By the time Xie Lingruo rushed home, the sky was already beginning to brighten—it was already 5:30 a.m..
Last night had truly worn her out, especially the encounter with that zombified truck driver, which had scared her half to death.
She was just a girl who had lived in a peaceful world—how could she have ever imagined witnessing something so horrific? The experience had left her shaken.
But Xie Lingruo didn't dwell on it. She changed into her pajamas and collapsed onto the bed. After eight straight hours of collecting supplies, even her spirit felt sore.
At 9 a.m., the peaceful morning was shattered by the sounds of terrified screaming outside.
The noise jolted Xie Lingruo from her sleep. Though she had a bit of a bad temper when woken up, she didn't have time for that now and immediately walked to the window.
There she saw an absolutely tragic scene:Many elderly people who had gone out for their morning exercise were being ripped apart by mutated zombies. They didn't even have time to react before becoming zombies themselves, dragging their mangled bodies as they aimlessly roamed.Meanwhile, the zombie horde was growing rapidly.
Xie Lingruo quickly prepared to go downstairs to check on her family—her top mission was to protect them.
When she reached the living room, she found Papa Xie and Xie Lingfeng sitting on the sofa, both with expressions of disbelief. Clearly, they had also seen the morning's horrific transformation.
But there was no sign of Butler Xie, which gave Xie Lingruo a sinking feeling.
When the three of them reached the butler's room, they heard guttural, monstrous growling coming from inside.
The moment she heard it, Xie Lingruo's heart plummeted—the worst-case scenario had come true.Xie Lingfeng and Papa Xie, who had followed her, heard it too.
While the two were still stunned, Xie Lingfeng stepped forward to stand protectively in front of them, guarding his family from any harm.
He knew that Butler Xie would never want to become a mindless monster, shambling around in torment. He would've wanted a true release.
After thinking it through, Xie Lingfeng instructed them not to act rashly and said he would handle it.
He went to his father's study to retrieve a sharpened broadsword that had been kept as a collectible—there was no way he'd face a zombie barehanded.
When Xie Lingfeng returned, he was relieved to find that the two had listened and stayed put.
He then told them to hide in another room and not to come out.Xie Lingruo wanted to stay and see, but the look her "temporary older brother" gave her clearly said, "You must agree,"—so she grudgingly walked away.
Once he confirmed his family's safety, Xie Lingfeng forcefully opened the door to the monster's room—only to see a dark shadow lunge straight at him.
He swiftly dodged, and saw that the creature was blackish-purple all over, with a mouth dripping foul fluid. It had no consciousness or fear—only a pure instinct to attack.
Images from zombie movies flashed through Xie Lingfeng's mind. This was definitely a zombie.He couldn't hesitate—this thing was no longer the kind and loyal Butler Xie he remembered.He still had his family to protect.
With resolve, Xie Lingfeng stood his ground.When the zombie lunged again, he didn't dodge—instead, he struck with his blade, slicing off the monster's head in one blow.
Sure enough, without a head, the creature collapsed, unable to move.He also noticed that its blood was a strange purplish-black, completely unnatural.
After he called for them, Xie Lingruo and Papa Xie emerged from behind the door.Seeing the grisly scene, both were deeply shaken.The world they knew had changed forever.
Once they finished dealing with the body, it was already noon, and still no official announcements had come from the government.
Just then, Xie Lingfeng suddenly developed a fever.Papa Xie and Xie Lingruo immediately helped him back to his room and gave him fever-reducing medicine.
According to the book, in the three days following the outbreak, those who survived their high fevers would awaken powers.Those who didn't… would mutate into zombies.
So Xie Lingruo tied him up just in case, and explained everything to her father—to prevent any accidents.
That night, after taking care of Xie Lingfeng, she returned to her room, only to realize she herself seemed to be running a fever too.
She quickly locked her door from the inside.