July 13, Friday.
The silent ticking of the calendar reminder on Ruan Ning’s phone sounded like a dull death knell in her heart.
The morning was as usual. Sunshine filtered through the thickened glass and metal grilles, casting mottled shadows on the floor.
The street downstairs remained noisy—car horns, pedestrians chatting—painting a familiar urban scene.
Ruan Ning neither turned on the TV nor scrolled through her phone.
She just sat quietly on the living room sofa, a cup of tea brewed with spring water from her space resting before her. The warmth transmitted through the cup into her palm brought a strange calm.
She was waiting.
Time slipped slowly toward noon.
When the clock’s hand barely reached twelve, the anomaly suddenly erupted!
The bright sunlight outside started changing color without warning. It was as if an invisible giant brush dipped in thick blood began spreading from a central point in the sky.
The azure sky was devoured at a speed visible to the naked eye, replaced by an ominous dark red.
“Ah! What’s happening to the sky?!”
“Look up, quick!”
“Is it a solar eclipse? No, that’s not right!”
Below, cries of confusion and barely concealed panic rose in waves.
The blood-red hue spread rapidly, and within minutes, the entire sky turned into that eerie dark red, as if the world was encased in a giant amber of blood.
The light grew dim and oppressive; vehicles on the street turned on their headlights, flickering like fireflies in the blood-colored dusk.
Suddenly, sharp piercing sounds tore through the air, approaching fast, as if to rip the eardrums!
One by one, meteor-like “fireballs” trailed crimson flames, or rather burning fragments, streaked across the blood-red sky, plummeting toward the earth! They varied in size; some burned out mid-air, others slammed violently into distant buildings and empty lots, triggering muffled explosions and faint fires.
“Meteor shower! It’s a meteor shower!”
“Run! Get inside!”
“Hide!”
Panic spread like a plague instantly. People on the street screamed and pushed like headless flies toward the nearest buildings. Car horns turned chaotic and frantic; soon traffic completely paralyzed.
Ruan Ning stood behind the window, calmly observing the chaos below. The blood-red light cast cold, resolute shadows on her face.
The internet hadn’t yet failed but was lagging. She opened several social media and news apps, and the screen instantly flooded with overwhelming information.
[What’s happening in the sky?! Is this the end of the world?]
[Location: City B. Just saw a meteor hit the building next door! So scary!]
[Official urgent notice: All citizens must immediately stay indoors, do not go outside! Stay away from windows!]
[My friend just collapsed outside! No response no matter what!]
[Same here! Several colleagues fainted! Multiple cases!]
[Hospitals! Call emergency! Hospital lines are jammed!]
Chaotic texts and blurry short videos overflowed with fear and anxiety. More and more people fainted as if some invisible force instantly sucked their souls, falling in streets, offices, malls, and homes…
At first, some tried to help, calling ambulances, rushing the fallen to hospitals. But soon, it became clear hospitals were overwhelmed, communication networks unstable, and panic escalated exponentially.
“End-of-the-world theories” exploded, with rumors and speculation spreading rapidly.
Some daring or more sensitive individuals rushed to supermarkets and convenience stores, frantically hoarding supplies.
Scenes of shelves emptied in seconds and fights over the last bags of rice or bottles of water became common. The fragile veil of civilization was utterly shattered in the face of survival crisis.
The government’s emergency broadcasts repeatedly played across various channels, trying to calm the public, assuring investigations were underway, urging calm, trust in the government, and warning against panic buying…
But those pale voices felt powerless beneath the blood-red sky and growing numbers of fainted people.
Ruan Ning’s father, Ruan Chenyang, called her several times, but she didn’t answer. She turned off her phone, cutting off the outside noise completely.
She moved to the center of the living room, stretched slowly, feeling the strength enhanced within her body by the spring water from the space. Her gaze was sharp like a hawk’s.
She knew the fainted were not simply unconscious. A small portion would awaken powers amid high fevers; others would rise as flesh-eating zombies from the fever’s grip.
The apocalypse, at this moment, officially unveiled its bloody curtain.
Outside her safe house, the blood-red city was sliding step by step into chaos and despair.
And her path of revenge was about to begin.
For the next three days, Ruan Ning seemed completely cut off from the outside world.
The blood-red sky stubbornly covered the city; sunlight couldn’t penetrate the ominous dark red, making days feel like dusk.
Power became extremely unstable, flickering on and off. By the third night, vast areas outside plunged into total darkness, with only scattered points of light flickering like ghostly flames in the dead silence.
Network and communication nearly collapsed; phones became useless bricks. The last scattered messages were desperate pleas and chaotic screams.
Ruan Ning wasted no time.
During these three days, she devoted herself entirely to intense training and exploration.
By day, she performed high-intensity physical workouts in the spacious living room.
Weighted squats, push-ups, core strength exercises, repeatedly practicing chopping motions with a combat shovel and machete… Sweat soaked her sportswear, muscles ached and trembled from overload, but she didn’t stop for a moment.
The helplessness and torment of her previous life fueled her perseverance.
At night, when the city fell into deeper silence and occasional eerie howls sounded, she entered the jade bracelet’s space.
She soaked long by the spring, guiding the strange warm current to wash over her body.
She clearly felt her physical fitness improving at an astonishing rate. Stronger, faster, more agile, her senses sharper—even able to faintly hear unusual noises downstairs through thick walls.
Regarding powers, she held faint hope but remained calm.
In her previous life, she died an ordinary person.
This time, although her mother’s space and spring changed her starting point, awakening powers didn’t seem easy.
She tried various methods, focused her mind, felt the energy within, guided the spring’s aura… but besides improved physicality and mental refinement, she felt no special ability fluctuations like controlling fire or water.
“No powers? So what?” Ruan Ning wiped sweat from her brow, undaunted. “With the space and spring, plus what I know and this strengthening body, I can still survive—and better than many others!”
She understood well that in the apocalypse’s early stage, powers weren’t overwhelmingly advantageous.
Many beginner ability users had limited strength, exhausted after a few uses, and might neglect basic survival skills due to reliance on powers.
Solid physical fitness, a cool head, and ample supplies were the real foundation for early survival.