A figure lurched toward me with outstretched hands.
Unsettling bloodshot eyes lingered in my mind, along with a sickly complexion and unnatural movement.
The world as I knew it was collapsing.
What was once a simple infection had become a nightmare.
I stumbled back, trying to escape, with my heart pounding. No superpowers or sudden awakening appeared. Just me, a regular unemployed guy.
"Shit! Get away from me!"
The freak snarled after missing, before lunging again, crashing into the wall with a disgusting crunch. I didn't wait. No, I couldn't! I dashed towards the glass doors. A symbol of protection and safety.
Thud!
An agonising pain like touching a burning flame shot through my hands after I slammed the window several times.
What a cruel joke.
The door clicked shut, locking me out.
"Let me in for fucks sake! You fuckers!" I pounded the glass, ignoring the stinging sensation of torn skin and dripping blood.
I could see them inside. Terrified eyes watched me from safety, doing nothing.
Not one of them moved.
And then I heard a damning sound—click!
I turned just in time to see an old friend... someone I had just spoken with in the canteen Yang Ping pressed the shutter switch with tears running down his face.
"No... NO! You can't do this to me!"
The steel barrier slid down, sealing me out.
And the words that fool kept repeating like a broken toy made my blood boil.
'You're sorry?'
There was no leeway for me to accept his apology, nor did I have the time to care anymore.
"Damn it! We're both human!"
My voice cracked. The words felt hollow, even to me. Because deep down, there wasn't any doubt I would have done the same.
The same zombie appeared like an old friend and reunions, trying to remind me of how amazing their business is and to buy something from them.
It snarled with a broken nose, crushed when it hit the wall, clawing forward and almost slicing my chest. I lashed out with all my strength, rage and anger. The blow felt heavy, and a sickening crack followed.
Scared more would come—I turned and started running.
Yes, I ran.
Like a child seeking his mother. Screaming. Wailing.
I wanted this to be a dream—the city's screams echoed back, following me with shouts, crashing noises and the wails of the dying. I whispered Forgive me. I cannot save you! To keep myself sane for each child or mother I saw and ignored.
Shockingly, Looters were already smashing car windows, trying to escape only to be pulled from the glass and torn apart.
"This isn't a damn movie...!"
My breath hitched. My lungs burned. My legs felt like lead, but I kept pushing forward.
Survival.
That was my focus. Get home, prepare myself and lock the doors.
My apartment wasn't too far, just a little more, and I could seal the first floor and hide, preparing myself for what might happen. Though I was afraid now, if the army came or we somehow gained power, then maybe...
I deluded myself.
The park was up ahead—a shortcut.
I sprinted across the grass, feeling like this might be a record pace for me, with my heart hammering in my ears. But I reached home! Nothing could stop me... Until something moved, and I barely had time to react before it stumbled towards me.
Not just any shape or thing.
"Mary?"
The woman I used to buy fruit from. She gave me free apples or potatoes when I was low on money. Yet now, her vacant eyes glimpsed at me like prey, locked onto me and refusing to let me escape.
"SHIT!"
She staggered towards me. I couldn't avoid her well and tripped over, falling onto some old boxes and rusted tools, the pavement scraping my back.
Cold sweat trickled down my spine as I grasped at thin air, desperate for anything—anything to fight back and survive.
My fingers wrapped around something solid.
Cold.
Hard.
It was a crowbar.
I didn't hesitate and swung.
Crunch!
She kept moving.
I swung again.
Crunch.
Again.
And again.
Until only silence remained.
A wet, sticky sensation splashed over my fingertips. Mary's blood—the blood of the woman I just dealt with.
Unable to accept reality, my vision became blurry.
I dropped the wrench and almost fell. The world started to spin—guilt, fear, and dread merged into one as my stomach lurched.
Unable to hold back the urge, I vomited don't he spot.
"Hrrk..."
My breathing ragged and raspy as I wiped my mouth, staring at the lifeless body with a mangled face.
"I... I just killed someone."
No.
After a moment of logical thought, my brain kicked in.
Not someone.
Something.
Groans echoed in the distance, and I knew it signalled more of them, thousands, millions and eventually billions.
Forcing myself to move, I climbed the old warehouse steps with blurred vision. My limbs felt numb, and even the burning pain in my hands faded. I barely made it inside the small garage before collapsing against a crate.
My whole body trembled as if I were in a frozen wasteland.
Then—
A whisper.
A voice that sounded soft and reassuring.
At first, I thought it might be a dream, the distant sound like a radio signal barely coming through.
Then, words formed in my mind... and I realised it wasn't a human language.
[You Have Been Chosen.]
[There is a path to survival. But you cannot walk it alone.]
[You are the only hope.]
I blinked, slowly recovering from my mental break.
A blue square hovered in my vision, glitching like a half-loaded internet image... not an old 90s style role-playing game on the SNAS or Superdrive.
My pulse spike.
A system? No, no, no, this is insane!
While focused on the screen, something moved in the corner of my eyes. I turned sharply with a tense body, grasping for the wrench.
Then I noticed it was different, although she limped on one leg and staggered into the warehouse.
She wasn't undead.
She was alive.
Long black hair, a tight blazer, a pencil skirt barely clinging to her torn stockings. A baseball bat dangled from her trembling fingers.
Blood smeared her pale skin. Her pink lips had turned pale blue.
Mu Qinglan.
I knew her.
The untouchable ice queen of the office. The woman who never spoke to anyone unless necessary.
Her eyes locked onto mine.
"I need your help."
The moment she spoke, something inside me snapped.
A surge of electricity jolted through my brain. Followed by a burning sensation spread across my skin.
And then—more text.
[Recruitment Available.]
[Subject: Mu Qinglan (S-Tier)]
[Press to Confirm.]
A glowing button floated before me.
I hesitated.
Then, slowly, I reached out.
[Recruitment Complete.]
▼ Mu Qinglan's attributes are now visible.
+ 100 Experience.
+ Leadership: Level 1
+ Random Skill from Mu Qinglan
[Rank Up!]
▼ Rank: Loser → Partner
+ Attributes Increased | Subject Cap: 2
A burning heat surged through my body, filling my muscles and veins like molten iron. I curled my fingers in agony, digging them into my palms while trying to endure the moment of extreme pain.
Mu Qinglan stepped towards me, almost falling as she held her abdomen with furrowed brows.
"What's wrong?"
And then—her name and stats appeared above her head.
Her level. Her condition.
And an affection meter.
I swallowed hard.
"This… just became a game."