Chapter 2

Chapter 2

There was a direct bus to the airport from the city, but it would require first taking a county bus to the city and then transferring. This detour, combined with potential waiting times, risked missing her flight. So Tang Man paid 200 yuan for a taxi directly to the airport.

“Miss, heading out of town?” the driver chatted warmly.

“Yeah.”

“Where are you off to, young lady?”

“The Capital.”

“The Capital! The Capital’s great. My daughter’s in ninth grade this year—when she goes to college, I want her to study there, see the world in a big city…” Mentioning his daughter, his face beamed with pride, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes crinkling with a smile, brimming with hope for the future.

Despite Tang Man’s reserved demeanor, the driver remained enthusiastic, finding all sorts of topics to chat about along the way. When they passed a supermarket, he even mentioned how expensive things were at the airport and asked if she wanted to stop to buy some snacks.

As she was getting out of the car, Tang Man paused before opening the door. She turned to the driver and said, “Uncle, if you don’t have anything urgent these next couple of days, try not to go out. Stock up on food and drinks and stay home.”

The driver was stunned for a second, then chuckled. “Little girl, do you believe that nonsense online about an asteroid destroying Earth? That’s all fake. The government already announced that countries worldwide will launch nuclear missiles to blow it up before it even reaches Earth. It won’t hurt us. We regular people shouldn’t believe or spread rumors…”

The driver kept talking, but Tang Man didn’t hear any more—she had already gotten out of the car and walked away.

A week ago, the International Astronomical Detection Center discovered an asteroid named “Naya” heading straight for Earth. It was estimated to arrive in about a week. According to current observations, “Naya” had a long axis of 2,034 meters and a mass of 4 billion tons.

After calculating its trajectory, it was determined that if “Naya” successfully impacted Earth, it would cause at least tens of millions of casualties. The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting.

Because “Naya” was discovered too late, there wasn’t enough time to launch spacecraft to alter its orbit. The only option was to use thermonuclear weapons to destroy it before it reached Earth. The resulting fragments would burn up in the atmosphere, and the meteorite debris that eventually fell to Earth’s surface was estimated to have a long axis of no more than 15 meters. With timely evacuation, significant casualties would be avoided.

Calculations showed that the fragments would land in the Southern Hemisphere, far from China. So the public treated it as just an interesting piece of news.

But what they didn’t know was that the asteroid carried a massive amount of zombie virus. Although the bombs destroyed most of it, plenty still scattered across the globe with the fragments, drifting through the air—ushering in the apocalypse.

And tomorrow at 8 a.m. was when the thermonuclear weapons would be launched by all nations, the very moment disaster would strike Earth.

A matter concerning tens of millions of lives was far beyond the control of someone as insignificant as Tang Man. So from the start, she had only planned to find a safe place to hide before the apocalypse began, waiting for humanity to eliminate the Zombie Emperor.

After entering the airport, Tang Man followed the instructions from the customer service call and went to the special baggage counter to handle her boarding pass and pet carrier.

Looking at her reflection in the glass, Tang Man touched the long hair she had grown for over three years. Gritting her teeth, she decided to cut it off.

In the apocalypse, water was precious. There wouldn’t even be enough drinking water, let alone water to wash her hair. Besides, long hair was inconvenient in combat.

Most importantly, she thought, once the apocalypse arrived, services like haircuts would become a luxury.

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After filling out his absence note, Tang Teng started changing clothes. The sound of him opening the closet woke his roommate, who was catching up on sleep in the adjacent bed.

A slender hand reached out from under the blanket, waving in his direction.

“Third, are you going to the cafeteria? Bring me back two stir-fried dishes… I drank too much last night, my head’s killing me…” A muffled voice came from under the covers.

“Can’t help you today. My sister’s coming, and I need to pick her up at the airport. Remember to give my absence note to Professor Li this afternoon… Get up early—don’t oversleep. Missing Professor Li’s class three times means failing…”

“Got it. I won’t give that old man a chance to tattle to my mom. Once your sister’s here, I’ll treat her to a meal sometime…” The voice from the bed grew fainter, soon replaced by snoring.

Tang Teng shook his head helplessly, tucked the absence note into his bag, then set two alarms and placed them by his roommate’s pillow.

There were four people in their dorm, but only he and Sheng Yao studied finance. His roommate was a spoiled rich kid—if not for his mother being a teacher at their school and occasionally checking in with their advisor about his studies, he probably wouldn’t even step foot on campus.

After buying a pancake and a bowl of plain rice porridge at the cafeteria, Tang Teng took the subway to the airport.

Tang Man spotted her brother in the crowd at a glance. He wore a simple white T-shirt with jeans, looking sunny and handsome. At 6'2", he stood out prominently.

“Sis!” Tang Teng saw her from afar too.

He jogged over. Tang Teng felt something different about his sister—an indescribable change. Maybe it was the haircut? But her face was unmistakably hers.

He took the pet carrier from her. “Sis, why did you bring Zhongqiu too? Zhongqiu, why do you look so pitiful? Were you scared on the plane, huh?”

The little cat, in an unfamiliar environment, was extremely uneasy, its paws twitching as if ready to swipe at the “big face” outside.

“Stop teasing her. You’re scaring Zhongqiu. Let’s go find a place first.”

Tang Man snatched the pet carrier back and handed him her suitcase instead.

“By the way, sis, why did you suddenly come from home? Did someone bully you there? Which company are you switching to? Is it reliable?”

“It’s reliable. If you’re worried, I’ll take you to see it in a couple of days after I officially start. For now, just help me find a place.” Tang Man brushed him off and pushed him forward.

“Which district is your company in? Let me check the transportation route.”

Tang Man gave an address.

Tang Teng’s hand holding his phone paused, his brow furrowing. So remote—it was beyond Beijing's Sixth Ring Road!

They switched from subway to bus, then finally took a taxi to reach the place.

As the surroundings grew increasingly desolate and pedestrians dwindled, Tang Teng’s expression turned serious. Had his sister been scammed by some shell company?

The taxi finally stopped near a construction site.

“Sis, your company is here?” Tang Teng looked at her with deep concern. “Sis, be honest—were you tricked? What’s the company’s name? Where’s the address? Did they make you pay to recruit people…”

Tang Man fell silent. She remembered that by the third year of the apocalypse, this place had been full of skyscrapers and bustling crowds. Who knew it was still just a steel framework now?

“Ahem, not here… Let’s check nearby neighborhoods and real estate agencies first, see if there are any rentals.” Tang Man changed the subject and walked ahead.

Tang Teng stood still, scratching his head in frustration, then followed her.

After searching for over three hours, they finally found a suitable place, but Tang Teng felt the price was inflated and refused.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed—a message from Sheng Yao.

Sheng Yao: Third, handed in your absence note. Here’s today’s homework—Professor Li wants it emailed by next Monday. [PPT image]

Sheng Yao: How’s the afternoon with your sis? Need recommendations for places to go?

Tang Teng: Don’t even ask. My sis suddenly quit her job to work in the Capital, but when we got there, it was a construction site… Now I’m helping her find a place. Finding last-minute rentals is a nightmare—might have to stay in a hotel tonight. Tomorrow afternoon I’ll check out her company. If it’s a scam, I’m dragging her home. Oh, and I won’t be back tonight—cover for me during room inspections. Also, fill out another absence note for me tomorrow.

Sheng Yao: No worries, the guy doing checks is good friends with me—no problem. Let me know if you need anything.

They searched for several more hours but still couldn’t find a suitable place.

“Sis, how about we stay at a hotel tonight? You’ve been traveling all day—you must be tired. Look, even Zhongqiu’s worn out.” Tang Teng suggested.

Tang Man glanced at Zhongqiu curled up in the carrier, her heart aching slightly.

But after 8 a.m. tomorrow, people across the country would start turning into zombies. She herself would develop a fever shortly after, and 24 hours later, she’d awaken her Wood Superpower. Before tomorrow morning, she absolutely had to find a safe place to settle down.

The location of the apartment they just saw was really good, but the agent was clearly trying to rip them off—the rent was three times the market rate and required a full year’s payment upfront. The combined living expenses of her and Xiao Teng could barely cover a year’s rent.

Forget it, let’s find a hotel first!

But then, they hit another wall. None of the five hotels they checked allowed pets, not even for extra money.

At nine in the evening, the two of them and the cat stood in the chilly wind, pushing their luggage. The streetlights stretched their shadows long and thin. Tang Teng’s ride-hailing app ran for half an hour without a single driver accepting the request.

“Xiao Teng, maybe we should just rent that apartment after all,” Tang Man said.

So what if they got ripped off? A safe place mattered more in the apocalypse.

She had considered whether to tell Tang Teng about her rebirth, but she had no proof. Even if she said it, he wouldn’t believe her.

“No way, that agent was obviously trying to scam us…” Tang Teng refused outright, then backpedaled when he saw her frown. “I’ll keep looking for a place with you tomorrow. Actually, my roommate is a local—let me call him to see if he can hook us up with a place for the night.”

Before Tang Man could object, he dialed Sheng Yao’s number.