BC Chapter 2

The first ray of dawn broke through the darkness that enveloped the entire Clear Water City, but it couldn’t shatter the unease in the hearts of the city’s residents. Everyone remained huddled in what they considered safe corners, filled with anxiety, like startled rabbits, not even daring to feel the warmth of the sun.

Lu Ziming hid behind a garbage bin at the back of a large Walmart supermarket in the eastern part of Clear Water City. On her back, she carried a half-full, dark green, large canvas hiking bag. In her left hand, she gripped a foot-long dagger, and in her right, she held a black travel bag. Her short bangs were completely soaked with sweat, and sweat trickled down her face. Panting heavily, she raised her hand to wipe it away and cautiously surveyed her surroundings again. After confirming that there were no suspicious creatures, she slumped against the stained wall and sat down.

It had been a close call just now. She pulled up her coat, examining the long gash in it, the edges coated with brownish but still somewhat viscous zombie blood. She licked her lips, which had become increasingly dry and chapped from days of anxiety and fear, and continued to breathe heavily like a bellows. Extending her right hand, which held the long dagger, she found it trembling uncontrollably due to excessive tension and exertion, almost unable to grip the weapon. She placed the travel bag on the ground, transferred the dagger to her left hand, and leaned her head back against the outer wall of the garbage bin, gazing at the still-blue sky.

“It’s been days since I’ve had a proper rest,” Lu Ziming thought, closing her eyes. Fatigue, weariness, and drowsiness surged over her like a tide. She felt her eyelids suddenly become incredibly heavy, making it difficult to open her eyes even a slit, but the scenery outside the slit was unclear, blurry and swaying slightly. However, reason kept reminding her: “Don’t sleep! Don’t sleep!” If she fell asleep, she might never wake up, never see tomorrow’s sun. And that wasn’t the worst outcome. The worst outcome was that she might become one of those zombies roaming Clear Water City, hunting the living to fill their bellies. Although the lives of others meant little to her, eating human flesh and brains was really disgusting, okay? Even if she lost the ability to think and reason as a human, she still didn’t want the body with her face to do such inhuman things. Just thinking about it made her shudder.

This terrifying prospect jolted her awake, and she finally opened her eyes again. Helpless, she put down the dagger in her left hand and took out a bottle of mineral water, which she had desperately stolen from the supermarket, from the travel bag. She unscrewed the cap and poured half the bottle over her head, then took a large gulp. The cool, refreshing water invigorated her. She wiped the water from her face and hair, dried them with her sleeve, and then shook her trembling right hand. “Damn it, I usually exercise, even if it’s only occasionally. I shouldn’t be this weak…” Lu Ziming thought, looking at the number three displayed on her electronic watch, indicating the day of the week. It had only been a week since the incident.

…

Clear Water City was just another ordinary third-tier city in the country, focusing on light and heavy industrial production. It had a population of over 1.05 million… The environment was fresh and pleasant, unpolluted by heavy industry. In recent years, it had been affected by smog that plagued various regions, but the level of greenery was considered high for a third-tier city. Therefore, after graduating from university, Lu Ziming didn’t choose to work in other provinces. Instead, she found an ordinary white-collar job in her hometown, Clear Water City. Firstly, she was accustomed to the local climate, and secondly, Lu Ziming herself didn’t have grand ambitions. Her life philosophy had always centered on “moderation.” Her job was to help handle urgent tasks or tasks that couldn’t be completed on time due to their volume. In other words, it was a job with minimal responsibility and without constant supervision, a typical job that Lu Ziming liked. As a result, Lu Ziming had been working steadily at this company for two years.

However, the company seemed to be experiencing some problems in its operations this year, leading to a gap in its funding chain. As soon as there were problems with funding, it meant the company would have to lay off employees. Once this news spread in secret, the entire company was thrown into a state of anxiety. The only one who might not have been worried was Lu Ziming, because she had never taken her job too seriously. Although she had always gone to work, left work, and taken holidays according to schedule, she didn’t follow the company’s rhythm but her own. She knew that if the company started layoffs, the first to be cut would be those in unimportant positions, and her current position could be considered dispensable. In the past two years, the company had offered Lu Ziming opportunities for promotion and salary increases, but Lu Ziming disliked competition and even more disliked being schemed against in secret, so she automatically withdrew from the ranks of competitors and gave up the opportunity for promotion. She clearly understood the principle of “the tallest tree catches the most wind,” so she never stood out and always chose the side with the majority of people. That was her style of handling things.

Therefore, knowing that she would definitely be among those laid off, Lu Ziming had recently started looking for a new job. As the atmosphere in the office became increasingly tense, she became the least stressed.

“Hey, do you think the company might continue to lay off people besides those who everyone knows will be cut?” In the tea room, two slightly older women took the opportunity of getting a drink to gossip in whispers. One asked the other with a nervous expression.

“It shouldn’t be possible, right? After all, it’s already reached the company’s limit. If they continue to lay off people, then the company won’t be able to operate. Look at positions like yours and mine. If they cut the two of us, how will the company function?” The other explained with a matter-of-fact expression, while leisurely sipping her hot coffee.

“I think so too. Actually, I’m quite worried about being laid off. My husband’s company hasn’t been doing well recently either. Last month, his salary was cut in half, saying it would be paid along with this month’s salary once the company’s cash flow improves. I think this month will be uncertain too…” The woman who spoke first said with a worried frown.

“Sigh, every family has its own troubles…”

Lu Ziming had been standing on the side of the doorway for a while, holding a teacup, wondering when the two women’s conversation would end so she could get some hot water, when she heard a loud explosion outside. The sound waves shook the tempered glass of the office.

“Boom!” The sound came from the direction of the front entrance downstairs.

“Ah!”

“Oh dear.” The two women inside screamed the second the explosion sounded. Lu Ziming was startled, and the hand holding the empty teacup trembled. She lost her grip on the handle, and the teacup shattered on the floor.

The people in the office were stunned by the loud noise. After a few seconds, everyone came to their senses and anxiously got up to move towards the glass, where they could see the situation downstairs.

It was a silver-gray car that had crashed into the stone wall on one side of their company’s entrance. The car’s body was scratched and battered, and the front was completely crushed. The explosion they had just heard had come from this car. It was probably because the violent impact had created sparks that ignited the leaking gasoline after rupturing the fuel tank. The front of the car was on fire, burning black.

“What happened?”

“Did the car lose control?”

“The people inside must be dead…”

“Should we go down and take a look?”

“Ask the boss.”

Everyone was talking at once, but no one moved. Then, they heard the boss shouting from behind them: “What are you all watching! Get back to work! What does it matter to you if others live or die? Just do your own jobs!”

Everyone hurriedly came back to their senses, bowed apologetically to the boss, and prepared to scatter like birds and beasts.

“The security guards went out!” Someone whispered. Everyone turned their heads to look out the window before returning to their seats. Sure enough, two security guards were cautiously approaching. They probably wanted to see if there were any survivors inside…

“The security guards will handle it. Now, hurry up and get back to work!” Although the boss himself was curious about what had happened, the important thing at the moment was not to find out what was going on but to suppress these employees who loved to watch. Every second was important during work hours. Who knew when a major client might call, so they had to be prepared at all times.

Everyone returned to their positions, and the boss went downstairs. Lu Ziming then walked out of the tea room. Based on the conversations she had just overheard, Lu Ziming had a general idea of what had happened. Although such things didn’t happen every day, it wasn’t something to gawk at. After all, someone had died, and one should respect the deceased. It was impolite to comment on someone’s death just to satisfy one’s curiosity, so Lu Ziming didn’t go to look and returned directly to her position.

“There are a woman and a child in the car!! They were rescued.” Xiao Li, the most talkative person in the office, took the opportunity to copy documents to peek out the window again.

“Really? There’s a child too??!! Let me see.” The women in the office had a surge of maternal instinct, and their curiosity was completely piqued. Once again, they ignored the boss’s warning and gathered around.

“The boss is out.”

“Oh dear, it’s a little girl…”

“She should still be alive, right?”

“Hopefully she’s okay.”

“Quick, the boss is turning around to look up.” Xiao Li, who had been watching the boss leave, guessed that the boss would check from outside to see if anyone was peeking from the window, and loudly reminded everyone before the boss turned around.