Sixteen Years

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Modern buildings often seem to emphasize a sense of “design” to firmly establish themselves on limited plots of land.

In addition to the architecture’s design, the choice of materials is an important channel frequently utilized by these designers. Liu Ruosong didn’t know the aesthetic preferences of the architects who constructed this place, but it was apparent that they had a close relationship with the tempered glass factory.

Inside the gathering point, apart from the tempered steel framework, more modern glass materials were used for partitions and decorations. The VIP lounge’s privacy wasn’t any better than the rest, and Liu Ruosong sat on the plush leather sofa, turning his head to see the crowd below through the high railings. He suddenly felt uncomfortable sitting there, as if he were a prince oblivious to the suffering of the world.

There was still a long time before the scheduled evacuation, so Liu Ruosong hugged his backpack to his chest. He took out the two blood collection tubes from his bag and examined their condition under the light.

After spending the night, the blood samples inside had stabilized. The layer of “fat” floating on top had darkened in color, resembling pus. The blood that had settled seemed to have solidified. Liu Ruosong gently shook the tubes, causing the blood to separate slightly, and strands of thread-ish like material emerged.

A strong putrid smell emanated from them. Despite the numerous layers of plastic and tape that Fu Yan had wrapped around them, the stench still seeped through.

Liu Ruosong frowned, holding the blood collection tubes at a distance.

The guard stationed at the door cast a wary glance at Liu Ruosong’s actions, keeping his eyes fixed on the tubes as though he were observing a biohazardous weapon.

“It’s fine,” Liu Ruosong said, noticing his tension. “Based on the current situation, it’s probably just a bodily fluid transmission. There should be no airborne or gas transmission, so relax.”

He tore a piece of cloth from his sleeve and wrapped it around the blood collection tubes to give them extra “padding” before placing the items back in his backpack.

With plenty of time left, and considering he hadn’t slept well the previous night, Liu Ruosong cradled his backpack against his chest. He lay down on the couch, intending to rest.

He was only taking a light nap to recharge his energy. He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep when he was suddenly awakened by a chaotic commotion. In that half-awake moment, he thought there might be a fire outside and instinctively clutched his backpack to his chest as he stood up with a start.

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There was only one guard left at the door who had originally been on duty, and seeing Liu Ruosong’s reaction, he jumped in surprise.

“What’s going on?” Liu Ruosong asked. “How long did I sleep?”

“There has been a slight change in the situation,” the guard said with a serious expression. “Things outside don’t look good. Some infected individuals managed to infiltrate and mutated along the way, biting many people.”

Liu Ruosong’s heart sank.

As expected, the guard immediately activated his earpiece and tilted his head to listen carefully.

His expression became even graver, and after about ten seconds, he turned off the earpiece and turned to Liu Ruosong. “The situation outside is out of control… We may need to close the passage and bring everyone inside the gathering point.”

“You go attend to your duties,” Liu Ruosong said. “I’ll be okay.”

The guard hesitated for a moment, but the urgency of the situation outside left no room for further delay. He nodded slightly and then hurriedly ran downstairs.

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With the guard gone, Liu Ruosong’s presence in the VIP lounge seemed conspicuous. He hesitated for a moment, then left a note on the table with his phone number on it before picking up his backpack, walking to the other side, and using the emergency staircase to descend to the tea room. Finally, he made a round through the tea room, blending seamlessly into the crowd without a sound.

He found a corner not far from the entrance to the station then stood still in the corner.

The corner he was in was located in the middle of the entire gathering point hall. The hall, covering thousands of square meters, was now packed with people. Some came with their families, others were reluctant to leave their possessions behind, carrying bags of luggage.

The situation outside didn’t look optimistic at all. In just a few minutes, there was a strong commotion at the entrance of the gathering point. Shouting and yelling followed. Liu Ruosong listened carefully amidst the chaos but only caught a few sharp words but couldn’t make out exactly what was happening.

The language dialects in S City were diverse, and combined with the surrounding noise, Liu Ruosong couldn’t quite make out what had caused the commotion. He only caught snippets of phrases like “infiltrated” and “thrown out.”

He felt uneasy but pressed on. However, when he finally arrived, he couldn’t see the epicenter of the commotion. A large pool of fresh blood stained the bright white tiles, and a young, fair-skinned boy knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the entrance.

The onlookers seemed to be wary of this scene, keeping a two-meter distance from the bloodstain as if it were a hazardous area, and no one dared to approach it.

Liu Ruosong glanced around and noticed that there was an opening created intentionally near the entrance of the assembly point. The blood had spread from there, and he couldn’t see how far it extended.

“What’s going on?” he asked a young man standing nearby, grabbing his arm.

The young man, dressed flamboyantly, rolled his eyes at his question, then said, “What else could it be? Someone infiltrated. We agreed that only those without injuries could evacuate. But this person was found to have a fresh wound on his hand… bringing harm to others, you see.”

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“You’re talking nonsense!” The young man kneeling on the ground reacted with a start, instinctively retorting, “I was bitten by a dog a week ago, and it’s almost healed! We had a certificate, and we passed the inspection to get in!”

The young man, who didn’t appear to have experienced major disasters before, burst into tears without saying another word. He glared at the man who had spoken earlier, his eyes so red they seemed on the verge of bleeding.

The man was visibly unnerved by the young man’s gaze and muttered something in the local dialect.

Liu Ruosong furrowed his brow.

He had an instinctive feeling that something wasn’t right, but in this situation, he couldn’t change everyone’s mindset alone. The disaster had struck suddenly, and everyone was fearful and anxious, seeing danger everywhere. Expecting them to calmly assess the situation was difficult.

So, he didn’t say anything and reached into his pocket, taking out a tissue. He offered it to the young man on the ground.

The young man didn’t accept the gesture, so Liu Ruosong didn’t insist. He simply dropped the tissue into the young man’s lap, said nothing, and walked away.

However, before he could take more than a few steps, the crowd ahead suddenly began to flee in panic.

“Don’t panic! Watch your step and don’t trample anyone! Move to a safe position!”

Within the building, voices rang out, urging people to maintain order. Liu Ruosong’s heart grew cold as he moved against the crowd, running ahead for about a hundred meters to find the source of the problem.

The term “out of control” used to describe the situation outside seemed too polite. Liu Ruosong looked through the thick, tempered glass wall and his mind could only conjure up the word “infested.”

Perhaps due to the large number of people in the assembly point, it had attracted a massive horde of zombies. There appeared to be thousands, if not tens of thousands of them outside, and some had undergone new mutations. The scene was terrifying.

The guards outside had no choice but to retreat indoors. Even armed personnel were forced to fall back, and the heavy doors of the assembly point resounded with a loud bang as they were collectively pushed closed from the inside.

Almost simultaneously, the fleeing zombies from outside charged toward the building, colliding forcefully with the reinforced glass doors.

The tempered glass emitted a muffled “thud” as if it had struck Liu Ruosong‘s heart.

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The zombies, stacked on top of each other, quickly covered the tempered glass outer wall. Their decaying faces pressed against the glass, their lifeless eyes staring intently inside.

Liu Ruosong inadvertently made eye contact with one of the zombies and shivered. His heart felt hollow.

Outside… had it already come to this? Liu Ruosong wondered.

He squeezed the strap of his backpack tightly. His left hand, concealed in his pocket, opened, and his thumb unconsciously rubbed the base of his ring finger. He continued until he felt the matching silver ring he and Fu Yan both wore. Only then did he regain some composure.

He turned around and, taking three or four steps, suddenly looked back without warning.

The fully enclosed inner platform separated them from the tragedy outside. A pure white high-speed train stood silently on the adjacent track. If one ignored the desolation of the platform, everything seemed no different from the pre-apocalyptic world.

Liu Ruosong instinctively tightened the strap of his backpack. He opened his left hand, which had been hidden in his pocket, and looked at his ring for a moment. Then he turned and continued up the steps toward the first carriage.