Numbness and Vitality

Southern Miken.

In a small town shrouded in fog, roars and screams rose and fell one after another.

"Zombies! Run!"

"They're infected, victims of the Biochemical Virus, not the mythical zombies of the Eastern Continent!" someone corrected.

"Who cares what they are? If they bite you, you'll be infected anyway!"

The roar of engines, terrified cries—everything reeked of extreme fear.

After an unknown amount of time, the screams gradually faded, and silence slowly descended.

On the road, three or five infected staggered around, tongues hanging halfway out, red light glowing in their eyes.

They looked almost exactly like the zombies from those long-overdone apocalypse movies.

Some had intact bodies, while others had only half an arm left. There were men and women alike, but they all shared the same hunger for flesh and blood in their eyes.

"How did this happen? Has the apocalypse arrived? Wasn't Miken supposed to be the safest place in the world?"

Inside a roadside house, a fat man and woman were in a room on the second floor.

They peered outside through the curtains as they spoke.

"Liars. They're all liars. Madam Lei Qiwei'er next door was right—we entered the apocalypse ages ago, and we were all fooled! Her family had already started digging an underground shelter, stockpiling food and water, and putting up iron fences. I was such an idiot. I even laughed at them for overthinking it." The man sounded full of regret.

"What should we do now? Should we hide in their house?" the woman asked.

"Once it gets quiet outside, we'll sneak over."

"When will they quiet down? I'm hungry."

"Don't worry. There's enough water, drinks, and vitamin tablets in the room. You weigh 230 pounds. Other people would starve to death in seven days, but you could last at least