Fortunately, she had believed the message.

“Ding-dong!”

Her phone vibrated again, signaling a new text message. Was it from the same person who had warned her?

Xu Duoduo’s hands trembled as she hurriedly replied, asking who they were.

But the sender ignored her questions and instead sent a download link.

Had it not been for the fact that Liu Jie’s incident had matched the warning so precisely, Xu Duoduo wouldn’t have dared to click on it. However, she had three backup phones, so she wasn’t worried about malware. None of her bank cards were linked to online banking, so she wasn’t afraid of fraud either.

Without hesitation, she tapped the link, downloading the file onto her phone.

A survival guide for the apocalypse popped up.

Xu Duoduo read it word by word with absolute focus.

It wasn’t a long document—barely three thousand words—but it covered drastic climate changes, various disasters, and the increasing chaos of the world.

It also mentioned mutation.

The two words were bold, enlarged, and written in red. It suggested that everyone would evolve.

It made sense.

Without evolution, no one would survive in such a world.

Concerned that electronic devices might stop working in the future, Xu Duoduo rushed to her desk, printed multiple copies of the survival guide, and stored them in her space.

By the time she finished, her food had long gone cold.

She ate mechanically, not tasting a single bite, making sure not to waste even a grain of rice. Then, recalling that power outages would soon become frequent, she quickly started cooking.

The Rubik’s Cube space—or rather, Multifaceted Space—had a built-in preservation function for each compartment.

Xu Duoduo decided to prepare as much ready-to-eat food as possible.

The survival guide stated that the initial stage of the apocalypse would begin with people attacking others—what the world would later recognize as the emergence of the zombie virus.

Starting tonight, peace would cease to exist.

Soon after, a massive electromagnetic storm would erupt, completely cutting off signals. Power lines outside would explode, making electricity increasingly unstable.

Water would begin to be contaminated within three days.

That thought alone sent shivers down her spine.

Xu Duoduo had to act quickly, making use of the electricity and clean water while they lasted.

Luckily, she had plenty of cookware.

She set three rice cookers to cook rice, while two pressure cookers simmered various meats and meatballs. All the meat in her fridge and freezer had to be cooked immediately.

For instant foods, she used the microwave or the air fryer to prepare them.

She also had four stove burners.

One was used for congee, another for ginger soup, the third for herbal tea, and the last one for broth.

According to the guide, extreme temperatures—both scorching heat and freezing cold—would follow. Soups would provide comfort, and she could store them in large thermos flasks for later use.

Xu Duoduo didn’t dare sleep.

Since finishing dinner, she had been running around non-stop, setting her phone to read out news updates automatically through her Bluetooth earbuds.

Food—as much as possible—would be her guarantee for survival.

Even if humans were bound to mutate, there were risks involved. Not everyone would evolve successfully. If the process failed, they would die.

Xu Duoduo hoped she wouldn’t be infected too soon. The longer she survived, the better her chances—especially since research bases would eventually develop serums to enhance mutation success rates and lower the risks of death.

She stayed up all night, busy cooking and storing water.

For many, tonight was anything but ordinary.

At midnight, the power went out.

Screams echoed from the residential complex.

Hoarse roars.

Desperate cries for help.

Dogs barking frantically.

Xu Duoduo didn’t dare open her curtains.

She kept her doors and windows tightly shut, fully prepared to hunker down for the early stages of the apocalypse.

Later, when the situation stabilized, she would stockpile more supplies.

For now, self-preservation came first.

She wasn’t even flustered by the blackout.

She simply stored half-cooked food in her space, planning to take it out and finish cooking once power returned. Convenient.

Completely exhausted, she collapsed onto the couch and instantly fell asleep.

She only woke up the next morning to the ringing of her phone.

It was a call from the property management office.

“Hello, is this Ms. Xu? We wanted to inform you that a new strain of rabies has appeared in K City. It spreads rapidly and progresses even faster. We’ve received official orders—starting today, no one is allowed to leave their homes.”

All work and production had been halted.

Schools were closed.

It was just like the survival guide said—the first stage was a lockdown.

Xu Duoduo was too tired to feel anything anymore.

After an entire night, she had no choice but to accept reality.

Her mindset had improved somewhat. She pretended to be shocked, then reassured the caller that she would follow the community’s instructions.

The person on the other end expressed their gratitude and quickly moved on to notify others.

They had also sent messages in the community group chat, but since some stubborn residents refused to listen, they had to call each household individually.

The workload was enormous.

That said, this wasn’t the first time a lockdown had happened.

People had experience now.

Food rations would be distributed on time—as long as no one left their homes.

Despite this, panic spread through the group chat.

Because of last night’s screams.

To prevent chaos, the chat was soon muted.

The phone signal remained unstable.

The television screen glitched frequently, making the news choppy and hard to follow.

But certain keywords still stood out—

Typhoon. Electromagnetic storm. Earthquake. Tsunami. Volcanic eruption.

Winter was approaching, yet multiple typhoon formations had appeared—and they were completely unpredictable.

Coastal regions worldwide had already raised alarms, preparing for extreme superstorms.

Massive electromagnetic storms were expected to occur frequently. Scientists were scrambling to develop countermeasures, while broadcasts urged people to take safety precautions.

At the same time, volcanic activity was intensifying across the globe.

Underwater and land-based volcanoes were on the verge of erupting at any moment.

And in the final announcement, the news anchors spoke solemnly:

“Humanity is facing the greatest disaster in history. This could be an extinction event—like what happened to the dinosaurs. The United Nations urges everyone to stand together and face this crisis as one.”

Xu Duoduo’s eyes burned with unshed tears.

She gazed at the sun outside.

It still looked the same.

But the world she once knew was gone forever.

Suddenly, cries of despair erupted throughout the residential complex.

More and more people broke down completely.

Xu Duoduo took a deep breath, pushed her emotions aside, and continued preparing food.

She had to be ready.

For the next few days, bad news flooded in endlessly.

With the unreliable signals, updates on the disasters were delayed—making the fear of the unknown even worse.

The psychological toll on people was devastating.

In K City, residents trapped in their homes were under extreme stress.

Suicides increased significantly.

The weather had already started going haywire.

In just three days, it had fluctuated wildly.

Temperatures dropped and rose by as much as 30 degrees, sending shockwaves through the population.

Many fell ill.