Chapter 1: Birthday Gift

Xiao Guang set down the beginner’s driving manual and glanced out at the gray, overcast sky. Five hundred kilometers was the straight-line distance home on the map, but now it felt impossibly far away.

Hungry, he looked at the scattered food bags in the living room. He casually grabbed a bag of chips, poured some into his mouth. They were salty, and he was out of supplies.

This was the third month since the ancient virus outbreak. If nothing changed, he was probably the last pure human in this building. The broadcast, still functional earlier, had said as much. Those infected with the ancient virus were now more like half-zombies. Xiao Guang didn’t know the exact classification, but he understood if he ever became like that, death would be preferable.

At seventeen, he was an overseas student who had exploited the leniency given to minors, using his student status to enroll at Seoul University. That was the entire reason Xiao Guang found himself here.

Today was his birthday. Turning eighteen marked his passage into adulthood. He decided to get himself a small cake—something modest. Such a day deserved a semblance of ceremony.

He picked up the leather jacket by the door, put it on, then looked at his arm and began wrapping it with clear tape. This was no place for carelessness; multiple layers ensured those completely mad creatures wouldn’t bite through.

His pants were cargo style, with many pockets. He taped the pant legs tightly, moved them around a bit, then put on standard high-waisted military boots, tying the laces and taping them as well. Last time, his shoelace had caught on a metal railing while running away, nearly costing him his life. Lessons had to be remembered.

By the door, a baseball bat hung, thick at one end with two pieces of grip tape wrapped around it, stained dark red. Xiao Guang gave it a tug; it was sturdy.

He placed a kitchen knife from the nearby table into the outer pocket of his backpack, then double-checked his gear: flashlight, a compressed ration bar, a roll of bandages, a long-handled screwdriver, and a bottle of water.

Putting on his motorcycle helmet, this was his full set of equipment for going out. Backpack on his back, baseball bat in hand, he knocked on the door. An indistinct growl came from outside. Smiling faintly, Xiao Guang yanked the door open and swung the bat.

The sound was muffled, much like hitting a watermelon. The landlord, weighing over two hundred pounds, started bleeding profusely from his head again. Xiao Guang glanced over; this time he’d struck the nose, which was now completely collapsed, making the landlord’s face even more grotesque. Last time, a flying tooth had left his gums bare, giving him a ridiculous appearance.

The landlord’s swollen, disfigured face looked at Xiao Guang, his bloodshot eyes rolling wildly. Dragging two trails of blood from his nostrils, he turned and fled.

Xiao Guang locked the door behind him, clutching the bat as he headed to the stairwell. He nodded to a young woman sitting in the corridor. “SorryI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.