The world felt like it was shifting beneath her feet as everything around her started to change before she found herself standing in a different restaurant.
Looking around, she was immediately drawn to the screen planted next to the counter. It was still translucent, but it was slightly different now as it held a lot more functions. On the top of the screen sat her profile picture, which held an image from her previous life, alongside her name, making her frown as she clicked on it:
Name: Zhao Yuan (no team)
Joined: 4, 89
Level: 120
Locations: 3
People served: 946
Dishes served: 2350
Looking at the numbers, she realized that she had served so many people over the past couple of days. After reading all the details, she exited the profile before checking all the other functions, which showed she could access a calendar, map, tasks, accounts, customers, and a house.
Only the house icon was not clear, prompting her to tap on the icon located at the very bottom of the screen.
A familiar feeling of dizziness assaulted her before she found herself in a different place. This time, it was a house—a small, well-organized, open-plan house with a living room, a kitchen, and a sleeping area. Looking around, Zhao Yuan felt relieved to have a private place where she could rest when not working.
Hearing her stomach rumble, she rubbed it gently before walking over to the kitchen area, which was well-furnished with all the necessary gadgets for cooking. Pulling open the massive refrigerator, she was happy to find it filled to the brim with a wide assortment of fresh ingredients.
She didn't have to think for long before she pulled out some meat and vegetables. Staring at the floor-to-ceiling cabinet doors in the kitchen corner, she opened them, revealing a pantry. Zhao Yuan happily took out some rice and various spices before she started preparing the ingredients.
She first washed the rice before cooking it in a rice cooker, while the meat was stir-fried with the vegetables, producing a delectable-smelling stew that made her mouth water.
Sitting on a stool next to the counter, Zhao Yuan smiled as she stared down at the food before her. After taking the first bite, she ravenously started scarfing it down like a starving wolf. Her movements only stopped when the bowl was empty, leaving her sprawling against the counter while feeling drowsy.
Her brown pupils roved all around the room before settling on the pristinely made queen-sized bed on the far side of the room. The bed looked seductive, making her imagine just how it would feel to lie on it after all those days of hard work. She could already feel its soft, cushiony comfort relaxing her muscles as she ambled toward it in a drunken-like stupor.
A moan of relief escaped her soft pink lips as she lay on the bed. It was even better than she had imagined, as her long, luscious lashes slowly fluttered like newly sprung butterfly wings. A few flutters later, her beautiful brown pupils were hidden from the world as she peacefully slept, forgetting all about where she was.
While she dreamt with a smile on her face, in another place, Gu Shinyue was panting as she ran as fast as she could.
Her bare feet felt weak as they hit the ground powerfully after her daring jump. Staring back at the waist-length wall, she knew it was not enough to keep them back, so she kept running. Just as she had concluded, the frothing horde behind her was only hindered by the wall for a few minutes before some of the mindless infected managed to climb over the mangled, writhing remains of their fellow infectees.
Despite the small head start, a starving Gu Shinyue had not managed to get very far when she heard the spine-chilling moaning and groaning of the infected. Looking up ahead, she was intrigued by a massive, walled compound a few meters in front of her. She had no recollection of seeing such a structure back when she had used this route when the world was still normal.
Thinking of the newly erected shelters in other places, she made a gamble and desperately broke out into a run toward the structure, hoping there was a way in. She had been running for what felt like hours, and she knew her weak, malnourished body could not hold on much longer.
Just as her legs were about to give out, she managed to gather every last shred of her strength before she leaped at the massive gate. Her collision with the gate was unexpectedly quiet as she lay against its cold surface, desperately hoping that whoever was inside would open it.
A few seconds passed before she realized no one was going to open the gate for her. Looking back, she could see the horde of infected approaching, prompting her to frantically bang on the hard metallic gate, hoping for it to open.
Staring back at the rapidly approaching horde, she wondered why she was trying so hard, feeling hopeless as she mentally prepared herself for death.
Back in the house, the silence in the room was suddenly broken by a loud, blaring alarm.
Zhao Yuan's still figure suddenly moved as she started to toss and turn before groggily opening her sleep-muddled eyes. Before her, the screen appeared again, shining a dim light into her eyes. It made her frown as she tried to read what it said, but she couldn't.
Feeling frustrated, her finger tapped on the familiar green box, causing the alarm to stop ringing and allowing her to finally go back to sleep.
Gu Shinyue could not help but think back to what had happened as she slumped against the cold, hard surface of the unmoving gate.
Everything had started seven weeks ago.
That day had started as normally as it could, with the sun rising from the east and the birds happily chirping to invite the morning. As an office worker, she had gotten up early and was already out of the house driving toward work when a massive black object appeared in the sky.
The world seemed to stop as everyone stared up at the sky, many wondering what was happening while others wondered if aliens had finally decided to invade. Almost everyone believed it was aliens as they discussed the object for the entire morning. Even world leaders believed that the object was a spaceship sent to invade their world.
But after a few hours of speculative fear, what greeted them was not an attack, but an announcement that had changed their lives ever since.
Looking up at the massive object still hanging in the sky, she found herself muttering the very words she had heard that day while hidden in her office:
"As of today, your story has to come to an end."