Three hours before the end of the world, the sun hung in the sky like a slab of molten lead. The air was thick and stagnant, difficult to breathe. Lin Yuan walked back to his dorm, sweat beading on his temple before falling, sizzling into nothingness on the scorching concrete.
A nameless anxiety prickled at his mind, a sense of impending doom that felt out of place on a simple day like this. His date with Qingxue tonight was probably ruined by this damned weather.
But fate's cruelty far outstripped any mundane concern. Back in his dorm, a piercing air-raid siren tore through the silence, a dying leviathan's final scream.
"Emergency broadcast! A global unknown virus outbreak…"
The voice from the speakers was cold, urgent. Lin Yuan rushed to the window and saw hell unfolding below. The once-vibrant campus was being consumed by a plague called "death." Those shambling, twisted things had been his classmates, his teachers. They fell upon the living, tearing, biting, painting the youthful posters with warm blood. The coppery stench of it even seeped through the closed window.
"Qingxue! She's at the library!"
The thought was an ice dagger to his heart, momentarily freezing his fear. He snatched the dull fruit knife from his desk and charged out.
But individual courage is a fragile thing against the tide of history. Overwhelmed by the surging tide of corpses, he was quickly cornered. A rotting hand clamped onto his arm, nails breaking skin. The chill of death washed over him.
Just as despair took hold, a black shadow shot from the side, slamming the zombie away.
It was Xiao Yue, the friendly mutt from the next dorm.
Now, its fur was bristling, bared fangs gleaming like polished bone. A low, threatening growl rumbled in its throat as it stood between Lin Yuan and the horde, a small but unyielding wall.
And in that moment, as his eyes met the dog's, a cold, non-human voice echoed directly in the depths of his mind:
[Ding! Intense will to survive and bond of protection detected. Conditions met.]
[Congratulations, Host. You have awakened the SSS-Rank Unique Talent—Infinite Evolution!]