Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Within a mere ten minutes, the internet had exploded. Starting just after 8:00 a.m., desperate pleas flooded online forums: family members were turning into flesh-eating monsters, just like the zombies in movies. Hospital and police lines were jammed, many calls going unanswered.

Not only were humans transforming into these monstrous creatures, but countless animals and plants had also mutated, now attacking people…

Sheng Yao’s hand trembled as he read this. Instinctively, he glanced at the lush garden outside and the two tightly shut doors upstairs. He hadn’t forgotten—Tang Man’s room still housed a cat!

Unconsciously, he began to bite his nails, pondering his next move. The outside world was fraught with peril, and staying indoors didn’t guarantee absolute safety either.

“Mom, where’s the key to the guest room upstairs?” He put down his phone and began rummaging through the living room.

“It might be in the cabinet under the TV… Son, what are you planning?” Sheng’s mother whispered, her voice hushed.

The memory of that woman’s terrifying gaze was still fresh; she dared not speak above a whisper.

Sheng Yao didn’t reply. He found several packs of biscuits in the kitchen cabinet, retrieved a few bottles of drinks from the fridge, then changed into thick winter clothing, bundling himself up securely. Armed with a kitchen knife and the keys, he headed upstairs.

“Mom, wait downstairs and keep an eye out for anything strange approaching the villa through the glass,” Sheng Yao instructed, turning back from the stairs.

His mother, who had been about to follow, halted, then bravely walked towards the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Sheng Yao cautiously opened the doors to Tang Man and Tang Teng’s bedrooms, fearing something monstrous might lunge out. But then he realized… the doorknobs wouldn’t budge—the doors were locked from the inside!

He used the key to open Tang Teng’s door and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing him sound asleep in bed.

Next was Tang Man’s door. After unlocking it, he had to exert considerable force to push it open—she had barricaded it with a cabinet. Was she worried he harbored ill intentions? She was certainly giving herself too much credit!

Zhongqiu, curled by Tang Man’s neck, lifted its eyelids to glance at him, then listlessly buried its head back beside Tang Man’s face, resuming its sleep.

Sheng Yao eyed it for a moment, then, after a thought, picked up the pet carrier from the corner and walked step by step towards the bed. Grabbing Zhongqiu by the scruff, he shoved it into the carrier despite its struggles.

“Meow—!!!” Zhongqiu let out a piercing wail, struggling to stay by its human. Sheng Yao received several scratches, but thankfully, his thick clothing and gloves protected him from injury.

Tang Man was roused by Zhongqiu’s cries and witnessed what appeared to be its “abuse.” Her eyes instantly turned cold. “What are you doing?!”

Her voice, hoarse from fever, carried a distinct hostility.

Startled, Sheng Yao’s hand slipped, and the tabby cat tumbled to the floor. Zhongqiu rolled, then swiftly darted into Tang Man’s arms, whimpering softly, sounding utterly pitiful, as if lodging a complaint.

Sheng Yao felt a pang of awkwardness. “You might not believe me, but I was just trying to keep you safe… Many animals and plants outside have mutated; they’re attacking living beings indiscriminately. And there are flesh-eating zombies… If you don’t believe me, check the news online.”

“I know. Zhongqiu won’t mutate. There’s no need to separate us. Please leave!” Tang Man licked her parched lips.

She touched Zhongqiu’s paws—they were burning hot, its body temperature much higher than usual. She knew it was awakening its superpower and feeling terribly unwell.

“But…” Sheng Yao wanted to persuade her further, but seeing her resolute expression, he fell silent.

Sheng Yao stood awkwardly in the room for a moment, noticing her profuse sweat, her bangs plastered to her forehead, her flushed face, and chapped lips. He opened a bottle of mineral water and handed it to her. “Drink some water. For my mother’s and my safety, I’ll lock the door from the outside later. If you need anything, contact me on your phone. My number is 139xxxxxxxx… I’ve prepared enough water and food in your room. I’ll knock to remind you to take your medicine. The situation is special now, with zombies outside, and you two suddenly getting sick. This is for everyone’s good…”

His tone was unyielding, as if he were merely issuing an order. In truth, he was inwardly apprehensive, constantly wondering how he would handle it if Tang Man protested.

To Sheng Yao’s surprise, Tang Man offered no objection. She nodded and began to drink the water.

Sheng Yao locked the door from the outside, but still feeling it wasn’t secure enough, he dragged the long decorative table from the hallway and propped it against the door.

Then he checked all the windows and doors on every floor of the villa to ensure they were properly secured.

Downstairs, Sheng Yao found his mother gripping a kitchen knife with both hands, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, peering intently through the curtain’s slit.

He walked beside her and followed her gaze. The panicked middle-aged man from earlier had transformed into a zombie, now shambling around outside their yard. Half his face had been bitten off, and black blood dripped disgustingly.

In the mere twenty minutes he had been upstairs, four or five more wandering zombies had appeared on the street outside.

Sheng Yao looked at the less-than-meter-high iron fence and gate of their yard, and the large floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor of their villa, and couldn’t help but worry about his and his mother’s future safety.

*Surely these windows are strong enough? They should be able to withstand a zombie attack, right?!*

Seeing his mother’s hands trembling as she clutched the knife, he placed a hand on her shoulder, wanting to offer words of comfort, but opened his mouth and said nothing.

His peripheral vision caught sight of the unpacked boxes on the other side of the living room, and an idea sparked within him.

“Mom, let’s pack up and move to the garage!”

The garage had only two entrances: one from the garden. If they locked the garage’s rolling door from the inside and then barricaded it, zombies couldn’t enter from the garden. As for the villa…

“Mom, do you know how to set our home elevator to skip floors?”

His mother was bewildered by the question, instinctively shaking her head. “When the renovation was done, the company gave me a stack of documents. I just put them in a drawer. Why don’t you look for the elevator manual in there?”

They studied the thirty-plus-page manual from cover to cover, discovering that setting floor stops required professional operation. Sheng Yao searched online, and finally, following the diagrams in the manual, he dismantled the metal panel of the first-floor call button, cutting the internal connection wires. This way, the elevator would no longer open on the first floor.

The large floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor made Sheng Yao feel extremely insecure, so he decided to abandon that floor entirely.

After resolving the elevator issue, the two began moving supplies to the garage. His mother, initially disoriented, instinctively relied on her tall son, following his every action and command. As time passed, she gradually calmed down and regained her composure, changing from her dress and high heels into practical long-sleeved clothes, long pants, and flat shoes.

Sheng Yao looked at the unorganized supplies in the garage and couldn’t help but feel a little grateful to Tang Man and her “hoarding tendencies.” If she hadn’t let him stay last night, and if she hadn’t called his mother over for breakfast this morning, who knew what state they would be in now?

He had just checked his class group chat. When the disaster struck, nearly 150 students from his class and two neighboring classes were in a large lecture hall. The teacher and several students collapsed on the spot. Students, thinking something was wrong, rushed to help. Those who had fallen then rose as zombies, and then… chaos erupted!

Due to the dense crowd, only about thirty out of 150 people survived.

He looked at the videos and photos in the class group chat, a wave of dread washing over him.

---

Tang Man’s mind had been in a constant haze, alternating between feeling hot and cold. In her semiconscious state, she seemed to hear someone mumbling near her ear, and someone pouring a bitter liquid into her mouth.

When she awoke again, she felt completely light and invigorated, her body brimming with strength. Her clothes had been changed, and she felt utterly refreshed. Zhongqiu, nestled in her arms, was roused by her movements. It crawled out from under the covers, shook its disheveled fur, stretched, then sat on her pillow and began grooming itself, no longer appearing sickly.

Tang Man put on her shoes and got out of bed, pulling out the woven bag she had hidden under the bed yesterday morning. She randomly found a packet of lettuce seeds, poured one into her palm, and then began to channel the energy within her. The lettuce seed in her hand quickly broke its shell and sprouted, soon growing into a butterhead lettuce larger than her hand.

She assessed her remaining power, estimating she could probably cultivate two more lettuces.

It seemed that even with her past life’s experience in using powers, a Level 1 ability was still just Level 1—quite useless.

“Meow?” Zhongqiu stopped grooming, lowered its raised hind leg, and lightly jumped off the bed, circling its human’s feet.

“What’s wrong? Are you hungry?” Tang Man crouched down, gently stroked its head, tore off a small piece of lettuce leaf, and offered it to the cat.

Zhongqiu sniffed at it, then disdainfully turned its head away.

Tang Man chuckled softly, then changed Zhongqiu’s cat food and water. She herself simply ate some biscuits and chocolate before preparing to go downstairs.

When she tried to open the door, she found it locked from the outside. Her first instinct was to summon morning glory vines to unlock it, but as she activated her power, she remembered she didn’t have any morning glory seeds yet. She had no choice but to call Sheng Yao to open the door.

*Looks like I need to sort through those seed packets soon and find some plants suitable for weapons.*

When Sheng Yao arrived, he looked haggard, with deep dark circles under his bloodshot eyes, clearly not having rested well.

“You’re awake? Has your fever gone down? Do you feel unwell anywhere? If you’re awake, Tang Teng should be soon… Ow!” He yelped, frantically slapping his groin.