Chapter 1: The Only Mystery Box, A Hidden Treasure!

"Qiao Jia, go to hell!!"

The face was blurred beyond recognition, yet Qiao Jia could feel the cruelty and hatred radiating from that person as clearly as a blade's edge.

Waking up in the open wilderness, Qiao Jia touched her chest.

There was a savage wound running straight through her heart.

"Host, someone is really coming!"

The system's excited voice suddenly rang in Qiao Jia's ear as she looked up.

In the distance, several vehicles smeared with blood sped toward her.

Seeing this, Qiao Jia forced a stiff smile.

She had purposely chosen this stretch of wildland near a river. Now that cities had fallen to monsters, humanity could only flee ever farther into the wild. This place was the only route for those escaping from Giantwood City!

Qiao Jia noticed the vehicles, and the people inside noticed her too—standing alone before a small pushcart in the desolate plain.

A solitary human appearing out of nowhere in this vast wilderness—no matter how you looked at it, it was suspicious.

"What’s going on? Someone just popped up here. She’s not another zombie, is she?"

"Have you ever seen a zombie wave at you?"

The people in the cars debated. As they passed by Qiao Jia, one of the vehicles couldn’t resist stopping.

"Sister, hop in, quick!"

A young woman in the car called out with urgency in her voice.

"Would you like to buy a mystery box?" Qiao Jia replied, her words unrelated, raising her hand to point at the sign atop the little pushcart.

"Weapons mystery box—only one left."

Jia Jia’s Mystery Box Shop.

The young woman, hearing Qiao Jia’s words, paused in confusion. A mystery box?

"Shen Tong, are you out of your mind? If you want to play the saint, don’t drag us with you!"

Before Shen Tong could answer, a furious curse erupted from inside the car.

"Drive! Are you trying to get us all killed?"

The young man in the car glared at Qiao Jia with undisguised disgust, berating Shen Tong while urging her to drive.

Who knew if those zombies behind them might catch up? Save, save, save—how many people had they already rescued on the way? None of them were close family, nor did they share the same goals.

"Do you want it?" Qiao Jia produced a mystery box painted with blades and swords and asked again.

This was hardly the best time for a sales pitch, but Qiao Jia had no choice—she was bound to an Apocalypse Survival Mystery Box System.

Only by selling mystery boxes could she earn crystal cores.

With crystal cores, she could gain points, and with points, she could open her own Apocalypse Town mystery box and join the Strongest Apocalypse Town Competition to fight for first place.

Normally, the system’s mystery boxes were exchanged for crystal cores earned by the host slaying zombies and other monsters. But Qiao Jia's circumstances were different.

If she relied on herself to kill zombies, both she and the system would starve to death. She had to forge her own path.

This weapons mystery box was a beginner’s gift. With less than seven hours before it expired, and no crystal cores or points to her name, she had no choice but to sell her starter gift for points and use them to restock with the system.

"Buy from your damn—buy? Get lost! The world’s ending and you’re still here running scams!"

The young man rolled down the window, cursing Qiao Jia while impatiently urging Shen Tong to drive.

"Exactly, Tong Tong, listen to your brother. That so-called mystery box is obviously a scam—just trying to cheat us out of our crystal core."

The well-dressed woman in the back seat spoke softly but with a trace of disdain—for Qiao Jia, whom she saw as a scammer, and for Shen Tong’s hesitation.

Didn’t she know how hard crystal cores were to come by? Rumor had it a single core could buy entrance into a survival base.

If Shen Tong wasted her core, how would they ever get into a base?

The woman was about to say more when a scream split the air.

"Not good, the zombies are coming!!"

The cars ahead had turned around and were racing back, their passengers pale with terror.

Behind them, a massive horde of zombies surged, black and endless.

These zombies moved fast, with immense strength, and were nearly impossible to kill.

Seeing this, the people in Shen Tong’s car paled with fear, their faces even more ghastly than Qiao Jia’s.

"Shen Tong! Shen Tong!!"

Everyone in the car shouted her name in panic, urging her to drive away.

If they’d held the keys themselves, they’d have abandoned Shen Tong without hesitation.

But the commotion here had drawn in all the zombies from the city!

"I think you might need this," Qiao Jia said, recognizing the perfect moment for a pitch.

She pushed the mystery box toward Shen Tong, and in that instant, the box's information flashed into Shen Tong’s mind.

Level 1 Weapons Mystery Box: Open to randomly receive a cold or hot weapon, with an extremely small chance of acquiring super-tech weaponry.

Shen Tong stared at Qiao Jia in shock. Who was this girl, really?

Qiao Jia remained calm, her hand outstretched amid the chaos and screams.

"Weapons Mystery Box, special offer: one Grade-2 crystal core."

Both front and rear roads were blocked by zombies. To the left, the river; to the right, the highway's guardrail.

These human survivors were trapped, panicking like headless chickens, screams rising in waves.

They didn’t have a single decent weapon to fight the zombies.

The monstrous horde was almost upon them.

Without hesitation, Shen Tong handed Qiao Jia her only Grade-2 crystal core.

"Are you crazy, Shen Tong?! You’re buying mystery boxes at a time like this? Think about how to kill the zombies!"

The young woman, clutching her family and trembling with fear, lashed out at Shen Tong, terror and rage mixing in her voice.

Her tone was identical to the young man’s earlier outburst.

But Shen Tong ignored her. Taking a deep breath, she opened the mystery box Qiao Jia had given her.

A flash of red light burst forth!

Explosive Inferno Portable Rocket Launcher: A high-tech weapon capable of massive area damage, automatically reloads with ten rounds every day.

When the rocket launcher materialized in Shen Tong’s hands, everyone was stunned.

That weapons mystery box—was it real?!

No one had believed Qiao Jia before. They’d assumed she was just another fraud trying to scam food and supplies.

But now…

They rubbed their eyes in disbelief as Shen Tong fired the rocket launcher.

Qiao Jia was surprised too—she hadn’t expected Shen Tong to draw such a rare item on her first try.

Was this the so-called chosen one?

The rocket exploded amid the zombie horde, erupting in a towering inferno!

The unstoppable zombies were reduced to a heap of charred corpses.

The group stared in shock, unable to recover for a long time.

Who was this girl, to summon such a powerful weapon?

"Give me one of those weapons mystery boxes too!"

The young man rushed to Qiao Jia’s cart, slapping down the zombie crystal core he’d been hoarding.

Gone was his earlier arrogance, cursing her as a scammer.

"There aren’t any left."