"I never thought I’d actually end up in a world like this—an apocalyptic wasteland. Could this really be God giving me another chance?"
Luciel still couldn’t wrap his head around it. Somehow, impossibly, he had crossed into another world.
He had been recuperating for five days. Thanks to his military training, he’d managed to gather some basic information about this place.
The world was far larger than Earth, but it was broken, abandoned—its civilization rotted away almost to extinction.
The soil could no longer grow crops. For thousands of miles, the land lay barren.
Rain was rare, and when it fell, it came down as acid rain. Most days, the sky was choked with dust, and only occasionally did the sun manage to pierce through.
"At this rate, I’ll need another day or two to fully recover."
Luciel flexed his arm. The soreness was finally gone. After five days of rest, his strength was slowly returning.
He pushed open a crack in the wooden shack’s door and peered outside.
Dusk had fallen. The land stretched endlessly in desolation, without a hint of green.
"A wasteland at the end of days... It’s like a grim reflection of Earth. And now I’ve stumbled into it."
Back on Earth, Luciel had been an orphan. When university tuition became impossible, he enlisted in the army.
Five years in special forces hardened him, but old injuries forced him to retire.
Afterward, he had planned to put his survival skills to use as a wilderness content creator, filming short survival videos.
But fate had other plans. He had been swallowed by a ground fissure during an earthquake.
He thought he would die.
Instead, when he opened his eyes again, he found himself in this apocalyptic wasteland—his body broken, wracked with pain, barely able to move.
Yet luck hadn’t abandoned him. A girl disguised as a boy had stumbled upon him, dragged him back to camp, and hidden him.
Luciel sighed softly. "Looks like I’ll really be living the survival life now."
But as a stowaway, if anyone discovered him, he would be finished. According to Mino, outsiders caught sneaking into the camp were either beaten to death or worked until they dropped.
Neither option was something he wanted.
Mino—the girl who had saved him while pretending to be a boy—was the one who gave him shelter.
---
A faint snap came from outside—the sound of a twig breaking.
Luciel’s instincts sharpened instantly. He leaned forward and peered through the gap in the wooden planks.
A thin, dirty-faced figure crept toward the shack.
Relaxing slightly, Luciel recognized her. It was only Mino.
The rickety door creaked open, then quickly shut behind her.
"Ah! Why were you hiding by the door like that? You nearly scared me to death!"
Mino jumped back, clutching her chest when she saw him standing there.
"How was the hunt?" Luciel asked, settling back down against the wall.
"Luciel, you’re amazing. That trap you showed me really works!" Mino’s eyes lit up. "I caught so many more lizards today than ever before."
"How many?" he asked with a faint smile.
She grinned mischievously, slung down her cloth bag, and pulled out a small brown lizard the size of two fingers. Then she carefully laid out seven more flat little lizards in front of him.
Luciel noticed the cuts on her fingers. "How many traps did you make today?"
"Not enough time—I only managed twenty-two." She pouted. "But tomorrow I’ll set at least thirty!"
"Don’t overdo it. If anyone notices, you’ll be in trouble." His voice was calm but firm.
"You’re right..." Mino bit her lip, then said anxiously, "But taxes are due in three days. What about yours?"
Luciel frowned. In five days, he had learned the camp’s harsh rules: everyone had to pay food as tax in order to stay.
"How many do we have so far?"
"Counting these, about thirty lizards." Her shoulders slumped.
Over the past days, she had gone from being cautious of him to relying on him. The traps he taught her brought her hope—and a rare sense of care she hadn’t felt in a long time.
"Did you already pay yours?" he asked.
"I paid thirty-five before, so I still need five more." Her voice was low, uncertain.
"Don’t worry. If I can’t cover mine, I’ll leave." Luciel’s tone was steady.
"You’re leaving?!" Mino’s head shot up, her eyes wide.
"I’m almost recovered." He clenched his fist.
"No! I can gather enough for your tax too!" She spoke in a rush, almost panicked.
Before he could answer, she hurried to the corner, pulled away a pile of gravel, and dragged out a wooden box.
Inside were eight pieces of dried lizard jerky.
"Take these! It’ll cover your share."
"Keep it. That’s your food reserve."Luciel narrowed his eyes slightly, touched despite himself.
"Don’t forget," he reminded gently, "my tax as an adult is different from yours."
Mino froze, trembling. "There has to be another way..."
She couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving. Four years ago, her older sister had left the camp to pay taxes and never returned. She didn’t want to go through that loneliness again.
"You forget what you said the first day we met?" Mu Liang asked quietly.
Back then, she thought he was dead and tried to scavenge his belongings—only to be startled when he spoke. He had persuaded her to help him in exchange for his saber and water tank.
At the time, she had said: This is just a deal. You leave right after.
Now, she couldn’t bring herself to repeat it.
Instead, she grabbed a camouflage backpack from under her bed and placed it in front of him.
"I didn’t touch anything inside. Please—just stay."
Luciel looked at her, puzzled. "Why? We’ve only known each other five days. Aren’t you afraid I might be dangerous?"
"I... I don’t know." She lowered her head, fingers twisting at her clothes. She only knew she didn’t want him to go.
After a moment, she suddenly crawled under the bed and came out holding something with both hands. Her face lit up.
"Found it—it’s still alive!"
"What is it?" Luciel leaned forward.
She proudly lifted a small turtle, cradled carefully in her palms.
"A turtle?" Luciel blinked, surprised. He reached out to take it.
And then—
A clear voice rang in his mind:
"Ding! Tameable creature detected. Binding trainer system..."