The original host felt weak at the sight of zombies. Fortunately, luck was on his side; he found a supermarket not far from where he had escaped in the car, scavenging the remaining supplies. For these past few days, he had been hiding in this room, just trying to survive.
Tong Sui pulled back the curtains.
The sky was gray and the sun was nowhere to be seen. A thick layer of fog blanketed the entire city, making the steel and concrete urban landscape seem desolate and bleak. Occasionally, a few zombies stumbled around the open spaces, while the highways were eerily empty.
He withdrew his gaze.
The room contained a small bathroom, and in the corner, there were some uneaten supplies indicating he could last another two weeks.
Having such an environment in the apocalypse exceeded what most people experienced.
However, Tong Sui did not want to wait and die in place.
He rummaged through the original host’s backpack in the corner and crouched down to pack the supplies inside it.
These foods were leftovers from others who had scavenged the supermarket; Tong Sui found them unimpressive, but they were his best option.
After packing the items, he took a shower.
In an effort to stay alive, the original host had even remembered to take his white lab coat, a symbol of his identity, when he was expelled.
At the dawn of the apocalypse, researchers were as precious as special abilities.
They were the last hope for developing a cure.
Tong Sui changed into a clean shirt and the white lab coat, reaching into the outer pocket to find something hard. Pulling it out, he discovered it was a pair of glasses.
The original host had mild myopia.
Putting on the glasses, his vision cleared up significantly.
Tong Sui looked at himself in the mirror.
His soft black hair, which had grown long due to not being maintained for a while, covered his eyebrows.
The shirt and lab coat he wore were clean and tidy, and with the glasses, he exuded a scholarly air, seeming like an outstanding young researcher.
He slung his small backpack over his shoulder and stepped out of the storage room.
The corridor was dark and dim.
Somewhere, water was dripping, making a rhythmic ticking sound.
The system warned: “Be careful; don’t go to the left. There are many zombies there.”
Tong Sui acknowledged.
Following the system’s guidance, he avoided all the zombies as much as possible.
Simply walking down this building had already exhausted a great deal of Tong Sui’s energy.
This body had been pampered; even with the apocalypse, he enjoyed the highest standard of facilities in the research lab at the base.
After being expelled from the base and hiding in the storage room, he had virtually no physical activity. Walking a few steps left him with aching legs.
How could he survive in the apocalypse with such physical condition?
His shoulders also hurt from the strap, but he thought about the food inside and endured, unwilling to discard it.
Tong Sui gave up on walking and said, “Help me check if there’s a usable car nearby.”
The system replied: “At the entrance of the store ahead.”
It was a white sedan.
Tong Sui walked over and tugged at the car door, just then, a zombie suddenly lunged out from behind him.
Tong Sui fell into the driver’s seat.
In the next moment, the zombie slammed against the car door, scratching at the windshield with its sharp, dirty nails, producing a piercing and shrill sound.
In its cloudy eyes, there was a sickly greed.
Tong Sui, frightened, quickly locked the car door, his trembling fingers gripped the steering wheel tightly. He floored the accelerator and sharply turned the wheel to throw the zombie off.
The zombie fell to the ground, completely oblivious to any pain, and got back up to continue chasing the vehicle.
Their only weakness was the head; attacks on any other part wouldn’t stop them.
Tong Sui accelerated, distancing himself from the zombie.
After driving for a while and confirming there were no zombies around, he finally stopped to catch his breath.
The cold sweat from his earlier fright had already dried.
The system said: “Maybe I should request a change to a different world; this one is too dangerous.”
“There’s no need to change, just stay in this one.” Tong Sui twisted the cap off his water bottle and took a few gulps. “Help me locate Ye… Jiang Hua’s position.”
The system responded: “…Okay.”
“He’s only 5 kilometers away from you. Their team’s target is a nearby food factory.”
Currently, Jiang Hua’s base in North China was crowded with survivors, necessitating regular missions to collect supplies from the surrounding areas.
“Good, navigate for me.”
With the system’s navigation, Tong Sui avoided most zombies and arrived ahead of them.
The food factory was stacked with bags of flour.
On the production line, there was unsealed flour; the disaster struck too quickly, leaving the workers almost entirely infected and turned into zombies.
Tong Sui used the stacks of flour as cover and made his way to the second floor.
After a while,
Dust kicked up on the empty road as a well-organized convoy approached.
Three off-road vehicles.
The vehicles were clearly modified and reinforced, with some bloodstains smeared on them.
They stopped at the entrance of the food factory.
Seven or eight people got out, carrying guns, prepared for any emergencies when their abilities ran out.
Among them stood the tallest man, bearing a longsword and dressed in black combat gear, with his pants tucked into his boots.
His figure was upright, and even in that stance, the muscle lines on his shoulders and arms were smooth and appealing.
What set him apart was his mixed ethnicity; with ash-brown hair and blue eyes, he had very fair skin without a frail appearance.
At a distance, Tong Sui watched in awe.
Suddenly, the man turned his head, looking in Tong Sui’s direction.
Tong Sui quickly crouched down.
“Team Leader Hua, is something wrong?”
A teammate standing beside Jiang Hua asked, following his gaze and only seeing the window of the second floor of the food factory.
Jiang Hua replied, “There’s someone inside.”
His pronunciation carried a hint of an accent, but he communicated completely fine with others.