Chapter 1: The End Has Come
In the early morning hours of December 1, 2014, a flash of green light suddenly streaked across the sky. In Country Z, although some astronomy enthusiasts witnessed this scene, hardly anyone paid attention to it.
On the other side of the Earth, since it was broad daylight, many people did see the phenomenon and even captured it on their phones.
The abnormality occurred an hour later. Perfectly fine people who had just been chatting and going about their business suddenly began to turn pale. At first, they continued doing what they were doing, but then, without warning, they collapsed. A few minutes later, when they stood up again, they had already become lifeless, soulless walking corpses. They hunted others of their kind, tearing with their fingers, biting with their mouths…
A terrifying crisis began sweeping across the entire world.
Ling Qingyun was an employee at a large supermarket in S City. Although he earned a decent income, being one of the few men in the supermarket meant that almost all the heavy, tiring work fell to him. After a long and exhausting day, he finally got off work at nine o’clock, freshened up a bit, and went to bed.
But in the dead of night, he was woken up by banging noises coming from next door.
Climbing out of bed and muttering curses under his breath, Ling Qingyun kicked the wall and shouted, “Damn it! Can you stop knocking already? If I lose my temper, I swear I’ll beat the crap out of you!”
Housing in S City was expensive, and rental prices were high as well. Since coming to this city five years ago, he had never been able to afford an apartment of his own. He had always rented shared apartments with several others. At one point, he even lived in a densely packed multi-tenant room. He didn’t have much money and needed to save as much as he could for the future.
The apartment Ling Qingyun currently lived in had been partitioned into three small rooms. A family of three lived in the larger front room, and the two smaller back rooms were for single tenants. He rented one of them, while the other was occupied by a young man.
To Ling Qingyun, that young man had a bad lifestyle — often bringing women back late at night and disturbing his rest — so he had never been friendly toward him. Being tall and strong, Ling Qingyun was someone the young man feared. Normally, if he heard such yelling, the guy would quiet down right away. But tonight, the banging only grew louder.
“Damn it!” Ling Qingyun got out of bed. When he opened the door, he saw the woman from the larger room come out holding her child to use the restroom. She also glanced unhappily at the room where the noise was coming from — her child had clearly been woken up by it too.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ling Qingyun banged on the neighboring door. A banging sound came back from inside, which made his temper flare. But the door was locked. As hot-tempered as he was, he wouldn’t go as far as breaking someone else’s door in the middle of the night.
Something was off. The person next door didn’t respond at all, just kept banging on the door and wall… Wait. Ling Qingyun frowned. With the guy’s scrawny build, he should’ve gotten tired long ago. Yet…
A strange sense of danger suddenly crept up on Ling Qingyun — and just then, his phone started ringing.
Ling Qingyun had few friends. After his parents divorced and started their own families, he had little contact with his relatives. At work, since most employees in the supermarket were women, his relationship with colleagues was just average. The only person who would regularly call him was Zhuang Cheng.
He quickly pressed the answer button and indeed heard the familiar voice filled with an unmistakable urgency: “Qingyun, where are you?”
“Chengcheng, of course I’m at my place…” Ling Qingyun wondered why Zhuang Cheng would call him in the middle of the night. Knowing Cheng, who usually was considerate about others, he wouldn’t normally disturb anyone’s sleep so late.
But Zhuang Cheng was his best friend, so no matter when he called, Ling Qingyun wouldn’t be annoyed. After all, without the past Zhuang Cheng, there wouldn’t be the person he was today.
“Qingyun! Something terrible has happened. There’s this terrifying, plague-like thing spreading. The infected people are like zombies from a biohazard movie—they only want to eat people! Turn on the TV and watch the news!” Zhuang Cheng’s voice was full of anxiety.
If anyone else told Ling Qingyun this, he definitely wouldn’t believe it. But Zhuang Cheng was different. They had known each other so long, and Zhuang Cheng had never lied to him. “Is this really happening? I’m going to check the news right now!”
“Be careful, don’t get caught or bitten by the infected. Once infected, you’ll turn just like them soon!” After saying this, some noisy sounds came from the phone, then the call was cut off.
The banging next door hadn’t stopped. The woman from the family of three was soothing her child to sleep.
Ling Qingyun didn’t dare waste any time. He quickly turned on the TV, and sure enough, the news was on. The screen showed footage of people biting others. The news anchor was no longer the usual pretty woman, but a man in military uniform: “Attention everyone! Attention everyone! Be very careful of these walking dead! According to our sampling investigation, nearly one-tenth of the human population has already been infected with this virus! Everyone unite! We will eliminate these monsters!”
Similar warnings were being broadcast on every TV station, and many local channels were also airing rescue information, directing survivors to gather at designated locations.
Years ago, Ling Qingyun had seen news reports about people biting others’ faces after drinking or taking drugs. At the time, he joked with Zhuang Cheng that maybe a real-life crisis was about to happen. Now, that joke was coming true.
Watching the screen, Ling Qingyun saw those pale, lifeless people relentlessly running toward the still-living humans. Even if their limbs were broken, they kept moving until finally being shot in the head would make them fall…
Those walking dead looked pale and lifeless, with vacant eyes. They were somewhat different from the zombies on TV shows, but very similar.
He quickly got dressed and then knocked on the door of the family of three living in the front room.
“What is it?” The woman who opened the door asked somewhat displeased.
“See for yourself!” Ling Qingyun pointed to the TV in his room, then ignored the woman and dialed Zhuang Cheng’s number. After a while, the call was answered: “Where are you?”
“I’m retreating with the people from school. Don’t wander off, I’ll come find you,” Zhuang Cheng said anxiously.
“There’s someone in my apartment who has turned into one of those monsters. Don’t come here, I’ll come to you!” Ling Qingyun replied, then added, “I’ll get to your school as soon as possible! We’ll head to the safe zone in the southwest!”
Earlier on the TV, he had seen that the safe zone for S City was in the southwest. The soldier on TV had urged everyone to leave the city safely while they would also be clearing out the zombies inside the city.
“You have to be careful!” Zhuang Cheng’s trembling voice came through the phone, along with cries and screams from others.
After hanging up, Ling Qingyun saw that the woman who had been watching TV was now waking her husband. At the same time, a loud voice sounded outside: “Everyone wake up! Everyone wake up! It’s dangerous outside! There are flesh-eating walking dead — do not get bitten!”
Those shouting seemed to be coming from a helicopter, and soon the voice faded into the distance.
Ling Qingyun then called his father’s phone. As for his mother, that woman hadn’t even given him her number.
The phone rang, but shortly after, the call was cut off. Ling Qingyun heard the “line busy” tone and frowned. However, if they could hang up on him, that meant they were probably okay, right?
Ling Qingyun said nothing more, opened the door, and left the apartment.
The area where he rented was bad both in location and security. Rather than staying there and waiting for unknown rescue, it was better to take a chance outside. Besides, Zhuang Cheng was still at school!
When he left, he took nothing except his weapon. At times like this, carrying too many things would only be a burden. Besides, there wasn’t much worth taking in his rented place.
Ling Qingyun’s weapon was a steel pipe, which he had taken from his secondhand single bed. He was able to buy that bed because it was sturdy, and the steel pipe was made of solid material.
Since it was already early morning, there were few people outside. Given the current situation, those walking dead were low in intelligence and wouldn’t open doors themselves to get out. So Ling Qingyun didn’t encounter any danger on the stairs. However, it was clear that many people already knew about the situation outside because cries and screams came through the doors.
Ling Qingyun had just descended the stairs, thinking it was safe, when suddenly the door on the ground floor burst open. A bloodied man ran out shouting, “Help! Save me!” The man wore only a pair of shorts, with bite marks on his arms. His complexion looked off. Behind him were two slow-moving walking dead, a man and a woman, both completely naked. The woman had chunks of flesh missing from her chest.
Ling Qingyun remembered what Zhuang Cheng had said—those who got bitten would also be infected. Without hesitation, he jumped onto his motorcycle, started it up, and sped away from the scene. Even if he saved that man, he probably wouldn’t survive anyway!
Witnessing such monsters with his own eyes had a huge impact on Ling Qingyun, but what he worried about even more was Zhuang Cheng.
He and Zhuang Cheng were childhood friends. They were in the same class in elementary school, and deskmates in middle school. Even after Ling Qingyun dropped out after middle school due to various reasons, their friendship never changed. In fact, the only reason he came to work in S City was because Zhuang Cheng was here.
Of course, part of the reason he cared so much about Zhuang Cheng was because of everything Zhuang Cheng had done for him over the years.
Back in middle school, Zhuang Cheng was still scrawny and underdeveloped, yet he would always buy two big meat buns in the morning—just so he could give one to him. Ling Qingyun remembered that while eating those buns, he swore that one day he would repay Zhuang Cheng properly.
He had grown up with his grandmother after his parents divorced. Knowing how hard she worked to earn money by farming vegetables, Ling Qingyun never asked her for pocket money. But back in middle school, when he was hitting a major growth spurt, his grandmother would cook thin porridge for breakfast. After drinking a full bowl and then peeing it all out, his stomach was empty again. During the four classes in the morning, he spent three fighting the hunger in his belly.
No one ever noticed—except Zhuang Cheng.
One day, Zhuang Cheng handed him a big meat bun and said, “I can’t finish this. Do you want it?”
“Yes!” At the time, he devoured the bun in just a few bites. When you’re starving, dignity and pride are worth nothing!
Maybe it was the way he wolfed it down, but from that day on, Zhuang Cheng brought him a meat bun every morning. That bun meant a lot to him. Without those hundreds of meat buns, he truly believed he wouldn’t have grown as tall and strong as he did.
Ling Qingyun had lived in the countryside with his grandmother as a child. She grew vegetables and sold them for money. The vegetables they ate always came from their own small plot. They often went a whole month without a single piece of meat. To him, a meat bun was incredibly tempting. Of course, he was also grateful. Since Zhuang Cheng gave him food, he shielded Zhuang Cheng from every kind of trouble, carried his schoolbag home every day, and after escorting him home, Zhuang Cheng would invite him upstairs, where he’d give him snacks.
Middle school life… He wasn’t the top bully at school, but even the top bully didn’t dare mess with him. On the other hand, Zhuang Cheng was a model student—well-behaved, kind, and always treated him well.
When Ling Qingyun had no money after graduation and immediately started working, Zhuang Cheng got into a prestigious high school, then a top university, and now he was even pursuing his graduate degree…
Ling Qingyun rode his motorcycle fast—only when he saw Zhuang Cheng with his own eyes would he be able to rest easy. His grandmother had long since passed away, and his parents were as good as nonexistent. The one person who had always laughed and cried with him—was Zhuang Cheng.
Zhuang Cheng wasn’t just his brother—he was the most important person in his life!
—
Author’s Note:
2012—I’ve always felt I needed to write a post-apocalyptic story at least once.
—
May 28, 2012 — According to a report by the Miami Herald, Miami police stated they had shot and killed a naked man who was eating another man’s face on the MacArthur Causeway off-ramp. The victim’s face was almost entirely chewed off, and he was in critical condition. The incident reportedly occurred around 2 p.m. on the 26th, just south of the Miami Herald building. A witness said a woman saw two men fighting and flagged down nearby police for help.
An unnamed officer said he approached and confirmed that the naked man was indeed chewing on the other man’s head. The officer ordered him to back away, but he continued biting the victim. The officer then opened fire. However, the “cannibal” ignored the gunshots and kept eating the victim, so the officer had no choice but to keep firing. Witnesses claimed they heard at least six gunshots.
The “cannibal” was eventually shot dead, face-down on the sidewalk in front of the Miami Herald‘s parking lot. Police asked the newspaper to provide surveillance footage of the incident.
Police said the other man was rushed to the hospital and was in critical condition. According to CBS Miami, police sources revealed that the victim’s face had been “almost completely eaten,” leaving him unrecognizable.
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June 27, 2012, afternoon — In Wenzhou, as local resident Ms. Du was driving past the Pudong Bus Stop in Guoxi Street, Ouhai District, a man suddenly ran up to her car and started frantically banging on her window. Startled, Ms. Du tried to open the door and escape, but as soon as she did, the crazed man tackled her to the ground. What happened next was even more shocking — the man began viciously biting her face. Instantly, Ms. Du’s face was left torn and bloody by what came to be known as the “Wenzhou face-biting man.” Passersby tried to intervene, but the man seemed to be in a trance or possessed. It wasn’t until police arrived that they were finally able to restrain him and bring the situation under control.
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These terrifying reports! Even though they were caused by drug use or intoxication, they still send chills down your spine!