I want to live, to live...

After what seemed like an eternity, Li Lang slowly regained consciousness. The hallucinations in his mind had disappeared, and although the pain throughout his body had diminished to a bearable level, he still felt completely devoid of strength, unwilling to move even a muscle. What he found most unbearable was a strong sense of hunger that threatened to consume him.

Am I... not dead? He tried to think through his throbbing and burning brain, and with great effort, he opened his eyes, which were glued shut with dried blood. He faintly saw the cold ceiling of the execution chamber, while his body remained strapped to the execution bed.

"Why am I not dead?" Li Lang gasped for air, breathing in the sickeningly sweet scent of the air. Since he hadn't died, he resolved to fight and survive every minute. He had somehow endured such a cruel punishment, and he wondered how those bastards would further torment him.

Despite the intense pain coursing through his entire body, Li Lang took a deep breath and strained to lift his head, hoping to catch a glimpse of his enemies among the spectators. However, to his surprise, he saw a startling sight with the corner of his eye. The entire viewing platform was empty, covered in blotches of reddish-brown stains as if someone had splattered it with red paint. The smell in the air indicated that it was the stench of blood! The scent of blood intensified Li Lang's hunger, and although his rational mind told him that something was amiss, the hunger was undeniably distressing.

The entire execution chamber was flickering with red light and emitting a piercing electronic alarm. Chewing sounds seemed to come from various corners, but Li Lang's vision was limited, preventing him from seeing those areas.

What's happening? Could it be a terrorist attack? Li Lang wondered in astonishment. Deep down, he felt like he had grasped something, but his mind was muddled and unable to piece together that flicker of insight.

He forcefully stretched his neck forward, trying to figure out what had happened. Unexpectedly, he heard a cracking sound, and the buckle on his neck snapped open!

Li Lang couldn't help but feel a burst of joy in his heart. He didn't care about anything else and mustered all the remaining strength in his body to drag the steel rings on his limbs. To his delight, when he pulled, he found that apart from the steel ring on his left wrist, the rest seemed to have been corroded and only had a thin layer left. He had managed to break free with his weak force!

Finally able to sit up, he slowly moved his long-restrained body. It was then that he discovered that his whole body was covered in blood, and the prisoner's uniform on his body seemed to have been corroded into pieces, barely covering his body. It seemed like his own blood was at work!

It seemed that something big had happened, and everyone had fled from this place. They probably thought he was doomed, but they didn't expect him to be lucky. Now the most urgent matter was to quickly take advantage of the chaos and escape. Li Lang pondered for a moment and then focused his attention on his left wrist. The steel ring on this wrist was also corroded, but there was still a reinforced plastic ring on top of it, seemingly used to monitor body temperature. However, its texture was even tougher than steel!

What should he do?

The piercing alarm in the execution chamber seemed to urge him to act quickly. In such chaos, the sooner he understood the situation, the better chance he had to escape.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Lang unexpectedly opened his mouth and bit his own forearm! He was no longer the naive college student he used to be. This life-and-death experience had made him understand that only the ruthless could survive and live well! Be ruthless to others, and even more ruthless to oneself! If he couldn't let go of this hand now, he might have to pay with his life later! After a death row inmate undergoes execution and is still alive, others might receive a reduced sentence, but he knew all too well the power of his enemies. Death still awaited him!

A cold sensation traveled from his wrist to his tongue. The biting force was unusually strong, and he had already bitten off a third of it without any blood flowing out. Moreover, he didn't feel any pain. What was going on? However, Li Lang didn't have time to worry about that now. He just clenched his teeth with all his might. The whitish tendons with irregular cross-sections popped out of his skin, and the bones underneath had a brittle feeling.

It smells so good, he thought. He never expected his own flesh to smell so delicious. He suppressed the urge to swallow a piece of meat and bit off the last piece of flesh without realizing the astonishing strength of his bite and the sharpness of his teeth.

Now his left hand lay on the cold bed by itself, giving Li Lang a surreal feeling. He reached out, took his left hand, tucked it into his pocket, and then staggered to his feet and walked outside.

Although he had exerted all his strength, he didn't understand why his whole body felt weak. The intense hunger from deep within his body grew stronger. With each step he took, the tide of hunger threatened to tear him apart.

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His consciousness was becoming increasingly blurred!

The remaining shreds of consciousness urged him to resist the temptation and not to harm his left hand. Just as he was about to reach the door, Li Lang unexpectedly saw a familiar face.

It was Director Wang!

This fat man was the first to be attacked. He had been bitten more than ten times all over his body and had fallen at the entrance. No one paid attention to him in the chaos. Now his whole body was covered in purple-black blood clots, and he was convulsing on the ground, emitting a putrid smell. The hunger had almost completely taken control of Li Lang, and at this moment, seeing Director Wang lying on the ground made him salivate. His bloodshot eyes widened, and he immediately crouched down and bit into Director Wang's neck!

Director Wang's neck had already been bitten by Old Sun on one side. Now Li Lang was biting the other side. He sucked and swallowed the remaining blood with big gulps, and the hunger was partly satisfied.

Just then, Director Wang suddenly opened his eyes, and his pupils were dilated!

He seemed to have a bit of residual consciousness. He struggled furiously in anger, trying to push away Li Lang who was pressing on him. However, Li Lang held him down firmly. Li Lang's ferocity was also aroused, and he bit down hard, biting off half of Director Wang's neck! Then, with a snap, Director Wang's neck actually broke off, and his head rolled aside like a ripe apple. Several dark figures nearby looked up for a moment, then crouched back down.

Li Lang slowly climbed to his feet, a bloodstained smile playing at the corner of his mouth. The hearty feast of flesh and blood had restored much of his strength, and the next step was to escape from this place.

However, to his surprise, when he reached the street outside, he was taken aback!

Li Lang had originally planned to stealthily slip away from the corner of the wall. But as he staggered onto the street, he discovered a scene of devastation. Cars were congested together, and there were swaying figures covered in blood roaming everywhere. These figures emitted strange growls as they tore into the corpses they had acquired. It was a hellish sight!

What had happened? Could it be that I'm actually already dead and in hell? Li Lang's suppressed rational thinking raced lightning-fast, while the bloodlust surging from deep within him excitedly roared.

Although his roar was somewhat loud, it didn't attract the attention of those "people" who were fully engrossed in their meals. Li Lang slowly walked towards the nearest shop, and the television in the display window seemed to be broadcasting the news.

"Compatriots, due to the Britannia United States' use of bioweapons in the regional war in Pan-America, the entire world is now under attack from the deadly mutant virus T. I declare a state of emergency nationwide. I urge you to immediately gather at the fortresses of Chengmo, Beiping, Jiannan, and Anying... The government has established the strongest fortresses and will provide you with a safe environment... If your loved ones have been bitten by zombies, please report it immediately, and we will provide the most timely treatment... If you encounter zombies, be sure to attack their heads at the first opportunity..." The leader of the Red Star Republic shouted loudly on the television. Judging from the appearance, it seemed to be a repeated broadcast of the news.

Li Lang finally began to understand what had happened—it was a biological virus outbreak! He never expected that the stories from science fiction novels would unfold in reality! And looking at the time around him, it had been several months since he was tortured!

He looked at his blood-soaked body and thought, "So I've turned into a zombie, otherwise I would have died a long time ago." He chuckled at his self-deprecating realization, never expecting that humanity's disaster would become his salvation. But in such a short period of time, the world had completely changed.

Just then, a scream suddenly came from ahead. A strong, fat zombie tore a smaller, skinny zombie in half and began devouring its internal organs! The fat zombie's mouth seemed to have undergone a mutation, splitting into four lobes, each lined with four or five rows of sharp teeth. When it opened, its mouth widened to the size of the skinny zombie's waist, and in just a few bites, it swallowed the smaller zombie whole.

The fat zombie extended its forked tongue and licked its grotesque lips, then turned its gaze towards Li Lang.

This wasn't good—this creature seemed to be unsatisfied and had caught sight of me! Li Lang's heart tightened, and he immediately began to retreat. However, due to just turning into a zombie, his body, apart from the increased biting force in his mouth, was incredibly weak overall. He could only move at less than half of his usual speed, and a bottomless pit seemed to be his stomach as the hunger pangs returned.

The fat zombie, enraged by Li Lang's retreat, immediately became furious and chased after him in large strides, each step as fast as an average person's.

Panicking, Li Lang quickly crouched down and crawled under a car parked by the roadside.

The fat zombie grew even angrier. In its eyes, Li Lang, so skinny and weak, was the weakest of all the zombies. How dare he not stand there and let it feast? This was simply unacceptable!

The fat zombie decisively lay down on the ground and reached inside, grabbing hold of Li Lang's leg and pulling it out. Unable to resist the temptation of food, it greedily devoured Li Lang's legs in one bite, emitting a muffled laugh.

Li Lang struggled desperately, but his body lacked strength, and the hunger weakened him further. He was on the verge of being dragged out!

"I want to live! Even as a zombie! I want revenge!" Li Lang screamed in his mind as he used his remaining left and right arms to push against the fat zombie's face with all his might.

"I want to live!" Li Lang went mad, exerting every last ounce of strength he had while letting out a desperate cry. Just then, he felt something gathering at the wound on his left arm, followed by a viscous dark red liquid spraying out from his arm, drenching the fat zombie's head.

The fat zombie let out a wretched scream as its massive head began to melt, revealing the skull underneath. But even the skull melted away, like ice and snow in a furnace!

Meanwhile, the liquid that was once the zombie's head slowly got absorbed back into Li Lang's left arm. However, after spraying the dark red liquid, Li Lang fell into unconsciousness, completely unaware of what had transpired.

The street gradually fell silent...