Chapter 2 – Infinite Evolution System

"What the hell is Infinite Evolution System?" Eliana Lopez asked while staring at the golden screen floating in front of her. "And don't tell me this is another useless notification. Is this thing different from the F-Rank Weak Body Talent I just received?"

[Answer: Yes.]

Eliana blinked in surprise as she stared at the screen. "You can actually answer questions?"

[Limited communication function available.]

Her eyes widened, and she leaned closer to the golden screen. "You're kidding me."

[Host question detected.]

[Infinite Evolution System is independent from Talent.]

Eliana immediately leaned forward, her curiosity growing. "Independent?"

[Correct.]

"So even if my Talent is garbage, I can still use this System?" Eliana asked, hoping that the answer would give her a reason to feel relieved. After receiving the useless Weak Body Talent, she desperately needed some good news.

[Correct.]

Eliana's heartbeat quickened as she looked at the golden screen. "Can it make me stronger?"

[Correct.]

"How much stronger?" Eliana immediately asked, eager to learn more about the mysterious System. However, the screen remained silent, leaving her waiting for an answer that never came.

Eliana frowned at the screen, growing impatient with its silence. "Come on. That's an important question."

[Insufficient data.]

"You're doing that on purpose," Eliana complained, narrowing her eyes at the screen. She couldn't believe she was already arguing with a mysterious System less than a day after waking up in another person's body.

[Statement cannot be confirmed.]

Eliana stared at the screen for several seconds before suddenly laughing. "You know what? You're surprisingly annoying for a System."

Later, when she checked Audrey's money, Eliana opened the bank passbook and nearly choked. The amount inside was so small that she wondered how Audrey had managed to survive on it.

"What the hell?" Eliana exclaimed as she checked the amount again. However, the number stubbornly remained unchanged, confirming that the money was exactly as little as she feared.

"This girl is poor."

[Confirmed.]

Eliana looked up at the golden screen, her expression turning speechless. "You don't need to confirm it."

[Host financial situation classified as poor.]

"Thanks," Eliana replied sarcastically, rubbing her forehead as she tried to control her frustration. She was already in trouble, and even the System seemed determined to make fun of her situation.

[You are welcome.]

"That wasn't a compliment."

[Statement acknowledged.]

Eliana rubbed her forehead and let out a tired sigh. "I'm arguing with a System."

She quickly searched the apartment and soon found Audrey's bank passbook hidden inside a drawer. The poor girl had barely enough money for basic living expenses, which meant Eliana needed to be careful if she wanted to survive the coming apocalypse.

"Sorry, Audrey. I'm spending everything," Eliana muttered as she gathered the money she needed. After stuffing the wallet into her pocket, she immediately left the apartment.

The moment she stepped outside, Eliana found herself staring at the city with a strange expression. Everything looked exactly as she had imagined: the busy streets, the tall buildings, and the people walking around without a care in the world.

For years, this world had only existed inside a novel she had read. Now she was standing inside it, surrounded by people who had no idea that their peaceful lives were about to end, and the experience felt completely surreal.

Half an hour later, Eliana entered a large supermarket and grabbed a shopping cart. Then she began filling it with canned goods, bottled water, instant noodles, energy bars, batteries, rice, and anything else with a long shelf life.

The cart quickly became full, forcing her to get a second one. People nearby began staring at her as she continued loading supplies into the carts, but Eliana paid little attention to their curious looks.

The cashier stared at the overflowing shopping carts before looking back at Eliana. "Are you throwing a party or something?"

Eliana shook her head and answered without hesitation. "No. I'm preparing for the apocalypse."

The cashier blinked, clearly unsure how to respond. Meanwhile, the customer behind Eliana burst out laughing and pointed toward the canned goods.

"Apocalypse?" the man repeated, shaking his head in disbelief. "That's your plan? Survive the apocalypse with that?"

Another customer joined the conversation, laughing as he looked at the supplies. "Let me guess. Aliens? Zombies? Monster?"

Everyone immediately laughed harder, treating Eliana's words as a joke. The old woman in line even wiped tears from her eyes before shaking her head at the young woman.

"Oh my goodness. Young people these days. Stop using drugs."

Eliana sighed and looked at the people laughing at her. "You'll all regret laughing tomorrow. If I were you, I'd start to get ready too."

Nobody believed her, which was understandable. If their positions were reversed, she probably wouldn't believe it either, especially if a stranger suddenly claimed that the world was about to end.

After paying for the supplies, Eliana headed directly toward a pharmacy. The apocalypse wasn't just about food, because medicine would become incredibly valuable once hospitals became overwhelmed and supply chains collapsed.

She grabbed painkillers, bandages, antibiotics, first aid supplies, and anything else that might prove useful. With every item she placed in her basket, she felt slightly more prepared for the disaster that was about to destroy the world.

The pharmacist looked confused as she examined the growing collection of medicine. "Are you okay? Why do you need all this?"

Eliana hesitated for a moment before deciding that honesty couldn't make things worse. "The apocalypse starts tomorrow."

The pharmacist immediately started laughing, apparently convinced that Eliana was joking. Eliana frowned and left the pharmacy, disappointed that nobody had taken her warning seriously.

She then went inside a small restaurant and sat down to rest. For a moment, she found herself thinking about the future, wondering whether everything would happen exactly as she remembered from the novel.

The future should have been fixed, after all, because she knew the story. But now things felt different, and she couldn't shake the feeling that something had already changed.

The Infinite Evolution System wasn't part of the story, and her arrival wasn't part of the story either. The future was already changing, and Eliana had no idea what consequences her existence would bring.

"If I survive..." Eliana murmured as she stared out the window, watching the people passing by. She paused for a moment before asking herself the question that had been bothering her since she woke up.

"What happens next?"

The question lingered in her mind as she considered the possibilities. If Audrey Wilson lived, the story would change, and the future she remembered might no longer be reliable.

Several hours later, Eliana finally returned to the apartment carrying multiple bags. After organizing the supplies, she placed everything neatly against the wall, arranging the food, water, and medicine so she could find them quickly when needed.

At least now she wouldn't starve immediately. Exhausted from walking around the city all day, Eliana sat down on the edge of the bed and let out a long sigh as the apartment became silent.

Minutes passed, and she began to relax slightly, hoping she had done enough to prepare for the coming disaster. Then another System notification suddenly appeared in front of her, making her sit up straight.

[Attention.]

[Temporal Distortion Detected.]

[Apocalypse Event Time Updated.]

Eliana's eyes widened as she read the messages, and a bad feeling immediately formed inside her chest. She knew the apocalypse was supposed to begin tomorrow, so she couldn't understand why the System had suddenly changed something so important.

"What does that mean?" Eliana asked, her voice filled with growing unease. The answer appeared instantly before she could ask another question.

[Remaining Time: 5 Minutes.]

For several seconds, Eliana simply stared at the screen, unable to process what she had just read. Then she shot to her feet, nearly stumbling as she backed away from the notification.

"WHAT?!" she shouted, her voice echoing throughout the apartment. She shook her head in disbelief, desperately hoping that the System had made a mistake.

"No! That's impossible!"

The countdown continued decreasing in front of her eyes, leaving her no time to argue. The numbers changed as the seconds passed, and cold sweat covered her forehead when she realized that the apocalypse wasn't arriving tomorrow anymore.

04:59

03:57

00:56

The apocalypse wasn't arriving tomorrow. It was arriving now.

Eliana rushed toward the window the moment the countdown dropped below thirty seconds. Her heart raced as she stared at the city outside, where people were still walking along the sidewalks and cars were moving along the roads as if nothing were wrong.

Everything appeared peaceful, but Eliana knew that the calm wouldn't last. She pressed her hands against the windowsill, watching the streets below as the final seconds disappeared from the countdown.

Then the sky suddenly trembled.

A deep rumbling sound echoed across the city, shaking the windows and making people stop in their tracks. Before anyone could understand what was happening, a deafening explosion thundered overhead.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The ground shook beneath the city, and several pedestrians looked upward in fear. A woman dropped her shopping bags and stumbled backward, staring at the sky with wide eyes.

"What was that?"

Another explosion followed, louder than the first, sending a wave of panic through the streets. People stopped walking as the sound rolled across the buildings, and the windows of nearby shops began to rattle.

BOOOOOOOOM!

Then the sky cracked.

Massive crimson rifts tore open across the heavens, their blood-red light spreading over the city. For a moment, everything fell silent as people stared upward, unable to understand what they were seeing.

Then panic erupted.

"WHAT IS THAT?!"

"Oh my God!"

"LOOK AT THE SKY!"

A man stumbled backward, nearly falling as he pointed at the enormous rifts hanging above the buildings. His face had gone pale, and his voice shook as he tried to explain what he was seeing.

"Are those portals?"

"No way!"

A teenager pointed upward, his eyes wide with excitement and fear. "Aliens!"

The word spread instantly as more people began shouting their guesses. Nobody knew what was happening, and their confusion quickly turned into terror as the crimson portals continued growing larger.

"Monster!"

"It's an alien invasion!"

"We're under attack!"

Several people pulled out their phones to record the strange sight, while others immediately started running. Car horns blared everywhere as drivers abandoned their vehicles or desperately tried to escape the crowded streets.

Then something emerged from one of the portals.

A giant creature covered in black scales dropped from the sky and crashed onto the street below. The impact shook the surrounding buildings, sending pieces of concrete flying in every direction as terrified pedestrians screamed and scattered.

BOOM!

Concrete shattered, cars flipped, and people ran for their lives. A woman collapsed to the ground as the monster rose from the wreckage, its enormous body towering over the surrounding vehicles.

"HELP!"

Another man pointed at the creature and screamed at the people around him. "RUN!"

The monster slowly opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth as a horrifying roar shook the city. The sound was so terrifying that people froze for a moment before instinct finally took over.

ROOOOOOAR!

People completely lost control as they realized the creature was real. Screams filled the streets while terrified crowds pushed past one another, desperately searching for somewhere safe to hide.

"It's a monster!"

"MONSTER!"

"HELP US!"

"CALL THE POLICE!"

"CALL THE MILITARY!"

"They won't get here in time!"

Another portal opened above the city, followed by another and another. More creatures began emerging from the crimson rifts, each one bringing destruction wherever it landed.

One landed on top of a bus, crushing its roof beneath its enormous weight. Another crashed through a building, sending glass and concrete raining down onto the street, while a third monster grabbed a screaming pedestrian.

Blood splattered across the road, and the people nearby screamed as they ran away. Within moments, the city descended into absolute chaos, with fires breaking out, vehicles crashing, and monsters attacking anything unfortunate enough to cross their paths.

"Oh God!"

"We're all going to die!"

"HELP ME!"

"MOM!"

"DAD!"

"SOMEBODY HELP!"

Eliana stood frozen at the window, staring at the nightmare unfolding before her eyes. Even though she knew this moment was coming, actually seeing the destruction and hearing the screams of dying people was completely different from reading about it in a novel.

The apocalypse had arrived, and humanity's nightmare had officially begun.

Then a deafening crash sounded behind her.

Eliana spun around just as the apartment door flew off its hinges, slamming against the wall. A massive shadow appeared in the doorway, blocking the light as two blood-red eyes fixed directly on her.

[Emergency Warning: Host has been targeted by an E-Rank Monster.]

Eliana's blood ran cold as the creature stepped into the apartment, its claws scraping against the floor. She had less than a second to react before the monster opened its jaws and lunged straight at her.