In 2073, humanity’s excessive exploitation of “stellar core energy” triggered a global energy imbalance, and “gray fog” covered 70% of the Earth’s surface. The fog slowly corroded metal and degraded buildings, and it also spawned “mutants”: creatures transformed by energy radiation. They lost their reason, preyed on living things, and could evolve rapidly. Meanwhile, resources in the “clean zones” untouched by the fog were desperately scarce. Major factions fought brutal battles over water and stellar core fragments, which could be converted into energy, and human civilization teetered on the brink of collapse.
The “Westwind Temporary Camp” where bioengineering graduate student Wei Feng lived stood on the edge of a plain. It was a small survivor outpost converted from an abandoned highway rest stop. Its 53 residents relied on a crude perimeter fence and traps to keep out low-level mutants, and had to send people to gather supplies near the edge of the gray fog every day. The camp had a rigid hierarchy. Its leader, “Brother Zhao,” monopolized most of the food and medicine, while ordinary survivors could only exchange meager “mission points” for necessities. Tensions simmered beneath the surface.
