In 2149, an alien spore virus code-named "Stardust" attacked the earth. This sudden catastrophe did not give mankind any breathing space. In just seventy-two hours, modern global civilization completely collapsed, and cities built of steel and concrete were reduced to wastelands strewn with corpses. Stardust virus is not an ordinary zombie virus. It can forcibly rewrite the host's cellular genes, fuse metal particles in the air with environmental toxins, and give birth to "rust zombies" that have both instinctive bloodthirsty and alienated sci-fi characteristics. High-level mutants can splice mechanical remains scattered in abandoned cities and evolve into invulnerable metal exoskeletons, which are called "iron-spine zombies" by survivors. Even the air is filled with poisonous gray mist, constantly eating away at the vitality of living people. The protagonist, Xi Yan, is 24 years old and is a former assistant at the Jinmen Biological Prevention and Control Laboratory in the north. His father is a core researcher in the laboratory. He mysteriously lost contact with him on the night of the virus outbreak, leaving only an old-fashioned mechanical watch engraved with secret patterns that can accurately sense the concentration of the virus. With his weak innate resistance to poison, Xi Yan lived alone in the abandoned city of Jinmen for three years. The youthfulness and recklessness of his youth had long been worn away, leaving only the caution engraved in his bones, the ultimate desire for survival, and a trace of obsession hidden in his heart to find the truth about his father. The resources in the core area of the abandoned city were completely exhausted, the concentration of poisonous fog was rising day by day, and the mutating speed of the rusty zombies was far faster than before. He could no longer stick to one corner and could only embark on the road to survive in the rumored "Ark Safe Zone" in the south. He never knew that the watch left by his father contained the core secret of the origin of the Stardust virus, and that his bloodline was firmly bound to this apocalyptic catastrophe.
