"System, this savior mission, whoever wants to do it can go ahead! Anyway, I can't handle it. You'd better find someone more capable, because I certainly can't crack this dead end."
With that, Xie Qi lay down on the bed, crossed his hands over his chest, closed his eyes, and put on a look of serene peace, as if ready to hit the road at a moment's notice.
Faced with this scene, the System showed not a shred of panic. It calmly replied, "Host, please don't rush to give up just yet. In fact, you have yet to receive the original host's memories."
Hearing this, Xie Qi opened his eyes slightly, revealing a hint of confusion: "So what? Can that change anything?"
The System explained patiently, "Of course it can. As this System has said, the body found for you is definitely advantageous for completing your mission. As for how to proceed, it all depends on your choice."
Hearing this, a subtle change finally appeared in Xie Qi's eyes. After a moment of silence, he said, "Fine, let's take the memories first."
The moment his voice trailed off, another flood of memories rushed into his mind.
The original host shared his name, Xie Qi. In both his past and present lives, and within the narrative plot, he was entirely a cannon-fodder character.
When he was nine years old, he was kidnapped by criminals. To evade police dogs, the criminals shoved the young original host into a foul-smelling garbage truck. He spent three days inside that truck, and his parents died right before his eyes while trying to rescue him.
This sudden catastrophe caused the original host to develop a severe psychological disorder. He became extremely sensitive to even the slightest speck of dirt, as if it touched the deepest scars in his heart and triggered psychological trauma.
From then on, Xie Qi became reticent, full of fear and guardedness toward the world around him. He had always depended solely on his grandfather.
And his grandfather was Professor Xie.
In his previous life, as Professor Xie's only grandson, the original host naturally followed the male lead toward the base. However, on their way back to the base, the original host unfortunately lost his life.
After all, for someone suffering from severe mysophobia and psychological disorders, trying to scrape together a glimmer of survival in such a harsh, apocalyptic environment was harder than ascending to heaven.
Moreover, the original host knew very well that his existence would add endless burdens to his grandfather.
He did not want to see his grandfather constrained everywhere because of him, becoming a tool to be manipulated and used at will by schemers, nor did he want to become a puppet controlled by some ambitious person.
He only hoped his grandfather could conduct research without any burdens, so he had never intended to make it to the base alive.
Thus, when he discovered that the male lead was trapped in a life-or-death crisis while trying to protect them, the original host stepped forward without hesitation, using his flesh and blood to block the zombie's attack for the male lead.
In the end, due to excessive injuries and infection, he died.
However, in this lifetime, the original host's death appeared quite ordinary compared to his past life, because he had starved to death.
After Professor Xie was removed from his post, although his mood was depressed, the sight of his worried grandson instantly dispelled the gloom in his heart. He realized that he was not isolated and helpless; he still had family members who needed his reliance and protection, and he must never sink and fall.
Despite the doubts cast upon him by those around him, Professor Xie was not discouraged. He firmly believed that as long as he persisted in his research, he would surely find conclusive evidence and clear his name.
Therefore, Professor Xie resolutely decided to continue his previous research work at home. He knew full well the immense threat posed by this mysterious virus; if it wasn't stopped, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Pregnant with a sense of mission and responsibility, he threw himself body and soul into this battle against time.
From then on, Professor Xie threw himself into research day and night, forgetting to sleep or eat. Every piece of experimental data and every analytical deduction poured out his endless painstaking efforts.
As time passed, the apocalypse ultimately descended when people least expected it. A huge meteorite fell from the sky! This mysterious meteorite seemed to contain some unknown power, making the previously calm virus instantly appear as if endowed with new life, becoming abnormally restless and excited.
On the day the apocalypse arrived, some people would experience a period of terrifying torment—first running a high fever, and then developing various bizarre symptoms on their bodies.
In the end, they either mutated into ruthless, mindless, ferocious zombies, or gained superhuman abilities after painful struggles, transforming overnight into ability users.
Others showed no reaction at all and were labeled ordinary humans.
Professor Xie was an ordinary human. On the very night the apocalypse arrived, after countless days and nights of research, Professor Xie had only a single cytokine in one test tube survive, ultimately allowing him to brew the only virus serum.
Even at that moment, not even he could be sure whether this serum could truly effectively combat this sudden disaster.
Yet after the meteorite fell, facing those multiplied in activity and maddened viruses, Professor Xie was astonished to find that the viruses which had previously received the serum injections still maintained a relatively stable state.
However, injecting the serum into already active viruses had zero effect.
Just as Professor Xie was about to pass this vital information on to his superiors, a strong sense of unease suddenly welled up in his heart. Without hesitation, he rushed out of the basement and ran toward his grandson's bedroom door.
There, he saw that the nanny hired to take care of his grandson had already turned into a ferocious-looking zombie.
The zombie was frantically slamming against the original host's bedroom door, seemingly trying to break in. Professor Xie had no time to think; he quickly grabbed a handy tool nearby and charged fearlessly at the zombie.
After a bout of fierce struggle, the zombie crashed to the ground and stopped moving. However, Professor Xie's arm was unfortunately bitten by the zombie, blood flowing freely.
Clutching his wound, Professor Xie pushed open the door and saw the original host curled up under the quilt, his body shaking nonstop, his emotions extremely unstable. Heartbroken, Professor Xie had no choice but to inject the original host with a moderate dose of tranquilizer, hoping to calm him down so he could get a good sleep.
Professor Xie knew very well in his heart that he, too, would soon be infected and become like the nanny. Although he held a dose of virus serum in his hand, the serum was useless against already active viruses. Injecting it into himself would not stop his mutation.
So at this despairing moment, Professor Xie made a difficult decision: he injected the single remaining virus serum into the original host's body.
He hoped this medicine would allow the original host to live on safely without being infected by the virus.
After finishing all this, he resolutely chose to end his own life to avoid becoming a zombie that could harm others.
When the original host finally awoke from his deep sleep, he found that his grandfather was no longer by his side, leaving only a letter. The original host originally wanted to live on well according to his grandfather's instructions and wait for rescue personnel to arrive.
Yet as the apocalypse dragged on for a long time, still no one came to the rescue. Unable to leave home on his own due to his condition, the original host ultimately failed to escape his grim fate, cut off from food and external aid for too long.
Tortured by isolation and hunger, he quietly died inside the apartment, leaving this world with endless regrets.