MasukLiana stared at the glowing notification.
[Beginner Storage Space unlocked.] Her fingers hovered over the screen. “System?” There was no response. She frowned. “Open.” The moment she spoke, a transparent blue screen appeared before her eyes. [Survival System] Host: Liana Hart Age: 25 Survival Level: 1 Storage Space: 10 cubic meters Survival Points: 0 [Beginner Functions] - Storage - Status - Mission Liana blinked. Ten cubic meters. It wasn’t enormous, but it was enough to change everything. She remembered her first life. When the apocalypse started, people fought over canned food, bottled water, batteries, medicine—anything that could keep them alive. Those who prepared early survived. Those who waited were left with nothing. Liana had learned that lesson too late. This time, she had ninety days. She immediately opened the mission panel. [Beginner Mission] Prepare for the coming catastrophe. Requirements: - Store 100 kg of rice. - Store 50 liters of water. - Store 30 cans of food. - Store basic medicine. - Save 100,000 pesos. Reward: Survival Points + Beginner Storage Upgrade Liana stared at the final requirement. One hundred thousand pesos. Her smile disappeared. She wasn’t rich. In her previous life, most of her savings had eventually gone to her family. She checked her bank account. ₱38,700. That was everything she had—three months before the apocalypse. ₱38,700. Liana slowly clenched her fist. “Fine.” She didn’t need billions. She didn’t need to become powerful overnight. She only needed to start. She opened her contacts. There was one person she needed to deal with first: her mother. Liana called. The phone rang twice before Evelyn answered. “Where’s the money?” No greeting. No good morning. Just money. Liana closed her eyes. The familiar voice brought back memories of her first life. “Mom, I can’t send money today.” There was silence. Then her mother’s voice sharpened. “What do you mean you can’t?” “I have expenses.” “What expenses? You’re single. You don’t have children. What do you need money for?” Liana almost laughed. In her previous life, she had never asked where their money went. She had simply given. Again and again. “Mom, I need to save for myself.” “You’ve changed.” Liana looked at herself in the mirror. “Yes.” Her mother continued complaining. Liana didn’t argue. She simply ended the call. For several seconds, she stood completely still. Then she opened her banking app. Her first priority wasn’t revenge. It was survival. She grabbed her bag and left the apartment. --- The first stop was the supermarket. Liana pushed a shopping cart through the aisles, selecting rice, canned goods, instant noodles, cooking oil, salt, sugar, coffee, biscuits, and water. She bought practical things—nothing flashy, nothing that would make people wonder why she was purchasing so much. At the cashier, the employee looked at her mountain of groceries. “Ma’am, are you opening a store?” Liana smiled. “Something like that.” She paid, then waited until she reached the parking lot. She looked around. Nobody was watching. “Storage.” The groceries disappeared. Liana’s eyes widened. The shopping cart was suddenly empty. Everything had been transferred into her storage space. She almost laughed. “It really works.” For the first time, the apocalypse didn’t feel like an unavoidable death sentence. It felt like a deadline. And Liana had ninety days to beat it. --- That evening, she returned home and opened the system again. [Beginner Mission Progress] Rice: 112/100 kg ✓ Water: 60/50 L ✓ Canned Food: 43/30 ✓ Medicine: 0/Basic Medicine Savings: ₱27,300/₱100,000 Mission Status: 3/5 Liana nodded. She had completed the easy parts. Now came the difficult one: money. She needed to turn ₱27,300 into ₱100,000 without attracting attention. She sat at her desk and remembered something. In her previous life, there had been a massive shortage of several products shortly before the apocalypse. People who bought them early made huge profits. She remembered exactly what happened—the prices, the companies, and most importantly, the dates. Liana opened her laptop. “If I’m really going to start over…” Her fingers moved across the keyboard. “…then I should use everything I remember.” The next morning, she would begin making money. Not for her family. Not for Marcus. Not for anyone else. For herself. Because ninety days from now, the world would end. And this time, Liana Hart intended to survive it.Liana stared at the system notification.[Unknown ability detected.]She immediately closed it. “No.”Adrian looked at her. “No?”“No mysterious enemies.”He raised an eyebrow. She pointed toward the road. “From now on, I know exactly what we’re dealing with.”Humans. Zombies. Mutated animals. That was enough. She didn’t need some mysterious creature hiding in the darkness. The apocalypse was already dangerous. She didn’t need to make it ridiculous.The system suddenly updated.[Story Environment Adjustment.] [Primary threats confirmed:] [1. Infected Humans / Zombies] [2. Hostile Survivors] [3. Mutated Animals] [No unidentified supernatural enemies will appear at this stage.]Liana nodded. “Much better.”Adrian stared at her. “You just argued with your system?”“Apparently.”He laughed.---The next morning, Liana gathered everyo
The vehicles disappeared into the darkness. But nobody celebrated.Liana kept staring at the road. Kane hadn’t looked afraid. He had looked confident. That bothered her more than the attack itself.Adrian walked toward her. “You’re thinking about his ability.”She nodded. “The system said he has mutation characteristics.”“Then we need to know what he can do.”Before she could answer—BEEP.The system appeared.[Emergency Analysis Complete.] [Target: Kane] [Mutation Type: Physical Enhancement] [Strength: Extremely High] [Speed: High] [Pain Resistance: Extreme] [Regeneration: Moderate]Liana stared at the screen. “He’s a monster.”Adrian shook his head. “Not yet.”She looked at him. “He’s still human.”“That’s what makes him dangerous.”---They inspected the perimeter. Several sections of the fence had been damaged. One sec
Liana’s mother was on her knees. Marcus was bleeding. Her father had his hands tied behind his back. And the raiders were pointing guns at them.For a moment, Liana couldn’t breathe. Then she remembered. The freezing night. The empty food cans. Marcus eating while she starved. Her mother telling her she should sacrifice herself because she was the youngest. Her father watching silently. And finally—the door closing. They had left her to die.She slowly exhaled.“Liana?”Adrian stood beside her. She didn’t look away from the monitor. “Don’t open the gate.”Everyone in the room froze. Even her family seemed to hear her through the loudspeaker. Her mother’s face changed.“Liana!” Her voice came through the speakers. “Please! It’s your mother!”Liana closed her eyes. That voice used to control her. Not anymore.“Mom.” The entire room became silent. “I can’t save you.”She stared at the camera. “What?”
The nine survivors stood outside Liana’s gate. Nobody spoke. They looked exhausted. Two children clung to their mother. An old woman leaned heavily against a teenage boy. A man in a dirty mechanic uniform kept glancing at the electrified fence. And a woman with a medical bag stood at the front.Adrian lowered his weapon. “Quarantine first,” he said.Liana nodded. “No exceptions.”The woman stepped forward. “We understand.” Her voice was calm despite her trembling hands. “My name is Clara. I’m a nurse.”Liana looked at the others. “Names. One by one.”The mechanic introduced himself as Victor. The older woman was Maria. The teenage boy was Leo. The mother was Grace. The two children were Mia and Noah. The remaining two were Samuel, a former security guard, and Daniel, a schoolteacher.Liana studied their faces. In her first life, she had learned one painful truth. People didn’t become monsters because the apocalypse started. The a
Liana stared at the message.We know where your family is.Her first reaction wasn’t fear. It was anger. Not because she suddenly cared about rescuing them. But because those people had discovered the one weakness she had spent her entire second life trying to eliminate. Her family.Adrian read the message again. “They’re threatening you.”“Yes.”“Do you know where your family is?”Liana nodded. “At the city shelter.”“Then we need to assume they’ve already reached them.”Ethan frowned. “Who are these people?”“Raiders.” Liana put her phone down. “They tried to take my supplies. When that failed, they found another way to pressure me.”Adrian studied her expression. “What are you going to do?”Liana looked toward the dark road. “Nothing.”Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Nothing?”“They want me to panic.” She turned toward the control room. “I’m not giving them that.”---Twenty minutes later, another message arrived.Unknown Number: Your mother is asking for you.Then a photograph. Liana op
The headlights multiplied in the darkness. Five vehicles became eight. Eight became twelve.Liana stared at the security monitor.[Estimated hostile survivors: 47.]Forty-seven people. Her fingers tightened around the edge of the table.“We can’t fight forty-seven people head-on,” Ethan said.“We don’t need to.” Liana looked at him.The old farmer pointed toward the western field. “They’re expecting a house full of frightened civilians.”Adrian understood immediately. “Then we make them think we’re not.”Liana opened the defense panel. The farmhouse had several advantages—the reinforced fence, the electric perimeter, the security cameras, the narrow road, the darkness. And most importantly, the attackers didn’t know the property. She did.“How much fuel do we have?” Adrian asked.“Enough.”“Water?”“Enough.”“Food?”“Enough.”Adrian smiled. “Then we don’t leave.”Liana nodded. “We make them leave.”---The first vehicle stopped outside the gate. A man stepped out. He carried a rifle.







