"I actually crossed over..."

In a messy room.

Lucas Allen finished absorbing the memories in his mind and let out a heavy breath.

He wasn't from this world; he came from Earth.

In 2050, a meteor struck Earth, spreading an unknown virus that infected most of the planet’s population, turning them into zombies. Human civilization, once proud and thriving, collapsed in an instant.

Zombies roamed freely, order was shattered.

Lucas fell during the fifth year of the outbreak, taken down by a massive wave of zombies.

The last scene before his death—the flood of zombies lunging at him, tearing his body apart—is still vividly burned into his memory. He can recall the searing pain, each bite pulling away chunks of flesh.

"But still..."

"I'm alive now!"

He looked down at the body he now possessed, a surge of genuine relief filling his chest.

The memories told him this body belonged to a boy with the same name as his.

But this world, Blue Star, was far deadlier than the zombie-ravaged Earth he once knew.

In the year 2200 of Blue Star’s calendar, strange spatial rifts began to appear everywhere, unleashing countless fearsome beasts upon the land. Faced with these beasts, humanity tried using nuclear weapons, only to discover a mysterious substance in the air that disabled electronic equipment, rendering powerful strategic weapons useless.

Humans were left with only basic weapons to fight back.

But how could that stand a chance against the beasts?

The powerful creatures could scorch mountains and boil seas, their bodies tough as steel, impervious to bullets.

Cities fell one after another.

Still, over time, some humans realized they could absorb the mysterious substance in the air to transform themselves, gaining extraordinary powers.

This discovery was a spark of hope.

Relentless scientific research led to the substance being identified and named "Primordial Qi"—a force capable of breaking physical limits and granting superhuman strength.

Those able to wield it became known as warriors.

However, not everyone could absorb Primordial Qi.

Becoming a warrior required talent. The greater the talent, the higher the potential and ultimate power.

Without it, one would remain ordinary forever.Even so, with a handful of people awakening their innate talents, humanity gradually grew stronger, fighting back against the beasts and building survival bases across the wastelands.

"What a cursed yet fortunate world," Lucas Allen muttered softly.

Back on Earth, when the zombie outbreak hit, humans hadn’t gained any supernatural abilities. Against the horrors of those zombies, individual strength was utterly insignificant.

Compared to that, this place was far luckier.

"Except…"

"This body has no talent at all."

His gaze dropped to his smooth, delicate palms as a grim expression crossed his face.

In this era of rampaging beasts, danger lurked everywhere. Humanity’s only hope lay in the strength of warriors.

Even the weakest talent could lead one down the warrior’s path.

But without any talent? It was practically a death sentence in this time.

The original owner of this body knew it, couldn’t take it, and let himself go—eventually meeting his end. That’s how Lucas ended up in this shell.

Crunch!

As Lucas sorted through the memories flooding his mind, the sudden sound of a door opening pulled him out of his thoughts.

A figure stepped inside.

She looked around seventeen or eighteen, tall and slim, with an elegant face framed by hair like flowing clouds. Her simple home clothes accentuated her charm as if they’d been tailored to fit her perfectly. But her demeanor carried a distant chill—it was the only flaw in her otherwise perfect presence. Seeing Lucas, Abigail simply said flatly, "I'm back."

She then placed the items she was carrying onto the table before heading straight into her room.

During all this, she didn’t say anything else to Lucas, nor did she spare him another glance.

Watching the door shut tightly behind her, Lucas felt a twinge of confusion.

But almost immediately, a flood of memories surfaced in his mind.

Abigail Taylor—the daughter of his parents’ closest friends. Both families were fighters and had built strong bonds during a beast tide long ago, so close that when Lucas and Abigail were just toddlers, their parents arranged a marriage between them.

Yet two years ago, Abigail’s parents had invited Lucas’s parents on an expedition, which tragically ended in their deaths.

The loss had shattered the original Lucas’s ability to cope, and in his grief, he directed his hatred at Abigail’s parents, irrationally blaming them for the incident—and even extending that resentment to her.

Looking back now, Lucas found it absurd. Especially since, after the deaths of their parents, Abigail had gone out of her way to care for him, even moving into his home to tend to his needs.When Lucas Allen was found to have no talent for cultivation, while Abigail Taylor possessed exceptional martial aptitude, she never gave up on him.

She even risked her life multiple times outside the base to hunt down fierce beasts, hoping to find a way to change Lucas’s innate lack of talent. Every time she returned, she brought back the hard-fought beast meat, insisting he eat it in the hope that it might gradually improve his physique.

Even if it didn’t lead to cultivation, it could at least make him stronger than the average person.

But the tragedy was, the former Lucas never appreciated it.

He even went as far as to insult Abigail to her face, blaming her for his parents’ deaths, treating her with hostility and resentment.

This led to their relationship becoming strained, despite living under the same roof. It had never progressed to anything meaningful, only growing colder with time.

“What a fool who never knew his blessings...”

Lucas mused as the memories of the original owner surfaced in his mind. Coming from the post-apocalyptic wasteland of his previous life, he deeply understood the weight of companionship in a world so brutal.

Especially when Abigail wasn’t just beautiful but also gifted in cultivation—worlds apart from him.

Still, as an outsider, Lucas knew it wasn't his place to judge the life of the original owner.

But... "Since I’ve claimed your body, I’ll be Lucas Allen from now on."

"I’ll take your place and live this life properly."

The resolve sank deep into his heart.

This body might lack any talent for cultivation, but life—life still had to go on.

No matter how dangerous this world was, a second chance was still better than none.

Lucas’s stomach growled, reminding him to cook something.

But just as he glanced across the room, his gaze fell on the beast carcass Abigail Taylor had brought back.

His breath caught, pupils shrank violently, and the world seemed to tilt for a moment.

Right there on the beast’s lifeless form, a strange, ethereal line of text shimmered into existence:

[Target: Tier 1 Intermediate Beast - Thunder Mink!]

[Resource Available for Collection!]

[Proceed with Collection?]

...