Apocalypse Metamorphosis

The terrifying change

Name: Alex Knight

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Biological Level: 1 Star

Attributes: (Normal adult male average attributes are 10 points)

Strength: 10.5 (Muscle 11, Body Sturdiness 10)

Agility: 9.75 (Hand-Eye Coordination 9, Flexibility 11, Reaction Speed 11, Balance 8)

Constitution: 10 (Health 9, Endurance 11)

Intelligence: 7 (Learning Ability 6, Reasoning 8)

Perception: 9.25 (Willpower 12, Common Sense 8, Sensory Perception 7, Intuition 10)

Charisma: 7.2 (Presence 10, Persuasiveness 7, Personal Appeal 7, Leadership 5, Physical Attractiveness 7)

Skills: Shooting (Moderately Skilled), Military Boxing (Moderately Skilled), Electrical Work (Novice)

Special Abilities: None

Evolution Points: 0

Possessions: None

“Damn! Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?”

With a throbbing headache and a body still weak from a hangover, Alex Knight stared dumbfounded at the ceiling, unable to believe his situation. Just a night of heavy drinking with friends, followed by a deep sleep, and now this bizarre attribute panel had appeared in his mind.

Could it have something to do with that ancient book I picked up? Before passing out drunk, he vaguely remembered the "the classic of mountains and seas", which is an ancient Chinese book full of ancient ghost and monsters, glowing faintly.

Alex reached for the pillow beside him, but the stitched version of the "Shan Hai Jing" was gone. The light filtering in from the window was incredibly dim, as if night was about to fall.

Whatever, Alex shook off the strange attribute panel from his mind, scratched his unwashed hair, and got out of bed shirtless. His stomach growled loudly after a whole day without food.

His head felt like it was weighed down by a mountain, and Alex clutched it as he shook his head and sighed, letting out a breath of alcohol. He decided against cooking and opted for a cup of instant noodles instead.

Taking a couple of steps towards the kitchen, Alex suddenly froze in place.

What the hell happened here?

Overnight, his rented apartment had become utterly dilapidated. Dust covered the floor and table, and the poster of his favorite singer, which he had put up just a few days ago, was now old and yellowed, its edges tattered. The beautiful face on the poster now looked grotesque, like an old witch laughing eerily at him.

Cobwebs adorned the walls, creating a mist-like shroud. The oranges and apples on the small coffee table had rotted and shriveled, covered in mold that had turned completely black, the fruits beneath reduced to dry, decayed mush. Even the aluminum windows, which the landlord had recently replaced, were now covered in white rust, the glass gray and cracked.

The computer screen at the head of his bed was covered in cobwebs, and the cup had no water, with a desiccated insect corpse lying in it.

The air was filled with a faint, choking smell of dust.

Everything seemed so gray and lifeless, like watching an old black-and-white movie. It was as if the room had aged decades, if not centuries, overnight.

Holy crap, this has to be a dream.

It must be a dream!

Alex lay back down on the bed, closing his eyes.

Once I wake up from this dream, everything will be back to normal.

After tossing and turning for a while, Alex realized that this wasn't a dream. It all seemed terrifyingly real.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Alex rubbed his face vigorously, trying to make sense of it all.

What the hell is going on?

I just had a night of drinking, right?

How could this happen?

Is it ghosts, or some kind of prank?

But the possibility of a prank was low. After all, the attribute panel in his mind wasn't something a person could pull off!

His throat felt dry and scratchy. After a night of heavy drinking, Alex naturally felt parched.

The sudden changes in his room had been too shocking for him to notice this before. Now, as he became aware of it, he started to panic.

He picked up the hot water bottle, but it was empty.

Shaking his head, Alex realized he would have to go out to buy water.

He reached for his wallet in his pocket, but it was gone. Checking the wardrobe, he found that all his clothes hanging inside were tattered, as if they had been scavenged from a dumpster.

Fortunately, the clothes he had left by the bed were still intact, though they reeked of sweat and alcohol.

With a frown, Alex put on his clothes, ran his hands through his hair, and opened the door.

The sight in the narrow corridor outside made Alex's heart sink. The peeling wallpaper and broken wall lights confirmed that the time anomaly extended beyond his room.

Hoping for some normalcy, Alex knocked on his neighbor's door. No response.

The room belonged to John Lee, a college sophomore who had moved out of the dorms in his freshman year. Known as a hardcore gamer, he spent all day inside, reportedly earning quite a bit of money from his games.

Alex knocked on all the occupied rooms, but no one answered. He smiled bitterly at the outcome.

After a moment's hesitation, Alex gritted his teeth and rammed Zhou Li's door with his shoulder.

The landlord was a cheapskate, and the locks were of poor quality. Combined with the door's current dilapidated state, it only took two hits for Alex to break it open.

The sight inside John Lee's room was no better. Dust and cobwebs covered everything, and the room was as decrepit as his own.

Determined, Alex rushed to the front door of the apartment, cautiously peeking outside.

He lived on the ground floor, and there was a flower bed just outside, where the landlord grew garlic, scallions, and other vegetables.

But now, Alex saw a barren, yellowed flower bed, devoid of any greenery. The concrete around it was covered in fallen leaves, and the bicycles leaning against it were rusty.

The gray, bleak sky and the distant, ruined buildings made it seem like a post-apocalyptic scene.

Damn, this is real!

As Alex realized he needed to take action, ten minutes had already passed.

In such a bizarre situation, even a seasoned soldier might struggle to stay calm upon waking up.

Am I supposed to live in this haunted place now?

Who knows if the rest of the world is like this?

Despite never having been to a battlefield, Alex's mental fortitude was commendable. With his highest attribute being Willpower at 12 points, he had a significant advantage in staying composed in such situations.