Origin of Infection, Old Era New Era!

As a modern person, I'm no stranger to libraries.

Cheng Ye couldn't recall how many days and nights he'd spent frantically typing in them to meet deadlines for his papers.

He never expected to encounter a library in the Wasteland.

Although, judging by its exterior, this library couldn't even compare to some rural primary school libraries, Cheng Ye still felt a familiar sense of warmth welling up from his heart after looking at it for a while.

He took a few steps forward and pushed open the fence gate in front of the library.

To Cheng Ye's surprise, the hinges of the fence gate were quite smooth, a bit inconsistent with its rusty appearance. It seemed to be maintained regularly.

Behind the gate, Cheng Ye saw a conspicuous wooden sign.

[Survival Library]

[This library houses hundreds of books, collecting survival content submitted by survivors from all over the Wasteland. It is real and effective, and can greatly increase your survival probability when facing Infected.]

[Reading fee: 5 Coins/hour (A deposit of 20 Coins is required for entry, no credit accepted).]

[Borrowing fee: Priced according to the book's rarity, requires collateral.]

[You can submit valuable information, books, etc. If the librarian verifies its validity, unequal rewards will be provided.]

"5 Coins an hour?"

Cheng Ye raised an eyebrow.

No wonder a group of people had looked at him strangely when he got off the vehicle earlier.

The reward for repairing a day's worth of sewage pipes was 16 Coins, while just entering here wasn't even enough for the deposit.

If one wasn't careful and stayed for a few hours, ordinary residents would go bankrupt.

Even for an Inspector like him, with a monthly salary of 500 Coins, he wouldn't dare to spend his time here without restraint if it weren't for the inheritance left by Cheng Long.

"The Training Ground is only 10 Coins a day, and this place is 5 Coins an hour. It makes me curious about the quality of the books inside."

Cheng Ye wasn't too concerned about the cost of Happiness Coins.

Especially when it came to paying for knowledge. If it truly guaranteed that readers could greatly increase their survival probability when facing Infected, as the sign claimed, then it would be worth 50 Coins, let alone 5 Coins!

Following the old tiled corridor, he entered the library's courtyard.

Arriving at the main entrance, Cheng Ye hesitated for a moment. First, he took off his raincoat, folded it neatly, and hung it by the window. Then, he specifically scraped the mud stuck to the soles of his shoes on the steps nearby.

Creak.

He pushed open the library door, and a whiff of musty smell mixed with the unique old scent of paper wafted towards him.

Cheng Ye peeked inside.

It was indeed a simple and unadorned Old Era library style!

Three old-fashioned tungsten filament lamps hung from the ceiling, casting a dim, warm glow.

Two rows of wooden shelves were neatly arranged, each shelf slightly sagging under the weight of yellowed books.

Further back was a study hall setup Cheng Ye was all too familiar with.

Four wooden tables, large and exceptionally heavy-looking, each with two solid wood square chairs.

Since no one else was present, the pendant lights above the wooden tables were off, making the interior somewhat dim.

"Cough, cough."

A voice came from behind the door.

Following the sound, Cheng Ye finally noticed a desk propped up behind the door, with a small bed behind the desk.

A slightly hunched middle-aged Western woman was nestled on the small bed, her gaze fixed on him.

Noticing that no water droplets were falling from Cheng Ye and that his shoe soles were not stained with mud, the woman's gaze softened slightly.

"Guest, please come in. You are the only reader today."

"If you're short on cash, I can make the decision. One hour will only cost 3 Happiness Coins, and 10 Coins will let you read for a whole day."

The woman's face was pale, and her graying hair was messily scattered over her shoulders, making her look somewhat malnourished.

Yet, her voice was incredibly gentle, like a spring breeze, weaving around his ears, a stark contrast to her haggard appearance.

"There's a discount too?"

Cheng Ye was quite surprised, then immediately understood.

The high prices posted outside were likely just a filter, to keep out those without basic spending power or who didn't approve of the library's operating model.

Those who could enter wouldn't care about the cost of 5 Coins.

The deliberate discount to create extra pleasant surprise expectations for the guest, plus the option to read for a whole day for ten Coins, made one feel like they'd be losing out if they didn't spend 10 Coins.

"This is the deposit."

Cheng Ye felt around and took out two 10-value Happiness Coins from his pocket.

"May I ask."

"Aisy Gwen. You can call me by my name, guest."

"Alright, Miss Gwen, if I want to understand the types of Infected and how to deal with them, which book would be best to read?"

"The first bookshelf is entirely filled with such books. If you're facing Infected soon and need to learn quickly, you can directly read the third row – those are all condensed practical combat manuals. But my advice is still for you to take some time and read from top to bottom, to build a solid foundation."

Gwen straightened up slightly and continued, "The second bookshelf contains memoirs of Wasteland survivors. The first, fourth, and seventh books in the third row hold firsthand accounts of rare and special Infected. If you're interested in special Infected."

"The third and fourth bookshelves contain special survival manuals. Please rest assured, guest, every single one is valuable. They contain the author's understanding of the Wasteland and some special survival techniques. Although these techniques might not be immediately useful in your current situation, the moment you use them once, you'll understand what 'exceeding expectations' truly means."

"Okay, thank you!"

Such a detailed answer and advice made Cheng Ye realize this was likely the result of him taking off his raincoat and cleaning his shoe soles.

It seems the Wasteland isn't entirely without mutual respect.

Cheng Ye chuckled inwardly, suddenly remembering when he was preparing for his postgraduate entrance exams. He was the only one allowed to eat in the library, saving him half an hour of travel time back and forth to the cafeteria.

Half an hour every day, accumulated over time, saved him several days in just six months.

Why?

Wasn't it the privilege of having a good relationship with the librarian!

It was the same now. With Gwen's reminder, Cheng Ye immediately saved himself the effort of searching, browsing, and organizing.

"Since that's the case, I'll start with the first row. Two days should be enough for me to quickly skim through all the books on the first bookshelf."

He pulled out the first book on the first row and glanced at the title. It was in familiar Chinese characters.

Origin of Infection

The content was exactly what he was very interested in right now.

He walked to the reading area. The lights had already been turned on by Gwen. It wasn't a soft, warm light, but a slightly cold white light that invigorated the spirit.

"The choice of lighting also helps with reading. If you need tea or food service, please call me."

"Thank you."

Cheng Ye nodded and sat down at the large wooden table, gently opening the book to the first page.

The somewhat messy handwriting, with cursive strokes that required concentration to decipher, unexpectedly gave him a sense of mission, as if he were crossing through time and opening a historical record.

'Do you believe in fate? Do you believe in prophecies? Do you believe in the end of the world?'

'I never believed, but reality gave me a cruel lesson, forcing me to believe in destiny.'

'Old Era, December 21, 2032. If it weren't the twentieth anniversary of the Mayan Civilization's predicted end of the world, this day would have been just an ordinary day. No one would remember it, not even me, an author who likes to write doomsday novels. I only remembered it when I saw related reports.'

'Oh? The end of the world predicted by the Mayans!'

'Haha, twenty years have passed, how can anyone still believe in the apocalypse? It's just a hot topic for capital speculation, like 520 Valentine's Day, like 11/11 Singles' Day. They'll all be stored in history, forgotten by everyone.'

'But, but, but it, it finally came!'

'This apocalypse was delayed by a full twenty years. That day, at four in the afternoon, I opened my window and saw a scene I would never forget. An incredibly huge luminous body visited Blue Star. Its long tail almost filled the entire sky, even blocking out the sun's rays. Experts speculated it was an extraterrestrial life form that jumped through a wormhole. I don't know if it's true, but its brief appearance completely changed Blue Star's fate, tearing away the fragile skin of civilization step by step.'

'Fragments shed from a comet fell across Blue Star, large and small, causing people to scramble for them.'

'Everyone was eager to know or discover something from these fragments. Countries began their covert rivalries, attempting to find opportunities for technological advancement within them.'

'Haha, indeed, something was discovered. The S-1 virus, which struck terror into people's hearts, appeared!'

'With saliva and blood as its vessels, the virus spread wildly across the globe in just three months. The infected resembled zombies from movies, but were even more terrifying. A scratch or bite would cause a horrific mutation within ten seconds, leading to indiscriminate attacks on their own kind and rapidly expanding the infected area.'

'Even with the resilience of human civilization, the infected were still limited by being carbon-based life forms. The S-1 virus persisted for a full four years, until the Human Federation was established, Sanctuary Cities sprang up everywhere, and organized combat formations gradually formed encirclements, temporarily sealing away this nightmare.'

An illustration accompanied the text: a man with a ferocious expression, leaning sideways, his eyes cloudy and white, his gums exposed revealing broken canine teeth, saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth.

Zombies?

Cheng Ye's brow twitched. He wasn't sure if it was the influence of movies and TV shows, but compared to those Infected with bizarre abilities, he felt zombies were actually more troublesome.

After all, being bitten meant infection, implying that staying in a crowded Sanctuary City was actually more dangerous.

Fortunately, according to the text, these zombies still couldn't break free from the limitations of carbon-based life forms.

They could run, but due to the decay and damage to their bones and muscles, they couldn't run as fast as a healthy adult man.

They didn't fear death, but this also made them clumsy targets, easily trapped by human-laid snares.

And by the time humans reacted and formed combat formations, the zombies' doomsday had essentially arrived.

How could mortal flesh withstand the barrage of heavy machine guns?

With napalm strikes, even the largest zombie hordes were just "kindling" to fuel the flames.

'Winter of the Old Era, 2037. When the last S-1 infected person turned to ash in an incinerator, grand celebrations were held across Blue Star. Survivors emerged from Sanctuary Cities, returning to the ruins of cities to weep in each other's arms, as if announcing the beginning of civilization's rebirth from fire.'

'I was fortunate enough to participate in it, surviving this disaster and cheering for the end of the apocalypse.'

'However, the "infinite energy" granted by the S-1 virus ultimately aroused the greed of a small number of people. They yearned to find the secret to eternal life, to find a way to disregard the limits of carbon-based life forms. In some special underground laboratories, the original virus was intercepted and began to be studied. Under human guidance, the S-1 virus abandoned its inefficient wide-area transmission mode and instead directed its evolution towards the limits of life forms.'

'Spring of 2041, the S-2 virus was born by chance!'

'The special S-2 virus completely lost its wide-area infectivity. Humans had to have close contact with the source of infection for over 48 hours to be colonized by the virus. And after being infected, humans finally, as they had initially wished, successfully broke through the genetic upper limits of carbon-based life forms.'

'During this period, giant infected dozens of meters tall, Speedy Infected reaching near-supersonic speeds, special flying infected, and Intelligent Infected capable of mental control over humans emerged. However, due to the limitations of its transmission method and the fact that the Human Federation still maintained its combat strength, the S-2 virus was easily suppressed in just one year and four months, with all sources of infection destroyed.'

'But, if there's a second time, there will be a third and fourth. With the S-2 virus having revealed its potential for growth, could humanity truly resist the temptation of genes?'

3.5K delivered. San Jin guarantees a large volume during the new book period. Thanks to all the readers who voted with monthly passes. A new week is about to begin. Please collect, vote with monthly passes, and follow along. Your support is very, very, very important to me!!!