Chapter 2 - Instinct

Suddenly, Shaun seemed to hear a faint scream, as if there were mosquitoes buzzing nearby. He slowly approached the window and looked at the scene outside, and he was stunned. The intense, blinding light had disappeared, replaced by a red glow that cast an eerie, bloody atmosphere over the land.

People were screaming and fleeing outside, with slow-moving zombies following behind. Although the crowd was terrified, few were actually bitten by the zombies. The zombies were too slow to catch up with ordinary humans.

Only a few individuals, whose mental states had collapsed and were sitting there crying, were bitten by the zombies, tearing off large chunks of flesh, and eventually succumbing to death. Shaun knew that those people had already been infected and would become new zombies in no time.

The streets were mostly occupied by zombies, indicating that the virus's infectivity was quite strong. Shaun sighed inwardly, realizing that he was once again standing on the side of the masses and grasping the truth.

Some people had reached the bottom of the building where Shaun was. He instinctively felt the urge to bite them, and his eyes turned even redder, making him increasingly agitated. Was this the instinct of a zombie?

Shaun sniffed lightly and felt the delicious scent coming from the people, making him eager to jump down. However, he forced himself to restrain the impulse. After all, if he died right after becoming a zombie, how would he survive among the others?

Shaun thought of his talent, "Bloody Evolution," and felt a glimmer of hope. He needed to seize this moment when people were still too scared to face the zombies and complete further evolution to become a powerful existence.

As the thought of evolution crossed his mind, Shaun couldn't help but shout out, brimming with a sense of dominance. But in that moment, his body lost control, and he fell to the ground again, hitting his head on the toilet, shattering the imposing aura he had tried to create.

Cursing under his breath, Shaun struggled with his awkward gait and finally reached the door. He tried to bend his fingers, but the simple task proved difficult. He could only bend his fingers slightly, unable to form a fist.

Although opening the door was not too complicated, he managed to push the door handle with his pale right hand, and the door opened. People outside saw his eerie posture and terrifying arm and immediately screamed in fear.

Shaun let out a beast-like roar, and the crowd hurriedly fled, not daring to stay on this floor. He slowly stood up again, indifferent to the escaping crowd. Even though he could not catch up with them, he knew that as long as he had time, they would all eventually turn into zombies.

Avoiding the safe stairs, Shaun went to the elevator, deciding to wait here for an opportunity. Even though he had become a zombie, his intelligence remained. He lightly pressed the elevator button with his pale hand. He could already smell the fresh flesh.

Living on the ninth floor, Shaun trembled with excitement as the elevator slowly ascended. It was an instinctive reaction, similar to blinking or a knee-jerk reflex, something he couldn't control.

Inside the elevator, a couple, two young people, an old man, and a child were all terrified, pale-faced, and even the old man had cold sweat on his forehead. The apocalypse had come too suddenly; who could have expected that the light would carry such an incurable zombie virus?

"Grandpa, I'm so scared, wuwuwu!" The child kept crying, showing extreme fear on his face, holding onto his grandfather's hand tightly, trembling all over.

The little boy had witnessed a monster knocking people to the ground on the street and then biting them, splattering fresh blood even onto his shoes. This was likely to become a lifelong trauma for him.

"Shut up! Stop crying!" A university student with glasses snapped angrily. His normally delicate face was now filled with both fear and anger. The scene of the apocalypse made his nerves sensitive and fragile, and the noise from the child's crying only made his anger surge even higher.

"What are you doing?" The elderly man next to the little boy immediately scolded him when he was shouted at.

The people inside the elevator started arguing, and the two young men even showed signs of getting physical. The couple joined the chaos, and the situation became chaotic.

The arrival of the apocalypse had caused changes in everyone.

None of the six people inside the elevator noticed that it had stopped on the ninth floor. As the elevator doors slowly opened, a zombie was standing right at the entrance, staring at everyone with its red, cruel eyes.

"Ah! Zombies! Run!" The girl caught a glimpse of Shaun from the corner of her eye and widened her eyes in extreme terror.

The arguing and shoving among the people suddenly stopped, and time seemed to freeze for a moment. All of them looked stiffly towards the elevator door.

The zombie's eyes were red and indifferent, emitting a beast-like gleam. Its mouth was slightly open, and drool kept dripping, making its pale face look like that of an evil spirit.

"Surprise!" Shaun opened his mouth and let out an inhuman roar, causing all six people in the elevator to shiver in fear.

None of them could have expected a zombie to be waiting right outside the elevator door, but what surprised them even more was that it was the zombie itself who pressed the elevator button.

"Ah!"

The man in the elevator screamed and pushed his girlfriend out of the elevator, colliding with Shaun in the process.

"You jerk!"

The young woman's face was filled with despair. She never imagined that her boyfriend, who had always loved her, would push her into the abyss just to save himself.

The woman was dressed lightly, with her fair, slender legs exposed, and her appearance was quite beautiful. Shaun held her in his arms.

At this moment, he had no other thoughts; it was almost instinct driving him. He opened his mouth wide and bit her neck fiercely.

A large chunk of flesh was torn off, and the intense pain almost caused the woman to lose consciousness instantly. She slumped in Shaun's arms.

The other five people seized this "opportunity" to scramble out of the elevator. The woman's boyfriend was the first to run out, and no one cared about her anymore.

After injecting the virus into the woman's body, Shaun felt an extremely satisfying feeling coming from his soul.

He had thought that since he used to be human, he might feel uncomfortable or disgusted with tearing and biting human flesh. But it seemed that the zombie virus had changed not only his body but also his mindset.

Infecting more people and completing evolution was a natural instinct of the virus.

Rather than saying Shaun was manipulating his own body, it felt more like the virus was controlling his consciousness.

He didn't have time to think too much about it, as a cold and mechanical electronic sound rang in his mind.

"Ding! The host has successfully infected one human. Evolution points +10!"

Shaun's panel now showed 10/100 evolution points.

He carried the unconscious young woman out of the elevator, ready to begin his next hunt!

At the same time, he dropped the woman at his feet to observe how long it would take for the virus to turn her into a zombie.

The elevator door kept opening, but no one was inside. It seemed that only a few people dared to take the elevator during this crisis. But Shaun was patient now.

The unconscious woman beside him began to change visibly. Her lovely face turned pale, and veins began to pulsate under her skin, seemingly about to burst out.

Her once smooth and glossy skin began to dry and wrinkle, gradually showing some features of a zombie.

A few minutes later, she slowly stood up, her eyes now red and indifferent, her mouth slightly open, emitting a hoarse roar.

Shaun didn't expect the virus to be so terrifying; it only took a short time to turn a person into a zombie.

But unexpectedly, the newly turned zombie turned around and seemed to be looking for fresh flesh.

Shaun roared in front of her, even running up to her, raising his arm and opening his mouth, making a grimace, just to see her reaction.

However, the other party seemed indifferent, as if lacking any consciousness.

It seemed that Shaun was a special case!

But damn, wasn't she the one I infected? Why doesn't she listen to me?

"Ding! The host's rank is too low to control zombies!"

Shaun was taken aback. He didn't expect the system to answer his question.

In his mind, he wondered if he could get evolution points from infecting someone.

"Ding! The host's zombie virus rank is too low; secondary infection cannot gain evolution points!"

Damn!

I used my brilliant mind to infect someone, and all I got was ten evolution points, without any other benefits.

However, the system only told him that his rank was too low and couldn't do it. If his rank were to rise...

Shaun let out an evil laugh, but only hoarse roars could be heard, terrifying everyone around him.