Chapter 5 The Apocalypse Draws Near
1542 Words
Luo Qingtian waved off the manager’s apology with a casual flick of her hand.“It’s fine, just make sure it never happens again.”
The hotel manager bowed deeply and promised she’d have no further trouble. Satisfied, Luo Qingtian closed her door.
Outside, the manager exhaled in relief and hurried downstairs to sort out Sun Qiang’s mess.
Once certain the coast was clear, Luo Qingtian quietly cracked her door open. She slipped past the lobby cameras, sprinted up the restaurant stairs, and ducked through the back exit. Since awakening her Hunter skills, her body had grown noticeably stronger each day—her vision sharper, her reflexes faster.
She dashed to a shadowed corner by the service door and waited. Thirty minutes later, Sun Qiang and his accomplice stomped out, still cursing as security ejected them. They climbed into their car, shooting hostile glances at the guards before peeling away.
Luo Qingtian followed at a distance, her eyes narrowing as the SUV accelerated. She drew upon her Precision Shot—three arrows launched in a single, lethal volley. The projectiles streaked toward Sun Qiang’s speeding vehicle. As he gunned the engine, he felt the rear tires slip. He yanked the brakes, fishtailing into the path of an oncoming truck.
“Crash!”
His car slammed broadside into the truck, metal screeching. At that moment, Luo Qingtian let fly another arrow—this one aimed at Sun Qiang’s head. It pierced the airbag and struck him in the temple.
She didn’t linger to confirm his fate. Turning on her heel, she raced up the stairwell, through the hotel, and onto the rooftop. Whatever happened to Sun Qiang no longer mattered—she’d neutralized the threat.
That night, she reflected on her Hunter skills. The triple-arrow volley was devastating but limited by her lack of a proper bow. Before dawn, she visited the city’s archery arena and commissioned custom recurves and longbows—plus a quiver of specialty arrows.
With the hidden realm now enriched by abundant fresh water, she also stocked live livestock—pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, and rabbits—and even built a separate pond to farm fish and seafood.
Days later, her safe house retrofit was complete. On the very last day of the third month, Luo Qingtian moved into her fortified penthouse. Underfloor heating, independent power circuits, climate control—every luxury and security measure was in place. Cameras monitored every corridor.
Qi Jian didn’t pressure her for the final payment; he simply told her to settle in and inspect at her leisure. She was grateful.
With only days left until the prophesied cataclysm, Luo Qingtian stayed home. Han Shuo and Liu Shiqi had both sought her out repeatedly, begging for explanations, but she ignored them.
September sweltered on at forty degrees Celsius. High-temperature alerts pinged on everyone’s phones. In the building’s chat group, neighbors complained about the “crazy heat,” but Luo Qingtian only smiled to herself. She knew these were the calm before the storm.
Each day she pushed herself through grueling workouts—pushing to the brink of exhaustion, then stopping only when her body refused another rep. This regimen came straight from her former-world instructor at the base.
Then one morning, the oppressive heat unexpectedly gave way to a damp, chilling fog that swallowed the neighborhood. Moisture clung to everyone who ventured outside.
In the chat group, panic spread:“Who turned on the fog machine? I can’t see two feet in front of me!”“I nearly crashed my scooter in the mist—this is dangerous!”“I was going to send my kid to school but the smell is awful. I called the teacher and canceled.”
Luo Qingtian stood at her window, watching the white haze roll in. She had her raincoat and helmet ready. She knew what followed: acid rain that would mutate seventy percent of living creatures and herald the apocalypse.
An hour later, the fog lifted—and torrential acid rain began to fall.
Pulling on her rain slicker, Luo Qingtian climbed into her SUV. She activated her Psychic Sense and drove through the downpour to the city’s largest Walmart. The lot was nearly empty—everyone else had stayed home.
She didn’t rush inside. Instead, she watched the sheets of rain, noting how people caught in it staggered, dizzy and feverish, some collapsing in the parking lot.
“This rain… it burns the skin and smells vile. Is it poisonous?”
Under her umbrella, two men dashed toward their car. One opened the driver’s door and climbed in; the other froze in the falling sheets. Luo Qingtian turned to watch as the second man’s pupils clouded over in ash-gray.
They’re evolving…
She’d witnessed this before: acid rain triggered mutation, the first visible sign appearing in the eyes. The end had truly begun.
Luo Qingtian wound down her window and hissed at the man outside, “Go—now!”
The driver glanced over but ignored her, reaching to pull his dazed partner from the car. Suddenly, the companion leapt up, sinking his teeth into the driver’s neck.
“Ahhh—help me!” the wounded man screamed, tearing at the attacker while waving desperately toward Luo Qingtian.
She sighed, rolled the window up, and shut out his screams. Outside, the parking lot erupted into chaos as the bitten man transformed—two fully turned zombies lunged at fleeing survivors.
Pulling on her helmet, Luo Qingtian slipped from the van and sprinted toward Walmart. Inside, staff and the few shoppers still there swarmed for the exits, leaving the aisles littered with dropped carts and spilled merchandise.
She pushed past the panicked crowd and headed for the rear staircase. Her goal: the row of loading-bay warehouses behind the store—over a million square feet of East China’s central depot. She’d scoped this place out on her last supply run.
Past the double-security doors that required an access card, she paused—then her mental alarm flared. Every instinct told her to duck.
A guttural zombie growl cut through the din as a Walmart uniform–clad walker burst from the shadows. In her hand materialized a Tang sword. Without hesitation, she swung, cleaving the creature’s head clean off; its body slumped at her feet.
Quickly rifling its uniform, she found an access card. The gate slid open, and she dashed inside the cavernous warehouse.
Racks of goods stretched forever: electronics, homewares, even heavy equipment—bikes, trikes, motorboats, ATVs. Activating her Psychic Sense, she confirmed the nearest corridors were clear and tore through the aisles, sweeping every pallet and shelf into her hidden vault. A few stray walkers lumbered into her path; each fell to her blade without hesitation.
Half an hour later, the entire depot—shelves and all—had vanished into her secret space. She slipped back into the empty store. The silence was eerie. Faint “clack-clack” footsteps echoed as zombies nosed about amid blood-stained floors and severed limbs.
No living soul remained. Only shambling horrors, searching for fresh prey.
Pressing close to the wall, Luo Qingtian inched toward the front doors. A few turned to face her, but she melted into shadow at every corner. As she rounded the last bend, a small horde closed in from behind.
She hesitated—there was nowhere to hide. Calmly, she brought forth a hunting bow, loosed three arrows, and watched them strike home in the lead zombies’ skulls. Then her sword reappeared. With a fierce dash, she sprinted the final stretch and beheaded a startled walker at the corner.
The clamor drew every nearby zombie. She fought through them, blade flashing, until she reached a row of storage lockers. Through a narrow c***k, she spotted a man crouched inside one unit.
“Quick—get in!” he mouthed.
Without breaking stride, Luo Qingtian vaulted into the locker. He slid the outer door shut, concealing them both. She pulled off her helmet and mouthed, “Thanks.”
He nodded, eyes wide. She set her phone to silent and tapped out instructions:
“Zombies can’t see. I’ll lure them inside. When they swarm, we slip out to the parking lot.”
He blinked, then mouthed, “How?”
Luo Qingtian rifled her backpack and produced a can of beer. He caught her meaning. Pointing up to the ceiling, then to the narrow gap they crouched behind, they synchronized a three-count nod.
“Three… two… one!”
She hurled the beer can into the darkness beyond the locker. It shattered against a metal shelf with a clang. Growls and heavy footsteps thundered toward the noise.
After a nervous minute, the man edged the locker aside. They bolted out—quiet as shadows—just as the last zombies hurtled past.
Outside, the acid rain had finally ceased. Only a handful of undead lingered in the lot. Heaving breaths, they dashed for her van—zombies in pursuit. The man hacked and slashed with the Tang sword she’d given him, his hands shaking so violently Luo Qingtian realized how terrified he was.
But fear wouldn’t save him—only decisive action would. And Luo Qingtian was ready for whatever came next.
- Writer
