Chapter 1 Rebirth

"Li Chenzhou, get up now, stop faking death!"

Li Chenzhou had just woken up when he heard an extremely arrogant voice in his ear. He opened his eyes and found himself lying on the ground with a throbbing pain in his left cheek.

He touched his face and his palm came away bloody. Instinctively, he looked up and his whole body shook...

In the dim night sky, a bright moon hung high. The city was brightly lit, the streets were bustling with people and traffic, and the sound of car horns rose and fell. The crowd around him chuckled and pointed, a picture of a prosperous city nightlife just beginning.

"I've been reborn?"

Li Chenzhou didn't care about the blood on his hand. He quickly patted himself down, then pulled out his phone:

6:50 PM, June 29, 2035—ten minutes until the apocalypse.

I've returned to before the apocalypse?

Li Chenzhou got up and stared blankly at the elegantly dressed young man in front of him, who was looking down at him with his nostrils flared, and the girl beside him, acting like a clinging vine.

Ten years of sealed memories flooded into his mind, gradually becoming clear...

Yes, this was the scene before the apocalypse. Because he had just graduated, he had specifically asked his girlfriend out for a romantic evening.

But what he didn't know was that his girlfriend had already been bought by the famous rich second generation at school, the playboy Lin Tianci, with money and handbags.

Furthermore, under Lin Tianci's arrangement, she pretended to be nice to him, waiting for him to excitedly arrive at the hotel before revealing the truth with Lin Tianci in her arms, all because Lin Tianci liked to see this kind of scene.

Seeing his girlfriend, arm-in-arm with Lin Tianci, about to enter the hotel, Li Chenzhou, burning with anger, immediately rushed forward to stop them, only to be beaten up by Lin Tianci's lackeys. Lin Tianci was preparing to humiliate him before taking his girlfriend to the hotel as a victor.

"Hahahaha!"

Recalling all this, Li Chenzhou suddenly laughed heartily, excited that he had actually been reborn, and that everything could start over.

As for the Lin Tianci and his girlfriend in front of him… to Li Chenzhou, who had struggled for ten years in the apocalypse, they weren't worth wasting these precious few minutes before the end of the world.

So, Li Chenzhou didn't even look at Lin Tianci and his girlfriend, and turned to leave.

"Hey! You little bastard! Did I say you could leave?"

Lin Tianci immediately shouted. He hadn't had enough fun yet, how could he let Li Chenzhou leave so easily?

Following Lin Tianci's words, his two lackeys immediately stepped forward to block Li Chenzhou, revealing sharp daggers in their hands. One of them grinned sinisterly and said:

"Kneel down, kowtow to Young Master Lin, and apologize. If Young Master Lin is satisfied, you can leave. Otherwise, I'll draw some blood."

"Fuck your mother, I want to see who dares to touch my brother!"

Before Li Chenzhou could speak, a furious roar came from behind. A burly young man with a baseball bat rushed over and stood in front of Li Chenzhou.

Seeing this familiar figure, Li Chenzhou was suddenly stunned. Then, a hint of warmth spread from the corner of his mouth.

This was Zhang Hu! His best friend. In his previous life, he had rushed over like this and pulled Li Chenzhou away. After the apocalypse, he had also protected Li Chenzhou, trying to escape the city. Unfortunately, he was scratched on the arm by a zombie, which eventually led to his mutation.

"Boy! This is none of your business, get lost, or I'll make sure you regret it!"

Seeing Zhang Hu, Lin Tianci's face darkened.

"Go fuck yourself, I've never regretted anything in my life, why don't you try me!"

Zhang Hu turned his head and pointed at Lin Tianci's nose, cursing loudly, but Li Chenzhou reached out and pulled him back, taking the baseball bat from his hand.

"I was planning to save some time and not get entangled with you, but since you insist, I'll indulge you!"

Turning to look at Lin Tianci, Li Chenzhou said calmly.

"Fuck! Who are you trying to scare with a broken stick? You think a loser like you can hit me? You try laying a hand on me? Just touching me will get you locked up until you die!"

Lin Tianci was furious, pointing at Li Chenzhou's nose and cursing, then he waved to his lackeys:

" cripple these two bastards for me, just leave them a breath. I'll take responsibility if anything happens!"

"Crack!"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Chenzhou's figure flashed like a ghost, and the baseball bat smashed heavily on Lin Tianci's knee.

"Ah!"

With a scream, Lin Tianci fell to the ground. The broken leg bone pierced through the skin and stood erect in the churning blood. The intense pain caused him to faint.

The girl who had been holding Lin Tianci's arm and was dragged to the ground, her face splashed with blood, stared at Lin Tianci's broken leg in horror and screamed shrilly.

Li Chenzhou ignored her. He turned back instantly, holding the blood-stained baseball bat, his eyes fixed on the two lackeys with daggers. The bloodlust accumulated from countless killings in his previous life was released without reservation, sweeping over them like a tidal wave…

Enveloped by the killing intent, the two of them instantly felt like they had fallen into an ice cave. The cold-eyed Li Chenzhou instantly transformed into a demon from hell in their eyes. They shuddered in unison, dropping the daggers in their hands and running away, not caring about their master who was still howling on the ground!

"I…fuck!"

Zhang Hu stood there, swallowing subconsciously, looking at Li Chenzhou in shock—when did this guy become even tougher than me?

"Hu Zi! Come with me!"

Li Chenzhou saw the daggers dropped by the lackeys on the ground. They seemed to be of decent quality, so he bent down to pick them up. Then, he patted Zhang Hu on the shoulder and led the way towards a nearby convenience store.

Zhang Hu looked at Lin Tianci, who was glaring at him with a resentful expression, and then looked at Li Chenzhou's back. Finally, he chased after him, gritting his teeth and cursing:

"Damn it! You're going to get me killed today!"

"Ah!"

Seeing Li Chenzhou rushing over with a blood-stained baseball bat, everyone in the convenience store who was shopping ran out in panic. Li Chenzhou didn't stop them. Instead, he first pulled down the metal railings outside the convenience store windows, and then returned to pull down the railings outside the door.

"Here!"

Then, he turned around and shoved the blood-stained baseball bat and a dagger into Zhang Hu's hand.

"Wait! If you do this… then I'm the main culprit, right?"

Zhang Hu looked down at the baseball bat and dagger in his hands, then looked at Li Chenzhou, and asked with a mournful face.

"Hahahaha! Don't worry, it'll be fine!"

Li Chenzhou laughed, patting Zhang Hu's shoulder with a relaxed expression.

"Fine my ass!"

Zhang Hu jumped up:

"Why the fuck are you such an idiot? Why would you think of hiding in a dump like this? Do you think that flimsy security door can stop the police?"

"Who said I was trying to stop the police?"

Li Chenzhou looked at the time, only two minutes left. He looked up at the sky and said:

"Just wait, you'll soon see… a sight you never dared to imagine!"

"No! Listen to me, you can't wait anymore, you have to hurr…"

Zhang Hu quickly came to Li Chenzhou's side, wanting to persuade him, but before he could finish speaking, he suddenly heard a noise behind him.

Li Chenzhou immediately turned around and rushed behind a shelf. A girl, not even twenty years old, was crouching there, trembling.

"You…"

Li Chenzhou didn't expect there to be another person, and was caught off guard.

"I…"

The girl was startled, and whispered a word, then suddenly mustered her courage, stood up abruptly, and shouted:

"This is my store, and I'm telling you, the police are coming soon! You better leave now!"

"Big brother!"

Just then, a door next to them was suddenly opened. A pale-faced boy, about sixteen or seventeen years old, appeared, leaning on crutches. He looked at the baseball bat in Zhang Hu's hand, then focused his gaze on Li Chenzhou's face:

"You… don't hurt my sister. She's already had a hard time taking care of me. If you want money, just take it. We won't call the police!"

"No! If I don't have money, how can I buy you medicine?"

The girl immediately shouted, grabbing a bottle of nutritional drink from the nearby shelf, holding it tightly in her trembling hand, glaring at Li Chenzhou fiercely:

"If you really dare to rob us, I… I'll fight you to the death!"

Li Chenzhou looked at the boy, then at the girl, shook his head, and was about to speak when a bright light suddenly shone outside.

"It's here!"

Li Chenzhou couldn't help but sigh. He stopped explaining, turned to the door, stood next to Zhang Hu, who was looking shocked, and looked up at the sky outside…

In the originally dark night sky, a fiery red sphere appeared, as if the sun had suddenly returned, illuminating the entire sky, presenting an eerie crimson color.

Countless fine, thread-like red lines fell from the sky, as if to cover the earth with this delicate color. When these threads touched people's bodies, they acted as if they were alive, directly burrowing into their bodies.

"Wha… what is that thing?"

Zhang Hu watched the red threads pass through the ceiling, land on his arm, and instantly burrow into his body, asking with a trembling voice.

"Those are called Hell Strands. They can pass through all obstacles and automatically seek out living organisms to attach to."

Li Chenzhou looked at the threads on his body and said calmly:

"People with antibodies will definitely not mutate. People without antibodies, no matter where they hide, it's useless! They will all become zombies!"

"Zo… zombies?"

Zhang Hu's face changed drastically, and his body couldn't stop trembling. He turned to look at Li Chenzhou:

"Then…".

"Don't worry, you're fine!"

Li Chenzhou understood what Zhang Hu wanted to ask, so he shook his head at him, then turned back to look at the two siblings who were already hugging each other. Seeing that they didn't show any signs of mutation, he patted Zhang Hu on the shoulder and looked outside:

"We've entered a completely new world. Don't worry about what happened before. What we need to think about is how to survive!"

As soon as Li Chenzhou finished speaking, as if the mute button had suddenly been turned off, countless noises suddenly rang out.

The sound of cars colliding, glass breaking, human wailing, calling for help, screaming, and so on, all kinds of sounds mixed together, forming a symphony from hell, opening the prelude to the apocalypse…