2026-06-22 12:43:59The blue screen didn't vanish. It hovered there, translucent and cold, flickering every time I blinked. People brushed past me in the apartment hallway, grumbling about me blocking the stairs, but nobody else seemed to see the glowing text.
“Get a move on lad,” a guy in a suit barked as he shoved past.
I didn't even snap back at him. I was too busy staring at the mission log.
[Mission: Stockpile and Secure]
[Objective: Spend at least $10,000 on essential survival gear before the Mist hits] [Reward: +200 SP, Level 1 Space Warehouse Expansion]Space Warehouse. My heart skipped. In my last life, I was a low tier “human pack mule” because of a weak storage ability. If I had a real warehouse, I could carry an entire grocery store in my pocket and never let anyone use me again.
I checked my phone, it was 8:30 AM. The clock was ticking.I ran out of the building and flagged down a hello cab. “Green’s Wholesale Club. The big one by the docks,” I told the driver. “And I'll give you an extra fifty if you ignore the speed limit.”
The driver's eyes lit up. “You got it boss.”
As we swerved through traffic, I started a list on my phone. In my last life, I wasted the first day crying and trying to find Anna. Not this time. This time I was going for the basics: carbs, protein, and meds.
I walked into the wholesale club like a man on a mission. I grabbed three massive flatbed carts and started tossing stuff in.
First stop: The pharmacy. I cleared out the shelves of ibuprofen, bandages, and every bottle of multivitamins I could reach. When a worker tried to ask if I needed help, I just pointed at my cart and said, “Big camping trip.”
Next: The canned goods. Cases of tuna, spam, beans and peaches. Then fifty pound bags of rice and flour. I looked like a crazy dude, but I didn't care. I could feel the weight of the nine hours pressing down on my shoulders.
[DING!]
[Mutation Level: 0.02%] [Reason: High Stress. Warning: Keep your cool, Host.]“Shut up,” I whispered to the air. I had to keep it low; if that meter hit 100%, I’d be nothing but a mindless Hive King. I reached the checkout line with four carts overflowing with gear. The cashier, a guy with too much eyeliner, stared at the mountain of food.
“Are you throwing a party or something?” He asked, scanning the hundredth can of tuna.
“Something like that,” I said, swiping Anna’s gold credit card. The machine beeped — Approved. I felt a surge of petty joy. Let the “Narcissist Parasite” deal with the debt.
Once I got the stuff to the parking lot, I realized I had a problem. I didn't have a truck. I was standing there with a thousand pounds of food and no way to move it.
The Space Warehouse, I thought. How does it work?
I focused on the blue screen. I reached out and touched the icon that looked like an open crate.
[Space Warehouse: Level 0 (Capacity 10 Cubic Meters)]
[To store an item, place your hand on it and think ‘collect’.]I looked around. Nobody was watching. I put my hand on the first crate of canned peaches and thought, Collect. Poof.
It was gone. Just like that. No sound, no light, just an empty spot on my cart. My eyes went wide. This was the high level interface meant for “Architects.” I moved closer, tapping every crate, every bag of rice and every box of meds. Within minutes, my carts were empty.
[Storage Capacity: 85% Full]
“Damn,” I muttered. “I need more room.”
I headed back inside. I still had six grand left to spend. I went straight for the hardware section. I grabbed a high end crossbow, two dozen bolts, a heavy duty machete, and a portable solar charger. I needed to be ready for the shamblers and the fast seekers.
I was at the back of the store looking at a set of tactical gear when my phone buzzed. It was a text from Anna.
ANNA: Mateo, you psycho! My card just got flagged at a wholesale club. What are you doing? Bring my money back NOW or I'm calling your boss.
I felt a cold laugh bubble up in my throat. My boss? My boss was probably going to be a Tier 1 zombie by sunset. I blocked his number.
I had a few hours left before I had to go find “The Human Anchor,” Commander Jaxen. According to the system, his Null Gene blood was the only thing that could keep my virus from spiraling out of control.
But as I walked toward the exit, my suddenly flashed red.[Scanner]
[WARNING!]
[Lesser Infected nearby. The Mist is Leaking]My heart dropped. Already? The “Collapse” wasn't supposed to hit for hours.
I looked toward the butcher's counter. A guy in an apron had his back to me. He was twitching in weird, jagged movements and I could hear a wet, slurping sound.
“Hey, Gary? You okay?” another worker said, walking toward him.
‘Gary’ didn't answer. He turned around, and my stomach turned over. His eyes were milky white orbs. He lunged at his coworker, teeth sinking into the man's neck with a sickening tear.
The store erupted. Screaming started in the bakery and spread like wildfire. People were dropping their groceries and sprinting for the doors.
I didn't run. My hand went straight to the warehouse. I felt the cold grip of the machete materialize in my palm.
“Nine hours,” I hissed, my eyes narrowing. The System lied. The black Mist catalyst was already here.
[New Mission: First Kill]
[Objective: Kill your first Tier 1 Shamblers] [Reward: +50 SP, Weapon Sharpening Stone]I gripped the machete until my knuckles turned white. “Fine by me.”
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0010
The shower didn't just work—it was a goddamn religious experience.I stood under the spray for twenty minutes, watching the black ichor and gray slime from the "Nurses" swirl down the drain. My skin felt raw, but the heat of the water was the first thing that had made me feel truly alive since I'd woken up back in that apartment with Anna.I leaned my head against the cold tile, letting the steam fill my lungs. The Eros-Survival System was quiet for once, just a dull hum in the back of my mind.Mutation Level: 0.08% Status: Relaxed. Passive SP Generation: +2/hour"Better," I whispered.I stepped out and realized I didn't have a towel. Dumbass move, Mateo, I thought. But then I remembered the Space Warehouse. I closed my eyes, focused on the inventory, and flick. A thick, fluffy white towel I'd swiped from the wholesale club manifested in my hand.I dressed in fresh tactical gear—cargo pants with more pockets than I knew what to do with, a compression shirt, and sturdy boots. I looke
0009
The elevator ride was a total buzz kill. Every few seconds, the lights would flicker, and the whole metal box would shudder like it was catching a cough. Down here, the "Black Veins" on the walls weren't just pulsing; they were leaking a thick, violet steam that smelled like burnt hair and expensive cologne.DING!Entering 'The Sanctum' - Level 4Warning: High concentration of Sovereign pheromones detected.Subject 009 is 'Syncing' with the local environment."Mateo, look at the floor," Jaxen whispered. He was gripping his rifle so hard I thought the polymer might snap.I looked down. The elevator floor was covered in an inch of that black, oily sludge. As the doors hissed open, the liquid didn't just sit there —it started to flow outward, like it was being pulled by a magnet."Stay close, Jaxen," I said, stepping into the hallway. I didn't need the System to tell me that Aris was close. I could feel him in my teeth—a sharp, electric tingle that made me want to bite something. "The fr
0008
The iron doors of the Hawthorne Physics Lab didn’t just open; they groaned like a giant with a hangover. Jaxen had managed to bypass the electronic lock by shoving a screwdriver into the manual override, his "Hyper-Awareness" helping him find the exact sweet spot in the wiring without even looking."Keep your head on a swivel," Jaxen muttered, his rifle tucked tight into his shoulder. "The air in here is... wrong.""No kidding," I whispered back, my hand itching for the grip of my machete. The air wasn’t just stagnant; it felt heavy, like it was saturated with something that wanted to crawl under my skin. "The System is pinging like crazy. There’s a Subject nearby. An Architect."We stepped into the lobby, and I felt like I’d walked into a goddamn horror movie. The walls, once pristine white laboratory tile, were covered in pulsing, black veins—the same crystalline "Black Veins" from the Black Sun terraforming manual. They were glowing with a faint, sickly violet light, thumping in ti
0007
The darkness of the subway tunnel was thick enough to chew on. It wasn’t just the lack of light; it was that damn Black Mist seeping down from the surface, turning the air into a soup of metallic dust and old, wet basement smells. Our headlights cut through the gloom in two shaky white beams, reflecting off the rusted tracks and the occasional skeletal remains of a stalled train car.Inside the BearCat, the silence was heavy. Every time the tires crunched over a piece of debris or a stray bone, the sound echoed like a gunshot in the enclosed space.DING!Mutation Level: 0.19%Warning: Enclosed space detected. Hive Sense sensitivity increased."Keep your eyes on the ceiling, Jaxen," I muttered. My hand was still resting on his shoulder, and I could feel the tension in his muscles. He was vibrating like a tuning fork. To a guy with "Hyper-Awareness," this tunnel was probably screaming at him. "The System says there’s Mimics down here. Those bastards don’t fight fair."Jaxen didn’t take
0006
The armored transport—a modified BearCat—roared to life, its engine growling like a caged beast. Jaxen didn’t let go of my arm until he’d shoved me into the passenger seat and slammed the door. He jumped into the driver’s side, his movements a blur of tactical precision.Around us, the outpost was a hive of activity. Soldiers were burning sensitive documents and loading crates of ammunition, their faces pale under the violet-tinted sky. They knew the “Cleansing Protocol” didn’t care about rank or service. When the firebombs dropped, they would be just more fuel for the furnace.DING!Mutation Level: 0.11% - StabilizedStatus: Heartbeat Synchronization Active“You said you have a location,” Jaxen barked, throwing the vehicle into gear. He didn’t look at me, but I could see the vein in his neck throbbing. The “Hyper-Awareness” was still there, but with me sitting next to him, the edge was gone. He could finally focus.“The Hawthorne Physics Lab,” I said, pointing toward the heavy northe
0005
The heavy steel gate slammed shut behind me with a finality that made the ground shake. On the other side, the frantic scratching of Shambler nails against metal sounded like dry leaves in a storm. I leaned against the cold concrete wall of the outpost, my breath coming in jagged, burning hitches.[DING!][Mission ‘The Anchor’s Path’ Complete.][Reward: +100 SP, 1x Low Grade Stamina Potion (Stored in Warehouse)]I didn't care about the points right now. My arm was stinging where the Seeker had tagged me, and the purple haze of the Mist outside was already leaking through the cracks in the gate. My vision was swimming, the edges of my sight turning a familiar, dangerous shade of violet.“Hands where I can see them. Now.”The voice was closer this time. I looked up and finally saw him.Commander Jaxen stood ten feet away, his service rifle leveled at my chest with terrifying steadiness. He was exactly how I remembered— broad-shouldered, wearing a tactical vest that looked like it had be
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