Tower of Dawn

Wang Zhi is a twenty-five-year-old software programmer who spends his days isolated in his apartment, developing tools to bypass electronic vehicle security systems. After completing a program capable of hacking car keys, he anticipates selling it on the dark web for significant profit. His routine is interrupted by an anonymous delivery containing a black metallic card with the ID number 6911 and a parchment bearing coordinates and the message that the end is near. The card links back to a mysterious dark web subscription called the Liangta project, which promised light during darkness. Trusting his instincts, Wang Zhi travels to the coordinates located in a government construction park, where he meets Lao He, a muscular man in his thirties who received the same card from his father. Their search leads them to an underground air raid shelter, where they encounter Ying, a silver-haired woman who appears silently from the shadows. The trio descends into the facility, discovering Liwei Tower, an underground ark designed as humanity's last refuge against an impending global catastrophe.

Upon entering the tower, the group learns from a smart assistant named Lingling Yao that a great disaster will transform humans into mindless zombies, likely occurring by November. The tower operates on a system of survival points, the sole currency for food, weapons, and upgrades. Wang Zhi forms a team named Afterglow of the Setting Sun, with himself as captain, alongside Lao He and Ying. They are soon joined by Li Feihong, a chubby mechanic who arrives with five suitcases full of food supplies. The team also encounters Sakura, a beautiful mercenary from the Black Rose organization, who becomes a key member. As they settle into their new life underground, tensions rise with rival factions, particularly the Red Flame team led by Zhao Yang, who covets Sakura and challenges Wang Zhi to a duel. The tower's security captain, Jie Xi, intervenes, punishing the aggressors and awarding Wang Zhi's team a portion of their deducted survival points.

Wang Zhi dedicates himself to training, learning to use firearms from Sakura and mastering daggers under Ying's guidance. The team works to accumulate enough survival points to upgrade from Level 1 to Level 2, which allows for more members and better facilities. Their preparation is cut short when the apocalypse arrives; zombies appear on the surface, and the tower's leadership, known as the Tower Master Light, announces that all survivors must participate in surface missions or accept permanent labor in the industrial or ecological sectors. Wang Zhi's team accepts their first outdoor mission: to rescue survivors at S University within forty-eight hours. They are awarded five hundred survival points for being the first team to accept the task, which also pushes them to Level 2 status.

The team prepares extensively for the mission, purchasing suppressors, ammunition, tactical hazmat suits, grenades, and high-quality weapons from the tower's stores. They learn that they will travel by helicopter and parachute into the target zone to avoid attracting zombies with engine noise. On the day of departure, Wang Zhi, Lao He, Ying, and Li Feihong don their protective gear and board the helicopter. They ascend through the underground facility and emerge into the overcast sky, witnessing the ruined city and hordes of zombies below for the first time. The mission marks the beginning of their struggle on the surface, where they must navigate the deadly new world while trying to save as many lives as possible to secure their survival in the tower.