Chapter One: The Coming of the Apocalypse

“The number you have dialed is currently unavailable…”

No one knew how many days it had been. He didn’t dare step outside, couldn’t get through to anyone by phone, the television was dead, and the computer wouldn’t connect to the internet. They were completely cut off from the outside world.

“It seems the entire communications network in Jiangzhou City is down. It’s been days—who knows what’s happening out there?”

Zhang Xingmin returned to the living room from the kitchen, his face clouded with worry. He saw Lin Xiaofeng still eating away without a care in the world. Zhang could only smile wryly.

“You’re a pretty good cook, Min!” Lin Xiaofeng praised him between mouthfuls.

“Praising me won’t help. You’d do better to think of how to get out of here! We’ve been trapped at home for days, not knowing what’s happening outside. The fridge is empty—if we can’t get out soon, we’re going to starve to death!” Zhang’s words were edged with despair.

“What else could be happening? It’s got to be an alien invasion. Look at the ones in the hallway—one is nothing but legs, no head or torso; another looks like a cross between a gecko and an octopus, probably eats people too. I’d rather starve than go out there and feed them.” Lin Xiaofeng shrugged, unconcerned.

“We can’t just sit here waiting to die.”

“Do you have a way out?”

“No.”

Zhang Xingmin truly hadn’t come up with any solutions. These past few days, he’d spent his idle moments standing on the balcony, the only place from which he could glimpse the outside world. All he found were bizarre, grotesque creatures wandering the community grounds. What the hell had really happened? The computer was dead, TV and phone had no signal, there was no way to contact the police, and strange monsters roamed everywhere. It was his own home, yet it felt like waking up in a world he no longer recognized. He couldn’t keep waiting. If it came to it, live or die, he’d take his chances.

Decision made, Zhang went to discuss it with Lin Xiaofeng. Though they’d only known each other a few days—and never asked much about each other’s pasts—he was the only possible companion for now. Carefree as he seemed, at least he could talk.

“Xiaofeng, let’s roll the dice. We’re out of food. If we wait any longer, we won’t even have the strength to escape.”

Lin Xiaofeng hesitated, not quite agreeing or refusing, instead asking, “Min, do you really think we’ll die? Like the guy across the hall did two days ago?”

“You fool, everyone dies sooner or later. But first, let’s find out what’s really going on. If we’re going to die, let’s at least die understanding. Let’s pack up and leave right away. The car’s parked downstairs—if we drive, we might make it further.”

Zhang dug out his long-unused hiking backpack—good, big enough! He packed his ID, bank cards, and whatever cash he had. After all, if they ever made it out, money might still matter. He threw in a few changes of clothes too.

Once ready, Zhang grabbed Lin Xiaofeng and headed for the door. They opened it, hearts pounding, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary—except for the sticky, unidentified slime on the floor, as if some giant snail or slug had crawled by. It was disgusting. There were dried bloodstains at the neighbor’s door across the hall, which made Lin Xiaofeng grip Zhang’s arm in terror.

“Don’t be scared,” Zhang, older by several years and naturally braver, comforted him as calmly as he could.

“I’m not scared, just… nervous,” Lin Xiaofeng replied stubbornly, sounding almost childish.

They crept forward, nerves taut. Luckily, the elevator wasn’t far, and they made it there quickly.

“The elevator’s stuck on the seventeenth floor. We’ll have to take the stairs,” Zhang said.

Lin Xiaofeng nodded heavily. Truthfully, he’d have given anything to turn back now.

The stairwell was just a normal spiral staircase, now overrun with climbing vines, the kind that reminded one of old times, which soothed Lin Xiaofeng a little.

“It’s beautiful,” he blurted out.

“Focus on staying safe.” Zhang was always cautious. Although the path seemed clear, his gut told him not to let down his guard. And, as expected, something went wrong.

“Min, I think something just dripped on my head…” Lin hadn’t finished his sentence before Zhang yanked him forward, and they both bolted downstairs as fast as they could, not daring to look back at whatever was chasing them. At this point, did it matter what it was? Nothing good could come from it, that much was certain.

“Min, there’s a fire extinguisher!” Lin Xiaofeng shook free of Zhang’s grip, grabbed the backup dry powder extinguisher from the hallway, spun around, and sprayed it without hesitation.

The danger wasn’t over. Before their eyes, a creature with an octopus-like head, covered in leaves, now dusted white by the powder, waved “tentacles” that turned out to be the very vines they’d seen earlier.

“My god! Did an octopus and an ivy plant crossbreed?” Lin Xiaofeng gaped, eyes wide as eggs.

Zhang Xingmin, of course, hadn’t abandoned Lin Xiaofeng—he wasn’t that kind of person. Instead, he stood by his side and quietly pulled out a pulse igniter, thrusting it toward the octopus-headed thing.

The creature had no eyes, couldn’t see, but it could sense heat—something it clearly couldn’t tolerate. It shrank back, not daring to attack them outright.

The two sides held a tense standoff, inching downward step by step, until they neared the underground parking lot. There, blocking the entrance, stood another monster: a hulking beast with the head of a bull and two legs planted firmly on the ground.

For a moment, Zhang Xingmin had no idea what to do. Lin Xiaofeng was even more bewildered—caught between a rock and a hard place, as the saying goes. They’d be lucky if the two of them together made even a mouthful for these monsters, let alone one holding off the other so his friend could escape.

“What now?” Lin asked.

“How would I know?” Zhang had run out of ideas. But being older, he steadied himself quickly and feigned confidence. “Maybe we can play them off each other. Here’s the plan—I’ll count to three, and we try to jump down under the stairs.”

“One, two, three…”

Zhang Xingmin moved nimbly and reached his target. Lin Xiaofeng made it too, but scraped his arm somewhere along the way, opening a gash four or five centimeters long. He grimaced in pain but dared not make a sound.

Their disappearance didn’t draw much attention from the monsters, but the scent of blood did. The octopus-vine’s tendrils waved excitedly, red veins throbbing in the leaves, making them glow a luminous green tinged with red. The blood and the color drove the bull-headed beast into a frenzy, and it charged. The two monsters clashed violently.

A fisherman profiting from the fight between a snipe and clam? Not likely. Usually, it’s the first and second contenders battling, and the third vanishes without a trace—like when Coca-Cola and Pepsi fought for market share and Very-Cola disappeared.

Here, the “third party” was Zhang and Lin. The monsters, locked in combat, seemed to forget they’d come to hunt. The narrow stairwell became a maelstrom of chaos. No one knew how many rounds they fought, but at last, the wall was smashed open, and Zhang and Lin seized the chance to escape into the open parking garage.

The sight that met them was utter devastation: the stench of blood and decaying bodies filled the air. Corpses—human and monstrous—were strewn everywhere, none of them whole. Many cars had been smashed to pieces, some reduced to rubble.

“Looks like a lot has happened here these past few days,” Zhang Xingmin remarked sardonically.

“You call this interesting? I can’t stand another minute in this hellhole,” Lin Xiaofeng retorted, thoroughly disgusted.

Zhang replied calmly, “Look: first, there are both human and monster corpses, which means the monsters aren’t united—they fight each other too. Second, although most cars are here, some are missing, and some are damaged, which means some people escaped. Third, the bloodstains are all dried—no fresh ones—so the main trouble has moved on, and we’re temporarily safe.”

Lin Xiaofeng felt a little reassured, though it annoyed him that Zhang spoke as if he couldn’t see these things for himself. “Thanks for the encouragement,” he muttered.

Zhang ignored this, wholly focused on finding his car. Surprisingly, his little beater was well hidden and, apart from a few dents, was undamaged—an unexpected bit of good luck.

“Get in!” Zhang opened the door, tossed his backpack in, and slid into the driver’s seat, signaling for Lin to join him.

Lin didn’t need to be told twice—he was eager to escape.

They exited the complex and finally saw the city. Some streets were completely deserted; others looked just like the parking garage—ruined and bloody. In some neighborhoods, screams and howls echoed, but they steered clear of those. All they wanted now was to get away, to flee this hell-on-earth.

But what they didn’t yet realize was that there was nowhere left to run. The world was no longer the one they’d known. Perhaps, deep down, they’d already guessed as much but simply refused to admit it or even to think about it.

Right now, everyone had only one goal: survive. Oddly enough, that made things simpler—no school for students, no overtime for the office drones…