Reality Hacker: Apocalypse Loop

The guard spoke into the intercom. 

"Visitor for Villa #5. Two people. Say John sent them for pickup. They know your name."

A pause crackled. 

"John?" Wang Zichen's voice tightened. "Send them in."

Gates hissed open.

Ethan pulled Wan'er toward Villa #5. 

No time. Doom ticking.

Wang Zichen stood frowning. 

"Who the hell—?"

"Not here." Ethan pushed him inside.

"Bro, what—? Who ARE you?!" Wang choked. 

Human. Player. Not a monster.

The lavish living room held three people.

Wang leaned forward, his eyes sharp. 

"Spill. Never seen you in player circles. What's with John?"

Wan'er shot Ethan a look. 

Teammates? But he doesn't know us?

"Ethan. Chen Wan'er," Ethan replied calmly. 

"First-wave players in [Apocalypse Online]."

"First-wave?!" Wang's eyebrows shot up.

"I found you through my starter skill." 

Minimum A-rank pull. Common knowledge.

"What skill?"

"Fragments of the future. 

The skill showed enough to find you both." 

Mostly true. Best currency.

"Holy shit! BOSS! You goddamn SEER?!" Wang shook him. 

"PROPHECY-CLASS?! LEGEND-tier!"

Ethan blinked. Was that rare? 

Wan'er stared.

"What'd you SEE?" Wang vibrated with excitement.

Ethan replied flatly, 

"Saw your bunker compromised. 

Fled in an armored car. 

Died on a telephone pole."

Wang froze. "Fuck. Specific." 

Few knew the escape tunnel.

Ethan leaned forward. "Enlighten us. What are the rules of [Apocalypse Online]?"

Wang's humor vanished. He raised a hand— 

> SYSTEM INTERFACE FLARED! 

[[ APOCALYPSE ONLINE - CORE RULES ]] 

▣ WIN CONDITION: 

[ SURVIVE 4 WEEKS IN MIRROR-ZONE ] 

[ FAILURE = PERMANENT DEATH ] 

▣ NEW PLAYER BOOT PACKAGE: 

1. [RESPAWN COIN] ×1 

2. [A-RANK SKILL TALISMAN] 

"Simple hell," Wang's voice echoed the text. 

Weekly drops into apocalypse zones. Survive one month—the only way out."

"Newbies get two gifts." He flicked the panel. 

▣ PLAYER STATUS: WANG ZICHEN 

[ VETERAN TIER: 8 ] 

[ BEST SKILL: B-RANK ARMORY ] 

[ DEATH COUNT: 3 ] 

"My best after eight apocalypses?" He let out a bitter laugh. 

"Lousy B-rank. Treasure your draw."

> SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT: 

[ TIER SYSTEM ONLINE ] 

| TIER | ICON | WIPEOUT | STATUS | 

|--------------|----------|----------|------------| 

| PLAGUE | ☣️ | 12-18% | (Locked) | 

| DISASTER | 💀💀 | 39-57% | *ACTIVE* | ← Jiang City Puppets 

| CATACLYSM | 🌋 | 92-99% | (Locked) |

"Where are we?" Wang poked the flashing 💀💀. 

"DISASTER-CLASS. Region-locked hell." 

His finger moved across his throat. "One misstep = PERMADEATH."

> MISSION BRIEFING: 

[ PRIMARY OBJ ]: PURGE "PUPPET MASTER" 

[ SECONDARY OBJ ]: 

 ✔ LOCATE VETERAN (DONE) 

 ✘ ID INFECTION VECTOR (11%) 

 ✘ SECURE SAFEHOUSE (FAILED) 

[ REWARDS ]: 

 ► S-RANK SKILL TOKEN 

 ► BLACK MARKET ACCESS 

 ► [RESPAWN COIN] ×3 

"Fix the core disaster?" Wang's eyes glinted. 

"Massive rewards. Our mission: Kill Jiang City's puppeteer."

> SYSTEM ALERT: 

❗ LEGENDARY SKILL DETECTED! 

[ PLAYER: ETHAN ] 

[ SKILL: EYES OF DOOM (SSS-RANK) ] 

[ THREAT LEVEL: HIGH VALUE TARGET ] 

« 0.7% precognition draw rate » 

« WARNING: CONCEAL ABILITY » 

Wang suddenly grabbed Ethan's arm. 

"Catastrophe-class? 95% wipeout. Supervolcanoes. Biblical floods." 

His voice dropped as the alert pulsed red. 

"But if you see this tier—"