"Huff... huff huff..."
Chen Du slumped into a seat inside an abandoned supermarket, still catching his breath.
Shaken but alert, he staggered to his feet and hurried toward the second floor, where an office with a security door awaited him.
Once inside, he locked the door behind him, finally feeling a flicker of safety.
Through the window of the office, he gazed out at the horde of zombies that had once been ordinary people, now transformed into mindless monsters. His face reflected confusion and despair.
Just moments earlier, Chen Du had been sitting at home when a sudden wave of dizziness overtook him.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in this unfamiliar place.
Before he could make sense of what happened, the zombies appeared, forcing him to flee into the abandoned supermarket.
[Welcome, chosen challengers, to the world of the apocalypse.]
[Here, you must gather supplies to survive while fending off zombies and mutated creatures that will stop at nothing to take your life.]
[Do whatever it takes to survive, fortunate challengers!]
At that moment, a mechanical female voice echoed in Chen Du's mind.
Simultaneously, an augmented reality (AR)-style interface materialized before his eyes, displaying a backpack, trading window, chat channel, and mailbox.
He tapped on the backpack icon—his heart sank as he found it completely empty.
Chen Du's expression darkened. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day. If the earlier announcement was true, without supplies, death was inevitable.
[Ding! You have a new message!]
As Chen Du instinctively opened the message, a voice resonated in his head.
[Infinite Resource System has been bound to the host!]
It didn't take long for Chen Du to understand the purpose of this so-called system.
In the first slot of his virtual backpack, an icon of a water bottle appeared, with the infinity symbol (∞) in the bottom right corner.
"Is this one of those systems every protagonist gets?"
Chen Du quickly retrieved the water bottle from the inventory.
Sure enough, the icon remained.
He frantically pulled out more bottles until the office was filled with 500ml water bottles.
Overwhelmed with joy, he realized he had indeed obtained the legendary system.
This system provided him with one infinite resource each day—and today, it was water.
Chen Du opened the chat channel and noticed a "local" tag. Many users were already posting messages.
ID 1040: "What the hell is going on? I was just teleported here to fight zombies! I want to go back!"
ID 35678: "I'm done for. No supplies, zombies everywhere. Guess I'll be zombie food soon."
ID 512340: "I saw someone get bitten by a zombie—they turned into one instantly. Thank God I ran fast!"
ID 550: "Stop complaining and start gathering supplies."
Chen Du scrolled through the chat, confirming that everything was real.
Selected individuals had been transported here, forced to participate in this survival game.
Judging by the ID IDs in the local chat, tens of thousands of people were scattered across the same city as him.
Were there even more survivors in other cities?
The game had officially begun the moment the announcement sounded.
Some would survive by gathering supplies, while others would succumb to hunger, thirst, or the relentless zombies.
Chen Du opened the trading platform and discovered that a few people were already selling supplies—mostly food and water, along with some miscellaneous items like flashlights and lighters.
The trading system operated on barter. Sellers set their terms, and if buyers possessed the required items, the trade would proceed.
Most of the trade requests were for water and food—resources Chen Du had in abundance.
He swept through the platform, purchasing all available trades involving water.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
His mailbox chimed incessantly. In no time, Chen Du secured enough food to last him for days.
ID 1945 bought 5 loaves of bread.
ID 1945 bought 2 blocks of cheese.
ID 1945 bought 3 packs of pasta.
ID 1945 bought 1 lighter.
At the same time, the chat channel erupted with discussions about ID 1945.
ID 8213: "Damn! ID 1945 just bought all 5 loaves of bread I listed. How much stuff do they have?!"
ID 1215: "That's nothing. They bought everything I had!"
ID 84856: "Is ID 1945 a game plant? Trying to deplete our supplies and make survival harder?"
ID 47562: "Probably! No way someone has that much stuff to trade. Must be part of the game's manipulation."
Chen Du glanced at the chat and realized that trading revealed both parties' ID IDs.
This feature exposed him, but thankfully, it only occurred during active trades.
After exchanging water for other supplies, Chen Du used those new items to fulfill additional trade requests. By now, he practically owned a general store.
He pulled out a steaming plate of pasta and a glass of orange juice from his backpack, eating while browsing the trading platform.
But there was one crucial item missing—weapons.
He desperately needed tools for self-defense.
Not guns or ammunition, but even a baseball bat or a kitchen knife eluded him.
He figured those who had found weapons weren't listing them.
After all, in a world overrun by zombies, a good weapon could significantly boost one's chances of survival.
But it was only the first day.
The pressure to survive wasn't too intense yet.
Many people were still hiding in safe zones, avoiding venturing out for supplies.
Chen Du believed that as desperation set in over the next few days, the trading platform would become more diverse.
For now, he decided to stay in the abandoned supermarket, building up his resources and strength.
He descended to the first floor to search for supplies but came up empty-handed.
Finally, as he entered the restroom to relieve himself, he noticed a wooden crate near the sink.
"Could this be a supply crate?"
Chen Du muttered under his breath as he approached it.
[Successfully opened a Bronze-level supply crate.]
[Obtained Wood x10.]
[Obtained Rope x1.]
Better than nothing.
Chen Du stored the items in his backpack. He checked the faucet for water, but it was merely a useless prop.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As he exited the restroom and headed back upstairs, he heard someone pounding on the supermarket door, shouting, "Is anyone there? Please open up! Zombies are chasing me!"