A faint scream buzzed in Li Xiaofeng's ears like a mosquito. Dragging himself to the window, he froze.
The blinding light had vanished, replaced by an eerie crimson glow bathing the streets in blood-drenched twilight. Panicked crowds fled from shambling zombies—clumsy, slow, almost comically inept. Only those paralyzed by fear fell prey, their screams cut short as decaying jaws tore into flesh.
*Most of the street's already infected…* Li Xiaofeng mused. *Once again, I'm on the winning side of history.*
Survivors now clustered beneath his apartment building. Their frantic pulses thrummed in his ears. A primal hunger surged—his crimson eyes darkened, claws twitching.
*Is this… my new instinct?*
He inhaled deeply. The scent of sweat and adrenaline intoxicated him. Every fiber of his rotting body screamed to leap, to feast.
*Jump? Splat on the pavement? Not how I want my zombie reign to end.*
His "Carnage Evolution" ability flickered in his mind. *If I infect enough, I'll grow stronger. Now's the time—while humans cower.*
*But wait—* A flicker of humanity surfaced. *I was human! Why does tearing them apart feel… thrilling?*
**ROAR!**
A guttural bellow erupted from his throat, majestic and terrifying—
**CRASH!**
—until he spun too fast, tripped over his own rigid legs, and faceplanted into the toilet.
*#$%&!* Mythical beasts stampeded through his mind. *Being dead shouldn't be this hard!*
Lurching toward the door, his fingers—stiff as chopsticks—failed to grip the knob. He body-slammed it open instead, tumbling into the hallway.
"Z-ZOMBIE!!"
A fleeing family recoiled at his twitching limbs and mangled gait. Li Xiaofeng snarled, sending them scrambling downstairs. *Chase them?* He eyed the staircase—a vertical Everest for his creaky joints.
*Plan B.*
The elevator pinged as he pressed the button with a corpse-gray palm. *Lurk. Wait. Let prey come to me.* Leaning against the doors, he inhaled the approaching scent of fear… and fresh meat.
**Floor 9.**
Inside the elevator, six survivors trembled. A child sobbed into his grandfather's shirt. "Shut UP!" snapped a college student, glasses askew, sanity fraying. "Your crying'll get us all killed!"
The old man glared but held his grandson closer. Bloodstains speckled the boy's shoes—a nightmare etched in memory.
Li Xiaofeng's jaw unhinged with a wet *click*. The doors slid open.
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