Watching Su You and Li Xiannian reminiscing, Selina was a little surprised.

“Grandpa, you know this Miss Su?”

Li Xiannian nodded with a cheerful smile. “That’s right, Miss Su and I hit it off right away when we first met. Meeting again now is truly fate.”

As he spoke, he let out a quiet sigh. “It’s a pity it’s not a better time. The outside isn’t safe. Let’s go inside and talk.”

Inside the neighborhood, cars were scarce. The few pedestrians passing by all wore nervous expressions.

Even though this was on the outskirts, the atmosphere was far from peaceful.

Amber glanced at her, and in that instant, Su You changed her mind. She smiled and said, “Alright, sir. Then I’ll be troubling you for the next few days.”

Selina felt something odd. Miss Su had just been planning to leave, yet she had changed her mind so quickly.

Still, since she was her grandfather’s friend, the change in attitude wasn’t unreasonable.

But by now, even if Su You wanted to leave, she couldn’t.

Not long after they entered, a security guard drove by in a patrol vehicle, knocking on doors to notify residents: the entire island was now under lockdown, and no one was allowed to leave.

From this morning onward, anyone who went out and returned would be subject to strict quarantine and observation. Absolutely no one could risk being bitten by someone resembling an infected person.

If such an infected appeared, the best course of action was to bind and isolate them immediately—or even kill them—to prevent them from hurting others, turning them into yet another wave of infected and worsening the outbreak.

In just a short time, the situation in the entire villa complex had become dire. Although official channels had cut off internet access, the wealthy residents here quickly found out through their own means what was happening outside.

Zombies, infection, monsters, biting, chaos.

Once they understood, some grew anxious and distressed, while others were quick to act.

Certain homeowners immediately took charge. They ordered the guards and security team to shut down the floating bridge leading to the lake island. If the outside world had already fallen, then once they cut the link, this place would become a truly secure zone.

But sealing themselves off also meant the villas would become a waterbound prison. With no new supplies, they would have to survive solely on whatever they had stockpiled.

Fortunately, most villa households already kept one to two weeks of provisions, and the community had backup generators for power. For now, it wasn’t a pressing issue.

The security guards here were relatively dutiful, and it was their job to deliver the notice.

Once they left, a young man exploded in the living room—it was one of the classmates Selina had brought back.

Clutching his phone, he paced in agitation. “What do I do? I can’t get out now! I just messaged my mom, and she said the north of the city is still fine. She told me to come home quickly!”

He turned to Selina. “Selina, you brought me back. You have to take me out of here.”

He didn’t dare confront Su You, who had just fought zombies, so he aimed his demand at Selina instead.

Michael was about to speak up for Selina, but Selina—gentle as she normally appeared—wasn’t the least bit weak.

Her voice was calm. “If Miss Su hadn’t brought us back, we would have died outside the campus already. Things are in chaos out there. If you want to leave, I can give you an inflatable boat and a car. But no one will escort you home.”

The boy snapped angrily, “Selina, I thought you were a good person. Turns out you’re just like the rest of those rich elites.”

Selina replied coldly, “My family’s drivers are valuable lives too. I won’t let them take risks in such a high-casualty situation. Herlett, this place is safe. You can explain everything to your mother, instead of wasting critical manpower.”

The other classmates voiced their agreement. Even Michael supported her. None of them had heard from their families, and with the world outside in chaos, having a safe shelter was already a blessing.

Herlett stormed upstairs in fury.

Selina apologized to everyone, then instructed the old butler to arrange guest rooms for her classmates. After that, she went to her own room to change clothes.

When the fuss was over, only three remained in the living room.

Su You sat on the sofa, gazing at the gloomy sky outside. Strong winds whipped through, dark clouds pressed low, and the broad-leaved trees and flowerbeds swayed wildly—it looked like rain was imminent.

She turned to Li Xiannian. “Mr. Li, do you know where the infected came from? What’s really happening?”

Li Xiannian sighed. “I only moved here recently, so I don’t know much. But one of my sons—Selina’s father—works at Norcen Biotech. These past few months, their lab seemed to have discovered a new virus, taken from samples buried under Antarctic ice for hundreds of millions of years.”

He recalled, “The virus had very low mutation rates, but its iteration speed was extremely fast. After reviving it, within a short span, the first-generation strain had already produced countless offspring. The biotech researchers selected promising strains to apply in organ cultivation and body repair. They made great progress in animal trials, so this year they began recruiting large numbers of medical volunteers for testing.”

“But just two days ago, something went wrong with the experiment. Selina’s father never came home, wouldn’t answer calls. Yesterday, when he finally called back, he only mumbled vaguely, telling us not to go out, to stock up on supplies at home. Who would have thought things would spiral so quickly?”

Su You’s expression grew thoughtful—her suspicions overlapped greatly with what Li Xiannian was saying.

Norcen Biotech.

So she had guessed right. This catastrophe was most likely inseparable from that company.

Li Xiannian’s “two days ago” only referred to when the researchers realized something was wrong. But the test subjects weren’t just from that batch.

That batch had already fallen. The previous ones were likely no better off. The researchers probably tried to salvage the situation once they realized the truth—but by then it was too late.

The outbreak across the entire city meant the incubation period had ended. The virus was in full-scale transmission, a rampant pandemic.

Who knew whether Norcen Biotech itself had collapsed, or whether they had developed a cure? If the virus wasn’t contained, it would keep mutating and spreading. These zombie-like infected would only grow in number, far beyond human control.

Moreover, Su You suspected the infected retained some degree of consciousness—but not human will. It had devolved into a primal, beastlike instinct.

They feared neither death nor exhaustion, hunting the living by scent, sight, and raw speed, instinctively pursuing flesh and blood.

If so, then the entire city of Snowell was doomed to become a metropolis teeming with infected—a city of zombies.

And when no survivors remained within, would the horde migrate, leaving the city behind, spreading elsewhere?

Would the government think tanks foresee this? Faced with a crisis even the military couldn’t control, would they take the most extreme step—nuking the city flat?