Deputy Mayor Sun sat in the corridor, his back against the wall.
One of his arms was gnawed to a bloody pulp. The zombie that had been chewing on him had been drawn away by something else and left him behind.
Several zombies had run past him without even a glance, completely ignoring him.
Deputy Mayor Sun now understood: after the virus entered the body, the infection rate varied from person to person. But once the virus had assimilated a human, even before visible mutation occurred, zombies already recognized that “person” as one of their own and stopped attacking.
He watched the people running and screaming in the wide corridor—some fighting desperately, some weeping in despair.
He stood up.
There was a recessed display case on the wall. The glass was shattered, shards scattered all over the floor.
Deputy Mayor Sun bent down and picked up a fallen trophy from the ground—made of crystal, heavy and hard. It was shaped like a torch, thick at the top and tapering at the bottom, perfect for gripping.
Trophy in hand, he turned around and first smashed an original zombie’s skull.
Then he crushed a second-generation zombie that had pinned his colleague to the ground and was tearing into him.
The zombie fell aside. His colleague’s face was half-eaten, trembling violently, making a rasping sound: “H-help… help…”
Deputy Mayor Sun looked at his wounds, said nothing, and raised the trophy high.
He smashed his head too.
That way, he couldn’t turn into a zombie.
One less was one less.
Leveraging his own “already infected” status, Deputy Mayor Sun did his best to kill as many zombies as possible.
But his strength was so feeble.
The entire government building was a living hell.
When he saw Mayor Zheng, mutated into an original zombie, lurching crookedly past him to chase after a clerk—
The trophy slipped from his hand.
Tears of despair streamed down his face.
Mayor, Mayor, we’re finished…
The government was finished.
S City was finished.
The country was finished.
Humanity and this world were finished.
Youth Apartments, in the courtyard.
Night had fallen. The streetlights were on.
The lights inside the neighborhood weren’t meant for illumination, but for ambiance—so they weren’t very bright, giving everything a hazy glow.
If you ignored the cyan skin and the bloody severed head in her hand, the girl standing in the bushes almost looked… beautiful.
“He Tian…”
Su Yu’s voice trembled slightly.
She took a step forward. Jiang Cheng released her arm.
“He Tian, it’s me.” Su Yu walked forward slowly. “It’s me—Su Yu…”
No one stopped her.
He Tian attacked Nie Kuizhang because he had harassed her before. Even after turning into a zombie, she still held a grudge—that meant she retained some memory and intelligence.
She was exactly what they had just named a third-generation zombie.
No longer driven purely by the instinct for flesh and blood, she seemed like a new kind of zombie with awakened intelligence.
Everyone wanted to know: just how intelligent were these third-generation zombies? Were they still like their living selves? Could they communicate?
Having someone step forward to try was exactly what everyone wanted.
Only Li Jiangbing reached out to stop her, but Song Jingshuo held him back.
“Let her try,” Song Jingshuo said quietly. “Someone has to. Better sooner than later.”
Li Jiangbing understood—it was in everyone’s interest. Eventually, someone would have to attempt it.
All he could do was watch anxiously, gripping his weapon tightly.
Everyone watched as Su Yu approached, step by step.
Her voice was gentle: “It’s me. Do you remember me?”
“What about Fu Duoduo? Did you leave it at home?”
“How do you feel right now? Does it hurt?”
“He Tian, put Nie… put Nie Kuizhang down.” Su Yu kept moving closer. “I know you hate him. He’s dead already. Let him go…”
Some onlookers showed expressions of pity.
Nie Kuizhang’s harassment of He Tian was no secret—many people knew about it.
But men had a hard time empathizing with women on this. The vast majority of men felt the punishment Nie Kuizhang received was appropriate and sufficient.
Some even said: “It’s not like he actually did anything—he just touched her.”
They couldn’t imagine that a girl could loathe something like this so deeply that, even after becoming a zombie, she’d still rip Nie Kuizhang’s head off.
Tsk, tsk.
Suddenly, He Tian let go, and the head dropped into the grass.
Su Yu’s eyes lit up.
If third-generation zombies could communicate… many hearts kindled with a glimmer of hope.
Of course, others felt fear instead—if monsters gained intelligence, wasn’t that even more terrifying?
Su Yu grew bolder and kept approaching He Tian: “He…”
The thing Li Jiangbing had feared most happened.
In an instant, He Tian sprang and pounced, wrapping her arms around Su Yu and lunging for her face!
Zombies were mutated from humans. When they attacked humans, because they were the same height, they naturally aimed for the face, neck, and shoulders—the three most vulnerable areas in close combat.
The armor protected the shoulders, and a shell-shaped raised collar at the back covered the back of the head, neck, and ears.
But the face had no protection.
Shrieks erupted.
Everyone thought Su Yu was done for.
Su Yu herself thought so too. When the stench hit her face and her arms were pinned, she truly believed she was dead.
But Su Yu didn’t want to die!
She had put on armor and picked up a weapon to become stronger.
She wanted to protect herself—not cower behind others.
She wanted to control her own fate, even dreamt of having the power to protect others!
How could she die like this!
A fierce will to survive exploded in her brain.
Ever since waking up, there had been a spot in her head throbbing with pain.
That pain point exploded in that instant—and activated.
Li Jiangbing shouted and charged forward to save Su Yu, but Su Yu and He Tian had already fallen together.
Everyone imagined that, tangled together like this, man and zombie rolling on the ground, even if they rushed over and killed the zombie, the person would be done for—probably with a face full of blood.
But things didn’t turn out the way they expected.
In the moment they hit the ground, Su Yu and He Tian suddenly lit up.
With that burst of light, He Tian was thrown back!
Everyone swarmed forward. Li Jiangbing lunged and brought his spiked club down on her head, killing He Tian.
Li Jiangbing caught his breath for a moment, glanced at He Tian’s lifeless body, and felt a pang of regret.
He knew He Tian too.
Because He Tian had always stuck with Su Yu to avoid Nie Kuizhang. And Su Yu was from Building 2, so she’d naturally been around Li Jiangbing.
That was how they’d gotten familiar.
In Li Jiangbing’s heart, both Su Yu and He Tian were good girls.
Brave, diligent, never hiding in the back. They actively participated in all kinds of group activities.
During that month and more, Li Jiangbing, as the “Brother Li” who strode through the neighborhood, had enjoyed a bit of special privilege.
It wasn’t that no women had shown interest in him before, hoping to get some favors.
But Li Jiangbing’s formal education wasn’t great, yet his street smarts ran far deeper than most people his age in the neighborhood. Every time, he’d deflect those advances with a half-smile.
When he had a little bit of resources in hand, he preferred to take care of girls like Su Yu and He Tian—the ones who were always around, actively participating in volunteer services.
A flicker of sentiment passed through Li Jiangbing’s mind, then he immediately turned to look at Su Yu.
Jiang Cheng and Song Jingshuo also stepped forward. Everyone crowded around Su Yu, staring at her in amazement.
Su Yu sat on the ground, equally bewildered—
A small, glowing white shield enveloped her.
A few seconds later, the shield dimmed and vanished.
But it had undeniably been real—everyone had seen it. That shield was exactly what had flared up and thrown He Tian off the moment she grabbed Su Yu.
Li Jiangbing crouched down: “Tilt your head up!”
Su Yu obeyed, exposing her neck. Li Jiangbing checked both sides, then had her show her hands too.
He let out a huge sigh of relief, reached out and pulled Su Yu to her feet, then announced: “No wounds! Not even a scratch!”
The crowd bombarded her with questions: “What just happened?”
“What was that thing?”
“Did you guys see it too, or am I imagining things?”
“We saw it, we saw it.”
Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan exchanged glances, barely suppressing their smiles, their eyes sparkling with excited anticipation.
Li Jiangbing let out a “heh” and said to Su Yu: “Good thing you have superpowers too.”
Su Yu still hadn’t figured out what was going on. After the white light shield vanished, her head ached a little. She winced and asked: “What do you mean?”
Li Jiangbing said: “Wasn’t that your superpower just now?”
He and Jiang Cheng hadn’t had a chance to discuss superpowers further. But now that Su Yu’s power had been displayed in front of everyone, it was clear that first, they weren’t the only ones with abilities, and second, there was no point keeping it a secret anymore.
Li Jiangbing raised his voice: “Anyone else who woke up and found they have superpowers—don’t keep it to yourselves. Speak up.”
Zhao Yi and Gao Yuxuan exchanged another glance, then both raised their hands.
“Hey.” Li Jiangbing was pleased. “You two.”
Both familiar faces—good.
But many in the crowd were completely confused: “What are you guys talking about?”
Apparently, not everyone had them.
Gao Yuxuan said: “It’s this.”
He raised one finger, concentrated, and a thin wisp of electric current formed at his fingertip.
Though faint, it was especially clear in the darkness.
The crowd let out a mix of sounds—surprise, curiosity, admiration.
Li Jiangbing asked Zhao Yi: “What about you?”
Zhao Yi looked around, walked over to the grass. He didn’t need to touch anything—his feet were already on the ground, close enough.
He focused, and with a whoosh, the soil in front of him churned and swelled, forming a small mound about knee-high.
Zhao Yi broke out in a sweat from the effort.
Li Jiangbing asked: “Anyone else? Don’t hide it—we’re all going to find out sooner or later.”
A few more people raised their hands one after another.
Among the familiar faces, Wu Jiancheng could control fire. But he needed a source—he used a lighter to ignite a small flame, then, like Li Jiangbing controlling water, he shaped that flame into a fireball that rolled in his palm.
Cui Haiyang raised his steel pipe. Under everyone’s gaze, the straight pipe bent and folded. But straightening it back from an L-shape left him exhausted.
Li Jiangbing asked Su Yu: “What would you call yours?”
Su Yu had no idea—she couldn’t answer.
Zhao Yi jumped in: “A shield! That’s amazing!”
Gao Yuxuan had discovered his ability when he touched an electrical appliance after waking up. Zhao Yi had houseplants—he’d walked to the window to check on the situation outside, touched a flowerpot, and sensed his power.
What did two otakus do first when faced with something like this?
Call each other, of course!
“I have superpowers!”
“Holy shit, me too!!”
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