Chapter 1 The Longest Night

"Da, da, da."

The clock on the wall ticked, finally reaching seven o'clock the next morning.

This was the longest and darkest night in Zhang Ji's life.

Now, the darkness receded, and the sky was faintly bright.

A groan in the mist.

Then came bursts of frightened screams and shouts, human voices.

As soon as it dawned, they turned back into humans.

Awakening, they were terrified by the hellish, bloody scene before them, screaming in fear.

In a corner, Zhang Ji's body twisted, his bones crackling. In a moment, he also turned back into a human, regaining his original appearance.

He was pleasantly surprised and excited, scanning his whole body. He was surprised to find that his body was much stronger, his height had increased by several inches, and his muscles and strength were significantly enhanced.

He clenched his fist hard, and his bones cracked.

"The evolution of the monster body can also be fed back to the human body?! It has the effect of improving physical fitness."

Zhang Ji thought to himself, but he didn't have time to carefully understand it.

He went to the security room to change into a set of clothes. When he came back, the people in the hall were also looking for clothes to cover themselves, but most of them were wearing rags, like beggars.

Their clothes were still stained with blood.

They looked frightened and trembled all over, not knowing what had happened. They clamored to call the police, but the phone simply wouldn't go through; there was no signal.

Someone ran out of the building like crazy, but ran back again with terrified screams.

Because the streets outside were also stained with blood, full of the remains of animals.

"That security guard, pull up the surveillance footage. We want to see what happened," a bald middle-aged man shouted from the corner.

He was an engineer from a computer company upstairs. He had just finished speaking when he suddenly screamed again:

"Damn, what the hell, such a big snakeskin. Could it be that a snake came in last night?" He pointed to the snakeskin that Zhang Ji had shed last night, cursing in fear.

Zhang Ji glanced at him and recognized him as the black dog from last night, very ferocious.

"Are you a dog?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

The bald engineer looked strangely at him, but screamed again, because he found that he had stepped in a pile of dog poop. He couldn't help but angrily scold and curse, whose dog wasn't leashed properly, so uncivilized, running here to poop.

"Security guard, have you seen my girlfriend?" a young man wearing a baseball cap asked anxiously.

Zhang Ji looked at him and said, "Are you a pig?"

He nodded.

"Is your girlfriend a chicken?"

He nodded again in surprise, "Security guard, can you tell fortunes?!"

Zhang Ji didn't answer, and really wanted to tell him that your girlfriend turned into a chicken last night, and has already been eaten by you, the pig.

He now roughly understood that everyone's transformation into monsters was not untraceable.

Currently, it seemed that the transformations were likely based on the Chinese zodiac.

Those born in the year of the Pig became pigs, those born in the year of the Dragon became Jiaolong (flood dragons), those born in the year of the Rooster became chickens, those born in the year of the Goat became goats...

"I wonder what will happen in the future. Will people continue to turn into beasts? Or was last night just a coincidence?" Zhang Ji pondered, looking at the mist outside, boundless, endless, and churning.

He had a bad feeling in his heart, as if the disaster was not over.

But the truth was too appalling. He didn't tell them directly, but said loudly, "Let's go watch the surveillance!"

"Everyone, follow me!" Zhang Ji said. He didn't reveal himself and led everyone to the surveillance room.

However.

All the instruments in the surveillance room had failed. The ports seemed to be corroded, emitting a strange smell like the stench in the mist. All the lines were damaged.

Zhang Ji was shocked.

"Let's go to the police station! To report the case."

The bald engineer shouted, and a group of people rushed outside.

"Brother Zhang, Deputy Team Leader!"

Several security guards walked over with pale faces. Only five people remained.

But all of them were tall and strong. After turning into beasts last night, they were particularly ferocious, killing everything in sight, and survived. Several security guards who had gotten in through connections were all dead.

Zhang Ji comforted them, "Everyone, hurry home and see your family..." He sighed, "If they're alive, pack your things and leave Xi Chuan Town as soon as possible. This place is no longer safe."

"What about you, Brother Zhang?"

"After I find my dad and my grandpa, I will also leave here."

The others left in a hurry.

Zhang Ji looked back at the conference room, but didn't see Su Qi's shadow. He didn't have time to delay, and strode out of Hua Tian Building.

The streets were as if they had been washed in blood, with a heavy stench.

Overturned cars were lying on their backs on the road everywhere. The car lights were still flashing, and blood-stained glass was scattered all over the ground. Bicycles and electric bikes were lying in disarray, and several telephone poles were lying on the ground, covered in blood.

The entire highway, and even Xi Chuan Town, had experienced a bloody disaster. Limbs and broken bodies were everywhere in the gardens. Many people were missing, and their relatives were crying and shouting, looking for their children or parents.

But little did they know that their parents and children had already been eaten by them or the people next to them.

The streets were in chaos.

Some were crying, some were running around like crazy, and some were waving their phones, cursing that there was no signal. With a "bang," someone smashed a car window, flipped out a stack of banknotes, and laughed, making a fortune in the chaos.

There were no police in sight, nor management personnel.

Xi Chuan Town was showing signs of chaos, and order was beginning to collapse.

Zhang Ji hurried on his way.

"I wonder how Dad is?! And Grandpa in the hospital..."

He was worried in his heart.

His dad, Zhang Zhishan, was born in the year of the Tiger, so turning into a tiger wouldn't be too weak, as he could tell from Su Qi.

But Grandpa was born in the year of the Snake and was seriously ill in bed. According to the theory that physical fitness is linked to the ferocity and strength of the transformed animal, Grandpa could only turn into a grass snake at best.

Did a grass snake have any hope of surviving?

Zhang Ji was anxious and worried. He ran to the hospital, only to find that Grandpa was gone. Only a green snakeskin the size of a chopstick was left on the bed.

As expected, it was a grass snake, and it had shed its skin once.

"Grandpa! Zhang Youfu~" Zhang Ji shouted, holding the snakeskin in his hand. The ward and corridor were in chaos. He couldn't see Grandpa's figure. Finally, he found the head of a grass snake at the door of the ward.

It had been eaten by some animal, leaving only a section of the snake head.

Zhang Ji compared the size of the snake head with the snakeskin, and they basically matched. He felt a pang in his heart, a wave of sadness, and his eyes became wet.

"Grandpa~"

Zhang Ji choked with sobs. He collected the snake head and snakeskin. This was Grandpa's remains, and he had to bury them.

He returned home with a heavy heart.

He found his father, Zhang Zhishan, kneeling on the ground, his face covered in tears. In the distance was a pool of blood.

"Dad!"

Zhang Ji breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Zhishan saw Zhang Ji, and he immediately stood up excitedly. "I heard early in the morning that many people were missing. I was worried about you and went to your company to find you, but I couldn't find you. It's good that you're here, good that you're here."

He was smiling with tears on his face.

"Your grandpa is gone. Auntie Li, who was watching TV with me last night, is also gone this morning."

His voice choked.

Zhang Ji wiped the tears from his face and comforted him, "Grandpa is lucky and has a long life ahead of him. He must be fine. It's too chaotic on the streets right now. Maybe he'll be home soon."

As he spoke, his throat choked, and he held back the urge to cry, not telling his father the truth, afraid that he wouldn't be able to accept it.

He took out Grandpa's snake head and snakeskin, intending to bury them in the garden.

Zhang Zhishan saw it and snatched it away, saying, "Why bury it? At noon, Dad will make you a spicy snake head to eat, to nourish you..."

Zhang Ji was startled and hurriedly said, "It's poisonous, you can't eat it. By the way, Auntie Li is also missing? I remember she was born in the year of the Goat, right?"

Zhang Ji changed the subject, took the snake head and snakeskin back from Zhang Zhishan's hand, and buried them in the garden.

Zhang Zhishan nodded sadly, "Yes, she was born in the year of the Goat, and I was born in the year of the Tiger. Our zodiac signs were so well-matched. Your mother died early, and she has never remarried. I know she was waiting for me. We were together all night last night, but when I woke up this morning, why was she gone?..."

Speaking to this point, he burst into tears.

Zhang Ji sighed in his heart.

Your zodiac signs may be well-matched, but you are a tiger! Auntie Li is a goat. You two were together all night last night, how could she still be alive?