Chapter 1

"This is your house."

A man in a crisp suit stood on a dirt slope, looking down at a quiet courtyard house nestled below the weed-choked hillside.

Calling it a courtyard house was generous—half of it had collapsed. The overgrown weeds and broken bamboo littering the grounds were bad enough, but the faded, peeling lucky-baby decals stuck to the broken door and the sparrows nesting in the cracks of the grimy brick walls made it painfully clear that this house had been abandoned for a very long time, so dilapidated it was hard to look at.

And the woman about to move into this drafty, crumbling little house was none other than the lady standing beside him.

She had long, natural hair cascading down her back, a slender waist, and a knitted gray-pink dress whose hem swayed gently with her movements—the picture of a modern city woman. Her delicate, slightly elongated amber eyes were hidden behind gold-rimmed glasses, and when she smiled, there was something reserved and proper about it, the sort of quiet, sensible beauty that elders adored.

Take right now, for example: even upon seeing this house, she could still smile with impeccable grace.

The man in the suit thought grimly that if it were him, the mere mention of "mountain village" would have sent him running for the hills with his luggage in tow, let alone settling down here. It reminded him of those ads that popped up on short-video apps all the time—a young woman kicked out of her home, curled up in a freezing, dilapidated house, with blood-red words splashed across the screen—

"Won'T SOMEONE HELP ME?!"

Wasn't this beautiful lady moving into a house like that basically the same situation?

Swallowing his strange sympathy, the man in the suit resumed his professional lawyer demeanor. "Ms. Lin Tu, once you sign here, you'll legally and officially own this house. However, I must remind you that the testator—your grandfather—required the inheritor to live here for three months, and that requirement is actually not legally binding. You're fully within your rights to refuse—"

"No need." Lin Tu gracefully opened the pen clip, took out a fountain pen, and signed the inheritance agreement with a smooth, fluid stroke.

Whether or not her grandfather had that odd requirement, she had already made up her mind to return to the countryside and bid farewell to her 996 life for good, settling into a peaceful retirement amidst the mountains.

There were mountains, there was water, the rustle of wind through bamboo, the pleasant chirping of birds—and the only thing missing was the stench of the office, that barn-like odor unique to the workplace. Lin Tu took a deep breath of fresh air mingled with the scent of flowers and earth, and let it out in a relaxed sigh.

"Woof woof woof!" A golden retriever puppy, only a few months old, wriggled half its head out of its crate, staring excitedly at the wild mountain scenery so different from the city—completely oblivious to the fact that its big head was stuck.

"Oh! Xiao Huang's gotten its head out!" The lawyer, having put away the contract, exclaimed in surprise and helped push the puppy's head back inside. Thinking of the lady's pitiful situation, he said with sympathy, "Let me help you carry your luggage."

"Thank you." To Lin Tu's surprise, she was in an exceptionally good mood.

But even with extra help, they didn't finish moving everything until nearly noon. Given the limited conditions, Lin Tu didn't invite him to stay for a meal—she just sent him a red envelope via mobile transfer, along with some bread and bottled water.

With a rumble, the van started up, and the creaky courtyard gate swung shut with a groan. In the silent mountain wilderness, Lin Tu was left alone, along with Xiao Huang, who had just squeezed out of its crate and was hopping around all over the place.

Only then did Lin Tu have a chance to look at the interior of the house.

The courtyard was spacious, with a well in the middle emanating a faint scent of spring water. Half the house had collapsed, and the path connecting to the empty lot behind was broken too—but that was from a construction mishap years ago. The remaining half was still sturdy, and had even been reconnected to electricity and water, though most of the light bulbs in the rooms were burnt out.

Lin Tu ate bread as she checked the rooms, and finally found one with a working bulb. Coincidentally, it happened to be the room where she'd stayed a few times as a child, so she decided to make it her room again.

Back in her old haunt, Lin Tu easily began moving her luggage. Unfortunately, there was simply too much of it, and by the time she'd managed to make the place barely livable, it was already evening. She tossed her sleeping bag onto the old wooden bed and locked the door tight.

At eleven o'clock, she still had no trace of sleepiness. All of this was the fault of that damned, endless, soul-crushing overtime.

Lin Tu sat by the window and took out her phone, which had been switched off all day, and turned it on—

"You little brat, where the hell have you been! You don't reply to messages, you don't answer calls! Are you trying to start a rebellion? I went to your apartment and the landlord said you already moved out! Fine, fine, out at all hours of the night! Lying to your parents left and right! Got your wings and think you can fly now? You'd better know that without me looking after you, you'd be nothing right now!"

"This project is extremely important, and you've always been the one handling it. The higher-ups have high hopes for you. How could you just submit your resignation without a word? Yes, it's within the rules, but is it really responsible? How are you going to keep working in this industry after this? Get back here right now, and I'll pretend this never happened!"

"I heard you've gone missing? You've also cleared out all the money in your salary account. Did something happen? If there's a problem, talk to us. Whatever you do, don't go getting involved in loans or anything like that. At your age, don't reach for the stars..."

"..."

A flood of messages came rushing in.

The heavy words pressed down on Lin Tu so much she could barely breathe. She turned the phone off again, took out the SIM card, and tossed it into an old, decrepit drawer. She replaced it with a newly purchased one, and deleted all previous apps and records.

Call her fragile, call her crazy—she just wanted to find a peaceful life. She'd worked diligently for it, saved up enough for her retirement fund, and she deserved the life she had now. Looking at her empty phone, knowing with absolute certainty that it wouldn't ring, Lin Tu felt an unprecedented calm—or so she thought, until—

[Anju System starting up...]

A strange sound suddenly rang in her ear.

Lin Tu shot upright. The silence all around made it clear there was no stranger present. But the voice came again, sounding as if it were inside her head, with no discernible source.

[Qualifying player detected. Scanning player's physical data... Scanning house structural data... Loading main system... Loading... Loading successful!]

What player? System? Could Alzheimer's have come so intelligently for her just as she was starting her retirement? Quickly dismissing that absurd thought, Lin Tu's mind raced.

She was quite certain she wasn't crazy, because it wasn't just her having "hallucinations"—her phone had changed too. On the screen she'd just wiped clean, a small blue house icon had appeared, with two big characters beneath it—[Anju].

The voice continued.

[Earthquakes, torrential rains, zombies, tsunamis... There are countless calamities in this world beyond your wildest imagination. You will experience the sky falling and the earth splitting, worlds coming to an end, countless living beings wailing in agony. Pray that you won't become one of them!]

[Please do your best to repair your shelter and improve your abilities. Your task is to survive the terrifying infinite disasters!]

Shocked out of her wits, Lin Tu tapped open the Anju app.

After a pleasant jingle, she saw a line of big text appear in the center of the screen—

[Player 'Lin Tu' will be loaded into the Novice Disaster World in 7 days.]

[Countdown: 167:58... 167:56...]

Then came her personal information and the so-called "Novice Disaster World" details.

[Player: Lin Tu]

[Age: 26]

[Player Physical Fitness: Feeble (Assessed as—Strength: E-rank; Speed, Agility, Reaction: F-rank)]

[Special Items: None]

[Comprehensive Rating: F-rank (Below average for peers)]

[Novice Disaster World]

[Rating: D-rank (Player's overall attributes below standard; survival probability: 0.3333%)]

[Disaster: ...]

As if the endless, incomplete string of 3s after the decimal point stung her eyes, Lin Tu snapped the phone shut with a click.

She took two deep breaths, closed her eyes, opened them again—nothing had changed. Lin Tu sat there in silence for a long while. It wasn't that she couldn't accept supernatural events; she'd always been good at solving problems.

It was just... she couldn't accept that this world was like a rabid dog, chasing her down and biting her no matter what she did or where she went, since the day she was born.

Just as she was about to start her peaceful retirement, everything had slipped back to square one in an unrecoverable way.

Most of her luggage was still piled up in a corner, unpacked. Lin Tu went straight for it, moved the boxes aside, and pulled out the long case that had been stowed at the very bottom.

When she opened it, inside was a heavily worn heavy punching bag.

Seeing it, Lin Tu felt like she was seeing family. She stood it up gently.

"Glad I brought you along." She gracefully removed her metal accessories—her pen clip, bracelet, earrings—and set them aside. Then she took off her gold-rimmed glasses, finally revealing the barely-contained fury in her eyes.

She rolled her wrists, raised a slender, fair arm, and threw a punch square into the bag.

In the silent room, a muffled thud stabbed at one's fragile nerves like a needle, but Lin Tu found it utterly satisfying. Even more satisfying was the faint sting in her hand and the emptiness of having vented all her pent-up energy.

But it wasn't enough.

"One punch to burst your rotten asshole!" Thud!

"Having fun messing with people? Having fun destroying other people's dreams?" Thud! "Goddamn Anju! Go to hell!" Thud!

"Just die already! AHHH!"

Her fists rained down on the bag like a violent storm, sweat flying with each swing as she pushed past the limits of muscle strain. Anger, rage, and despair manifested physically in her, transforming her into a savage beast with no reason, only roaring.

Xiao Huang stood in the shadows behind the boxes, a collar having somehow appeared around its neck.

The collar projected a robotic face into the air, with the words [Anju Butler] displayed on it. After a moment, the smiling lips began to tremble, and the curved eyes looked as if they were about to cry.

"We'll go find your owner in a little while. She seems really angry..." It whimpered twice, whispering in dog-speak at Xiao Huang's ear in the lowest voice it could manage.

It had clearly overestimated Xiao Huang's intellect. The moment it heard the word "owner," Xiao Huang bolted straight toward Lin Tu.

Lin Tu saw Xiao Huang come running with an unfamiliar collar around its neck, projecting a strange avatar with the label [Anju Smart Butler] on it. Something flickered across her mind, and a faint, barely perceptible smile curved at the corner of her mouth.

Her outburst over, reason gradually returned. Lin Tu stopped, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe off her sweat, and put her gold-rimmed glasses back on, once again the picture of composed elegance.

She smiled. "So there's another one of you. Talk. How do I make you bastards get lost?"

The butler experienced fear for the first time. Terrified of being beaten to a pulp, it stammered in an electronic voice, "You've already bound yourself to the Anju System. There's no way out, unless you accumulate 100,000 points."

Lin Tu's "oh" seemed to linger in the air like an echo. "Then can you explain," her voice cool and husky, "what exactly is a zombie?"

The phone screen lit up, and the words she'd glimpsed earlier appeared again—

Beneath the mere 0.3333% survival probability, was something she'd only ever seen in horror movies.

[Disaster: Global Zombie Crisis (Novice World)]

[Synopsis: This world has been overrun by zombies. No matter where you hide, you will encounter terrifying zombies! They are hungry and desperate, and your flesh might just fill their bellies.]

[Objective: Survive 3 months (Completion grants random rewards)]

[Side Quest: Kill zombies (D-rank world: 1 zombie = 1 point. Unlock random rewards upon reaching certain kill counts)]

[Anju Bonus: First-time players may select one Anju function for free. Additional functions may be unlocked later using rewards or points~]

"It's... it's corpses that turn into mindless, biting, virus-spreading things after death..." The butler trembled. Seeing Lin Tu staring at it coldly, it quickly explained, "The system matched this automatically! I didn't know beforehand either! But don't worry, the Anju System has all sorts of functions—as long as you pick the right one, it'll definitely keep you safe on your mission!"

It proactively projected all the Anju functions available to new players onto the wall for her to choose from, chattering eagerly, "For a zombie world, I recommend the [Iron Bulwark] function—it can withstand a hundred zombies attacking for ten straight hours..."

[Iron Bulwark (Free selection for new players once)]

[Adds a layer of iron plating to walls and roof.]

[Price: 150 points]

[Expanded Space (Free selection for new players once)]

[Increases initial room volume by 4 square meters.]

[Price: 150 points]

[Permanent Electricity (Free selection for new players once)]

[Ensures your house has stable electricity during disasters. Note: Electricity fees apply (0.1 points/kWh).]

[Price: 150 points]

[Permanent Water (Free selection for new players once)]

[Ensures your house has stable water supply during disasters (drinkable purified water). Note: Water fees apply (4 points/cubic meter).]

[Price: 150 points]

[One-Time Travel (Free selection for new players once)]

[...]

There were also several grayed-out options, which required not only more points but also additional materials, and weren't part of the free selection for new players.

"Can't I just install the Iron Bulwark myself?" Lin Tu asked.

What's so hard about adding a layer of iron plating? Can't a retired person have hobbies? Like metalworking?

Yes, as things stood, Lin Tu might have accepted the idea of entering a disaster world to fight zombies, but that didn't stop her from being dead set on continuing her retirement plans.

She, Lin Tu, was going to retire if it killed her!

"You could, but I wouldn't recommend it." The butler said with some difficulty. "First, you don't have enough time. Second, the craftsmanship in your world is... rather underdeveloped—the quality of your iron plating wouldn't meet system standards."

"None of your damn business." Lin Tu let out a cold laugh. "Now tell me how the points work."

The butler: "..."

It put on its most professional, warmest smile. "Points and world currency are interchangeable. I've checked your current savings—you have 3 million, which converts to 300 points—enough to buy two Anju functions! And you don't need to worry about running out of points. In the zombie world, killing one zombie earns you one point!"

"You've looked into my retirement fund quite thoroughly." Having been steeped in corporate life for years, Lin Tu sensed the unmistakable stench of manipulation. She slowly took off her glasses and dangled them from her hand. "Nice plan. Spend my money, have me fight zombies to death, catch an occupational disease like infection, and then pay you more after?"

Without the gold-rimmed glasses shielding them, her eyes were downright icy. The butler inexplicably lowered its voice. "Anju is here to ensure your safety. The points you spend are for your own good. When the disaster ends, all special hazards from the disaster world—like the zombie virus—can be completely cleansed with points."

"And if I've already become a zombie before the disaster ends?"

"Then I suppose I'll be stuck there too." The butler whined a couple of times. "So you really need to pick your Anju function carefully—it determines whether we live or die."

Its "constructive advice" left Lin Tu speechless. It didn't seem too bright, and honestly, it barely qualified as a smart butler—she couldn't get anything useful out of it.

"Fine, I get it." She casually put her gold-rimmed glasses back in their case and unzipped her sleeping bag—she'd have to hurry the delivery of the big bed she'd ordered tomorrow. At least it had to arrive within seven days, or she'd be sleeping in this bag for three months... Lin Tu thought. Her planned retirement life needed a nice, soft, big bed.

"Are you going to pick the [Iron Bulwark]?" the butler asked curiously. Seven days wasn't long or short, but if one took preparation seriously, it was quite urgent.

"I'll decide tomorrow. I want to sleep in." Lin Tu yawned. Just as she was about to crawl into her sleeping bag, she seemed to recall something. "Oh, right. I heard you talking to Xiao Huang earlier. Since you can do that, take Xiao Huang out to pee and walk at six tomorrow morning. And remind it not to eat too much. Tell it not to disturb my sleep."

The butler was racking its electronic brain for ideas to help Lin Tu when it heard what sounded like... what? ...Walk the dog/Manage the dog's eating and bathroom needs?

The smart butler's mechanical eyes went wide. It stared at itself in shock, then at Xiao Huang, who was crunching away on a chew stick, and suddenly felt its vision go dark, its future looking bleak beyond measure.