When talking about the madman he encountered at the police station, Xiao Tianming’s throat moved, and he took another sip of water.
“I’m not kidding, at that time, I didn’t even remember what the girl my buddy set me up with looked like—I only remembered she had two eyes and a mouth. But that guy… even now, when I think about him, I still feel a chill.”
The lights at the police station were blindingly bright and cold, and the holding area was filled with hysterical noise. Some people were still excitedly cursing someone; some, like Xiao Tianming, were vomiting loudly due to intoxication. Others were muttering indistinctly, repeatedly banging the back of their heads against the white walls…
The man beside Xiao Tianming had a flushed face, his eyeballs slightly bulging, and his thin pupils trembled incessantly in his eye sockets, like some creature independent of the human body.
“Hey, get ready.”
The man kept repeating similar incomprehensible murmurs.
“The world is going to end.”
“We’re all doomed.”
…
“So, you met someone in the holding cell who told you the world was going to end… and you just believed him?”
Qi Wu suddenly snorted, interrupting Xiao Tianming’s recollection.
Xiao Tianming shrank back and hurriedly shook his head, “No, no, how could I? At first, I thought the guy was crazy, maybe just high or something. But then, later, he suddenly told me to watch him.”
“And then?”
“Then he ate his own fingers right in front of me.”
Xiao Tianming’s voice trembled slightly.
“At that moment, I was really… I was scared stiff. I thought I was still drunk, because who would just gnaw their own fingers off like they were chicken feet? The blood splattered—I felt like it got on my face. But that guy didn’t look like he was in pain at all.”
Yes, not only did the man show no sign of retreating from the pain, but he even grinned and laughed gleefully at the chaotic crowd around him.
His teeth, stained pink with blood, gleamed under the fluorescent lights.
“Look, this is the proof!”
“I’m not crazy, I just told the truth.”
Then he raised his hand, which had been chewed to a bloody, mangled stump, toward Xiao Tianming.
*
“…There were some things.”
Xiao Tianming mumbled softly.
“Something came out of his hand. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing it right, but it was like… like worms… wriggling out of his hand, twisting and squirming.”
“Then the police dragged him away.”
“When I got out of the police station, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. You know, at first, I thought the nonsense he was spouting was just a madman’s ranting, just crazy talk. But those worms… what were they? They couldn’t really have been parasites, right? The more I thought about it, the worse I felt, so I figured I’d better prepare just in case.”
“I really didn’t believe it was true, it was just too surreal. That guy just scared me, and I felt unsettled.”
“Who would’ve thought that in the end, everyone really did turn into monsters… Xiao Xi, she was such a beautiful girl, and right in front of me… she… she wanted to eat me…”
…
As he spoke, Xiao Tianming seemed to finally grasp the reality of the current situation, and he broke down crying in front of Xie Xishu and Qi Wu.
Xie Xishu stared at Xiao Tianming, who was bawling without any trace of his former high-profile persona, deep in thought.
He didn’t comfort him much, and a few minutes later, the man’s sobbing stopped on its own.
Xiao Tianming wiped his nose with the hem of his T-shirt, then looked up, his eyes filled with tears, gazing at Xie Xishu and Qi Wu.
“So, what’s going on outside now?”
…
Xie Xishu lowered his eyes and quickly told Xiao Tianming everything he needed to know. This, of course, included the important news they had just learned—that the government was clearing out the monsters in City A and had set up a survivor shelter nearby.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Tianming’s entire face brightened a bit.
He excitedly stood up from the ground and took two steps toward Xie Xishu.
“Can you two… take one more person with you?”
Xie Xishu remained silent for a moment.
Qi Wu instantly raised an eyebrow.
Seeing this, Xiao Tianming’s lips began to tremble.
“I swear I won’t hold you back. Look, I’ve been lifting weights all this time, really. If you don’t believe me, look at these abs—they’re the real deal, not a bit of water weight—”
He immediately lifted the sticky hem of his shirt, trying to show off his so-called abs.
Qi Wu, unable to bear it any longer, pulled Xie Xishu back two steps.
“Enough.”
He said coldly.
“You’re not the only one with abs, and they’re useless now.” After a pause, Qi Wu continued, “…Aren’t you into cars? If you want to come with us, at least show some sincerity, right?”
…
With the car keys he handed over, Xiao Tianming briefly became their temporary companion.
Xie Xishu told him that they would follow Xiao Tianming to the outskirts of City A. If the airplane broadcast was accurate, as long as he followed the official safe route, Xiao Tianming could reach the shelter.
Once he got there, he might settle in, or he could be relocated to another area for safety. But that would be a choice Xiao Tianming would have to make on his own.
“As for us, we still have our own matters to take care of.”
Xie Xishu said sternly, enunciating each word.
But Xiao Tianming didn’t seem to notice the young man’s cold expression at all; his face remained full of gratitude.
“Of course, of course. You two are so young, and you’ve made it this far in such times—you must be experts. As long as I’m with you, nothing bad will happen.”
Xiao Tianming swallowed nervously, humbling himself.
“Really, I can’t thank you enough. If it weren’t for you two, I probably would’ve died in that basement…”
However, despite his heartfelt thanks, Xie Xishu and Qi Wu seemed indifferent.
*
After their agreement was made, they went to the garage to get the car. Thanks to Xiao Tianming’s cooperation, they no longer needed to search various villas for car keys. But as they passed through the living room, Xiao Tianming spotted two human corpses hanging from the deer antlers.
He gasped sharply, letting out a low cry of surprise.
“How… how could this happen?”
He stared at the two bodies, his voice choking up.
“My condolences.”
Xie Xishu, seeing Xiao Tianming’s pale face, spoke without thinking.
But Qi Wu, right behind him, asked softly, “…Your parents died, and you don’t seem too sad?”
Even though the living room was filled with the stench of human decay and blood, Qi Wu could still tell that there wasn’t a trace of sorrow on Xiao Tianming. His reaction seemed more like panic than grief.
Xiao Tianming froze for a moment, then slowly lowered the hand covering his mouth.
“Ah, those aren’t my parents.”
He dryly explained.
“That’s just my housekeeper, you know, the one who made braised duck wings for me. The person next to her, I can’t even recognize them anymore. They’re too swollen. But judging by the clothes, it looks like my driver…”
Xie Xishu glanced briefly at Xiao Tianming’s face. “Is that so?”
Xiao Tianming nodded. “Yeah, my parents aren’t even in the country. They must be safe… They should be safe, right?” As he spoke, his expression became slightly stiff. “It’s not like there’s a disaster like this abroad, right? That’s impossible. No, they’re so rich—even if something did happen, they’d definitely be well-hidden…”
It was only at this moment that Qi Wu faintly caught a trace of sadness from Xiao Tianming.
But instead of easing his doubts, it only deepened the suspicion in Qi Wu’s eyes.
“Abroad…”
Hearing Xiao Tianming’s nearly self-murmured words, Xie Xishu was momentarily stunned.
“Abroad should be safe.”
He murmured, almost as if answering Xiao Tianming, yet it also seemed like he was reassuring himself.
*
Outskirts of City A.
On a long-abandoned asphalt road.
A small monster skillfully extended its tongue, reaching into the cracks of a charred and deformed vehicle, pulling out strands of long-rotten flesh and rolling them into its pouch.
As a relatively weak monster, today’s haul was clearly quite impressive.
This was evident from its pouch, nearly unable to close, constantly leaking putrid corpse fluid as it dripped onto the charred car frame with a hissing sound.
“Fragrant…”
It muttered a sound.
By now, its muddled brain had long forgotten the meaning of that whisper.
“Fragrant, fragrant, fragrant.”
It mechanically repeated the word, its pale, elongated body slowly stretching out completely from the car wreckage—when suddenly, with a screech of twisting metal, a massive, gaping mouth descended from above, swallowing it whole.
A massive monster, its body covered in pus-filled boils, emerged from the bushes on the side of the road, moving with surprisingly light steps for its size.
It tore through the pile of metal debris on the road, took a small bite of a snack, then raised its neck to look toward the road.
The buzzing sound had already turned into a deafening roar.
Two motorcycles were speeding toward it, accompanied by the tremendous noise—
The monster tilted its head, then raised its neck, took one step, two steps… finally breaking into a sprint, charging directly at the “soft, juicy, and delicious” food riding on the metal creations.
*
“Ahhhhhh—”
Even through the racing helmet, Xie Xishu could clearly hear Xiao Tianming’s scream.
He couldn’t help but look back into the wind.
Xiao Tianming was riding a brightly glowing motorcycle, trailing behind them… with at least three monsters in full pursuit.
Those monsters had obviously been drawn by the loud roar of the motorcycles’ engines.
However, as they got closer, they seemed to sense Qi Wu’s presence, which deterred them from attacking the bike he and Xie Xishu were on. Yet, the scent of food was so sweet and tempting, and the speed of the motorcycles triggered their natural hunting instincts.
The end result was that they all focused on Xiao Tianming as their target.
Luckily, Xiao Tianming had been a car blogger before. To gain followers, he had practiced various flashy riding skills, and those allowed him to barely dodge the sharp claws and fangs that lunged at him from every angle.
Seeing this, Xie Xishu couldn’t help but grip Qi Wu’s lean waist tighter, leaning closer to him.
“Did you do this on purpose?”
Xie Xishu shouted into the wind, questioning Qi Wu.
Qi Wu tilted his head slightly, pretending not to hear.
“What?”
Xie Xishu had no choice but to lean in even further.
“I asked, did you do this on purpose?”
“Hmm.”
A mouth appeared on the side of Qi Wu’s neck, putting him close enough to Xie Xishu’s ear to speak.
“He wasn’t telling the truth earlier.”
At least… not entirely.
The man and woman hanging from the deer antlers had already been partially devoured by the monsters.
However, the monsters hadn’t eaten them completely…
When they first entered the living room, Qi Wu had noticed the fragments of accessories lying in the foul-smelling, black-red pool of blood: a handmade Italian tie, a million-dollar watch, a pair of luxury-brand slippers so impractical they left an impression…
“How could those people be just the housekeeper and driver?”
Qi Wu almost laughed coldly.
Hearing this, Xie Xishu felt a tightness in his chest.
Although he had also found Xiao Tianming’s behavior strange, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact evidence like Qi Wu had.
“…So, is he in danger?”
Xie Xishu instinctively hugged Qi Wu a little tighter.
“Not really. Don’t forget, I’m here.” Qi Wu silently enjoyed the feeling of being squeezed around the waist, his voice carrying a barely noticeable hoarseness as he replied, “Keeping him alive is just to see what he’s really up to. I have a feeling this guy knows more than he’s letting on—”
Just then, Xiao Tianming suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream from behind them.
“Help me! Ahhhh—”
This time, the fear in his voice sounded much more real.
Author’s Note:
Qi Wu: …Heh, what good are abs anyway?
Also Qi Wu: …Ahhhh, my wife touched my abs! ❤ (Xie Xishu: I did not!)
