After testing her abilities, Ru Jiao calmed herself down and gathered her thoughts.
It was now eight in the morning. Since it was the weekend, office workers were off duty and schools were on holiday. Most people in the city center were happy to spend their free time going out, making the downtown area particularly crowded.
The old residential complex where Ru Jiao lived was different. Although it wasn’t far from the bustling commercial district, most of its residents were elderly, so there wasn’t much foot traffic.
Ru Jiao knew that those infected with the virus, as well as those who had yet to regain consciousness after falling into comas with high fevers, were already slowly turning into zombies.
She opened Weibo and browsed the local posts. Suddenly, she came across a short video someone had uploaded, which had been filmed at a subway station.
In the video, a man suddenly began convulsing violently before collapsing to the ground. People nearby hurriedly took out their phones and called 120, while a doctor stepped forward to examine him.
Just as everyone was watching the situation unfold, the man suddenly stopped convulsing. Without warning, he lunged forward and bit down on the doctor who had been examining him.
The camera began shaking as several men in the crowd rushed forward to pull him away. The doctor had been bitten so badly that blood was pouring from his wounds.
After considerable effort, the men finally managed to restrain the frenzied man. However, they then witnessed the doctor’s body twisting and contorting into positions that no human body could possibly achieve. With a terrifying roar, he lunged at the people nearby.
Everyone was horrified. Fortunately, medical personnel arrived just in time, quickly restraining both men and loading them into an ambulance.
The video abruptly ended there.
The comments below had already exceeded 99+.
【What’s happening here?】
【This is terrifying! Is it some kind of new virus?】
【Well, I know this sounds crazy, but… doesn’t he look like a zombie from a zombie movie? How terrifying…】
…
When Ru Jiao saw someone mention zombies, she decided to leave a comment of her own.
【He really looks like a zombie. This is terrifying! The virus seems to be spreading incredibly fast. Everyone should be careful when going out lately, or better yet, avoid going out unless necessary and stock up on supplies at home.】
After she posted the comment, some people cursed at her while others agreed with her.
Ru Jiao could only sigh helplessly. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell everyone that the apocalypse was coming. Even if she did, nobody would believe her. She was just an ordinary person with little influence, so all she could do was offer a few indirect warnings.
Even that was enough to attract constant online attacks from some people.
Ru Jiao put down her phone.
The virus would truly erupt nationwide at 9:30 that morning. By then, those who had been infected would have completely lost their minds as the virus took over their bodies. Those who had collapsed with high fevers and fallen unconscious would also awaken…
9:25 a.m.
Ru Jiao checked all the doors and windows. She took a sixty-centimeter-long metal rod out of her space and tested its weight. It felt reasonably comfortable to hold.
She then took out a hat and mask to conceal her appearance, changed into a black tracksuit, and put on a pair of lightweight shoes.
Fully prepared, she stood ready for what was about to come.
9:30 a.m.
A series of terrifying roars suddenly echoed throughout the residential complex. People could be heard screaming for help as they fled in panic.
Even from the neighboring apartment, Ru Jiao could hear repeated growls.
The internet had already descended into chaos.
Countless videos and pictures began appearing online, each more horrifying than the last. Bustling shopping malls, crowded subway stations, hospitals, and countless other places were suddenly overrun with zombies.
They appeared right in the middle of crowds, biting anyone they could reach.
People fled in terror. Some weren’t fast enough and were trampled to death in the ensuing stampedes. Others were crushed together in narrow spaces, unable to move, forced to watch helplessly as zombies attacked those on the outskirts of the crowd.
Once the people on the outside were infected and turned into zombies, they immediately began opening their bloody mouths and attacking those trapped further inside.
The zombies had appeared so suddenly that people hadn’t even had time to react. Everyone had been caught completely off guard.
In an instant, countless zombies appeared across the entire country and throughout the world. From that moment onward, social order completely collapsed.
Ru Jiao took a deep breath and checked her equipment one last time. She slung the backpack she had prepared earlier over her shoulders and headed toward the door.
Her rented apartment was about five hundred meters from the entrance of the residential complex. There were four households in the immediate vicinity.
Ru Jiao carefully stepped outside without making the slightest sound.
The zombie next door seemed to sense the presence of a living person. It roared and lunged toward the window, but since it couldn’t get out, it could only press itself against the glass and stare at her.
Ru Jiao had barely walked ten meters when a zombie staggered out of the apartment ahead.
Sensing a living person, it immediately turned and lunged toward her!
Ru Jiao had already prepared herself mentally, but seeing the hideous, grotesque zombie rushing toward her with its mouth wide open still made her feel uncomfortable.
It was one of the elderly residents of the complex. Its clothes were still stained with blood that hadn’t dried completely.
However, its speed was far beyond what an ordinary elderly person could manage. It was almost as fast as a healthy adult.
Before the zombie could get close, Ru Jiao took the initiative and charged toward it.
She lowered her body to dodge its vicious lunge, then swung the metal rod and smashed it against the back of the zombie’s head.
The zombie collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
To make sure it was truly dead, Ru Jiao struck it several more times. She continued smashing until its head was reduced to a bloody mess, with red and yellow matter scattered across the ground.
Only then did she stop.
Among the bloody remains lay a transparent crystal.
Ru Jiao’s eyes lit up. Ignoring her disgust, she took a pair of tongs out of her space and carefully picked up the crystal.
No wonder this zombie had been faster than the ordinary early-stage zombies. It had already evolved and possessed a crystal core. It was a Level One zombie!
Although pleasantly surprised, Ru Jiao couldn’t help becoming more vigilant.
She had encountered a Level One zombie right at the beginning. Wasn’t the rate of zombie evolution far too fast?
The noise from her battle with the Level One zombie attracted other zombies wandering nearby. Before long, another six zombies came rushing toward her.
Ru Jiao dealt with them one by one. To her surprise, three of the six zombies also contained crystal cores!
Even though her physical abilities had reached an extraordinary level, Ru Jiao still didn’t dare let her guard down.
In her previous life, Level One zombies hadn’t appeared so quickly at the beginning of the apocalypse. They had only started appearing approximately two months later.
Now, Level One zombies were already showing up so early. Could it be that her rebirth had set off a butterfly effect, accelerating the rate at which zombies evolved?
This was certainly not good news, but there was nothing she could do to change the situation.
She could only suppress her growing anxiety and work harder to improve her abilities.
There was probably no longer any possibility of further dramatically enhancing her physical constitution. The only viable path now was to upgrade her supernatural abilities.
While thinking about how to strengthen her powers, Ru Jiao quickly made her way out of the residential complex.
The metal rod wasn’t particularly convenient as a weapon. A long blade would be much more effective for attacking zombies.
For now, she could still deal with Level One zombies through brute force using the metal rod. However, as the zombies evolved to higher levels, the rod would become increasingly unsuitable.
Finding a proper weapon also needed to be added to her list of priorities.
With that in mind, Ru Jiao took out a pointed knife from her backpack. It was approximately thirty centimeters long.
Finding a secluded spot, she put the metal rod back into her space.
She decided to use the knife to stab zombies through their eyes. Since the eye sockets weren’t protected by hard skull bone, this method should allow her to kill them quickly.
Outside the residential complex was a relatively narrow road, with a greenbelt on the opposite side.
Ru Jiao remembered that there was a large shopping mall about one kilometer away.
She immediately broke into a run, and the benefits of her improved stamina became apparent. However, she deliberately controlled her speed, running only slightly faster than an ordinary person.
Several zombies were attracted by the noise along the way, but fortunately, there weren’t many. Ru Jiao dealt with them one by one using her pointed knife.
Half an hour later, she arrived at the shopping mall.
However, she didn’t rush inside.
The mall’s main entrance was wide open, and the first floor was packed with wandering zombies.
No matter how strong her physical abilities were, Ru Jiao was still worried about being accidentally scratched or bitten in such a narrow and crowded place.
After thinking it over, she figured that besides the main entrance, the shopping mall should have other access points, such as employee entrances, delivery entrances, or perhaps some other passageways.
Ru Jiao walked around the entire building. Although she didn’t find the delivery entrance, she did discover another entrance with relatively few zombies.
The area around this entrance was rather quiet, with few shops nearby, so not many people had entered through it.
There was a small alley beside the entrance. Two little shops inside had their doors open, and a few scattered zombies were wandering around.
Ru Jiao entered both shops and eliminated all the zombies inside. She then chose the nail salon with an intact entrance and a second floor as her temporary resting place.
Next, she approached the shopping mall entrance and deliberately made some noise to attract a group of zombies.
She fought while retreating, luring the zombies into the alley.
Whenever too many zombies gathered and their movements became difficult to manage, putting her at risk of being scratched or bitten, she would retreat into the nail salon and close the door.
Once the zombies could no longer sense any sounds or the presence of a living person, they would gradually wander away.
She would then open the door again, attract another group, and eliminate them.
By repeating this process of fighting and resting, she gradually cleared almost all the zombies near the shopping mall entrance.
By then, four hours had already passed.
Ru Jiao took a piece of bread out of her space and ate it in a few bites. After drinking some water, she quickly rushed toward the shopping mall.
Since the zombie outbreak had only just begun, not many people had ventured out to collect supplies on the first day.
Ru Jiao slowed her pace and quietly entered the mall.
The first floor was the main shopping hall, primarily selling snacks and other food items.
Since she had already stocked up on plenty of instant food in her space, she wasn’t particularly interested in collecting more. She simply stored the contents of two shelves near the entrance before heading to the second floor through the nearby emergency staircase.
The second floor sold clothing, but there weren’t many zombies here. The area was unusually quiet.
It seemed that when the zombie outbreak occurred, most people had rushed toward the first floor to escape, so the majority of the zombies had gathered there.
Ru Jiao gripped her pointed knife tightly while keeping the metal rod ready in her other hand. Remaining alert to her surroundings, she quickly began clearing out the supplies on this floor.
This floor didn’t just sell clothes. There were also stores selling underwear, socks, shoes, and other items.
Ru Jiao immediately stored all the socks and underwear from three shops in her space. There was a sportswear store nearby, so she also collected every piece of clothing, footwear, and socks inside.
She didn’t plan to take anything else. She already had enough for herself, so she decided to leave the remaining supplies for other survivors.
The third floor sold gold, jade, and other valuable jewelry.
Thinking about her own jade bangle, Ru Jiao wondered whether some of the other jade bangles might also contain spatial abilities.
With that thought, she headed to the third floor.
Regardless of what the counters sold, she stored everything she passed along the way in her space. If something couldn’t be collected through the glass, she simply stored the entire display counter instead.
In just over ten minutes, she had completely cleared out the entire third floor.
More than ten zombies appeared along the way, but she dealt with all of them and stored their crystal cores in her space.
The fourth floor contained various food shops, while the fifth floor housed a cinema.
Ru Jiao had no intention of visiting either floor and headed straight to the sixth.
The sixth floor contained a large supermarket with all kinds of goods.
Following the directional signs, Ru Jiao headed toward the frozen food section and stored the frozen products together with their freezers in her space.
She then went to the fruit and vegetable section and collected every vegetable and fruit displayed on the shelves. She also took various dairy products and beverages with short shelf lives.
When she reached the electronics section, she stored every appliance in her space. She then went to the neighboring sanitary products section and collected two entire shelves of sanitary pads.
After finishing all this, Ru Jiao stopped.
She already had enough supplies in her space to last her a long time. It was time to leave the shopping mall.
She quickly headed toward the emergency staircase. However, the moment she pushed open the door, a foul gust of wind rushed toward her.
Ru Jiao’s heart began pounding wildly. She immediately rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.
A completely black zombie appeared before her!
Ru Jiao’s expression changed.
Compared with the other zombies, this one was much faster and considerably stronger. Wherever its claws scraped against a surface, they left deep scratches.
Ru Jiao didn’t dare underestimate it. She tightened her grip on the metal rod and pointed knife.
The zombie seemed to sense that she was different from ordinary prey and didn’t immediately launch another attack.
Neither side moved for what seemed like a long time.
Then, they attacked simultaneously.
Ru Jiao swung the metal rod with her right hand, aiming directly at the zombie’s head. However, it blocked the strike with both hands and staggered backward several steps before swinging its sharp claws toward her heart.
Ru Jiao raised the metal rod to block the attack, but the tremendous force transmitted through it made her gasp in surprise.
With this kind of strength, could it be a Level Three zombie?!
The commotion caused by their battle attracted zombies from the other floors.
Ru Jiao grew anxious. She needed to end this fight quickly!
She took the initiative and charged toward the zombie, holding the pointed knife in reverse grip in her left hand while using the metal rod in her right to attack its shoulder.
The zombie lowered its body and dodged.
Ru Jiao immediately kicked against the wall, using the force to propel herself behind the zombie.
Seizing the opportunity while it was caught off guard, she summoned all her strength and brought the metal rod crashing down against the back of its neck!
With a loud bang, the black zombie was smashed to the ground.
Ru Jiao didn’t hesitate. She rushed forward and continued attacking, swinging the metal rod so rapidly that it seemed to leave afterimages.
After dozens of consecutive, powerful strikes, the zombie finally stopped moving.
Even then, Ru Jiao didn’t dare let her guard down. She drove the pointed knife deep into its eye, piercing straight into its brain, then twisted it around several times.
Only after that did the black zombie shudder all over and finally fall still.
Ru Jiao breathed a sigh of relief.
She took an axe out of her space and split open the zombie’s head.
Unlike ordinary and Level One zombies, this zombie’s brain was filled with thick, black liquid.
A shiny black crystal core emerged from the remains.
Ru Jiao immediately stored it in her space without taking the time to examine it closely.
The other zombies had already been attracted by the commotion and were approaching.
Ru Jiao quickly retreated into the emergency staircase, her vigilance now at an entirely different level.
Fortunately, there were no other zombies hiding in the shadows waiting to ambush her like the previous one, nor did she encounter any others nearly as powerful.
After eliminating several ordinary zombies that appeared in the emergency staircase, Ru Jiao retraced her route out of the shopping mall and returned to the nail salon in the alley.
She locked the door and went upstairs to a room with a private bathroom. Taking out her bedding, she settled it on the floor before going into the bathroom to clean herself up.
Finally, she lay down on the bed and breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking back on everything that had happened, Ru Jiao felt that she had been far too careless.
Because she had awakened two abilities and experienced a tremendous improvement in her physical strength, she had become overly confident. Her past life’s experiences had also made her too reliant on what she thought she knew.
When she encountered a Level One zombie in the residential complex, she should have realized that the events of her previous life were not necessarily reliable anymore. Yet she had still let her guard down.
Fortunately, the outcome had been good, and she hadn’t suffered any injuries.
This experience served as an important warning.
Things in this life were already different from her previous one. She couldn’t afford to become overconfident simply because her physical abilities had improved dramatically and she possessed a space and supernatural powers.
There would always be someone stronger, and there was always another mountain beyond the one she had climbed.
In the original novel, she had merely been a cannon fodder character, yet she had still obtained a spatial jade bangle.
If that was the case, how much more extraordinary could the original protagonists be?
Thinking about the original protagonists reminded Ru Jiao of Tian Ling’er.
She began recalling the details about the original male and female protagonists, as well as Jin Ling’er.
However, she discovered that she could only remember the events directly related to herself. She couldn’t recall anything about Jin Ling’er’s abilities, what powers she possessed, who the original male and female protagonists were, or what abilities they had.
She couldn’t remember a single detail!
Ru Jiao was startled.
She truly couldn’t allow the experiences of her previous life or the advantages she had gained in this life to cloud her judgment.
As the transmigrated female protagonist, Jin Ling’er was bound to possess extraordinary abilities and considerable luck. She couldn’t afford to underestimate her.
While thinking about all these matters, Ru Jiao eventually took out the crystal cores she had just collected.
To her surprise, the crystal core was black.
Even in her previous life, she had never heard of a zombie possessing a black crystal core.
She examined it for a long time but couldn’t discover anything unusual.
However, the moment she held the crystal core in her palm, a strange feeling suddenly arose within her.
She instinctively sensed that this crystal core would be extremely beneficial to her.
She should absorb it directly!