DOOMSDAY SYSTEM: REBORN TO BECOME A BOSS

Pulled into an abyss.

Lucas took it all with relish.

He couldn't help but pity the poor boy who had hurried along to base C with all the struggles only to be informed that his family had moved to base A a long time ago.

Was it difficult to send a rescue team to find him? No.

His family remained influential even after the apocalypse. If they wanted to, they could.

It was Lucas that was too stupid to see the truth then.

No one cared.

Before and after the apocalypse, he remained a burden that his parents couldn't wait to get rid of.

He didn't wait to send the helicopter off with his eyes like he did in his past life.

Instead, he was the one who walked away this time.

Leaning on them, he had a view of his straight back.

"Lucas, I am sorry. Lucas!! Lucas, stay alive, okay! Lucas...Lucas...I will wait for you, okay? Charlotte's voice slowly faded away.

Better not. Lucas wanted to tell her.

If he returned to the Harrington family, the Whitmore family, and those who conspired to harm him, none of them would go scot-free.

There were many things Lucas regretted in his past life.

But what he really wished he could change wasn't much.

He needed to go to Icheon.

Base C was sited in an abandoned industrial complex in the next city, city C.

But that isn't the only reason Lucas wanted to go to city C.

There was someone he needed to find.

Since school was on holiday and many people had returned home, there weren't many people on campus.

Tall buildings leaned over unstably; some had been totally enveloped by the ground.

It happened so suddenly that the chances of survival were low.

Lucas quickly headed out of the campus and arrived at the main road.

"What is that?"

"Run! Ahhh...!"

Loud screams reached Lucas's ear.

It came from behind him.

Lucas looked over and saw a crowd of people running from the same direction.

His face changed at the sight.

Something's coming.

Rule one for surviving the apocalypse: if you see people running, don't ask why.

Just run.

Lucas gripped both straps of his bag tight and broke into a run.

Behind him were the countless footsteps of those fleeing. Accompanied by shouts and pained screams.

His feet stumbled unstably as large cracks began to appear on the ground below him.

"No. no. no. no." Lucas gritted his teeth.

Crack.

A shadowy and formless mass of black opened beneath him like the gaping maws of a beast.

Lucas felt a sudden lightness, then he plummeted down at full speed.

Shit. How come a dungeon suddenly appeared? His mind screamed with alarm.

He wasn't able to control his body and could only let himself be embraced by gravity.

Lucas didn't know how long he fell for.

Thud.

Lucas hit the ground without warning.

A dull pain shot through his shoulder, which bore most of the impact.

Lucas slowly stood. All around him was pitch black.

"Where are we?" A quiet voice asked from somewhere in the darkness.

He also wanted to ask the same.

Lucas blinked. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the low brightness.

They seemed to be in some kind of tunnel.

Apart from him, there were five other people in the narrow tunnel.

A middle-aged man dressed in a suit, his appearance gave him the feel of an elite individual.

There were also two girls wearing high school uniforms and an uncle in shorts, with the last person being a girl who looked to be in her early twenties and wore fashionable jeans and a crop top.

"Everyone stay still. Before we access the situation, it will be better if no one makes any rash moves." The man dressed in a suit spoke up first.

The middle-aged man nodded along. He muttered under his breath. "The government. The government said there is nothing to worry about. They will definitely save us."

He looked around the small group of nine people, a stoic expression on his face.

The shorter one of the two high school girls hugged her arms. Her eyes darted around cautiously. "How long do we have to wait?"

They were buried underground, and the opening they fell through had disappeared.

"Hopefully not too long. They should send someone soon." The man in the suit brought out a white handkerchief, laid it on the floor, and sat down.

The others looked at him and also did the same.

Lucas ignored all of them, a deep contemplative expression on his face.

He couldn't tell what kind of dungeon it was.

The fastest and most legit way to increase one's strength is to attack dungeons.

And it was also one of the fastest ways to die, but the rewards that could be gained from the dungeon were worth it most times.

Lucas planned to take this route to level up his strength.

But he had wanted to start with low-level dungeons where the danger levels weren't that threatening.

Everyone stood in silence without any thought of wanting to get to know each other.

A faint shuffle cut through the awkward silence.

Lucas noticed the sound was from the wall to his right.

As seconds passed, the noise became louder and the distance closer.

Something was digging through the wall and approaching them!

"I don't know what is coming, but I surely am not waiting around to die." The girl wearing the blue crop top suddenly stood up.

She glanced at the direction of the noise and then at the man wearing the suit. "You all experienced what happened outside earlier. I don't think the government can even protect themselves; why do you think they will care about us?"

The expression on everyone's face became tense.

"What the young lady said is true." The man in the black suit let out a sigh. "Perhaps we might have to figure this out on our own."

"So what do we do?" The tall high schooler with long hair immediately asked. She gripped her school bag tightly once all attention turned to her. "I mean, we can't keep staying here, so what then?"

Looking around, there were many different-sized holes surrounding them.

The man in the black suit counted the numbers of holes around them. A total of six.

He frowned.

"No matter what, I suggest we stick together." He advised.

"I agree." The bolder one of the two high schoolers, who was also the shorter girl, nodded along. She then added quietly. "I watch a lot of horror movies. Splitting at the beginning normally doesn't end up well."

Lucas glanced at her.

Although the others remained silent, their expressions made it clear they agreed with the decision.

"Let's just pick a random hole." The man in the black suit had successfully stepped into the shoes of the leader and took the lead.

The girl wearing the blue crop top crossed her arms tight behind him. Her eyes narrowed vigilantly.

Next was the middle-aged man, then Lucas, with the last two being the high school girls.

The girls were scared, but the hole was too narrow to move past Lucas, so they remained at the back of the group.

They huddled together, trembling.

It would be gentlemanly for Lucas to volunteer to take up the rear, but he didn't dare to risk his life.

This was the apocalypse and not some sort of romance novel.

And he unfortunately also wasn't some kind of overpowered protagonist.

They walked down the seemingly unending path.

Their footsteps echoed in the enclosed space, which added a sense of creepiness.

The worse part was that whatever it was chasing them seemed to be drawing closer.

They unconsciously increased their pace.

But then the digging noise ceased.

It happened suddenly.

Did it leave?

"Urkk..." A strangled gasp rang out in the quiet tunnel.

Everyone subconsciously looked back.

"What's that? What's that..."

"Run. Don't look back; run." Lucas face changed as he watched the shorter one of the two girls being pulled into the darkness.

He subconsciously reached to grab the second one.

"No. Amy... Amy..." The girl broke away from Lucas's grasp and rushed back.

"Did she go back? Is she crazy?" The middle-aged man glanced back at Lucas, huffing and puffing as he ran.

The next thing they all heard was a heart-wrenching scream.

Lucas felt regretful, but there was nothing he could do.

"Don't stop, don't stop." The man in the suit at the front yelled back at them.

There was a dim light up ahead.

They were almost at the end of the tunnel.

Lucas felt a cold breath hit his back.

He dodged to the side, and at the same time, a sharp glint flashed past the corner of his eye.

It had razor-sharp claws.

He couldn't see what it was clearly, but it was right behind him!

Shit.

Gruu...gru...gruu...

A grating sound hit him, followed by the foul odor of blood.

It wasn't just Lucas; the middle-aged man in front of him was also caught in the stench.

"What is that smell—" He happened to look back, and a scream tore from his lips. "Aaaaahh..."

The man in the black suit gritted his teeth. For a moment he was thankful that he took the lead. "Hold on. We are right at the ex—"

There was no follow-up. Instead, they all heard a sickening crunch.

Crack...crunch...crunch...crunch...

"Ahhh..."

"Ahhhhhh...."

Two screams rang out simultaneously.

They carried a different pitch yet shared a similar sense of terror.

Lucas had no time to worry about whatever was happening up ahead.

"Move." He shoved the two in front of him with a forceful push, and the three of them tumbled out of the mouth of the tunnel.

"Ahhhhh...ahh...we are going to die! We are going to die." The middle-aged man continued to scream as they rolled down a small slope.

Lucas jumped back on his feet the moment his back touched the ground.

He was finally able to see what was chasing them.

It was a giant creature with the face of a mole and the body of a bear. Long, knife-like claws extended out of its paws with thick red blood dripping down. the edges.

There were two of them.

One of the monsters stood above the tunnel entrance they just came out from, while another stood above it.

It held a corpse whose head down to its torso had been beaten off.

Lucas recognized it as the man in the black suit.

An intestine and a mix of bodily fluid pooled on the ground.

"Urrrhhhjggg..." The girl wearing the blue crop top stumbled backwards while dry heaving at the same time.

The uncle looked equally frightened. His face was as pale as a transparent sheet of paper.

"Don't go. We have to find a way to clear the dungeon." Lucas yelled at them. "It's the only way we can leave."

The two people looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

Clear what dungeon?

They thought he had become delusional, thinking this was some sort of online game.

The girl gritted her teeth and picked a random direction. Seeing this, the middle-aged man looked at Lucas hesitantly before hurrying after her.

"Fuck." Lucas cursed, watching their backs disappear.