In the evening, members resembling those from a neighborhood committee went door to door delivering some bottled water and bread. When they were asked when vaccines would be available, the response was that it would be soon.

Due to the continuous outbreaks in various regions, the clicks on online serialized novels had plummeted from hundreds to single digits, and the latest chapters even had zero clicks after several hours of posting. Guo Xiaobei lost interest in updating his work; after all, during this time, no one would likely urge him to write more.

Two days later, accompanied by the increasingly rare sound of ambulances from below and the occasional cries echoing in the hallway, Guo Xiaobei felt that something was off. If the epidemic had been brought under control, then the supply of drinking water should have resumed. In reality, tap water had been completely cut off not long after he saw the news. Furthermore, only the national channel could be watched on TV, which only reported on the current situation, while the internet was practically inaccessible. Another day passed, and even the electricity was gone.

Guo Xiaobei huddled in his home, in the pitch-black night, only able to see a few flickering candle lights across the way. The candles had been delivered by people in protective suits who brought food and water, but there were only a few. In the dilapidated hallway, there were occasional desperate howls, reminiscent of the despairing cries of someone on the brink of death.

Guo Xiaobei felt terrified and lit the candle; it was the last one he had. No one had come to deliver supplies from the day before yesterday until today. In an extremely oppressive and anxious mood, he weakly crawled back to bed to continue studying his system. After all, it seemed to be the only thing he could rely on at the moment.

The system emitted a faint blue light in the darkness, resembling a liquid crystal display. Guo Xiaobei listlessly stared at the empty task list and the silent sigh of a shop filled with countless items, none of which he could afford.

Since the day before yesterday, no one had come to deliver water or bread. Guo Xiaobei was now drinking the last bottle given by the system. If this continued, with no water or food, he truly didn’t know what to do. Moreover, the intermittent howls coming from outside made him feel he couldn’t wait any longer. Although there was a security door, no one could predict what would happen next. With no sources of information, he had tried to go out a few days ago but was persuaded to return by the staff guarding the hallway. Now that several days had passed without supplies, there should be no one left to guard. He had no idea how serious things had become outside.

Guo Xiaobei summoned the system again, preparing to study what could be useful. The item bag was empty, and he held the last half bottle of water tightly in his hand. He had finished all the food at home, and even the bread delivered by the system had been completely eaten yesterday, leaving no crumbs. In the equipment section, he still had the same set of clothes. He tried changing into several outfits, but only the appearance of the character changed; the stats remained the same, always showing upper body defense: 0, pants defense: 0. It seemed these were all just ordinary items.

Closing the equipment section, Guo Xiaobei entered the skills section. Besides the bright red "0" at the top, there were rows of iron-gray boxes below, each marked with a lock symbol. It appeared that some special method was needed to unlock them. The task and pet sections were also grayed out, and the only visible character attributes remained unchanged. However, he didn’t understand what those numbers meant; without reference data, he didn’t know whether they were high or low.

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It seemed that the only useful thing now was the shop, but the costs were exorbitant...

Guo Xiaobei sighed and prepared to shut down the system, using the last flicker of candlelight to pack some things. He could wait no longer; waiting any longer was akin to waiting for death.

Ding. Zombie system upgrading.

What? Guo Xiaobei felt a moment of confusion as he glanced at the rapidly updating progress bar at the bottom.

Next to the pale green progress bar, a line of iron-gray text was barely noticeable, saying "Zombie System" in large characters.

Zombie system... is it a system for eliminating zombies?

Ding. System upgrade complete. The system has added a map. The host zombie can query humans and other zombies within a hundred meters. Abilities users are marked with a red alert, humans with a green alert, and zombies with a blue alert...

Wait a minute... what does it mean by "host zombie"? Why do both humans and abilities users have alerts as well, not just zombies? Guo Xiaobei trembled as he mentally read the system introduction.

At the bottom, the iron-gray text "Zombie System" popped up a prompt: This system automatically selects zombies as hosts to help the host level up... Other functions please explore on your own.

Closing the system introduction, Guo Xiaobei nearly collapsed. So he was no longer considered a person? He truly had become a zombie! With a howl, Guo Xiaobei rushed into the bathroom. The neighbors next door couldn't help but tremble: the terrifying sound was back.

Guo Xiaobei pulled up the map system, as it was the only one he could keep in view at all times. For safety, he resized the map to the top left corner; when needed, it would enlarge at his mental command, and when not in use, it would be palm-sized, clearly displaying the various colored alert points.

Since activating the system, Guo Xiaobei had started to observe the surroundings closely. He soon noticed that every time he heard a scream, there was always a cluster of blue dots surrounding a few green ones. The original green dots on the map were rapidly decreasing, while the blue dots were slowly increasing.

Green represented humans, while blue represented zombies. The decreasing number of humans didn't all turn into zombies, which suggested something troubling, causing Guo Xiaobei to shudder.

With so many zombies appearing, yet the government had not sent anyone to suppress them, it indicated a dire situation everywhere. This place was no longer significant, or perhaps it was simply beyond their capacity to manage. In any case, he could no longer stay here; he had to leave quickly. Otherwise, even if he was a zombie, other zombies might not be able to tell the difference. He didn't want to die; he still wanted to live, and he had no other path to take.

Guo Xiaobei pulled back the curtain to look outside. Due to the power outage, everything around was pitch black; there were few families left with a candle lit like his. The sound of nails scratching against the door echoed from outside. Guo Xiaobei swallowed hard and began to gather his things.

There wasn't much to pack at home—just a few pieces of clothing and some miscellaneous small items. He found a box and packed everything into it. He had tried before: if he placed items one by one, the system's limited space would fill up quickly. But if he put everything into a box and then placed that into the system’s inventory, it would count as a single item. That was a bit of a system bug, he thought.

On the nightstand, there was a picture frame holding a family photo taken ten years ago. Guo Xiaobei gently brushed the frame, the faces of his parents unchanged but forever gone. Perhaps it was for the best; in this world, who knew what the outside looked like? He had become a zombie himself, and there was no longer a home for him...

Guo Xiaobei sniffled, suppressing his emotions, and placed the frame at the bottom of the box, putting it all into the system’s inventory.

The author has something to say: Dear friends, raise your little paws and type "love me" on the keyboard... Wahahaha!