Chapter One

May 4, 2012, 2:00 PM, clear weather, light breeze

Minshan City, XL Province, Huaxia

In a residential complex on the outskirts of the city, the left unit on the sixth floor of the fourth building from the entrance.

In the bedroom, Brian Carter was bare-chested, revealing well-defined, powerful muscles, lying on his back on a bed covered with a layer of black foam board, doing sit-ups. With each intense movement, the six-pack abs on Brian Carter's stomach were clearly visible. Sweat kept sliding from his skin onto the foam board.

The bedroom wasn't big; with a bed, a computer, and a bookshelf, it already felt cramped. The curtains were tightly drawn, with only a few specks of light leaking in through the gaps. The bedroom door was tightly closed.

Brian Carter's skin was a bit pale, clearly not often exposed to sunlight. His features were decent, and he had a short buzz cut. But his eyes were especially bright. On the bedside table sat a black-capped phone, which suddenly started buzzing and vibrating violently.

Brian Carter immediately stopped exercising, reached for the phone, glanced at the caller ID, and pressed the answer button.

"Hello, is this Brian Carter? It's me, William Bennett. My dad is sick today, I'm taking him to the hospital. Could you please ask for leave for me when you go to the company? How about it? I'll treat you to a meal when I get back."

Brian Carter smiled. He had only graduated from college a year ago, scraped together enough to get into a pharmaceutical company. Having lost his parents early, he had worked hard for a year to save up enough to finally buy an apartment in a suburban complex in the city. The roughly 190-square-meter apartment cost him all his savings so far, plus most of his salary for the next ten years. Only then did he finally settle down. William Bennett was one of the fellow graduates who joined the company with him. Because of his good personality, he got along with everyone. Compared to the more introverted Brian Carter, their relationship was pretty good, and helping each other ask for leave was a common thing.

"No problem, I'm heading to the company now. Remember to bring the hospital admission certificate tomorrow."

"Sure, I'll... ah!!!"

Suddenly, a scream came from the phone, so loud it made Brian Carter's ears ring. His heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly asked, "William Bennett! What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Ah!! No! Dad!! Don't bite me!!... Ah..." William Bennett's terrified screams kept coming from the phone, growing fainter and fainter, as if he was getting farther from the phone.

A strange chewing sound came clearly from the phone, accompanied by occasional growls. It sounded like some kind of beast devouring its prey.

Brian Carter swallowed hard. William Bennett's screams continued on the phone, as if he had encountered something extremely terrifying.

"William Bennett!! Are you still there? Do you need me to call the police?"

"Roar!!" A sudden howl burst from the phone, startling Brian Carter.

"Help... help..." William Bennett seemed to be calling for help, but suddenly his voice dropped and then disappeared completely.

Brian Carter decisively hung up and immediately dialed 110.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

"Damn!!"

Brian Carter was furious. So much for 24/7 service—when it really matters, it's useless. He slammed down the phone, rushed to the landline by the computer, and quickly dialed 110, but was met again with the same computer message: unable to connect.

"This is a matter of life and death. No, I have to go to the nearby police station." Although William Bennett wasn't that close to him, it was still a human life. Even with Brian Carter's gloomy and introverted nature, he couldn't just watch a familiar colleague die like that.

He quickly got dressed, fastened his belt, grabbed his phone, and was about to rush to the door.

"Ah!"

Another scream.

Brian Bennett froze. The sound came from outside the window. He immediately walked over and pulled open the curtains. Downstairs, the usually sparse residents of the complex were running around in panic.

"What's going on now?" Brian Bennett opened the window and leaned out.

He clearly saw that in the small shop across the street, the usually skinny, bald old man seemed to have turned into a machine, eyes red, mouth wide open, lunging at the fleeing crowd with astonishing speed.

Countless people like the bald old man rushed out from all directions. Some, upon catching someone, started biting; those who didn't catch anyone howled madly and continued chasing others.

Screams, cries, and shouts for help mixed together. The once quiet complex was instantly thrown into chaos.

"Bang!... Ah!! Don't come over! No!!"

Brian Bennett suddenly looked up and saw on the fifth-floor balcony of the building opposite, a middle-aged woman was backing away in panic. The bang just now was the sound of a flowerpot being knocked off the balcony and falling to the ground.