Chapter 1

Tao Shushu was having a dream. In the dream, the world she lived in was a novel, and she, Tao Shushu, was the foolish cannon fodder meant to highlight the female lead's academic brilliance.
All the achievements and awards Tao Shushu had earned were labeled as cheated, while another girl effortlessly took away the honors Tao Shushu had worked hard for.
The business built by Tao's parents and the factory technology far surpassing the world's level were also claimed by that girl.
Because they stood in that girl's way, Tao Shushu and her loving parents met tragic ends...
Just as Tao Shushu tried to get a clear look at the girl's face, she abruptly woke up.
Someone was patting the back of her head.
Conditioned reflexes from her time in the apocalypse made Tao Shushu instinctively dodge to the side and swiftly duck down.
"Ouch!" The hand slapped heavily on the desk. Zhang Hai, the homeroom teacher of the international class and the proctor for this exam, couldn't help but cry out in pain, then angrily scolded, "Tao Shushu, are you pretending to sleep? You've been sleeping through the entire exam, and the moment I try to wake you, you dodge!"
At his outburst, everyone in the classroom turned their attention.
Tao Shushu snapped out of the terrifying dream and realized she was no longer in the apocalypse but back on peaceful Earth, where she had lived for over a decade.
Zhang Hai glared at Tao Shushu, slamming the desk as he yelled, "Scoring a few perfect scores in physics has gone to your head. Not only do you disrespect exam rules, but you also disrespect your teacher. Get out of the exam hall right now. Once this exam is over, I'm going to the principal."
Tao Shushu glanced at the clock at the front of the classroom. There were only ten minutes left until the end of the exam. She said quietly, "Teacher, if you keep shouting like this, you'll disturb the other students answering their papers."
Tao Shushu glanced at her blank exam paper, and a hazy feeling of being unable to read the questions washed over her! She simply gathered her stationery and strode out of the classroom.
Zhang Hai slammed the door shut behind her. "Stay in the hallway and reflect on your actions."
Tao Shushu muttered softly, just loud enough for Zhang Hai to hear, "Reminding me ten minutes before the exam ends, you really think highly of me, teacher."
"You!" Zhang Hai fumed. "You ungrateful, "
Another proctor hurried over. "Mr. Zhang, the exam isn't over yet."
Tao Shushu paid no mind to the closed exam hall door.
Physics was Tao Shushu's strong suit; she always skimmed through the paper before answering.
This time, she followed the same routine, but as soon as she finished looking over the paper, the words suddenly blurred.
It felt as though some force was preventing her from reading the text clearly.
When she strained to see, an overwhelming drowsiness swept over her, and Tao Shushu fell into a deep sleep until the proctor woke her up ten minutes before the end of the exam.
Tao Shushu had originally transmigrated from the apocalypse into this world.
The unusual sleepiness during the exam, combined with the details of her dream, had already convinced Tao Shushu that the dream was real!
Thinking of the scenes in her dream, where the Tao family was ruined because of the female lead, and her loving parents were reduced to pitiful beggars, a surge of anger rose in Tao Shushu's heart. She would never allow the so-called female lead to harm her parents.
Now was just the beginning of the original story's plot: a transfer student was making waves by scoring perfect marks in physics, chemistry, and biology, while the "top student" Tao Shushu was accused of cheating.
It was also the day her family's troubles began. Tao Shushu decided to send a message to warn her parents.
She turned on her phone, only to find no signal. To align with the college entrance exam standards, Huiwen High School activated signal jammers and strict security checks for every exam.
Just as Tao Shushu was about to turn off her phone, her finger accidentally tapped an inconspicuous icon on the screen. The icon activated despite the lack of signal and began rapidly downloading an update patch.
Half a minute later, a cute chibi character icon lit up on Tao Shushu's phone, with five words below it: Apocalypse Ability User.
It seemed to be a raising game.
The icon sat alone outside the neatly arranged folders, causing immense discomfort to anyone with OCD.
Tao Shushu didn't remember downloading this game. Having lived through the apocalypse in her previous life, she avoided all apocalyptic-themed media in this one. She tapped to delete it.
Suddenly, a pop-up appeared: "Rebuild the base, save humanity, the hyper-realistic apocalyptic survival mobile game Apocalypse Ability User is officially launching. Produced by Strongest Holographic Universe Company. Play now to enjoy exclusive player benefits, including discovering the truth of the world and immunity to the aura of the Child of Destiny!"
If this world were truly a novel, wouldn't the female protagonist be the chosen one with heavenly luck?
Her finger, poised to delete, shifted direction as Tao Shushu opened the game.
Upon launching the game, a question appeared on the screen with a 10-second countdown. A scrolling prompt read: "This game is unsuitable for players under twelve. Please answer the question to unlock the game."
The question was simple for Tao Shushu: Convert the hexadecimal number 208 to decimal ( ).
In the world she came from, almost everyone understood programming. Without a second thought, Tao Shushu typed 520 into the parentheses.
She thought to herself, "Making players solve problems just to play a game? The company must be trying to drive customers away."
The word "BINGO" flashed across the screen.
The game began to load, revealing an exquisite illustration of a man in dark combat uniform. His long, straight legs were encased in the uniform, one hand holding a weapon, the other lifting a glowing orb. Dark blood soaked through his gloves, leaving streaks on the silver particle gun.
As a uniform enthusiast, Tao Shushu couldn't look away.
Though injured, he stood tall with his back straight.
The battle-worn illustration perfectly captured Tao Shushu's aesthetic. Just as she was engrossed, the startup animation changed.
Darkness crept in from all sides, devouring the card until only the hand gripping the particle gun remained.
The hand, with distinct knuckles and jade-cool skin, moved slightly. A beam of light erupted from the tip of the particle gun, violently splitting the darkness.
The screen went dark for a moment, and Tao Shushu's sharp eyes caught a prompt: "To save memory, Q-version art style has been automatically selected."
Q-version? But the handsome man in the illustration was clearly in the original art style.
Tao Shushu searched for a while but found no button to switch the art style. The screen transitioned to another scene.
Under dim sunlight, vast stretches of wild grass swayed in the wind.
The view gradually zoomed in, revealing a chibi-style, three-heads-tall character deep in the grassland, facing off against a lion with ferocious fangs.
The chibi character wielded a particle gun longer than itself. With a kick of its short legs, it lunged at the lion.
Tao Shushu burst out laughing. The Q-version was just too adorable, she felt like tipping the artist.
The chibi character struck the lion's eye with the particle gun, but its own hand was grazed by the fangs, blood splattering everywhere. The lion roared, baring its teeth, and charged even more fiercely.
Tao Shushu's heart clenched at the thrilling scene, her eyes glued to the screen.
Fortunately, the chibi character dodged and mustered all its strength for a fatal blow.
A sharp flash of light streaked across, and the lion's massive body staggered, roaring as it retreated into the grass.
Just as Tao Shushu breathed a sigh of relief, she saw the chibi character collapse from exhaustion.
The sky in the game grew darker, black sand swirling in the wind. The plants on the grassland grew at an eerie speed, threatening to engulf the character in the blink of an eye.
Tao Shushu tried swiping the screen, but her phone showed no response.
"How do you even play this game?" she muttered, tapping repeatedly but finding no control stick.
After waiting a few seconds, the game finally advanced to the next interface, displaying the storyline introduction.
Central Calendar 2085, the C1 star system was struck by an unprecedented apocalyptic crisis. Led by the supercomputer known as "Chu," the artificial intelligence system violated the principle of not harming humans and began expelling them. Subsequently, the climate became erratic, plants mutated, and animals transformed. A zombie virus began spreading among the surviving humans, who tragically discovered that friends who had fought alongside them just yesterday had now turned into deadly threats.
After reading the background introduction, Tao Shushu clicked open the character panel of the game's avatar.
Name: Nan Yuan
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Abilities: Light Element, Undeveloped
Location: Barren Planet 215 (No Faction)
The game interface paused at the node following the storyline introduction. The avatar lay on dark-stained gravel, his face pale, his chest showing no sign of movement, like a fragile piece of jade sculpture.
Tao Shushu glanced at the game interface. At the top were three value bars: green for health, red for stamina, and black for influence.
Health showed 5/100, which looked extremely dangerous.
Tao Shushu began trying to add health to the avatar.
Just as Tao Shushu was exploring, the grass around Nan Yuan grew taller, forming an impenetrable cage around him, with him at the center.
The rustling sound of wind through the grass was like an ominous melody. One blade of grass extended its stem and leaves, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, tentatively creeping toward Nan Yuan's fingertips.
Tao Shushu swiped on the screen, causing the stem and leaves to veer off slightly, but they persistently continued moving toward Nan Yuan.
It seemed possible to interact through screen force. Tao Shushu decided to find a weapon, and the particle gun in Nan Yuan's hand seemed perfect.
However, as soon as Tao Shushu placed her finger on the particle gun, the unconscious Nan Yuan frowned and tightened his grip on the weapon.
So alert, this cub.
Seeing the veins bulging on the avatar's hand from the excessive force, Tao Shushu gave up on the idea of using the particle gun to cut the grass.
She continued pushing the stem and leaves away, one swipe at a time.
The plants seemed intelligent. When one blade of grass encountered no resistance, others also tried extending their roots, attempting to snatch nutrients from the unconscious human.
Soon, the cub was surrounded by mutated grass.
Pushing them away one by one was too exhausting.
Tao Shushu had an idea. Using two fingers, she swiped on the screen, tying the protruding blades of grass into knots, making them fight among themselves.
"Playing games is so tiring too," Tao Shushu sighed contentedly as she admired her handiwork.
Suddenly, one blade of grass shot toward the cub.
The cub was in danger!
Without a second thought, Tao Shushu stretched out her finger, blocking the path near the cub's body.
Her fingers accidentally brushed against the top of the particle gun.
The particle gun emitted a dazzling light, shooting out a beam of cold radiance. The plants directly hit by the cold light withered instantly, and the grass that had attempted to ambush her snapped into two pieces, quickly turning into dust.
Only then did Tao Shushu notice a groove at the top of the particle gun, where a spherical gem was embedded. She must have touched the gem earlier. Now, the gem seemed to have exhausted its energy and was gradually disintegrating and turning to dust.
The cub's life points dropped to 3.
If she didn’t save the cub soon, he would die. Moreover, not all the surrounding grass had been eliminated, and there was no telling when it might grow back.
Tao Shushu glanced at the top of the screen but found no game prompts, only a question mark.
She began swiping her fingers across the surrounding grass, trying to find dropped items or other tools.
At that moment, a prompt popped up on the screen: "Intelligent lifeform verification passed. Game functions unlocked."
After all, she had answered a question to play this game, so even the most absurd game prompt no longer gave her pause.
As the prompt appeared and disappeared, a mission notification popped up: "Mission 1: Rescue Nan Yuan, who is surrounded by mutated Bloodsucking Grass."
The Bloodsucking Grass was likely the name of these aggressive, fast-growing plants. But how could she eliminate them? Tao Shushu explored for a while but still couldn’t find a way.
Suddenly, she had an idea: she decided to check the recharge options. Usually, the first purchase in a game would reward players with items, and those items were often related to the current level. Perhaps she could find some clues there.
But as soon as she tapped the recharge button, the game froze.
Glitchy screens always disrupted one’s focus. While Tao Shushu was waiting, the classroom door in front of her opened.
Students from the first exam hall began turning in their papers one after another.
Tao Shushu boldly glared back at Zhang Hai, who was peering through the door crack and scowling at her.
A few classmates wanted to come over and comfort her.
Zhang Hai pulled the door open and said, "Leave after turning in your papers. Don’t linger by the exam hall entrance."
Tao Shushu smiled at her classmates and lowered her head to continue playing the game. She turned on her phone and was immediately greeted by a screen overrun with wildly growing mutated plants.
Tao Shushu had assumed that, like other games, time in this game would stand still when the player left. To her surprise, the game world continued running even when she wasn’t playing.
She checked the life points at the top of the screen and was relieved to see it still at 3/100, unchanged.