Chapter 31

Xiao Tianming swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as he took another sip of water, recounting the madman he had encountered at the police station.

"It’s not just me talking—in the state I was in back then, I couldn’t even remember what the girl my buddy set me up with looked like; all I recall is that she had two eyes and a mouth. But that person... even now, just thinking about him makes my heart go cold."

The police station lights were harsh and ghastly. The detention area was filled with hysterical noise: someone was still frantically cursing, others were vomiting from drunkenness just like Xiao Tianming had been, and some were muttering unintelligibly while slamming the backs of their heads against the white walls, over and over.

The man beside Xiao Tianming had a flushed face and slightly bulging eyes, his tiny pupils trembling incessantly like some living thing independent of the human body.

"Hey, get ready."

From start to finish, the man kept repeating similar, cryptic ramblings.

"The world is going to end."

"We’re all done for."

...

"So, you met someone in a holding cell who told you the world was ending... and you just believed him?"

Qi Wu suddenly let out a cold snort, cutting off Xiao Tianming’s recollection once more.

Xiao Tianming flinched and shook his head frantically: "No, no, how could I? At first, I just thought the guy was a lunatic, maybe high on drugs. But then, that man suddenly told me to watch him."

"And then?"

"Then, right in front of my face, he ate his own finger."

Xiao Tianming’s voice trembled.

"I was so terrified, I was stunned. I thought I still wasn't sober; otherwise, how could someone just crunch and chew his own finger off like it was a chicken claw? The blood sprayed out—I felt like it splashed right onto my face. But that man didn't look like he felt a bit of pain."

Indeed, far from showing any sign of retreat due to pain, the man had grinned, laughing joyfully as he watched the surrounding chaos.

His teeth, stained pink with fresh blood, shone under the fluorescent lights.

["Look, this is the proof!"]

["I’m not crazy; I’m just speaking the truth."]

Then, he held up his hand toward Xiao Tianming—it was chewed to a pulp, nothing left but a raw, bloody palm.

*

"...Some things."

Xiao Tianming muttered very, very softly.

"Some things sprouted from his hand. I didn't know if I was seeing things at the time, but they looked like... like pinworms... emerging in thin, wispy strands, swaying and wiggling on his hand."

"Then the police dragged him away."

"After I was released from the station, I couldn't stop thinking about it. You could say the gibberish he spoke at first was just the ravings of a madman. But those worms... I mean, what exactly were those things that came out of his palm? They couldn't have been actual parasites. Thinking about it like that, I got a bad feeling, so I figured it was better to be prepared. That’s why I stocked up on all those supplies."

"I didn't truly believe it, it was too surreal. I was just scared, and my gut told me something was wrong."

"Who knew everyone would actually turn into monsters... Xiao Qian, such a pretty girl, she just... right in front of me... *sob*... she even tried to eat me..."

...

As he spoke, Xiao Tianming seemed to finally grasp the reality of the situation, and he broke down into loud, wailing sobs right in front of Xie Xishu and Qi Wu.

Xie Xishu stared unblinkingly at Xiao Tianming, who had lost all the poise of his former social media influencer persona, his expression thoughtful.

He didn't offer any comfort. After a few minutes, the man’s sobbing ceased on its own.

Xiao Tianming wiped his nose with the hem of his T-shirt, then looked up at Xie Xishu and Qi Wu with tear-filled eyes.

"So, what is the situation out there now?"

...

Xie Xishu lowered his gaze and quickly told Xiao Tianming everything he needed to know. This, of course, included the crucial information they had just learned—the government was clearing out the monsters in City A and had set up a survivor refuge nearby.

Hearing this, Xiao Tianming’s face brightened slightly.

He stood up from the floor in excitement and took two steps toward Xie Xishu.

"You two... could you take one more person with you?"

Xie Xishu was silent for a moment.

Qi Wu, however, raised an eyebrow instantly.

Seeing this, Xiao Tianming’s lips began to tremble.

"I swear I won't hold you back. Look, I’ve been lifting weights, really! If you don't believe me, look at these abs, they're the real deal, not a drop of fat—"

He immediately pulled up his sticky shirt hem to show off his supposed abdominal muscles.

Qi Wu, having reached his limit, pulled Xie Xishu back two steps.

"Enough."

He said coldly.

"It’s not like you’re the only one with abs, and that’s useless right now anyway." He paused, then continued, "...Don't you deal in cars? If you want to come with us, you need to show some sincerity."

...

Relying on the car keys he provided, Xiao Tianming briefly became their temporary companion.

Xie Xishu told him they would follow Xiao Tianming to the outskirts of City A. If the information from the aircraft broadcast was accurate, as long as they followed the official safe route, Xiao Tianming could reach the refuge.

Once there, he might settle down, or perhaps be transferred elsewhere for safety. But that would be a choice for Xiao Tianming to make.

"As for us, we have our own business to attend to."

Xie Xishu said, his face stern, enunciating every word.

But Xiao Tianming seemed completely oblivious to the youth’s cold demeanor, his expression still full of gratitude.

"That, of course! You two are so young, to have made it this far in times like these, you must be experts. As long as I can follow you, I’ll be safe."

Xiao Tianming swallowed, speaking in a very subservient tone.

"Really, I’m so grateful to you both. If it weren't for you, I might have died in that basement..."

Facing his overly earnest thanks, both Xie Xishu and Qi Wu remained noncommittal.

*

Once the agreement was reached, they headed to the garage to retrieve the car. With Xiao Tianming’s active cooperation, they were spared the trouble of hunting for keys in the various villas. However, while passing through the living room, Xiao Tianming caught sight of the two human corpses hanging from the antlers.

He stood frozen, drawing a sharp breath and letting out a low gasp.

"How... how could this happen?"

He stared fixedly at the two bodies, his voice choking.

"My condolences."

Seeing Xiao Tianming’s pale face, Xie Xishu couldn't help but blurt it out.

But Qi Wu, following close behind, asked Xiao Tianming in a low, haunting voice: "...Your parents are dead, yet you don't seem all that sad?"

Even with the thick scent of human decay and blood in the living room, Qi Wu could tell that there was absolutely no aura of grief about Xiao Tianming. His reaction was more like panic than sadness.

Xiao Tianming stood stunned for a moment before slowly lowering his hand from his mouth.

"Ah, these aren't my parents."

He explained dryly.

"This is my housekeeper, look, the one who made the braised duck wings for me. The person next to her, I can't even tell anymore, they're too bloated. Looking at the clothes, it seems like my driver..."

Xie Xishu scanned Xiao Tianming’s face. "Is that so?"

Xiao Tianming nodded. "Yeah, my parents aren't even in the country; they must be safe... they should be safe, right?" As he spoke, the man’s expression stiffened slightly. "It’s not like such a severe catastrophe could have broken out abroad too. How could that be? No, they’re so wealthy, even if something happened, they must be hiding somewhere safe..."

Only at this moment did Qi Wu catch a faint whiff of genuine sorrow from Xiao Tianming.

However, this only made a flicker of suspicion cross Qi Wu’s eyes.

"Abroad..."

Hearing Xiao Tianming’s near-muttered soliloquy, Xie Xishu couldn't help but pause for a moment.

"Abroad should be safe."

He murmured in response, as if answering Xiao Tianming, or perhaps speaking to himself.

*

On the outskirts of City A.

On the long-abandoned asphalt road, a small monster nimbly extended its tongue, hooking bits of rotted, putrid flesh from the gaps of a charred, deformed vehicle and pulling them into the pouches on its cheeks.

As a relatively weak monster, its harvest today was clearly quite good.

This could be seen from the way its pouch flaps, which were leaking putrid corpse fluid, could barely close. Yet, the monster, mid-feeding, abruptly halted all movement.

It raised its thin, almost deformed head, all eight of its pitch-black, bulging eyes aimed toward the end of the road...

A few seconds later, a faint humming sound gradually rose in the air.

Along with it came an extremely subtle scent—so faint it was almost like a hallucination.

The monster involuntarily opened its mouth, using its newly developed olfactory organs to carefully track the scent that fascinated it.

As the sound grew louder, traveling from afar to near, its saliva dripped uncontrollably, landing on the charred frame of the car and emitting a "hiss" of corrosive contact.

"Fragrant..."

It muttered a single sound.

Though, by now, its chaotic brain had long forgotten what the word actually meant.

"Fragrant, fragrant, fragrant."

It repeated mechanically, its pale, slender body gradually extending from the gaps in the car wreckage—then, accompanied by a piercing screech of twisting metal, a massive, gaping maw descended from above, biting down on it and swallowing it whole.

A giant monster, its body covered in pustules, emerged from the bushes on the side of the road with a lightness that defied its size.

It tore through the metal debris on the road, took a small taste of its snack, and raised its neck to look down the road.

The original humming had now turned into a harsh, roaring drone.

Two motorcycles were speeding toward them, accompanied by a deafening noise—