"You are fired and that's final. Don't stand here and beg me. It's already good enough that I am not handing you over to the police. Hmph."

Hearing the store manager's harsh words, Ryan looked at the wall in front of him blankly. He was not thinking of anything in particular. After all, getting screwed over was not something new to him.

And today was nothing more than just another day, well except his best friend, John, the only person whom he thought cared about him also betrayed him.

Ryan sighed and removed his apron, and badge and handed it over to the manager. He then walked into the locker room without turning back.

He opened his locker and collected his things. Behind him, an apologetic voice sounded. "Bro I am..."

Ryan turned to look at his friend but he was not angry or upset. Instead, there was only a calm indifference. "What? What more do you have to say to me?" He sneered.

"You wanted to protect your cheating whore and so you betrayed me. There is nothing more to talk about here. You and I are done."

Ryan's harsh words and his decisiveness felt like a slap on the face. John clenched his fist and indignantly replied. "Stop it, Ryan. Why do you keep insulting her over and over again? It is because of this... because of this..."

However, the person he was talking to was no longer there. Ryan had already banged the empty locker close and strolled out of the back room with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

Bad luck was not something new to him. He was an orphan who had lost his entire family in a car accident.

His relatives swindled him out of his inheritance and he had to take a loan even to properly cremate his parents and siblings.

He almost dropped out of high school but thanks to his good grades and his special circumstances, his school fees were subsidized. He worked three jobs and somehow joined a college.

But because of an incident, the blame was unfairly transferred to him, and eventually, he was kicked out of the college.

Now, these part-time jobs became his full-time job and today he was kicked out of that too.

So what? If not this job, there was always another job. Ryan chuckled wryly and walked out.

After everything he had faced in his life, he would be damned if he let this bastard and his bitch girlfriend bring him down.

Ryan shifted his backpack and was about to exit out of the back door of the fast-food shop when suddenly a tall blonde woman with a huge ass and a set of big tits blocked his way.

"Why are you blocking my way?" He asked curtly.

This was his friend's girlfriend who had stolen the money in the first place, but the manager didn't believe him as his friend ended up backing her story rather than his.

Stella smirked and muttered without any remorse. "Only employees can use this door. You have to exit through the front door."

Ryan looked at the smug smile on the woman's face. He looked at her from top to bottom, looking at her big assets. He always thought that it was a pity that she looked ugly.

Otherwise, she would have probably landed some richer than his penniless friend and wouldn't be screwing around with so many guys at the same time.

"Whatever," Ryan muttered and turned to walk back to the shop's main area so that he could use the front door. He really didn't care which exit he used.

"Fucking piece of shit. Always looking down on me. It looks like you still haven't learned your lesson. Today I will teach you a good one." Stella sneered and followed him.

As the two of them reached the main area of the shop, Ryan walked past the counter and the queue at the counter.

Lunchtime was, as usual, busy and a lot of people had gathered in the fast-food shop.

In the midst of this crowded shop, just as he was about to exit through the door, Stella loudly shouted. "Watch out! He is a thief!"

Everyone immediately started staring, and pointing at Ryan and the security guard at the entrance of the shop walked over to personally escort him out of the mall.

"Serves you right, you bastard. Now, who is the pitiful person?" Stella muttered under her breath, her smug smile widening.

However, before she could finish her thought, suddenly something unexpected happened.

A translucent blue screen flashed in front of everyone.

"Ah!!!"

"What is this?"

"It looks like a hologram?"

"Illusion?"

"Who is messing with us?"

"My head is hurting!"

"My nose is bleeding!"

"Is everyone seeing this?"

"Stats? Health? Stamina? Strength? This looks like a game?"

"What the hell is happening?"

As everyone fell into a state of chaos, a loud uproar swept through the crowd.

Even Stella, John, and the security guard who had dragged Ryan were all staring at their respective screens dumbfoundedly.

Ryan as well had something pop up in front of him, but perhaps because he was not as excited as the others, he also paid attention to the surroundings.

While everyone else was distracted and staring at their screens with confusion, the doors of the fast-food joint swung open and a man rushed in covered in blood.

"Ahhh! Ahhh! Someone save me!"

Another person was chasing behind him and this man looked completely crazy as if he was high on something.

His eyes were bloodshot, the blood vessels on his hand and face were more pronounced. Something was just terribly off about him.

Seeing this others started shouting and panicking even more.

Since Ryan had seen everything from the beginning, he had more time to take everything in. Not that much more but it helped.

He took a few steps back and positioned himself such that his back faced a corner. He then took the long wooden mop which was leaning against the same corner.

Something was not right and he didn't know why but his gut instincts told him that he would be safer with a weapon.

Just as he thought, the next second everything turned even crazier as people began to hit and scratch each other with whatever they had.

Ahh! Ahh! Loud screams echoed and everything was a mess.

Someone also came rushing at Ryan and he quickly reacted by hitting the party with his stick and pushing him down. It was a middle-aged man with patches of white hair.

His eyes were completely red.

Ryan felt his heart pound loudly. What was happening? He had never seen anything like this before.

The man who fell down was clearly no match for him and was already injured and yet he kept coming back at him.

Ryan couldn't help it and forcefully pushed the man away and this time his head was bashed into the wall and blood started spurting out.

"Did… Did I just kill someone?" He muttered under his breath and looked up to see another thing flashing in front of him.

Ding. 10 Experience points gained

"Huh? What is this? Is this really a game?"

Ryan looked around to see that the madness had intensified. Before he could think about anything, the man whom he had just now… perhaps killed… unexpectedly moved again!

"Fuck!"

He did not hesitate and used the mop in his hand to bash at the wounded body again and again, but no matter how much Ryan injured him, the man kept coming for him without stopping.

It was as if he didn't feel any pain. It was as if he wasn't even alive.

Everything clicked and suddenly a term popped into Ryan's brain. "Zombies!"

This time he plunged the broken end of the mop that was somewhat sharp directly into the man's head. The skull was too thick for the thin mop handle.

So he ended up grabbing the person and bashing him again and again onto the wall until there was nothing left of the head.

Ding. 10 Experience points gained

Another notification sounded. The blue screen that had flashed in front of him once again returned, but he had no time to pay attention to it.

Ryan felt a strong sense of danger and he could tell that his life and death depended on whatever happened now.

Another person came towards him to attack him and this time, he picked up a chair and swung it on the person's head without hesitation.

He then did the same thing as before and repeatedly bashed it into the person's head. He didn't know or didn't care if he was dead or alive. He was purely acting out of his survival instincts.

Bang. Bang. Thud. The head was destroyed and the person fell limp. Simultaneously another notification popped up.

Ding. 10 Experience points gained

While everyone else was running amok, he had already killed three people and received experience points for it?

Ryan did not have time to think about what was happening. He secured his position against the corner and attacked anyone who came near him.

In the span of a few minutes, he had somehow ended up attacking and killing five or six people and suddenly a different notification popped in front of him.

Ding. 10 Experience points gained

Ding. You have leveled up.

Ding. Strength +5

Ding. Vitality +5

Ding. Agility +5

"This is just like a game!" Ryan might not have spent several hours playing games but he knew enough to recognize the pattern.

It seemed as if one could become stronger and faster by killing others?!

The chair in his hand suddenly felt lighter and as he moved his body reacted faster. "What is all of this? Just what the hell is happening?"

He had no idea. However, he couldn't help but notice an important point. If he could kill others and become stronger, others could also kill others and become stronger!

It was either kill or be killed!

Perhaps such a thought would have frightened someone else, but surprisingly he only felt exhilarated. It was as if he was freed of his shackles!

Ryan threw his head back and laughed like a maniac as he smashed the chair in his hands against the next person who came running towards him. He didn't hold anything back and let out all his pent-up frustrations.

The world had truly gone crazy! But maybe it was finally a place for someone like him!

As he crushed and bludgeoned the next person, a high-pitched voice shrieked and a familiar figure ran over to him. "Ryan. Ryan. Save me. Save me, please.

He looked in the direction and a cold glint flashed in his eyes. Stella was stumbling and crawling towards him as she ran away from two crazed human beings.

However, as opposed to the fear and panic in her eyes, Ryan was rather calm. He finished his current fight and waited for notification and only then answered her.

"Huh? You want me to save you?" He grinned. "Heh. How about you strip naked first and then I will think about it!"