By the time they returned home, only a week remained before the apocalypse.
Instead of returning to Yuejian Bay Villa, they moved into the Zhou family’s old residence. It stood in a hillside villa community on the southern outskirts of the capital. The surrounding land was open, security was excellent, and high walls enclosed the entire community, making it a safer place to be when the apocalypse arrived.
Later, when the capital’s base was established, this area would be incorporated into it as well.
After learning about the apocalypse, Zhou Yunxi had hired people to reinforce the old residence. The work had just been completed when they returned.
Looking at the two-meter-high boundary wall and the sturdy house, Yuan Tao couldn’t help marveling at how right she had been to tell him about the apocalypse. He was astonishingly efficient.
They had spent more than half a month traveling abroad. The spirit spring water could relieve her physical fatigue, but she was mentally exhausted. She had been constantly on edge while collecting supplies overseas, afraid someone might double-cross them.
Now that she could finally relax, she soon fell asleep.
The next morning, she was still dazed when her phone alarm woke her.
After returning home, Yuan Tao resumed her daily training. This time, however, her sparring partner was Zhou Yunxi rather than Yao Na.
Her back slammed onto the soft mat, draining the last trace of strength from her fingertips. She lay sprawled on her back, arms and legs spread, damp wisps of hair clinging to her cheeks. Her chest heaved. She couldn’t even muster the strength to lift a hand.
Zhou Yunxi’s voice came from above, carrying a barely perceptible hint of amusement. He bent down and held out a hand.
“Get up. Another round?”
Yuan Tao’s lashes fluttered. Instead of taking his hand, she shifted aside to avoid it.
“No. I can’t get up. You’re so much better than Yao Na-jie, and you won’t even go easy on me…”
“I did.” Resigned, Zhou Yunxi withdrew his hand and straightened, looking down at her. His sweat-soaked workout shirt clung to his body, outlining the smooth contours of his shoulders and back. “I slowed down that last move. You’re just too weak.”
“I don’t care.” She turned her head and buried her face in the soft mat, her voice muffled. “I only started learning recently. How am I supposed to beat you?”
She even grabbed hold of the mat beneath her, refusing to get up no matter what.
Since training had started that morning, Zhou Yunxi had left her aching all over, while she hadn’t managed to land a single punch on him. She had taken so many hits that she was practically numb.
Watching her refuse to budge, Zhou Yunxi didn’t know whether to laugh or be annoyed. He held out his hand again.
“All right. That’s enough training for today. Get up and have breakfast. The floor’s cold.”
Only then did Yuan Tao let him pull her to her feet.
Finally! No more getting beaten up!
Little did she know that she would be taking a beating from him every day for the next several days.
After breakfast, Yuan Tao was about to drive out for some shopping. Once the apocalypse came, she wouldn’t have the chance.
A news alert appeared on her phone. Her pupils contracted as she read it.
Phone in hand, she rushed to Zhou Yunxi’s study.
“Gege, have you seen the news?”
Inside, Zhou Yunxi was watching a video with a deep frown, his expression grave.
“I have,” he said, his voice low.
“Yunxi-ge, that’s a zombie!”
The video had been filmed in Country M. A middle-aged man suddenly collapsed, and the people around him approached, thinking he had fainted. Then he clambered to his feet, his body twisting unnaturally, and lunged at someone who had come to help, tearing into them with his teeth. A closer look revealed that his entire face was an ashen gray.
Many of the comments below the video claimed the man had rabies. One or two viewers from abroad said similar cases had recently appeared where they lived, too. It was terrifying.
But Yuan Tao knew perfectly well that it wasn’t rabies.
That’s a zombie!
There are still six days until the apocalypse. How are zombies appearing already? Did this happen at this point in the book?
The news left her with a sinking sense of unease.
Am I the butterfly that set all this off? Has my arrival brought the apocalypse forward?
Seeing her frightened expression, Zhou Yunxi patted her shoulder.
“It’s all right. We’ve already made plenty of preparations. Even if the apocalypse comes early, we’ll get through it safely.”
He’s right. There have been warning signs for a while, haven’t there?
In previous years, temperatures would have fallen to one or two degrees Celsius by December. This year, they had risen instead. It was now thirty degrees outside.
“Yunxi-ge, should we tell the authorities?” Yuan Tao asked, torn.
She admitted she was selfish. Telling them could expose her, and that was the last thing she wanted. But the sooner the authorities knew, the sooner they could prepare, and the more lives they could save.
Zhou Yunxi understood her dilemma.
“Don’t worry. With the weather this unusual, they’re bound to have noticed something. I’ve already had someone pass the information along in secret. Nothing about you was revealed.”
Only then did Yuan Tao breathe a sigh of relief.
Over the next few days, she was either sparring with Zhou Yunxi or practicing against the wooden dummies in her space. Whenever she became too exhausted to get up, she drank spirit spring water.
Meanwhile, the information Zhou Yunxi had passed along had sent the authorities into a flurry of activity. At first, they hadn’t believed a word of it, dismissing it as a prank. But then there was the abnormal weather over the past few months, along with the growing number of incidents involving rabies patients biting people.
Ordinary citizens might not have access to the information, but the authorities knew that some of those taken to the hospital after being bitten had also lost their senses and attacked doctors and nurses, knocking them down and biting them. They could no longer afford to dismiss the warning.
The government mobilized, secretly procuring grain, clothing, medicine, and other essential supplies and transporting them to designated shelter sites.
Yuan Tao noticed far more vehicles coming and going in the southern outskirts.
On November 30, the disease prevention and control authorities sent a text message to the public. A comet was expected to strike Earth the next day and might carry an unknown virus. Everyone was advised to stock up on food and stay indoors as much as possible.
As soon as the message went out, several countries publicly criticized it. Country M and its allies were particularly vocal, posting their meteorological agencies’ observations online and insisting that the comet was small and carried no virus. They accused Huaguo of scaremongering.
Most people in Huaguo heeded the warning, especially given the recent abnormal temperatures. Besides, there was no harm in keeping a little extra food and supplies at home.
A minority ignored the advice, convinced that nothing serious would happen. There was little anyone could do about them. The government could issue a warning, but whether people listened was ultimately up to them.
Yuan Tao and Zhou Yunxi also went out to shop. They had already stockpiled plenty, but they still needed to keep up appearances. They weren’t the only household in the villa community.
As the car reached the foot of the hill, Yuan Tao noticed large areas piled with steel reinforcement bars, cement, and other construction materials.
She pointed to a cluster of tall, balloon-like structures nearby.
“Yunxi-ge, what are those?”
They looked rather strange.