1: Chapter 1 All-People Fortress

(In the AI era, manual creation isn't easy, dear readers, please show your support!)

(Urine filter for the win!)

Parallel world, Blue Star.

"Xiao Chen, it's time to pay the rent. Transfer it directly to my card tomorrow."

Listening to the voice on the phone, Chen Ze couldn't help but visualize the landlady's fat, bloated face.

"Sister Hong, orders have been hard to come by lately, and my e-bike broke down two days ago. Do you think you could give me a few more days?"

It was noisy on the other end of the line, as if she were playing mahjong. Amidst the clattering sound of shuffling tiles, Sister Hong's impatient voice came through.

"Xiao Chen, don't try to play the poor card with me. If you don't have the money, just move out. I have no trouble renting out this place!"

"Sister Hong, that's not what I meant. I definitely want to keep renting the place. One week, one week at most, I promise..."

Before Chen Ze could finish, Sister Hong interrupted him directly.

"Stop, stop, stop. I can't wait that long. Three days at most. If not, pack your things and get out!"

Immediately following that was the "beep, beep, beep" of a busy signal; clearly, she had hung up.

"Sigh! A single penny really can stump a hero!"

Chen Ze sighed.

Looking back, two years ago, Chen Ze was full of vigor and ambition.

At that time, he and his university classmates had passionately started a company together. Everyone worked in unison, and for a while, the company showed great potential.

However, people's hearts are hard to predict, and a twist of fate arrived suddenly.

Chen Ze never expected that his judgment would be so flawed. Those "good brothers" in the company who acted like sworn friends on a daily basis had actually colluded with outsiders to carefully set a trap for him.

In a meticulously planned conspiracy, the company's assets were embezzled, its operations were disrupted, and it eventually collapsed like a falling building. Not only that, he was left with a massive debt, which was how he ended up in this state.

"Those ungrateful wretches, I will get even with them sooner or later!"

Chen Ze clenched his fists; he wished he could tear those scumbags to pieces right now.

But right now, his livelihood was a problem, so how could he talk about revenge?

"Sigh, I'd better hurry up and go out to deliver a few more orders."

Putting on his yellow uniform, Chen Ze prepared to head out, but just then, a cold, mechanical voice exploded in his ears.

[Data scan complete. The current population of Blue Star has reached the standard. Now initiating Global Fortress Survival!]

"What the hell! What's going on? Are aliens attacking?"

Before Chen Ze could think further, the mechanical voice sounded again.

[Welcome to the Global Fortress Survival game!]

[This is a game for all of humanity, and also an opportunity for you to become gods. Please listen carefully to the game rules below!]

[1. All players can choose a property as their initial Fortress. It can be any property under your name, or you can choose to have the system randomize it.]

[2. All Fortresses have a Fortress Core. That is the most critical part of the Fortress; once destroyed, the Fortress will completely collapse!]

[3. Whenever night falls, you will face various natural disasters and attacks from monsters such as zombie hordes. Successfully defending against attacks will grant corresponding resources and rewards, used to upgrade your Fortress and enhance your own strength.]

[4. At regular intervals, the game will initiate special events. Participating in and completing these special events can yield rare items or powerful abilities. However, special events are often accompanied by great danger, so please pay attention to your personal safety.]

[5. Although it is dangerous outside the Fortress, there are also abundant resources. Those with sufficient strength may go out to explore.]

[6. Currently, this is the novice protection period, which ends in 3 days, after which more areas will be opened.]

[For more game content, please silently think "System Panel" to check.]

[Attention! Death in the game is real death. Please do not harbor any wishful thinking. Finally, I wish you all a Happy Year of the Horse, good luck, and evacuation!]

Chen Ze listened carefully, and the muscles on his face couldn't help but twitch.

"Global Fortress Survival? And what the hell is 'evacuation'?"

He hurriedly looked out the window and found that the people on the street were all standing there dumbfounded, their mouths open wide enough to fit a fist, clearly having also heard the voice just now.

"Could all of this be real?"

Just then, the mechanical voice sounded in Chen Ze's mind again.

[Survivor Chen Ze, currently no real estate has been detected under your name. Would you like to choose a random Fortress? You have ten seconds to choose. Once the time is up, it will be considered a forfeiture, and you will be executed!]

[Countdown begins: ten, nine, eight...]

"F*** you, why so urgent? Are you rushing to get off work!"

Chen Ze finally couldn't help but curse. Everything had happened too fast; there was no time to carefully consider the pros and cons of a random Fortress.

But if he didn't make a choice, he would be executed directly. He gritted his teeth and shouted at the air: "Choose! I choose a random Fortress!"

[Ding! Selection successful. Beginning randomization of Fortress.]

Along with the end of the mechanical voice, a huge wheel appeared in his mind. The wheel was densely packed with various patterns: skyscrapers, country cottages, underground bunkers, and some strange-looking buildings, making one dizzy.

The wheel spun rapidly, and Chen Ze's heart rose to his throat. This spin concerned his life and death in this bizarre game from here on out.

After a dozen seconds, the wheel slowly stopped, and the pointer finally landed on a blue-grey building.

It was cylindrical in shape, looked about three or four stories high, and faint dents could be seen on the outer wall.

"Holy crap, is this... is this a Japanese Blockhouse?"

[Ding! Congratulations to the survivor for randomizing a WWII Blockhouse as the initial Fortress. You have obtained the SSS-rank talent: Plunder!]

[Talent: Plunder: You can Plunder the Fortress talents of others and are no longer restricted by the constraints of a single talent. Every time the survival Fortress levels up, you can obtain an empty talent slot.]

"SSS!"

Chen Ze's eyes went wide, and for a moment, he couldn't believe his ears.

Even though he didn't yet know the talent levels of this doomsday survival game, anyone could tell what those three golden S's meant.

"I... did I just get incredibly lucky? Hahaha!"

Chen Ze's voice trembled with excitement, and he laughed out loud.

"Hum!"

Just then, he suddenly felt the vibration under his feet become even more intense. What was even more terrifying was that the violent vibration didn't just affect the outside world; his consciousness also began to be affected, and his head felt dizzy and heavy.

Chen Ze closed his eyes tightly, suppressing the surging nausea, and tried hard to stay awake.

He didn't know if it had been a few seconds, a dozen seconds, or longer, but the vibration finally stopped.

Chen Ze rubbed his still-dizzy head and slowly opened his eyes.

"Holy crap, what's going on? Where am I now?"

Before him was no longer the dim and dusty corridor of the rental building, but a slightly empty space.

Sunlight slanted down from above, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground. Chen Ze squinted his eyes to adapt to the light, and only then did he see clearly that he was inside a building.

"Could this be the WWII Blockhouse I just randomized?"

Chen Ze muttered to himself while starting to look around.

The interior space of the Blockhouse was not large, about twenty or thirty square meters. The blue bricks on the walls were as big as a human head, and even though some mortar had fallen off, it still looked very sturdy.

The entire Blockhouse had only one exit, which was currently sealed tight by a heavy iron door. A dozen or so firing ports were evenly distributed on the surrounding walls, letting in a little light from the outside, preventing the interior of the Blockhouse from being too dim.

Chen Ze walked to the iron door and pushed it hard, but the door didn't budge.

He didn't know what the Fortress survival mentioned by the mechanical voice was, but regardless, ensuring his safety first was definitely the right thing to do.

He leaned in to observe and discovered that the door was actually twenty or thirty centimeters thick, which made him gasp in surprise.

"Good grief, those little devils were really willing to spend on materials. With such a sturdy door, I bet it could even take a couple of hits from a rocket launcher!"

Following the staircase in the corner, Chen Ze continued to go up.

The entire Blockhouse was divided into four floors. The layout of each floor was similar, but the area gradually decreased as the floors went up.

He climbed all the way to the third floor. Every floor was completely empty; apart from the dust everywhere and spiderwebs spreading wantonly in the corners, there was nothing that could be of any use.

Chen Ze couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. The mechanical voice had made it very clear that monsters would come to attack at night. Even if the Blockhouse was exceptionally sturdy, without food, drink, or weapons, he was still just a trapped rat in a jar.

Without stopping, he stepped onto the fourth floor. As soon as Chen Ze looked up, he was suddenly stunned, his whole body trembling uncontrollably with excitement.

"Holy crap! The Blockhouse actually has a cannon!"