The strength training was nothing short of brutal. After lifting the dumbbell three times, Cheng Lin’s arms began to tremble; Zhou Yu was even more dramatic—on his first attempt, he slammed the dumbbell onto the ground with a deafening clang, startling Mo Yang, who dashed in from the doorway, baring his teeth in alarm.
The two of them supported each other as they stretched on the yoga mats, sweat streaming down their foreheads and soaking their clothes. Their muscles ached as if they had been dismantled and rebuilt from scratch.
“I… I really can’t do this…” Zhou Yu collapsed onto the mat, groaning weakly. “If I’d known the apocalypse would come, I shouldn’t have stayed up playing games every day. I should have gone to the gym and gotten a membership.”
Cheng Lin was too exhausted to speak. She could only wave her hand, signaling him to be quiet.
Time crawled forward in this monotonous and painful routine.
By evening, the roar of a car engine finally echoed through the yard.
Cheng Lin and Zhou Yu almost jumped to their feet simultaneously, ignoring their aching bodies, stumbling out of the gym and rushing to the living room doorway.
An off-road vehicle had stopped in the yard. The doors opened, and Jiang Feng and Jiang Xuan stepped out, one after the other.
Their appearance was so disheveled that it made the heart tighten.
Their raincoats were torn in multiple places, revealing clothes stained with blood beneath. Their boots were caked in mud. Jiang Feng’s left arm was wrapped in a strip of cloth, dark red blood seeping through and dripping down; Jiang Xuan’s right pant leg had been ripped open, exposing a gaping wound, and faint scratches marred her face, smeared with mud and blood.
Both looked pale to a terrifying degree, their steps unsteady, as if they could collapse at any moment.
“Brother Feng! Sister Xuan!” Cheng Lin exclaimed, rushing forward to support Jiang Xuan. Zhou Yu hurried to steady Jiang Feng.
Mo Yang circled around them anxiously, emitting worried whimpers.
Once inside the living room and seated, Jiang Feng gasped for breath, his voice weak but resolute. “Quick… tie us up first.”
Cheng Lin and Zhou Yu froze in surprise.
Jiang Xuan gritted her teeth, her face as white as paper. She pointed to the wound on Jiang Feng’s arm, then to the injury on her leg. “We… were scratched by those monsters.”
The words sent a chill through Cheng Lin and Zhou Yu. They recalled what Jiang Feng had said yesterday: people who were bitten seemed to turn into those monsters.
“Afraid… afraid we’ll turn into monsters too…” Jiang Feng’s voice dropped, a flicker of fear in his eyes, but he still forced himself to continue, “Tie us tight… don’t let us hurt you… Once tied… then we’ll talk.”
Cheng Lin’s heart felt as if it had been clenched in a hand. She bit her lip, refusing to waste a second, and ran into the storage room to fetch a bundle of sturdy hemp rope.
Zhou Yu snapped back to attention, moving quickly to assist. They carefully avoided the wounds, binding Jiang Feng and Jiang Xuan to chairs. The ropes were pulled tight but deliberately avoided the injured areas, so as not to aggravate the injuries.
Once secured, Cheng Lin finally exhaled, immediately searching for the first aid kit. Iodine, gauze, anti-inflammatory medicine—she laid everything out. She exchanged a glance with Zhou Yu; one would tend to Jiang Feng’s wound, the other to Jiang Xuan’s.
The bloodstains were cleaned bit by bit, revealing deep gashes down to the bone. The edges of the wounds bore a strange bluish-black hue, sending shivers down the spine. Cheng Lin’s hands trembled slightly, yet she gritted her teeth, carefully disinfecting, applying medicine, and rebandaging the injuries.
After tending to the wounds, both were drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted.
Cheng Lin looked at their pale faces and asked softly, “What exactly happened? Is the city in such bad shape?”
Jiang Feng closed his eyes for a long moment before answering, his voice hoarse.
“The city has completely fallen into chaos.”
“When we drove to the outskirts of the city, we saw monsters wandering everywhere, like the ones we encountered yesterday. But today, they moved faster, were more aggressive, attacking anyone they saw. Those things… they were exactly like zombies in the movies.”
Jiang Xuan added, her voice trembling with lingering fear, “We intended to go to the J Bureau to see if there was any official news. When we arrived, the gates were wide open. Inside was a mess, blood and shattered furniture everywhere, not a single soul in sight.”
“The hospitals were even worse,” Jiang Feng continued. “Crowds surrounded the entrances, crying and shouting to get in, while others were fighting and looting. We dared not approach, only watching from afar. The government building’s entrance was closed, guarded by a few uniformed men, their faces grim.”
“Supermarkets along the road were smashed open; some people were looting inside, others robbing travelers. When they saw our car, they rushed at us.” Jiang Xuan’s voice shook. “On the way back, we ran into a group blocking the road. In the chaos of fighting them, the noise drew the monsters. We ran desperately, but we still got scratched…”
Their recounting sent chills through Cheng Lin and Zhou Yu. The city’s situation was far worse than they had imagined.
Silence fell over the living room once more.
Soon after, the two tied to chairs developed high fevers.
Their temperatures climbed, faces burning red, mumbling incoherently. Cheng Lin anxiously searched the house for all the fever reducers, crushed them, and fed them bit by bit.
The medicine had only a slight effect, barely enough to help.
Cheng Lin and Zhou Yu stayed by their sides, sleepless through the night.
They sat on the sofa, unblinking, eyes fixed on the two bound figures, fearing that any second, they might transform into those mindless monsters.
Outside, the acid rain continued to drizzle. Every second felt like torture.
By the next afternoon, the fevers finally subsided.
Jiang Feng and Jiang Xuan slowly opened their eyes, their gazes clear, no longer clouded.
Cheng Lin and Zhou Yu breathed a sigh of relief and reached to untie them, only to see Jiang Feng move his fingers.
A faint golden light suddenly gleamed from his fingertips.
The glow was weak, yet it carried a sharp aura. Immediately, a fruit knife in the living room seemed to be drawn upward, hovering in midair.
“This… what is this?” Zhou Yu widened his eyes, dumbstruck.
Jiang Xuan froze. Instinctively, she lifted her hand, and a sudden breeze swept through the living room, stirring the curtains at the windows and lifting them into the air.
The wind grew stronger, tossing the strands of hair on their foreheads.
Cheng Lin’s pupils constricted as she witnessed the impossible.
Metal-type ability! Wind-type ability!
Wow! They… had awakened as ability users! The realization made her heart race wildly.
She hurried forward and untied the ropes from the two.
Jiang Feng looked at the levitating fruit knife, astonishment flickering in his eyes, quickly giving way to ecstatic joy.
Jiang Xuan reached out, feeling the wind brush against her fingertips, disbelief etched into her smile.
Having survived the ordeal and awakened as ability users, the immense joy washed away the earlier fear and fatigue.
Mo Yang, sensing the jubilant atmosphere, spun around them happily, barking twice.
The living room’s mood, once heavy with dread, finally lightened, filled with relief and excitement.