Elegance

Lin Dong returned to his residence.

It was a high-rise building, and he lived on the top floor—the twentieth.

His home was exceptionally clean, spotless, with everything arranged neatly. Its minimalist style was pleasing to the eye.

The windows were fitted with sturdy stainless-steel bars.

They were meant to prevent flying mutant beasts from attacking him after the apocalypse began.

The solar panels had also been installed. Although Lin Dong would become a zombie, electricity was still important.

Because he retained human reason, he would still get bored.

He could watch television, play games, or use his phone to pass the time.

He could also gather intelligence through those channels.

Everything

was already prepared.

The countdown to the apocalypse had begun!

The long night passed, and the morning sun slowly rose. Lin Dong remembered that the apocalypse would begin at nine in the morning.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. 8:59!

One minute remained!

Lin Dong walked to the window and looked down at the street outside. It was still bustling with traffic, while pedestrians chatted and laughed.

The clock behind him ticked away.

The second hand gradually aligned with the minute hand, heralding the opening of a new era.

Nine o'clock sharp!

All of a sudden,

the bright morning sun in the sky was covered by a red haze, turning completely crimson.

The Blood Sun!

Pedestrians on the street looked up, their eyes filled with surprise.

"Eh? Why did the sun turn red?"

"I don't know! Is it some kind of astronomical phenomenon?"

"Hurry up and take a picture. Post it online..."

People were still discussing it when many suddenly blacked out and collapsed stiffly to the ground.

The speeding cars began crashing into one another in succession.

"Bang! Crash!"

Car windows shattered, sending glass fragments flying. The street instantly descended into chaos.

People realized something was wrong, and their expressions grew increasingly anxious.

"Honey! What's wrong? Wake up!"

A woman by the roadside kept shaking a man's body.

"Roar!"

But when the man opened his eyes, his face had turned hideous, and he bit into the woman's fair neck.

"Aah—!!"

The woman screamed in agony. Her clothes were quickly stained red with blood, then her eyes rolled back as her body began convulsing violently.

Similar scenes were unfolding all over the streets.

"Ah! There are monsters!"

"These are... zombies! Help!"

"Waaah~~~ Mommy, wake up!"

For a time, screams, sobs, and roars rose and fell one after another.

Chaos filled the eye.

Lin Dong, standing by the window, also had his vision go dark and collapsed unconscious.

When he woke again,

he had already become a zombie!

"Hah—"

He opened his mouth, and a hoarse sound came from his throat. He had lost the ability to speak.

Just as expected...

Lin Dong muttered inwardly. Not only that, many of his bodily functions had failed, including the "invincible premium giant dragon" below his waist, which no longer reacted at all.

I'll probably have to evolve gradually before it recovers.

Lin Dong turned to look at the mirror in the living room. His appearance had not changed, but his skin was very pale and bloodless, giving him a somewhat sickly look.

After becoming a zombie, his limbs were stiff and numb, his movements sluggish, and his sense of pain greatly diminished.

Lin Dong's current speed was probably inferior even to an ordinary human's.

According to the classifications from his previous life, he was currently just the lowest-tier nobody: a D-rank Zombie!

What had improved, however, were his hearing and sense of smell. His nails had become sharp like iron sheets, and his teeth were incredibly hard, capable of easily tearing apart flesh.

Lin Dong tried taking out an apple and lightly biting into it.

The apple, once sweet and crisp, now tasted like wax in his mouth.

It tastes awful...

Moreover, Lin Dong felt no fullness whatsoever. Instead, his hunger only grew stronger.

He craved flesh and blood.

So he went to the dining table. Though his movements were slow and his body stiff, Lin Dong still picked up a pristine white napkin and tied it around his neck.

Then, he took a piece of fresh beef from his storage space and placed it on a plate.

Picking up the knife and fork at hand, he cut the raw beef into neat cubes, just as he would when eating Western cuisine.

He speared one piece with his fork and slowly placed it in his mouth.

He was an elegant zombie...

Lin Dong's hard teeth easily shredded the meat. The raw flesh, which had once smelled fishy, now tasted incomparably delicious.

Even the bloody juices inside the raw beef had become exceptionally sweet.

Mmm! Delicious!

Lin Dong sighed inwardly.

The streets outside remained in complete chaos, with roars, cries, and screams coming without end.

Yet Lin Dong was elegantly eating meat at home.

As he ate, energy was absorbed, continuously strengthening his body.

And once someone became a zombie, their appetite increased enormously, as though their stomach had become a bottomless pit.

Lin Dong ate ten plates of meat before he felt somewhat less hungry.

But he still kept eating...

A zombie fed with ample flesh and blood grew at an utterly terrifying rate!

After eating some meat, Lin Dong felt his hands and feet become much more nimble.

His strength increased as well.

Even the steel knife and fork in his hand no longer seemed all that sturdy.

With just a little force from two fingers, he could easily bend them.

But he continued eating meat...

Plate after plate, constantly absorbing energy.

Time slowly passed. The streets outside grew much quieter, and the cries of people gradually disappeared.

Instead, there were more zombie roars.

The urban district had already fallen and been occupied by zombies. Only a small number of survivors had managed to cling to life.

Lin Dong paid no attention to the world outside... He focused solely on eating sweet, delicious meat.

Since it was still the early days of the apocalypse, the internet and communication systems had not completely collapsed.

The news anchor on television had red-rimmed eyes and could barely hold back tears, yet she continued reporting dutifully.

"Emergency broadcast! A zombie virus has suddenly broken out today, and humanity is facing an enormous crisis. Survivors, please protect yourselves! Those who can stay alive may seek shelter at this city's refuge!"

"This station reports that there are not only zombies! Animals and plants have also mutated to varying degrees. Even pets kept at home must be treated with caution!"

"Please stay away from densely populated areas as much as possible! We beg everyone... you must survive!"

"..."

All kinds of tragedies were ruthlessly unfolding everywhere.

But Lin Dong ignored everything outside... and continued eating meat.

He had no idea how much he had eaten—probably the equivalent of two whole cows.

At last, Lin Dong was full.

He put down his knife and fork, untied the still-pristine white napkin, and moved with remarkable agility.

After eating so much meat, his body was no longer numb. The nimbleness of his hands and feet had already surpassed that of an ordinary person.

I probably ranked up... I should be a C-rank Zombie now...

Lin Dong analyzed.

However, zombies of this rank had limited digestive capacity, so after eating two cows, he felt full.

Once his rank rose further, he would be able to digest even more meat...

Lin Dong stood up, walked to the window, and looked outside.

As far as the eye could see, everything was in ruins. Glass shards littered the chaotic streets, while blood and mangled corpses lay everywhere.

Countless zombies ran around searching for prey. Others, in groups of three or five, knelt on the ground and fought over human corpses and flesh.

Their roars continued without end, like vicious dogs guarding their food.

Some survivors, driven to desperation, fell from high-rise buildings and went splat, their bodies smashed to pieces in a bloody mess.

But many zombies swarmed forward and devoured them.

The sun was still completely crimson.

Its scarlet light shone upon those horrifying scenes, making them appear especially desolate.

But what did any of that have to do with Lin Dong?

He leaned against the windowsill, enjoying the gentle breeze. Raising a wineglass, he swirled the red liquid within and took a small sip.

Then he picked up a pristine white towel and gently wiped his mouth...

Elegance.

Never went out of style...