It was the climactic moment of my game, but the enemy's flash bang blinded me. After I reopened my eyes, I found myself in the world of the post-apocalyptic underdog comeback story I'd ranted about to my friend the day before.

No, I wasn't the protagonist with a cheat for a system. Instead, I was the cannon fodder who suffered the worst fate. He also had my name.

I found myself locked outside the armored vehicle while a swarm of high-level zombies had surrounded me. 'Blast,' I thought. 'All this just because I flamed them? And I just made a pentakill after my 8-win streak!'

I told myself to calm down and let my mind do its work, but then the laughter of this body's wife echoed from the walkie-talkie. "Stop covering for him, gunners! We're livestreaming to the whole camp. My husband's going to rip these Tier Six zombies to shreds!"

Then, the woman's useless male best friend buzzed with excitement. "I'll have a permanent spot in the inner city if he distracts the horde and they rip him apart in the process, babe!"

If this went the way of the original story, I'd beg for help only to get no answer and be ripped apart by the zombies.

Fortunately, I wasn't the same coward this guy used to be.

The woman kept egging me on. I sneered. I didn't spend years playing competitive games for nothing.

And so, I grabbed a high-frequency concussion grenade that could get the attention of every single zombie in a 3-mile radius, smashed the ventilation valve of the armored vehicle, and hurled the grenade inside.

Not the Same Person

I led Team Alpha into a Rank S high-infection zone, fought deadly battles, and finally grasped the original serum antibodies in an abandoned underground military lab. That was humanity's hope. I held off the horde just to cover for my team's retreat.

I carved a bloody path despite facing tens of thousands of zombies and dragged my wounded self to the armored vehicle. I initially thought my teammates would welcome me, and my wife would hug me, but instead, the vehicle's door was firmly locked.

Roars belonging to high-tier zombies came from every direction. Overhead, micro drones trained their cams on me, showing the camp's survivors how wounded and in despair I was.

Wade Carter, Jasmine Cole's male best friend, was a useless bum who couldn't muster the guts to kill even a single, regular zombie even though it'd been three years since the apocalypse.

However, he was now ordering me around like he was a king. I heard his voice coming from the military-grade walkie-talkie as he arrogantly said, "Don't just stand there, Jason! You heard Jasmine! Move it! Run right to the eastern ruins and distract the Tier Six zombies!

"You'll never hear the end of it if they scratch the vehicle's bulletproof glass and get in my way of going to the inner city!"

The b*stards were yelling at me from the safety of the vehicle. The zombie virus was quickly spreading through my calf, numbing my body. I clenched my hand around my blade, veins throbbing.

This was where the original Jason got ripped apart by the incoming horde, meeting his demise thanks to treachery.

I was not that cannon fodder. Instead, I was a pro esports player who was used to high-stress situations, and turning the tables in seemingly impossible situations was my thing.

A group of hulking, strength-type zombies was charging straight at me from fifty yards away. I could hear their roars. Every step they took would shake the road. Behind them, countless infected followed.

Jasmine and Wade were still laughing from within the vehicle. I calmly raised my left hand and clicked two buttons hidden on the side of my tactical helmet.

"Video recording synced."

Time to Die

The helmet was a personal item I spent a fortune modifying. After all, I was a top combatant. It wasn't connected to the camp's network and would only save the recorded data in an encrypted chip of the highest level.

To make sure the chip recorded the most damning evidence, I held back the agonizing pain and injected more despair into my voice.

"I protected you and nearly turned into a zombie multiple times for three whole years. I gave you my only lesser ascension potion while I fought the virus with nothing but my own body, and this is how you repay me?"

My question silenced them for a moment before Wade started laughing at me.

He sounded like he'd won the war as he declared, "You're a moron, Jason!" He thought I was a dead man, so he spilled all the dirty little secrets.

"You thought Jasmine loved you? You're nothing but her free muscle and a cash cow! All the high-level crystal core you risked your life collecting was used to bribe the camp's leaders so I could get a spot!

"Remember your sister? You thought you couldn't find her? No, we just dumped her into the horde because she was slowing us down and wasting our food! She screamed for you when her throat got ripped out!" Wade cackled.

Although my soul came from another world, the fact that the original Jason's sister died because of their treachery still fueled me with rage. The memories and bonds he had with his sister flooded my mind, and I desperately wanted to tear them apart.

I growled, "Wade, you're an animal!"

"Curse all you want," mocked Jasmine with sickening sweetness.

She didn't bother hiding her impatience and venom as she continued, "Look in the mirror, Jason. You're nothing but a peasant who reeks of zombies. I'm out of your league. I only dated you because your ability's strong, and you're easy to control."

After a beat, she said coldly, "Alright, enough talking. I saw the cam footage. You've tucked the antibodies into your backpack. Now run into the center of the horde and distract them. Wade's counting on you for a peaceful life in the inner city."

The five zombies were now less than 20 yards away. I could even smell the stench of their breaths. "You want to kill me?" Spine-chilling laughter escaped my lips, and it silenced the b*stards for a moment.

Jasmine snarled in disgust, "What's so funny? Have you gone mad?"

I didn't answer her. Instead, I spat out blood and dug into the deepest layer of my tactical backpack. The original Jason spent all his savings getting this high-frequency military-grade concussion grenade from the black market.

He was going to use it on the Zombie King and take it down with him. Now, I was going to use this on these jerks.

Vengeance

Wade saw the black cylinder I was holding through the cams. He had no idea what it was, but fear drove him to speak, his voice cracking. "What's that in your hand? Put it down, Jason!"

I ignored the mongrel. I held the concussion grenade with one hand and pulled the safety pin off with the other. The digital countdown shrieked across the battlefield.

"If you're sending me to hell, then I'd like to have some company." I clenched my teeth and poured all my remaining power into my legs. I could feel the muscles in my thighs scream as I rocketed into the air and landed on the roof of the ten-foot vehicle.

I landed with a heavy thud, my boots slamming into the steel roof.

"He's on the roof! Gunners, open fire! Smack him down!" Jasmine screamed like a banshee.

The machine gun turret swiveled as hard as it could in an attempt to lock on to me. I was faster than the machine. I held up the armor-breaking bayonet and pointed it straight at the ventilation valve designed to keep out toxic gas.

It was installed with a thick layer of dust filter. So, I slammed the bayonet into the valve with all the strength I had.

Thanks to my ability, the sturdy filter and alloy pieces shattered, revealing a dark shaft that led straight into the vehicle.

"No, Jason! What are you doing? Are you mad?" Wade's shouts were filled with despair. He knew what I was going to do.

"Enjoy getting eaten alive, you animals." I looked into the darkness with a biting chill and tossed the blinking concussion grenade down the shaft.

Then, I leaped off the vehicle and rolled off the impact before hiding behind a gigantic concrete rubble.

A wave of high-frequency sound waves screeched from within the vehicle. The frequency was designed to be nothing more than a dizzying sound to humans.

However, that sound might as well be a homing beacon GPS for zombies that relied on their hearing and senses to hunt. The horde that had been attacking me immediately whipped into a frenzy thanks to the soundwaves, swiftly changing directions.

Thousands of zombies crashed into the vehicle's sturdy glass and armor. I could hear sickening thuds echoing across the air as the hulking zombies jumped onto the roof and tore the machine gun turrets apart with their harder-than-steel claws.

"Help! Go away, you monsters! Go away!"

"Jason, I'm sorry! I'll open the door! Please, save me!"

Jasmine and Wade's screams and pleas came from within the vehicle, but the thick layer of armor stopped their voices from traveling too far. Soon, the zombies' deafening roars drowned out their pleas.

The vehicle was nothing but a sitting duck for the zombies. Meanwhile, I hid in the shadows of the ruins, watching the scene unfold with vindictive satisfaction. My eyes held nothing but indifference as I held the blue-colored original serum antibodies tightly in my grasp.