[ Countdown: 143 hours 18 minutes before dimensional convergence is complete ]
6:52 a.m. Mae Wilit's Curry-and-Rice Shop
“Bing! What the hell are you spacing out for? Scoop the braised pork!”
Mae Wilit's voice yanked Bing out of his plan to save his mother's life and back into reality.
The young man looked down at the ladle in his hand.
Less than ten minutes earlier, he'd announced to Grandpa Phoeng that he was going to pull one over on God, stockpile resources, and turn this curry-and-rice shop into the safest place possible.
Now he was scooping braised eggs.
“Yes, Mom.”
“Two eggs! Why'd you scoop three?”
Bing calmly tonged one egg back into the pot.
Save humanity later.
Protect the shop's profit margin first.
The old television in the corner of the shop suddenly crackled before the regular news was cut off and replaced by a special report.
“‘Throughout the night, reports of abnormal incidents have emerged simultaneously in multiple countries around the world. At this time, no agency has been able to confirm the exact cause...’”
The images changed in rapid succession.
Bangkok—A large creature moved through a drainage tunnel.
Japan—A human-shaped black shadow appeared on a security camera at a train station.
India—Part of a river turned dark red.
Brazil—An unidentified plant grew several meters tall in a single night.
Germany—Thousands of birds dropped from the sky at the same time.
The United States—Police shut down a highway after an unidentified creature attacked cars.
The final image was a map of the world.
Red dots blinked on every continent.
One hundred.
Two hundred.
And then more and more.
The clinking of spoons in the shop gradually fell silent.
“Is this a war or something?”
“Aliens?”
“Probably an AI-generated video.”
Bing, who was scooping green curry, spoke without looking up.
“If AI can really change the color of a river, you should stop watching the news and hurry up and buy stock in that company.”
The customers turned to look at him.
“Aren't you scared?”
“I am.”
“See?”
“Pork prices went up again. If the world ends slower than pork prices rise, I think my shop's going under first.”
“Bing!”
His mother's voice came from the back of the shop.
“Yes, Mom.”
A System Window appeared at the corner of his eye.
[ The overlap rate of the dimensions is increasing. ]
[ The appearance of otherworldly life-forms has been detected worldwide. ]
[ Recommendation for Early Access users: Stockpile resources and level up as quickly as possible. ]
Bing narrowed his eyes.
“You don't have to rush me. My ass is already on fire.”
The customer at the counter froze.
“What did you say?”
“Just complaining about the pork, bro.”
8:17 a.m.
“Tsum's Auto Repair Shop”
Grrrrrrrrr!
Sparks from the grinder scattered all over the floor.
Tsum, a twenty-one-year-old man in an oil-stained work shirt, was bent over, diligently welding a motorcycle exhaust pipe.
“Tsum.”
No reaction.
“Damn it, Tsum.”
Grrrrrrrrr!
Bing picked up a fourteen-millimeter wrench.
“I'll throw it.”
The grinder shut off immediately.
“Throw my ass!”
Tsum lifted his welding mask.
“What business do you have here this early?”
Bing set a sheet of paper folded in half on the table.
“I need box steel, sheet metal, a generator, car batteries, a water pump, a water tank, and I need you to help weld reinforcement around the shop.”
Tsum looked over the list.
“Budget?”
“Twelve grand.”
He slowly raised his head.
“Twelve grand what?”
“Baht.”
“I thought you meant dollars.”
“Do I look like a man with dollars?”
Tsum tossed the paper back.
“Go die.”
Bing caught the paper.
“I’m trying to avoid that. That’s why I came to you.”
“What are you doing all this for?”
Bing answered with a perfectly deadpan expression.
“The world ends in six days.”
Tsum stared at his friend for three seconds.
Then he picked up his phone.
“I’m calling your mom.”
“Why?”
“To tell her to take you in for a drug test.”
Ding!
A notification popped up on Tsum’s phone.
A video from a market in Khon Kaen had been shared in a community group.
The footage shook violently as people ran from something.
A four-legged shadow leaped over a fruit vendor’s cart before the image cut out.
Tsum watched it again.
The smile slowly disappeared from his face.
“What is that?”
“If I had to guess... a Rank G demon.”
“A what rank?”
Before Bing could answer—
[ Ding! ]
[ Demonic energy detected within 86 meters. ]
[ Quantity: 1 ]
[ Estimated rank: G ]
Bing froze.
Eighty-six meters.
He turned toward the spare-parts warehouse behind the shop.
Clang!
The sound of metal being struck rang out.
Then came a man's shout.
“Hey! Get out of here!”
The color drained from Tsum's face.
“Hia Chai!”
He grabbed a length of steel pipe and immediately ran.
Bing seized him by the collar.
“Where do you think you're going?”
“Hia Chai's in there!”
“And you're going to beat something an ordinary person can't fight with a plumbing pipe?”
“Then what, I'm supposed to stand here and watch?”
Bing fell silent.
That answer made his grip on Tsum's shirt loosen.
“Yeah.”
Bing drew the enchanted ritual knife from his waist.
“But do what I tell you.”
Inside, the warehouse was darker than usual.
The stink of rusty metal hung thick in the air.
Hia Chai lay behind a crate of tools, three claw marks raking his left leg as blood pooled across the floor.
In the middle of the warehouse—
A doglike creature was bent over, eating scraps of flesh from a garbage bag.
It was about the size of a large dog.
Its skin was gray-black.
Its front legs were unnaturally long.
And its mouth split into four jagged sections.
[ Corpse-Ripping Hound ]
[ Rank: G7 ]
[ Racial abilities: Explosive Muscles / Blood Scent ]
[ Secondary ability: Unknown ]
[ Individual experience: Unable to assess ]
Bing frowned.
“System.”
[ Please state your question. ]
“Why didn't you tell me its secondary ability?”
[ Insufficient data. ]
“Oh, you piece of shit. Then what the hell are you here for?”
The Corpse-Ripping Hound raised its head.
Its red eyes fixed on Bing.
“Tsum.”
“What?”
“Get Hia Chai out.”
“What about you?”
“Working mandatory overtime.”
“You're going to fight that thing alone?!”
“I didn't say I was going to fight fair.”
Bing kicked over an old engine-oil drum.
Black liquid spilled across the floor.
The monster lunged!
Fast!
Several times faster than the first Abyssal Slave Rat.
Bing's mind saw the movement.
Saw its shoulder drop low.
Saw the muscles in its hind legs contract.
Knew where it would lunge.
But—
His body couldn't keep up!
“Shit!”
Bing twisted with all his strength.
Slash!
The claws raked his side.
His shirt tore.
Blood sprayed.
His body slammed into a metal rack with a thunderous crash!
Pain shot through his head, making his vision go black.
[ HP has fallen drastically. ]
“You don't need to tell me that. I know!”
The Corpse-Ripping Hound spun around.
Bing gritted his teeth and got back up.
His calculation had been wrong.
It wasn't just speed.
When it lunged—
The muscles in its hind legs had nearly doubled in size.
Its secondary ability!
Burst Step.
It lunged again.
This time Bing knew what was coming.
But the space was too tight.
There was nowhere to dodge!
The claws shot straight at his chest.
Whoosh!
The knife in his hand flared hot.
Red runes lit up on their own.
Bing's arm was yanked sideways as if someone had pulled it.
Slash!
The claws that should have pierced his heart instead cut across his shoulder.
Blood splattered.
“Gah!”
Bing dropped to one knee, slamming it into the floor.
But his eyes remained locked on the creature.
“That just now...”
There was no time.
It was turning back around.
Bing grabbed the welding cable lying on the floor.
“Tsum!”
Tsum, who was dragging Hia Chai toward the door, turned around.
“What!”
“The breaker!”
Tsum understood immediately.
He yanked the lever.
Crackle!!
Sparks exploded from the cable Bing had thrown onto the engine oil.
The fire flared up!
The Corpse-Ripping Hound froze on instinct.
For only a fraction of a second.
But that was enough.
Bing closed the distance.
Not because he was faster—
Because he knew it would retreat.
The black knife drove into the joint beneath its jaw.
Stab!
The monster thrashed.
Its tremendous strength sent Bing flying.
But the knife remained embedded.
Bing clenched the hilt.
“I just...”
He twisted his wrist.
“...got these stitches. They weren't free, you mangy mutt!”
Shunk!
The blade severed its nerve core.
The G7's body spasmed.
Then it collapsed.
Thud!
[ Kill successful. ]
[ EXP +35 ]
[ Received: Corpse-Ripping Hound Fang x2 ]
[ Received: Explosive Muscle Core x1 ]
Bing sat with his back against a wooden crate, breathing hard.
Blood from his side ran down his pants.
His left shoulder was almost impossible to lift.
Tsum ran back.
“Bing!”
“Don't shake me...”
“You're bleeding!”
“Thanks for the information my eyes already gave me.”
“You're still mouthing off!”
“When I shut up, then call an ambulance.”
Tsum ripped off his own work shirt and pressed it to the wound.
Bing looked down at the knife.
A moment ago, it had moved his arm on its own.
Of course.
He hadn't dodged those claws in time.
If it hadn't helped—
His heart would have been pierced.
A small window appeared.
[ Guardian mechanism activation detected. ]
Before the next message could appear—
Whoosh!
The window vanished.
Bing narrowed his eyes.
“Wait a second.”
Silence.
“Come back.”
Silence.
“Damn system.”
No answer.
Bing looked at the knife.
Then he gave a quiet, bitter laugh.
“Yeah... keep your secrets.”
Outside the warehouse, sirens were drawing closer.
But what Bing still didn't know—
At that same moment,
In Tokyo, London, Cairo, New York, Bangkok, Mumbai, Moscow, and thousands of other cities...
Humanity was facing the same thing.
Some places had killed it.
Some were studying it.
Some—
Already had people dead.
And while governments around the world were still arguing over what these creatures were,
some private companies had begun offering money for the corpses.
Groups of people on the internet had begun compiling information.
Security agencies had begun sealing off areas.
The black market had begun asking the price of “parts.”
Humanity still didn't know the world was changing.
But there was one thing humans always learned faster than survival—
How to ask,
“How much can this thing sell for?”
Bing, who was having Tsum press down on his wound, glanced at the two black fangs on the floor.
“Tsum...”
“What now!”
“Pick up the fangs for me too.”
“You're about to die!”
“That's because I haven't died yet.”
Bing drew in a painful breath.
“My drop.”
Tsum stared at his friend.
“You asshole...”
[ Time remaining: 141 hours 43 minutes ]
Above the entire world—
The rifts no human could see in their entirety
were multiplying in silence.
And on the other side...
Something was waiting.