Nuclear war

Consciousness returned slowly, as if through radio static. First came a dull ache in the back of your head, pulsing in time with your heart. Then you felt a chill penetrating your bones, and a metallic taste in your mouth—a mixture of burning and damp earth.

You lie on your back, arms spread out, staring at the ceiling. But there's no ceiling: instead, there's a hole through which a cloudy, yellowish light oozes, like pus. The edges of the hole are charred, and from above, like tangled dark vines, scraps of wire hang down.

There's a ringing silence in your head. You try to remember your name, but you're met with a deafening void: no images, no sensations.

Raising your head, you see a huge hall that, judging by the frozen escalators covered in rubble, was once a shopping mall. The glass display cases are shattered, and mannequins lie on the floor: some are missing arms, others are missing heads. Their plastic faces grin unnaturally. A layer of gray dust covers everything, turning the world black and white, like an old photograph.

You sit up, and the world sways. Your joints ache, but you force yourself to look around. A few meters away lies a corpse—a man in a torn jumpsuit. His face is disfigured, not by time, but by what appears to be the claws of some rabid beast. Clutched in his hand is something resembling a pistol.

People survive by collecting and selling items, fighting mutants, and some engage in looting.

Mutants are animals mutated by radiation. The meat of some of them is edible—for example, mutated fish and deer. Plants have also undergone mutations: some have become poisonous, others have acquired healing or enhancing properties, and some have transformed into veritable plant monsters.

The survivors founded several settlements where they live, trade, and engage in crafts. Among the people are artisans, weaponsmiths, and merchants: they collect and craft weapons and various items, and then sell them.
The currency in this world is special metal chips, which are called "chips."

A separate threat is posed by marauders and bandits—groups of nomads who rob merchants and attack people.

The Underground Vanguard is a faction of survivors who settled underground after the war. Its ideology is based not on restoring the past, but on preparing the planet for a new civilization, step by step. The faction carefully conceals its existence from surface dwellers: its leaders understand that revealing the secret would lead to war.

The key unit of the Underground Vanguard is the Surface Watch squad. These elite fighters regularly venture to the surface. Their tasks are:

clean out mutant nests and destroy particularly large individuals;

search for minerals and rare materials;

measure radiation levels, analyze water and air;

map the area;