Chapter 4 The Apocalypse Arrives

Friday, July 13.

The notifications on her phone calendar flashed silently, like a dull death knell striking Ruan Ning's heart.

In the morning, everything was as usual. Sunlight filtered through the thickened glass and metal grilles, casting dappled shadows on the floor.

The streets downstairs were still bustling, with car horns and pedestrian conversations creating a familiar urban scene.

Ruan Ning neither turned on the TV nor checked her phone.

She simply sat quietly on the sofa in the living room, with a cup of tea made with spring water that she had taken from her spatial dimension in front of her. The warmth of the water seeped through the cup and into her palm, bringing a strange sense of calm.

She was waiting.

Time ticked by, and it was noon.

Just as the hands of the clock were pointing to twelve o'clock, something unexpected happened!

The bright sunlight outside the window began to change color without warning. It was as if an invisible giant brush, dipped in thick blood, was rapidly spreading from a certain center point in the sky.

The azure sky was swallowed up at a visible speed, replaced by a chilling, ominous dark red.

"Oh no! What's happening to the sky?!"

"Look at the sky!"

"Is it a solar eclipse? No, that can't be!"

A series of exclamations rose and fell from downstairs, filled with confusion and a hint of barely perceptible panic.

The crimson color spread rapidly, and within minutes, the entire sky turned into that eerie dark red, as if the whole world was shrouded in a giant blood amber.

The light became dim and oppressive, and the vehicles on the street turned on their headlights, like fireflies swimming in a blood-red twilight.

Immediately afterwards, a piercing sound of something cutting through the air grew louder and louder, so sharp it seemed to tear your eardrums apart!

One by one, "meteorites" trailing crimson flames, or rather, some kind of burning fragments, tore through the blood-red sky and fell toward the earth! They varied in size; some burned up in mid-air, while others crashed heavily into distant buildings and open spaces, causing muffled booms and faint flashes of fire.

"Meteorites! It's a meteor shower!"

"Run! Go inside!"

"Hide!"

Panic spread like wildfire. People screamed and jostled in the streets, rushing towards the nearest building like headless flies. Car horns blared erratically and frantically, and soon traffic was completely paralyzed.

Ruan Ning stood behind the window, calmly observing the chaos below. The crimson sunlight reflected on her face, outlining a resolute and cold profile.

The internet connection wasn't down yet, but it was already lagging. She opened several of her favorite social media platforms and news apps, and her screen was instantly flooded with a massive amount of information.

What's going on with the sky?! Is this the end of the world?!

[I witnessed a meteorite hit the building next door in City B! It was terrifying!]

[Official Urgent Notice: All citizens are urged to immediately stay indoors and not go outside! Stay away from windows!]

My friend just fainted outside! We can't wake him up no matter what we do!

Me too! Several of my colleagues fainted too!

[Hospital! Call emergency services immediately! The hospital's phone is busy!]

The chaotic text and blurry short videos were filled with terror and unease. More and more people were fainting, as if their souls had been instantly ripped away by some invisible force, collapsing in the streets, offices, shopping malls, and homes…

Initially, some people tried to help, calling emergency services and taking the collapsed person to the hospital. But soon, people discovered that the hospitals were already overcrowded, communication networks were intermittently down, and the panic index was rising exponentially.

"Apocalyptic theories" began to gain momentum, and various speculations and rumors spread rapidly.

Some bolder individuals, or those more sensitive to the current situation, began rushing to supermarkets and convenience stores to frantically buy supplies.

In the footage, shelves are emptied instantly, and scenes of scrambling, pushing, and even fighting over the last bag of rice or bottle of water are commonplace. The fig leaf of civilization is so thin and fragile in the face of a survival crisis.

The government's emergency announcement was finally broadcast repeatedly through various channels to reassure the public, emphasizing that the cause was under investigation, urging people to remain calm, trust the government, and not to panic and hoard goods...

But those pale voices seemed so powerless in the face of the blood-red sky and the ever-increasing number of people fainting.

Ruan Ning's father, Ruan Chenyang, called her several times, but she didn't answer. Ruan Ning turned off her phone, completely shutting out the noise from the outside world.

She walked to the center of the living room, slowly moved her hands and feet, feeling the increased power within her body due to the spatial spring water, her eyes sharp as a hawk.

She knew that those who fainted were not simply in a coma. A small number of them would awaken their supernatural abilities during the high fever; while others would wake up during the fever and become zombies who only knew how to devour flesh and blood.

At this moment, the apocalypse officially began with a bloody curtain.

Outside her safe house, the blood-soaked city was sliding step by step into an abyss of chaos and despair.

And her path to revenge is about to begin.

For the next three days, Ruan Ning seemed to be completely isolated from the outside world.

The blood-red sky stubbornly shrouded the city, sunlight unable to penetrate the ominous dark red, making even daytime as gloomy as dusk.

The power supply became extremely unstable, intermittent and intermittent. By the third night, large areas outside the window were completely plunged into darkness, with only a few scattered lights flickering like will-o'-the-wisps in the deathly silence.

Network and communication were almost completely cut off, and the phone became a complete brick. The last few messages received were all desperate pleas for help and chaotic screams.

Ruan Ning did not waste a single second.

For the past three days, she has devoted all her time to intense training and exploration.

During the day, she engages in high-intensity physical training in her spacious living room.

Weighted squats, push-ups, core strength training, repeated practice of chopping with an entrenching tool and machete... Sweat soaked through her workout clothes, and her muscles ached and trembled from overload, but she didn't stop for a moment.

The sense of powerlessness and the pain of being torn apart in her past life were the strongest motivation that drove her to persevere.

At night, when the city falls into a deeper silence and the occasional chilling screams, she enters the jade bracelet space.

She soaked in the spring for a long time, guiding the strange warm current to wash over her limbs and bones.

She could clearly feel her physical abilities improving at an astonishing rate. She was stronger, faster, reacted more quickly, and her five senses had become more acute. She could even vaguely hear some unusual noises downstairs through thick walls.

She harbored a faint expectation about superpowers, but remained mostly calm.

In her past life, she was an ordinary person until her death.

In this life, although the starting point was changed by the space and spring water left by his mother, awakening his superpowers does not seem to be an easy task.

She tried various methods, concentrating her mind, sensing the energy within her body, and guiding the breath of the spring water... but apart from the improvement in her physical fitness and the refinement of her mental strength, she did not feel any fluctuations in special abilities such as controlling fire or water.

"So what if I don't have superpowers?" Ruan Ning wiped the sweat from her forehead, her eyes showing no sign of discouragement. "With the space and the spring water, plus the information I have and this body that is constantly getting stronger, I can still survive, and I will live better than many people!"

She knew very well that in the early stages of the apocalypse, the advantage of superpowers was not overwhelming.

Many novice superpower users have limited abilities and will become exhausted after using them a few times. They may neglect their basic survival skills because they rely on their superpowers.

Solid physical fitness, a calm mind, and sufficient supplies are the foundation for survival in the early stages.