On September 30, 2039, an unknown virus swept across the globe, and humanity was the first to fall.
Like the most ignorant explorers in the universe, humanity had over-exploited the planet for eons. Natural resources were prematurely depleted, leaving the atmosphere alarmingly thin. Nature was now launching its most terrifying retaliation.
The virus was merely the first and simplest wave—a vanguard sent to probe the limits of an ignorant humanity. Soon, cosmic radiation would trigger mutations among flora and fauna. Humans, animals, plants, and insects would all undergo even more terrifying transformations.
As the natural order collapsed, the harsh environment caused humans to mutate into zombies. Under the radiation, animals, insects, and plants either became zombified creatures or underwent atavism, leading to new evolutions.
The Earth, as if sentient, established new rules. Three years into the apocalypse, the planet would be divided into four domains: the skies, occupied by flying creatures; the land, overrun by mutated life; the forests, claimed by evolved beings; and the oceans, teeming with the unknown.
There was just one thing missing: a safe zone for humanity.
But humanity, with its tenacious Life Force, was the universe's most stubborn parasite—ignorant and fearless.
In the future, safe havens would form across the world, standing against all mutated and evolved species—everything but fellow humans.
And this was just the beginning.
The hands on the car's clock froze at 3:00 PM, destined to never move again. The world stopped forever at this moment, drawing a line between the apocalypse and the peaceful era that preceded it.
Flora Bloom started the car and drove off.
Her first stop was a mid-sized supermarket outside her apartment complex. While not as large as the one near the school, it was well-stocked with all the essentials. The supermarket near the school might be bigger, but it also had more foot traffic.
If a massive outbreak were to happen there, she could easily get trapped.
Flora Bloom wasn't a High-level Superpower User yet, and her Water Ability lacked offensive power. Until she had a surefire advantage, she wouldn't risk going there, even with her spatial storage.
Flora Bloom parked the car in an alley behind Novartis Supermarket.
Grabbing the fire axe she'd taken from her apartment's parking garage, Flora Bloom got out, scanned her surroundings to ensure no one was there, and with a mere thought, stored the car in her space.
A faint smile touched her lips. 'This space is so useful,' she thought, heading for the supermarket's back entrance.
Just as she neared the back door, a figure lunged toward her.
Flora Bloom dodged with lightning speed. Seeing the attacker's ashen face and the festering wound on its neck, she braced herself, raised her arm, and brought the axe down in a sharp chop, splitting open a huge gash on its forehead.
The gash ran diagonally from the left eye to the lower right lip, deep enough to reveal bone.
But the creature, seemingly immune to pain, let out a hideous roar and lunged at Flora Bloom again.
To be precise, the thing lunging at her was already a zombie. Judging by the wound on its neck, it had definitely been infected by a bite, which meant there was more than one zombie inside the supermarket.
Flora Bloom frowned, silent. She raised her fire axe and swung again, striking the zombie's face with precision, right in the same gash.
The zombie froze as if time had stopped, halting in place.
Flora Bloom kicked it to the ground and split its head open with another swing of the axe.
A deep blue liquid seeped from her palm, coating her fair, smooth hand like a colored film. The next moment, Flora Bloom reached into the cavity in the zombie's skull and began to feel around. Finally, the corner of her mouth curved into a smile.
'What good luck. A Crystal Core from the very first zombie. It's only a low-grade one, but for the beginning of the apocalypse, that's not bad at all.'
Flora Bloom used the blue water to wash the Crystal Core clean before tossing it into her space.
With that done, she gripped her fire axe, shouldered her survival pack, and crept quietly through the supermarket's back entrance.
She had chosen the back entrance because she had no intention of looting the main shopping floor. Even if there were fewer people there now, it was still too dangerous.
Her target was the warehouse behind Novartis Supermarket.
Since she lived nearby, she was quite familiar with the place.
The warehouse, accessible from the back entrance, was usually staffed by five people. At this time of day, two of the staff should be out on the main floor stocking new merchandise. The warehouse manager, their boss, would almost certainly be slacking off in his office—either napping or watching a show with his headphones on.
As for the other two, one was the man who had just attacked her as a zombie, and the other was a woman in her forties.
Flora Bloom crept through the back door and into the warehouse.
The warehouse was vast, with goods sorted into large storage bays, each with its own door.
Flora Bloom first scanned the area.
Sure enough, the manager was fast asleep in his air-conditioned office. Though it was officially autumn, the temperature outside remained high, making air conditioning a must-have for any office in a shopping center.
Through a window that wasn't fully closed, Flora Bloom could see the main floor had descended into chaos. People were screaming and running in every direction, pursued by zombies with gaping mouths, chasing them down to bite and tear.
'Nowhere is safe anymore,' she thought.
Flora Bloom quietly opened the nearest storage bay. After confirming it was empty of people, a single thought was all it took to clear out everything inside.
Then, the second storage bay.
She went through them one by one. It was at the third-to-last bay that something unexpected happened.
A female figure leaped down from the top of the storage racks, tackling Flora Bloom and sending them both tumbling to the floor.
Startled, Flora Bloom took advantage of the fall's momentum and instantly warped into her space.
In the span of a breath, she took a sip from the stream in her space to calm her nerves. The next second, she reappeared before the zombie, axe in hand. With a swift, clean strike, she split the female zombie's head halfway open.
Perhaps this female zombie was weaker than the male one, as Flora Bloom had managed to cleave its skull with a single blow.
The zombie collapsed, motionless.
'In my last life, I survived ten years of the apocalypse; my body became strong, my stamina immense. But this reborn body is still my original one. Even though I've awakened a superpower, it looks like I'll need a lot of training to get back to my former physical peak.'
Flora Bloom walked over, formed the same film of water over her hand, and began rummaging inside the zombie's skull.
'Heh, my luck's holding up. Two zombies in a row with Crystal Cores.' A Crystal Core materialized in her palm. She washed it clean with her water and tossed it into her space.
And so, Flora Bloom cleared out most of the remaining storage bays, leaving behind only some non-perishable, easily stored food as a small kindness for anyone who might come after her.
After collecting all the supplies, the small farmhouse courtyard within Flora Bloom's space was now packed to the brim. Looking at the space, filled with goods everywhere except for the plot of black soil, she let out a sigh of relief.
'This is my foundation for survival,' she thought, 'my lifeline in the apocalypse.'
Content, Flora Bloom was about to leave when she noticed the door between the warehouse and the main supermarket swinging open.
Three men and a woman burst through. The last man in line quickly slammed the door shut and locked it. But no matter how fast he moved, Flora Bloom clearly saw him get scratched on the arm by a zombie as he protected the woman and blocked the undead from getting through.
Immediately after, something began to slam against the metal door. BANG! BANG! BANG! The sounds grew louder and more frantic.
The moment the four of them were inside the warehouse, they spotted Flora Bloom standing alone.
Flora Bloom watched the group, neither approaching nor letting down her guard.
The man who had entered last had an alarming, bloody scratch on his arm that looked like a claw mark. He clutched the wound in pain, his forehead beaded with a cold sweat as he kept glancing back at the rattling metal door.
The flesh around his wound was already turning a dull gray, and the blood trickling from it was starting to blacken.
"Neal, how are you?"
The woman in the group grabbed the injured man's arm, her voice full of concern. She pulled a scarf from her handbag and expertly bandaged his wound.