Festivals, as humans know them, are a concept utterly foreign to animals. It is humanity that imbues festivals with meaning, and without humanity's invention, festivals simply would not exist on Earth. Among the most popular global festivals is the Spring Festival, celebrated across East Asian cultures and by Chinese communities worldwide.
However, this year's Spring Festival is unusually subdued, the quietest in decades. In years past, streets and alleys would be filled with laughter, adults sharing stories over melon seeds, women preparing festive dishes, and children setting off firecrackers. Now, even firecrackers are a rarity, a stark contrast brought about by the zombies.
Following the zombie outbreak, societal order has collapsed. Nine out of ten elderly individuals have perished, and many children, with their low survival rates, have also died. The survivors are predominantly young people, particularly students, who possess strong physical constitutions and greater resilience. These young people, however, have no time for Spring Festival celebrations; they are all occupied with fighting zombies. The remaining population is busy with daily labor, leaving no one with the time or opportunity to celebrate the arrival of the Spring Festival.
Children had hoped that life would improve with the arrival of the New Year, but reality proved otherwise. The dinner table might feature a single bowl of meat, but ordinary candies are almost nonexistent. Times have changed; in this chaotic era, mere survival is a blessing, and celebrating festivals is an extravagant thought.
The only ones who can truly celebrate are the powerful individuals, the ability users and evolved ones, who have no shortage of food or entertainment.
If fireworks are seen soaring in the city, they are almost certainly set off by evolved individuals. Ordinary people, possessing nothing, cannot afford fireworks and can only watch from the darkness as the dazzling explosions light up the sky, only to vanish quickly, amplifying their sense of loss.
Li Keyi dines at home with her parents. As a researcher, Li Keyi receives a generous salary from her laboratory, enough to support her family. She has also stored a substantial amount of white flour at home, embodying the saying, "Having grain in hand brings peace to the heart."
The Li family's meals are quite good, with both meat and vegetables. The dishes on the table are grown by Li Keyi's parents in their balcony garden. Otherwise, with soaring vegetable prices in the city and people digging up green belts to plant their own produce, buying vegetables is a luxury, and none are available in the market. Not even cabbage, let alone pickled vegetables, can be found.
Li Keyi picks up a large flatbread, rolls meat and vegetables inside, and eats with relish. While eating, she peruses her documents. She has been immersed in experimental research on the zombie virus for nearly two months, reviewing numerous papers. Li Keyi has discovered that abilities themselves are unrelated to the zombie virus!
Li Keyi knows this discovery is groundbreaking. Nearly all hypotheses suggest that human abilities are derived from viral proteins, with a specific protein granting these powers. However, after multiple experiments, Li Keyi has suddenly realized that abilities are not related to viral proteins but rather to another substance.
"If I can isolate this substance, whether it's a protein or nucleic acid, I will achieve eternal fame! Furthermore, through research, I can acquire abilities. I am certain I can do it, but it's a pity I don't have a corpse king's brain for further study. Otherwise, I could have obtained the answer in a very short time!" Li Keyi muses to herself.
As Li Keyi is lost in thought, a "clang clang clang" sound echoes from her bowl. Looking up, she sees her father watching her.
"Eat your meal and stop looking at your papers. You might drip sauce on them and dirty them," her father says with a hint of displeasure.
Li Keyi smiles, says nothing, and casually places the papers on a side table.
At this moment, her mother suddenly speaks, "Yiyi, how about I introduce you to someone? You're already in your twenties and don't have a boyfriend. That's not appropriate. I heard about a family in our neighborhood; the man is a factory leader. If you marry him, you definitely won't suffer."
Upon hearing this, Li Keyi feels helpless. While eating her flatbread, she replies, "I won't marry him. I will only marry a strong person! At the very least, they can't be too weak, otherwise, how can they protect our family in this apocalypse?"
Li Keyi has never craved power so much. Although she is an evolved person, her true strength pales in comparison to ability users. She has challenged many ability users and has rarely lost, but these challenges always had a condition: the ability users were forbidden from using their abilities. Only then, relying on her accumulated experience and skills, could she win. If ability users could use their abilities freely, Li Keyi would surely meet a tragic end!
Her mother shakes her head helplessly and sighs, "You want to marry a strong person, and we shouldn't object. But I've heard from many news reports that those ability users all have multiple wives and concubines, and the law can't control them. Some ability users even have over a hundred women around them. If you marry a strong person, you'll only be mistreated!"
"Then I'll become strong myself. In any case, in this world today, only by gaining power can one survive better!" Li Keyi is unconcerned. Although she has spent her time in the laboratory, she has witnessed many partings and deaths in the apocalypse. Only by gaining power can she protect herself and secure a better future.
Seeing her daughter's determined demeanor, her mother gives up trying to persuade her. She feels it will be difficult for her daughter to find a suitable partner in the future. She looks down on those with worse conditions than hers, and those stronger than her might not treat her well. Thus, finding a suitable match in the short term seems unlikely.
Li Keyi explains to her parents, "Don't worry so much about me. As long as my current research yields results, I will likely understand the principles of abilities, and perhaps I can become an ability user too. So, I will definitely become a strong person in the future!"
"Then we will wait to see your results. It's a pity that we are destined for ordinary lives and can only watch you embark on a different path!" Her father also joins the conversation. He knows his daughter is very strong-willed, and at this moment, he can only wish her daughter all the best.
Climate change is a common occurrence, yet poets often perceive it differently, reflecting on the passage of time and the fading of youth. These sentiments about time are abundant.
As Shelley once said, "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"
Chu Chaoyan sits on her hospital bed, a lap desk placed before her. She is currently writing down her recent observations. She is not allowed to leave her room freely; she can move around, but going outside is prohibited. All her knowledge of the outside world comes from Shen Feng.
The television station broadcasts news daily. If one were to rely solely on the news, the situation would appear to be overwhelmingly positive. Today, a victory was reported; yesterday, supplies were secured from various locations; news from abroad painted a picture of prosperity. Everything seems to be going well!
However, Chu Chaoyan is well aware that the news broadcast by the television station is heavily censored. This makes the situation simple: truly important matters are difficult to find on television. For instance, the news about the soldiers in Yanjing using poison gas during the heavy snowfall is not mentioned on television.
As Chu Chaoyan writes, she encounters a block, biting the end of her pen as she contemplates what to write next.
Chu Chaoyan mutters to herself, "After the Spring Festival, spring will arrive. But Yanjing is in the north, and it will be some time before the temperature rises to a warm level. Yes, I'll write this: Since the New Year, the plague has ceased to break out in the city. For a long time, no new cases have appeared. Migratory birds are returning north, and the ice and snow on the ground are melting. It can be foreseen that zombies will launch a large-scale offensive, and the decisive battle is imminent!"
In reality, Chu Chaoyan feels her body has already recovered. She wishes to return to the battlefield; staying in the hospital is unproductive. Instead, she has developed a layer of fat on her stomach, which she finds unbearable. If she continues to recuperate in the hospital, she will have no opportunity for exercise and will only grow fatter.
However, Shen Feng disagrees, insisting that Chu Chaoyan remain in the hospital room. He says, "Even if your superficial wounds have healed, you must continue to rest. Who knows if you have any internal injuries? You feel fine when you're young, but when you get old, old injuries will flare up, causing you suffering."
Chu Chaoyan is helpless and can only remain in the hospital room, watching the migratory birds outside her window. Geese, swans, and even many crows frequently fly across the sky. These birds are truly free, able to go wherever they please without any obstruction.
"Why can't I be like the birds, soaring freely to the ends of the earth?" Chu Chaoyan writes these words in her notebook. She truly wishes to leave the hospital now, preferably to be by Shen Feng's side, which she considers the most important and suitable place.
As the snow on the ground melts, the zombies gradually awaken from their hibernation. They then begin to devour each other. All animals that hibernate have this tendency. After hibernating, their bodies have consumed a significant amount of energy and must replenish it quickly. The best method is to eat.
When bears awaken from hibernation, many suffer from osteoporosis. Their once plump bodies suddenly become slender. The reason is simple: they have starved. Otherwise, they would not exhibit these symptoms. The same applies to zombies. After awakening from hibernation, over two months have passed. Many zombies have even starved to death in their hibernating state due to insufficient energy reserves.
Therefore, the awakened zombies immediately begin to consume everything edible around them, such as mice and insects. Zombies catch and eat them, but these small animals are naturally small. Later, as long as a zombie catches something that moves, it shoves it into its mouth, regardless of whether it is one of its own kind.
After replenishing their energy underground, the zombies emerge from their burrows once more. Following the instructions of the Corpse King, they once again surround Yanjing City.
Looking down from the city walls, the zombies are as dense as ants everywhere. All these zombies are looking down, heads bowed as they advance. Almost no zombies are seen looking up in the horde.
Lu Xian sees the zombie horde again. His fear has vanished because he knows that no matter how many zombies there are, they cannot breach the city walls. He watches the vast zombie horde and smiles, saying, "Look, these zombies are all dispirited. It seems they also feel victory is hopeless, which is why they are behaving this way!"
Yang Chang leans over and asks curiously, "How can you tell these zombies are dispirited?"
Lu Xian points to the zombie horde below the city wall and says directly, "Look closely. All the zombies have their heads down. Do they look like they have strong willpower when they are so dejected?"
Shen Feng walks over and explains, "Don't talk nonsense. These zombies have just emerged from underground. They were underground for a long time before and are accustomed to low-light environments. Upon emerging from the caves, they cannot tolerate strong light, so they dare not look up. They can only advance by looking at the ground to avoid their eyes being burned by the sun!"
After spending too long in a dark environment, humans will find it difficult to adapt to brightly lit areas. Let alone zombies. If they do not protect their eyes, these zombies could even go blind.
Shu Daping walks over with a stack of documents and says earnestly to Shen Feng, "Mr. Shen, there are documents from headquarters. Please persevere. After the battle is won, everyone will receive rewards. This is the final push, so we must not falter!"
Shen Feng picks up the documents and raises an eyebrow. This document discusses the strengths and weaknesses of both sides in the war. What Shen Feng pays most attention to is the number of zombies. According to satellite detection, there are seventy million zombies. While this seems like a large number, it is less than half of the initial zombie population at the start of the war. The remaining zombies are unlikely to breach Yanjing.
Shen Feng remembers Ma Jing Shuang. As a leader among the Corpse Kings, his intelligence is unquestionable. Yet, he is now leading less than half his forces to attack Yanjing. This holds a deeper meaning. Intelligent people do not undertake tasks without certainty. This implies that the Corpse King side is confident in their ability to breach Yanjing!
"Could the Corpse King have a trump card? If they have a trump card, why not use it earlier?" Shen Feng wonders. He cannot help but think this way because the situation is unusual. The zombies are proceeding with their plan with unwavering determination despite lacking certainty, much like moths flying into a flame.
Shen Feng ponders this endlessly, unable to figure it out. Finally, news arrives from headquarters: researchers, while using ultrasound to detect underground, discovered a newly excavated tunnel one hundred meters below the North City area!