Jyera World Apocalypse

The first thing Lucien did in the morning was open the garden door and let Mr. Mustache relieve himself outside the apartment. There was little dirt or grass in the area, but now that he had grown in size, he was worried about the mess he would make inside if he couldn't relieve himself in the yard.

Only then did he sit down to eat his breakfast and read the system messages, which were all about the supposed survivors in the building...

[Daily Survivor Update:]

[Early yesterday evening, 7 people joined the survivors in your building!]

[During the night, 3 people died!]

[Survivors inside the building: 23]

"They let the people from yesterday in... Were any of them bitten? Or was there some internal conflict? Could the building manager have been one of the dead?"

Lucien thought for a moment, and just as he was thinking about getting more information during Mr. Mustache's daily walk, a knock interrupted his breakfast.

"Knock-Knock"

Although Lucien was already tall for his age, a stool appeared in his hands, and he placed it near the door so he could see through the peephole and discover who had come to visit.

Two familiar faces appeared, but a third person was also present, whom he didn't recognize. Lucien used the door chain and only opened it a crack. He stared at all three in silence.

"Oh, Lucien, you're alive and well, that's a relief."

An elegant, plump, middle-aged woman cheered upon seeing him alive; she was one of the building's residents. Lucien didn't remember her name, but his mother didn't think very highly of her...

The other man was one of the daytime doormen; his name was Mr. Razdan. Although he was called Mr., he was only in his early 40s, with only a few gray hairs mixed in with his black hair.

The last man remained a stranger to Lucien. He was tall and robust, in his 30s, with yellow skin and a black military haircut. He wore ordinary hiking clothes and had a serious face.

"Good morning, how can I help you?"

"Lucien, dear, can we come in? There were some deaths inside the building tonight due to sick people being bitten. We just want to check that every resident is home and okay."

"Right now, only my father and I are home. You two can come in, but the strange man will have to wait outside..."

"Of course, young man. You're right not to let strangers in. Sir, wait here, okay?"

The doorman praised Lucien and told the strange man to wait outside.

Lucien soon opened the door and let the two in.

"Your mother is still in the capital on business, right? She asked me before she left to keep an eye on you... Where's your father?"

The plump woman asked her question as she ran a finger over the living room table, examining the dust on the furniture. As she did so, her smiling, friendly face changed to one filled with disapproval and disgust.

"He's in his room sleeping. He's been drinking a lot since he fought with Mom... I don't know if I'll be able to wake him." Lucien replied with a sad expression, making up an excuse to cover up his father's illness and avoid drawing unnecessary attention.

The woman's expression was strange, reminiscent of surprise and mockery, but she disguised it well. Of course, Lucien was too young to understand what those expressions truly meant.*

"Show me to his room. After we confirm he's okay, we'll leave... After yesterday's incident, we've already checked many apartments that are either empty or their owners aren't "well," so we'll check them this afternoon to make sure they're safe and don't pose a risk to the building's residents."

Lucien left the woman in the living room before quickly opening the door to his father's room. The doorman only stepped in a little and stared at him for a few seconds. When he confirmed that Lucien's father was simply sleeping soundly, he waved, and the two returned to the living room.

"His father is fine. Why don't you wait for me outside, Madame Silvia? I need to talk to Lucien alone for a moment."

"So her name was 'Mrs. Silvia," Lucien thought.

"Of course, don't take too long. See you later, little Lucien. If you need anything, come to my house, okay?"

Lucien just waved at Madame Silvia and turned to the Doorman.

"So, what do you want to talk to me about, Mr. Razdan?"

"Lucien, I remembered that you and your father received a lot of supplies in the last few days. I wonder if you and he would be willing to share some with me. It's too dangerous outside for me to return home, and I have to stay here for a few more days..."

Lucien raised an eyebrow and said:

"Of course, I imagine you and the building administrator don't have much food in the break room... I already left a backpack full of supplies with him yesterday. You can share it, and when you run out, let me know."

"Great, then I'll count on you and your father..."

"Just one thing, Mr. Razdan..."

"Yes?"

"We don't have as much food as it seems, so for now, I ask that you keep it a secret from the others and remember to share with me and my father whatever you find in the empty apartments this afternoon..."

"Sure, don't worry..."

"And the convenience store in the building?"

"We haven't heard from the owner. There's only one employee left working there, and last night, due to the power outage, he opened the frozen food ready for anyone who wanted to eat there. But I recommend you don't go there; right now, that's where people from outside the building are living..."

"Thank you for the heads-up. Take care, Mr. Razdan."

"Give your father my regards when he wakes up..."

"I will."

"Oh, I almost forgot something important..."

"What's wrong?"

"We noticed that the water supply was also cut off during yesterday's blackout. We have a large reservoir above your apartment, but we should conserve it until some kind of help arrives, so only use it for drinking and cooking."

"No problem, my father and I will use the pool water for non-essential things like bathing and cleaning... Do the people in the building think there will be any kind of help?"

"Yes, and we should be the first to be rescued since we have important families here. Madame Grace's husband is a recently retired astronaut, and Madame Silvia's brother is a judge in the city of Kaelor..."

After everyone had left, Lucien spoke aloud:

"Will any help come?"

And his system responded bluntly:

[NO!]

"Won't the Council of Jyera and the military fight back? What about the scientists?"

[It's quite likely that the Council of Jyera has already abandoned both planets. The ZY pathogen is incurable with current technology, and without it, scientists are at a complete loss as to what to fix first. Add the monsters to the equation, and most people are just trying to survive.]

"My system seems useful at this point... If I can create these many incredible things that are powered by crystals, I can make a big difference, right?"

[Remember, Lucien, revealing to someone the existence of what you can do only means you will be used by them as a slave... Survive and become stronger. Only then consider using your system to help others.]

"Okay..."

[They're going to raid all the empty apartments this afternoon. Haven't you forgotten anything?]

"Mrs. Helena's apartment and her pets!"

***

"CREAK"

The apartment door slowly opened with a loud noise. Even though it was already dawn, Mrs. Helena's apartment was still dark and dimly lit. The curtains in the living room and dining room blocked all light from entering, making the apartment feel funereal and sinister.

This time, Lucien didn't bring Mr. Mustache with him. This mission was to easily collect materials without much risk, and he feared his modified cat would want to eat all of Mrs. Helena's pets.

Using a flashlight, he quickly reached the room where he had caged the birds. And as soon as he entered, a deafening noise reached his ears.

"Chirp"

"Tweet!"

"Growl"

The birds and the huge dog began making aggressive sounds as soon as they noticed Lucien's presence.

He froze for a moment, but when he realized everyone was still trapped, he breathed a sigh of relief.

[Some things are different from what they should be…]

"What does that mean?" Lucien asked, confused.

[Kill the dog and the birds with the red eyes first, and take the rest back to your apartment. I'll explain the rest later…]

"Okay…"

Taking a deep breath, Lucien pulled a long, single-pronged fork from his inventory and began killing the aggressive birds with the red eyes through their cages… The hardest part was eliminating Rufus, Mrs. Helena's old Saint Bernard. The dog, who used to enjoy his visits, now had red, hostile eyes as he glared at Lucien, and his now completely black saliva dripped down his jaw as he growled and struggled constantly, still tied up by wires.

"I'm sorry, Rufus…"

"Growl"

"Shh…thwack"

After eliminating all the red-eyed animals, Lucien used the materials inventory for the first time, storing all the dead animals...

[Eight Level 1 Crystals have been stored in the materials inventory]

[Eight Level 1 Mutant Corpses have been stored in the materials inventory]

[Some recipes can now be created using the Creation skill!]