Chapter 1: The First Cup

Chapter 1: The First Cup

City A, once renowned for its international flair and modernity, now bore little resemblance to the word "normal."

The bustling CBD at the heart of the city had been abruptly transplanted into a lush grassland, as if nature and steel were attempting a truce. Grass leaves crept onto asphalt roads and sleek skyscrapers, cloaking them in a thin layer of green.

A group of Slimes hopped aimlessly across the grassland. These jelly-like creatures, with their low attack power, served as ideal practice targets for newcomers. They adhered to an unspoken rule, never crossing the city boundaries into the steel forest.

Even this bizarre spectacle, something only found in games, had become commonplace to the residents of City A—because this was a game-affected zone.

On September 9, 2999, the apocalypse game descended upon Earth, enveloping cities A, B, and C in a thick fog. The inhabitants of these cities were forced to become "game players," struggling to survive within the game. These three cities, shrouded in fog and sealed off from the outside world, were known as "game-affected zones."

City A, located within China, was a megacity with a population exceeding three million. Despite many fleeing when the sky first showed signs of anomaly, over a million people were still forcibly pulled into the game.

The government responded swiftly, sealing off the area around City A and dispatching troops and drones to investigate the fog. However, once inside the fog, all communication with the outside world ceased, as if entering another dimension.

Until the game provided a means of communication—a forum called "Conquering the Apocalypse Game."

Both players and non-players could post here, making it the sole method of contact between the two worlds.

The forum had two main sections: one for players, where only those within the "game-affected zones" could post, divided by regions A, B, and C; others could only view but not participate. The other section, for viewers outside the affected zones, allowed posting, with IDs distinguishing "players" from "ordinary people."

He Wuning frowned as he scrolled through the latest posts on the player forum related to "awakening quests."

—"My awakening quest is a joke! Why are you asking me to be a magical girl? Are you insane?"

—"Finally finished my awakening quest! I awakened lightning abilities! Is there any team looking for a member who prioritizes survival? QAQ"

—"Anyone else who hasn't done the awakening quest yet? Consider carefully before doing it. I have super strength when full, but even a slight hunger makes me unable to lift my hands! It's better not to awaken at all!"

He Wuning's expression was far from pleasant.

This was a desolate border area for new players, where native Slimes would not initiate attacks unless provoked. He chose this undisturbed spot deliberately.

Standing under a tree, the young man was tall and slender, his half-long black hair slightly covering his eyes. Despite his delicate appearance, his well-shaped eyes could not be fully concealed.

He was strikingly handsome, the kind described as "beautiful." But the slight frown and a hint of menace made him appear more dangerous than gentle, like a soft yet lethal large cat.

He sat cross-legged and laid out materials—steel parts, rubber items, leaves from some plant... a miscellaneous pile.

He Wuning tapped the ground with his fingers, a habit while thinking. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "Submit task."

"Confirm submission of the awakening quest?"

The mechanical female voice repeated, and He Wuning affirmed, "Confirm."

There was no choice but to confirm.

In the early stages of the game, aside from gaining levels and equipment, it resembled a fancy survival scenario. But since the first person completed an "awakening quest" three years ago, humanity entered the awakening phase, acquiring various powers, spells, systems... According to official statistics, recent death rates were unusually low, suggesting a glimmer of hope for survival.

But He Wuning remained pessimistic.

He scoured all available information on "awakening quests" and found that most top players in the early game gained useless abilities. Those with powerful abilities were often the elderly, children, pregnant women, or disabled individuals.

For example, Bai Yan, third on the player rankings, had awakened healing abilities despite being a sickly figure confined to a wheelchair.

It seemed as if an unseen force maintained a delicate balance, preventing overly powerful individuals from emerging.

He Wuning noticed a familiar name—Yi Luo. His gaze paused briefly before moving on.

The player rankings were not official but a product of people's amusement. He Wuning ranked second, just below Yi Luo, whom the poster dubbed "the beacon of humanity."

He Wuning believed the poster was a fan of Yi Luo, constantly praising his achievements and lamenting, "Yi Luo hasn't done his awakening quest yet. May the system not punish him."

He Wuning decided to ignore his ranking and focused on the materials before him.

The materials on the ground coalesced, emitting a dazzling light reminiscent of a magical girl or a knight transformation. Though flashy, He Wuning was immune to such effects, barely blinking, even showing a hint of impatience.

If not for the increasing difficulty of leveling up, he wouldn't have wanted to awaken.

If only the transformation process could be fast-forwarded, He Wuning would have pressed the button repeatedly.

"Lalalala—" a sickeningly sweet and cheerful tune sounded, causing He Wuning's brows to furrow. He felt a sense of foreboding.

With a grim expression, he looked at the object emerging from the light—a pink mechanical sphere.

The sphere seemed metallic, colored in shades of deep and light pink, adorned with fluffy edges and trailing pink chiffon. It held a pink magic wand and wore a crown encrusted with pink diamonds, resembling a cheap toy from a street vendor, overly sweet and tacky.

The pink sphere, oblivious to its garish appearance, confidently circled He Wuning. "Hello, hello—congratulations on completing your awakening quest! You've leveled up from 50 to Awakening Level 1! Amazing!"

Its tiny hands couldn't clap, but He Wuning suspected it would have given him a kindergarten-style encouragement if it could.

"Suddenly becoming Level 1 must be unsettling, but don't worry! All your abilities are intact. Just think of it as breaking through the level cap. You'll need to start over to reach higher areas, but it's for your safety!"

As it spoke, it continued circling, occasionally sending sparkles and hearts at He Wuning.

He Wuning smoothed his furrowed brow, hoping against hope, "What exactly are you?"

Perhaps it was just odd-looking, but its abilities might still be useful...

The pink sphere, oblivious to his frustration, continued its monologue. It spun its magic wand, emitting a larger glow, and flew into the air, transforming into a 2D sticker on a signboard, still garishly pink.

He Wuning stared expressionlessly at what appeared to be a... pink food truck?

He looked again, unsure. It resembled a food truck selling crepes or ice cream, common in amusement parks but rare on city streets. With its tacky color scheme, He Wuning was certain its destiny lay in amusement parks or junkyards.

The sign featured Q-sauce's overly sweet sticker and a cup of pearl milk tea. So, this was... a milk tea truck?

Q-jam didn’t stick to the sign as He Wuning had expected; it wriggled its body, leaving behind a 2D sticker, and wobbled back down, excitedly saying, "Honey, look! This is the milk tea cart management system you gained after awakening—let’s set out together and deliver sweet milk tea to every corner of the world!"

He Wuning silently looked at it. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before He Wuning suddenly pulled out a dagger from his side.

"Hmm?" Q-jam tilted its head in confusion, "What are you going to do, honey?"

"Don’t call me honey." He Wuning pressed the spherical object with an expressionless face.

Q-jam belatedly sensed the danger and started panicking, "No, don’t point that knife at me! Good kids don’t do things like this—"

He Wuning made a gesture, intending to first strip off the flashy decorations on it. Q-jam struggled fiercely, "Don’t take my clothes off, no way, no way—"

He Wuning took a deep breath, "Forget it."

Q-jam looked at him hopefully, but He Wuning said mercilessly, "Let’s start by dismantling the speakers."

"Ahhhh, help!" Q-jam desperately clung to the pink chiffon behind it, "If you dismantle me, there won’t be a system anymore! We won’t be able to run the milk tea cart anymore!"

He Wuning paused, asking with a glimmer of hope, "Does the milk tea have any special effects?"

Q-jam, feeling confident with a little encouragement, replied, "It makes people happy... after all, it’s milk tea!"

It sensed something ominous in He Wuning’s expression and tried to salvage the situation, "And it also keeps people awake? After all, there’s tea in it, and, and... it makes people want to pee? Oh, I can’t believe I said that, so embarrassing!"

He Wuning grabbed it firmly, "Prepare to die."

---

An attractive rabbit suddenly starts a new project, updates daily at 12:00 PM before V-chapter, takes leave when necessary, and has a good track record of consistent updates. Welcome to the pitfall =3=

Thank you to user 50055063 for gifting 2 landmines, and user 53595920 for gifting 1 landmine.

Thank you to Li Xuan for providing 120 bottles of nutrient fluid, user 50055063 for 85 bottles, Zhao Duidui for 30 bottles, user 20622240 for 19 bottles, users 50799225 and Kawaii Xiao Hanhan for 15 bottles each, Girl for 12 bottles, General Qili Duozi for 5 bottles, Da Da Kuai Yanshu Wo for 4 bottles, and Ou Hong Guan Ling for 1 bottle.

Also, here’s a preview of the upcoming work "Win Back Earth [Card Game]", synopsis as follows:

The end of the world arrives quietly, and overnight, the entire Earth vanishes.

Upon waking up, Yan Li, still holding a frying pan and a bowl, is dragged into the interdimensional civilization card game—a place where gods play for amusement, where everything can be won with sufficient strength.

—Ding dong, registration for the 17th beginner card game session begins. The winner will receive 1% of the "Galactic Solar System Planet Earth."

Spectators whisper among themselves: "Is that the Earth civilization that went bankrupt recently? Its resources have almost been depleted by carbon-based lifeforms; there’s nothing left worth having, right?"

Many agreed: "Exactly, what use is that thing? It’s only good for some post-apocalyptic experiments!"

Amidst the laughter, Yan Li clenched his fists, "If you don’t want it, give it back to us!"

The hot-blooded youth sat on the ground and set up a stall: "Don’t throw away your unwanted cards; you can trade them for stainless steel basins here!"

A moment later, he registered with a hand full of lousy cards.

The mechanical voice sounded: "Please fill out the registration form."

Name: Li

Civilization: Earth

Self-introduction: An ordinary Earthling.

Starting with a hand full of lousy cards, win back Earth.

A certain evil god watching: "Youngsters can’t keep their cool; I haven’t even given him the newbie gift pack yet. How could he just go with someone else’s cards?"

God of Radiance: "You’re the one who pushed him to the brink, aren’t you, you mischievous deity?"

Evil God: "How mean—yet every move he makes surprises me. This time, I’ll be entertained for a long while."

A mischievous evil god x an ordinary (or is he?) Earthling.