The world didn't give mornings anymore.
There was no soft blue light filtering in through windows, no chirping of birds, no warm air carrying the scent of breakfast from a neighbor's home.
There was only smoke, wind, and the heavy silence of ruined buildings.
Yu Ren opened his eyes to cold concrete and the taste of fear still lingering on his tongue. The dream had faded, but not the image of fire swallowing Lian Zhou. Not the blood. Not the sound of his own scream.
Lian Zhou sat nearby, as always.
Awake.
Polishing his blade like he hadn't closed his eyes all night.
Yu Ren sat up slowly. His leg still throbbed, but the fever had dropped. The makeshift antibiotics Lian Zhou had given him—likely salvaged from some pharmacy—had done their job.
"Bad dream?" Lian Zhou asked without looking up.
Yu Ren hesitated. "You could tell?"
"You were mumbling."
Yu Ren pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. "Do I do that a lot?"
"No. Just last night."
Silence fell between them again. But it wasn't empty. It pressed like fog—thick with unsaid questions.
Yu Ren knew he should stay quiet. Let the moment pass. But something in his chest pushed back.
"I dreamed you died," he said.
Lian Zhou paused mid-motion.
Yu Ren regretted it immediately. "Sorry. That was weird. I just… I've been having these… dreams. Since the System activated."
He braced himself for skepticism. For a frown. Maybe even laughter.
But Lian Zhou simply wiped the blade clean.
"The System gives hallucinations now?"
Yu Ren stared at him. "You know about the System?"
Lian Zhou finally met his eyes. "Everyone who's still alive knows. It showed up after the first week. Different for everyone. Some get combat skills. Others get trade perks, like engineering or survival boosts. No one fully understands it. Most don't talk about it."
"Why not?"
"Because some people got nothing. No stats, no perks, no help. They went mad, or they died. Either way, it split us."
Yu Ren looked down at his hands.
So he wasn't crazy. The System was real. And somehow, his version of it—whatever this affinity-based bond was—was rarer than he thought.
"I didn't get a class," he murmured. "Or stats. Just… your name."
Lian Zhou raised an eyebrow.
Yu Ren flushed. "The System told me I'd survive longer if I stayed near you. It… it gives me quests. Based on you."
Lian Zhou didn't laugh. Didn't call him delusional. He just stood and slung his rifle over his shoulder.
"Then stay close," he said.
As if that was all the explanation he needed.
---
They traveled through Sector 4 by midday, cutting through what had once been a residential zone. Twisted metal and collapsed roads made the going slow. Charred strollers. A melted swing set. The remnants of childhoods erased in hours.
Yu Ren hated this part of the world most.
The monsters were terrifying—but the ghosts of ordinary life were worse.
They passed a wall scrawled with words in blood:
"DON'T FOLLOW THE VOICES. THEY'RE NOT WHO THEY SAY THEY ARE."
Yu Ren stared at it too long.
"Don't read them," Lian Zhou said. "Most are from before the System. People losing their minds."
"But some might be warnings."
"They're all warnings."
---
They rested in what remained of a small apartment building. Lian Zhou cleared a room and boarded up the door while Yu Ren searched the cupboards for anything useful. He found a broken flashlight, expired canned fruit, and a child's sock.
Nothing edible.
Nothing real.
He sat down hard, the emptiness pressing behind his ribs again.
Lian Zhou walked in a few minutes later, holding something in his hand.
"Found this in the stairwell."
He tossed it to Yu Ren.
It was a protein bar—slightly crushed, but sealed.
Yu Ren blinked. "You're giving this to me?"
"You need it more."
"Is that a System skill? Knowing where food is?"
"No. Just experience."
Yu Ren smiled faintly. "You always did have good timing."
Lian Zhou didn't reply, but his gaze lingered on Yu Ren a little longer than usual.
[Affection Level: 6 → 9]
[You shared rations. Lian Zhou's trust in you increases.]
[Skill Unlocked: Basic Synchronization (Lv. 1)]
[You are now partially aware of your Affinity Target's status. Limited sync available.]
A soft chime echoed in Yu Ren's mind. Then a small window appeared at the corner of his vision:
[Lian Zhou: 72% Health | Mood: Alert | Status: Lightly Injured]
Yu Ren's eyes widened.
He looked at Lian Zhou again. "You're hurt."
"Where?"
"Your status window says—"
Lian Zhou sighed. "Left side. Shrapnel. Two days ago. It's fine."
"You didn't say anything."
"It's not fatal."
Yu Ren frowned. "That doesn't mean it's not important."
Lian Zhou stared at him like he was seeing something strange.
Then, without a word, he unzipped the side of his jacket and lifted his shirt. A dark gash ran across his ribs—angry, inflamed, still bleeding lightly under the gauze.
Yu Ren's heart clenched.
"Sit down," he said, voice sharper than he meant.
Lian Zhou blinked, then obeyed.
Yu Ren cleaned the wound carefully, working from muscle memory and desperation. Lian Zhou didn't flinch. Not once.
But Yu Ren could feel it.
A tight thread of pain. A silent endurance. A loneliness too practiced.
When he was done, he pressed fresh gauze over the injury and taped it down.
"You don't have to do everything alone," he said quietly.
[Affection Level: 9 → 12]
[Bond Strengthening. Passive defense bonus activated: Minor Resistance Boost while within proximity.]
[Survival Probability: 40% → 45%]
Lian Zhou looked at him, something unreadable behind his eyes.
Then he said, "I know."
And for the first time, Yu Ren believed he meant it.
---
That night, after the sun died behind black clouds, Yu Ren stepped out onto the broken balcony and looked up.
The stars were gone.
The sky shimmered with that same crack—the jagged wound from weeks ago. It hadn't closed. If anything, it had widened.
Monsters didn't come from the earth anymore.
They fell from that wound.
Yu Ren wrapped his arms around himself and tried not to shiver.
The System chimed.
[New Long-Term Quest Unlocked: Preserve Affinity Target's Life for 100 Days]
[Progress: 0/100]
[Special Reward: Unknown]
[Warning: Quest Failure Will Result in Forced Reset]
"Reset?" Yu Ren whispered.
[Explanation: If the quest fails, all current bonds, progress, and survival bonuses will be erased. You will be returned to Day Zero.]
Yu Ren went cold.
That dream…
The fire.
Lian Zhou dying.
It wasn't just a nightmare.
It was a possible outcome. One the System was trying to prevent—or predict.
He turned to look back through the window.
Lian Zhou sat by the door, rifle across his lap, half-asleep but always listening.
Always watching.
Yu Ren clenched his fists.
He didn't know what kind of world this was.
Didn't understand the rules. The monsters. The reason for it all.
But he knew this:
If Lian Zhou died, the world wouldn't just end again—
It would end worse.
And he'd do whatever it took to stop it.
Even if it meant becoming someone else entirely.
---
To be continued.