2023-02-20 17:15:00[Warning!]
[5 hours before the first wave invasion.]
[Please prepare yourself.]
Seth frowned. Invasion. That word again. It didn’t mean anything to him, at least for now.
He closed the pop up window, wanting to look around the game. But, another po up window appeared, no less futuristic-looking than the previous one.
[Get up to 40% discount on first wave invasion’s mystery survival kits before it begin!]
Seth touched the icon, and it displayed the offered items. There were three mystery survival kits with the same cost of 3.000 cells. With the discount in place, it was priced at 1.800 cells.
[Break a Damn Leg! Survival Kit]
[You Got It Bro! Survival Kit]
[Love is Everyting! Survival Kit]
Rising an eyebrow, Seth couldn’t help but being cringe at the names. He chose the most cringey one.
[Congratulations!]
[Love is Everything! Survival Kit package will be sent to your inbox one minute after the first wave invasion begin.]
Huh. Figures.
This was just a scam afterall. Nothing to be serious about. Fuck this game.
“Seth Holden. Follow me if you want to stay alive.”
He looked up from his phone. A ragged man with unkempt beard was standing on his path. If not for the glimpse of a gun under his jacket, Seth would think he was just a homeless guy instead of a mugger.
But, how could a mugger know his name?
Narrowing his eyes, Seth reluctantly did as told. Despite what happened and what he said this afternoon, he was in no mood to be a mere bloody speck on the ground after a freaking mugger going nuts on him.
The would-be mugger brought him to a café. Not a dark alley where Batman’s parents and Spiderman’s uncle were shot dead. He jokingly ordered an elaborate cup of coffee to make it cost much more than average. The would-be mugger paid for it, surprising him.
“Who are you?” Seth asked the moment they sat down on the corner of the café, not too far from where a plump girl with eyeglasses hunched over her macbook. It was Friday night, and yet, the café was practically empty. He took a mouthful of the elaborate drink, and quickly hid a grimace at the overly sweet stuff.
“What would you do if the world ends tomorrow?”
That fucking question again. What the hell’s wrong with everyone?
“That’s what your professor asked you,” the unkempt stranger said.
“You’re in my class?”
He got no answer. Seth eyed the would be mugger. Now that he was sitting face to face, he could swear he had seen this person somewhere.
“How could I not be in your class?” The would-be mugger asked, chuckling as if he was–
A realization dawned on him. “Professor Louise?”
“In the flesh.”
“How … what are you–“ Seth was at lost for words. “You’re playing a joke,” he stated instead, because there was no way this haggard, unkempt man was Victor, the youngest professor in his university.
“I wish,” there was a sense of wishfulness exuberate from him. “It’d be so simple, if I were joking.”
“But–“
“There is no much time left, Seth.”
“Why? Are you going to give me a million and fifteen minutes time to spend it all? You’re a freaking host of that ridiculous reality show now?”
The self-proclaimed professor Louise locked his gaze to him. “At midnight tonight, the first wave invasion will start. From there, nothing will be the same again. All I ask, is that you believe what your System tell you.”
That again.
“You really are playing a joke with me. What is this? Revenge for taking your class lightly? You do this because I embarrassed you today?”
“I could care less about any of that.”
“So what?”
“You were given a chance! An early start to it all and you throw it away! As if it doesn’t matter! As if life doesn’t matter!” Victor’s heavy breath stink, but he continued on anyways.
“You,” he looked at Seth, dead in the eyes. “You threw it all away…”
Seth didn’t know what to say. If this was Victor volunteering to fill up the vacant drama club, he was doing a great job. But still, there was something chipping away at the edge of his mind. It pulled a string in his heart.
“You’re not talking about me,” Seth whispered, accusingly accurate.
Victor only seemed to be aware now. His rigid shoulders slumped, no longer appearing high-strung. “No,” he sounded hollow. “No, I’m not.”
“Then, wh–“
“I really want you to listen to me,” Victor said, desperately. No trace of his usual overly proud aura. “Just this once, Seth. It’s the least you can do. You owe me this much.”
Swallowing the bitter taste on his mouth, Seth nodded.
“You received the System.”
“You mean the game–“
Victor grabbed his collar before he could blink. “It’s not a game!”
A vision of destruction of the world suddenly surged in his mind, flashed before his eyes. It was hell on Earth. There was nothing but despair and tragedy. Nothing but–
Seth leaped from his chair. Horror plastered on his face. “What was that?”
Victor’s dreadful expression was enough to tell him, “A glimpse of the future.”
“… no.”
A crazed and sad smile crossed his professor’s face. “And that’s only the second invasion. Who knows what will happen on the third one.”
“So you come from the future,” Seth’s gaze turned critical. “At what cost?”
“My life.”
“To what? Warning me?”
Because that sounded totally plausible, wasn’t it?
“As much as that’s hard to believe, it’s all I got to say. The sooner you act, the more chance of survival rate we have.”
“We?”
Victor shrugged, something he seldom do in the classroom. He was always so certain, knowing so much of things to be doing that useless motion. “The invasion surely pushed us together in the same room. Except, it’s not my class and end of term test is the least of your problem.”
“Never know you to be the sacrificing type.”
“I’m a dead meat anyway,” his professor said, as a crack appeared on his skin, right on the center of his forehead. “Oh, I almost forgot.”
“What?”
“Save your little sister too. She’s important.”
and–
SPLAT!
Everything turned red as Victor’s body exploded. Raining him with blood and intestines.
“Aaaaaah! Argh! Help–“
The plump girl wearing eyeglasses who sat nearest to him screamed right before she passed out, stone-cold on the floor from the shock of it.
Seth couldn’t care less about her. Looking down, he was entirely covered in–
Fuck.
He just want to pet a cat, not dying in the so called first wave invasion.
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100 Systems Invasion 4. Undecided!
Police swarmed the place. The café had been declared as a crime scene and Victor Louise was the victim of this groutious murder. It wasn’t his fault. But somehow, they thought otherwise. Seth gritted his teeth, getting away from here was currently on top of his list. Next to look at his phone in search of an answer. The fucking game – not a game – was the only key to stay alive. “Hey!” Fingers snapped in front of his hollowed eyes. “Do you know who the victim is?” Seth nodded, but then shook his head hurriedly. The Victor that he know was still alive. If he brought up his professor’s name, there would be one hell of a problem. Though, with what awaiting them at midnight, he didn’t know why he still care. “Do you know the victim or not?” “No, sir. I just met him a few blocks away from here.” “Then what were you doing with the victim in the first place?” The detective looked at him in distaste. Afterall, he was still reeking of blood as some red refused to be wiped clean with a
100 Systems Invasion 5. Even If I Die
What would you do if the world end tomorrow?That was the question asked repeatedly by his professor, earlier today, at noon. Back then, Seth was obliviously blissful for his lack of knowledge – that the world he knew could end tomorrow.Now, the answer to that question was quite simple.The world could end tomorrow, and he spent the last two hours and with a sandy blonde stranger he met in a home décor store. Her name was Amy Palmer and her current goal in life was to beat her cousin’s ‘Most Strangest Day of My Life’ story.That being said, Seth was riding shotgun while Amy drove her second hand car to the direction of his mother’s house.“So, what do you do for a living?” The sandy blonde asked, completely disregarding the dried blood on Seth’s clothes.“I’m a student.”“Oh. That’s why you looks to be on the young side.”“Do you always help random people out at night for amusement?”Amy shrugged. “My thousand bucks is on the line if I don’t do something crazy by this week.”“Even if
100 Systems Invasion 6. Say, Three! Two! One!
Knock! Knock! Knock! The sound travelled through the night, creating a crescendo in the otherwise peaceful setting. But Seth was anxious. Dong! [Fifteen minutes before the first wave invasion begin.] The System flashed on his screen, illuminating his face in shades of blue. The flickering light above him died after his seventh knock on his mother’s new home. “They are sleeping,” Amy said from where she was leaning against the car’s hood, crossing her arms in displayed impatience. “Or,” a male voice added after the sandy blonde, “Your mom and her new toy are fucking each other senseless.” It was Wade Moore, Amy’s cousin whom she had a bet going on with. For someone who appeared like a thug coming straight out of a bar, he really spoke like one. “Thanks, Wade. I don’t need that particular image in my mind.” “No problem, dude.” The sarcams flew right through his head. Seth turned away from them, and lifted his hand again. But, before he could knock for the eleventh time, the doo
100 Systems Invasion 7. Infectore
Wind breezed past from the half opened window of Amy’s second-hand car. Wade’s smoke dispersed right away, leaving no air pollution in the back seat. Seth’s entire body was rigid with dreaded expectation. [Welcome to the end of the world.] Still appeared on his screen. Typed in simple font with futuristic blue background. The clock ticked, but nothing extraordinary happened. Seth didn’t know how to feel about this. Amy’s anticipation of an epic mad story to tell could be dwindling any second now. However, trepidation soon washed over him as police sirens sounded from the road ahead, casting red and blue lights amongst the bottleneck of cars. Dong! [Failed to send Love is Everything! Survival Kit due to unexpected increase of activity in the System's database.] [The System will try again within 48 hours with a bonus package.] Huffing in displeasure, Seth pocketed his phone again. Wade turned to face him, scrutinising his pale face and bloody clothes. “Dude, you’re the runaway k
100 Systems Invasion 8. Eliminated
In one minute, Seth could make a precise paper crane, or a miniature simple dragon. A good pastime when he skipped class to laze on the school’s rooftop, while having his phone confiscated by his teacher. In one minute, Seth could inhale a bowl of instant noodles. Given he had nothing to eat since morning, and this was the spiceless, discounted cup noodle from the asian store around the block. In one minute, Seth could die if they did nothing but scream around in panic while an honest-to-God zombie tried to break the windshield of the car they were in. A crack and several claw marks soon appeared, leaving the passengers frantically trying to get away from it. An impossible task, in his opinion, considering Amy was too stricken in horror to reverse the car – or just drive really fast forward to throw the zombie off balance. Meanwhile, Wade was no better. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. The safety lock was in, getting out of the car was not an option. Unless Amy cou
100 Systems Invasion 9. Some Hero Wanna-be
Inside a speeding second-hand car with a faded blue paint job, there were four – three humans and one infectore-wannabe, to be precise."Fuck!" Wade cursed as he read the words displayed on Seth's phone. "I don't want to be a fucking zombie!"The chain smoker's frustrated scream was mirrored by Marnie's wailing cries. Seth gritted his teeth, knuckles turning white from the too-tight grip on the steering wheel. H dreaded the hardship of staying alive for the next three months with burdens like this."Is there a way to cure him?" Amy asked from the back seat as if his phone was Siri or something. She expected an answer, her knitted brows gave it away. But Seth was pretty sure the System in his phone was as advanced as the Explorer. "Hey, can you make the kid shut up?"Seth sent an irritated look through the rearview mirror. "Do you really have to ask me?""She's your sister.""She's not.""She is–""Just toss her out then."Amy gapped at him. Wade pulled the same expression, and Seth sc
100 Systems Invasion 10. Not A Glory Hole!
Seth almost missed a turn as he stared in surprise at the strange happening near him. “Where did this space vagina come from?!”“Your phone did it,” Amy reeled away from it, clutching it in her knuckle-white hands. “Please tell me there won’t be aliens coming from the other side to lay eggs in me. Oh God, oh God, I’m sorry for reading porn and becoming addicted to strange sexual fanta–”“I really don’t need to hear about that on my last day of breathing.” Wade grumbled, already in the fifth stage of grief, accepting his near demise.But Amy was the most optimistic among them. At least when it concerned Wade. “You’ll live.”That could also be because she had already bought three more hours for her cousin. It completely escaped her mind that she practically cost Seth almost all of his balance. It wasn’t like he’d make a fuss about it.Right?[Please withdraw your 2 bottles of Ethazal Prevection now.][The Goury Hole will disappear at the thirty seconds mark.]Reading that, Amy gingerly
100 Systems Invasion 11. Monster in the Trunk
Seth’s phone in his hand lit up in a familiar futuristic blue.Dong![1 infectore detected within 30 feet radius.]It was typed in a simple font. Nothing fancy about it. However, the news it brought could have been more useful.Seth looked up, turning his head to the one on the passenger seat. The chain smoker was still drooling, staring at him with uncoordinated eyes. His hands folded awkwardly, trying to free himself from the seatbelt with clumsy fingers. Wade was no more.Curling his fist, Seth prepared himself to punch the hell out of the newly-turned infectore.“Help him!” Amy yelled in his ear, stopping his good intention of bravely fighting a zombie-like man.It was a good thing that he already pulled over on the side of the road, stopping the car for the time being. Of course, they needed to get out of the city as fast as they could, but they couldn’t do shit if they were dead from collidi
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73. At Least We Try
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