Doomsday：Last-ditch struggle

Peace brought endless worries. How to live better? Win a loved one’s heart? Become more attractive? The apocalypse simplified everything. Only one question mattered now: survive. Men craved raw power and ultimate gain. Women sought sweet feeling and stable comfort. Mythic creatures walked the earth as viruses warped reality. Survival demanded brutal choices. Humanity’s true enemy wasn’t other species. It was itself. Human evil knew no bottom. Human stupidity knew no ceiling. News snippets flickered through Jeff Zhong’s returning consciousness. "*July 7: Greenhouse effect accumulation melts polar glaciers and permafrost. Sea levels rise rapidly. Major coastal cities face future submersion risk.*" "*August 5: Scientists discover massive 12,000-year-old prehistoric animal corpses in Arctic. Experts confirm these species should be extinct...*" "*August 10: Giants from myth may have existed. Expedition finds giant remains under Arctic ice.*" "*August 16: Arctic research breakthrough! Beyond ancient beasts and giants, scientists identify novel hyper-active bacteria...*" "*Experts warn: Melting glaciers release ancient corpses. Their bacteria and viruses re-enter our world. This portends catastrophe...*" Jeff Zhong jolted upright, gasping. Wood scraped loudly on library floor. Disgusted stares pinned him from surrounding study tables. No one saw the bloody glint fading in his eyes. The killing intent receded like a tide. His trembling hand found the phone on the desk. Screen lit: **September 18, 3032. 16:05**. *One hour until the ancient virus detonates.* Ecstasy choked him. Then cold terror clamped his heart. Global doom approached. He had sixty minutes to prepare. "I've been reborn." He shuddered, bolting from the chair. Noise drew louder curses this time. "Crazy bastard!" someone hissed. "Sleeping in the library? Pathetic!" He didn’t look back. Sixty minutes was nothing. It was everything. Proper planning meant rising first in this new hell. He ran, mind racing. Past-life memories crystallized. Greenhouse effect melted the poles. Ancient viruses slept in billion-year ice. Remnants of mythic beasts thawed. Scientists found them. The UN built a vast Arctic lab. They cultivated the virus. Studied it. Then came the explosion. Cause unknown. The lab shattered. Ancient vectors escaped. Swept the globe. Earth’s life had zero resistance. Disease erupted. Monstrous mutations followed. Madness. Bloodlust. Aggression. The infected tore each other apart. This was the Bad Mutation. Zombification. Seven billion humans plummeted below one billion in weeks. Survivors gained herd immunity. Not unscathed. Ancient virus altered them. One percent mutated *well*. Evolved. They gained mythic strength. Impossible skills. Titles bloomed: Mutants. New Humans. In the East, Awakened. Jeff was Awakened last time. Early mutation. Survived the initial chaos. His power? Useless near-immortality. Superlative regeneration. Fatal blows killed him. Anything less? He healed. Fast. It made him hard to kill. He endured brutal beatings. Slipped death countless times. He lived long. Not strong. Long life wasn’t good life. The apocalypse devoured the weak. Ethics died. Law vanished. Enduring blows wasn’t enough. He needed *power*. Skill. Only then could he live well, not just scrape by. Gain evolutionary resources. Advance further. Otherwise? Like last time. Eliminated in evolution’s race. Betrayed by the woman he loved. Abandoned. Killed by companions’ treachery in the end. Reborn. Never again weak. Never again a failure. He needed shelter. Survive the first wave. Virus sickness. Zombie attacks. He needed food. Prevent starvation. Fuel the body’s mutation. Energy deficit meant death. He needed weapons. Defense. Offense. Take the initiative. Seize evolutionary resources first. *Critical.* He ran faster, campus blurring. Last time, ignorance trapped him here. Classmates turned. Attacked. Fed. He hid in his dorm. Scavenged scraps. The virus mutation nearly killed him. He barely endured. Later, rescued, he stayed hidden. Terrified of basic zombies. Never mind evolved undead. Never mind the monsters emerging. This cowardice lasted a year. By the time mutants surfaced, revealing evolution’s path, others led. Powerful Awakened dominated the city ruins. Too late. The evolutionary race left him choking on dust. Chasing later proved futile. Zombies evolved. Beasts grew stronger. Awakened surged ahead. His fist clenched until knuckles whitened. Rebirth granted foresight. Secrets others lacked. He *would* start ahead. Even if his Awakening again brought only regeneration, his evolution *would* soar higher. Highest.