TLDR;
Doja, the sole reader of a web novel called "Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse", finds himself living the events of the story when the world suddenly changes. He uses his knowledge of the novel to help himself and others survive the challenges set by the gods and constellations. He teams up with characters from the novel, including the protagonist Jung Hyuk, to overcome deadly stages, battles monsters, and ultimately aims to change the tragic ending of the story.
- Doja uses his knowledge of the novel to survive.
- He teams up with characters from the novel.
- The group faces deadly stages and monsters.
- Doja aims to change the tragic ending of the story.
The Last Reader [0:00]
In Korea, a web novel called "Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse" has only one reader left, Doja, who has been reading it since middle school. The story follows Jung Hyuk as he battles hardships in a collapsing world. Doja finds the novel inspiring and it helps him through difficult times. As Doja finishes his temporary contract at a company, the novel also ends, leaving him disappointed with its tragic conclusion where Jung Hyuk is the only survivor. He sends a message to the author expressing his dissatisfaction.
The Apocalypse Begins [0:36]
While on the train, Doja receives a reply from the author thanking him for being the only reader and suggesting he write his own ending. Suddenly, the train stops, and a voice announces the start of paid content for planetary system 8,612. A creature called Decab appears and announces that humans will be punished by the gods and must complete stages to determine their fate. Holograms appear, explaining the first stage: kill a living organism within 10 minutes to receive 300 coins or face death.
The First Stage [1:49]
As the passengers panic, Doja notices Jung Hyuk in another car and realises they are living the events of the novel. Remembering the rules, Doja grabs an ant farm from a kid named Gilong and kills an ant, earning coins and gaining everyone's attention. A fight breaks out over the ants, and Doja is attacked by Nam Wun, a character from the novel. Doja uses his coins to increase his strength and fights back, but Nam Wun activates a skill that overpowers him. Doja destroys a tube of ant eggs, earning more coins, which he uses to increase his stamina and agility, allowing him to defeat Nam Wun.
Choosing a Constellation [3:55]
With the timer about to reach zero, Doja protects an old lady by giving her an ant to crush. The stage ends, and those who failed are killed. The Decab congratulates the survivors, who are then presented with sponsorship offers from constellations. Doja declines sponsorship for now. The train begins to fall into the river, and Doja helps a former soldier, Yansong, open the doors using special skills. As the survivors escape, Doja rescues Gilong and they are faced with a new stage: crossing the bridge.
Crossing the Bridge [5:00]
The monster smashes the bridge, creating a gap, and the Decab sends dead people to chase the survivors. SA activates her skill, creating a temporary road across the gap. Doja warns them about poisonous gas and suggests going to the subway station, but he remembers that Jung Hyuk dies there in the novel and decides they must keep Jung Hyuk alive to prevent a reset. Jung Hyuk confronts Doja, questioning his knowledge of future events.
Inside the Monster [6:07]
Jung Hyuk drops Doja into the water, where he is swallowed by the monster. A new stage begins: kill the monster and escape. Doja surprises the Decab, Bhong, by knowing its name and its desire to ascend through streaming. He leverages this knowledge to get Bhong to sign an exclusivity contract. As the monster's stomach fills with acid, Doja buys spikes to block the acid ducts, a strategy he learned from the novel, ultimately killing the monster.
Ether of Faith [6:55]
After killing the monster, Doja retrieves its nucleus and trades it for a rare item called Ether of Faith. Bhong gives him an item starter pack, including a mask. Doja puts on the mask and collapses on the shore, receiving numerous sponsorship offers, which he ignores. He finds a store with dead bodies and a barely alive girl, Hiwan. A monster attacks, and Doja rescues Hiwan, bringing her to the subway station.
The Subway Station [7:40]
At the subway station, Doja encounters a group of thugs who abused Hiwan in the novel. He spends coins to increase his strength and defeats them. A group of survivors, including Sona and congressman Anho, arrive. Anho leads the survivors by organising hunting parties to earn coins. Doja learns that residents must pay a survival fee to high-level players for protection.
Inho's Betrayal [8:33]
The residents ask Doja to share his coins, but he refuses Inho, remembering he is a villain from the novel. Inho reveals he sold himself to the constellations and becomes a monster. Doja agrees to help by completing the stage instead of giving them money. He forms a team and ventures into the tunnel, where they battle monsters. Sa is captured, leading the group to the ground rat's shrine.
The Ground Rat's Shrine [9:34]
At the shrine, they must eliminate the warden of the dark. A larger monster appears, and Doja's attack is blocked. The monster activates a skill that traps Hiwan in an illusion of her past trauma, but Doja frees her. Yan is caught in the illusion, reliving his worst memories from the army. Doja tries to save him but is blocked.
White Star Pure Energy [10:23]
Doja calls Bhong to open the shop and tries to buy White Star Pure Energy, but he is short on coins. Hiwan attacks the boss monster, and Doja joins her, earning enough coins to buy the White Star. He inserts it into his weapon and kills the horde dealer, freeing Yansong from his memories. The group receives rewards from a treasure chest, including a broken sword for Doja, which he knows is the broken faith.
The End of the Stage [11:13]
Doja explains the properties of the rocks that fell during the fight. The group returns to the station, where Hiwan kills the gang leader. Inho attacks, but Hiwan receives a new skill and defeats all the thugs. As Inho is about to be killed, the residents stop her, explaining they fear the next stage will be harder. Inho escapes, but is shot by a sniper named G, ending the stage.
The Green Zones [12:21]
G explains they must complete a new stage to leave. The voice announces that there are 104 survivors and only 52 green zones, leading to fighting for spots. A gang led by Pilldu charges coins for spots in a VIP area. G reappears with a message from Jung Hyuk, who agrees to fight together if Doja leaves his group and survives alone for the night.
The Illusion Prison [13:15]
Doja goes to a specific spot that turns green. Bhung announces that green zones will vanish and reappear. Doja tells his team to fight for survival, but Hiwan chooses to fight the monsters instead. The others help Hiwan, and Doja follows. Jung Hyuk is waiting by one of the portals, protecting Gilong. He offers Doja a spot in the green zone if he abandons Gilong.
Sacrifices [14:10]
Doja refuses to abandon Gilong and leaves him with Jung Hyuk before running away, drawing the monsters' attention. He eats a glowing rock and is taken to the illusion prison, where he relives a traumatic memory. Jung Hyuk enters the illusion and confronts Doja about his past choices. In the morning, Doja wakes up to find his team protected him while he was unconscious.
The Final Green Zone [15:05]
Doja realises that Yansong will die fighting the dragon. The voice announces there is only one green zone as punishment for helping each other. The green zone appears under Pill Du. Doja asks G for help, but she refuses. He calls Bihong and offers all his coins to Pildu to take the green zone. Pildu accepts, and Doja smashes the green zone.
Fighting Together [16:00]
G shoots the green zone to destroy it. Doja points out that if everyone had fought together, nobody would have died. He transfers the money to Pilldu, who protects everyone and opens his VIP zone for free. The monsters attack, and Pildu's security system eliminates many of them. Doja, Sana, and Hiwan fight the remaining creatures.
The Dragon Appears [16:18]
A dragon appears, and Jung Hyuk fights it, but the constellations raise the difficulty. The station appears in outer space, and the dragon transforms. Jung Hyuk's sword shatters, and he is stabbed by the dragon. Doja swallows an item to protect him from the flames. Sona drags Jung Hyuk to safety, and Doja takes over the fight.
The Plan [17:02]
While the dragon is distracted, Gilong controls a monster to attack it. Yanung awakens his special skill, transforming his gauntlet into a shield. Sa creates a web bridge for Hiwan to attack the dragon. The plan is to stab the dragon's core, but that will kill the attacker. The mission reward will revive one person.
The Dragon's Core [17:45]
SA restrains the dragon, and Doja jumps to stab its chest, but the sword doesn't go through. Gi shoots the dragon's chest, creating a crack. Jung Hyuk pierces the core, and his flaming body falls to the ground, activating his skill to send him back. Doja receives the ether of faith and transforms his sword.
A New Ending [18:26]
The team distracts the dragon, giving Doja time to kill it. The stage ends, and Doja revives Jung Hyuk. The station returns to normal, and Jung Hyuk is surprised that Doja survived. The crowd celebrates, and Doja is confident they can write a new ending for the story.
