Screams shattered the morning air, piercing through the thin glass of the dormitory window. Cold sweat drenched Lin Feng’s back as he sat bolt upright in his squeaking bunk bed. Lin Feng bolted to his feet, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped wild animal. Outside, a crimson fog hung thick over the campus of Jiangnan University, turning the rising sun into a bloated, bloody eye. "Help me! Please, someone—ahhh!" Panic clawed at Lin Feng’s throat as he recognized the voice of the resident assistant from down the hall. Right beside his bunk, a wet, tearing sound made him freeze in place. Zhao Kun, his roommate who had been complaining of a high fever the night before, was hunched over the ladder of the opposite bed. Blood dripped from Zhao Kun's chin, but it wasn't his own. Groaning with a guttural, beast-like rasp, Zhao Kun turned his head, exposing milky-white eyes entirely devoid of pupils. Instinct took over before Lin Feng could even process the horror. Ducking low, Lin Feng avoided the desperate lunge of his former friend, whose fingernails scraped violently against the metal bedpost. His hand wrapped around the cold, heavy handle of a stainless-steel mop standing in the corner. With a desperate heave, he snapped the plastic head off against the edge of the desk, leaving a sharp, jagged metal point. Heavy steel met decaying flesh as Zhao Kun lunged again, his jaws snapping in a frantic attempt to taste warm meat. Splat. Grey matter and black blood erupted from the back of Zhao Kun's skull as the jagged pipe pierced clean through his left eye socket. Ding! A crisp, mechanical chime echoed directly inside Lin Feng’s brain, freezing him mid-breath. Floating above Zhao Kun’s rapidly cooling corpse was a glowing, translucent white bubble about the size of a fist. Curiosity overcame his terror, and Lin Feng reached out, his trembling fingers brushing against the light. Warm energy flooded his fingertips, rushing up his arm and settling deep within his chest. Suddenly, a semi-transparent blue holographic screen materialized in his field of vision. Looking closer, he read the glowing white text hovering in the air: "Attribute Extraction System successfully bound to host!" "Successfully extracted Agility attribute +2!" This was the turning point. Another desperate shriek from the hallway snapped him out of his daze, reminding him that the dorm was a slaughterhouse. Grabbing his heavy leather backpack, Lin Feng stuffed it with whatever bottled water and energy bars he could find on his desk. Stepping into the corridor, he kept his makeshift spear leveled in front of him, his knuckles white. Chaos ruled the narrow hallway. Severed limbs, abandoned shoes, and smeared trails of blood painted the linoleum floor. Every time a fleeing student was pulled down and torn apart by the infected, Lin Feng noticed something incredible. Glowing white and light-green spheres were popping into existence over the corpses like physical drops of light. Speeding forward, Lin Feng ran toward a fresh corpse where a white bubble hovered over a fallen student. "Extract," he whispered, keeping his eyes peeled for any moving shadows. Waves of raw power rippled through his muscles as the bubble dissolved into his skin. "Successfully extracted Strength attribute +1!" His vision grew sharper, and the heavy metal pipe in his hand suddenly felt as light as a wooden stick. Two infected students, their faces torn and bloody, noticed his movement and sprinted toward him with terrifying speed. Swinging the heavy steel pipe with his newly enhanced strength, Lin Feng aimed directly for the temple of the lead zombie. Their skulls cracked like ripe watermelons under the sheer force of his blow, sending them crashing into the drywall. More glowing bubbles dropped from their bodies, shimmering invitingly in the dim fluorescent light. "Extract all!" Lin Feng commanded in his mind, stepping over the twitching bodies. "Successfully extracted Strength attribute +2!" "Successfully extracted Agility attribute +1!" "Successfully extracted Constitution attribute +1!" Power coursed through his veins, making his heart pump with a steady, rhythmic thrum of confidence. Compared to his previous, slightly scrawny college build, his muscles were now tightening, becoming denser and more efficient. Running down the concrete stairwell, he felt lighter than air, his feet barely touching the steps as he descended. Crashing through the fire exit doors on the ground floor, he finally reached the main lobby of the dormitory building. Heavy footsteps echoed from the far side of the lobby, accompanied by the wet, crunching sound of breaking bones. Standing in the center of the lobby was a nightmare made flesh. It stood nearly three meters tall, its muscles swollen to the point of bursting through its grey, rotting skin. Right beneath its massive, clawed feet lay the mangled remains of three campus security guards. A deep, pulsing red bubble hovered directly above the giant monster's head, glowing with a fierce, hypnotic light. Crimson eyes locked onto Lin Feng, and the giant beast let out a roar that shattered the glass panes of the lobby doors. Saliva mixed with black blood dripped from its oversized fangs as it hunched down, preparing to charge. Flight was the logical choice, but Lin Feng's eyes remained glued to the burning red bubble above the monster. But that burning red bubble held a label that made his blood run hot: 'Class-D Fire Element Fragment x1'. If he could get his hands on a superpower fragment on day one, his chances of surviving this apocalypse would skyrocket. Taking a deep breath, Lin Feng tightened his grip on his steel spear, his muscles tensing like coiled springs. Step by step, he began to circle the beast, his eyes calculating the distance between his spear and the monster's throat. Suddenly, the giant mutated zombie leaped forward, its massive claws tearing through the air directly toward his head.

Chapter 1: The End of the World and the Attribute System