Apocalypse Invasion: Survival on the Infinite Train
Ming Chu heard the screams coming from next door. When she had returned after buying breakfast earlier today, she happened to run into her next-door neighbor checking out—a very affectionate young couple who had walked hand in hand, whispering softly to each other and radiating sweet pink bubbles, practically shoving a mouthful of dog food into the face of any single person.
Yet right now, those screams belonged to that very man, while the roaring... probably belonged to the young woman?
Ming Chu's guess was spot on. The room next door was a large queen suite, and the young couple had originally planned to sleep until noon, waking up to discuss what to eat, only for the girlfriend to start convulsing all over the moment the red rain stopped.
The man panicked: "Babe, what's wrong?"
He scooped her up horizontally in his arms and pulled the door open to leave, but the girlfriend's convulsions suddenly ceased. Before the man could even feel relieved, she opened a pair of terrifying eyes filled entirely with whites, roared, and viciously bit down into his chest.
"Ahhhhh!"
How intense was the pain of having a chunk of flesh cleanly torn away? The man instinctively dropped his girlfriend. Due to the angle, the girlfriend's head hit the floor first, and a distinct, visible twist and fracture cracked through her neck.
The man was terrified, only to see the girlfriend roll over on the ground and then climb back up in a rigid, twisted posture.
Her neck was broken at an unnatural angle, yet she could still get up?
This was a monster.
The man instinctively threw open the door and bolted outside.
"Help, save me! Open the door, someone open the door!"
He hoped someone would open a door and let him in, but the second floor remained deathly quiet, with no movement at all.
Ming Chu covered her mouth, pressing against the wall beside the door as her heart hammered wildly in her chest.
The man's cries grew increasingly distant, as if he had run downstairs, but the zombie hadn't followed him down. Perhaps because its speed was too sluggish, it failed to keep up with the man and remained stranded in the hallway.
Through the poorly soundproofed door, Ming Chu could hear the shuffling footsteps outside.
Ming Chu quietly retrieved her phone and glanced down at the screen.
13:03.
Even though only three minutes had passed, it felt to her as though three hours had gone by.
This alternate world still required more than twenty-eight days before she could return. Ming Chu wasn't worried about food since she had stockpiled plenty in her storage space, but she worried whether a zombie might smash its way through her door.
Besides, the outside world had descended into chaos as well.
The moment she tiptoed over to the window, lifted a crack of the curtain, and glanced outside, she saw living people, zombies, and vehicles running about in utter disarray along the main road, accompanied by the occurrence of numerous car accidents.
In the rush, one car veered directly toward the street beneath her window.
Whether due to sheer panic or something else, the car swerved wildly and crashed straight into the wall beneath Ming Chu's window.
With a deafening crash, the front of the car instantly crumpled inward.
Ming Chu's pupils constricted as she saw the driver in the front seat covered in blood, and moreover... a zombie in the passenger seat was gnawing frantically in his direction, restrained temporarily only by its seatbelt.
The man in the driver's seat clutched his head, stumbled out of the car, quickly wrenched open the rear door, and helped a woman step out. Amidst their movements, the woman's loose clothing revealed the plump, rounded curve of her pregnant belly.
Was that a pregnant woman?
Ming Chu was dumbfounded.
At that exact moment, a familiar, sweet broadcast chimed in her ear.
[Ding-dong—Triggered Side Quest: Hope of the New Life. Rescue Lin Meng, and deliver Lin Meng safely to the safety zone while she remains pregnant.]
[Note: Side quests are special missions with no penalty for failure. Newbie world bonus: completion of side quests grants double rewards.]
Rescue someone?
Or ignore them?
The tremendous commotion had agitated the zombie in the hallway. Tracking the sound, it began pounding against Ming Chu's door.
Ming Chu gritted her teeth, pushed the window open, and shouted, "People down there, can you find a way to climb up from the car? I'll cover you!"
Lin Meng was terrified out of her wits.
She had simply set out to visit her in-laws' place when the nanny in the passenger seat suddenly turned into a zombie, and the man driving the car had been injured. With plenty of zombies sprinting over from the main road as well, she had genuinely thought she was going to die.
Yet at that very moment, the window upstairs flew open, acting like a lifeline thrown directly to her.
The man quickly raised his head to look. Peering out from upstairs was a girl with a round face and a blunt bob cut. The girl's fair cheeks still carried baby fat, and her face featured a pair of bright, round cat-like eyes. The blunt bob and straight bangs made her look almost underage.
Yet her eyes were clear and bright, not belonging to a bad person.
The zombie behind them was closing in fast, leaving the man with no other choice. He immediately pushed Lin Meng up onto the roof of the car, scrambled up after her, and with Ming Chu's assistance, hoisted Lin Meng up.
"Hurry, get up here too!"
Ming Chu gritted her teeth and extended a hand toward the bodyguard.
The bodyguard paused for a fraction of a second, then shook his head: "I'm injured; these creatures are extremely sensitive to the scent of blood."
"I have gauze and medicine." Ming Chu pulled her hand back slightly. "Wait, you don't have any injuries caused by these zombies, do you?"
"No."
The man climbed in without needing Ming Chu's help at all.
Ming Chu pulled her hand back and hurriedly rummaged through her wilderness survival backpack.
A bottle of clean mineral water, a roll of gauze, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, and a box of anti-inflammatory pills.
She handed them to the man: "There's a mirror in the bathroom. You can treat your wound yourself, right?"
"I can." The bodyguard nodded grimly.
Ming Chu quickly turned back, helping Lin Meng over to sit on the bed: "Are you alright? Your belly... are you pregnant? Sit down properly now, don't rush, don't panic. You're safe right now; this door is very thick, and there's only one zombie outside—it can't get in."
Prompted by Ming Chu, Lin Meng only then noticed that her lower abdomen was spasming. Cupping her belly, she forced herself to take deep breaths and calm her nerves until the cramping subsided, only then feeling the weakness drain into her limbs.
She gripped Ming Chu's hand tightly: "Thank you, thank you for being willing to save me."
Thank goodness, she was a normal person who wasn't arrogant, overbearing, or excessively fragile, and someone she could communicate with, discuss matters with, and stay calm enough!
Ming Chu produced a thermos flask, took the last remaining cup from the room, and poured a cup of hot water for Lin Meng: "Drink some water. I'll go check on that man's injuries."
Too panicked to drink her water, Lin Meng looked over with worry as well: "Brother Wang, is your wound alright?"
"It's fine." Brother Wang's injuries looked frightening, but they weren't actually serious. He had scraped his head, but suffered no concussion. Since Ming Chu had medical supplies on hand, he quickly treated his wound, washed away the blood staining his body, and then turned to ask Ming Chu, "Do you have a knife?"
"What do you need a knife for?"
Seeing Ming Chu tense up instantly, Brother Wang maintained his stern expression and pointed toward the door: "Deal with that thing outside."