Zombie Apocalypse System

Chapter 2: Burning Desperation, Forbidden Talent Awakens

blowing everything to ashes in the blink of an eye!

BOOOOMMMM!

"Damn it! My ears! Bastard, is this really the apocalypse or a metal concert in hell?!" Axel roared, his body thrown five meters before slamming into a pile of wrecked car junk. His vision blurred, blood-red liquid starting to drip from his temple, soaking the cracked asphalt.

"Ugh! Ugh! Damn it... Abby! Hey, strategic girl! Are you still breathing?!" Axel tried to shout, his voice hoarse, muffled by the incredibly thick dust from the ruins.

[Warning: Body Integrity Decreased to 35%]

[Recommendation: Immediately Use Recovery Item Or You Will Experience Organ Failure Within 120 Seconds]

"Your bald dad's recovery item! I just got here, let alone having medicine, I'm barely half alive! You're so noisy, you damn system!" Axel cursed at the blue screen flickering before his eyes. He tried to get up, but his legs trembled violently. Around him, black flames from the previous attack still licked at the remnants of the buildings.

"Mister... Axel... over... here...."

The weak voice came from behind the collapsed concrete debris. Axel turned, seeing Abby's hand waving faintly from a narrow gap.

"Hold on, By! I'll drag you out! Don't die yet, you haven't paid the tax for my help earlier!" Axel crawled, ignoring the searing pain that tore at his muscles.

However, before Axel's fingers could touch the concrete, a low growl that made his hair stand on end echoed from the dark corridors around them. Not one, not two. Dozens.

GROAAAARRRR!

"Oh, come on... can't you just give me five minutes to breathe? I'm genuinely exhausted!" Axel turned towards the darkness.

A pair of glowing red eyes appeared, followed by dozens more. These were no longer the six-legged monsters from before, but mutant zombies with peeling skin and jaws hanging down to their chests. Their stench was absolutely putrid, like a rat carcass mixed with burning Bantar Gebang trash.

"Mister Axel, just run! They... there are so many of them! Don't worry about me!" Abby screamed from behind the ruins, her voice starting to become hysterical.

"Shut up, By! I don't like leaving things I've claimed! And now, your life belongs to me, so you're not allowed to die carelessly!" Axel stood tall, even though his body was leaning to the left. He gripped the iron pipe that was no longer glowing.

"Hey, you living corpses! Are you all hungry?! Come here, eat this iron pipe! It's free, no Go-Pay needed!"

The zombies didn't waste words. They immediately charged. One mutant zombie with two-meter-long arms leaped, its pitch-black claws aiming for Axel's heart.

"Damn, too fast!"

Axel tried to dodge, but his legs were numb. He could only instinctively raise his iron pipe.

[Warning: Death Threat Detected]

[User Condition: Critical]

[Forbidden Talent: Critical Chance 1000x - Requesting Permanent Activation Confirmation!]

"I already said it, confirm! ACTIVATE IT NOW, YOU IDIOT! DO I NEED TO USE A STAMP?!" Axel yelled with all his might, just as the zombie's claw nearly tore through the skin of his chest.

Instantly, the world seemed to stop spinning. Abby's screams, the zombies' growls, and the roar of the flames suddenly fell completely silent. A silver light, far brighter than before, exploded from the center of Axel's heart. The light spread through his veins, making his blood vessels glow like neon at night.

[CONFIRMATION RECEIVED]

[FORBIDDEN TALENT: CRITICAL CHANCE 1000X HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY ACTIVATED!]

[Status: Absolute Domination Initiated]

"Hah... hah... this feels... absolutely insane," Axel whispered. He felt his body suddenly light, as if the burden of gravity had just been lifted from his back. This overflowing power almost made him want to explode.

The zombie in front of him resumed moving at normal speed, but in Axel's eyes, its movements were incredibly slow. Like a slow-motion video played with a sluggish internet connection.

"So, you wanted to scratch me earlier, huh? Sorry, bro, I'm not looking for love bites from corpses like you right now."

Axel swung his iron pipe. His movement was relaxed, almost effortless. Just a small tap towards the zombie's head.

[Critical 1000x Triggered!]

BOOOOMMM!

The iron pipe didn't just destroy the zombie's head. The impact of the attack multiplied a thousandfold, creating a shockwave that blasted every building within a ten-meter radius. The zombie hit by the attack instantly evaporated, turning into fine black dust even before it could feel any pain.

"Holy crap... did I just do that?" Axel gaped at his hand.

"Mister Axel?! You... what kind of cheat are you using?!" Abby screamed, her eyes wide from behind the ruins that were now flattened because of Axel's recent punch.

"Your dad's cheat! This is called talent, By! Pure talent from a handsome guy pushed to the brink!" Axel retorted, even though he himself was still in heavy shock.

Dozens of other mutant zombies that had been surrounding them suddenly stopped. They might not have brains, but their instincts told them that the creature in front of them was no longer prey, but an apex predator.

"Why are you all quiet?! Scared, are we?! You were so arrogant, growling in my face earlier!" Axel stepped forward, his iron pipe now crackling with mischievous silver electricity.

"Come here, all of you! Come at me together so I don't get tired swinging my arm! One by one takes too long, I'm in a hurry to build a house!"

The zombies growled angrily, as if offended by Axel's words. They all leaped simultaneously from all directions, creating a mass of rotting flesh that intended to crush Axel.

"Okay, mobbing me, huh? I like your style!"

Axel performed a 360-degree spin while swinging his iron pipe horizontally.

"Die, all of you! Critical... Sweep!"

[Critical 1000x Triggered!]

[Critical 1000x Triggered!]

[Critical 1000x Triggered!]

The rapid-fire system notifications were drowned out by the deafening sound of air explosions. Each time the iron pipe touched a zombie, the explosion effect spread to the zombies behind it, continuously multiplied by a thousand. In a matter of seconds, the entire alley was clear. No corpses, no blood. Just black dust swirling in the strong wind.

"Crazy... this is truly insane," Axel muttered, blowing on the tip of his still-hot iron pipe.

"Mister... Axel... you're really human, right? Not an alien disguised as a Jakarta resident?" asked Abby, who had now crawled out from the remnants of the ruins. Her once neat clothes were now tattered, but her sharp eyes stared at Axel with a combination of fear and admiration.

"I'm a genuine human, By. Still love eating Nasi Padang when I have the money," Axel replied casually, extending a hand to help Abby stand up.

"But what just happened... physically, it's impossible! You just generated thousands of tons of pressure using only a scrap pipe! I saw the data on my watch, the energy is absurd!" Abby immediately blurted out, her engineer's spirit suddenly awakened even though she had just almost died.

"The world is already ruined, By. Old physics has retired. Now it's the era of Physics according to Axel," Axel grinned widely, showing his white teeth amidst his smudged face.

"You're so arrogant, you little rat! But... thank you. If it weren't for you, I'd be a snack for those corpses," Abby mumbled softly, her face flushing slightly even though she tried to hide it with her aloof demeanor.

"You're welcome. But remember, nothing is free in this new world. You said you're good at strategy, right? Good with technology too?" Axel asked seriously.

"I'm an MIT top graduate, former head of research at my dad's company. When it comes to machines and blueprints, no one in this city can beat me. Why do you ask?" Abby raised her chin, her pride resurfacing.

"Good. Because I just got a crazy idea. See that pile of car junk and scrap metal over there?" Axel pointed towards the industrial waste pile at the end of the street.

"Yeah, why? Do you want to hit it again until it turns to dust?"

"No. I want to try something. The system says I can get a critical hit from anything I touch," Axel walked towards a severely rusted car frame.

"And?"

"I want to try mining. If one punch causes a thousand damage, then one touch to gather material should also be a thousandfold, right?" Axel placed his palm on the hood of the junk car.

"By, you'd better step back a bit. I'm afraid you'll get buried by the stuff that's about to appear."

"What's going to appear—"

Before Abby could finish her sentence, Axel thought to himself: Critical... Harvest!

[Critical Chance 1000x Triggered for Resource Gathering Activity!]

[Materials Obtained: High-Quality Steel Plate x 1000, Grade A Copper Cable x 1000, Burned Engine Core x 1000]

CRACK! BOOOOMMM!

Suddenly, from that single junk car, thousands of neatly stacked, gleaming steel beams exploded upwards, reaching the height of a three-story building. New, still-shining copper cables appeared in piles like small mountains, covering the entire street.

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT IS THAT?!" Abby leaped backward, nearly stumbling from shock.

"Whoops... too much, huh? Sorry, sorry, first time trying," Axel scratched his head, which wasn't itchy, staring at the mountain of materials he had just created from a single junk car.

"Too much, you say?! That's enough material to build an entire luxury housing cluster in an instant, you idiot! Mister Axel, you are truly... the most cheating apocalypse architect I've ever met!" Abby screamed, but her hands were already busy touching the steel beams with sparkling eyes.

"Abyssal Architect... that sounds pretty good," Axel mumbled. He stared at his hand, which was still emitting a faint silver aura.

"By, can you make a plan to build a hiding place using these materials? I'll execute, you draw."

"Absolutely! Give me ten minutes to make the basic blueprint. With this much material, I can build a bunker that even a nuclear blast couldn't penetrate!" Abby immediately sat on the asphalt, pulling out her advanced tablet whose screen was cracked but still lit up.

"Alright. Work fast. I have a feeling more guests are coming, and they probably won't be bringing brownies."

Axel turned towards the still-split sky. There, the thorn-crowned humanoid creature from before was still hovering, staring at them with a cold gaze that seemed to want to tear their souls apart.

"Hey, you up there! Don't just watch me like a paid audience member! Come down here if you want me to crit you 1000x too!" Axel challenged, flipping his middle finger at the sky.

The creature didn't respond, but it waved its hand. Instantly, the temperature around them dropped drastically. Ice began to creep across the asphalt, and a rumbling sound, far louder than before, was heard from the direction of the city center.

"Mister Axel! Stop picking fights with gods! The blueprint is ready, but we need a welding tool and concrete!" Abby yelled.

"Welding tool? Concrete? Chill, By. I just need some pebbles and a used lighter."

Axel picked up an empty gas lighter from the street. He stared at the lighter seriously.

"By, watch this. This is how I make a nuclear fusion industry from trash."

Axel squeezed the lighter. Silver light exploded again, far more intense than before.

[Critical Chance 1000x Triggered for Item Evolution!]

[Used Lighter Evolved Into: Industrial-Scale Plasma Igniter!]

"INSANE! WHAT IS THAT THING?!" Abby almost dropped her tablet when she saw the lighter in Axel's hand transform into a futuristic metal device emitting high-temperature blue flames.

"This is called critical miracle, By. Now, tell me which one I should weld first!" Axel grinned.

They started working like mad. Abby gave instructions with the precision of a general, while Axel performed physical tasks that should have required hundreds of construction workers. Every one of Axel's movements triggered a critical effect. One nail hammered in, a thousand nails appeared, reinforcing the structure. One layer of concrete poured, a thousand layers of molecular concrete formed in an instant.

In just forty minutes, a mini bunker structure with two-meter-thick walls and a plasma-coated steel door stood tall amidst the destruction of Jakarta.

"I can't believe it... we actually built this in less than an hour," Abby leaned against the still-warm bunker wall, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Not finished yet, By. I want to install a defense system in front of it. So if anyone comes knocking, they'll get a fireworks show as a present."

Axel walked towards the bunker gate. He picked up a few pieces of iron pipe left over from the zombie attack.

"By, do you know how to make an automatic cannon?"

"I do, but we need electronic circuits and motion sensors. Where would we find something like that here?!"

"Circuits? Sensors?" Axel glanced at his cracked digital watch.

"Lend me your watch for a sec, By."

"Uh, what for—"

Axel snatched Abby's watch, then threw it onto the pile of iron pipes. He raised his hands high.

"System! Critical 1000x! Combine all this junk into an Automated Defense Weapon!"

[Notification: Conceptual Fusion Request Received]

[Executing Critical Chance 1000x...]

Silver light engulfed the pile of iron and the watch. The loud sound of metal grinding, the whirring of machinery, and then suddenly...

[Congratulations! You Obtained: Sentinel Plasma Railgun Level 5 (x10 Units)]

Ten futuristic cannon towers with long, pitch-black barrels appeared around the bunker. Their red sensors immediately lit up, scanning the area with threatening beeping sounds.

"Mister Axel... you... you're really not human, are you?" Abby stared at the ten cannons with her mouth agape.

"I already told you, I'm the most handsome human in this new world. Now, we'd better go inside. The guests have arrived."

Axel pointed to the end of the alley. There, the silhouettes of several people carrying firearms and blunt weapons were visible. They weren't monsters, but humans. In front of them stood a large, muscular man with tattoos all over his face, holding a giant, glowing red axe.

"Hey! Who built a nice building in my territory?!" the man roared with a booming voice.

"Well, well, looks like we have a local trash Lord. By, do you want to see them get crit?" Axel crossed his arms over his chest, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips.

"Mister, they seem to have system powers too. Be careful!" Abby whispered cautiously.

"Relax. Even if their system is level a thousand, if they meet my thousandfold critical hit, they'll just become—"

Suddenly, the tattooed man swung his axe towards the ground, creating a massive crack that rapidly spread towards Axel's bunker and...