The Apocalypse Descended

"Level cleared!"

Watching his game character smash the final BOSS to death with a single punch, Wang Tao felt a surge of satisfaction.

His gaming addiction was not particularly serious, mainly because he was busy with work. But whenever he played, he had to do it perfectly—no-hit clears, unlocking every achievement, and so on.

Of course, that only applied to single-player games. With his financial situation, he could not afford pay-to-win online games.

The game Wang Tao had been playing this time was called "Apocalypse Kill Kill Kill," a side-scrolling fighting game. Its content was not particularly rich; it was just something to pass the time. He could not remember when he had downloaded it, but after playing for a whole day, he had finally unlocked every achievement.

"Time to go out for a big meal and reward myself for all that hard work!" But when he saw the torrential rain outside the window, Wang Tao frowned. "Why is it still raining...?"

He was an ordinary stunt double for martial arts scenes. The reason he was home playing games instead of working today was that the rain outside was too heavy, forcing the entire production crew to cancel filming.

"I'm tired after a whole day... I don't feel like cooking. There's a small restaurant downstairs, and it's not far..."

In the end, Wang Tao decided to go out and eat.

Just as he opened his door, the door of the neighbor across the hall opened as well.

A young married woman in a black dress appeared. She held her phone in her left hand, carried a handbag in the crook of her arm, and was putting on high heels with her right hand. Her long, shapely legs in black stockings made Wang Tao glance over more than once.

"Good evening, sis-in-law!"

Wang Tao was a little surprised to see her, but he still greeted her politely.

The woman was named Ding Yuqin. She was the wife of a young director named Zhao Yuan. They had not been married long and were deeply in love. Wang Tao and Director Zhao were from the same hometown and both worked in the film industry. Though they did not interact much, they were familiar enough, and Wang Tao would call him Brother Zhao whenever they met.

Wang Tao remembered that the couple had returned to their hometown last month. He did not know when they had come back.

Hearing Wang Tao's voice, the young woman immediately looked up, revealing a delicate face with light makeup.

"Oh, it's Little Wang. Good evening!"

Ding Yuqin tucked back her hair and smiled faintly.

Wang Tao helped her hold down the elevator button, but Ding Yuqin did not enter. Instead, she suddenly said, "I just remembered I forgot something. You go down first..."

Wang Tao's expression stiffened slightly, but he still said politely, "All right, then I'll head down first."

Rejected again. But he was used to it.

Ding! Entering the elevator, Wang Tao looked at the burly six-foot man in the elevator mirror and the savage scar on his face, then sighed helplessly.

His face had been accidentally injured while filming, and he had also built a physique comparable to that of a Fitness Coach. As a result, many people were frightened when they saw him.

Back then, he had been a handsome young man with a chance of becoming a leading actor. Now, he had become a stunt double—one used exclusively for villains...

With a self-mocking smile, Wang Tao walked out of the elevator, opened the building door, and dashed into a small restaurant called Big Mouth Eats Meat.

There was not a single customer in the restaurant. An old television was broadcasting the weather forecast, and the host on the screen said that the large-scale downpour would stop tomorrow, telling everyone not to panic.

"Boss Li, where are you?"

Wang Tao called out.

"Coming!"

A voice came from the side door.

A moment later, the owner entered wearing a raincoat and carrying an army-green fuel can.

"I was just filling up the car. What are you having, Little Wang?"

"A large serving of stir-fried rice noodles!"

"Sure! Just wait a moment!"

Before long, the owner brought over a large plate of rice noodles while complaining.

"Sigh, this damned weather. Including you, Little Wang, there haven't even been twenty customers today. I can't even make the rent..."

Wang Tao smiled and shook his head, then asked curiously.

"Where's Sister Liu? She didn't come today?"

They ran the restaurant as a married couple, and Sister Liu was Boss Li's wife.

"She has a fever and is sleeping in the back. But there aren't many customers today anyway, so I'm enough on my own."

Boss Li shrugged.

Seeing that, Wang Tao did not say anything else. This rainstorm had made it impossible for quite a few people to work today.

"I'm leaving, Boss. I transferred the money—take a look!"

"No problem. Take care!"

The Happiness District where Wang Tao lived was an old-fashioned residential complex with a lot of history. It had only one small courtyard and four six-story buildings, with few permanent residents. The elevators had been installed later. Wang Tao lived in Room 501 of Building 4.

But unlike Director Zhao next door, who had bought his apartment, Wang Tao was renting his.

It had two bedrooms and a living room, with monthly rent of three thousand yuan. Although it was not in the center of Yellow Wind City, it was close to Yellow Wind Film City, so the rent was not cheap.

Wang Tao had originally shared the rent with a roommate, but that roommate had given up on his dream of becoming a star and returned home to get married. Recently, Wang Tao had been considering whether to move out. He was having a little trouble affording the rent alone.

There were several dumbbells and a punching bag in the living room. Wang Tao worked out every day, since exercise was essential if he wanted to maintain a good physique.

But not today. He had finally gotten a day off, so he would relax properly.

"I'll play on the computer a little longer, until midnight. I'll sleep early tonight."

Just as he sat down, Wang Tao suddenly felt a piercing pain spread throughout his entire body.

Bzzzt—

Looking at the sparking wire by his feet, Wang Tao's eyes widened. Then everything went dark, and he passed out.

"...I'm so hungry!"

In a daze, Wang Tao woke up from hunger and found himself lying on the floor.

He quickly scrambled to his feet. Looking at the burned wires and computer, Wang Tao was completely bewildered.

"I really got electrocuted? It wasn't a dream? I'm still alive?"

There were plenty of snacks on the table. Starving, Wang Tao grabbed them and began eating.

"Ah—"

Suddenly, a piercing scream rang out from outside.

He instinctively went to the window and looked down, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

"What the hell!"

In the courtyard below, a person covered in blood had pinned a middle-aged man beneath them, tearing apart and devouring his flesh! The man's eyes were unfocused; he was clearly beyond saving.

The blood-covered person raised their head, revealing a hideous, horrifying face.

"Z-Zombies?!"

Wang Tao stared with wide eyes in disbelief.

Filming? Impossible! He was extremely familiar with filming, and this clearly was not a shoot. There were no cameras or crew members, either—just as he thought there was no one else, several more zombies emerged one after another from his blind spot and joined the Gluttonous Feast.

Wang Tao had only stood there in a daze for a moment, yet the man on the ground had already been almost completely dismembered.

"Bleurgh—"

Wang Tao's stomach churned, and he vomited everything he had just eaten.

"Don't panic! Call the police!"

After forcing himself to calm down, Wang Tao hurriedly opened his phone and dialed the emergency number, but every call said the line was busy.

He opened his phone browser again and tried to search for local emergency numbers. Instead, countless horrifying messages flooded his screen at once.

"Doomsday has arrived!"

"Zombies! Zombies are everywhere in the world!"

"The Zombie Virus is highly contagious! Please hide somewhere safe and wait for rescue!"

"The entire world has been attacked by the Zombie Virus! It is recommended that you take shelter in sparsely populated areas!"

"Known transmission methods include bodily fluids, scratches, bites, and airborne transmission (suspected)."

"The Zombie Virus incubation period ranges from one minute to twenty-four hours, perhaps depending on the strength of one's immune system. Please take all necessary precautions! If you are unfortunately infected, isolate yourself immediately and amputate the infected area!"

"Most water sources have not yet been affected, but it is recommended that water be filtered and boiled, or distilled before use. If the water turns yellow or green, do not drink it under any circumstances!"

"Some individual zombies retain certain habits from before death. Be sure to distinguish them carefully!"

"Some areas have completely collapsed, with water and electricity services being cut off one after another..."

"An expert: Our Qian Kingdom has made major progress on Zombie Virus Serum, but we still need a little more time!"

"..."

Seeing the overwhelming flood of news, Wang Tao was dumbfounded.

How had the world suddenly ended out of nowhere? He had only been unconscious for a few hours—no, not a few hours! Wang Tao checked the time. The payment record from the small restaurant was dated 8 p.m. on April 3, 4444, while it was now 9 a.m. on April 7. In other words, he had been unconscious for three days?!