Apocalypse: I Picked Up a Cyber AI from the Start

Lin Yue transmigrates into a parallel world, landing on the assembly line of an electronics factory on the verge of bankruptcy. A new app has appeared on his phone, and he can't delete it. It calls itself Capricorn, an artificial soul weapon created by Arasaka Corporation, with a perfect compatibility rating.

He thinks it's his golden finger. Capricorn pops up a message: "Host, please remain calm. Based on our data models, there is an 87.3% chance of a zombie virus outbreak in this world. Countdown: 7 days."

While others stockpile canned food, he hacks the supermarket's inventory system. While others look for axes, he uses crude methods to refine chips. While others run from zombies, he makes them all collapse at once. All it takes is cutting off their motor nerve signals. A physical exorcism is far too crude.

The virus breaks out right on schedule. Lin Yue escapes the zombie horde with Su Wan, a supermarket stock clerk, and unexpectedly runs into the holder of another chip: a half-zombified former Arasaka security guard. After taking the chip, a new voice speaks from Capricorn: "Hello, Lin Yue. My name is D. The thing you have was hidden by me before I died."

From the ruins of the city to underground laboratories, from the Ark Base to the Purification Force's command ship, Lin Yue gradually discovers the truth: the virus is no natural disaster, the chip is no gift, and the ghost named D inside Capricorn is hiding a deadly secret about "compatibles."

"Full-spectrum broadcast detected. Arasaka's Purification Force will arrive in 90 days. Objectives: recover all chips and eliminate all compatibles."

Lin Yue glances at Capricorn's countdown, then at the last can of luncheon meat in Su Wan's hand. "Let's eat first. We need full stomachs to have the strength to run."