Dark Apocalypse

Episode 19

Refugee base established by the military



According to Ling Ao's plan, the four of them could navigate the small boat along the river to reach the southeastern part of the city. There, before their fuel ran out, they would find a suitable place to land and then devise a way to escape the city.

Adam had gleaned some insight from Ling Ao and the mother-daughter duo regarding the transformation of the world during his period of unconsciousness.

Everything had unfolded so abruptly that no one had time to react before the world had changed entirely. An unknown virus had erupted suddenly; perhaps it wasn't a virus at all, but whatever it was, it was accepted as such until the truth was revealed.

This mysterious virus spread with alarming swiftness, faster than any infectious disease known to history, even more terrifying than the plagues of the past.

No one understood how it spread—perhaps through the air—but in a matter of days, countless individuals began to feverishly fall unconscious, with no remedy to be found.

Then, in quick succession, death followed. If it had ended there, it wouldn't have been the worst outcome; it might have been comparable to the Black Death, which claimed many lives due to the misguided extermination of cats during the Middle Ages, leading to a rampant rat population.

However, the real horror lay in what happened next: those who had suddenly succumbed to illness and death inexplicably rose again. Except for those who had been cremated, all the others who remained in their physical form came back to life.

Terrifying? Ghostly?

These resurrected individuals began to attack the living like zombies, impervious to death!

Those attacked would soon die as well, only to rise again and continue the onslaught on the living. This created a vicious cycle that was impossible to halt or guard against.

Incinerating the corpses seemed to be the best solution, but by the time this realization dawned, it was far too late.

The dead were rising to kill the living, and those who were slain also came back to hunt the living! The speed of this escalation quickly surpassed the government's ability to control the situation.

Chaos engulfed the city, everything descended into disorder; men, women, the elderly, and children alike fled for their lives. They did not know what they were fleeing from or where they were running to.

The only consensus was to stay far away from those risen from the dead!

Police and military forces were deployed, but to no avail. Ultimately, even the military disbanded, and government officials fled in haste, utterly abandoning the populace.

Thus, the entire city transformed into the hellscape of zombies that Adam now beheld upon awakening.

"How many people are still alive?" Adam asked after hearing a brief account of the situation.

As an aside, Adam explained to Ling Ao and the others that he was a reclusive individual who rarely ventured outside, often isolating himself in his room for days, weeks, even a month without contact with the outside world. When he finally decided to step out, he discovered the entire city had transformed.

Though this explanation had its flaws, it was not implausible; indeed, there were those who lived such lives of seclusion. Furthermore, Adam appeared frail and dejected, which lent credence to his story.

"I'm not sure, as everything was too chaotic at the time. Everyone was fleeing for their lives, and in the end, we couldn't ascertain how many survived," Ling Ao replied, shaking his head, noting that he had only managed to protect Miao Yun Yao and her mother to the best of his abilities.

"Based on the current state of the city, it's likely that very few remain alive. Even if some have survived, they are probably hiding away, not knowing what to do..."

Adam believed that Miao Yun Yao possessed perhaps the strongest mental fortitude among the three, though she lacked the survival skills of Ling Ao, a former soldier. Nonetheless, she remained the calmest and most collected of them all.

"Hiding?" Adam pondered, stroking his chin. From what he had experienced over the past couple of days, he had gathered a general sense of the city's layout. While it was possible to seek refuge behind buildings, without supplies, one could only evade the zombies for so long before succumbing to hunger.

Food and fresh water were of utmost importance. Thus, while one could hide for a time, such a strategy was not sustainable in the long run.

Ling Ao fully concurred with Adam's assessment. It was precisely this concern that prompted him to take the significant risk of escaping the city with Miao Yun Yao and her mother.

"Why don't we wait for the government to send troops to clear out the zombies? Surely they wouldn't abandon us!"

This naïve notion could only have come from the seemingly simple-minded young lady, Shangguan Ya.

The government? Adam sneered internally; he held no fondness for the government. His personal experiences had long extinguished any hope he had for the so-called authorities.

Moreover, based on Ling Ao's earlier statements, the calamity was not confined to their city alone; many places had erupted simultaneously. It was uncertain whether the government could even maintain control or muster enough resources.

Seeking help? Don't be ridiculous...

"Xiao Ya, be quiet!" Miao Yun Yao glared at her naïve daughter before looking at Ling Ao. "Ling Ao, based on what was broadcasted at the outset of the chaos, even if we manage to leave the city, there may be no other safe place to go. Other cities are likely experiencing similar conditions. What are your plans?"

Indeed, if every place was as dire as this, what good would it do to escape the city?

Adam was equally curious about this; although his destination lay to the east, at the university he once attended, after addressing his personal matters there, he needed to chart his future course of action.

"We should go here!" Ling Ao, evidently having made plans long before, immediately spread a map before everyone and pointed out a location.

Adam's eyes lit up; the place Ling Ao indicated was none other than the university he intended to visit!

"This place?" Miao Yun Yao furrowed her brow, looking at Ling Ao in confusion.

"Do you remember that there was still a broadcast with information for some time after the city descended into chaos?" Ling Ao smiled.

"You mean... the government might set up a survivor base there?" Miao Yun Yao quickly grasped the implication.

Adam also understood from Ling Ao that the government and military, having given up on the city, had repeatedly broadcast messages stating they would establish safe zones outside the city for any survivors willing to make the journey.

But why would it be at the university he once attended?