Apocalypse Survivor

Chapter 3 The Mystic Box

A translucent blue screen appeared before his eyes.

[Apocalypse Survival System Activated.]

[Congratulations, Host!]

[You have received an Iron Mystic Box.]

[Would you like to open it?]

Ethan's eyebrows rose. “A mystery box?”

He couldn't help laughing. “He now had loot boxes now? Was this just like the apocalypse novels I read?”

The blue screen flickered and with a simple thought he clicked yes. [Yes.] 

Ethan's smile vanished. “...You can answer?”

[Opening Iron Mystic Box.]

Two brilliant lights shot out. 

[Congratulations!]

[Reward One: Spatial Pocket.]

[Storage Capacity: 300 square meters.]

[Reward Two: Item Duplication.]

Ethan's eyes widened.

“Oh my…” He stared at the two abilities floating before him.

A storage space was already incredibly useful. But duplication? 

That was something else entirely. “This is impressive.”

He looked around the room. An empty chicken-and-fries packet lay on the floor beside his bed.

Ethan picked it up. He was very eager to try the skills out instantly. “How do I use this skill?”

Nothing happened.“System?”

“Do I need to say something?”

But the system said nothing. Ethan sighed.

“Fine. I'll figure it out myself.”

He concentrated on the Spatial Pocket The instant the thought entered his mind, the packet disappeared from his hand.

Ethan froze. “...What?”

He blinked. Then he felt the existence of something inside his mind. It was more like a small, empty room connected to his consciousness. 

Ethan concentrated again and the packet reappeared in his hand out of will. 

He turned it over. It was exactly the same packet.

“This is actually real.” He grinned. Then his gaze shifted to the second ability.

Item Duplication. 

Ethan placed the empty packet on his palm. “Let's see what you can do.”

He activated the ability and a faint flash appeared.

Pop!

Another packet appeared beside the first.

Ethan stared. There were two packets in front of him. 

“They're identical.”

He checked them carefully. Even the tiny grease stains were the same. Ethan's grin slowly widened.

“This…” His eyes lit up in excitement. “This is really going to be useful.”

Very useful. Food, water, medicine, whatever supplies.  Anything that could be duplicated would save him an enormous amount of money.

Of course, he didn't know the limitations yet. Could it duplicate expensive items?

Weapons? Electronics? Could it duplicate fuel? Could it duplicate an entire vehicle?

Ethan's eyes began shining. 

The blue screen suddenly appeared again.

[ System Tasks detected.]

Ethan blinked. “Tasks?”

The screen changed. [Main Tasks: 2/2]

Two glowing icons appeared and with his thoughts Ethan tapped the first one. 

[Task One]

Build a Tier 5 Survival Base.

Completion Requirement: 100%

Reward: Bronze Mystic Box

Ethan's expression became serious.

“A Tier 5 base?”

A tier 5 base was typically a military type bunker that had the enough resources to run for a few years. Geothermal energy, generators, strengthened walls as well as combat mechanisms. 

He opened the second task.

[Task Two]

Stockpile enough supplies to survive for 10 years.

Completion Requirement: 100%

Reward: Bronze Mystic Box

Ethan stared at the screen. “Ten years?”

The system didn't respond. “You're joking. You seriously expect one person to stockpile ten years of supplies?”

Ethan rubbed his forehead. “Fine.”

His eyes narrowed. “If that's what you want, I'll do it.”

The screen suddenly changed again.

[Time Remaining: 29 Days, 23 Hours, 59 Minutes.]

Ethan's smile disappeared.

Thirty days.

He had thirty days to build a fortress and stockpile ten years of supplies. That was indeed a crazy stretch. If he should be enough…”

He paused. “…probably.”

Another section of the screen opened. This time, Ethan's eyes nearly popped out.

Several mysterious boxes floated inside grey, locked spaces.

Bronze Mystic Box

Silver Mystic Box

Gold Mystic Box

Diamond Mystic Box

And several others whose names were hidden behind question marks.

Ethan leaned closer. “What are these?”

The boxes slowly rotated. The Gold Mystic Box emitted a faint golden glow.

The Diamond Mystic Box shimmered like it contained something far more valuable.

Ethan's eyes lit up. “What exactly can come out of these?”

Ethan's grin returned.n“Interesting.”

He already knew one thing. Whatever was inside those boxes, he wanted them s d he was very much interested to see what rewards he would get from them. 

The blue screen disappeared. Ethan grabbed his keys. “First, money.”

He walked out of the room and headed toward his car. He needed capital and a lot of it.

He opened the driver's door, slid inside, and started the engine.

The moment the car came alive—Click.

The radio switched on and a familiar voice filled the vehicle.

“...and as we move toward the final stage of this election, I assure the citizens that—”

Ethan's hand froze on the steering wheel. His eyes slowly narrowed. The president was making his inauguration speech. 

When he remembered the close death situations he had encountered in the apocalypse his stomach dropped. 

For about a month into the apocalypse they had holed up in different locations before finally hiding in the basement of a supermarket. 

Every two days he went to the surface to quickly grab supplies and provisions for his wife and her family and even that damned family friend. 

“….thank you all for this opportunity The reforms following the campaign promises…” 

Ethan could vividly recall it. After this speech a lot of financial analysts deduced that gold will massively drop. 

Gold.

The gold market was about to make its first massive move.

That evening Gold will slowly climb down and there was a market panic. People began closing their positions so as to cut their losses… that was the sweet spot. 

Ethan looked at the clock. His expression changed into a cold smile.

“Less than twenty-four hours.” He stepped on the accelerator.

*********

Ethan sat across from the manager of the real estate company, his expression calm.

A file lay open on the desk between them. The manager adjusted his glasses. 

“Mr. Ethan, I have to be honest with you. $250,000 is a good deal for this property.”

“The house is a three-bedroom bungalow with a spacious compound, and considering its location and condition, I understand that on the open market, it could probably sell for around $400,000.”

Ethan leaned back. He already knew that it might even go up to as much as $450,000 but the least processing time would be three days to even a week.

But he didn't have time. “That's still too low.” He shook his head. 

The manager folded his hands and his lips curved into a polite smile. 

“However, since you said you need the money urgently, I can arrange a buyer willing to take it for $280,000.”

Ethan tapped his fingers gently on the mahogany table. ‘$280,000 isn't bad.’ He thought to himself. 

He couldn't spend two weeks waiting for the perfect buyer just to make more bucks. 

“How soon can I get the money?”

The manager's eyes brightened. “As soon as you sign the documents.”

Ethan picked up the pen. He hovered it across the document. The manager's eyes sparkled with greed. 

“Make it $300k and it's a deal.” Ethan gently dropped his hand making the manager’s heart race faster. 

“Alright $300,000," the enthusiastic manager waved his hands. 

This was a good deal and he couldn't afford to pass, the property was prime real estate in a good location. If he held it a bit longer he would make massive profit. 

Only in reality that wouldn't be so, in less than a month all this wouldn't matter anymore. 

Then he didn't hesitate. $100,000 less than its potential market value. That was a loss but time was worth far more than $100,000 when the world was about to end.

He signed every assigned space in the document then he pushed the file across the desk.

“That's all?”

The manager quickly checked the signatures. “Yes.”

He closed the file and rubbed his hands together with a satisfied smile.

“It was nice doing business with you, Mr. Ethan.”

Ethan stood up. 

“We will wire the money within a few minutes.”

“That would be nice.” Ethan smiled, shook hands with him and walked out. 

The moment he stepped through the glass doors—

Beep!

His phone vibrated. Ethan pulled it from his pocket.

A banking notification appeared on the screen.

> TRANSFER RECEIVED +$300,000

He looked at the time, it was about thirty minutes and he had an appointment with Claire at the civil bureau. 

Thirty minutes later, he was sitting outside the civil bureau. She had not arrived so he waited for a while. 

He checked his phone. 11:32 a.m.

He had already been waiting for half an hour.

Ethan leaned back against his car engrossed in his thoughts. 

In his previous life, he had spent years trying to keep that family happy.

He had paid their bills, supported them and even given them his parents' house. And what had he received in return?

Betrayal, humiliation and even in the end they had murdered him with no conscience. His eyes became cold. This time, he wasn't going to give them another chance.

A black SUV suddenly pulled into the parking lot.

Ethan recognized it immediately. Claire stepped out first and her parents followed.

The moment they spotted Ethan, their expressions changed. Robert's face turned red.

Claire suddenly stormed toward him. “You ungrateful jerk!”

Robert pointed furiously at him. “How dare you sell the house over our heads without telling us!”

Claire looked equally furious. “That house belongs to our family too!”