Pitch-black clouds swept away the brilliant, blazing sunlight, and the entire city was shrouded beneath a gray veil.
Fierce wind drove heavy rain down to the ground, forming pools of standing water.
On the dim streets, umbrella-carrying pedestrians hurried through the water, leaving rings of ripples behind them.
Jiang Shengyue wasn’t driving fast; the closer she got to the city center, the more cars filled the road.
Even with today’s terrible weather, many people were still out and about.
She watched the traffic light, already blurred into a hazy blob by the rain, turn red, and slowly stopped to wait out the countdown.
A figure suddenly rushed in front of her windshield, frantically slapping at the car window!
“Hey! My boyfriend isn’t feeling well! We can’t get a cab right now! Take us to the nearest hospital!”
“I’ll pay you double the fare!”
It was a young woman holding an umbrella, dressed fashionably in a tight pencil skirt.
She had to shout every word, but her voice was still mostly swallowed by the rain.
Jiang Shengyue remained on guard, her gaze shifting to the young man behind the woman, who was equally fashionably dressed—
Something was wrong with this man!
The man’s once young and handsome face had taken on a greenish-white pallor. Beneath his tightly furrowed brow, his eyes were bloodshot, filled with suppressed agony, and the veins on his pale arms, exposed by his short sleeves, were bulging.
A zombie!
More precisely, the early signs of zombification!
In the early days of the apocalypse, infected people converted relatively slowly. Depending on individual constitution, there would be a buffer period of anywhere from half an hour to a few hours.
Judging by this man’s appearance, he had about half an hour—Jiang Shengyue concluded silently.
“Hey! I’ll pay you triple the fare! Come on, let us in!”
Jiang Shengyue saw the light turn green and hit the gas, speeding off.
Her goal for going out today was clear: to loot pharmacies in the chaos. She wanted nothing to do with these messy complications.
“Ah! You splashed water all over me! What the hell! Who wants to ride in your car anyway!”
The young woman’s furious cursing was completely drowned out by the rain.
Just past the traffic light and around the corner was the pharmacy.
Jiang Shengyue parked by the roadside, pulled up the hood of her raincoat, and hurried toward the pharmacy.
“Hey! Miss, this card is mine! Why can’t I use it? Watch out, I’ll file a complaint against you!”
“Ma’am, it’s not my rule. The card didn’t pass verification—it’s not registered under your name, so it can’t be used.”
When Jiang Shengyue entered, she saw the female clerk arguing endlessly with a plump auntie in front of her, who was spraying spit everywhere.
In line by the counter stood a middle-aged man with glasses, his face full of anxiety.
Looks like she’d have to wait a while. From the situation, this area hadn’t encountered zombies yet.
She needed to wait for the right moment.
Jiang Shengyue’s fever made her head throb, and the chill of the wind and rain left her hands ice-cold.
She leaned against the wall by the door with her eyes half-closed, her hands moving constantly beneath her wide raincoat to restore feeling to them.
“Sweetheart, let’s buy some medicine first and try it. These people have no sympathy—not a single one would stop for us!”
The young woman in the pencil skirt walked into the store arm in arm with the man, her pretty face carrying a trace of anger.
It was the same young couple who had blocked her car earlier.
“It’s you?”
The moment she entered the store, she spotted Jiang Shengyue by the door.
She recognized her at a glance—the person who wouldn’t let them into her car at the traffic light and splashed water all over her.
She shot Jiang Shengyue a vicious glare, gave a cold snort, and led the man toward the counter.
A strange glint flickered across Jiang Shengyue’s face, hidden in the shadows.
Wasn’t the right moment here already?
“My boyfriend isn’t feeling well—get us medicine first!”
The young woman, without even glancing at the people already lined up in the store, cut in line as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The middle-aged woman instantly grew anxious and snapped, “Do you even know how to queue? Can’t you see I’m buying medicine? Don’t you know respect for elders?”
“You sound plenty energetic to me, so you’re clearly not in a hurry. My boyfriend isn’t feeling well—what’s wrong with letting us go first?”
Seeing the two about to come to blows, a bespectacled middle-aged man nearby couldn’t help but gently mediate.
“Let’s all calm down, we can talk this through. The boy really does look unwell. Ma’am, how about letting them go first?”
“Why should I? I was here first! You’ve taken a fancy to this little girl, so you’re taking her side?”
The middle-aged woman wouldn’t have any of it. With drooping eyelids, she swept a disgusted glance over the young woman’s short, tight-fitting skirt.
“Dressing like that—who are you trying to seduce?”
“Baby! Look, this old hag is actually picking on me!”
Jiang Shengyue observed the man’s condition and deduced that he was only one final collapse of consciousness away from completely turning into a zombie!
Time to start preparing.
She quickly flexed her wrists a few times, mobilizing the energy in her body to circulate at high speed.
“CRASH!”
Everyone turned in unison to look out the glass window—just a moment ago, a car accident had happened outside!
Two cars had collided head-on. The shrill screech of brakes rang out one after another, thick white smoke spilling into the rain in a chaotic mess.
The middle-aged man was startled and hurriedly pulled out his phone to dial emergency services.
“What’s going on? Both the emergency line and the police line are busy?”
“Ah! Th-that person—is he eating someone…”
The young woman’s eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth with one hand, letting out a cry of alarm.
Everyone followed the direction of her pointing finger—
Not far across the street, a person was hunched over on the ground despite the pouring rain, both hands groping and tugging at something.
As everyone watched in confusion, the person lifted their head and crudely stuffed what was in their hands into their mouth, chewing in great gulps—intestines!
That person was eating intestines!
Rainwater and blood smeared all over their face!
“Ugh—”
The store clerk covered her mouth with both hands, nearly vomiting, and the others didn’t fare much better, their faces turning sickly.
The bespectacled man kept dialing with trembling hands, but every emergency line was busy!
Jiang Shengyue’s expression was cold and calm. Her right hand, which had regained sensation, reached for the dagger at the small of her back.
The Apocalypse had arrived—
“Heh heh…”
“Baby, what’s wrong with you? You haven’t said a word since earlier?”
The young woman heard a strange sound coming from her boyfriend’s mouth and asked in confusion.
Kaboom!
A bolt of thunder exploded overhead, and with the crash, the store’s cold white lights went out all at once!
Everyone scrambled to adjust to the sudden darkness.
“What’s happening?”
“Maybe a fuse blew…”
The clerk’s words made the hearts of those who had just witnessed the man-eating scene tighten.
A flash of blue-purple lightning illuminated the interior, and by its light, everyone finally saw clearly the young man who had made that strange sound—
His skin had turned completely bluish-white, his eyes vacant, his pupils constricted to the size of pinpricks, the large expanses of white crisscrossed with bloodshot red.
His head twitched slightly, twisting stiffly.
His jaws ground against each other with a gnashing sound, as if he were chewing on something.
Combined with the thunder and lightning and pouring rain outside the window, it was scarier than any horror film!
“You… what’s wrong with you? Don’t scare me like that!”
The young woman, trembling with fear, reached out to grab the hem of his shirt.
“Heh!”
Suddenly!
The man seized the woman by the throat! His mouth gaping wide, he lunged at her face!
“Ah—help! Help me…”
The young woman’s throat was seized, her face instantly turning the color of liver.
Both hands flailed desperately against the man’s approaching head, her eyes shooting a pleading look toward the man with glasses.
Crack—
The delayed thunderclap jolted the stunned man with glasses awake.
He hesitated for a moment, then lunged forward to pull the young man away.
By the faint light leaking through the clouds, the three of them could barely be seen grappling together.
Only with all his strength did the man with glasses manage to tear the young man off, dragging the woman back a few steps.
At this point, only the man with glasses, the young woman, and Jiang Shengyue, hidden in the darkness, remained.
The middle-aged woman had long since sensed that something was wrong and was hiding behind the counter with the clerk, not making a sound.
The young man was flung heavily against the hard edge of the counter, the medicine on it scattering across the floor.
As if feeling no pain, he changed direction and charged straight at Jiang Shengyue!
“Ho!”
Jiang Shengyue’s expression didn’t change. The instant the zombie lunged, she sidestepped to dodge it, her gaze locked on.
She raised her hand!
The dagger silently coated itself in a shimmering green layer of Plant-type Energy, stabbing straight at the man!
Unfortunately, the height difference between them was considerable, so the blade only struck the man’s neck.
She activated her Ability, transforming it into vines that entangled and restrained the man’s flailing hands, while the dagger viciously twisted a full circle in his neck!
Then she yanked it out!
Fresh red blood spurted out, speckling Jiang Shengyue’s black raincoat.
Mixed with the rain from her movements, it dripped onto the floor, forming a pool of dark red.
“Roar!”
As a Level 1 Awakened, her energy reserves were too low, and Jiang Shengyue didn’t dare use too much energy—she needed it for the trip back.
The vines on the zombie’s hands could only hold for a few seconds!
It staggered a few steps, steadied its stiff body, and prepared to turn around.
Jiang Shengyue narrowed her eyes slightly. This time, using every ounce of her strength, she stabbed down hard!
Squelch—
The dagger plunged into the man’s temple. Feeling the resistance, Jiang Shengyue activated her Ability again and drove it forward another inch!
Then she stirred the dagger around in the man’s brain several times, completely pulverizing it.
Everyone stood frozen in place, eyes wide, not daring to move.
The light in the store was dim; by the occasional flash of lightning, they could roughly make out the man’s tall frame completely blocking the smaller girl.
The two seemed to be struggling, but it lasted no more than twenty seconds.
Then a knife gleaming with cold light was driven into the man’s head!
The man crashed to the floor. Jiang Shengyue stood there holding the blood-dripping dagger, coldly looking down at the corpse.
Bright red blood spread out from beneath the man, soaking Jiang Shengyue’s black rain boots.
“Ahhh! Murder! She killed someone!” the older woman screamed in panic.
“You killed my boyfriend! You murderer! I’m calling the police to arrest you!”
The shrill voice pierced Jiang Shengyue’s eardrums painfully.
A heavy killing intent rose in her heart. So noisy.
Jiang Shengyue lifted her eyes, and by the light of the lightning, everyone finally saw her face clearly—
A few drops of crimson blood were splattered around her cold amber eyes, and the blue-purple light set off her paper-white face, making her look eerie and uncanny.
Combined with the corpse at her feet, she looked exactly like a deranged killer.
She spoke coldly: “Shut up, idiot. If you attract the zombies outside, I’ll throw you out to them.”
At the same time, she was weighing in her mind whether she could actually do it.