Stare—
Issued by Lin’an City on July 2, 2027, at 4:00 PM: Orange High-Temperature Warning.
Lin Yuzhi glanced at the notification on his phone and walked into a pharmacy. A sign on the side of the shop indicated it was a designated medical insurance location.
The air conditioning inside was on, and the cool breeze instantly dissipated the heat clinging to his body.
He looked around and spotted someone sitting in the back room. Placing his phone on the counter, he shouted, “Boss, I’m buying medicine!” After that, he lowered his head to look at the various drugs displayed in the glass cabinet.
The pharmacy owner, who had been looking at her phone, peered out. She saw a young man standing outside the counter wearing a gray tank top and black cargo shorts. He was bare-armed and sported a head of eye-catching, bright light-pink hair.
He was leaning half-heartedly against the glass counter with a rather grand air, looking somewhat like a delinquent.
The owner put down her phone, walked out, and asked, “What medicine do you need?”
Lin Yuzhi lifted his head, revealing a handsome face. Seeing the owner approach, he smiled, showing a distinct canine tooth. He said, “Big Sister, I want some heatstroke medicine—the capsule kind. I need two boxes.” As he spoke, he held up two fingers.
Looking at his smile, the owner felt that the “delinquent” vibe from earlier had vanished completely.
He was exceptionally good-looking with very fair skin, like a pearl, and the light-pink hair only made him look more striking. Most importantly, he was quite the sweet-talker.
She was already in her fifties or sixties, yet he called her “Big Sister.”
Her mood brightened considerably. She took out two boxes of heatstroke capsules. “Is it this one?”
“Yes! Big Sister, you really are so smart—possessing great wisdom. As soon as I said it, you understood immediately.” Lin Yuzhi praised her with a beaming smile, not holding back at all.
His words made the pharmacy owner unable to hold back a laugh, and her impression of him improved even further. She couldn’t help but add, “Do you want to take some fever and cold medicine? Quite a lot of people have been coming in for fever meds lately. I don’t know if there’s some new virus going around. Make sure to wear a mask when you go out.”
“Okay! Big Sister, you’re so good to me, even giving me a heads-up. But you should be careful too, Big Sister; you’re the one facing them head-on when they come to buy medicine,” Lin Yuzhi replied, his voice carrying an irrepressible vitality.
The pharmacy owner nodded repeatedly, saying she would be careful.
Then, she continued, “By the way, I heard there’s some kind of rabies going around lately. People are biting others on sight. My downstairs neighbor was bitten; they haven’t come back yet, and it’s supposedly quite serious. It’s a real misery in this heat.”
“Is that so?” Lin Yuzhi was surprised and listened for a few more moments.
Afterward, he paid the bill, said goodbye to the owner, took his receipt, and left the shop to hop onto his electric tricycle.
It wasn’t an ordinary tricycle; the back was a large sheet-metal cabinet equipped with two pots for deep-frying skewers.
He didn’t have much of an education and couldn’t find a good job. He had dropped out before finishing school to work. Later, he was fired after an argument with a supervisor at a factory. Since he had a bit of money saved, he decided to start a small stall, selling fried skewers at the entrance of a primary school.
Business was good. Elementary students loved them, and so did he. After paying for rent and utilities, he had enough left over to live on.
It was already 4:00 PM, but the weather remained incredibly hot. When the sunlight hit his skin, it felt as though a layer was about to be scorched off.
Lin Yuzhi had just checked the price on the two boxes of medicine when a commotion broke out nearby, accompanied by screams.
“Pull them apart! Pull them apart quickly!”
He leaned out from his tricycle and saw a crowd gathered a short distance behind him. Through the gaps in the people, he saw a person lunging onto someone else and biting down hard on their arm.
When others pulled the attacker away, he saw that the person’s mouth was covered in blood, looking as though they had bitten off a large chunk of flesh.
Blood was everywhere on the ground. The victim clutched their arm and was helped up, their clothes soaked in red.
It was terrifying.
Lin Yuzhi immediately thought of what the pharmacy owner had said about the “rabies” going around. To think it was this severe.
Seeing that people were already calling 120 for an ambulance, he didn’t stay any longer. He stuffed the receipt and the medicine into his pocket, turned the key, and rode his tricycle toward Lin’an Primary School.
Lin’an Primary School wasn’t far from the pharmacy; he reached it just by turning a corner.
School had already let out, so the area was filled with parents, and both sides of the road were packed with cars. Many small stalls were set up along the sidewalk, and quite a few students were gathered around them.
Lin Yuzhi was late today. His usual spot was already taken, so he moved to a more secluded area.
He parked and started the stove to heat the oil. Everything was prepped in advance; he just needed to fry them.
“Brother Lin, why are you over here? I want two fried sausages and this corn roll.” Two young girls stood in front of the tricycle. After asking, they ordered their skewers, their eyes sparkling as they looked at Lin Yuzhi.
They both really liked this older brother. He was very handsome, and his skewers were delicious.
Lin Yuzhi smiled. “Ah, I was late and there were no spots left, so I set up here. You guys were looking for me? I’m so moved. Here, I’ll give you two cauliflowers for free.”
“Thank you, Brother Lin!” The two girls were overjoyed.
Soon, the aroma of fried skewers drifted out, attracting more people.
A child ahead also wanted to come over and pulled on his parents’ hands. “I want to eat that too,” he said, pointing at Lin Yuzhi’s stall.
The child’s parents glanced at the stall, their faces full of disdain. “Look how dirty it is. Mommy will make you chicken wings when we get home. Who knows if that’s gutter oil? It’s not clean for kids to eat that.” As she spoke, she gave another contemptuous look.
Then the father beside her spoke up. “Eating that stuff makes your brain go bad. Besides, look at his delinquent appearance. He clearly didn’t follow the right path. He didn’t study hard when he was in school, so now he can only do this kind of work. You mustn’t learn from him; study hard so you don’t end up like that.”
Lin Yuzhi heard these words loud and clear.
He was speechless. “Hey, why the academic discrimination? Whether I studied well or not is none of your business. Did I eat your family’s rice? Besides, my stall is very clean. Careful, or I’ll sue you for defamation!”
Although it was true—he really hadn’t been good at studying—it had nothing to do with them. He wasn’t living off them.
The couple obviously hadn’t expected Lin Yuzhi to hear them, but they didn’t care much. They simply led their child away.
But just then, screams suddenly erupted from ahead. A moment later, many people started running back, their expressions frantic. It was unclear what had happened.
Inevitably, the people around turned to look in that direction.
After dropping a skewer into the oil, Lin Yuzhi also looked over curiously. Because of this, he failed to notice his phone in his pocket lighting up. A new pop-up appeared on the screen:
[July 2, 2027.]
[Scholar Leaderboard is being installed. Installation will take a long time; please keep the network connection stable. Once installation is complete, no internet will be required. Please wait patiently.]
The screams from ahead continued. A person running back shouted in terror, “Run! Someone up ahead has gone crazy and is biting people! Run!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a dark shadow suddenly rushed out from the other side, lunging directly at him and biting into his neck.
Blood sprayed out instantly. When the shadow lifted its head, a large piece of flesh had been torn from the man’s neck. He let out a blood-curdling scream of agony.
This sudden act finally snapped the crowd out of their stupor. They backed away in terror, yet many didn’t leave; instead, they took out their phones to call the police or even film the scene.
The person who had just bitten the man opened his mouth wide, and the chunk of flesh fell out. Immediately after, he lunged at the person closest to him, pinning them to the ground.
“Help! Help!” the victim screamed.
Lin Yuzhi didn’t know what was happening. The scene was too shocking. Seeing someone pinned down, he jumped out from behind his tricycle without hesitation.
Several children were already shivering with fear. He immediately shouted, “Hurry up and go home!”
While he didn’t know the cause, it certainly wasn’t good for children to see this. Simultaneously, he grabbed the attacker’s clothes, attempting to pull him off.
“Hey! What are you doing!?” he barked.
However, the attacker’s strength was immense. It took considerable effort for Lin Yuzhi to finally pull the person up.
Just as he was about to say something, the attacker lunged at him next.
Fortunately, Lin Yuzhi’s reactions were fast enough to avoid being tackled.
Looking at the person again, he saw they were covered in blood. Their mouth was smeared red, making them look horrifying.
Seeing the person lunge again, he instinctively kicked the man in the abdomen, sending him flying back.
The attacker must have hit something hard, as he sprawled on the ground and didn’t get up immediately.
Lin Yuzhi let out a sigh of relief. What the hell is this? Such strength.
Panting, he looked at the attacker again.
Nearby, some people went to check on the victim who had been bitten.
But as soon as they got close, the person who had been lying still suddenly moved. He lunged and bit the neck of the nearest person, tearing off a piece of flesh instantly.
Fresh red blood splattered onto those nearby, followed by piercing screams.
Next, that person lunged at another, pinning them and biting into their face. The force was so great that a chunk of the person’s face was bitten off.
The victim shrieked in excruciating pain, struggling desperately, but they couldn’t break free. Blood stained the ground everywhere.
The others finally realized the danger and ran away screaming, but the attackers all gave chase.
Lin Yuzhi watched the scene, momentarily lost for words. What’s going on?
At that moment, the man he had kicked earlier suddenly scrambled up with a weird, jerky motion and lunged at him again.
Lin Yuzhi was tackled to the ground. He instinctively used his hands to brace against the attacker’s throat, but the man’s strength was overwhelming. He kept snapping his jaws, trying to bite him.
Growls sounded like those of a wild beast. Blood dripped from the attacker’s mouth onto Lin Yuzhi’s face.
In the chaos, he thought he saw a finger stuck in the man’s mouth.
Then, the finger fell out of the mouth and landed right on Lin Yuzhi’s face.
The attacker’s strength grew even greater. Seeing that he was about to be bitten, Lin Yuzhi kicked the man’s stomach with all his might, throwing him off.
He didn’t dare delay and scrambled to his feet.
Screams were constant. Many others were being tackled—children, elderly people—and the scene had devolved into utter chaos and blood.
“Help! Help! Call an ambulance! My son… Save my son!” A frantic cry for help came from not far away.
Lin Yuzhi looked over and realized it was the parent who had just been mocking him for his poor grades.