Chapter 1 The First Day of the End
In a room belonging to the female dormitory of Beijing University.
"This weather is really awful…" Lin Xuan Yan complained lightly as she looked at the world through the window
The rain was falling into relentless torrents, countless droplets hammered against the windowpane, their rhythmic patter carrying a strangely soothing melody. Yet Lin Xuan Yan found little comfort in it. The incessant downpour had shrouded the outside world in a hazy current of water, leaving her with nothing but the dreary sight of an endless storm.
For the past year, the world's climate had descended into utter chaos, with the weather becoming increasingly unpredictable from one day to the next.
Desserts that had remained dry were suddenly ravaged by violent storms and torrential rainfall. And the North pole began to melt at an alarming rate.
Even Antarctica, could began to thaw overnight under the relentless heat.
Scientists around the world had been unable to find a reasonable explanation for these increasingly bizarre phenomena. However, the major world powers were quick to respond, pressuring smaller nations to implement stricter environmental regulations and drastically reduce pollution. They attributed the abnormal climate fluctuations to possible malfunctions in the planet's protective atmospheric layers, warning that humanity's continued disregard for the environment might only make matters worse.
As a result, even on days when the sun shone brightly across the sky, people rarely left their homes without carrying an umbrella. After all, no one knew when the clear blue skies might suddenly give way to a violent storm.
"Honestly, as if things weren't troublesome enough, I still have to go to work in this damned weather…I" Lin Xuan Yan muttered with a helpless sigh.
Lin Xuan Yan was just a normal 18-year-old student. Her parents passed away when she was a baby. She had to live with her maternal grandparents who passed away one year ago.
Although she was still young, she gradually grown used to solitude.
At that moment, as Lin Xuan Yan rummaged through her wardrobe in search of warmer clothes, the entire world suddenly seemed to tremble.
The walls rattled, furniture lurched out of place, and objects scattered across the floor. The wardrobe in front of her swayed dangerously, threatening to topple over.
Lin Xuan Yan's expression changed.
Reacting instinctively, she grabbed the sides of the wardrobe with both hands, desperately trying to keep herself from being crushed beneath it.
Lin Xuan Yan suddenly felt an indescribable sensation deep within her body, as though she had been struck hard in the stomach. Her breath caught in her throat, and an overwhelming wave of nausea washed over her. Her face drained of color as she instinctively clutched her abdomen, struggling to suppress the urge to vomit.
The sensation was suffocating, almost as if something invisible had forcefully invaded her body.
Then, after approximately ten seconds, everything abruptly returned to normal.
The violent trembling ceased. The furniture stopped shaking, and the objects that had been teetering dangerously on the edge of shelves finally settled into place. The paintings on the walls no longer threatened to fall, while the familiar sound of torrential rain once again filled the room.
The oppressive sensation that had gripped Lin Xuan Yan's body gradually disappeared, leaving behind only an uncomfortable chill.
A cold breeze slipped through the broken window, brushing against her skin and making her shiver.
However she can no longer bring herself to care about the cold, the rain, or the previous earthquake.
[The Soul Records has arrived on Planet Earth. You can now view your Status Window whenever you wish. The first time, the window will open as a test.]
"…What is this…?"
Lin Xuan Yan murmured softly as she examined the strange green message that had suddenly appeared before her eyes.
A moment later, the message changed.
[Lin Xuan Yan —
Level: 0
Race: Human
Job: None
Title: None
Strength: 8 (10) / Agility: 10 (10) / Health: 9 (10) / Stamina: 9 (10) / Mana: 112 (0) / Magic: 108 (10)]
Lin Xuan Yan possessed the slender physique of an ordinary eighteen-year-old girl. Her body was neither particularly athletic nor frail, and although she occasionally exercised, she had never undergone any serious physical training.
Considering that the numbers enclosed in parentheses represented the average attributes of an ordinary human being, her physical condition was relatively normal, if not slightly below average in terms of strength.
"Magic…?"
Lin Xuan Yan's gaze lingered on the word for a moment longer. A faint trace of surprise finally appeared in her otherwise composed expression.
Lin Xuan Yan was still examining the strange information displayed before her eyes when several distant screams suddenly interrupted her thoughts.
She turned toward the window.
Outside, the entire world had changed. The familiar streets she had seen only moments ago had become a scene of absolute chaos.
People were running in every direction, screaming and desperately begging for help as they tried to escape from others pursuing them. However, the most horrifying sight was that some people were actually eating other people like wild beasts.
like wild beasts.
"Help!"
A pretty young woman was running for her life, repeatedly glancing behind her as she desperately tried to escape one of the strange creatures chasing her.
Unfortunately, she failed to notice a stone beneath her feet and stumbled, falling heavily to the ground.
Lin Xuan Yan's eyes widened slightly.
Before the young woman could get back up, one of the creatures caught up with her. Its bloodstained mouth opened wide before it viciously bit into her arm.
"Save me!"
The young woman screamed in agony, desperately struggling to free herself. Her expression was pitiful, but none of the people fleeing nearby stopped to help her. Everyone was too preoccupied with saving their own lives.
Soon, the young woman's struggles ceased.
However, a few moments later, she slowly stood up again.
Her movements were sluggish and unnatural as she began staggering toward the nearby sounds.
Lin Xuan Yan's complexion turned pale.
"…Zombies?"
The creatures were practically identical to the zombies she had seen in horror movies.
Before she could think any further, a strange buzzing sound caught her attention.
"Bzzzz!"
A bee approximately the size of a human fist suddenly flew toward one of the zombies.
The zombie didn't even react when the enormous stinger pierced its head, directly crushing its brain and killing it on the spot.
The bee landed on the corpse and began eating something inside its head. After a few moments, its body seemed to grow several inches before finally stopping.
As if sensing something, the bee suddenly abandoned the corpse and turned toward the nearby building.
Its target was Lin Xuan Yan.
Her expression changed.
The enormous bee shot toward her window at frightening speed. In barely a few blinks, it had crossed the distance and flown through the broken window, aiming its sharp, bloodstained stinger directly at her face.
Lin Xuan Yan reacted instinctively.
Her right hand reached for the nearest wooden chair. Without giving herself time to hesitate, she swung it forward with all her strength.
BANG!
The chair struck the bee hard, sending it crashing against the adjoining wall.
However, the creature was still moving.
Lin Xuan Yan tightened her grip on the chair, raised it above her head, and brought it down fiercely.
Once.
Twice.
A third time.
Only when the bee finally stopped moving did she lower the chair.
A white orb of energy emerged from the creature's corpse and shot directly into her body.
[You gain Level 5 Big Bee's Soul Power. Agility +2, Strength +2.]
[You have reached Level 1. You acquire two status points to distribute freely.]
Two messages appeared before her eyes.
Lin Xuan Yan felt a strange energy spread throughout her body, nourishing her muscles and bones. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but she could clearly feel that her physical condition had improved.
"What is this…?"
She cautiously stepped toward the bee's corpse.
Something lying beside it caught her attention.
It was a strange, pale-blue crystal scroll. Its surface was smooth and translucent, resembling a piece of frozen glass. Faint ripples seemed to move beneath its surface, as though the space surrounding it had been distorted.
Lin Xuan Yan reached down and picked it up.
The moment her fingers touched the object, a notification appeared.
[Spatial Manipulation (First Order Skill) Level 5: Allows the user to manipulate the space surrounding themselves to a certain extent. The user can distort, compress, and shift small areas of space. The effectiveness and complexity of the skill depend on the user's magical power, Mana, and imagination.]
Lin Xuan Yan stared at the description.
"Spatial Manipulation…?"
Her voice was soft, but a hint of surprise could be heard in it.
This was an extraordinary ability.
Although the description was brief, its potential was difficult to overlook. Space was not something ordinary people could interfere with, yet this skill allowed her to manipulate it.
Lin Xuan Yan carefully examined the scroll once more before turning her attention toward the broken window.
The screams outside had not stopped.
She tightened her fingers around the scroll, her expression gradually returning to its usual calmness.