris bolted, running towards the hardware store, the wind howling in his ears, his heart pounding wildly.

  "Faster! Faster!"

  As he ran, Kris glanced back to keep an eye on the zombies. Though these creatures were slow, they were relentless, and getting caught by them would spell disaster.

  “Damn, these cursed things!” Kris cursed under his breath.

  His eyes caught a glimpse of a flipped car by the roadside.

  Beside the car, a sharp iron rod stained with dark red blood lay quietly on the ground, reflecting a cold glint under the sunlight.

  Kris’s eyes lit up. This was a great find!

  He dashed over, bent down to pick up the iron rod.

  On impulse, he also grabbed a seemingly intact motorcycle helmet from nearby and put it on his head.

  Now he felt much safer!

  As he ran, Kris weighed the iron rod in his hand, feeling more secure. Though he had no combat experience, having a weapon was definitely better than being unarmed.

  Finally, he reached the hardware store. The door was tightly shut, with a rusty padlock hanging on it.

  Without a second thought, Kris swung the iron rod hard at the lock.

  “Clang!” The lock broke with a loud noise.

  He quickly pushed the door open, slipped inside, and immediately closed it behind him, securing it with a chain.

  “Huff… huff…” Kris leaned against the door, panting heavily. Sweat dripped down his face, soaking his collar.

  His legs felt as heavy as lead, every movement sending sharp pain through his body. The intense run had nearly drained all his energy.

  But Kris couldn’t afford to relax.

  Summoning his remaining strength, he began searching the store for anything that could help fend off the zombies.

  Soon, he spotted a massive tool cabinet. It was as tall as a person, made entirely of steel, and looked incredibly sturdy.

  Without hesitation, Kris walked over to the cabinet and started pushing it.

  The cabinet was heavy, and Kris had to use all his strength just to move it half a meter.

  “Heave! Ho!” Kris cheered himself on, gritting his teeth as he continued to push.

  Luckily, the cabinet wasn’t far from the door.

  After a few minutes, he managed to push it in front of the entrance, completely blocking it.

  With that done, Kris finally let out a sigh of relief and plopped down on the floor.

  “Now it should be safe…”

  Recalling the rules the DM had mentioned, Kris remembered that this world had a chat channel!

  Eagerly, he opened the chat channel to see how other players were faring.

  As soon as he entered, the screen was flooded with messages.

  “Help! I’m surrounded by zombies! Someone save me!”

  “Anyone want to team up? I’ve got a lot of supplies to share!”

  “The zombies are eating people! Where’s the safe house? I’m hiding under the bed and too scared to come out!”

  “I saw someone killing others! Be careful!”

  “Are you serious? The game just started, and people are already killing each other?”

  “It’s true! I saw it with my own eyes. It’s terrifying!”

  “...”

  The chat channel was filled with a mix of pleas for help, team-up requests, information sharing, and shocking revelations.

  Kris quickly scanned through the messages, his emotions in turmoil.

  He had thought that in this apocalypse, everyone would band together to fight the zombies.

  But he hadn’t expected that people would start turning on each other so soon.

  In the apocalypse, the most terrifying thing might not be the zombies, but human nature.

  Kris decided not to reveal his own information and instead observe quietly for now.

  After closing the chat channel, he began to think about his next steps.

  Though he was safe for the moment, he couldn’t stay here forever.

  He needed to find more supplies and boost his strength to survive in this world.

  Wait, supplies!

  Kris suddenly remembered that, according to the System’s hint, there was a Basic supply chest in this hardware store!

  With that thought, Kris’s spirits lifted. He immediately stood up, ready to search the store for it.