The sun never rose that day—or if it did, it was hidden behind a permanent orange haze. Smoke and ash filled the sky, giving the city a surreal, burning twilight. Arjun and Mina stood on the rooftop of their temporary safehouse, scanning the streets below.
"Looks worse than last night," Mina said, her voice quiet but steady.
Arjun didn't answer. He didn't need to. His eyes had learned to read destruction the same way others read maps. Every abandoned car, every shattered window, every flickering streetlight told a story: danger, opportunity, and weakness.
He crouched beside the system panel he had set up on a small rooftop table.
[Total Items Stored: 112 | Conversion Points: 32 | Skill Points: 17]
[New Objective: Expand Territory | Reward: +20 CP]
"Expand territory?" Mina asked, raising an eyebrow.
Arjun pointed to a distant plaza, littered with burning debris and wandering scavengers.
"That plaza… a good source of supplies, weapons, and intel. We take control, and we can monitor the streets. But we do it smart, quiet, and fast."
Mina checked her pistol, then slung her rifle on her back.
"Let's move then."
The streets smelled of smoke, sweat, and blood. Every corner held potential threat. Arjun's muscles were tensed, every reflex alert. Mina stayed close, covering angles, scanning rooftops and alleys.
As they approached the plaza, a low, guttural growl stopped them in their tracks. Shadows twisted unnaturally in the smoke.
"Creatures," Mina whispered, loading her pistol.
Arjun crouched behind a burnt-out car.
"First humans, then them. Stay calm."
Two scavengers appeared, arguing over a loaf of bread. Without hesitation, Arjun and Mina struck—silent, deadly.
[Stealth Kill: +10 CP]
[Conversion Points: 42 | Skill Points: 20]
The scavengers dropped. Supplies taken. System recorded everything.
The growl returned, louder. From the shadows emerged something wrongly human. Its skin was pale, eyes glowing red. Muscles twisted, and it moved like a predator.
[Warning: Host must accelerate growth | Threat Level: Moderate]
Arjun flexed. His muscles responded instantly. The system pulsed, glowing blue:
[Skill Upgrade Available: Combat Level 2]
He lifted a metal beam from the rubble, swinging it with precision. Mina fired rounds from her pistol, hitting the creature in the shoulder. It screeched, lunged, then recoiled from Arjun's next strike.
[Kill Confirmed | Conversion Points +15 | Skill Points +10]
The plaza was quiet again. But the tension never left. Arjun knew this was only the beginning.
They cleared several buildings around the plaza, fortifying what would become their first controlled territory. Mina set traps and noise alarms, while Arjun cataloged the supplies into the system.
[Total Items Stored: 187 | New Skill Unlocked: Tactical Awareness Level 1]
Mina finally relaxed for a second, leaning against a reinforced wall.
"Do you ever sleep?" she asked.
Arjun didn't answer immediately. Instead, he gazed over the city, broken and burning.
"Sleep is a luxury," he said finally. "One we can't afford. Not here. Not now."
Hours passed. Night fell. The city below became alive with movement again—scavengers, creatures, unknown threats. Arjun activated the system's enhanced surveillance. Blue lines traced every movement in real time.
[Safe Zone Established | Active Monitoring Enabled]
He smiled faintly at Mina.
"From here, we control what we can, and survive the rest."
A sudden scream erupted from an alley. Two figures sprinted past, chased by something fast, too fast to be human.
Mina raised her rifle instinctively.
"Should we help?"
Arjun shook his head.
"No. They're already dead. Focus on survival. Learn from it. Every mistake, every hesitation, costs life."
The system pulsed again.
[New Task: Recruit or Neutralize Survivors]
[Reward: +25 CP]
Arjun's eyes glinted in the firelight.
"Survivors are either allies or threats. Choose carefully," he said.
Mina lowered her rifle but didn't speak. She understood him perfectly. In this apocalypse, there was no room for mistakes.
The city around them burned, alive with danger and death.
Inside their fortified plaza, two survivors were already shaping the rules of the new world.
In the apocalypse, hesitation is death.
And Arjun Kim had no intention of dying.
Neither did Mina.