After the darkness!

Lin Yijue braced his hands on his knees, breathing heavily, his body trembling uncontrollably, the agonizing screams echoing behind him.

For a moment, the fear in my heart even overwhelmed the burning sensation in my body.

He turned around and looked behind him.

The alley was pitch black, with no light and nothing at all.

It's very quiet.

Outside the alley, pedestrians came and went on the street, couples laughed and played, and children chased and ran, as if the terrifying scene in the alley just now was just an absurd nightmare.

But the lingering smell of rust in his nostrils and the cold sweat seeping from his back reminded him that it had all really happened.

Lin Yijue straightened up, swallowed hard, and slowly backed away from the alley entrance.

Occasionally, someone in the crowd would cast a strange glance at him, probably frightened by his pale face and flustered expression.

He didn't know what it was, but without a doubt, it wasn't human.

Could it be an alien monster? Or some kind of strange beast?

This is not impossible. Although the high walls are sturdy and the defenses are layered, there are bound to be loopholes.

As for that homeless man... he must be dead, right?

Lin Yijue's throat felt inexplicably dry.

If the other person hadn't acted as a stepping stone, he would definitely have been caught up.

He would definitely fight back then, but could he defeat that monster?

He recalled the dark figure that had just been leaping and bounding through the alley, its limbs touching the ground, but he had no answer.

The night breeze carried the aroma of barbecue stalls from the street.

Lin Yijue suddenly covered his mouth and nose—among the aroma of cumin and charcoal, he could clearly detect a faint smell of blood.

Memories suddenly surged: the bloodstains of the black cat in the alley and the rusty smell of the shadowy figure transformed into a sweet nectar in my mind, causing my stomach to convulse violently.

The strange disease, which had been dormant, suddenly erupted as if it had been stimulated by something.

He had to hold onto the traffic lights on the side of the road to keep his balance.

Several middle school students ran past, laughing and playing. The hair of a girl with a ponytail brushed against the back of his hand. In that instant, he seemed to clearly hear the sound of blood flowing in her veins.

"Young man, what's wrong? Your face is as white as a sheet of paper." An old man carrying a small stool stopped and asked kindly as he adjusted his reading glasses.

Lin Yijue looked at the other person, his gaze falling on the face covered with age spots, and a metallic taste rose in his throat again.

He shook his head, said thank you, and turned to leave.

Not long after, as the adrenaline began to wear off, the fatigue from the strenuous run started to overwhelm me.

The burning sensation and emptiness in my body made me feel both hungry and sleepy.

Lin Yijue rubbed his face, took a few deep breaths, looked up at his surroundings, and checked the time.

I just finished running the distance that used to take more than ten minutes in just five minutes.

If all goes well, he should be home in about ten more minutes.

Thinking of this, Lin Yijue's tense mood eased a lot, and he finally had time to recall his state just now.

"Something seemed off just now. The hunger inside my body actually overcame the pain of the insect bites, and even provided me with strength at a crucial moment."

Lin Yijue looked down at his stomach.

He had initially thought that his strange illness only brought harm and no benefit. But now, things seemed a little different.

Moreover, looking back now, whether in the alley or outside the alley entrance, he didn't feel uncomfortable at all with the smell of blood. On the contrary, he subconsciously found it very pleasant and was somewhat intoxicated by its fragrance.

It's like a dessert lover suddenly seeing a few small cakes.

Thinking back to the strange physical reaction he had experienced after close contact with the stranger, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Maybe it's just my imagination. It's been so long, at home, at school, in clubs, I've interacted with people, and I've acted exactly like a normal person," he muttered to himself, trying to convince himself.

He could actually accept eating raw meat, because compared to survival, this quirk was nothing.

In his previous life, he had seen even more outrageous things on Douyin, such as eating sand and eating snakes.

But he's worried that eating raw meat might just be an early symptom, and what if the condition worsens...

Without giving it much thought, Lin Yijue walked slowly for a while until his strength had recovered, then he began to pick up the pace. He still wanted to get home in time for dinner.

"I can't go any further down this road, and I can't take a taxi anymore. Besides, I need more power..."

He rubbed his hair. Thanks to the high walls, going to school, coming home from school, and attending club tutoring, aside from the college entrance exam and vocational high school in the countryside, such a peaceful life gave him an illusion, an illusion that this was still the peaceful era of his previous life.

But what just happened shattered everything.

There really was a monster; it killed someone in just a few moments.

Even more outrageous is that after the killing, even though they were only a hundred meters apart, the vast majority of people continued to eat and drink as usual, completely unaffected.

This is terrifying. This is any city from his previous life; it could never have happened here.

So... the end times are still the end times.

Lin Yijue tightened his clothes and quickened his pace.

Clang!

Suddenly, a clap of thunder sounded, followed by lightning illuminating the sky.

The wind picked up in less than half a minute, rustling the leaves of the small trees by the roadside.

Lin Yijue looked up and saw that it had started to rain, with raindrops streaming down the streetlights.

He shrank his neck and quickened his pace as he ran towards the neighborhood convenience store.

As we learned in history class, the weather becomes extremely changeable before the onset of the cold season.

There are many instances where the sun shines brightly in the morning, but a torrential downpour occurs at noon.

The convenience store sign flickered in and out of the rain. He had just touched the doorknob when a chill suddenly ran down the back of his neck.

"Um??"

He smelled a peculiar odor and instinctively turned around, only to see his own shadow stretched long on the flooded road behind him, and nothing else.

"Are you crazy?!"

A shrill female voice rang in his ears. Lin Yijue then realized he had bumped into someone—a girl in a beige dress, holding a file folder, stood on the steps, her mascara smudged by the rain, two black streaks, glaring at him.

"Are you blind? The reports I just printed are all wet!" The girl had long hair, a small face, and looked at her with disgust.

"I...I'm sorry." Lin Yijue took a half step back, raindrops dripping from his hair into his collar.

Just as he was about to move aside, a sweet, metallic smell suddenly wafted into his nostrils. It wasn't the smell of rain; it was the smell of blood.

It was very faint, mixed in with the damp air, like diluted strawberry jam. He stared at the file folder in the girl's arms—rainwater was dripping from the opening, not transparent, but dark red.

"You...is your file folder bleeding?" he blurted out.

The girl's expression instantly twisted: "Are you crazy? This is coffee! I spilled the iced Americano I bought this morning!" She shook the file bag violently, and a few drops of liquid splashed onto Lin Yijue's hand.

He brought it closer to his eyes—it was red, with tiny particles, like congealed blood.

Sure enough, a hint of coffee aroma emerged from the bloody smell.

Then why is there a bloody smell? ...

Suddenly, a "clang" sound came from the back alley.

It was the sound of a metal trash can tipping over.

Thinking of this, Lin Yijue seemed to realize something, and turned around again.

In the drizzling rain, a figure stood at the crossroads.

We were less than ten meters away from them!