Apocalypse System: Zero-Day

Rowan’s Market

Rowan’s POV

The underground market was a masterpiece of controlled chaos.

I sat on a velvet crate of stolen medical supplies, casually flipping a silver coin through my fingers. Around me, the massive subterranean cavern hummed with the desperate whispers of survivors trading ration cards for black-market weapons.

I didn't look like a man who controlled the flow of information in the ruins of Sector Four. I looked like a scavenger—torn jeans, a hooded jacket, and a smile that convinced people I was on their side.

But in this apocalypse, information was the only true currency. And I knew everything.

My wristband, heavily modified to bypass the System's surveillance, pulsed.

[ALERT: UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL INBOUND. GPO PURSUIT ACTIVE.]

I stopped flipping the coin.

The heavy steel doors of the market burst open. Margot stormed in first, her sniper rifle raised. Then Lyon, his golden gauntlets glowing in the dim light. Behind them, a woman in a blood-stained medical vest supported a severely wounded young man.

And finally, a figure in a tattered cloak, his face hidden behind a half-mask.

The Glitch.

I stood up, a wide smile plastered across my face. "Margot! You brought guests. And here I thought we were just meeting to discuss your debt."

"Cut the act, Rowan," Margot snapped. "We need a route key. The Admin Zone. Now."

I chuckled, slipping the silver coin into my pocket. "The Admin Zone? You're asking for the holy grail of the apocalypse. That information costs more than you can afford."

The masked man—Silver—stepped forward. He didn't speak, but I felt a chill run down my spine. His digital signature was completely blank. It was like looking at a ghost.

"We don't have time for games," Lyon growled, stepping toward me.

"Careful, Titan," I said, my smile never wavering. "My men have enough plasma cannons pointed at your head to turn you into ash before you can blink."

The tension in the cavern spiked. Traders and scavengers began to scatter, hiding behind their stalls.

I turned my attention back to Silver. I had been tracking him since the Zero-Day. The anomaly. The man the System couldn't categorize. I knew he was my ticket out of this dying city.

"I have what you need," I said, pulling a heavy, encrypted data drive from my inner pocket. "The partial route key. It bypasses the GPO firewalls and gets you to the tower's underbelly."

"What do you want for it?" Silver asked. His voice was muffled, but it was cold. No desperation. Interesting.

"Protection," I said simply. "The GPO is closing in. My market is no longer safe. You get me into the Admin Zone, and I'll use my network to keep you alive until you get there."

"Fine," Silver said. "Give me the drive."

I held it out.

But as Silver reached for it, my modified wristband shrieked.

[WARNING: SYSTEM OVERRIDE. QUOTA RECLASSIFICATION IN PROGRESS.]

The lights in the cavern flickered and died. A deep, mechanical hum vibrated through the floor.

I looked at the data drive in my hand, then at the terrified faces of the survivors around me.

"What's happening?" Margot yelled.

I pulled up the public System board on my wristband. My blood ran cold.

The shelters weren't sanctuaries. They were farms. The global network had just updated. The GPO wasn't just resetting the world; they were liquidating the assets.

"Extraction requirement—human units," I whispered.

"What?" Silver asked.

"The System isn't just resetting," I said, looking up at him, the fear finally breaking through my mask. "It's harvesting. Every unclassed human in the city is being deleted to power the reset. It's starting right now."

The data drive in my hand suddenly sparked, the plastic casing melting.

"It's a trap!" I shouted, throwing the drive to the ground.

The heavy steel doors of the market slammed shut. Massive blast doors sealed every exit.

From the ceiling, canisters of green gas dropped into the cavern. The survivors began to cough, collapsing to their knees.

"Gas!" Michelle yelled.

Silver grabbed my collar, slamming me against the wall. "You set us up!"

"I didn't know!" I choked out, the gas burning my throat. "Vance must have tracked my network!"

Lyon roared, punching a heavy pillar, but the concrete didn't budge.

Silver let me go, turning to the sealed blast doors. He placed his hand against the metal, activating his crimson code.

[ERROR STRIKE: ACTIVATED.]

[TARGET: HEAVY BLAST DOOR.]

[ACCESS DENIED.]

The door didn't even flicker.

"It's shielded!" I yelled, coughing violently. "Vance designed it to withstand anomalies!"

The green gas was thick now. My vision was blurring. The survivors were collapsing.

Silver stumbled back, his health bar flashing red.

Through the gas, a massive figure stepped through the wall.

A GPO Enforcer, heavily armored and wielding a plasma scythe. Behind it, three more materialized.

"Target confirmed," the Enforcer droned. "Initiating liquidation."

I looked at Silver. He was on his knees, coughing up blood, completely out of stamina. Lyon was trying to shield Michelle and the others, but even he was weakening.

This was it. We were going to die in the dark.

The lead Enforcer raised its scythe, the blade glowing with deadly energy. It stepped toward Silver.