If I could live in a peaceful and stable world right now, what a paradise that would be.
It has been three months since the arrival of the "apocalypse."
I used to be a primary school language teacher.
I have a younger brother—I'm so grateful he's still alive.
I can't even imagine how I'd face those man-eating things out there alone if I lost him.
We've tried giving them names or codes—Zombies, Walkers, Demons, or maybe Satan.
But none of these words can truly express the depth of our hatred for them, nor the helplessness that fills our hearts in the face of this apocalyptic world.
Our parents have been living abroad for years.
On the very first day of the chaos, we lost all contact with them.
I believe that maybe the world had already spiraled out of control from that very moment.
My brother and I still believe they're alive—not just because of Dad's agility and incredible strength, but because both he and Mom are smart.
The first day…
It was supposed to be a peaceful and pleasant weekend.
My original plan was to make breakfast for my younger brother and then tidy up the house, which had gathered a thin layer of dust.
We lived in a small county town.
As for why our parents were abroad while my brother and I stayed in China—I'd rather not talk about that.
I'm someone who lacks a sense of security.
The house was quite large, and on the very first day we moved into this four-story privately developed building, I quickly contacted someone to install burglar-proof window bars.
Of course, the door's security was my top priority.
Outside the security door, I stubbornly added an extra layer—a heavy iron gate.
My brother had complained about that gate countless times.
"Big sis, that thing outside looks like it belongs on a pigsty!"
But after the apocalypse began, I thanked myself countless times for installing that very gate.
That rare early morning, I was up and checking the ingredients we'd bought the day before.
They were meant to last the week.
Since my brother was in his final year of high school, I carefully planned out a hearty, loving weekend breakfast just for him.
Crouching in front of the fridge and looking over everything, I decided to heat up the milk first.
That kid drinks milk like it's poison—I had to watch him to make sure he'd actually drink it...
Suddenly, a horrific scream echoed from downstairs.
I froze.
Could it be that newlywed couple on the first floor arguing again?
But something felt off—who screams like that during an argument? Did it turn into a fight?
No, I had to go check.
I opened the door and quickly ran downstairs.
That's the most annoying thing about privately developed buildings—each floor only has one unit, so you don't even get proper neighbors.
Fortunately, it had become livelier since that couple moved into the first floor.
I lived on the top, the fourth floor.
On my way down, I noticed the doors on the second and third floors were tightly shut.
I frowned and cursed under my breath: "With all that noise downstairs, how come they aren't coming out to check?"
The door on the first floor was wide open.
It was now eerily quiet inside.
I glanced toward the shared parking courtyard—no one there.
Did they make up that fast? I peeked my head cautiously into the apartment, full of suspicion.
But what I never could've imagined was that just one glance nearly froze every drop of blood in my body!
The woman who had just screamed was now lying on the floor with her eyes wide open in terror.
A person—covered in blood, their face twisted to an unrecognizable extent—was crouched over her, hungrily gnawing on the organs he had pulled out from her abdomen!
He clutched a handful of intestines, along with some red, unidentifiable chunks of flesh—and he was devouring them with delight, like he was enjoying the most exquisite breakfast!
My mind exploded with a deafening buzz!
I clamped my hand tightly over my mouth, not daring to make a single sound, while waves of bile surged up my throat.
I was certain that if I opened my eyes any wider, my eyeballs would fall out!
I ran back upstairs as fast as I could.
The only thing I could think of was calling the police.
It was too horrifying to accept—there was a maniac in our building who had killed someone and was eating her!
I slammed the door shut and locked it tight, then pulled out my phone and dialed 110.
But no matter how many times I tried, the line was always busy.
After several failed attempts, I began to regain a sliver of rationality.
Putting down my phone, I ran to my brother's room.
He was still tucked under the covers, sleeping soundly.
I rushed over and scooped him up into my arms, holding him tightly as my body trembled uncontrollably.
Honestly, you probably wouldn't believe it, but the moment I hugged him tight, a single thought suddenly popped into my head: "The end of the world."
Sometimes, a woman's intuition is scarily accurate.
"Jeez, sis, what are you doing so early in the morning?"
My brother suddenly woke up, his voice still thick with sleep as he pushed me away a little.
"Chen Yang, something happened downstairs," I said quietly, my heart pounding with unease.
"What happened?"
"Someone… someone killed the lady downstairs. You know, the one who always gives you fruit."
"Sis, what nonsense are you talking about? How could Sister Sun be killed? You've been watching too many horror movies." My brother clearly didn't believe me.
Maybe he even thought I'd gone mad.
"Chen Yang!" I screamed, eyes wide, my face twisted with panic and probably already bloodshot.
"I'm not talking nonsense—I saw it with my own eyes just two minutes ago! And that person was eating what's left of your Sister Sun! You have to understand, I am completely clear-headed right now!"
"Sis, you..." My brother looked unhappy.
He clearly thought I was playing some horrible, twisted prank on him.
"Ah—!"
Another blood-curdling scream from downstairs cut my brother off mid-sentence.
I jolted and bolted to the balcony, peering over the edge.
From this height, I could clearly see everything happening in front of the building.
A middle-aged man had been pinned to the ground by a group of people—no, things—moving in an eerie, unnatural way.
Those people... they were tearing into his flesh!
The screams went on for several minutes before that poor man finally let out his last breath.
"Sis… this… you…" Yangyang was clearly terrified.
His expression was twisted, and he stood next to me, completely rattled, stammering with his finger pointing down, his face frozen in horror.
Something was very wrong.
I frowned and kept watching the scene downstairs.
This kind of thing… I'd seen it countless times in movies.
I pulled my brother back into the room.
We sat on the bed for a long while, and he still hadn't recovered.
"Yangyang, do you understand? Something truly terrifying is happening around us right now. You're a man—you have to be braver than your sister in facing it. The police lines aren't working. Sister Sun from the first floor, and that man outside—they were both killed and eaten by… by some kind of monsters. And even our home might not be safe. You have to stay strong."
Only heaven knows how panicked and overwhelmed I truly was inside—how horrifying those scenes were—but I couldn't show it.
I couldn't let Yangyang bear any more psychological pressure.
"Sis… people are being killed out there… they're being killed…" Yangyang still couldn't calm down.
His whole body trembled, and seeing him so terrified, I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
Dear god, he was clearly traumatized!
What was I supposed to do?
With shaking hands, I tried calling the police again—still busy…
Tried calling Mom and Dad… couldn't connect.
Tried calling my friend Xiaoru… couldn't connect.
I bit my lip hard, forcing myself to stay calm.
I took a deep breath and tried to collect my thoughts.
Scenes from all those apocalyptic movies kept flashing through my mind.
A world out of control.
The streets crawling with the walking dead.
Survivors getting eaten alive…
I couldn't panic, I had to stay calm.
After trying every possible method, I finally managed to calm my brother down.
I got up and walked straight to the balcony, summoning the courage to glance downstairs.
The man on the ground had already been torn apart beyond recognition, and those deranged people were nowhere to be seen.
A chill ran down my spine.
I quickly rushed to the living room to check the front door—double-checked that it was locked—then hurried to every room to lock all the windows.
The security bars on the windows helped ease my tension just a little.
I turned on the TV.
A stern-faced woman was reporting a shocking piece of news:
"The cause of the incident remains unknown. Citizens are advised to stay indoors. The virus is transmitted through bodily fluids—immediately isolate yourself from anyone who has been bitten. The military is involved, and the situation will be brought under control. Please remain calm and await further instructions."
She just kept repeating the same lines over and over.
Sitting on the couch, I wasn't in a daze—on the contrary, my mind was racing.
Virus, biting, military, incident…
Every one of those words screamed how serious the situation was.
Even during the Wenchuan earthquake, the news didn't sound this ominous.
I got up and walked to the balcony again.
Looking down—unbelievably—the corpse that had been chewed down to near-bare bones was now slowly getting up.
It twisted its neck stiffly, and I could even hear the crunch of bone grinding against bone.
I felt a calm I couldn't have imagined, staring at the skeleton below.
A thought—one I was almost certain of—floated quietly into my mind: The end of the world is here.
I had to thank those Westerners—who may or may not have been able to foresee the future—for making all those zombie movies.
They had prepared me in advance for this very moment.
I could clearly recall scenes from those films.
For a second, it was absurd how natural everything now seemed—like all of this was supposed to happen.
"Sis…" Yangyang's voice came from behind me, breaking my train of thought.
I turned around.
He motioned for me to sit next to him on the couch.
I walked over and sat down, my mind racing with how to explain everything to him.
He'd been protected for so long that he'd grown a little too sheltered.
"Sis, I called Mom and Dad so many times. And the police too," he paused, clearly trying to keep himself composed, "but none of the calls went through."
"I've already tried many times too," I said with a sigh.
"Sis… am I dreaming? This doesn't feel real at all. It's like we're in a movie."
His eyes stared at the woman on the TV, who kept repeating the same lines over and over again like a robot.
"Yangyang," I looked at him, "even though we can't be completely sure about what exactly is happening, everything going on right now is extremely strange. We need to be prepared for the worst."
"Sis, what do you mean? Are you saying it's the end of the world out there? Like those movies we've watched?"
I didn't deny it—because I was just as uncertain.
I believe that if any of you were in my place right now, you'd be feeling that same overwhelming sense of unreality.
Yangyang turned his eyes toward the window.
After a few minutes of silence, he slowly walked out onto the balcony.
I stayed on the couch, unmoving.
After a while, he staggered back to my side, his voice trembling and close to tears:
"Sis… that skeleton is trying to claw at the front door downstairs!"