Chapter One: I Might Be Doomed

“I might be done for!” Ma Yi stared at the bite mark on his wrist, his heart pounding violently. Right now, he deeply regretted his curiosity that had sent him downstairs to see what was happening.

Half an hour earlier. It was New Year's Day, 2024. Ma Yi was still sleeping in his rented room when a commotion from downstairs woke him—especially the shrill wail of an ambulance, which was all too clear in the early morning air.

Ma Yi’s instinct to join the crowd was instantly awakened. He climbed out of bed, nimbly pulled open the curtains, and was greeted by a faintly red-tinged mist.

The mist carried a faint stench, a smell of rot. Standing at the window on the third floor, Ma Yi couldn’t make out what was happening below, but he noticed an unusual gathering of residents outside. The ambulance's siren soon faded into the distance, but the crowd showed no sign of dispersing.

From his vantage point, he could see people talking animatedly, but the thick fog blurred his vision, and he couldn’t make out what was being said.

With efficient movements, he slipped on his trousers, shrugged into his down jacket as he walked, grabbed his keys and the household trash by the door. He told himself he was just going out to throw away the garbage and would take a look out of curiosity. In reality, he simply wanted to be part of the excitement and find out what was happening. The trash was just a convenient excuse to blend into the crowd and fish for news. As a so-called “three-no” youth of the new century—no house, no car, no wife—he felt it was important to maintain good relations with the neighbors. Who knew, perhaps one day he’d catch a lucky break.

Of course, Ma Yi knew these were just self-consolations. As a tenant, a migrant worker, he found it hard to truly fit into the local community.

He walked down the stairs to the first floor and saw twenty or thirty people gathered outside, talking in anxious tones.

“Old Li, do you really believe what the doctor just said?” a woman in her forties, still carrying an air of elegance, asked the man beside her. They looked to be around the same age—likely a couple. In the city, people often looked younger than they were. Ma Yi guessed they were at least fifty.

“No matter what, the doctor said to wait here, so we wait. If anything happens, the doctor will give us a shot or something when he comes, right?” Old Li patted his wife’s hand, trying to comfort her.

Ma Yi quickly tossed the trash into the bin and slowed his steps to listen to their conversation.

It turned out these people were residents of Building 3, next door. That morning, in the thick fog, a young girl from 3rd Building, Unit 2, 5th floor, had gone up to the rooftop to exercise. Perhaps due to water on the rooftop, a thin sheet of ice had formed, and she slipped, scraping her wrist. She hadn’t thought much of it, just told her family to be careful on the stairs, and dabbed some iodine on the wound before going off to watch TV.

No one expected that just an hour later, the girl would suddenly collapse in the living room, throwing her family into panic. They called the ambulance, performed emergency first aid, and discovered her fever had spiked to a terrifying 41 degrees.

The family was thrown into chaos, even the elderly grandmother burst into tears. The commotion alerted their neighbors, and after a brief explanation about the girl’s high fever, everyone decided to carry her downstairs to wait for the ambulance.

After some basic first aid, the girl awoke from her coma but remained in agony due to the fever, rolling on the floor in pain. The noise drew out all the building’s residents, and with the help of a few strong neighbors, they managed to carry her downstairs without causing her further harm.

In the process, several of those helping were scratched or bitten by the struggling girl, and some suffered minor bruises from bumping into the stairwell walls.

So the group made their way downstairs, and the ambulance arrived promptly. With the residents’ assistance, the doctors administered fever reducers and sedatives, calming the girl considerably. However, upon discovering that several helpers had been injured, the doctor examined the girl’s pupils. After his assessment, he instructed everyone to stay put, suspecting the girl might exhibit symptoms similar to rabies. His words startled the residents—after all, they had watched the child grow up.

The doctor contacted his colleagues at the hospital, arranging for two people to bring some basic test kits to check each person. If nothing was wrong, fine—they’d simply get a free screening. If there was a problem, he urged everyone to get vaccinated promptly. The girl’s father assured them he would cover any vaccination costs, which persuaded everyone to remain in the courtyard, waiting for the medical team.

Ma Yi pulled out a five-yuan pack of cigarettes, tapped one out, and lit it with practiced ease, drawing deeply. His gaze roamed the crowd, lingering on a newlywed couple—he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the young bride was. He’d stolen more than a few glances at her from his window.

Her lips were rosy, her teeth white, and her sleek ponytail swept all her dark hair back. She was nearly 1.7 meters tall—her white down jacket could not hide her perfect figure, her chest full and prominent, and her long, straight legs wrapped tightly in clean, fitted jeans. From the jacket’s hem, it was obvious she had a shapely, well-rounded bottom.

Ma Yi took a hard drag, sighing. As for himself, he had no figure to speak of, barely reached 1.7 meters, had no family or background—he was abandoned as a baby and didn’t even know who his parents were. If not for a kind soul sending him to an orphanage, he might have died outside a hotel twenty-five years ago.

After graduating high school, he left the orphanage and made his way in the world, living independently. Many of his peers had been adopted as children because they were cute, but Ma Yi had never been good-looking; even now, as an adult, he was just another face in the crowd.

All these years, he had earned little, and his love life was even more barren—he depended entirely on his own hand. He had dated a few girls, but as soon as they learned he was an orphan, they cut off contact, and the lack of money didn’t help.

After six or seven years of struggling, he finally landed a job as an order clerk in a company. The salary was meager—just over four thousand yuan. After food, rent, and expenses, if he managed to save a thousand a month, he counted himself lucky. Such was the reality: the rich grew richer, the poor, poorer.

Still, there were people who paid attention to Ma Yi—the business manager, Liu Jing, for instance, cared about him. She was his supervisor’s supervisor, already thirty-six or thirty-seven, with a mature, alluring figure and a pleasant face—essential for her line of work. She’d been married young but divorced after her husband cheated, and, according to colleagues, never remarried.

Before making manager, she’d been stern, but after her promotion she’d mellowed somewhat. Still, she wasn’t easy to approach, except when it came to Ma Yi. Her gaze made him feel like a helpless rabbit facing a predatory beast—hungry, dangerous, and full of ulterior motives.

“That young bride really is beautiful,” Ma Yi thought, taking another drag. Seeing her up close for the first time gave him a secret thrill—he was certain she’d feature in his dreams for nights to come.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” Just as Ma Yi was admiring her, the young bride’s husband—a tall man, nearly 1.8 meters—suddenly collapsed. The crowd exploded into panic, but no one dared approach; it was all too strange. They’d just seen a little girl taken away—now a strong young man was down as well.

“Can someone help me?” The young bride looked first at her husband, then at the crowd, her eyes full of shock, confusion, and grievance. The sight struck Ma Yi’s heart—now was his chance, even if it was just to say a few words.

He tossed away his nearly finished cigarette and rushed over, helping the bride to prop her husband up. In the process, her body brushed his arm several times—through layers of clothing, he could still sense her full chest. He forced himself to maintain a serious expression as he examined the man, though his eyes stole glances at the bride’s face.

Before he could study the man further, several other middle-aged men collapsed around them, startling Ma Yi.

The scene was spinning out of control; some were already crying, while the more composed tried to help the fallen or called for ambulances.

“Thank you!” The bride looked at Ma Yi with grateful eyes, tears brimming and making her seem all the more pitiable.

“I’ll hold him—call the ambulance. I left my phone upstairs,” Ma Yi said, looking at her up close. Her eyelashes were impossibly long, fluttering like butterfly wings.

She nodded, retrieving her phone from her jacket pocket.

The chaos outside drew more curious residents from nearby buildings. Some offered help, others approached to ask what had happened.

Ma Yi could feel the man’s temperature rising; soon, he began to shiver. Instinctively, Ma Yi reached out to feel his forehead.

“Damn, that’s hot,” he muttered, pulling back. It was at least forty degrees. If anything happened, it would be a real shame—mainly, Ma Yi thought, because of the beautiful bride. He’d envied the guy before, but now it seemed he might not last long.

Squatting on the ground, Ma Yi’s angle gave him a clear view of the bride’s shapely bottom, tightly wrapped in denim. He sighed inwardly—same age, but so different a fate. This guy should count himself lucky.

Lost in thought, Ma Yi didn’t notice as the man beside him suddenly lunged and bit down on his wrist.

“What the hell—just for glancing at your wife?” Ma Yi yelped at the pain, his attention snapping back. But what he saw next chilled him to the core.

The man’s eyes were wide open, but the black irises were gone, replaced by a ghastly white, as if he were blind. Black veins spiderwebbed across his eyeballs.

Ma Yi yanked his arm free with a cry. The man had torn off a chunk of flesh, pain causing veins to bulge on Ma Yi’s forehead as sweat drenched his clothes.

A tragedy was unfolding around him: next to him, a middle-aged man tackled his neighbor, tore off half his face with his teeth, and began gulping down the flesh.

“What? This… this is just like those zombie movies!” Ma Yi gritted his teeth and, acting on instinct, shoved the bride aside. Afterward, he stood frozen in shock.

“Run! Go home, lock your doors—they’re zombies!” In a flash of clarity, Ma Yi’s first thought wasn’t to save himself, but to urge the bride to flee. Under her stunned gaze, he kicked the man—who was trying to get up—back to the ground. His new white sneakers splattered with dark, purplish blood.

The bride was momentarily stunned—this stranger had pushed her aside and kicked her husband. But hearing his words, she glanced around and finally noticed the madness erupting among her neighbors—the biting, the tearing, the devouring of raw flesh. Fear chilled her to the bone.

“Run!” Ma Yi shouted as she stood frozen. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he grabbed her hand and dashed toward his own rented room. He knew what building she lived in, but had no idea about her apartment number.