Chapter 13

The red mist outside grew even thicker, and the moon in the sky had become unrecognizable, as if veiled behind a transparent sheet of red glass.

Zhou Yun found the electrolyte water and salt sugar solution he had prepared earlier in the fridge, drank it quickly to prevent dehydration, then filled a bottle with water and placed it on his bedside table. With great difficulty, he lay down.

Tonight, countless people would be unable to hold on, succumbing to the virus and dying. Zombies would break out in a massive wave overnight, with no escape.

Now, an iron gate had been installed at the door. Zombies that climbed instinctively would face obstacles and, unable to find a way through, would simply leave. As long as no fresh blood or flesh was nearby to attract them, zombies would not waste their effort trying to break through the barricade.

—–

In his previous life, when Zhou Yun woke up and opened the door, Guan Yuanfeng had just killed a zombie at the doorstep, with Comet by his side. When he saw Zhou Yun, he was momentarily startled, but in the following days, he always protected him, even bringing food and water.

At the time, I didn’t even realize I had awakened my abilities; most of the zombies that attacked were killed by Guan Yuanfeng.

Guan Yuanfeng didn’t have any abilities back then. He could only move with the help of a wheelchair, but he wielded a battle knife, fiercely guarding me like a comet.

Later, Comet was bitten by a zombie and died convulsing. Before the mutation, Guan Yuanfeng resolutely decapitated Comet, but he was heartbroken for a long time. He didn’t say a word that day.

I couldn’t do anything at that time. I could only pick the vegetables I grew on the rooftop and cook for him.

Later, I vaguely realized that something was wrong with my body, but I didn’t know how to upgrade my abilities and didn’t even know that ability users had already appeared in the world.

We held out on the rooftop for half a month until Guan Yuanfeng’s comrades came to find him and took him to the nearest safe base.

As a doctor, I quickly joined the medical staff at the base. Over time, I discovered that I had awakened both water and wood abilities. During the long apocalyptic years, I participated in medical aid and pharmaceutical research.

Guan Yuanfeng went to the Central Base with his comrades, and I never saw him again.

Later, I accidentally met one of Guan Yuanfeng’s comrades again and learned that Guan Yuanfeng had volunteered for an experiment to artificially trigger his fire ability.

Although his legs recovered, there were always side effects. Afterward, he made many contributions, rescuing refugees and guarding the base, but in the end, he couldn’t resist the backlash from his ability core and passed away from illness.

There were so many partings in the apocalypse. As a doctor, I saw too many cold corpses brought back after soldiers, who had just received injections, turned into zombies and were shot.

I participated in many experiments. I thought my heart had turned as hard as iron, but when I heard that Guan Yuanfeng had passed away, I felt truly sorrowful.

I later joined the research team, hoping to develop a gentler method of triggering ability cores to help more soldiers survive and save the apocalypse.

I always thought of myself as a cold person, but Guan Yuanfeng truly gave me the motivation to save lives.

I thought I was saving the world. For a long time, I worked day and night, researching tirelessly to save more people like Guan Yuanfeng.

I could feel the heat rising in my forehead, and my tears couldn’t stop. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the heat.

The pain I felt now was stronger than what I felt in my past life. I wiped my tears, worried that Guan Yuanfeng would see me in such a weak and pathetic state when he comes in tomorrow.

I fell into a dizzy stupor, overwhelmed by the shock, sadness, and anger from my past life.

Inside the huge transparent container, I saw a familiar face I hadn’t seen in a long time.

The handsome team commander had his eyes closed, his brows furrowed, but his lips curled in a faint smile. His limbs were intact, his long legs and arms covered with scars, and he was submerged in a large liquid tank, no longer breathing.

His strong and long body was covered in scars, but the most striking was the noticeable scar on his abdomen, where the energy core of an ability user should have been.

There was a deep, centipede-like stitched wound there, never healed, only simply stitched after his death.

I wanted to touch the glass, but my hands were firmly restrained by the special clothing used to bind ability users. Someone was speaking to me: “The experiment of separating the ability core was successfully conducted. This is the fire ability user No. 001.”

“Don’t worry, our technology is now more advanced. We can ensure the separation of your water and wood ability core from your body without endangering your life.”

“Rest assured, you will still live. There will be no pain. After all, you are a rare level five ability user.”

“As long as you cooperate, I promise you can continue practicing medicine. We’ll restore your reputation and provide lifetime benefits. The higher-ups have promised the best conditions for you, both material and research.”

In the high fever, I seemed to return to that day and sarcastically said, “Was he also willing?”

“Did he know that his fire ability core was taken by the powerful under the guise of doing it for all of humanity?”

In the transparent tank, Guan Yuanfeng’s face looked as though he was peacefully sleeping. I knew he had been living in endless pain and had long yearned for rest.

But, but… this was not how it should be, this should not be how it ended…

I felt as though my chest was burning. Something within my energy core was expanding rapidly, quickly transmitting through my limbs.

The people around me were still explaining: “From the moment he signed up for the ability experiment, he declared it was voluntary.”

“He originally had to amputate his legs, but after the ability activation, the healing ability allowed him to regain the use of his legs.”

“But the fire ability core was always incompatible with his body. Back then, there was no experience. Later, we were able to measure the affinity for abilities. He actually had an affinity for lightning abilities, so his body rejected the fire ability core.”

“Removing the ability core was actually a relief for him. He had always been in pain, but he voluntarily signed the agreement and donated his body. He was indeed precious experimental material. The results of our research these past few years have benefited from his sacrifice.”

No, it should not have been like this. He was such a good person. He sacrificed himself for the future of humanity, not for the selfish desires of the powerful.

Why was he thoroughly used? He fought until his death, only to be unable to rest even in death, and his ideals were tarnished.

When he gave his life, he thought it was for science, to save Blue Star. How could he have known that his life of battle and sacrifice would become nothing but a means for unethical scientific experiments, serving the selfish interests of the vile powerful?

No, he would not allow this.

Enormous anger fueled my energy core, expanding infinitely. It felt as though I had unlimited power. I gazed at the young commander’s eyes, calmly activating the power within my body.

“Boom!”

The collar around my neck, used to restrain my abilities, shattered.

Countless deep green rulers, spiked with ice, pierced through the floor, shattering all the glassware in the laboratory, wrapping around all the researchers.

Thousands of vines were boiling, and thorny brambles with frost-tipped spines spread everywhere, climbing and covering the entire laboratory.

The entire space had turned into a forest of Shura that devoured lives. The type of vine twisted and spiraled, climbing the glassware like deep green silk ribbons wrapping layer by layer, as if through the glass, embracing the long-dead person.

Former friends were horrified and turned to look at him. He was tightly wrapped and restrained by the vine its sharp thorns ruthlessly piercing his skin, and blood sprayed out in crimson jets.

He cried out in pain, “What are you doing? Are you crazy? Stop the self-destruct! Listen to me! I’ll find you a good power core and implant it! I promise everything can go back to the way it was!”

He begged desperately, hoping to stir the soft heart of the once-gentle doctor.

Who would want those crystallized cores stolen from others?

But Zhou Yun only sneered and activated his own core, feeling his body, once heavily bound, suddenly become light as if his soul was transforming, rising into the air, expanding into infinity.

He saw his unprecedentedly powerful ability rampaging, as his plant-based powers covered the sky, furiously tearing through everything, destroying everything.

The glass container that stood upright finally shattered, and the liquid spilled out.

The measuring sticks retracted its thorns, like a handful of soft ribbons, suddenly wrapping around, cocooning the precious individual in the center of a deep green satin flower bouquet, layer upon layer, gentle yet tight, air-tight, obscuring their body and face.

He would not allow those vile people to continue exploiting him, insulting him, or defiling his nobility.

He created a tomb for the wicked, countless thorns piercing and strangling the immoral researchers in this secret base.

They were heavily pierced and suppressed in the depths of thorns and vines, becoming nutrients for the power plants.

The entire laboratory would become a vast, silent graveyard, burying all sins.

He created a magnificent coffin for the noble, allowing those who had dedicated their lives to high ideals but were exploited to rest in peace, while the wrongdoers bowed their heads in atonement.

The deep green measuring sticks exhausted its last bit of energy, releasing countless pure white, transparent flowers, as delicate as night-blooming cereus, soft and thin, with a mysterious fragrance.

The white flowers adorned the deep green coffin, each lotus bloom suddenly bursting open, releasing a fragrance, as if bidding farewell to the great and gentle person on their way to the afterlife.

Zhou Yun was trapped in a nightmare, and Guan Yuanfeng, who was beside the bed, frowned and touched his forehead. He felt a burning fever and saw the thermometer on the bedside, reading forty degrees Celsius.

He dialed the emergency number again, but as expected, it was still busy. The same was true for the police line.

Early in the morning, he had heard faint screams and cries for help downstairs.

Looking down from the balcony, he saw chaos in the community square, with people fleeing in all directions, and cars crashing. However, the cars were not hitting people, but strange humanoid creatures running at incredible speeds. The building was too high to see clearly, but Comet, by his side, was growling uneasily.

Frowning, he called Zhou Yun, but there was no answer. He took Comet outside, and as soon as he opened the door, he heard strange growls.

Through the iron gate, near the elevator doors, he saw a fresh corpse jammed there, blood and flesh mangled. The elevator doors were stuck and couldn’t close, and sounds of beasts chewing could be heard from inside.

Comet’s neck fur stood up, letting out a warning growl.

Suddenly, a terrifying zombie sprang out of the elevator. It had a greenish face, sharp teeth, rotten flesh, and bloodshot eyes hanging out.

Due to its poor vision, it ran too fast and slammed into the iron gate, bouncing off and crashing to the ground. The impact left clear dents in its forehead and face.

This hard impact likely fractured its neck, and its head hung limply, but despite this, the zombie continued to writhe and crawl.

Without hesitation, Guan Yuanfeng pulled Comet, who was about to pounce, back into the room and locked the door. He then went to Zhou Yun’s room on the top floor and found Zhou Yun unconscious with a high fever in bed.

What had happened overnight?

Guan Yuanfeng took out his phone and opened it, only to see that the communication signal had been cut off. On the internet, frantic messages were popping up everywhere: “It’s zombies! Stay away from people with a fever!”