Chapter 1: The Arrival of the Apocalypse
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There was a post on a certain forum that had amassed an impressive number of replies—
[If the apocalypse comes, what would you do?]
The responses were a colorful mix:
The Slackers’ Group: Just make a small cut on your finger, smear some zombie blood on it, and you can become a zombie painlessly!
The Survivalists’ Group: That’s easy—stockpile supplies! Stockpile! Stockpile like crazy!!!
The Workers’ Group: Aim to be among the first zombies, then work your way up to management within the zombie ranks!
The College Students’ Group: If killing one zombie earns one credit, killing a hundred exempts you from writing your thesis, and a thousand guarantees graduate school admission. Before long, zombies would be wiped out.
…
Jiang Yao initially thought everyone was just joking, but never expected to witness such a bizarre scene in her lifetime—
Outside, screams echoed incessantly, while inside, a woman’s muffled sobbing lingered, chilling and ghostly.
Beneath her bed, a long-haired, stylishly dressed girl with a pretty face was holding a fruit knife, sniffling and miming cutting her finger.
Yet after all that, her finger was only reddened with a few scratches; not even the skin was broken.
Jiang Yao propped herself up on the bed, rubbed her throbbing head, and looked on with a hint of puzzlement: “What are you doing?”
The girl suddenly looked up, face streaked with tears, eyes red-rimmed: “Yao Yao, you’re finally awake!” Suddenly, her bright eyes dimmed; she sniffled and choked out, “I’m cutting my finger so I can smear some zombie blood on the wound when I go out in the chaos. Even if I become a zombie, I’ll be the Delina Zha of zombies!”
“……”
Quite a concept.
Jiang Yao’s gaze was tinged with indescribable feelings.
This was her roommate, Ji Yuanyuan, a beautiful but somewhat delicate rich girl.
Their dorm was a mixed one, assigned because they were late for freshman registration. The dorms for their majors were full, so these unlucky few from different majors were grouped together.
Jiang Yao was in the History Department; Ji Yuanyuan was from the Music Department.
The other two roommates were Xiang Yu, studying Law, and Zhao Xiaoting, majoring in Early Childhood Education.
Jiang Yao opened her mouth: “Stop trying to cut yourself.”
Ji Yuanyuan looked at her pitifully.
Jiang Yao blinked sincerely: “You can’t cut your finger with the back of a knife.”
Ji Yuanyuan: “……”
Then she burst into tears again.
Jiang Yao ignored her and walked to the balcony. Pulling aside the blackout curtain over the sink, she saw an ugly face pressed against the window, drooling, staring with dull gray eyes.
Oh, and missing an eyeball.
She scowled in disgust. This thing was revolting!
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Ji Yuanyuan was so frightened she turned pale and forgot to cry, rushing over: “Yao Yao, quickly close the curtains!”
“Don’t worry, it can’t get in.”
Jiang Yao regained composure, glanced left and right, grabbed a clothes rack pole from the corner, and pushed open the tightly shut glass window.
The zombie, attracted by the scent of living humans, drooled even more, reaching out with its bluish-black claw, trying to break in.
Outside the window was a green protective net. Jiang Yao poked the rack pole through it, jabbed it into the zombie’s remaining eye, and with a shove, the eyeball caved in. The zombie collapsed straight down.
Jiang Yao pulled back the pole, atop it hung a bloodied eyeball.
“……”
Ji Yuanyuan hiccupped in fright.
Since they lived on the first floor, several zombies gathered outside. Jiang Yao jabbed one after another with the pole. Ji Yuanyuan stood dumbfounded nearby but strangely found a hint of… enjoyment?
After hesitating a moment, she grabbed a broomstick.
…
The two crouched by the sink, one wielding a clothes rack pole, the other a broomstick, gleefully poking zombies like a whack-a-mole game.
Ji Yuanyuan’s frustration from being trapped in the dorm vanished as she jabbed vigorously, even entertaining the thought—
Zombies may be scary-looking, but maybe they aren’t that terrifying?
Jiang Yao observed the zombies’ speed and reactions, forming an estimate. She pressed her sore wrist: “How long was I unconscious?”
Ji Yuanyuan answered honestly: “A day and a night.”
Ji Yuanyuan bit her lip, eyes flashing with fear: “Yao Yao, do you think that post on the forum was a warning?”
Jiang Yao turned, pondering deeply.
—
About a week ago, around eight in the evening—
Jiang Yao was holding her laptop, fretting over her thesis, when the youngest roommate, Zhao Xiaoting, sitting in a chair, suddenly burst into silly laughter: “Look at this post! Haha, our school really is full of talent!”
Ji Yuanyuan examined her freshly done nails and sighed softly: “Sure enough, human joys and sorrows do not correspond. While we’re stressed out over final papers, you have time to browse forums?”
Unlike them, who were miserable seniors, Zhao Xiaoting was a sophomore with no thesis or graduate exams to worry about, only struggling with the English proficiency test.
There was a link shared in their dorm chat group. Distracted by her thesis outline, Jiang Yao clicked it to pass time and was immediately captivated by the heated discussion.
The poster was anonymous, and the title was intriguing—
#If the apocalypse comes, how will your major help you?#
The thread had already grown tall. Some mocked the original poster for daydreaming; some played abstract games; others took it seriously.
“I’m at odds with the English major: What a joke! I’m an English major; if a zombie bites me, am I supposed to say thank you?”
“Dreaming of switching majors: I study animal science; I’m probably just going to drop to my knees and beg the zombies to spare me!”
“Praying for medical students to be struck down: Haha, I knew it! We med students are useful!!! Whether it’s dissection or autopsy, we can provide the most professional full-service!”
“……”
No way to argue with that—these people are seriously crazy.
Obviously, med students have lost it.
On a whim, Jiang Yao left a comment:
“Can history majors summon people? My network is all recorded in history books.”
No matter how lively the discussion got, the original poster never appeared again.
Jiang Yao took it as entertainment, forgot about it after leaving her comment.
Who would have thought that five days later, reality would strike!
—
At eight in the morning, everything seemed normal.
Zhao Xiaoting got up early, reluctantly heading to her 8 a.m. class. Xiang Yu went to the library to prepare for graduate exams as usual.
Being a senior with few classes, and it already September with relentless heat outside, Ji Yuanyuan and Jiang Yao kept their strange sleeping schedules, both still lying in bed.
Suddenly, piercing screams erupted in the corridor. Ji Yuanyuan was jolted awake, furious.
Several more screams followed, accompanied by hurried, chaotic footsteps. She shivered, thinking it might be an earthquake, and hurried out of bed. Jiang Yao peeked her head out from behind the bed curtain.
They exchanged uncertain glances and got out of bed. Without much thought, they opened the door, only to witness a scene that shattered their worldview—
Not far down the hall, a girl was hunched over another, frantically biting her. Blood spilled everywhere; the scene was horrifying!
The girl was no longer human!
Her once delicate face was mangled and bloodied; her eyes were vacant, her skin an unnatural pale blue.
The girl being bitten was already silent, quietly collapsed on the floor. Soon after, an eerie sight unfolded.
The girl on the floor stirred, shakily stood up, limbs stiff like an elderly person near death, then turned to bite someone else.
At the other end of the corridor, a dorm supervisor in pajamas excitedly held a severed arm, feasting joyously.
It was nothing short of hell on earth!
Both girls turned pale, hurriedly slamming the door shut!
This world—it had changed!
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