An invasion from the Abyss? I, a demonic cultivator, laughed.

Chapter 2 Aberration Apocalypse
The day of awakening.

Chu Xiu sat in his seat, looking around at his classmates.

There were thirty-four people in the classroom, all of whom were participating in the awakening trial.

It is said that nearly three-fifths of the entire school applied this time, the highest percentage ever.

Chu Xiu and his group, along with 5,000 students from other schools in Jiangcheng, will be teleported by the Awakening Array to the same Abyss World for trials.

On the podium, homeroom teacher Tao Lei was giving everyone a final reminder.

"Students, you are about to participate in the Awakening Trial."

"I know everyone is already very familiar with the Abyss, but since this concerns lives, I will explain it again."

"The Abyss World refers to those worlds that were once swallowed by the Abyss, the 'remnants of the past' left behind by the power of the Abyss."

"No one knows what you will encounter. Everything in the abyss is full of randomness and uncertainty. You may be hunted by wild beasts whose evolutionary limits have been broken and which grow infinitely, you may be surrounded by fanatical believers of demon gods, or you may enter a post-apocalyptic world swallowed by the ocean."

"But one thing is certain: no matter which world you're in, it will be extremely dangerous. There will never be a paradise where you can easily pass through!"

Tao Lei's words made the students even more nervous than before.

Seeing the fear in the eyes of the students below, Tao Lei softened his tone: "However, as long as everyone is well prepared, the chances of survival will be greatly increased."

"Does anyone still remember the 'three no' principles?"

"No panic, no infighting, no risky behavior," someone in the audience answered him.

“That’s right!” Tao Lei nodded. “I won’t even mention the lack of panic. Everyone knows that staying calm is the top priority in any situation, not to mention that in some worlds, a loss of rationality can even attract terrifying beings.”

"What I want to emphasize are the last two points! No internal strife! No risky actions!"

"In the Abyss, unity and mutual assistance are of paramount importance! Only by working together and helping each other can we maximize your chances of survival!"

"Although there is no protection from the law in the abyss, countless cases have proven that infighting will only lead to total annihilation!"

Tao Lei tapped the blackboard heavily.

Most of the students below listened attentively, but a few disagreed.

In their view, the Abyss World is a dog-eat-dog world, and useless classmates are only a burden. Their most suitable use is as cannon fodder for exploration and as meat shields to block the way.

The teacher's emphasis was nothing more than an unspoken form of political correctness.

Those who think this way are mostly students with high energy levels or from well-off families who have had survival equipment purchased for them in advance.

Tao Lei knew that long-established values ​​couldn't be changed with just a few words, so he didn't stop and continued speaking.

"Finally, it's about 'not taking risks'."

"You may have seen online that some people have obtained rare treasures in the Awakening Trial. It's true that the drop rate in the Trial World is many times higher than in the ordinary world, but please don't take the risk because of that!"

"Of ten people who come with the idea of ​​treasure hunting, not one will survive!"

"Once you become awakened, you will have plenty of opportunities to grow gradually in the future, so there is no need to rush."

"What you need to do is avoid fighting as much as possible and find a safe place to hide as soon as possible."

"Unless you awaken a talent of grade B or higher, or a high-level combat class, you should not consider exploring more benefits in the awakening dungeon."

Tao Lei's words reminded Chu Xiu of a case he had seen online.

There was an Awakener named Zhang Quan. His talent and profession were both quite ordinary, but he accidentally obtained a legendary quality treasure that could be upgraded during the Awakening Trial, and immediately became a hot new star.

Then he died under mysterious circumstances.

No one knows who ultimately got that legendary treasure; after all, there aren't many fools as high-profile as Zhang Quan.

"The teacher is right. Those treasures are not what I need to worry about. The most important thing is to survive."

Chu Xiu thought to himself.

Next, the homeroom teacher said many things that everyone had heard countless times. When the clock struck nine, he stopped and led the class to the playground.

Here, a huge awakening magic circle has been drawn, and all five thousand students have gathered here.

The vast majority of people wore ordinary clothes, but a few had one or two unique pieces of equipment, such as spears, greatswords, or even enchanted firearms.

These people mostly stood in twos and threes, forming a clearly defined circle with the others.

In the abyss, only items tainted with the abyss's aura can be used for teleportation, and these items are mostly extremely expensive, so many students have to start the game naked.

Chu Xiu's family was not wealthy, and all they could afford to buy him was a set of ordinary clothes.

"Ah Xiu, come find me as soon as you enter the abyss," Zhang Qingshan instructed as a final reminder.

"Don't worry." Chu Xiu nodded emphatically.

As all the students entered the magic circle, a dazzling light shone above their heads.

The next moment, the magic circle lit up brightly, and five thousand students disappeared from their spot.

"Om-"

With a deafening buzzing sound, Chu Xiu felt his body float up, and the surrounding space began to distort and change, as if he were traveling through endless dimensions.

Before he could react, he crashed heavily to the ground. "Bang!"

The rough, gritty feel of his hands bracing against the ground, and the impact of the fall made his knees ache slightly.

A wave of dizziness washed over his brain, and he fought back the urge to vomit, struggling to open his eyes.

The dazzling light pierced his iris, forming a halo in his eyes. Chu Xiu hurriedly lowered his head and it took him a long time to gradually adjust to the intense light.

He squinted, taking in his surroundings.

This appears to be a bedroom that has been uninhabited for a long time. The floor is covered in dust, the wooden bed in the corner is rickety with peeling paint, and the bedding has lost its original color, with only faint cartoon patterns visible.

Chu Xiu sat against the wall, above him was a window that was now just a wooden frame, through which dry, hot air kept blowing in.

He propped himself up and glanced outside. All he could see were dilapidated high-rise buildings, and yellow sand swirling across the streets—a lifeless, apocalyptic scene.

He seemed to be in a large, modern, post-apocalyptic city.

Suddenly, a huge black shadow swept past below, startling Chu Xiu so much that he quickly looked away.

"That seemed to be a... huge bird?"

No, it was a creature even more terrifying than birds. Although it was only a fleeting glimpse, Chu Xiu saw sharp bone spurs growing backwards on the back of the unknown creature, a form that no normal creature would possess.

He silently assessed the situation in his mind:

"I should be in an apartment building, around the twentieth floor. This seems to be a post-apocalyptic world infested with mutated creatures. It's unclear whether there are any native survivors."

Just as Chu Xiu was pondering, faint subtitles appeared before his eyes.

[Trial participants are being digitized.]

[Data digitization complete, loaded into the world information system]

【Loading completed.】

[Current World: β-21272417]

[World Hazard Level: Seven]

[Area Hazard Level: Three]

[Trial Mission: Survive for Seven Days]

Challenge Mission:
1. Accumulate 100 kills of mortal-level creatures.

2. Defeat any Warrior-class life form.

3. Destroy a nest.

[World Mission: Defeat the Corpse King in the Central City]

[Note: You will return upon completion of the trial. Challenge missions and world missions will be retained for thirty days, and trial participants can enter again at any time after the cooldown period.]

Looking at the words that appeared before him, Chu Xiu secretly clicked his tongue in amazement.

"It seems this trial is quite difficult; the area's danger level has reached level three! And three challenge missions and one world mission have also appeared."

Generally speaking, most trials are level one or two danger, and some lucky ones may even encounter level zero.

Of course, the higher the danger level, the better the rewards for completing the trial.

As for challenge missions and world missions, these are extra missions with extremely high rewards, which can be completed by multiple people in a team. Each person's contribution will be automatically determined based on their specific performance.

The difference is that there is only one world mission; once someone completes it, others have no chance.

Of course, both of these tasks are extremely difficult, and very few people can complete them during the trial phase.

However, once you pass the trial, a [beacon] will be left in this world, allowing you to enter at any time.

Therefore, Chu Xiu now has only one goal.

Survive!
"This must be a zombie apocalypse world," he began to think.

"However, based on the giant mutated creature I just saw, the zombies here are most likely not the slow-moving targets in movies and TV shows, but creatures with considerable combat power."

"The tasks given by the system are clearly sorted by difficulty, with the later tasks being more difficult, but the rewards for completing them are definitely better."

"Should I honestly try to survive for seven days, or should I try to complete a difficult task?"

Clearly, the answer to this question depends on what kind of [talent] and [profession] Chu Xiu awakens.

Knowing this was the moment that would decide his fate, Chu Xiu took a deep breath and opened his character panel.

[Name] Chu Xiu

[Rank] Mortal Rank 0 (0/100)

[Constitution] 0.94
[Mental State] 2.25
[Energy Level] 0.81
[Equipment] Worn-out cotton-padded clothes

[Occupation] Successor of the Demonic Path

[Talent] Perfectly Forged

(End of this chapter)