9: Chapter 9 Turning into a Zombie

The crowd panicked, scrambling toward a row of shops by the roadside.

Mo Yufei followed at the end of the line, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He couldn't die now; he hadn't gathered enough supplies yet.

A zombie suddenly lunged out from a muddy ditch on the side!

It was a female zombie, half of its facial skin already rotted and sloughed off, revealing ghastly white cheekbones. Its cloudy eyes were locked onto Li Jie, who was closest to it.

Its arms stretched out like withered branches, its nails sharp as blades, aiming straight for the back of Li Jie's neck.

"Ah!" Li Jie let out a shrill scream, freezing in place, her face instantly draining of all color.

The man beside her was so terrified his legs went weak; he stumbled into a shop, not daring to look back to help.

The shadow of death instantly enveloped Li Jie. Looking at that rotting face, her pupils reflecting the drool dripping from the zombie, she was overcome by extreme fear.

The instinct to survive overwhelmed everything else. She suddenly turned her head, her gaze locked firmly onto Mo Yufei in front of her.

In that instant, the warmth of the past vanished from her eyes, leaving only ruthless calculation.

Li Jie reached out, using all her strength to grab the hem of Mo Yufei's clothes! She yanked backward with all her might!

Rip!

Accompanied by the sound of tearing fabric, Mo Yufei felt a sudden tug. He had been maintaining his balance while running, but this sudden pull instantly threw him off his center of gravity.

His body lurched to the left. Subconsciously, he tried to steady himself by bracing with his hands, but due to momentum, he lunged forward in a clumsy sprawl.

He slammed hard against the solid concrete ground, emitting a dull thud.

Seeing the human fall before it, the female zombie abandoned its original prey and lunged toward Mo Yufei.

Its rotting fingers, carrying a foul stench, accurately clawed into Mo Yufei's back.

The sharp nails instantly tore through his soaked clothes, sinking deep into his flesh.

"Hiss—" Mo Yufei let out a muffled grunt as a cold chill rapidly spread from his back throughout his entire body.

He could clearly feel that icy sensation, along with the tearing feeling as the nails scraped across his flesh.

In just a second, relying on his strong willpower and muscle memory, he arched his body, braced his elbows on the ground, and using the rebound force, launched himself up like a spring.

His back burned with pain, and warm liquid instantly soaked through his clothes.

Mo Yufei looked back and saw Li Jie's figure already rushing into the shop where Wang Jun had gone, his teeth grinding audibly.

If Li Jie had just run a few more steps hard, she could have shaken off the zombie, but she had used him as a stepping stone.

Before Mo Yufei could think too much, the zombie behind him continued to lunge at him, and he hurriedly dodged.

"Close the door quickly!" Li Jie's voice was tearful, but not for him—it was for herself.

She screamed at Wang Jun inside the shop, "He's been scratched! He's been scratched by a zombie! Close the door! Don't let him in!"

Wang Jun inside the shop had no intention of waiting for Mo Yufei in the first place; even if it had been Li Jie, if she had been grazed by a zombie, he would have closed the door anyway.

Wang Jun's gaze met the fleeing Mo Yufei's, his eyes holding a look of amusement, as if saying, "Hahaha! You're done for!"

Then, he slammed the rolling shutter door down, producing a harsh grating sound as it rapidly closed.

Outside the door, Mo Yufei watched that familiar face and listened to those panicked screams. The wound on his back burned intensely, but he could no longer feel the pain.

With a "clang," the rolling shutter door fell completely, shutting him out.

From inside the shop came the sound of the door latch being engaged, followed by suppressed sobbing.

Mo Yufei didn't care about his bleeding back; he turned and ducked into a small alley, behind him were the cries of others who hadn't made it into the shop and the roars of zombies.

In the corner of the alley.

The wound on Mo Yufei's back was still gurgling with blood, the warm liquid soaking his clothes and sticking stickily to his skin. At first, there was a sharp, burning pain, as if hot iron wires were being embedded deep into his flesh, but after just a dozen seconds, that pain changed in nature.

First, a cold numbness spread from the scratch, crawling inch by inch up his spine like a cold venomous snake entering his veins, instantly sweeping through his entire body.

His body, which had been scorching hot from the frantic run, saw its temperature plummet at a visible rate. A fine layer of goosebumps rose on his skin, his originally rosy complexion rapidly fading to paper-white, followed immediately by a lifeless, grayish-blue hue. His fingertips were the first to lose color, becoming cold and stiff.

His limbs began to twitch uncontrollably. His muscles first felt a fierce, aching soreness, as if being repeatedly pricked by countless tiny needles, followed by an eerie stiffness.

His once-flexible joints became sluggish, and with every bend, he could feel an abnormal grinding sensation between his bones.

His rapid breathing gradually became heavy and ragged. His throat uncontrollably emitted low, suppressed, rattling sounds, and his nose could no longer smell the scent of blood and dust in the air.

All that remained was an extreme, instinctive craving for fresh flesh. That desire burned wildly in his chest like a wildfire, overwhelming all pain and reason.

His vision began to twist and blur. The clear iron door of the auto repair shop and the surrounding swarm of zombies all became double images; the world was covered in a gloomy filter.

But at the same time, his perception of living beings was infinitely magnified. Through the thick iron door, he could clearly capture the panicked heartbeats and rapid gasps of the crowd inside. Those sounds were like the deadliest bait, pulling at his muscles, keeping them tense and restless.

A tearing, throbbing pain shot through his brain. He wanted to raise his hand to press against his agonizing forehead, but his fingers bent stiffly. His nails grew longer and sharper at a visible rate, his once-pink nail beds turning pitch black. His fingertips trembled uncontrollably, filled with aggression.

The blood vessels under his skin gradually bulged, presenting an eerie dark purple, crawling across his neck and the back of his hands like spiderwebs. His once-warm blood became cold and viscous, flowing slower and slower.

The pain throughout his body vanished completely, replaced by a numb, violent sense of power. His muscle lines became taut and grotesque. His previously exhausted body seemed to be injected with endless strength; even though the wound from the zombie scratch was still festering, he felt no pain at all.

The rattling sound in his throat grew louder and hoarser. His eyeballs gradually lost their luster, the whites of his eyes filled with scarlet bloodshot veins, and his pupils contracted slightly. There was no longer a shred of human spirit left, only greed and coldness toward living creatures.

But soon, Mo Yufei discovered that he could still control his body, and the pain in his brain had also disappeared. He took stiff steps forward, his once-agile gait becoming heavy.