Chapter 1: Server Host Cheat Mode
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1: Server Host Cheat Mode
When I opened my eyes, a message welcomed me.
[Server configuration complete.]
[Opening the server.]
[Server Host perks activated.]
[Default Modes applied.]
And the Modes that appeared before me left me stunned.
"Whoa. Holy shit. Seriously?"
100,000 hours.
When playing Zombie Apocalypse, my playstyle was diverse.
It wasn't that I actively sought out different playstyles; it was just that after putting in 100,000 hours, I had no choice but to play in every way imaginable.
Otherwise, I would have gotten bored and quit a long time ago.
Yet, even within those diverse styles, my preferences remained rock-solid.
Overpowered. Broken. Solo-cheating. Cheats.
I had installed and played countless Modes, but without a doubt, my absolute favorites were the ones where I slathered on cheats to make the game ridiculously easy.
Some people might ask.
In fact, countless comments on my reviews said the exact same thing:
– Is it even fun playing like that?
To which I proudly reply:
"It's fucking fun."
If it weren't, I would have quit the game ages ago.
If it weren't for those broken Modes, I probably wouldn't have even hit 10,000 hours, let alone 100,000.
It's not that I find the ease of the game itself interesting.
It's the sense of superiority.
I don't have much of an academic background to analyze it from a socio-psychological perspective, so I wouldn't really know.
But I think it's an instinct rooted in a grand psychological desire to achieve in a game what I never could in reality.
In reality, I'm just a loser who escapes into a zombie world, content with merely drawing breath. But in the world of Zombie Apocalypse, I am the absolute best. While everyone else turns into zombies, I survive, acting as a god who carves out his own world in that harsh wasteland.
That's what I love about it.
I love cheat Modes because they make that process a little easier, serving as a stepping stone to build my imaginary kingdom larger and more magnificent.
In that sense, the countless Modes laid out before me right now...
...Modes meant solely for me, are incredibly satisfying.
[We hope you have a pleasant game.]
The final message felt like a continuation of the official response I had received from the Zombie Apocalypse developers, which filled me with pride.
A server just for me.
A Multi-Server.
Honestly, I knew.
In a game with such a tiny, pathetic player base where only a handful of people still played, if anyone found out about a Multi-Server where the Host alone was running dozens of ridiculously broken Modes, even the most hardcore, masochistic players would hesitate to join.
At first, they might join out of curiosity.
It was the first-ever multiplayer experience in a game that originally didn't support it.
What would it be like to survive the apocalypse with other players?
How would they survive?
They would naturally be curious.
But that curiosity would be short-lived.
They would leave soon enough.
Still, I didn't care.
"With Modes like these, I'm perfectly fine playing alone."
If they had officially released Modes like these in the first place, I might never have even thought about quitting the game.
My life was already in the gutter.
I had hit rock bottom and run completely out of money, but if there were Modes this exciting—far more thrilling than any user-made ones—I would gladly take out a loan just to put my real life on hold for a while.
[Proceeding with the Tutorial.]
[The Server Host can determine their survival direction.]
As I was slowly savoring each Mode one by one, another message popped up.
The Tutorial itself was also a Mode designed specifically for the Server Host.
[Mode]
In the original Zombie Apocalypse, there were levels attached to things.
To be precise, levels weren't attached to Modes, but rather to stats or skills. Here, however, the Modes themselves had levels.
Level 10.
Naturally, the higher the number, the better, so the Tutorial was bound to be amazing.
It made sense, considering even I, with my 100,000 hours of playtime, had never known a Tutorial feature existed.
[Selectable Survival Directions]
"What's the Base-Building Type?"
I could guess what the Hunting Type was.
It would be a combat-focused survival style.
Conversely, the Base-Building Type would focus on establishing and maintaining a base.
In truth, these two couldn't really be separated.
In the single-player Zombie Apocalypse, bases and combat were inextricably linked.
Since you couldn't survive without fighting off zombies, you had to raise your combat-related levels as a baseline.
At same time, to sleep safely, you had to build a base, which meant you also had to raise your construction, cooking, and farming levels.
Only when these two aspects meshed together could you meet the basic requirements for survival in a zombie apocalypse where the power and water would eventually be cut off.
In other words, you had to level up both.
But this was a Multi-Server.
"Hmm."
Did I absolutely have to choose just one?
Apparently not.
[A few Modes tailored to your chosen direction will be added, and Points will be awarded.]
[The unselected survival direction can also be unlocked using Points earned as you level up.]
"Phew."
That put my mind at ease.
Since it was a Tutorial, it seemed it would support me with Modes related to my choice.
That made the decision a bit easier.
"Should I go with combat?"
In the early stages, fighting zombies was undoubtedly more important.
I didn't know if the Multi-Server would be the same, but in the standard Zombie Apocalypse, the power and water rarely went out right from the start.
While playing on extreme difficulties usually meant starting with the utilities already cut, a standard game typically gave you a grace period of at least 7 days, and up to 30 days at most, before the power and water shut off.
Because of this, early-game survival wasn't that difficult.
You could easily secure a place to sleep by finding an empty house, checking the locks, keeping quiet, and sleeping without turning on any lights.
On the other hand, combat was a major hurdle.
Facing zombies in the early game without proper gear was harder than one might think.
Especially when your stats and combat skill levels were still low.
That's why combat was more critical early on. Once you farmed enough and grew strong enough to be safe from zombies, only then did grinding survival skill levels for long-term survival become more important.
Naturally, keeping that in mind, the Hunting Type was the logical choice.
Yet, I chose the Base-Building Type.
[You have selected the Base-Building Type.]
My reason?
It was simple.
"There's nothing like a safe, sweet home."
I just wanted to focus on base-building.
I had done more than enough fighting to last a lifetime.
Of course, things might be different on this Multi-Server, but that only made having my own home even more important.
After all, this was a server shared with other people.
Combat-related Modes ultimately boiled down to hunting zombies.
Sure, there would be moments where I'd have to fight other players.
But combat ultimately had its limits.
Once you kill them, it's over.
Besides, the other Modes could be unlocked with Points anyway.
If I had to unlock them eventually, spending Points on combat felt like less of a waste than spending them on base-building.
More than anything, I was curious.
What would it give me?
"Whoa. This is insane."
Content like Safe Bases did exist in the original Zombie Apocalypse.
Under the lore that some people had built safehouses or bunkers when the end times neared, you could find barricaded houses or underground bunkers.
If you managed to find and enter one, they would contain a massive stockpile of food and survival supplies.
They were extremely rare to find, but if they were in decent condition when you discovered them, they were good enough to claim as your own base.
But this Mode allowed me to designate a Safe Base myself.
Although it was only Level 1 and didn't seem to have any special safety options for the base yet, the fact that I could level up the Mode made the potential obvious.
"I wonder if it'll get defense features when I level it up."
Any Zombie Apocalypse player would know that having food rations delivered at Level 1 made this an incredibly broken Mode.
Food, clothing, shelter.
In a game that strictly controlled eating, sleeping, and clothing to the absolute extreme, getting food delivered every single morning?
Even if it was just dry, stale whole-wheat bread, you'd eat it with tears of gratitude.
Of course, a Mode like this would naturally tank the game's difficulty and could potentially ruin the fun.
"...It's going to be so fucking fun."
As I said before, that concern didn't apply to me.
What some found fun, others found to be a tedious chore.
Food, clothing, shelter.
Some people found joy in suddenly having to worry about things they took for granted in everyday life, but others just found it annoying.
This Mode solved that problem.
[Food rations have arrived.]
A large box materialized just inside the front door.
"Whoa, holy shit. They actually give it to me like this?"
The box wasn't completely full, but the contents were enough to make me curse in disbelief.
Two 1.5-liter bottles of water.
Two Hetbahns.
Two small packages of Kimchi.
Two cup ramens.
And a mysterious wrapper.
Opening it, I found a warm bulgogi burger, french fries, ketchup, and a large cup filled to the brim with ice-cold cola.
Taking a bite of the burger, which had a freshly grilled patty and buttered buns, the juices practically overflowed. The piping-hot french fries made me instinctively suck in air to cool my mouth.
"...I love you, Zombie Apocalypse."
I had fallen in love. With this Cheat Mode.