Chapter Two: The Genetic Ecological Chain

The silent clock on the table pointed to eight o'clock.

In the old era, by this time the morning sunlight would have already arrived. Yet outside, in the ruined era, it remained pitch-black, growing more terrifying after the moonlight faded. This was a world without tomorrow; if not for things like clocks, the survivors would long have lost any sense of time.

It had been two hours since my mutation. Ever since the activation of the [Genetic Ecological Chain] and the start of ecological cleansing, I had fallen into a frozen state, my body rigid and immobile.

Am I... am I still human?

My form recovered from a shocking distortion, finally appearing like a normal person. The wound in my abdomen had somehow healed, the tearing pain vanished, along with the persistent high fever. I flexed my limbs, feeling a surge of strength far beyond the weakness that had nearly killed me.

Raising my left hand, I stared at the grayish-white sun, recalling the prompts that echoed in my mind.

"Genetic Ecological Chain?"

I remembered clearly—the sun symbol was the same one I had encountered in a dream. When I awoke, it had grown inside my flesh, impossible to remove. But was it truly a dream? Even now, I could not confirm, for it felt all too real.

Looking at the healed wound, I remembered the nightmare beast I had encountered two days ago. Just as it was about to devour me, it was distracted by another disturbance and left, sparing me indirectly.

The term "nightmare beast" signified despair in the ruined era—it was synonymous with the impossible to kill. No matter what means were used to decapitate or shatter it, it would revive in place in just three to five minutes, and the stronger ones revived even faster.

Luckily, their numbers were not as many as corpse types or aberrants. As apex predators atop the food chain, they rarely appeared now, and encountering one was a stroke of ill luck.

Two days ago, I went out to search for supplies and ran straight into one—pure misfortune. Had it not been for that lucky distraction, I would have died.

I glanced at the homemade calendar hanging on the wall: May 1st, 2127.

May 1st... In the old era, this day was Labor Day. With nothing left to eat in the house, perhaps it was time to "labor" and show some exemplary spirit.

According to the survivor log, a year had passed since the Eternal Night began. The horrific infection had killed over ninety percent of humanity; those who remained either became corpse types or were killed. Even so, humanity could not escape the law of mutual destruction—hearts remained fathomless.

The year before, 2126, was a blank in my memory. No matter how I tried, I could not recall anything from that year.

It was as if I appeared in this city out of thin air.

ZM City.

Once a third-tier city before disaster struck, now it was reduced to rubble. In the four months I’d been here, I never encountered another living soul whenever I ventured outside. Maybe my range was too limited, unwilling to stray far in the darkness.

But more likely, the city had completely collapsed, all survivors migrated elsewhere.

Or perhaps, everyone in the city was dead.

After the baptism of the ruined era, only a handful of major cities might still have people; elsewhere, only scattered wanderers or small groups remained.

According to the survivor log, there were ninety-nine pillars protecting humanity. If all were activated, unimaginable changes might occur in this world.

Each pillar could accommodate up to ten thousand survivors; ninety-nine pillars meant only ninety-nine thousand people could stay inside, pitiful compared to the planet’s former billions.

As I flipped through the log, my gaze lingered on the map hanging on the wall—a map of Z Country from the old era, still useful in the ruined era, though most cities had been abandoned.

According to the log, the nearest pillar was in ZZ City, four hundred kilometers away, and I would have to walk there.

Frowning, I muttered, “It’s so dark outside. Artificial light can’t be used recklessly. If I attract corpse hordes or nightmare beasts, it’ll be disastrous. Looks like my chance of walking to ZZ City alone is zero…”

I had searched ZM City for supplies over the past months, and was fairly familiar with the situation—there was no survivor enclave. Not a single living soul had been seen.

I eyed the candle on the table, burned down to its last third—my only remaining light source. Only two or three matches left to light it.

When those were gone, I would truly be plunged into utter darkness.

The eight hours of moonlit night—from 22:00 to 6:00—made it easier to move outside, but they were also the most dangerous. The moon strengthened all corpse types, making them more bloodthirsty and frenzied.

If I didn’t leave ZM City soon, I would simply waste away here.

After my brush with the nightmare beast, fear lingered in my heart. If it happened again, I doubted I could escape on foot.

I tiptoed behind the door, hefting a steel blade from the corner—a sword with a shape reminiscent of the ancient Tang blade, salvaged from a smithy and brought along for its usefulness. It had served me well.

I picked up the backpack from the storage locker, rolled up the map and log, and packed them together, along with the half candle and matches.

Blowing out the candle, darkness enveloped the room. I sat motionless on the bed, holding a half-dried, moistureless bun, biting down as if on stone.

The dryness nearly tore my throat.

“No water left either. Ruined era—utter despair.”

I shook the military canteen in my hand; not a drop remained, so I slung it over my shoulder in resignation.

After replenishing what little energy I could, I quietly stepped toward the door, peering out through the peephole—only darkness greeted me.

My place was a safehouse; apart from the peephole, every other opening was sealed with wood and curtains, ensuring not a single ray of light escaped.

Sweat beaded in my palm as I hesitated to open the door. What if something was waiting on the other side? One wrong move, and everything would unravel!

“Genetic Ecological Chain activated. As this is the first activation, the host is granted 1 genetic point. Please use it wisely.”

The sudden voice in my mind made me shudder.

I wiped the sweat from my brow—somehow, I felt especially anxious today.

Especially near the door, I had a foreboding sense.

I stared wide-eyed at my left palm—more precisely, at the interface that appeared from it.

It glowed strangely, yet cast no light, as if only I could see it.

“Level One Genetic Ecology Interface unlocked.”

The interface changed, displaying six icons:

Eye, Leg, Arm, Respiration, Nose, Ear.

Genetic points: 1.

“Please note, host: place your finger on the option you wish to learn about for a basic introduction. Deeper functions must be unlocked and experienced by the host.”

“Please note, host: Level One Genetic Ecology Interface is for basic bodily applications. First activation requires only 1 genetic point, with a maximum of three activations.”

I pressed my finger to the eye icon.

“Visual ability: enables clearer vision…”

Is that all? The introduction was basic indeed! Still, without hesitation, I spent my genetic point on vision.

“Visual ability activated…”