100 Days Before the Apocalypse: My Survival System

Chapter 3. The Hidden Cache

The bus rolled through the city, stopping every few minutes to pick up passengers.

No one paid attention to Arjun.

No one noticed the calm expression on his face.

But inside his mind, every second mattered.

99 Days, 22 Hours, 41 Minutes.

The countdown kept ticking.

He looked out of the window at the crowded streets.

People laughed.

Couples argued over ice cream.

Children chased pigeons in the park.

Everything looked so... normal.

Arjun knew the truth.

Exactly one hundred days from now, these same streets would be flooded with blood.

The pigeons would disappear.

The parks would become monster nests.

And the laughter...

Would turn into screams.

The bus finally stopped outside Phoenix Sports Club.

Arjun stepped down and looked at the massive building.

It was one of the largest fitness centers in the city.

Members walked in carrying gym bags.

Music echoed from inside.

Nobody had the slightest idea what was hidden beneath the building.

He pulled his cap lower and walked toward the entrance.

"Welcome, sir."

The receptionist smiled.

"Membership card?"

Arjun smiled back.

"I forgot it."

"I'm sorry, sir. Without a membership—"

Before she could finish, a loud commotion erupted behind them.

A famous fitness influencer had arrived.

Everyone rushed toward him for selfies.

The receptionist also turned away.

Arjun didn't waste the opportunity.

He quietly slipped inside.

He moved confidently through the corridors.

Left.

Right.

Down the emergency staircase.

He remembered every corner.

Three years in the apocalypse had burned this place into his memory.

Finally, he reached the basement.

It was silent.

Dust covered the floor.

Old gym equipment lay abandoned in a storage room.

Arjun closed the door behind him.

"This is it."

He walked toward the far wall.

To anyone else...

It looked completely ordinary.

But Arjun knelt and brushed away years of dust.

A small metal symbol appeared.

A triangle inside a circle.

Exactly as he remembered.

He pressed three hidden points on the wall.

Nothing happened.

Five seconds later—

Click.

The concrete wall slowly slid open.

A cold gust of air rushed out.

A hidden passage.

"It's still here..."

The tunnel stretched nearly thirty meters underground.

Emergency lights flickered weakly.

At the end stood a massive steel door.

The words painted across it had almost faded.

Government Emergency Storage Facility.

Arjun's heart raced.

In his previous life, survivors had discovered this place almost six months after the apocalypse.

By then...

Almost everything valuable had already been looted.

This time...

He was first.

He pushed the heavy door open.

The room inside was enormous.

Shelves filled with military supplies stretched across the hall.

Boxes of emergency food.

Water purification tablets.

Medical kits.

Bulletproof vests.

Camping equipment.

Military-grade knives.

Communication radios.

Solar charging units.

Arjun smiled.

"This alone is worth billions after the apocalypse."

But he wasn't here for supplies.

He walked straight toward the back of the warehouse.

There...

Resting inside a thick glass container...

Was a crystal no bigger than a fist.

Dark blue.

Glowing faintly.

Tiny streams of light flowed inside it like living lightning.

"The Evolution Crystal..."

He whispered.

The treasure that had changed his destiny.

Just as he reached for the glass—

Ding!

Hidden Quest Completed

First Explorer

You are the first human to discover a Hidden Government Cache.

Reward: 500 Survival Points

Reward: Beginner Gift Pack ×1

Another notification appeared.

Would you like to open the Beginner Gift Pack?

YES / NO

Arjun immediately selected—

YES.

Golden light burst before him.

Congratulations!

You have obtained:

• Infinite Inventory (Level 1)

• F-Rank Skill: Eagle Eyes

• Steel Combat Dagger

• 10 Attribute Points

Arjun's breathing became heavier.

"Infinite Inventory..."

This was one of the rarest abilities in the entire apocalypse.

In his previous life, only a handful of people possessed spatial storage skills.

Now...

He had obtained one on the very first day.

A smile finally appeared on his face.

"This timeline..."

"Is already changing."

He touched the blue crystal.

The moment his fingers made contact—

The crystal dissolved into countless blue particles.

Every particle entered his body.

A burning pain exploded through his veins.

"Ahhh!"

Arjun collapsed onto one knee.

His muscles tightened violently.

His heartbeat accelerated.

Every bone in his body felt as though it was being shattered and rebuilt.

Blue light burst from his eyes.

Then—

Everything became silent.

A cold mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.

Evolution Complete.

Host has awakened a Unique Talent.

Talent Name: Absolute Adaptation (SSS Rank)

Arjun's eyes widened.

His breathing stopped.

"SSS..."

His voice barely came out.

"In my previous life..."

"There wasn't a single SSS-Rank talent..."

Before he could recover from the shock—

A loud metallic sound echoed from the tunnel outside.

Clang!

Someone had opened the hidden entrance.

Then came footsteps.

Not one person.

Several.

Arjun immediately extinguished his flashlight.

A cold voice echoed through the warehouse.

"Search every corner."

"Our information says the artifact is hidden somewhere inside."

Arjun's expression turned serious.

"They're here..."

"But how does someone already know about this place?"

To Be Continued...