X City, an ordinary third-tier city, had a low population density, yet its towering buildings stood in dense rows.
Green trees lined the streets, and occasionally, the chirping of birds broke the tranquility.
Beneath this calm, people diligently managed the small details of their lives, free from the hustle and bustle of big cities, leaving only a rare sense of peace and composure.
In this ordinary city lived an even more ordinary twenty-year-old boy; he spent his days curled up in his rented room, head bowed, immersed in mobile games.
The boy, Zuo Feng, was not an internet-addicted youth lost in a virtual world, but rather earned his living by power-leveling in games.
With a victorious smile, Zuo Feng put down his phone, stretched his aching neck, and looked out at the drizzling June rain, then walked to the balcony.
Standing on the balcony, Zuo Feng's gaze fixed on the familiar fruit store at the street corner.
Through the rain, a seductive figure leaning lazily inside the store was faintly discernible.
Zuo Feng rested his arms on the railing, staring at the figure for a long time.
The person in the store seemed to sense his gaze, raised her right hand, and gently waved, responding to his attention.
The proprietress was Yun Qianqian, twenty-six years old.
Zuo Feng had known her for nearly two years.
Every time he went downstairs, he would visit her store to buy some fruit and linger for a long time, and the two became very familiar.
Yun Qianqian was naturally sensual and charming; her naturally flowing curves outlined deep cleavage.
She always personally helped Zuo Feng choose fruits.
Whenever she bent over, through her neckline, her full curves always made the boy's blood rush, making it difficult for him to control himself.
Yun Qianqian's appearance could be described as 'exquisite'.
When Zuo Feng first saw her, only one word came to his mind—seductive, seductively charming, a captivating enchantress through and through!
Slender willow brows, bright phoenix eyes, a delicate and upturned nose beneath which were small, rosy lips.
The right corner of her mouth seemed to naturally curl upwards slightly, combined with her proud assets, a fiery waist, rounded full hips, and a pair of long, slender, snow-white legs—all together, she was a true beauty.
The two had a tacit understanding; Yun Qianqian always noticed Zuo Feng's gaze.
She seemed to enjoy teasing him, and each time she responded, she would stick out her tender pink tongue to lightly lick her lips, even freeing one hand to weigh her proud curves, then flirtatiously wink at Zuo Feng, as if asking: Want to try?
When Zuo Feng's face turned red, she would giggle charmingly without stop.
After picking out the fruits, the two would always chat for a long time.
Yun Qianqian was talkative, chattering endlessly about everything, while Zuo Feng quietly and patiently listened.
Of course, not all customers received the same treatment as Zuo Feng.
At least, to this day, Zuo Feng had never seen Yun Qianqian pick fruits for anyone else.
Although their relationship was good, Yun Qianqian never rounded down the bill when it was time to pay.
The change always settled on three numbers: 5, 2, or 1, becoming an unspoken understanding between them.
“Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! ........”
A series of urgent message notification sounds rang out, and without looking, Zuo Feng knew they were messages from the power-leveling group.
His contacts, aside from clients, were all group members from power-leveling, and these dozen or so messages were certainly not from a client.
Waving goodbye to the hazy, charming figure in the rain, Zuo Feng opened his phone.
“Oh my god! Zombies! I saw live zombies!”
“+1, I swear, it seems like there are some downstairs here too, damn it, could it be real zombies are here?!”
“Hey, it’s the apocalypse, time to go home and do laundry!”
“No joke, something seems off on my side too, can someone call the police for me? My emergency call isn’t going through?”
“Damn! You guys aren't kidding, are you? I just woke up, and it sounds chaotic around here!”
“Relax! Relax! Don't disturb my herding, I'm currently riding my beloved Little Water Buffalo galloping across the fields, where are these zombies?!”
“Is today April Fool's Day? Heh, stop messing around, hurry up, I just got a big order, 25 stars to 50 stars, need experts to help!”
“Damn it, there really are zombies, if I hadn't run fast enough, I would've been bitten.”
“The apocalypse is here! Dear zombies, don't bite me, haha!”
“It's over... There really are damn zombies, right outside my yard, damn it, it's my third uncle!”
“Heh... are you guys teaming up to fool people? Zombies, can't you talk about something more realistic?”
“Don't disbelieve it, I'm in Q City, and now the streets are full of dead people and zombies, I'm trapped at home and can't get out, can't get out... Everyone, take care!”
In a group of nearly two hundred people, there were both believers and non-believers, and the group instantly became a hotbed of activity.
“What kind of trick is this? Today isn't April Fool's Day, is it?”
Zuo Feng curled his lips, too lazy to bother.
Zombies? I don't believe a word of it!
Why don't you say it's jiangshi? At least they're homegrown.
It seems a jiangshi movie was recently released, what was it called?
The special effects were so realistic, these people are really bored, the apocalypse isn't that easy to come by.
“Should I take Da Bai Tu to see it tonight? She’d definitely love it, she loves exciting movies like that.”
Zuo Feng's lips curled into a slight smile; Da Bai Tu was his nickname for Yun Qianqian.
“Da Bai Tu, want to go to the movies tonight? A new jiangshi film just came out.”
He clicked on the pinned chat box and sent a voice message.
“Oh! Xiao Nan Ren is finally getting it! He's actually asking me to the movies; but I'm afraid of the dark, you know, watching a jiangshi movie in a dark cinema at night, won't Xiao Nan Ren take advantage of me?
After the movie, should we get a late-night snack?
Xiao Nan Ren, will you try to get me drunk?
Oh no, oh no!
If I get drunk, you'll be able to do whatever you want with me, won't you?
No, no, Xiao Nan Ren, I only accept at your place, no hotels, and no objects between us… Oh my! So scared…”
Clicking on Yun Qianqian's long voice message reply, Zuo Feng's lips twitched; it was indeed Da Bai Tu's style, excellent at 'driving'—Xiao Nan Ren was Yun Qianqian's nickname for him.
“Are you going?”
Da Bai Tu's words couldn't be engaged with; the more he engaged, the faster the 'car' would go.
A short voice message was sent from Zuo Feng's phone.
“Come find me at 6 PM tonight, we'll have dinner together first, and flirt a little.
After dinner, we'll stroll around the mall.
I checked, XX Square has a showing at 9 PM, and after the movie, it'll be around 11 PM, perfect for a late-night snack, where we can chat about what positions we'll try at your place tonight, hehe, Xiao Nan Ren, tonight I'll be wearing those sheer undies, oh,
Oh my... so shy... you really have to perform well!
Don't forget to prepare my favorite snacks.”
Zuo Feng smiled helplessly; Da Bai Tu was either 'driving' or on her way to 'driving' whenever she talked to him.
In reality, their most intimate contact had only been her secretly kissing him once.
“See you tonight!”
“See you tonight!”
Two text messages appeared in the chat window, one sent by Zuo Feng, the other replied by Da Bai Tu…
“Oh my god! Someone jumped, are they crazy?!”
Just as Zuo Feng was about to head back inside, a dark figure in his line of sight plummeted straight down from a tall building, crashing heavily into Da Bai Tu's storefront awning, and also smashing the fruit stall at the entrance.
Da Bai Tu was clearly terrified, standing frozen in place, not daring to move.
Zuo Feng fumbled for his phone, ready to call the police, and then go comfort her.
But the surrounding crowd suddenly stirred, scattering in all directions, and an ominous feeling permeated the air.
Zuo Feng's heart tightened as he saw the woman who had fallen onto the fruit stall, her hair disheveled, lying face down, but her hands were unnaturally bent backward, propping up her body, and her legs trembled as she lunged towards the frozen Da Bai Tu…
“Da Bai Tu!”
Zuo Feng was terrified, turning to rush down to save her.
But after only two steps, a violent, twisting pain suddenly shot through his brain, as if plants were taking root inside, their tendrils spreading wildly.
His chest burned with a fiery sensation, and breathing became extremely difficult.
What he couldn't see at that moment was that his black pupils were now surrounded by a purple aura.
His eyelids felt heavy as a thousand pounds, and his brain lost control of his body.
He fell onto the coffee table, then rolled to the floor.
His consciousness desperately tried to force his eyelids open—but he was powerless.
Time seemed to stretch out endlessly, his brain like an observer, watching helplessly as his vision slowly blurred amidst the intense, twisting pain, shrinking into a slit, condensing into a single blurry light spot, and finally sinking into darkness.
In a daze, Zuo Feng seemed to catch a glimpse of purple…
“Da Bai Tu, please don't let anything happen to you!”
Zuo Feng murmured in his heart as his consciousness plunged into the abyss.
Faintly, he heard Da Bai Tu's startled cry, but he was unable to respond.
In the darkness, that hint of purple grew more intense, as if summoning him to an unknown realm.
Zuo Feng, engulfed in darkness, couldn't hear, but moments later, screams erupted all around.
On the road below, car horns, screeching brakes, crashes, and shouts for help rose and fell, interspersed with continuous gunshots…
