Chapter 86

The ones who returned a little later than Li Jiangbing were Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan.

Their workplaces were close too, both of them located in the High-Tech Development Zone.

The reason the district was called the High-Tech New District was that it contained a high-tech industrial park.

In any case, the two of them didn’t live far away either, and they came back one right after the other.

The security guard greeted them as well.

They weren’t the only ones who worked in the high-tech industrial park. Quite a few residents of the Youth Apartments worked there.

Since so many companies in the same industry were clustered in the area, even when people changed jobs, they usually just moved from one company in the high-tech industrial park to another. That was why they had bought homes there in the first place.

More people gradually returned, all of them employees of the high-tech industrial park. They lived nearby.

The security guard recognized more and more familiar faces.

Some people arrived at the same time and greeted one another.

“You’re back too?”

“Whether you believe it or not, it’ll only delay work by half a day at most. What if it’s true?”

“That’s what I thought too.”

“Mainly because of Jiang Cheng... She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would joke about something like this.”

“Exactly!”

One after another, more and more people returned ahead of schedule.

Jiang Cheng’s mass text had been sent to all the members of the provisional committee—several dozen people.

Those people were also members of all kinds of groups: the provisional committee group, building groups, volunteer groups, death-defying team groups, running groups, fitness groups, ride-sharing groups, gaming groups, dog-walking groups, food groups, and pickup groups.

The residents of the complex were scattered throughout these various groups. Taken together, the groups overlapped enough to cover nearly every homeowner in the Youth Apartments.

So aside from those who were at work and didn’t have the app open, everyone who was online knew about it.

After finding it absurd and impossible, and wondering whether it might be a joke, many people didn’t leap to their feet and decide to go home immediately as Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan had. But after putting down their phones, they grew increasingly uneasy.

In the end, one person after another came back.

The security guard grew more and more nervous. He made another round of the security office, checking that he had enough water and food, that his armor and weapons were in place, and that the door was locked from the inside. Only then did he relax.

What was there to be afraid of? If zombies came, he would just fight them.

The Youth Apartments had the most experience with this, after all.

Jiang Cheng had only been back in her apartment for a short while when she heard someone slap the door twice and shout, “I’m back too! I’m heading in!”

It was Li Jiangbing.

Excellent.

Holding Mo Li, Jiang Cheng sat in a lounge chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing intently down at the courtyard.

She saw hurried figures below.

As they passed beneath her building, she could make out Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan.

She smiled.

One familiar person after another was returning.

Wu Jiancheng, Su Yu, He Tian—even Nie Kuizhang—had all come back.

There were also many people whose names she couldn’t recall but whose faces she recognized.

They ran into one another in the courtyard and exchanged greetings before hurrying toward their respective buildings. They returned to their own apartments, separating themselves from everyone else.

Just as Jiang Cheng had instructed.

Jiang Cheng was very pleased.

She stroked Mo Li’s head.

She wondered whether anyone had considered that among these people rushing home, there would certainly be some who turned into zombies.

Jiang Cheng felt that they had seemingly failed to realize this.

No one thought they themselves might become a zombie. Everyone was thinking, “I need to get home and lock the door before someone else turns into a zombie and hurts me.”

Jiang Cheng closed her eyes and felt her body heating up.

Last time, she had mistakenly thought she was coming down with a fever.

This time, she understood perfectly. Her cells were burning.

Although the cloudy weather made it rather dim, it was still afternoon—nowhere near dusk.

This time, it had started earlier than before.

Like giving birth to a second child: the second came faster than the first.

“Will I become a zombie?” Jiang Cheng asked Mo Li.

Mo Li lay sprawled across her chest.

They had been apart for too long, and he was suffering from separation anxiety. He was especially clingy, stuck to her body and refusing to get down.

He rubbed his fluffy head against her again and again, determined to leave his scent all over Jiang Cheng.

She gently scratched his head with her fingertip and murmured to herself, “If I turn...”

What then?

Should she let Mo Li bite her to death?

Of course not.

“If I turn, I’ll bite you, and you can turn with me.” Jiang Cheng’s lips curved into a smile. “We’ll become the Invincible Zombie King.”

“If you don’t turn, run. Let’s not kill each other.”

Song Jingshuo, on the other hand, returned late.

His company was on Financial Street in the city center, and the traffic was congested. It took him more than an hour to get home.

He parked in the underground garage and hurried toward the elevator.

The moment he stepped inside, he sensed that something was wrong.

His vision went black, and all strength drained from his body.

He struggled to brace himself against the elevator and stand upright, but his legs gave way.

Before losing consciousness, he thought with relief: Trusting Jiang Cheng... had been the right choice.

This time, the transformation occurred during the transition from afternoon to dusk.

And it was a workday.

Although rush hour had not yet arrived, people were already beginning to leave work.

The roads were packed with cars and pedestrians. Office buildings were still full, while restaurants on the bustling commercial streets were beginning to fill with customers. Shopping malls were crowded with people pouring in after work.

Compared with last time, far more people were outside their homes.

They say that when giving birth to a second child, labor is often faster—but more painful.

In a disturbingly apt way, that description applied to the situation before them.

There were simply too many cars on the roads. When the mass unconsciousness affecting the entire population descended, it triggered chain collisions everywhere.

Buses caught fire, and everyone inside burned to death in silence.

Some private cars had anti-theft alarm systems. The impacts triggered them, filling the streets with shrill sirens.

Headlights flashed on and off without pause.

No one put out the fires. Some people didn’t even get out of their cars.

Some lay slumped over their steering wheels. Others had collapsed against their neck pillows. All of them had lost consciousness.

Before passing out, everyone at the Youth Apartments—those who had made it home and those who hadn’t—thought the same thing:

Jiang Cheng had actually been telling the truth.

Those who had rushed back to their apartments closed their eyes in relief.

Those who had ignored Jiang Cheng’s warning and remained outside were filled with fear and regret in the moment before losing consciousness.

Inside the government complex, Vice Mayor Sun’s legs gave out. Even bracing himself against the wall, he couldn’t stand.

He fell to the floor. From his tilted viewpoint, he saw his colleagues sprawled across the slanted corridor, all of them collapsed on the ground.

Vice Mayor Sun realized that disaster had arrived.

That young woman’s warning had actually been true.

In a building as spacious as the municipal government complex, there was little chance of anyone escaping a transformation.

Back then, there had been no survivors in the city surveillance center. They had expended enormous effort to eliminate the zombies and reclaim the building.

That had only been possible because they were still alive. They had all lost consciousness in their own homes, and therefore hadn’t become second-generation zombies at the mouths of the original zombies.

But this time—this time...

The entire municipal government leadership was inside the building.

The same was true of all the government agencies. No one had left work yet; everyone was still in their offices.

Vice Mayor Sun realized that none of the civil servants would escape.

The government was about to be wiped out completely.

Then who would organize the forces, gather supplies, and lead the people in resisting the zombies?

Who?

Once humanity lost its leadership and restraints, the upheaval of the environment would unleash a level of cruelty and evil beyond imagination.

They had seen far too much of that on the wall of screens in the surveillance center.

If...

If only he had believed that little girl...

Vice Mayor Sun, consumed by anxiety, worry, and fear for the nation and its people, fell into a coma.

This time, it seemed to be just like the last.

But this time, many people, like Jiang Cheng, began to develop fevers.

Their cells began to burn.

Their genes continuously recombined.

The human body began changing from its most fundamental units upward.

...

...

Peng Ze suddenly awoke.

For a moment, he was dazed, unsure where he was or what he was doing.

He looked around. Trees surrounded him on every side, dense enough to block his view of anything in the distance. He couldn’t hear a sound.

Then Peng Ze remembered. A zombie had bitten off part of his ear. He had been infected.

He was going to mutate into a second-generation zombie.

To avoid running into the crowds on the streets, he had gotten into an abandoned car and driven north the entire way.

The city center lay to the south. Only by going north could he get away from the crowds.

He had driven all the way to the forest park on the northern edge of the city. It was where people came on weekends to breathe fresh air, exercise, jog, fish, and fly kites.

He had abandoned the car and continued on foot, plunging deeper and deeper into the woods until he reached the dense forest far from the rubber running track.

Hardly anyone ever came here.

He had simply wanted to wait quietly for his mutation. Ideally, no one would discover him. That way, he wouldn’t hurt anyone else.

And then.

Then...

Then, just now, he had suddenly regained consciousness.

Peng Ze stood there in a daze, not knowing how long he had been in that spot. He had no sense of time passing. Could he have fallen asleep standing up? Why hadn’t he mutated yet?

It was still daytime, and sunlight streamed down through the trees.

It looked as if it should be hot, but for some reason, Peng Ze couldn’t feel the temperature.

Suddenly, he no longer wanted to stay there.

His body felt terrible, as though it desperately craved something.

There was nothing here. He had to go somewhere else to find it.

Peng Ze started walking toward the outside. He moved faster and faster, the trees on either side of him flashing backward with a rapid whoosh.

But he didn’t notice anything unusual about his speed.

He raced through the woods. A concrete path appeared ahead, and beyond it was a small earth-covered hill planted with grass and trees.

Peng Ze didn’t follow the concrete path around the hill. Why go around? He shot straight up the slope and saw the rubber looped track used by everyone in the forest park for walking and running.

Peng Ze dashed down onto it.

There was a person lying facedown on the track.

He wore professional-looking running clothes and shoes. He seemed to have just woken up as well and was slowly sitting up.

Peng Ze walked toward him, somewhat concerned, wanting to ask whether he needed help.

But something seemed to be wrong with Peng Ze’s vocal cords. The words he wanted to say came out as an indistinct “Hrrgh... hrrgh...”

The person on the ground turned back in astonishment. When he saw Peng Ze, his expression suddenly changed. He scrambled to his feet and fled at full speed.

Peng Ze reached out, wanting to call him back, wanting to tell him, Don’t be afraid. I haven’t mutated yet.

Then he saw his own hand—

Blue-green skin. Blackened nails.

Peng Ze slowly turned his palm over, his gaze fixed upon it.

So that was it.

He had already mutated.

A faint fragrance drifted over, activating his genes.

What was that incredibly alluring scent? It lingered in the place where the man had just been lying.

It smelled so good.

This was what his famished body had been craving.

Peng Ze couldn’t stop himself from running. He sped up with every step, chasing after the man.

The farther he pursued him, the stronger the fragrance in the air became.

Soon, he saw the man’s back.

Peng Ze accelerated.

The athletic runner summoned the fastest speed of his life in a desperate bid to survive.

Terrified, he ran while looking back over his shoulder.

But to his horror, he saw the zombie leap into the air, arms spread wide, pouncing on him like a giant bird!

Peng Ze locked his arms around the runner from behind.

Then he bit down, sinking his teeth into the back of the runner’s neck.

The body.

The flesh.

Meat.

Skin.

Blood.

It was exquisite.