In the year 2880, the tenth year since the apocalypse began, humanity had been subjected to a bloody baptism by zombies. Survival of the fittest eliminated nearly one-fifth of the weak, and nations ceased to exist, and families ceased to exist.
The phrase "earth-shaking changes" that people often talk about has become a reality!
Perhaps because zombies mutated from humans, they retained basic human habits, such as resting at sunset!
Day and night alternate, with the daytime getting longer and longer, which means that the zombies are active for longer periods of time.
Nighttime is the best time to escape.
Even when it comes to a matter of life and death, humanity cannot hide its inherent flaws; it still fights and schemes against each other, vying for food, and even engaging in life-or-death struggles.
The arrival of the apocalypse not only caused a dramatic upheaval in the natural world, but also altered the land and the plants grown there, making them unable to provide humanity with the most basic living conditions.
Land pollution directly leads to a significant reduction in the probability of survival.
Without food, survival became a major challenge.
However, there is always a way out. Heaven still retains its benevolence and began to awaken supernatural abilities in humans. These abilities, based on the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth), space, lightning, and mental powers, are all variations and derivatives of human beings.
So, when the food supplies of the old era ran out, those with spatial and wood-based abilities provided vegetables, fruits, and grains.
They were incorporated into the new political system, nationalized, and began a new chapter, re-establishing the way of human survival.
"Mom, Mom, I've awakened a superpower! It's wood-based! It's wood-based! Look... Wow... I'm so happy..." A seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl held up a bean that had sprouted in her palm, excitedly hugging her ragged mother and jumping around. The refugees around them looked at them with envy, their faces showing bitterness, numbness, jealousy, and even malice.
"Heaven is so unfair, why wasn't it me who awakened..."
"Yes, why not us?"
"We're already obsolete. How could we possibly awaken again?"
That child was just an isolated case.
"I just want to live a good life, why is it so hard? If I could eat my fill before I die, I would die without regrets."
...
A constant cacophony of voices filled my ears, complaining about everything from heaven and earth to the world and even the power of law.
Yuan Zhuan, with a thin twig he'd found somewhere dangling from his mouth, rolled his eyes in a corner of the factory.
What's the use of complaining? That damned God can't hear you at all. That bastard is watching the miserable scene below and is probably having a great time.
Yuan Zhuan is neither a person with superpowers nor an ordinary person. She is a Taoist priest, and her forte is feng shui, ghost hunting, and exorcising evil spirits.
Some people ask, how did the Celestial Master end up in the refugee camp?
Celestial Master, what a prestigious and lucrative profession!
However, the truth is this~
In the end times, when humans don't even have a fixed place to live, who will still care about feng shui?
What really terrified her was that these zombies were dead, and no longer human, but where had their souls gone?
When a human dies, their soul does not leave the body, the gates of the underworld cannot be opened, and all the judges of the underworld disappear without a trace, as if the world had never existed in terms of yin and yang.
What kind of ghost are you trying to catch?!
She had no way to survive.
The only things she inherited that could be used in the apocalypse were talismans and formations.
Compared to the trouble and time required for setting up formations, talismans are simpler and more convenient.
However, apart from the Thunderstorm Talisman and the Lightning Talisman, other talismans are unsuitable for survival in the post-apocalyptic environment. Moreover, these two types of talismans require the support of spiritual energy. The Xuanyuan clan, however, doesn't necessarily draw spiritual energy from the world; they can also refine resentment and malevolent energy into spiritual energy.
But!! Damn it, this doomsday world, apart from a tiny bit of spiritual energy, doesn't even have any resentment or malevolent energy!!
She draws a talisman, and she needs to cultivate for a month before she can go out and wander around. So why does she need to cultivate at all?
Yuan Zhuan felt that without family, without friends, and without even a basic human living environment, what was the point of living like this, neither human nor ghost? Cultivation was even more meaningless.
She once tried to open the gates of hell and ask the King of Hell about the situation, hoping that with the help of her ancestors, she could get a minor official position in the underworld and live a relaxed and leisurely life.
As a result, even after exhausting all their spiritual power, the gates of hell didn't even show themselves.
The gods and Buddhas who once protected all living beings have vanished without a trace.
Therefore, it can be basically concluded that this is a world forgotten by all the gods and Buddhas, and abandoned by the underworld. Thus, there is no need for feng shui here, and humans have no souls, no resentment, and no malevolent energy.
What's the point of her living like this?
After experiencing the contrast between life and death, Yuan Zhuan finally decided to find a place to rest in peace.
If, by any chance, a mutated zombie appears, with her fighting ability, she'd probably be eaten alive in no time.
Imagining his intestines spilling out onto the ground, Yuan Zhuan covered his mouth. He decided that self-destruction was the best option; at least that way, he could at least have a complete corpse.
Yuan Zhuan finished the last pack of compressed biscuits. Her dry throat burned with pain, but there was nothing she could do; she no longer had the spiritual power to draw a water-gathering talisman.
Fuli Mountain is the highest peak in Guangdong Province and the final resting place chosen by Yuan Zhuan.
Clutching all her belongings—a palm-sized compass, a set of battle flags, and a jade pendant her father had said would be passed down only to sons—she was carrying on her family tradition.
As for this jade pendant, her father left it to her, which was truly the only option left, since the lineage of Xuanyuan had already declined to its end by her generation.
She recalled her father saying that after his death, she should find a good man to marry. If the man didn't like her profession, then it was okay to give up. After all, the tradition had already ended, so whether it could be continued or not didn't matter.
Unfortunately, less than a month after her father passed away, before she could even find a man, the apocalypse struck.
In the apocalypse, the depravity of human nature became uncontrollable by law. Yuan Zhuan witnessed too many tragic fates of women. The source of the calamities, apart from 50% natural disasters, was the men she loved or knew. Of course, there might be other sources of calamity as well. She had seen enough of the fates of these women!
In fact, it easily and decisively severed her thoughts of marriage!
Having remained single for ten years through sheer talent, she finally decided, on her thirty-first birthday, to make it her death anniversary.
People say that when things are really bad, even drinking water can cause problems. She didn't have any problems, but going up the mountain to die and then encountering a monstrous bear zombie was just too much!
"Aaaaaah... Fuck you... Aaaaah... Stop chasing me... I'm ready to die anyway, can't I at least leave a complete corpse? Damn it... Holy crap..." Yuan Zhuan, with his short legs, sprinted away. At 1.6 meters tall, he looked like an ant in front of the three-meter-tall mutated zombie bear horde—even if torn apart, he wouldn't get a piece of the entire horde.
Compared to the bear, which doesn't even need to avoid obstacles, Yuan Zhuan not only has to avoid branches, twigs, and jungle, but also natural traps that occasionally appear on the road, which definitely slows him down.
Seeing that his strength was about to run out, Yuan Zhuan gritted his teeth and tearfully said goodbye to his little comrade 'Flag' in his heart.
She wasn't afraid of death, but she was afraid of being torn apart by five horses!
What's more, he was dismembered alive!
Therefore, she had no choice but to leave her friends behind!
One by one, bright red Bagua formation flags were thrown out, landing precisely in their respective positions to guard the area, and Yuan Zhuan's chaotic fleeing steps began to show a pattern.
Until the formation was complete... "Explode!" came a low shout.
'Rumble...'
Eleven zombie bears were reduced to minced meat within the formation and buried by the collapsing mountain peaks.
Yuan Zhuan collapsed onto the boulder, looking like a dead dog...
Damn God, he can't bear to see her die with a whole corpse!
Amidst endless resentment, a shimmering ray of light shone onto the compass's bright chip. Huh?
Yuan Zhuan propped her head up in surprise. Holy crap, what did she see? A mountain pool!
Hey, there are fish too!
After overcoming countless hardships and dangers, she actually found her ideal place to be buried!
Like a final burst of energy before death, Yuan Zhuan regained his strength and did everything he could: catch fish, grill fish, take a bath...
"Mmm, this feels so damn good, I haven't felt this good in ages..." Lying on the damp grass, Yuan Zhuan felt that being able to enjoy this moment of fullness before he died made his life worthwhile.
As his memory resurfaced, Yuan Zhuan seemed to see again the scene of his father being beaten until he vomited blood because of a divination error.
Her father, a tall man of 1.8 meters, was not exactly frail, but not particularly robust either. His handsome face, coupled with his ethereal aura, had captivated countless beautiful women.
However, after her mother died in childbirth, she never remarried.
She has no memory of her mother, but she will always remember the tenderness and longing her father showed when he recalled her mother.
She thought that if her mother were still alive, their family would be happy and healthy, more so than any other family in the world.
It's just a pity, she wasn't destined for that.
Even her father, during her high school years, suffered a serious injury while fighting with villains. After being bedridden for several years, he passed away, still unable to let go of his love for her.
Her life was, in fact, a tragedy!
As the long-awaited morning light appeared, Yuan Zhuan tidied himself up and stood ramrod straight, like a warrior about to go into battle, filled with faith, devout and brave!
"Dad, Mom, Zhuanzhuan is here..."
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