1: Chapter 1: Get to the city center hospital within half an hour.

"Shen Qingyue... where is my serum?"

Lin Yuan knelt halfway on the concrete floor, his voice hoarse.

The severed stumps of three fingers on his left hand were still oozing blood.

That was the price he paid for "borrowing" serum from the neighboring shelter last month.

Two vials.

One was given to Shen Qingyue, who had been scratched by a zombie, and the other was kept to save his own life.

Shen Qingyue, standing in front of him, brushed her hair and did not answer immediately.

Lin Yuan's heart sank straight to the bottom.

He saw it.

Behind Shen Qingyue, her male best friend Lu Feng was clutching an empty syringe in his hand!

"Your constitution is good, just hold on a little longer."

Shen Qingyue frowned and finally spoke. "I will send people to find medicine tomorrow."

"Hold on?"

Lin Yuan roared, black blood spilling from the corners of his mouth, "Shen Qingyue, tell me, damn it, how am I supposed to hold on?!"

Lu Feng quickly darted forward, waving his hands repeatedly.

"Brother Yuan, it's all my fault for being too weak, dragging Shen Qingyue into having to block zombies for me..."

Shen Qingyue pulled Lu Feng behind her:

"Lin Yuan, what are you yelling about!"

"I am the leader of the shelter; I have the final say on how the serum is distributed."

"Lu Feng has no Superpower, he needs the serum more than you do! As my husband, shouldn't you be letting him have it?"

"Letting him have it?"

A mouthful of black blood surged from Lin Yuan's throat, splashing onto Shen Qingyue's pristine white down jacket.

"Without me risking my life to collect supplies, without me blocking zombies for you, you and this piece of trash would have long since become zombie food! And now you're telling me to let him have it?"

Intense pain abruptly split his abdomen open.

The last thing Lin Yuan saw was Shen Qingyue wiping the knife in her hand with disgust and turning toward Lu Feng.

"Announce to the outside world that Lin Yuan turned into a zombie and I executed him myself."

"Shen Qingyue, I told you we should have just let Brother Yuan leave on his own, but you insisted on coming over... You are just too kind..."

[Ding! Host's emotional fluctuations detected as intense.]

[Apocalypse Beauty System loading...]

...

"Hoo—!"

Lin Yuan sat up abruptly, gasping for air.

He instinctively reached for the dagger at his waist.

He grasped nothing.

He then instinctively assessed the environment; there were no X-shaped wooden boards covering the windows, no heavy objects blocking the door.

Pristine white walls.

The pungent smell of disinfectant.

An IV needle was inserted into the back of his hand, and cold liquid flowed through his veins.

"Abnormal acid rain has appeared in many parts of the world; experts claim it is 'harmless'."

The television on the wall was playing the noon news.

Lin Yuan stared blankly for a full half minute.

He looked down at his intact hands.

It wasn't until the news screen switched that he confirmed a fact.

He had been reborn.

He had returned to three months before the outbreak of the apocalypse.

The memories in his mind began to overlap.

Yesterday afternoon, he went to deliver documents to Shen Qingyue when his car's brakes failed, causing him to crash into a guardrail and suffer a mild concussion.

He had been lying in the hospital for the entire night.

Clutching his throbbing head, Lin Yuan picked up the phone by his pillow.

In the pinned chat box, there was only one message sent by Shen Qingyue half an hour ago.

[Have a project to discuss, will come to see you later.]

Lin Yuan curled the corners of his mouth.

A project?

On this day in his previous life, he had lain in the hospital alone for two days.

Only after being discharged did he learn that Shen Qingyue had rented out an entire nightclub to welcome Lu Feng, who had just returned to the country.

She had even transferred five million from the company's account just to buy that limited-edition watch for Lu Feng.

At that time, Lin Yuan was blind and chose to endure it.

He thought that as long as he was tolerant enough, Shen Qingyue would eventually settle down.

The result was a knife stabbed into his abdomen.

"Shen Qingyue, Lu Feng."

Lin Yuan chewed on these two names.

[Apocalypse Beauty System successfully bound!]

[Host: Lin Yuan]

[Constitution: 12 (Average for a normal adult male is 10)]

[Spirit: 15]

A system?

In the apocalypse, he had seen monsters that could control the Zombie Horde, as well as Espers who could conjure ice out of thin air.

And even men who linked up through some disgusting method to unleash ultimate moves.

At this moment, having an extra voice in his head didn't seem like the most absurd thing.

[The host can obtain rewards by binding with females whose attractiveness score is > 85 and increasing their favorability.]

[When favorability reaches specific threshold values, the host can obtain stage rewards such as attribute feedback and Superpower synchronization.]

Hearing about Superpower, Lin Yuan's pupils constricted slightly.

In his previous life, although Lin Yuan had awakened a C-rank [Constitution Enhancement].

He was still powerless when facing those higher-tier Espers.

But now.

The meaning of this system was...

As long as he bound those powerful females who had shaken the world in his past life.

He would possess countless types of top-tier Superpowers!

The Ice Empress who could freeze an entire city...

The Valkyrie who could tear apart a Zombie Horde with her bare hands...

Knock, knock.

The door was pushed open, and a nurse wearing heavy makeup walked in with an IV bottle:

"Mr. Lin, you're awake~ Let me change your medicine."

The nurse approached with small steps, her smile deliberate.

The scent of perfume drifted into his nose.

Disgust flashed in Lin Yuan's eyes.

In the apocalypse, people who approach too proactively are usually either after food or after your life.

Slap.

Lin Yuan grabbed the nurse's hand.

The nurse's eyelashes fluttered:

"Mr. Lin~ This is a hospital... if someone sees us... it wouldn't be good..."

[Ding! This target's attractiveness is < 85; it is recommended that the host seek a higher-tier beauty.]

So that's how it is, Lin Yuan thought to himself; the system is obsessed with looks.

Watching the nurse's limpid, autumn-water-like eyes staring at him, Lin Yuan pushed her away.

The nurse landed on her bottom on the floor, still holding the IV bottle.

She had already been prepared just now.

After all, this man could afford a VIP room and was also very handsome.

Even if it was roleplay, or collection...

Lin Yuan couldn't be bothered to pay attention to this substandard tool.

In the apocalypse, such cheap flirtation isn't even worth a single piece of compressed biscuit.

He pulled out the IV needle from the back of his hand.

The bloody needle fell to the ground.

He threw off the blanket and stepped out of bed barefoot.

The cold sensation on the soles of his feet gave Lin Yuan a surreal feeling.

He slipped on the shirt hanging nearby with one hand.

With the other hand, he picked up his phone, stared at Shen Qingyue's name on the screen, and pressed the dial button.

The phone rang for half a minute before it was answered.

Deafening music and the laughter of men and women came through the receiver.

"What is it? I'm busy right now!"

"It just so happens I have something to tell you. Tomorrow you will go on a month-long vacation; I will find someone to take over the work in your hands."

Shen Qingyue's voice was filled with impatience.

In his previous life, Lin Yuan had listened to her nonsense and went to Country M to recuperate.

As a result, before he could even adjust to the jet lag, he was called back by those old men on the board of directors to put out fires.

Even then, Lin Yuan was blamed by Shen Qingyue, saying he didn't give Lu Feng a chance.

"Get to City Center Hospital within half an hour," Lin Yuan said in a calm tone.

The other end of the line paused.

Shen Qingyue clearly didn't expect that her usually "simp" husband would dare to speak to her in this tone.

"Lin Yuan, what kind of tantrum are you throwing again?"

"The doctor said you just scraped your skin a bit; just lying in the hospital is enough. Can you be a little more sensible?"

At this moment, a gentle male voice leaked from the phone.

"Shen Qingyue, is that Brother Yuan?"

"If he needs you, you should go back first. My birthday is fine with everyone else here; don't let me affect your marital relationship."

"Although if you aren't here, I will feel empty inside."

Shen Qingyue immediately lowered her voice to comfort him:

"It's okay, Lu Feng, you are the most important today; I'm not going anywhere."

Subsequently, a muffled sound came from the receiver as she covered the microphone: "I'm very busy, hanging up!"

"You don't have to come," Lin Yuan said, tapping his fingertips against the guardrail at the end of the bed.

"I will report the five million you embezzled from the South City project to the board of directors."

The music on the other end of the line went quiet.

Clearly, Shen Qingyue had walked out of the private room.

Her voice suddenly rose: "How dare you threaten me?!"

"Do you believe I'll call a board meeting tomorrow and strip you of your position! How dare you speak to the President like this?!"

In name, the company belonged to Shen Qingyue.

She was the President, a talented businesswoman, and the face of the company.

But in reality, all the company's core business was handled single-handedly by Lin Yuan, only to have Shen Qingyue's name attached to it in the end.

Therefore, as long as Lin Yuan didn't leave voluntarily, the board of directors couldn't possibly remove him from his position.

"You have twenty-nine minutes left."

Listening to Shen Qingyue's rapid breathing on the other end of the line, Lin Yuan hung up the phone directly.

He could even imagine Shen Qingyue's furious state at this moment.

[Ding! Target Shen Qingyue (Attractiveness 91) favorability -10%, current favorability -20%.]

After being married for three years, the initial favorability was actually a negative number.

Lin Yuan's eyelids lifted slightly.

A negative number is just right; he never intended to show any mercy anyway.

Tossing his phone onto the bed, he walked to the bathroom and looked at his face in the mirror.

He turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on his face.

Cold, but real.

"Mr. Lin... then I..."

The nurse crouched on the floor, holding the bloody needle in her hand, looking up blankly.

Lin Yuan counted out one thousand from his shirt's wallet and threw it in her face: "Do your job."