The forecast had shown no rain at all, only dry weather for days to come.
Yet, the torrential downpour arrived exactly as Fu Qingdai had dreamed.
Su Jin’s throat bobbed. He closed his eyes, a dull ache throbbing in his chest.
This parallel world originally had so much potential.
People lived peacefully, and they were generally kind and honest.
In another ten or more years, they might have entered the information age and lived much as people did on Earth.
But now it had all been ruined.
Opening his eyes, Su Jin let out a long, silent exhale. He lowered his head and went back to wiping the Silver Gun with trembling hands.
Only the mindless, repetitive motion could briefly suppress his fear.
The rain continued all night.
The sun rose on schedule, but the world looked deep gray.
Having sat like a statue for hours, Su Jin finally moved. He dragged his leaden legs to the window, staring out at the streets in sheer disbelief.
His mouth, closed all night, fell open in surprise.
It wasn’t the sky that was gray. It was the rain.
In the dead of night, he could only hear the heavy downpour, but daylight finally laid bare the true nature of the storm.
The sheets of rain fell like gray gauze. On the ground, the gray swirled through puddles like mist.
Su Jin gave a sudden start.
That was good news!
He spun on his heel, sprinted out of his apartment, and knocked hard on Fu Qingdai’s door.
“Qingdai! Are you awake?!”
“Brother, I’m here!”
Fu Qingdai had spent the night curled up on the sofa, unable to sleep. She hurried to the door.
Leaning against the door, she asked, her voice trembling, “Brother, what’s wrong?”
“Look out the window. Do you see the rain?”
“I see it. What about it?”
“What color is it?”
“It’s… just normal rain? I don’t see anything weird. Why, is something wrong?”
“…..It’s nothing. Just be careful. Under no circumstances are you to let that water touch your skin. I’m heading back.”
“Brother!” Separated by the door, Fu Qingdai hesitated.
“What is it?” The source of this chapter is g.com.
“Nothing… just, be careful too. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
Su Jin acknowledged her and returned to his apartment in a daze.
To his eyes, the rainwater was visibly gray. If ordinary people could see that, they would avoid touching it even without a warning.
That would have greatly reduced the risk of people turning into zombies, and the authorities would surely treat it as an emergency.
But he alone seemed able to see anything strange about the rain. To everyone else, it looked normal. That meant the situation had not improved at all.
As for why he could see it, he could only guess that the company had intervened or that it was a function of the mask.
He had gotten his hopes up for nothing.
Stepping back inside, Su Jin stopped by the dining table, looking at the cage.
The rats had quieted down and were resting in the cage.
The strange weather outside had not alarmed them.
It made sense. He had prepared them for experiments.
If rainwater could infect animals too, surviving in the wild would be almost impossible.
Wild animals were far more active at night than humans.
His main aim was to test how the creatures moved after zombification and how long they survived.
But he needed to regain his composure and strength before he could run the experiment.
The thought drew a bitter, self-mocking smile from him.
He had studied the humanities and gone into sales after graduation. Now he was setting up control groups for biological experiments.
He turned away, found his binoculars, and went to the window.
Even this heavy rain could not stop people from going to work.
Down in the courtyard, he could already see people walking through the rain with umbrellas and raincoats.
The deep gray droplets splashed against their skin, strangely sinking into their bodies and disappearing.
For now, the people exposed to the strange rain showed no obvious symptoms.
Su Jin lowered the binoculars, worried. He stood there thinking for a while.
He opened the window, reached for a long-handled water dipper he had placed nearby, and thrust it outside.
He caught a shallow pool of rainwater, knocked the droplets from its outside against the balcony edge, and pulled it back inside.
The water in the dipper was dark gray.
He carefully carried it to the kitchen.
He put on several layers of masks and a motorcycle helmet before he dared to flick on the stove and the exhaust hood, setting the burner to a low simmer.
In less than a minute, the shallow pool of water boiled and evaporated.
The gray material did not rise with the steam. It collected at the bottom like smoke.
With the slightest movement, the gray mist swirled inside the dipper.
Staring at the residue, Su Jin’s mind raced.
So far, it did not seem to depend entirely on water, heat had no effect on it, it could be held in a container, and gravity still affected it.
After thinking for a moment, Su Jin stepped out of the kitchen, returning with a second dipper and two empty food jars.
He scooped up a little water and carefully poured it down the inner wall of the dipper holding the gray mist.
The mist dissolved back into the water, and Su Jin relaxed.
The mist seemed too easy to spread. Keeping it in water felt safer and easier to observe.
He divided the gray water between the two jars and sealed them tightly with plastic wrap.
He placed one jar on the balcony windowsill where it would receive direct sunlight and put the other in a shady place.
With the samples secured, a crushing wave of exhaustion finally hit him.
He checked his safety precautions for anything he might have missed, then went back to the bedroom.
Lying on his side, he watched the rain outside, lost in thought.
He had stayed tense and awake all night. He needed rest or he would struggle to cope with an emergency.
He could hear people cursing upstairs and downstairs.
He had no idea how far the rain extended. He hoped places without rain would recognize the danger and send help soon…
Drifting into the dark, Su Jin fell asleep with his gun beneath his head.
…
Two radios sat on his nightstand.
Both were ordinary radios.
The only difference was their presets: one set to FM and the other to AM.
The FM radio suddenly crackled with static.
“This is… Central… Radio… Station…”
Half asleep, Su Jin sat up and grabbed the radio.
Ignoring the ache in his eyes, he adjusted the dial.
After a few turns of the dial, the voice became clear.
“According to the latest emergency bulletin from the Meteorological Bureau and the Global Environmental Monitoring Center: As of early this morning, unusual rainfall of a similar intensity has appeared worldwide. Preliminary findings suggest the rainfall is widespread. The duration and origin of this storm are currently unknown.”
“…Scientists are working together to investigate the cause. No definitive conclusions have been reached. We urge the public to monitor official channels for authoritative updates.”
“To ensure public safety and maintain civil order, please adhere to the following directives: If you go out, be sure to carry rain protection. Please keep everything properly sealed… All future updates will be broadcast simultaneously across radio and online platforms. Please remain calm, respond rationally, and do not invent, believe, or spread rumors.”
“Ah!” Su Jin clutched his head as a needlelike pain stabbed through it.
Rain across the whole world…
Was there nowhere to escape?