Worldwide Downpour

The weather forecast had never shown any rain. Even the next few days were supposed to be dry.

Yet the rain had come, just as it had in Fu Qingdai's dream.

Su Jin swallowed and closed his eyes, a dull ache in his heart.

This world should have had a bright future.

Its people lived in relative peace and prosperity, and they were honest and decent.

Perhaps in another decade or so, it would have entered the information age, giving people lives like those on Earth.

But now everything was ruined...

When he opened his eyes, Su Jin sighed inwardly, lowered his head again, and mechanically wiped the Silver Spear with trembling hands.

Only these numbing motions could briefly suppress the fear inside him.

The night slipped quietly away, and the downpour continued throughout it.

The sun rose as usual, but the world had been stained a deep gray.

After sitting motionless all night, Su Jin finally moved. Dragging his heavy legs to the window, he stared outside in disbelief.

His mouth, which had stayed shut all night, fell open involuntarily in surprise.

It wasn't the sky that was deep gray. It was the rain!

In the darkness, he had only been able to tell that it was raining heavily. Now that daylight had come, he could finally see what the rain looked like.

The downpour fell in sheets like gray gauze, then drifted through the rippling water like mist when it struck the ground.

At the sight, Su Jin jolted!

Then this was good news!

He turned and ran outside, pounding on Fu Qingdai's front door.

"Qing Dai! Are you there?!"

"I'm here!"

Fu Qingdai, who had spent the sleepless night curled up on the sofa, immediately sprang toward the door.

Leaning against it, she asked anxiously, "What happened?"

"Have you seen the rain?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"What color is it?"

"The usual color. I can't see anything unusual about it. Is something wrong?"

"...Nothing. Be careful, and whatever you do, don't touch the rainwater. I'm heading back."

"Su Jin!" With the door between them, Fu Qingdai hesitated.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. You be careful too... Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

Su Jin murmured an acknowledgment and returned to his apartment, utterly dejected.

The rainwater was gray, visibly abnormal. Even without a warning, ordinary people would never touch rainwater like that.

That would greatly reduce the risk of infection and turning into zombies, and law enforcement would certainly respond with the highest level of alert.

But although he could see the abnormality in the rain, others couldn't detect it at all. That did nothing to improve the situation.

As for why he could see it, the only explanation was that the company was working behind the scenes, or that it was a function of that mask.

I got ahead of myself. All that hope for nothing...

Back inside, Su Jin walked over to the dining table and stared at the cage of mice.

The mice had settled down considerably and were now resting inside the cage.

The abnormal weather outside had failed to alert the animals, either.

But he had expected that. These animals were intended for experiments.

If the rainwater could infect animals too, surviving in the wilderness would essentially be impossible.

Wild animals' instincts for moving at night were far stronger than humans'.

His main objective was to test the creatures' movement capabilities and survival time after they became zombies.

But now wasn't the time for testing. He had to wait until he had regained his composure and was fully rested before conducting experiments like these.

At that thought, Su Jin gave a bitter, self-mocking smile.

He had studied the liberal arts and gone straight into sales after graduation. He had never imagined that one day he would be setting up control groups for biological experiments.

He looked away, found his binoculars, and went to the window to observe.

Heavy as the rain was, it still couldn't stop workers from heading out to make their selfless contributions.

People were already walking through the downpour in the residential complex, wearing raincoats and carrying umbrellas.

The deep gray raindrops struck their bodies, then eerily sank into them and vanished.

For now, the passersby who had come into contact with the strange rainwater showed no unusual signs.

Deeply worried, he lowered the binoculars and stood there thinking for a while.

Su Jin opened the window, picked up the long-handled ladle he had placed beneath it earlier, and extended it outside.

After collecting a thin layer of rainwater, he tapped it against the balcony ledge to shake off the droplets on the outside, then brought it back indoors.

The water in the ladle was deep gray, just like the rain.

He carefully carried it into the kitchen.

Only after putting on multiple layers of face masks and a motorcycle helmet did Su Jin dare turn on the stove and range hood, then begin heating the rainwater over a low flame.

In less than a minute, the thin layer of water had boiled and evaporated.

The gray substance didn't rise with the steam. Instead, it accumulated at the bottom like smoke.

The slightest movement sent the thin gray mist rippling inside the ladle.

Su Jin stared at the gray mist, his thoughts racing.

He had no way of figuring out what this substance was. It could hardly even be called a substance.

But from what he could tell so far, it didn't rely entirely on water as a carrier. High temperatures had no effect on it, it could be held in a container, and gravity still affected it.

After thinking for a while, Su Jin left the kitchen and fetched another ladle and two canning jars.

He scooped up a little water with the second ladle, then slowly poured it down the inner wall of the ladle containing the gray mist.

Only when he saw the gray mist dissolve back into the water did he breathe a sigh of relief.

In that mist-like state, it was too dangerous and could spread far too easily. Keeping it in water for observation felt safer and more controllable.

He divided the gray water between the two canning jars and wrapped them in plastic wrap, sealing them completely.

He placed one jar on the balcony where it would receive direct sunlight, and the other in a cool, shaded spot.

Once everything was done, a wave of exhaustion washed over him.

After checking his safety precautions and making sure he hadn't overlooked anything, Su Jin returned to the bedroom.

Lying on his side on the bed, he watched the heavy rain outside as his thoughts drifted.

He had spent the entire night tense and sleepless. It was time to rest, or he would struggle to handle any sudden emergency.

People upstairs and downstairs seemed to be cursing.

I don't know how far this rain has spread. I hope places where it isn't raining realize something's wrong soon and send help as quickly as possible...

Exhausted, Su Jin rested his head on the spear and slowly fell asleep.

There were two radios beside the bed in the bedroom.

One was an ordinary radio, and the other was also an ordinary radio.

The only difference was that one was preset to the FM band, while the other was preset to the AM band.

Just then, a burst of low-frequency radio static crackled from the radio preset to FM.

"This is... Cen... Broad... Station..."

Half asleep, Su Jin sprang upright and snatched up the radio.

Enduring the aching in his eyes, he began adjusting the knob.

After a few simple turns, the voice coming from the radio became clear.

"According to the latest announcement from the Meteorological Bureau and the Global Environmental Monitoring Center, abnormal rainfall of the same intensity has been occurring worldwide since the early hours of this morning. Preliminary assessments indicate that this rainfall event is widespread. Its duration and specific causes remain under investigation and analysis."

"...The scientific community is conducting a joint investigation into its causes. No definitive conclusions have yet been reached. Members of the public are advised to follow official information from authoritative sources."

"To ensure personal safety and maintain order in daily life, please observe the following precautions: be sure to carry rain protection when going outside, and properly seal... All further updates will be released simultaneously through radio broadcasts and online platforms as soon as they become available. Citizens are asked to remain calm, respond rationally, and refrain from creating, believing, or spreading rumors."

"Ugh..." Su Jin clutched his head, feeling as though needles were stabbing into it.

It was actually... raining worldwide... Was there nowhere to escape?