Chapter 3: Strange and Sinister Appearances in the Dead of Night

Upon returning to his residence, Lin Xian retrieved a bottle of bleach-mixed disinfectant from behind the door and meticulously sprayed the entrance and the hallway. Only after completing this did he step inside, close the security door, and fasten the iron chain.

His first action was to pull out his phone, open the map, and track Chen Sixuan’s current location.

The first rule of the apocalypse: Beware the night.
The second rule of the apocalypse: Never be reckless.

Lin Xian did not fight unprepared battles. Jiang City had completely fallen; the remaining people were either survivors cowering in shelters, violent thugs looting the streets, or the massive, swarming hordes of the undead.

Entering the night was even more terrifying, for to this day, no one knew exactly what kind of sinister entities lurked within the darkness. Judging by the accounts of survivors across various radio frequencies, these things were indescribable and beyond comprehension; very few had ever survived an encounter with such anomalies.

"7.2 kilometers... not exactly close."

Before the apocalypse, this distance would have been a mere ten-minute taxi ride, but now, with transportation paralyzed and roads and bridges destroyed, Lin Xian estimated that even on a motorcycle, it would take him at least half an hour. Furthermore, the situation there was unknown. It was fair to say that in this post-apocalyptic world, outside of one's own mother, hardly anyone was worth risking one's life for.

Lin Xian’s eyes flickered, and he sighed inwardly.
*Teacher Chen, I hope you are worth the risk I am about to take for you.*

18:45, the night began to descend.
Lin Xian pulled down the iron window shutters and began to prepare dinner. He hadn't gone out to scavenge for supplies today; those who had fled Jiang City and the other survivors had long since picked supermarkets and convenience stores clean, leaving not even a single packet of ketchup behind. Fortunately, his scavenging habits focused not just on food and water, but also on various mechanical parts that other survivors ignored—these were among his primary targets.

02:42.

A faint sound startled Lin Xian from his light sleep. He sat up, steadying himself, his gaze fixed on the door in the darkness. The sound seemed to come from the hallway outside. He picked up his defensive short blade and moved silently behind the security door.

He had reinforced this door with steel plates several times, making it far sturdier than a standard security door. However, he lacked absolute confidence against "those things." Living in a high-rise, his only escape route was the stairwell in the hallway.

Lin Xian leaned close to the peephole to investigate. The hallway was pitch black, with only the faint green glow of the emergency exit lights revealing the outlines of the walls and floor. After observing for a while, he saw nothing and turned to head back to bed.

But just as he took two steps, a strange knocking sound suddenly came from the iron door behind him!

*Thump... Thump!*

The two widely spaced knocks sent a chill down Lin Xian’s spine!
Was there really someone out there? Or had those things discovered his hiding place?

With a grim expression, he returned behind the door. After a moment of hesitation, he tightened his grip on his blade and held his breath, looking through the peephole once more.

*Gasp!*

The sight through the peephole made Lin Xian draw a sharp breath. In the gloom of the green light, an old man wearing a black burial shroud had appeared, standing motionless in front of his door. His face was gaunt and deathly pale, his eyes—teetering on the edge of decay—were a lifeless, grey-black color that exuded a terrifying aura.

What was most horrific was that the corpse-like old man seemed to be staring directly at him through the peephole!

Lin Xian stumbled back, his face filled with profound shock. That was Old Man Li from downstairs, wasn't it? But he was already dead...

Lin Xian retreated half a step, his expression grave. There was no doubt about it: the thing outside resembling "Old Man Li" was certainly no longer human. Was it a zombie? But how could a zombie knock on a door?

His expression darkened. If this was one of the anomalies of the night, he was in big trouble.

"Old Man Li, you were supposed to be enjoying your peace in the coffin; why are you running back here to suffer?" Lin Xian cursed under his breath.

Time ticked by, and all traces of sleepiness had vanished. He stood behind the door, back against the wall, clutching his blade. The knocking did not sound again.

But then, something even more unsettling occurred. A faint sound of fingernails scratching against the wall began to resonate right where Lin Xian was leaning. It wasn't loud, but it made his skin crawl, as if something were right on the other side of the wall, clawing away incessantly.

"Damn it!" He recoiled, staring at the wall. "This thing isn't trying to dig its way in, is it?"

Lin Xian was bewildered. The thing outside seemed to sense his presence, separated from him by only a single wall.

His best option was to hold his breath and remain perfectly still; as long as the door held, he would be temporarily safe. At the same time, he had prepared an escape route—most of his supplies had already been moved to his vehicle, the *Infinity*, leaving only a few days' worth of food and water, along with a generator and batteries, in the room.

Time dragged on, and the eerie scratching sound echoed in his ears like a demon. After a while, the sound finally ceased. Lin Xian let out a sigh of relief and rose to peer through the peephole again.

However, the sight that greeted him made his hair stand on end.

In the hallway, a girl had appeared. She was slumped on the floor, covered in blood, struggling to rise and reaching toward his door with a weak, desperate plea: "Help me... please, help me..."

Lin Xian’s eyes narrowed. The girl looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. Her attire—a low-cut crop top, super-short shorts, a bright baseball jacket, and wireless headphones around her neck—looked completely out of place in the post-apocalyptic world. She looked youthful and trendy; if not for the blood covering her face, Lin Xian might have mistaken her for a neighbor’s daughter visiting late at night.

Facing the girl's plea, Lin Xian remained silent behind the door. He had clearly seen a dead body standing outside just moments ago; now, it had suddenly transformed into a young girl. Anyone would find that incredibly suspicious.

These entities in the dark were unpredictable, and he was a complete stranger to this girl. Opening the door now would be tantamount to suicide.

It was 5:00 AM. There were still at least nine hours until dawn.

Through the peephole, Lin Xian saw the girl’s face turn pale as she collapsed and lost consciousness.

"Damn it, is this some kind of monster setting a trap to trick me into opening the door?" Lin Xian felt a headache coming on. This situation was far more bizarre than any ordinary zombie.

Driven by curiosity, he looked again. This time, he was horrified to see the figure of "Old Man Li" standing beside the girl, his head bowed, seemingly sniffing her. Then, "Old Man Li" moved stiffly, positioning himself in front of the girl, and began to slowly bend down.

Suddenly, Lin Xian’s pupils contracted. On the back of the corpse of Old Man Li, he saw a monster—a creature resembling a black centipede with long, thin legs—clinging to him, its size covering almost his entire back!

*What the hell is that?!*

Lin Xian gasped. He watched as the creature's legs twitched, forcing Old Man Li’s hands to rise, and then it lunged violently toward the girl.