Apocalypse king

Tokyo was beautiful in the early morning. Golden sunlight reflected against the glass buildings while streams of people hurried along the sidewalks, each person immersed in their own world. Cars filled the streets, trains moved above the city, and electronic billboards flashed advertisements nonstop. It looked like any other day. No one knew that by nightfall, civilization itself would disappear. Arthur Stronghold stood beside a vending machine, holding a can of coffee in one hand while staring at his phone. 7:18 A.M. He sighed. Five unread messages. All from his boss. Mr. Tanaka: "Where are you?" "The investors are already here!" "Don't tell me you overslept again." "Arthur!!!" "If you're late today, you're dead." Arthur rubbed his forehead. "I'm not even late..." He took another sip of coffee. At twenty-six years old, Arthur considered himself painfully ordinary. He lived alone in a small apartment, earned an average salary, and worked as a game attendant for one of Tokyo's medium-sized gaming companies. The pay wasn't amazing, but it was enough. At least life was stable. More importantly, today was important. The company was finally preparing to launch its newest project. A zombie survival game. The project had taken nearly three years to complete. Everyone in the company had poured their hearts into it. Even Arthur had worked countless overtime hours. Thinking about it now, he could only smile bitterly. "A zombie apocalypse game..." He looked at the giant electronic billboard across the street. An advertisement for the game appeared. Dark skies. Ruined cities. Blood-covered monsters. And beneath it were the words: SURVIVE THE END. Arthur laughed softly. "Hopefully the launch goes well." For some reason, however, he suddenly felt uneasy. The air felt strange. The city felt strange. Even the birds flying overhead seemed unusually restless. Several pigeons suddenly scattered into the sky. A woman nearby frowned. "That's odd." Arthur glanced around. For a brief second, everything became eerily quiet. Then— A scream echoed from the other side of the street. Everyone turned. A man had collapsed onto the ground. His body trembled violently. Foam poured from his mouth. "Call an ambulance!" "Someone help him!" People immediately gathered around. Arthur frowned. The man's skin was turning pale. Very pale. Then— The man suddenly opened his eyes. Blood-red eyes. Before anyone could react, he lunged at the nearest person. Crunch. A horrible sound echoed. The crowd froze. A woman screamed. Blood splattered everywhere. "What the hell?!" "He bit him!" "Oh my God!" Panic instantly erupted. People began running. Some took out their phones. Others simply stood there in shock. The man continued biting people like a wild animal. Arthur felt his heart skip a beat. This... This looked exactly like the zombies from their game. Impossible. There had to be another explanation. Drugs? Mental illness? Some kind of attack? Sirens suddenly sounded throughout the city. More screams echoed in the distance. Then another. And another. Arthur slowly looked around. Several people had collapsed nearby. They too began convulsing. His face turned pale. "No way..." One of them suddenly stood up. Its mouth was covered in blood. It charged directly toward the crowd. The peaceful street instantly descended into chaos. People pushed each other while trying to escape. Cars crashed. A bus rammed into a traffic light. Someone was crying. Someone else was praying. Arthur stood frozen. His mind refused to accept what he was seeing. Then his phone suddenly rang. It was his colleague. He immediately answered. "Ken?" The voice on the other side was trembling. "Arthur! Don't come to the office!" "What happened?" "There are monsters everywhere!" Arthur's pupils shrank. "You've seen them too?" "They're eating people!" A scream came from the phone. Then— Static. The call disconnected. Arthur stared at his phone. His hands were shaking. This wasn't an isolated incident. It was happening everywhere. His phone exploded with notifications. Emergency Alert. Citizens are advised to remain indoors immediately. Avoid contact with infected individuals. Military forces have been dispatched. Another alert appeared. Then another. Social media became flooded. Videos. Photos. Screams. Blood. Chaos. Arthur felt cold. This couldn't be real. It had only been a few minutes. How had everything become like this? A loud horn suddenly echoed. Arthur looked up. His eyes widened. A truck was speeding toward the intersection. The driver had clearly lost control. People screamed and scattered. Arthur instinctively stepped backward— But someone suddenly slammed into him. He lost his balance. The world spun. Everything happened too quickly. A deafening crash. Pain exploded throughout his body. Then darkness. ... ... Cold. That was the first thing Arthur felt. Cold and pain. His entire body hurt. His eyelids slowly opened. White ceiling. Strange smell. Machines beeping. Hospital? Arthur frowned. Memories quickly returned. The street. The monsters. The truck. He suddenly sat upright. Pain immediately shot through his body. "Ugh..." Bandages covered his arms. His head was wrapped. His left leg was also injured. What happened? How long had he been unconscious? The room was strangely quiet. Too quiet. Then— A scream echoed outside. Arthur froze. Another scream followed. Then another. His heart started beating faster. He slowly reached for his phone. No signal. No internet. Only one notification remained on the screen. Emergency Alert. The situation has exceeded government control. Citizens are advised to seek immediate shelter. Government control... exceeded? Arthur's face turned pale. Strange sounds came from outside the room. Dragging. Growling. Crunching. His blood ran cold. That sound... Footsteps slowly approached the door. Then— Bang. Bang. Bang. Something was hitting it. Arthur's breathing became heavy. Bang! The door suddenly shook violently. A low growl echoed from outside. Arthur's eyes widened. "No..." Bang! A bloody hand appeared through the small window. Then another. Then another. Red eyes stared directly at him. The monsters had reached the hospital. Arthur's heart nearly stopped. Outside, countless screams echoed. People were dying. The world... had truly ended. Bang! The door began breaking apart. Arthur looked around desperately. No weapons. No escape. Only a small fruit knife beside the bedside table. His hands trembled as he grabbed it. The growling outside became louder. The door cracked. For the first time in his life— Arthur felt genuine fear. Not fear of losing his job. Not fear of failure. But fear of death. His breathing became uneven. Was this really the end? Was he going to die here? The growls intensified. Suddenly— The lights flickered. The entire hospital trembled. A strange mechanical sound echoed inside his head. ... ... Energy detected. Conditions fulfilled. Beginning synchronization... Arthur froze. A cold voice suddenly echoed in his mind. Congratulations. Hidden System detected.