C1 Zombie Outbreak

Around 10 AM on June 14, 2030...

"Ah! Are you crazy? Are you out of your mind?" "Help! Somebody help! Get him off me! Ugh..."

"Bang!"

"Yikes! Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Han Feng's hand, which was in the middle of pouring coffee, jerked violently in shock, splashing scalding coffee on himself and eliciting a scream of agony.

"What's all that commotion outside? Why is it so loud?" The supervisor came out and asked Han Feng to check it out.

Shaking his hand in pain, Han Feng sullenly made his way to the window. Little did he know that the events about to unfold would completely shatter his worldview of the past 23 years.

Upon opening the window, Han Feng was greeted by the sight of a not-so-spacious street. A young man was savagely biting an older man who was sprawled on the ground, surrounded by a pool of blood. Nearby, some bystanders were snapping photos with their phones, while others were frantically dialing emergency services.

"It should be okay, right? Looks like a driver hit a pedestrian, just went a bit overboard." Han Feng muttered to himself as he began to close the window to shut out the chaos. But just as the window was nearly shut, a massive explosion rocked the street.

Boom! Debris from the blast was flung wildly across the street. Fortunately, Han Feng was far enough away to avoid injury, but the blast still startled him.

"What now? Why is it so hectic today? Looks like the cops have their hands full," one of Han Feng's colleagues remarked, gesturing for Han Feng to close the window to keep the office free from the smell of the explosion.

As Han Feng was about to seal the window, the young man had begun to attack the crowd of onlookers, and the older man on the ground was slowly rising to his feet.

What in the world was happening? It was one thing to hit the older man, but now to assault bystanders? Was this young guy incredibly hot-headed? And now the older man was attacking people too? Han Feng was bewildered.

No... something was terribly wrong! Han Feng realized that it wasn't just the young man; the older man who had just stood up was also assaulting people! And from the exploded restaurant emerged a person with a disability... Why call him disabled? Because half of his body had been blown apart! Yet even in such a mangled state, he was still attempting to attack the pedestrians.

Zombies! The word inexplicably flashed through Han Feng's mind.

Eyes dull and lifeless, blood oozing like thick syrup from fatal wounds, yet no sign of pain on their faces. Limbs broken, they attacked passersby with reckless abandon. Slow-moving, yet possessing unimaginable strength. If these weren't zombies, what were they? Some kind of movie set?

But Han Feng knew this was no movie. One of the pedestrians being attacked was actually his colleague, Wang Huan, a girl known for her quirky personality. And the man with half his body blown away? That was the restaurant owner!

This was real. They were zombies!

Run! That was the only thought racing through Han Feng's mind.

Where to run? How to escape? Where were there fewer people? Bursting out of the office, Han Feng was horrified to see the cleaning lady savagely biting a colleague!

"Hey! Han Feng! Where do you think you're going?" his supervisor bellowed from behind. But Han Feng was beyond caring. A month of unpaid internship, working himself to the bone for nothing but disdain! No, what was he thinking? Escaping was all that mattered!

It had been only three or four minutes since the chaos began but too many inexplicable events were unfolding around him...

After sprinting from the second-floor office, Han Feng made a beeline for the stairwell. Thank goodness I'm near the exit. I must be the first one out of this building, right? But the "fight" at the office entrance sent him reeling back inside. He was met with scenes straight out of a nightmare.

Of course! If my office building had people turning, why wouldn't the more crowded streets?

More people... Yes, more people outside! What kind of luck would it take to survive out there? No, I need to turn back! To the rooftop! Surely there would be fewer people there? With this thought, Han Feng spun around and dashed back.

But reality loves to shatter illusions. The cleaning lady, who moments ago was just a part of the backdrop, was now entwined with the panicked crowd at the stairwell.

It was over—I was a goner. Where could I possibly run? Both paths were dead ends! Han Feng's calves were cramping, and fear was gnawing away at his sanity.

In a frenzy, Han Feng spotted the first-floor bathroom. Yes! The bathroom was my escape! With that decision made, Han Feng bolted towards it.

But wait—the women's restroom was here; the men's was upstairs. Should I go in? Han Feng hesitated at the threshold.

"What the hell! Staying alive trumps everything!" Han Feng muttered to himself, trying to muster some courage.

Inside, two sinks stood side by side, with the toilet stalls behind another door.

Han Feng slammed the door shut, spun around, and went to lock it—except there was no lock! Han Feng's hand frantically searched for it to no avail.

"Damn it! No lock? This is bad..." Han Feng rambled in a panic. No time to worry—Han Feng left the door slightly ajar and ducked into a stall. Thankfully, this door had a lock. Leaning against it, Han Feng gasped for air. As a recent college grad, the terror and the running had left him feeling utterly drained.

"Do you need 2,000 gold coins to build a power station?" That cold, mechanical voice echoed in Han Feng's head for the third time today.

What the heck? I'm fighting for my life, and this is what I think of? Confusion swirled within Han Feng.

Han Feng was a die-hard Red Alert fan, playing every night before bed.

But come to think of it... last night, I heard "Do you want to deploy the base?" and in my half-asleep daze, I answered "Deploy." Was that even real?

"Do you need 2,000 gold coins to build a power station?" The voice was relentless.

Four times now... This wasn't my imagination! Come on! I'm in the middle of a life-or-death situation; I shouldn't be obsessing over a game! Han Feng ran his hands through his hair, trying to scrub the voice away. But it persisted...

"Yes?" Han Feng responded. Locked in the bathroom, Han Feng figured he might as well shift his focus—anything to lessen the fear.

"The power station is under construction, with an estimated virtual build time of 30 minutes. Please stand by." The mechanical voice echoed once more...

"What the...? There's more to that voice? It can't actually be... real, can it?" Han Feng's thoughts were spiraling, his words tumbling out in a jumble.

A numbness crept into Han Feng's standing legs, snapping him back to a semblance of alertness.

He shifted his body slowly, careful to keep silent. He was aware that zombies in films typically homed in on sounds, possessing little to no sense of smell or sight. This, at least, was a sliver of good fortune amidst his dire straits.

In his haste to escape, he hadn't checked the bathroom for others. What if someone had turned in there?

Han Feng cautiously opened the doors to the three adjacent stalls. Seconds later, he breathed a sigh of relief—empty. Indeed, he was alone in the bathroom. Han Feng counted himself lucky; no women had been in the bathroom at that time, or he would have been utterly embarrassed.

The din from outside and the high-pitched cries for help were in stark contrast to the bathroom's quietude. Han Feng took a moment to survey the bathroom's layout. The sealed door, the high small window—why call it small? Because only a dog could fit through the bathroom window, not a person. This space, while not entirely safe, was all he had to rely on.

Han Feng, now somewhat at ease, slumped to the floor, his legs too weak to bear his body's weight any longer.

"Power station? Power station?" he murmured under his breath. "The virtual construction of the power station will continue for another 25 minutes. Please stand by." sounded the mechanical voice again.

"Who's there?!" Startled, Han Feng sprang to his feet—in a literal sense. He frantically scanned his surroundings, holding his breath to catch any sound.

No one? So that voice... was it coming from inside his own head?