A sudden, sharp, piercing electronic alert blared from the spare device tightly clutched in her hand.
The sound exploded in the dead silence of the warehouse like thunder!
Su Qianqian jerked violently, instantly alert, her heart pounding. She scrambled to look at the phone screen.
On the screen, at the center of the icy city map, a glaring, blood-red warning box flashed relentlessly.
The border flickered like flames, exuding an extreme sense of doom.
Inside the warning box, a line of bold letters, seemingly written in fresh blood, etched itself clearly into her eyes:
【Area Alert: High-concentration “Primordial Substance” Radiation Detected!】
【Outbreak Coordinates: Jiang City Central Hospital (Old Campus) – Basement Level 3】
【Radiation Intensity: Lv.5 (Extreme Hazard)】
【Radiation Spread Rate: Extremely Fast!】
【Warning: All units in the path of radiation spread, evacuate immediately!!!】
【Countdown: 00:59:59…00:59:58…】
The blood-red countdown numbers ticked coldly and mercilessly, like the stopwatch of death.
Su Qianqian felt her blood freeze instantly.
She snapped her head up, eyes piercing through the warehouse darkness, as if she could see the direction marked “Jiang City Central Hospital (Old Campus).”
A massive, primal fear gripped her chest like an icy hand, squeezing mercilessly.
Radiation?
Primordial Substance?
Lv.5 extreme hazard?
A one-hour countdown?!
What the hell was this?
“Radiation… Primordial Substance…” she murmured in a daze, her voice dry and trembling.
Su Qianqian’s gaze shot through the warehouse darkness and thick walls, as though she could see an invisible cloud of death rising in that direction.
One hour!
Only one hour!
Spread rate extremely fast!
Was the supermarket they were in… in the path?!
She nearly rolled and crawled to Lin Chen’s side. “Lin Chen, wake up! Wake up! Something big is happening!”
Lin Chen’s eyes remained tightly shut. Under the dim yellow light, his face appeared even more ashen, his breathing weak and rapid.
Even the slight steadiness from before seemed gone.
The thick bandages on his arms showed darkening stains spreading further, and the faint stench of decay seemed sharper.
Her calls sank like stones in the sea; he was trapped in the mire of unconsciousness, oblivious to the external crisis.
“What do I do… what do I do…”
Su Qianqian panicked like an ant on a hot pan, the enormous pressure nearly breaking her.
She gripped the phone emitting the death countdown so tightly that her fingertips turned white.
She opened the map again, trembling as she zoomed in and out, trying to find a shred of hope.
On the map, the spreading radiation appeared as an expanding scarlet shadow, like ink dropped into clear water.
It radiated outward in a fan shape from Jiang City Central Hospital (Old Campus).
And the “Huijiale” supermarket where they were… lay right at the edge of that approaching scarlet shadow.
The countdown showed that the red edge would reach the supermarket coordinates in less than ten minutes.
Ten minutes!
Radiation was coming!
“No! We can’t stay here!”
Su Qianqian jumped to her feet, the overwhelming fear transforming into a fierce will to survive.
She had to get Lin Chen out!
Immediately!
Right now!
Where?
Where was safe?
On the map, beyond the scarlet shadow, only the distant suburbs flickered with blue and green markers representing other survivors—far too far.
One hour was not nearly enough to reach them!
Her eyes scanned the map frantically, like a drowning person searching for driftwood.
Suddenly, her gaze landed on a corner of the supermarket’s internal map.
A previously overlooked, inconspicuous gray marker: 【Huijiale Supermarket – Cold Storage (Backup Power: Low-power Mode)】.
Cold storage?
Backup power?
Low-power mode?
A frantic idea crystallized in her mind.
Cold storage, thick insulated walls, sealed space!
Maybe…
Maybe it could withstand a burst of radiation?
Better than being exposed outside!
“Cold storage! To the cold storage!”
Clutching at what seemed like the only lifeline, she sprang into action, ignoring her body’s exhaustion and the stinging wounds on her back.
She quickly checked the first aid kit, carefully stuffing the remaining saline, gauze, antibiotics, painkillers, and the adrenaline syringe into her still relatively clean jacket pockets.
Then, she looked at the unconscious Lin Chen.
His weight was a huge challenge for her, especially in her weakened state.
“Lin Chen… sorry…”
She gritted her teeth, squatted, and with all her strength half-dragged, half-lifted his heavy body, letting one of his arms drape over her frail shoulders.
His head lolled weakly against her neck, his cold breath brushing her skin, sending shivers down her spine.
“Move!”
She used every ounce of strength to support most of Lin Chen’s weight, staggering step by step.
Each movement was grueling; her knees buckled, the wounds on her back screamed with pain.
Lin Chen’s right foot dragged on the floor, scraping with a dry rasp.
The warehouse was small, but dragging him through dim light and stacked obstacles felt like trudging through a swamp.
Sweat soaked her clothes instantly, and her vision darkened intermittently.
She bit her lower lip, tasting blood, forcing herself forward with sheer willpower, inching toward the cold storage indicated on the map.
“Clang!”
She accidentally kicked an empty cardboard box; the noise echoed harshly in the silent warehouse.
The green iron door she had been leaning against reacted, rattling violently.
The door groaned under strain, dust falling from the frame.
Su Qianqian froze, terrified to make another sound, holding her breath as she dragged Lin Chen forward like a snail through the darkness.
Finally, when the countdown showed less than five minutes remaining before the scarlet shadow reached the supermarket coordinates, she spotted the heavy cold storage door, wrapped in silver-metal insulation.
A faint green indicator light glowed—backup power still running.
Hope!
Su Qianqian felt a sudden surge of strength, dragging Lin Chen toward the door. The cold metal sent a shiver through her.
The door handle!
She twisted it hard!
“Click!”
The door… opened!
A blast of ice-cold air surged out, making her shiver uncontrollably.
Ignoring the cold, she summoned her last strength, nearly dragging Lin Chen’s heavy body inside.
She slipped in herself, flipping the door shut with a loud “BANG.”
“Click!”
The lock engaged automatically.
Instantly!
Dead silence!
Absolute, nerve-wracking dead silence.