“...no one… better… me...”
“...no… should lead…”
“...sense! If you’re gonna decide it that way, then we’re done talking!”
Yu Zhiye’s eyes snapped open and he gasped like he just surfaced from underwater.
Alive. He’s still alive…
“Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”
Hearing that husky, rough voice, Yu Zhiye looked over to see a scruffy uncle dressed in casual jacket and jeans.
“…Uh… Where am I?”
The man pointed over his shoulders. “Can’t you see? We’re in a convenience store—or a grocer market if you want to call it that.”
Yu Zhiye sat up and looked around.
A rather dingy store—at least more than 1000 square meters.
There were those usual stuff you see in a grocery store—baskets, coolers, checkout counters...
Also, row after rows of shelves—mostly empty.
Not much to see.
What caught his attention was the group of five arguing in the background. Four men, one woman.
“Don’t care about them. They’ve been arguing like that for the past half hour, trying to decide who takes lead...”
Yu Zhiye turned back to the scruffy uncle. “Past half hour?”
“Yeah. You see, some of us woke up earlier—like that four-eyes who said he was up about an hour ago.”
“The rest came to one by one. And boy, you’re one of the last ones.”
The scruffy uncle gave Yu Zhiye a once over. “Totally understandable though. Some of us don’t exercise much. Just treat it as jet lag.”
“Um.” Yu Zhiye stared down at his own thin arms and hands in a daze.
What happened?
Last thing he remembered, a strange asteroid—bigger than the moon—came crashing down from outer space, then… that was it.
“Still thinking about it? Totally understandable. Who would’ve thought we would get wiped out like dinosaurs one day? Sheesh.”
Yu Zhiye looked at the man who seemed so chill. “You seem awfully calm about this?”
The scruffy uncle shrugged.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“What’s the use of crying over spilled milk? The only thing we can do is just get yourself together because we ain’t going back, that’s for sure.”
The man was right. Wherever this is, heaven or hell, it was a one-way trip.
“By the way, I haven’t asked for your name?”
Facing this friendly question, Yu Zhiye replied with a straight face. “My name is Steve.”
“Yeah?” The scruffy uncle rolled his eyes. “And my name is Jack Black.”
“...”
Both fell silent and didn’t say more after that.
Yu Zhiye’s eyes quietly searched around, making note of the other members in the store.
Like himself, a few were sitting around.
Three men: one timid like a victim of school bullying, two vigilant—one looking like some unemployed street loiterer, the other like a thief.
At another spot was a lone little lady—a pure-faced, doe-eyed high schooler hugging her knees and looking around at everyone like a curious baby.
And on the side, there was still one last teenage man laying unconscious on the ground.
Yu Zhiye wasn’t sure if there were any others hanging out in the store aisles.
But so far, he counted 12 people total, including himself.
Yu Zhiye then directed his focus to the argument behind him.
Standing out like a sore thumb was a stocky, muscular baldie.
“...I say it’s still better we decide by fists. Who knows what’s out there in this god forsaken place? Only a powerful leader can keep us safe!”
Facing off against him was a lanky four-eyes suited up like a CEO.
“Haha. If muscles alone makes a powerful leader, then our previous world would’ve long fallen into ruins.”
The two scrawny lackeys flanking him shouted out in support.
Lackey A: “Yes, yes! CEO Kwan is right!”
Lackey B: “Yeah! And since Boss Kwan woke up first, he should lead based on seniority!”
“Bullshit, seniority! Might makes right!”
CEO Kwan nudged his glasses up like a smartass.
“That’s where you are wrong. A calm, thoughtful mind is a must to take on the responsibility of a good leader. Unfortunately, not everyone has such a talent.”
That aggroed the baldie. “Aeeuuhh?! Are you saying I don’t have a brain?”
“I didn’t say that. The brainless one did.”
“Four-eyes! Say that again! I dare you!”
Seeing the men getting agitated, a classy brunette lady dressed in a hot red dress with a deep V-neckline stepped in.
“Okay, boys. Calm down, calm down. Hear me out. I personally think it’s best we do a vote once everybody wakes up...”
The men’s fire that was directed at each other got redirected to the sexy hourglass figure instead.
“Yes, yes! Miss Yoona is right!”
“Hah! Four-eyes, I’ll give Miss Yoona face and let you live a bit longer!”
“Heh. Big talk. How much can your ugly face be worth?”
“Aeeahh? You picking a fight, four-eyes?!”
“Who’s afraid of who? Though I might not look like it, I’m actually a black belt in Taekwondo! So try me!”
Just when the men were about to come to blows, a voice sounded in everybody’s minds...
[Ding! All players have awakened. Desertcraft Survival System initiating…]
[Binding… Complete. Selecting compatible blueprint of life… complete. Initializing interface...]
At the very top of Yu Zhiye’s vision, a holographic status screen appeared, charting out a bunch of data in pixel font.
[Name] Yu Zhiye#6969696969
[Age] 24
[Class] Human
[Affiliation] Outpost #128A7193S
[Stats] STR (4.1), DEX (7.3), INT (7.8), CON (3.1), WIS (8.6), CHA (3.0)
[Gift] %#%@! Fisherman's Hideout (Black)(F-)
[Title] None
Anchored to the bottom left corner of this status info panel, there were four tabs featuring icons of a profile avatar, a trophy, a book, and a smiley emoji.
Currently selected was the first profile tab, while the other three tabs had that non-selected tint.
For now, Yu Zhiye didn’t pay much attention to these tabs.
What really caught his interest was the interface anchored right below.
A 3D model of himself nested right between five equipment slots and a 2 by 2 grid with an arrow pointing to an output box.
Aligned right below that was a nine-square-grid inventory hotbar.
Except for the missing inventory grid, this was almost the spitting image of a certain sandbox game’s inventory interface!
“This is… is it what I think it is? No way...”
[Desertcraft Survival System initiated.]
[Welcome to the Infinite Survivalverse, Player #6969696969! All your wishes can come true as long as you do your best to survive! Good luck and good bye!]