New Work
511 Words
Zoe awoke to a persistent knocking at her door.
"Open up! I know you're in there!"
Her first instinct was to reach for the knife under her pillow, then she remembered she was no longer in the post-apocalyptic world.
Ten days ago, Zoe was fighting zombies in her world when a bomb countdown started behind her.
Five, four, three, two, one...
Boom!
At the moment of the explosion, she couldn't find cover and felt a sense of weightlessness. She woke up in a deserted garbage room, in a world where the sky was a dull, yellowish grey, and acid rain fell from above.
With a piece of metal lodged in her abdomen and bleeding profusely, Zoe crawled to an automatic medical vending machine and spent all she had on a powerful healing serum. She then stumbled back to her dwelling, guided by the memories of the body's original inhabitant.
In this wasteland world, 80% of the land was polluted, and humanity lived within high walls to fend off monsters. Technology was advanced, offering powerful healing serums, genetic enhancers, and nutrition supplements.
And then, there was... the system.
Upon waking in this new world, Zoe had bound to a purification system. She thought she had changed her fate, obsessively checking her new profile:
Name: Zoe Age: 19 Education: Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering Status: Fifth-Class Citizen Talent: Unknown Mutation Direction: Unknown Mutation Degree: Unknown Physical Strength: Unenhanced Mental Value: 100 (average is 20)
The system's main mission was to purify the polluted land and rebuild humanity's home. But Zoe felt overwhelmed and apathetic, doubting the reality of this world and the system itself.
Ten days of inactivity later, she was interrupted by the impatient knocks at her door.
"Zoe, open up!" shouted the voice outside. "I'll break the door if you don't!"
Reluctantly, Zoe opened the door to find a small, elderly woman, Mrs. Wei, standing there with a walking stick. Mrs. Wei, suffering from dwarfism, was the building manager.
"Rent," Mrs. Wei demanded.
Stunned by the high amount, Zoe, who only had seven hundred credits to her name, agreed to pay in two days.
Back in her apartment, overwhelmed by the bills and debts piling up, Zoe decided to look for a job. She quickly realized that her status as a fifth-class citizen severely limited her options.
After sifting through numerous job listings, she found a seemingly perfect one – a cleaning job paying five thousand credits for three hours, with potential for a bonus. It sounded too good to be true, but desperate, Zoe applied.
To her surprise, she was instantly accepted and received an offer via email.
Her first task was at the 103 District Incinerator. Upon arriving at the 103 District Cleaning Center, she was greeted by the chaos of an overly busy office. An assistant, Fang Ying, quickly briefed her on the job.
Fang Ying explained the salary structure and then, with a serious tone, asked Zoe a crucial question, "Are you afraid of monsters?"
Zoe, having faced much worse in her previous life, confidently responded, "Not really."
- Writer
