The cover background was licensed for use by the artist. Anyone who purchased usage rights could use it. Having the same background did not mean plagiarism, so stop asking me about it.
"Ahhh! Honey, there's a zombie ahead!!"
"Baby, don't be scared. Your husband will protect you!"
Those were the last two sentences Jiang Zhaosu heard before she died.
Then she saw a man nearly six foot three and close to two hundred pounds, built like a bear, charging straight at her.
The escape room was cold and damp. The man's thick fist stirred up a fierce gust as it slammed hard into her temple.
Jiang Zhaosu had only been an ordinary Haunted House Zombie NPC. Long-term malnutrition had left her frail and skinny, weak enough to be blown over by a breeze.
Sure enough.
After taking that vicious punch, Jiang Zhaosu collapsed abruptly, her head hitting the concrete floor with a bang.
Jiang Zhaosu, a young woman in the prime of her life, died on the spot at the age of eighteen.
In the last few seconds before she lost consciousness, countless scenes from her past flashed rapidly before her darkening eyes.
Before she was even a month old, Jiang Zhaosu's parents wrapped her in a tattered cotton coat and abandoned her at the Welfare Institute's entrance in the middle of a winter night. Fortunately, the director found her in time, and she did not freeze to death, though the incident left her with lifelong health problems.
Jiang Zhaosu had been weak and sickly since childhood. She could never beat the other children at the institute when food was handed out, leaving her hungry and cold. Though she was at the age of youth, she was as thin as a dried matchstick, shorter than some thirteen- or fourteen-year-old children.
After finally earning her way into a prestigious university through sheer hard work, with a bright future ahead of her, she had been diligently working to save up tuition and living expenses—only for this idiotic couple to kill her while showing off their love.
Though her body was growing cold and her head was splitting apart, and Jiang Zhaosu could already feel herself dying, an old joke surfaced in her mind at the most inappropriate moment.
If she had to use a metaphor for her brief life, then her life was a coffee table covered in cups of tragedy.
Jiang Zhaosu had always been positive and worked hard to survive in this fucked-up world, but at this moment, she finally broke down.
She wished she really were a zombie, so she could bite to death the shameless couple in front of her—the ones who had treated her as part of their little game, killed her, and were still sweetly professing their love.
If there was another life...
If there was another life, then let her truly become a powerful, fierce zombie that felt no pain.
Thinking this, Jiang Zhaosu's consciousness grew heavier and heavier as she closed her eyes in unwillingness.
Liquid dripped onto her cheek. It was cool when it first touched her skin, but within seconds, it began to burn.
"Ugh..."
A low whimper reached her ears.
At first, Jiang Zhaosu thought that shameless couple had finally realized something was wrong and were kneeling beside her, crying in remorse.
But as her consciousness returned, Jiang Zhaosu realized that the whimpering sounded completely wrong.
It was extremely close to her.
Suppressed and low, it did not sound like crying at all. Instead, it resembled the growl of some wild beast—terrifying and chilling.
What was going on?
Had she transmigrated into a primeval forest?
As her mind cleared, some strength returned to her body. Jiang Zhaosu slowly opened her eyes.
What greeted her was not the ancient, mysterious primeval forest she had imagined, but a city of steel and concrete.
This was clearly a modern metropolis. The streets were broad, skyscrapers surrounded her, and cars were everywhere.
But strangely, despite being such a bustling city, it was far too quiet.
Not a single voice or car horn could be heard along the entire street. Jiang Zhaosu lay sprawled openly in the middle of the road, yet no one gathered to watch or came forward to ask about her. Far in the distance, she could only see several swaying figures moving oddly.
The sky was overcast, and rain continued to fall.
When the rain landed on Jiang Zhaosu's face and body, it left an unpleasant, sticky sensation against her skin.
Getting caught in the rain meant catching a cold and running a fever. Catching a cold and running a fever meant spending money on treatment.
She had no money.
With that thought, the newly awakened Jiang Zhaosu somehow found the strength to scramble up from the ground.
As she moved, Jiang Zhaosu realized that the beast-like growl she had heard upon waking had come from her own throat.
What was going on?
She did not snore in her sleep before, did she?
Or was her body just too weak? Was she panting this badly from merely lying on the ground?
Jiang Zhaosu widened her eyes in confusion and tried to touch her throat, only to discover that the skin on her arm was rotten beyond recognition.
Due to malnutrition and anemia, Jiang Zhaosu's complexion had always been an unhealthy, sickly white.
But now, her entire arm had turned bluish-gray. Yellow pus seeped from the decayed patches of flesh, while her five fingers were long and bony, like the meatless claw of a chicken. Her nails looked as though they had been crushed by something heavy and necrotized, sharp, long, and black.
This was clearly not the arm of a healthy human being.
Her mind blank, Jiang Zhaosu instinctively raised her other hand and dazedly touched one of the rotting patches on her arm.
Crash—
With only the lightest touch, the decayed flesh on her arm split apart like a dilapidated old house desperate to collapse. A large chunk of rotten meat fell away like peeling wall paint, exposing the stark white bone beneath.
"Grrr..."
Jiang Zhaosu shuddered from head to toe, and another low, beast-like growl escaped her throat.
The sound of her own growl frightened her so badly that her legs went weak.
Rain dripped onto Jiang Zhaosu's arm, gouging tiny pits into her skin.
Soon, another large patch of skin fell from her arm, yellow pus continually oozing from the blood-red rotten flesh beneath.
Her body had felt no pain all this time, but only now did Jiang Zhaosu realize this was not ordinary rain. It was Acid Rain with corrosive properties.
At that moment, the lack of people on the street finally made sense.
If normal people got soaked in this rain, would it not hurt them to death?
If she kept getting drenched like this, then with barely any flesh left on her body to begin with, she would probably turn into a skeleton in no time.
Jiang Zhaosu looked around and chose a large supermarket to take shelter from the rain.
Perhaps because she was too hungry, she walked with extreme stiffness and difficulty, limping with every step.
In truth, Jiang Zhaosu had felt overwhelming hunger from the moment she woke up, so hungry that her stomach seemed to be pressed against her back.
After entering the supermarket, Jiang Zhaosu suddenly caught an exceptionally sweet fragrance.
Delicious.
So delicious.
Like someone who had starved for three days and three nights suddenly smelling grilled meat.
In an instant, Jiang Zhaosu felt gastric acid surge up her throat.
Her eyes turned red. Unable to think at all, she followed her instincts, tilting up her little face and sniffing with her nose as she searched everywhere for the source of that tempting food scent.
Though her limbs were stiff, Jiang Zhaosu's vision and sense of smell seemed to have evolved. She quickly followed the scent in the air to its source.
But when she arrived, Jiang Zhaosu froze.
Because what she saw was not an open barbecue restaurant, but a person.
A particularly beautiful man.
In Jiang Zhaosu's brief life, she had never seen a man so handsome. He was even more eye-catching than the stars on television.
His features were exquisite, his skin snow-white. His beautiful face was like a work of art created by the heavens themselves, without a single flaw to be found.
But he was not in good condition. His brows were tightly furrowed, and he sat leaning in a corner with his eyes closed.
The man's shoulder was injured, and blood continually seeped from it, soaking through his shirt.
That alluring fragrance Jiang Zhaosu had smelled came from there.
Looking at the man's cold, pale, slender neck and the fragrant shoulder still bleeding, Jiang Zhaosu could not help swallowing hard. She finally understood, in the most literal sense, what it meant for beauty to be delectable.
In her hunger-reddened eyes, the man was no longer a man, but a fragrant, tender roasted Da Bai goose.
All that remained was for her to pounce, tear into him, bite and chew, and feast to her heart's content.
"Roar!"
Jiang Zhaosu was completely overwhelmed by her appetite.
She let out an excited roar, then staggered toward the man on stiff legs, ready to begin her meal.
But the man had merely been resting with his eyes closed. He had not fainted or fallen asleep. Hearing her roar, he opened his eyes.
A pair of icy black eyes completely at odds with his delicate appearance swept toward Jiang Zhaosu.
Jiang Zhaosu had yet to realize the danger contained in that gaze.
She only felt that, the moment her eyes met his, something unknown suddenly tangled around her feet.
Then Jiang Zhaosu, whose limbs had been stiff and uncoordinated since waking, lost her balance at once and pitched straight forward.
Splat—
Jiang Zhaosu landed face-first, instantly breaking the bridge of her nose.
It did not hurt, but the fall flung several chunks of rotten flesh from Jiang Zhaosu's battered body. Even the cheeks, now smeared with filthy blood from the impact, began shedding flakes of skin.
Even so, Jiang Zhaosu remained strong.
The thing that had tripped her silently coiled around her ankles, binding both feet firmly together and preventing her from getting up.
So Jiang Zhaosu stretched out her two long, thin arms. Like a traveler in the desert who had spotted a spring, she crawled desperately toward the man's feet with astonishing willpower.
"Roar..."
Fresh blood, flesh...
So fragrant, so sweet.
Want to eat.
At this moment, Jiang Zhaosu's mind was completely consumed by a zombie's instincts, leaving only the desire to feed.
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