Street side, residential area, seventh floor.
Inside the house
A computer hummed loudly as a young man sat in front, one hand on the mouse, the other on the keyboard, clacking away furiously.
The computer screen displayed the popular game LOL, beloved by many teenagers.
From the speakers, a voice came through.
"Three against one, can you guys even play? You got reverse-killed by me, surviving by a thread. Fellas, you gotta admit I'm awesome."
"Awesome... (voice cracks)"
"Did you guys hear that noise outside? It's really noisy, like a car crash, and there's a beeping sound too."
"Yeah, I heard it. Forget it, let's keep going..."
Lin Fan got up calmly, went to the water cooler, poured a glass of water, and stood on the balcony looking downstairs.
A crowd of people ran in panic, being chased by others.
Those who fell didn't get up again.
Cars swayed and crashed into shops.
"Are they all high?"
Returning to the computer, he took a sip of water, picked up his headset, and began talking with his teammates.
"Believe it or not, there's a bunch of people downstairs high off their rockers, wildly dancing and cars crashing everywhere. It's total chaos."
One teammate said, "Guys, I just saw a news report. People have turned into zombies."
"Zombies? That wild, huh? Let's not worry about that now, just keep pushing. Hey, archer, what the hell are you doing standing there? Push the tower!" another teammate shouted angrily.
"Ah, help, don't bite me! I'm the archer, let me destroy the tower!" a teammate addicted to the internet screamed, his yells heart-wrenchingly painful.
Lin Fan said calmly, "Are there really zombies?"
His teammate responded, "Zombies my ass, they're all cunning as hell. Forget relying on him; I'll push the tower myself. After this, I'm going to start a CF zombie map and gun down all these bastards."
Amid the significant noise outside, Lin Fan held the mouse and continued playing, ignoring and not asking anything.
Soon after, screams and roaring sounds came through the headset again.
"Damn it, what the hell is wrong with you guys? It's just a tower pushing game, and yet you're like little kids who can't avoid getting caught by their parents. This really sucks," the only remaining teammate cursed angrily.
"Maybe they really ran into zombies?" Lin Fan suggested.
The remaining teammate retorted, "Zombies my ass, all you ever do is daydream. Be realistic for once. Like me, I'm playing the game while getting 'eaten alive'; it's a mix of pleasure and pain, joy all around the world."
"I know your girlfriend is right there beside you," Lin Fan said.
From the headset came a sleazy chuckle, "Heh heh, bro, you know it! No mistake, you guys keep pushing those towers, I'll do the same, but I can still enjoy getting 'eaten.'
"You'll get bitten by your girlfriend," Lin Fan cautioned.
"Heh heh, bro, you're wicked for saying that! But you're right, she's biting now, the sneaky..."
"Ah!"
"What are you doing?"
"Let go of me, let go!"
"Are you out of your mind?"
From the other end of the headset, horrific cries followed.
Thump! Thump!
Sounds of furniture colliding and someone falling down.
It was accompanied by gnawing sounds.
"It really is like this." Lin Fan looked at the screen where every player was motionless, neither his teammates nor his opponents moved. He controlled his hero, following the line of troops, pushing towards the enemy base.
It wasn't time yet.
He destroyed a tower and pushed directly to the crystal.
Thump!
The crystal exploded.
He won the game, the end screen appeared.
"I really am reborn."
Lin Fan leaned back in his chair, staring blankly at the game screen.
He felt reborn, though he wasn't entirely sure.
To confirm, just like before his rebirth, he played a game of LOL, matched with the same teammates, and talked to them the same way as before, without changing his manner of speaking.
The encounters during the game were exactly the same.
Chaos in the streets, cars crashing wildly.
His in-game teammates screamed one after another.
The fate of his four teammates was exactly as he had experienced before.
He was certain now. He was reborn, and after the game ended, the system would arrive.
"I won't go down like that again, I'm ready now."
[Check]
[Assistant at your service]
[Name]: Lin Fan.
[Strength]: 10. (Standard)
[Body]: 10. (Standard)
[Speed]: 10. (Standard)
[Points]: 0.
Looking at the interface in front of him, he felt very familiar, much calmer inside.
"Exactly the same, no changes at all."
Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
Hurried knocking sounded.
"Lin Fan, open the door, open the door fast." A crisp female voice came from outside.
Based on the situation before his rebirth, the woman knocking on his door was his neighbor, Liu Weiwei, tall and beautiful, with a curvaceous figure and perfect curves, one of the stunners.
There were many men pursuing her.
Even he had been moved by her once; everyone likes beautiful girls.
Before his rebirth, the moment he got the system was the moment of his death because he had opened the door for Liu Weiwei.
Liu Weiwei's neck was bleeding, bitten by something.
He didn't know the thing was a zombie, and those bitten would turn into zombies.
Still worried about her condition, he found a first aid kit to bandage her.
While bandaging, he was knocked down by Liu Weiwei, who bit his neck, tore open his chest, and gnawed on his flesh and organs.
"I already know all this, and I have more important things to do; I cannot die."
Kitchen.
Lin Fan picked up a kitchen knife and placed it behind him, walking to the door.
"Is something wrong?"
He opened the security door.
The Liu Weiwei in front of him was still beautiful, her neck wound bleeding.
Her stunning appearance, mixed with panic, still gave off an oddly enticing vibe.
"There's a group of crazies outside, biting anyone they see." Even in her panic, her voice remained soft and pleasant, able to evoke a protective desire in anyone.
Lin Fan didn't let her in, "Your neck is bleeding."
In her frantic state, Liu Weiwei kept glancing towards the stairwell.
"Let me in, please; I lost my keys while running."
Lin Fan shook his head, "You've been bitten on the neck; you'll turn into a biting zombie."
"What?" Liu Weiwei panicked, clutching his arm pitifully, "You'll help me, right?"
"Yes, I can help you; just close your eyes," Lin Fan said with a smile.
"Thank you, I'll do anything you say," Liu Weiwei said with a sob, emphasizing the 'anything' as if it was a condition.
When Liu Weiwei closed her eyes.
Lin Fan swung his arm, and the sharp knife headed straight for her neck.
Squelch!
Blood sprayed, staining the white walls red.
"There, I've helped you now; you won't turn into a biting zombie."
Looking at the corpse on the floor, he quietly closed the security door.
Lin Fan, back against the door, holding the bloody knife, showed neither sadness nor joy, his expression calm as if he had just done something mundane.
His calmness was frightening, as if the fear had dissipated or, perhaps, seeing himself being devoured by zombies had numbed him.
[Potential Zombie Killed]
[Points Earned +1]
"Points plus one huh?"
"So this is what the little helper does, earn points by killing zombies huh."
Looking at the interface.
He could add the points to strength, body, or speed.
After some thought.
He added the points to strength.
[Strength]: 11.
Just after adding the point, there was a slight reaction, seemingly a bit stronger than before.
Suddenly.
There was a noise outside, sounds of gnawing and swallowing, and hitting against the security door.
Holding the knife, he opened the door.
Outside, a zombie was squatting there, gnawing at Liu Weiwei's body, ripping her clothes, her chest bloody and gruesome.
He knew who the other party was.
Also an owner here.
He lived on the eighth floor and was a programmer.
Skinny and weak, wearing glasses, quite young, with male pattern baldness, perhaps due to his profession, prompting early hair loss maybe.
He also knew the other liked Liu Weiwei.
Had stalking tendencies.
Often waited for Liu Weiwei at the condo's entrance after work and followed her upstairs.
The noise of opening the door startled the programmer who was chewing on the corpse.
The programmer stopped gnawing and stared at Lin Fan, rotating its grey-white eyeballs, drooling disgusting blood and flesh.
"Roar!"
The programmer lunged at Lin Fan.
"Roar what?"
Lin Fan acted quickly, the kitchen knife sharp, he split the programmer's head, squelch, the sound of flesh, pulling out the knife, the programmer fell to the ground.
Adding a point to strength, he could feel his strength had increased, a bit easier than before.
[Zombie Killed]
[Points Earned +1]
He quietly looked towards the stairwell, very quiet, no sound at all.
He securely closed the security door again.
Real zombies had appeared.
He wanted to know if the city of Huang was still okay?
He hoped it could maintain how it was originally.
Because…