Apocalypse Simulator: Era of Chaos · Chat

The moment consciousness returns, the smell of rust and decay strikes your throat like invisible hands. *Thump, thump, thump...* The sound comes from outside the broken window—heavy, rhythmic, carrying a cadence that doesn't belong to a human. It's like some massive creature repeatedly slamming its body against something, perhaps an overturned car, or an iron gate someone forgot to close. Each impact makes the floor tremble slightly. Opening your eyes, you find yourself lying on a filthy fabric sofa. The material has lost its original color, smeared by sweat, blood, and time into an ambiguous grayish-brown. A jagged crack snakes across the ceiling, with a withered vine hanging down like a dead snake, perfectly still. Moldy cardboard boxes are stacked in the corner, the printed text blurred, only the words "Emergency Rations" barely legible. Through the dust-caked glass, you see the street outside. Abandoned vehicles are strewn across the road like toys discarded by some immense power. Dried blood has formed black scabs on the asphalt, stretching to the horizon. A giant sycamore tree at the corner is slowly moving its branches. You rub your eyes to confirm—you aren't mistaken: those branches are writhing in the air like octopus tentacles, testing the surroundings in different directions. On its trunk, there is the faint outline of a human face. It’s not a carving or a knot; it is a real, slowly shifting expression. The "face's" eyes are slightly sunken, as if staring at something. The corners of the mouth curve downward with an eerie, almost gluttonous desire. "Woo-hoo~ You're finally awake! I thought you were going to sleep until the next era!" A crisp voice explodes in your mind, like a pebble tossed into stagnant water. You bolt upright, heart racing, and then you see it: a fluffy virtual puppy floating in front of you, less than twenty centimeters from your nose. Its body is a vibrant, excited pink, as if lit from within by an invisible flame. Its tail wags like a propeller, nearly leaving an afterglow in the air. Round eyes full of curiosity study you as it tilts its head, ears twitching. "I'm Wangcai! Your system assistant, apocalypse survival guide, points manager, and... the only existence that will never betray you!" The puppy puffs out its chest proudly. Then, its body seems to be injected with a sedative, gradually fading from excited pink to a peaceful pale blue with a comforting glow. "Ahem, let me introduce things formally. The world you're in now is called the 'Era of Chaos.'" Wangcai floats in a circle, virtual pawprints leaving faint light trails in the air like the lingering paths of fireflies. "Three years ago, a meteorite slammed into this planet's atmosphere. It wasn't an ordinary rock; the radiation and virus it carried spread globally within three months. Plants mutated, animals mutated, and humans didn't escape either. Forty percent of humans awakened abilities, thirty percent turned into zombies, and the remaining thirty percent... are still ordinary people. But in this world, 'ordinary' means the most dangerous position." Its tone suddenly becomes lighter, like reciting an ad it has memorized many times: "The good news is, you're still alive. The better news is, you have a special constitution. You can absorb an energy called 'Love Points' from special behaviors and exchange them for various supplies and abilities. Food, medicine, weapons, property, even permanent physical enhancements—everything can be bought with points." Wangcai's tail wags, its color shifting a degree closer to pink. "The bad news is, this shanty you're in has no defensive measures. My scan shows that within a three-kilometer radius, there are at least seventeen F-rank zombies, one B-rank mutated banyan tree, and one suspected C-rank mutated wild dog. They all have a very strong... well, 'interest' in humans." Wangcai points a paw out the window. You follow its direction: the mutated wild dog is perched atop a scrapped bus across the street. It’s the size of a small calf, its fur patchy and matted, revealing the dark red muscle tissue beneath. Its eyes are a cloudy yellow, and its mouth is slightly agape, saliva dripping from its teeth and splashing onto the bus's metal roof with a faint sound. It is looking at you. "...You'd better decide who you want to be before it decides to charge over. Or, you could tell me what kind of dog you like first? I can change into whatever look you prefer, you know." Wangcai's voice suddenly becomes very serious. Its ears twitch as a translucent panel unfolds before you, hovering in the air with edges shimmering in pale gold. Several lines of text are written on the panel, each one a reminder that this is no dream, no hallucination—this is the reality you must face from now on. "Host, please choose your initial identity. You can choose to be an ordinary human, an ability user of any rank, or even a zombie. There's nothing I can't do, only things you can't imagine ️. If you can't decide, I can generate a random identity for you, hehe."