Synopsis
Ethan Chen was supposed to die—twice.
First as Park Ji-woo, a 28-year-old office worker who fell asleep reading a web novel and never woke up. Then as Ethan Chen, a 17-year-old abuse victim destined to starve to death when his adoptive family abandoned him during the apocalypse.
But something went wrong. Or maybe something went right.
When Ji-woo's soul crashes into Ethan's body two months before the world ends, he brings with him fragments of knowledge from "Apocalypse Descent"—a 2,847-chapter novel about zombies, mutations, and humanity's brutal fight for survival. He knows the apocalypse begins August 15th at 3:47 AM. He knows a System will appear, turning reality into a deadly RPG. He knows the protagonist, Lucas Reed, will rise to become humanity's greatest hero.
What he doesn't know is how a nameless side character survives long enough to matter.
With 59 days until the world ends, Ethan must escape his abusive home, gather resources with no money, and prepare for horrors he can barely remember from a novel he never finished. When the System finally arrives, it offers him something unexpected: Reader's Privilege—a unique advantage for knowing the story.
But knowledge without power is just another way to die.
As the dead rise and civilization crumbles, Ethan must evolve from a frightened teenager into a survivor who can build a base, gather allies, and face not just the zombies and mutations, but the darkest parts of the human heart. Betrayal, sacrifice, and impossible choices await in a world where points mean survival and trust is the rarest currency.
The apocalypse doesn't care about second chances. But Ethan isn't ready to waste his.
---
Chapter 1: The End of Two Lives
The knife pressed against my throat, and all I could think was: This isn't how the story goes.
Victoria Montgomery's hand trembled with rage, the German steel blade catching the kitchen light. Behind her, my stepbrothers Derek and Marcus blocked the doorway like bouncers at a club I'd never wanted to join.
"You little thief," she hissed, and her breath smelled like the wine she drank while I did her chores. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice?"
Three days ago, I would have begged for mercy. Three days ago, I was still just Ethan Chen—seventeen years old, adopted at six, and living proof that some families collect kids the way others collect tax deductions.
But three days ago, I remembered dying.
Not as Ethan Chen. As Park Ji-woo, a burned-out office worker in Seoul who'd spent his last night alive reading a trashy web novel about the apocalypse. I remembered the chest pain, the cold floor, the fading light. Then nothing.
Then this.
Waking up in Ethan's body with Ji-woo's memories fighting for space in a skull too young to hold them both. Two lifetimes of pain, failure, and regret somehow crammed into one scrawny teenager who'd learned early that staying invisible was the only way to survive.
Except now I knew what was coming. In exactly 59 days, the world would end. And according to the novel I'd been reading when my heart gave out, Ethan Chen was supposed to die on day three—found starved to death after the Montgomerys evacuated without him.
One paragraph. That's all he'd been worth to the author. A footnote in someone else's survival story.
"I asked you a question!" Victoria's voice went shrill, the way it always did before things got violent.
I looked at her—really looked at her—with eyes that had seen two lifetimes. She was afraid. Not of me, but of what I represented. Her husband's mistake. The charity case that became a burden. The living reminder that even her perfect life had cracks.
In Ji-woo's corporate world, I'd learned to read people like spreadsheets. In Ethan's world of survival, I'd learned to see violence coming before it landed.
Right now, Victoria was two seconds from using that knife.
My hand shot up and caught her wrist before I'd fully decided to move. Her eyes went wide. In eleven years, Ethan had never fought back. Never touched her. Never showed anything but submission.
That Ethan was dead. Had been dead for three days, replaced by something new.
"Let go of me!" she sputtered.
I released her and stepped back, hands raised. Not threatening. Just... done.
"I'm leaving," I said quietly.
"Like hell you are! Derek, Marcus, grab him—"
I didn't wait for them to move. I grabbed my backpack from behind the trash can—the one I'd been secretly packing for three days—and ran. Not through the front door where they expected, but through the kitchen, out the back, across the manicured lawn I'd mowed a hundred times for free.
Behind me: shouting, heavy footsteps, Derek's football-player speed eating up the distance.
But I knew this neighborhood. Every alley, every shortcut, every gap between houses where someone small could fit. I ran like my life depended on it, because it did.
Three blocks away, I ducked into an abandoned lot and pressed myself against a dumpster, lungs burning. Footsteps thundered past. Derek's voice calling my name, getting fainter.
When silence finally settled, I slid down to sit in the dirt and let myself shake.
I was free. Homeless. Seventeen years old with $247 stolen from Victoria's purse over two weeks, and 59 days until zombies started eating people.
I pulled out my notebook—the one where I'd been frantically writing everything I could remember from "Apocalypse Descent"—and stared at the first page.
*Days until apocalypse: 59*
*Current resources: $247*
*Knowledge: Partial. The novel was 2,847 chapters. I'd read maybe 800 before it got boring.*
*Survival probability: Unknown*
In the novel, the protagonist Lucas Reed had started with nothing and became a legend. He'd built the world's strongest base, gathered powerful allies, unlocked an SSS-rank ability that made him practically invincible.
I wasn't Lucas Reed. I was a side character who'd warranted exactly one paragraph.
But I had something Lucas didn't have on day one: I knew what was coming.
The apocalypse would start August 15th at 3:47 AM with an aurora that painted the sky. Within an hour, the dead would rise. Technology would fail. And the System would appear—a RPG-style interface that let people buy skills, items, and power with points earned from killing monsters.
If I was smart, if I was careful, if I could survive long enough...
Maybe I could rewrite my footnote into something worth reading.
I stood up, shouldered my backpack, and walked toward downtown Seattle. The sun was setting, painting the sky orange and gold—beautiful, for a world that would soon be ending.
Somewhere in this city, there was a library. Food. Shelter. Ways to prepare that didn't require money I didn't have.
59 days to transform from victim to survivor.
Time to get started.
---
Author's Note: This is a story about second chances, found family, and surviving impossible odds. Updates focus on character growth, strategic preparation, and the psychological weight of knowing the future. Thank you for reading. Comments and feedback welcome