Chapter 5 The Beginning of the Cataclysm
Bai Chenzhu went to the supermarket and bought a big bag of food, then carried it home.
Twenty years ago, the residential area was the envy of everyone, but now it is outdated. There are no electronic doors or elevators downstairs, and you have to walk up each floor. Fortunately, the building is no more than six stories high.
The advertisements were densely pasted on the cement stairwell. Due to the building materials, the stairwell was cold and had a chilly feel to it.
Bai Chenzhu's home was on the third floor. When he walked between the second and third floors, he unexpectedly found a middle-aged woman sitting on the stairs with her legs hugged, looking dazed.
They are residents on the second floor.
Bai Chenzhu pretended not to see her and tried to step over her, but the woman suddenly reached out. Bai Chenzhu reacted quickly and retreated back into the stairwell.
The two sized each other up, and Bai Chenzhu gripped the handle of the shopping bag tightly.
The woman suddenly spoke up cheerfully, greeting him, "The kid's home from school? Why are you back so soon today?"
It was another 'acquaintance'. Bai Chenzhu wasn't sure about the relationship between the woman and the original owner of the body, so he remained silent.
The woman sat there in a daze. She looked to be in her forties or fifties, but her blank expression made her look like a senile old woman in her seventies or eighties. She strangely curled the corners of her lips and said, "What delicious food did you buy, kid? You smell so good."
She twitched her nose slowly, looking completely absorbed.
Bai Chenzhu instinctively raised his hand and sniffed his clothes, but didn't smell anything.
The unfamiliar middle-aged woman in front of me stood up unsteadily, like a stubborn roly-poly toy, and descended two steps, which looked quite dangerous.
Bai Chenzhu vaguely sensed some kind of crisis and became vigilant.
The next instant, the woman, who had been leaning to the left and right, suddenly leaped up like a frog, her five fingers forming claws as she lunged at him in a terrifying manner.
Bai Chenzhu stepped aside, and she missed her target, crashing into the wall and bouncing onto the cold cement floor. She tumbled down the stairs with a sharp scream.
The sudden attack made his heart pound so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of his throat. Bai Chenzhu unconsciously took a few deep breaths, then turned to the side and looked down at the stair railing.
The woman rolled down to the second floor.
Just as Bai Chenzhu hesitated whether to go down and check, the woman got up from the ground as if nothing had happened and stood still. She muttered, "The children are out of school," and went downstairs, her behavior and appearance basically no different from a normal person.
—Aside from appearing overly dull.
The zombification had begun. Bai Chenzhu's unease grew stronger.
He turned around, went up to the third floor, put his things away, and left again. He didn't return until evening, having bought a bunch of things and medicine, and then locked the door.
The house has three bedrooms and one living room. He lives in one room and two storage rooms. Bai Chenzhu used all his money to buy enough food to fill the space.
The world online remains peaceful and serene.
Bai Chenzhu quickly read through the online news, noting that many people were discussing the new infectious disease. The official statement only mentioned a new type of rabies, and that no one had died from it yet, so treatment only required medication.
Bai Chenzhu hesitated for a moment, then moved his fingers across the screen a few times.
Less than three seconds after the message was sent, a red warning was received: Your account has been banned for 72 hours for spreading false information. Please wait patiently.
Tsk, never mind.
Bai Chenzhu turned off his phone and went straight to sleep. He was too busy taking care of himself to have any energy left for anything else. Let others do the work of saving the world.
Since returning from the hospital that day, Bai Chenzhu has been in a deep sleep except when he needs to perform his basic physiological functions.
Even though the physical exam showed no major problems, my weak body was completely out of control, and when I opened or closed my eyes, the whole world seemed dark.
He was like a thirsty fish, unable to live without sleep.
After several days of this, Bai Chenzhu finally 'woke up'.
He didn't open his eyes; his soul floated in mid-air, swaying like a drunkard, vaguely able to see the outlines of the objects in the room—including this body.
Through the thick ceiling, Bai Chenzhu could hear noises and screams coming from upstairs, which eventually subsided.
I want to go up and take a look.
The thought flashed through Bai Chenzhu's mind, and he felt his 'soul' easily pass through the reinforced concrete ceiling and 'see' the scene upstairs.
The family of three lives on the fourth floor. The woman loves flowers and has planted pink and white climbing roses all over the balcony, which cascade down like a waterfall and stop above the third-floor window. It is very romantic and attracts passers-by to stop and take pictures, making it a popular spot for online influencers.
Now, those beautiful roses have climbed from the balcony into the fourth-floor apartment, wriggling like snakes, densely covering the entire interior, treating it as their 'nest'.
The family's bodies were pierced with vines, and their blood was splattered all over the parquet floor.
They were bound tightly and hidden deep inside the 'nest', with countless vines tied to their bodies, writhing and gurgling like snakes as they devoured something, their bodies gradually deflated like wrinkled human skin balloons.
The woman's eyes, wide open in death, stared straight out onto the balcony, her pupils dilated, her face withered and ashen, as if pleading for help, her eyes still holding the terror and despair of her death.
Bai Chenzhu was caught off guard when he met those lifeless eyes. A dark vortex seemed to be dragging him into the abyss. He jolted awake from his bed, clutching his swollen and aching forehead, gasping for breath.
What kind of monster was that? Bai Chenzhu clutched his chest, panting heavily. After recovering, he bit his index finger hard. The bleeding teeth mark, accompanied by a stinging pain, told him that this was not yet another dream within a dream.
"Thank goodness, it was just a dream," Bai Chenzhu comforted himself.
With his stomach rumbling, Bai Chenzhu remembered that there was still plenty of food in the house. As soon as his legs touched the floor, his calves buckled and he knelt down with a thud.
He froze, looking at his lower body in surprise. After a long while, he managed to stand up, panting, supporting himself on the edge of the bed. For some reason, he felt even more useless after waking up.
Bai Chenzhu quickly washed up and went to the hall to find something to eat, slipping on his slippers. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and noticed many emerald green rose vines hanging outside the window, their leaves rustling as if greeting him.
The scene from his dream was still flashing before his eyes, and Bai Chenzhu's heart was pounding in his chest. He quickly went forward to close the glass window and sealed it tightly with tape. While hastily eating some cookies, he checked his phone.
It's been almost half a month since I went to the hospital.
He had been in a coma for almost half a month. Bai Chenzhu didn't know whether he should be glad that he had managed to get up and eat a few bites when he woke up hungry during that time, otherwise the grass on his grave would be incredibly tall by now.
He seemed to sense something, glanced at his arm, and saw that the marks from that day's scratches were completely gone.
My phone was flooded with messages—from school teachers, classmates, friends, and Tang Zhao.
Tang Zhao's latest message came a few days ago. The long, dense text made Bai Chenzhu's eyes blur, and he only managed to read the first sentence: "Teacher, the apocalypse has really come! What to do! What to do..."
What to do? Just make do with it.
Bai Chenzhu silently ate the dry biscuit. Outside the window, which was sealed with tape, the shadows of wriggling vines could be vaguely seen.
The internet is abuzz with discussion about this rapidly spreading illness, and people no longer believe it's just a 'new type of rabies.' Because rabies doesn't cause loss of consciousness, nor does it make someone incredibly strong, biting anything in sight, or even preferring to chase and bite living people.
Zombies! These are zombies! Countless people had the same thought.
This was just the first generation of zombies. Bai Chenzhu's heart was heavy as he scrolled through the web, his fingers sliding across the screen. Perhaps because everyone was facing trouble in real life, very few people were still online, and messages were severely delayed.
The official announcement was prominently displayed in red and pinned to the top of all web pages, urging everyone to stay home as much as possible, reduce travel, and take precautions against infection.
In this mutation, the number of people with superpowers, ordinary people, and zombies is like a pyramid, and the huge difference creates terrible dangers everywhere in reality.
In his 'previous life', Bai Chenzhu was busy with work and also suffered the loss of a family member. If he hadn't heard someone in the office say that a supporting character in the book had the same name as him, he wouldn't have even bothered to skim through the millions of words of the book.
Therefore, Bai Chenzhu only remembered the general idea, only vaguely remembered that the mutants and zombies were extreme mutations in opposite directions to some extent.
Zombies gain an incredibly strong and indestructible body, like a cockroach, but their human spirit disappears completely, leaving only their animal instincts, turning them into mindless zombies who only want to satisfy their appetite.
In contrast, those with superpowers not only retain their rationality as humans, but also experience tremendous enhancements in their physical and mental abilities.
As for how to enhance it, Bai Chenzhu couldn't explain it either. He found a clue in his memory: Jiang Ye's five senses were terrifyingly strong in the later stages, the kind that wouldn't die even if he fell from a great height.
Well... after all, he's the male protagonist of this world.
But with so many superhumans, it seemed like there was no difference in his abilities. Bai Chenzhu clenched his pale hands, feeling a profound sense of powerlessness once again.
It was even weaker than before it was bitten.
But it's alright. According to general patterns, as long as he stays at home and doesn't go anywhere, plus the supplies he stockpiled in advance, he can survive for a while without any problem. Bai Chenzhu thought confidently.
A tapping sound came from outside the window. Bai Chenzhu looked up and saw the blood-stained flower vines playfully poking at the glass. Soft, beautiful, and large pink roses stretched out, 'looking' at him through the glass.
Rose?
How could it be the same as in my dream... No! That wasn't a dream! Bai Chenzhu realized what was happening, staring intently at the rose, his whole body stiff, a chill running down his spine.
How did it get down here!
Seemingly sensing his gaze, more and more vines slowly 'swam' down, their ends hanging silently from the window, like a huge swarm of snakes, their upside-down bodies all looking at him.
They swayed, conveying a message: hunger.
Besides humans, plants and animals infected with the virus can also exhibit similar symptoms to humans. Bai Chenzhu was inwardly panicked, but outwardly remained calm, 'staring' at the flowering vines outside the window.
Or rather, his brain has short-circuited.
He was wearing pajamas and slippers, and didn't even have time to prepare. Bai Chenzhu grabbed a jacket and put it on, then stuffed as much food as possible into his pockets as he walked towards the door.
There was no other way. He thought he could hide for a while by keeping some good food at home, but the monster came knocking on his door. If he stayed any longer, he would turn into a dried-up corpse.
Make a decisive decision!
Perhaps it was because his actions seemed too slow and sluggish that the intellectually challenged Hua Teng didn't realize that this steaming 'food' wanted to run away until Bai Chenzhu suddenly opened the door and ran away.
The glass was pierced by the vines and shattered into sparkling pieces on the ground with a crisp sound.
The flower vines, eager to rush in, were stopped by the iron gate of the living room. Unwilling to give up, they crawled densely around the gate, trying to find a gap to squeeze through.
Bai Chenzhu hurried down the concrete stairwell. Blood was everywhere at the second-floor landing, the bloodstains slippery. Wearing slippers, he stepped down and unexpectedly slipped and fell onto the concrete, his hands and back stained with large patches of blood. Bai Chenzhu's mind went blank for a moment; only the sharp pain in his tailbone was very real.
The iron gate on the second floor was wide open. Bai Chenzhu gritted his teeth and suppressed the gasp in his throat. His eyelids twitched, and he carefully got up and limped around a corner.
There was a rustling sound coming from that house. Thinking of the dazed middle-aged woman he had encountered not long ago, Bai Chenzhu swallowed hard and quietly ran downstairs.
As soon as he turned the corner, he froze, his face pale and cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Before him stood a pink and white rose, as large as half a human body. The strange flower unfolded layer by layer, revealing its stamens, which had become as sharp as steel needles, and came face to face with him.
It's as if they're deliberately waiting here for the food to be delivered.
It gently flutters its layers of beautiful petals.
—It smells so good.
Bai Chenzhu vaguely sensed the thoughts of this mutated flower vine. He wondered if he was hallucinating and hesitantly took half a step back.
—I want to eat it.
Upon hearing the voice again, Bai Chenzhu felt a chill run down his spine, cold sweat trickling down his temples. He quietly took another half-step back.
My heel hit the step, and the slipper sole, stained with blood, was slippery, so I didn't take a proper step.
The vine with the giant flower shot towards him like an arrow. Bai Chenzhu slid backward and fell on the stairs, his tailbone hitting the concrete floor. He accidentally avoided the giant flower's gaping maw.
"Hiss!" Bai Chenzhu gasped in pain after falling twice. Once he realized what was happening, he quickly turned around, climbed two steps up the stairs, and the strange flower, having failed in its first attack, lunged at his back again.
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