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Chapter 1: The Day of Disaster ( ) "When I close my eyes, the world doesn't exist!" A burning sensation in his stomach woke Zhang Xiaolong. He clutched his belly and sat up, half-squinting, lost in thought, unable to distinguish between dream and reality. 。A feeling of intense dread grips your intestines. Everything feels like it's returning to a previous, unbearable state. The stench of dead mice within the house, the gloomy and oppressive sky outside the window, and the sound of various grotesque figures below shuffling on broken glass send shivers down your spine. 。Picked up the half-pack of instant noodles from the desk by the bed, opened the bag and took a deep sniff. The smell of food made saliva flow quickly, as if even the stench in the air was gone. I crumbled the noodles and tasted them slowly with my tongue, bit by bit. Unconsciously, the last noodle strand disappeared in my mouth. I carefully clipped the instant noodle bag open with scissors, used my tongue to clean up every bit of noodle particles, rinsed my mouth with mineral water, swallowing the residue along with it. After finishing the remaining water, I got off the bed and stood by the window, watching the people on the street walk aimlessly. I calculated how many days the remaining food could last me, and couldn't help but think about what had happened half a month ago... 。Zhang Xiaqiang is a middle-aged shut-in. His parents passed away from cancer one after another, and his younger sister moved to another city. There was only him left at home. He quit his job after arguing with his superiors, started a small restaurant with friends in City W, but lost money. He was too lazy to look for work, spending his days on the website Qidian with his computer. His parents had left behind a property that brought in rent, allowing him to eat and drink without worry. He would go out once a month to collect rent, which covered his monthly living expenses, gradually increasing to around 170 yuan. He lived a simple and low-key life. 。This year, 2012, he also turned 34. He didn't take any of the apocalyptic language online to heart. What wasn't said was that the world ended in 1999, and nothing happened! In March, Mount Fuji in Japan erupted, followed by several months of eruptions worldwide, even causing panic among the public. Various rumors began circulating. 。Later, national leaders issued televised speeches to debunk the rumors. Many experts also tried their best to confirm that everything was a natural phenomenon. Starting in June, the Earth began to calm down, with no more earthquakes, volcanoes subsided, and the economy started to recover. Pork prices began to fall, some doomsday websites were shut down, and life began to improve. He still just ate and waited for death. 。December 21, 2012 passed as well, nothing happened. Those doomsday forums fell silent, only some newbies were complaining about having too much rice and cabbage at home they bought, the most extreme ones even bought thousands of pounds, which led to price hikes for cookies on the market. 。News reports on December 24, 2012 stated that a small meteor shower had fallen in the Pacific Ocean, causing no economic damage. 。Until December 31, 2012, at 9:00 am the world changed <<< 。>Zhang Xiaoqiang was up all night and prepared to sleep. He felt a strange smell in the air, so he closed all the doors and windows, took a hot bath, and sprayed his sister's expired perfume as an air freshener. After covering himself with blankets, he slept soundly. At 9 pm, he woke up, ate something, turned on his computer, and browsed some websites. He found that most of the novels hadn't been updated. While cursing the authors, he looked for some old books to read. After more than an hour, something felt wrong. His house was located on the main road of the electrical capital, although it was far from the city center. Cars were always coming and going, and the roar of cars was constant. From when he woke up until now, he hadn't heard any cars passing by. Could it be that they were repairing the road? Zhang Xiaoqiang muttered to himself. Suddenly, a scream came from outside, which startled him. He shivered and stood barefoot by the window, staring out... 。Under the street lamp, three or four people were huddled together, squatting and doing something unknown. Zhang Xiaoqiang took off his glasses, wiped them clean with a cloth, and put them back on, carefully watching those people. They seemed to be eating something. The chill from the ground reminded him that he was still barefoot. He put on his slippers, found a rag and cleaned the windows, which he had been too lazy to take care of before. Then, looking outside again, he saw two more figures among the group. Next, one of the people with their back to him sat down on the ground. The street lamp's light shone in the middle of the crowd, revealing a man lying face up on the ground, his head tilted to the side, his chest open. Two people squatting on the ground were fighting over the liver and lungs while shoving them into the opening. The person sitting with their back to him held a heart in their hands and was chewing it. 。Zhang Xiaolong suddenly knelt on the floor, feeling a wave of nausea rising in his throat. He scrambled to his feet and rushed to the bathroom, vomiting until there was nothing left but bitter bile. After a while, he leaned against the wall, wiping away tears from his eyes, drank some water from the water dispenser, rinsed his mouth, and sat down on the floor. His mind was filled with images from horror movies like "Resident Evil", "Dawn of the Dead", "Cannibal Holocaust", and even "Char Siu Bao" (a type of Chinese steamed bun). 。After taking a half-hour nap, I felt better. I walked to the window and observed again. The "human eaters" had increased from three to a group, and under the streetlights, more figures slowly walked over. 。In the dim light, this was so eerie, he shivered, goosebumps all over him, his heart pounding. 。He suddenly remembered the police and hurriedly found his phone to call. In a panic, he couldn't remember the number and started sweating! Zhang Xiaogang took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. After a few seconds, he dialed 110. As if playing with him, the line was always busy. Then he dialed 120, but it was still unavailable. He called several relatives and friends, but either no one answered or the lines were busy. He was so anxious that he almost wanted to throw his phone in the toilet. 。 Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate! ? |
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