Reborn As SSS-Rank Plunderer's Dominion

All survivors suddenly received a world announcement from the mysterious Order.

[Boom Boom Boom Boom! World Announcement!]

[Survivor "Lone Wolf" has become the first person to awaken an SSS-level talent in the apocalypse! He has earned the unique world achievement: "The Chosen One" and received an immense reward. All other survivors, strive to follow his example!]

The announcement echoed across the world three times.

The next moment, the world exploded into chaos.

"Apocalypse? Lone Wolf? What the hell is this? Are you kidding me? Honey... your teeth are on me... Stop! Ow! That hurts—damn it!"

In a luxurious hotel suite, a rich playboy looked down at the woman giving him a "pecking bird" treatment, his voice breaking in panic.

"I've read over a hundred post-apocalyptic novels—this should be a breeze for me... Oh crap! I'm surrounded by zombies!"

A stunned office intern, recovering from shock, found himself face-to-face with six beautiful yet horrifying zombie women.

"Fuck! Lone Wolf? A person? I thought I got the first kill!"

A burly Russian man armed with a compound bow growled furiously as he loosed an arrow—straight into the head of the woman lying next to him.

Across the globe, disbelief turned to terror. The apocalypse, The Heavenly Cataclysm, had descended!

The skies, already tinged with red, hit a critical threshold and instantly transformed into a deep, bloody crimson.

Vehicles stalled as if drained of power. Sirens wailed, followed by the deafening cacophony of collisions and crashes.

This, however, was merely the beginning of the catastrophe.

Panic spread like wildfire among survivors. The streets teemed with terrified, disoriented people. They watched in horror as their companions, right before their eyes, transformed into the zombies that the Order had warned about—within seconds.

These zombies had blank, pale eyes. Their limbs twitched and moved with an eerie, disjointed rhythm, yet their speed far exceeded that of normal humans.

Their gaping mouths stretched so wide it seemed as if their jaws would split at the ears. From their throats came blood-curdling, inhuman screeches.

Mad with hunger, they charged toward the fleeing crowds.

The city was plunged into pandemonium as countless zombies roared like thunder. Their horrifying howls, mingled with human screams and desperate cries for help, echoed through every street and alley.

In just a few minutes, severed limbs, organs, and pools of blood covered every corner of the earth. The planet had turned into a living hell.

Countless survivors died on the spot, while many more were infected, slowly transforming into new zombies.

The world announcement wasn't just about fame—it came with incredible rewards.

Being featured on the global stage within the very first second of the apocalypse was a huge advantage. There was no doubt about it: Astrea had already taken the lead.

Meanwhile, the star of this announcement, Lone Wolf, was grinning ear to ear as he received his massive rewards.

[Achievement Reward: The Chosen One]

- Reputation +1000

- Gold Coins +1000

- Storage space in wristband expanded to 1 cubic meter

- Title acquired: The Chosen One

Jackpot!

Reputation was a rare and valuable asset. It granted perks like discounts, access to exclusive items, and even the ability to enter special dungeons.

As for gold coins—well, those spoke for themselves.

Once the seven-day newbie period ended, survivors could use gold in the safe zones of major cities to buy essential supplies from system stores.

The expanded wristband storage was a game-changer for Astrea, freeing him from lugging around an oversized backpack.

Normally, increasing a wristband's storage capacity required a hefty sum of gold or the completion of special quests. But now, with a full cubic meter of space, he was set for the foreseeable future.

The most valuable reward, however, was the title. Titles were notoriously hard to obtain, often requiring near-impossible achievements.

Back in the day, when Astrea ranked up to Firelord, he earned a temporary [First Firelord] title, which showed just how rare and precious these titles were.

But this one was different. This was a permanent title.

[The Chosen One]

World-unique title, permanent Awarded to the first survivor to awaken an SSS-level talent in the apocalypse Attributes: +5 to all stats (permanent) Effects: Damage dealt +10%, damage received -10% while carrying the title

A permanent +5 boost to all attributes was equivalent to being four levels ahead of others right from the start.

And that wasn't even the best part—it came with the highly-coveted percentage-based bonuses.

Sure, at this stage, a 10% increase in damage dealt and damage reduction might not seem like much. But in the long run? It would be game-breaking.

By the late stages of the apocalypse, when everyone had become walking stat monsters, the bonuses from a title like this would be incredibly significant.

The only downside? Each person could carry only one title at a time.

Without hesitation, Astrea equipped [The Chosen One]. Who knew how long it would take to get another title?

Outside, the air was filled with the sounds of running footsteps, fighting, and screaming. It was complete chaos.

Astrea decided to stay put until things calmed down a bit. No point rushing out the door and getting caught in the crossfire—what a joke that would be.

After taking a moment to rest, he stashed away several pre-prepared tools into his wristband. From the kitchen, he grabbed a bone cleaver.

It wasn't much, but other than the dagger he had used to assassinate Gina, it was the best weapon he had right now.

Until he got his hands on a proper apocalypse weapon, he'd have to make do with this non-enhanced gear.

Astrea stepped over Gina's lifeless body, deep in thought.

She had been nothing more than a pawn. The real threats were the Snyder family backing her and their ally, Aiken, who had the full support of the White family.

Those were his true enemies—across both lifetimes.

But he knew the power gap between him and the Snyder and White families was vast. He couldn't face them head-on.

He would have to grow stronger, crushing his enemies one corpse at a time, gradually tearing apart their influence.

It didn't matter if they had harmed him intentionally or accidentally, whether they were villains or so-called good people.

Anyone who had hurt him...

They all had to die.

Astrea's mind sharpened with resolve. He already had a target in mind.

From what he remembered, there was a perfect target to plunder right here in his building.

The hallway outside was now eerily quiet. He checked through the peephole to make sure the coast was clear before stepping out of his apartment.

With a quick motion, he sealed off the emergency exit, turning the entire eighth floor into his private domain.

It was a narrow corridor with four apartments per landing—a standard layout for commercial residential buildings.

Only two units were occupied, though. His own apartment and 804, where an elderly couple lived.

The door to 804 was shut tight, but he could hear plenty of noise coming from inside.

The old couple had moved in about a year ago.

Ever since their arrival, a foul stench would often waft through the hallways and windows around their apartment. It wasn't long before Astrea found out why—they were hoarders, using their unit as a dumping ground for trash.

At first, they kept their junk confined to the inside of their apartment. But eventually, even the public hallway became a storage and sorting area for their garbage.

Every morning at 6 a.m., Astrea was jolted awake—not by an alarm clock, but by the clanging and banging sounds of the couple organizing cardboard boxes or stomping on bottles and cans.

Complaints to the property management and even calls to the police didn't solve the problem. Whenever officials arrived, the old man and woman would feign deafness, pretending they didn't understand. Things would improve for two days at most before the situation worsened.

After repeated incidents, the property management gave up entirely, not wanting to deal with the hassle. Instead, they tried to guilt-trip Astrea, urging him to be "more tolerant" for the sake of peace.

Astrea's frustration only grew as he recalled the smug, self-righteous looks the couple gave him whenever they thought they'd gotten away with it—like they owned the entire floor.

In his previous life, the two had turned into zombies at the start of the apocalypse and died by his hand. Killing them had been mildly satisfying, but it hadn't fully scratched the itch of his resentment.

Suddenly, the old woman burst out of apartment 804, shouting as she ran:

"Old man, you have to learn to be more clueless! Stop sweating the small stuff!"

"Relax, the kid's definitely yours! As long as there's a resemblance, that's enough!"

"I just made a mistake—a mistake any normal woman might make!"

"Don't bite me—ah!"

With that, she kicked her husband back inside and slammed the door shut behind him.

Moments later, a loud thudding sound echoed from inside the apartment. The force behind the door-pounding was clearly not something a normal old man could muster.

The old woman slumped to the floor outside, trembling in shock.

Holy shit.

Astrea's mind almost overheated trying to process what he'd just heard.

Those lines—weren't they nearly identical to something Gina had once said?

Now the question was… who plagiarized who?