Chapter 1: The Beginning

  December 30, 2012, Huaxia Country Jiangnan Province K City suburbs.

  "Ah...my head is so swollen and painful." Liang Jing slowly came to, feeling like her head was going to burst from the pain.

  "Am I reinstalling the game client again? Bored wiping the old bean curd display screen, it seems to have been electrocuted at some point? Then everything went black. Take a sip of pure water and clear my head."

  "It's done!" I couldn't help but exclaim, only to see that the computer monitor, host and even speakers, whether made of plastic or metal, had all been reduced to piles of black blocks. When I picked one up and squeezed it lightly, a cloud of gray dust puffed out and turned into flying ash.

  Liang Jing was stunned, his mind went blank. What's going on? Even if there was a fire, it wouldn't be possible to be so thorough, would it? The metal parts were completely carbonized, what kind of high temperature could achieve this?

  But I've been in close contact with the screen all along!

  Liang Jing's face changed, and he quickly checked himself all over his body. He took off his pants to take a look, and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, everything was healthy and lively - this was indeed a precious treasure!

  Half a response, the full-body examination is complete. Except for some dry and dirty marks on the skin, which are crumbling to dust when touched, and a slight discomfort in the head, nothing else seems out of place.

  This thing is too eerie and terrifying, it's no longer a matter of how much the computer cost or heartache, besides this was just a 500RMB piece of junk, but think about what kind of power could completely carbonize and destroy all the metal inside the computer, what happened?

  "Ah... it hurts, no, save me!!"

  Just as Liang Jing was pondering what was going on, a sharp and painful scream came from outside.

  What a pity it's a boy!

  The terrified screams of Hades seemed to use up all his strength, his vocal cords torn apart without care, with a kind of piercing power that seemed to be able to shatter stone layers. It looked like something had happened that made him absolutely horrified and desperate.

  Qingshui Bay is a village-level unit, located in the suburbs of K City, more than 20 kilometers away. There is only one street inside, about two or three hundred meters long, with fewer than 20 shops, including restaurants, breakfast shops, supermarkets and internet cafes.

  Due to the continuous development of coastal industries moving inland, many factories have been built around the surrounding areas, bringing a large number of migrant workers.

  The buildings in Qing Shui Bay are all newly planned and built, with similar styles, neatly arranged horizontally and vertically. Each suite covers an area of over 200 square meters, divided into a two-and-a-half-story main building and a front yard.

  Except for the large iron gate at the entrance of the courtyard and a toilet, washbasin and washing platform on one side, there are small tile-roofed houses built around the perimeter of the courtyard, most of which are rented out to migrant workers. Of course, the main building may also be rented out depending on the owner's personal situation. Liang Jing currently lives in the second floor of the main building.

  In Liang Jing's impression, there are hundreds of migrant workers living here, working day and night shifts, relatively quiet, never had such a tragic and high-pitched sound, this is an unusual situation!

  At this time, Liang Jing's mind rose with a bad premonition, reflexively looking towards the room door to check if it was locked, okay, maybe it was just a side effect of watching too many web series.

  Today is December 31, 2012 (fake, hehe), as a member of the super loser group living in China, Liang Jing has always looked forward to the arrival of doomsday, because he is very dissatisfied with the current situation, he needs change, even if it means risking his life and shedding blood.

  Especially after reading a news report recently, Indonesia's daily living expenses are less than $2, and the "poor population" accounts for 49%. Liang Jing felt that he was indeed a super loser. Even if the exchange rate is more than 6RMB, even if there are many losers around him who are similar to him, but when he thinks about being in the same situation as the 49% of poor people in the impoverished country mentioned in the news report, his heart feels even more depressed and unfair.

  A man of medium build was running wildly in the street, flailing his arms and slapping at something around him. Several large "birds" about the size of a grown man's fist were swirling around him. The whole scene looked like a bear that had stolen honey being chased by bees. As he passed by, he knocked over many shop tables and chairs, as well as flowerpots in front of houses, leaving a trail of destruction behind him.

  "What's going on?"

  "Humming... Humming..."

  Liang Jing's eyes widened, these birds were making a sound similar to mosquitoes, but much louder and more ear-piercing, it could be heard from far away and through the window glass. When she finally saw what they were, Liang Jing was also stunned, these "birds" were actually mosquitoes, mutated mosquitoes!

  Its body is roughly the size of a grown man's fist, and from afar, one can vaguely make out the eerie, dark red, sucker-like mouthparts that occasionally peck at the man before making strategic retreats. Quick and agile, accompanied by deafening crashes, it somehow manages to evade the man's grasp.

  Looking at the man again, the places where he was bitten by the mutated mosquitoes had strangely swollen up, with large lumps the size of a lunchbox, and in the middle of the lumps, the indentation from the mosquito bites still flowed with thin streams of bright red blood. Meanwhile, the man continued to stumble around aimlessly, his cries growing hoarser and hoarser, making it clear to anyone who heard them that they were filled with pain and despair.

  As if attracted by the bloody smell, in a short while, more than 20 mutated mosquitoes of the same size surrounded the man. Despite his desperate struggle and counterattack, he was eventually bitten by the mutated mosquitoes, swelling into large packages. Then, his body slowly withered away, becoming emaciated, and he fell to the ground, half-unconscious. His hands twitched involuntarily, stopping and starting again, his skin dry and cracked, his lips parched.

  In the end, only a few flattened mutant mosquitoes and a human corpse were left on the ground.

  Watching this terrifying and hair-raising scene unfold right before her eyes, rather than on TV or in a movie, Liang Jing's legs were uncontrollably trembling with fear.

  These mosquitoes have mutated to suck too much blood, even sucking out the blood and cellular fluid from people's internal organs, it's too frightening, too troublesome, too ferocious!

  Have these mosquitoes sucked in some radioactive substance and mutated? Or has the end of the world come and caused mutations to occur?

  What should I do? Although he thought himself much stronger than the average person, in the current situation, if he were to fight against so many variant mosquitoes, he would still be the one getting eaten. Those variant mosquitoes might even get excited thinking this was an even sweeter food.

  If you can confirm that you want to go out, food is a problem that must be solved first.

  Take a deep breath, clench fists with both hands, and forcibly suppress the fear in his heart. He continues to quietly observe the strange changes around him, he needs more understanding.

  The streets were in chaos, like a boiling pot of porridge, with people suddenly bursting into madness and rushing wildly onto the streets. Tables, chairs, flower pots were scattered all over the place, broken cloth and plastic bags flying everywhere, and black red polluted blood flowing, with bloodstains on the streets. Internet cafes, supermarkets, restaurants were filled with wailing and howling, leaving behind many gruesome and terrifying corpses, some dehydrated and emaciated, others torn to shreds.

  Even Liang Jing saw a giant dog as tall as 1.5 meters, almost as tall as a person!

  Its eyes glowed with a deep red light that made one's heart palpitate, its entire body hair turned grayish-yellow and became as thick as steel needles. Upon closer inspection, the thick steel-like scales on its body flowed with tiny cold hard lights. It was devouring a human corpse, having torn open a large hole in the abdomen, its terrifying mouth full of bloody intestines, pulling them out from the gaping wound with an equally terrifying and bloodthirsty savagery.

  The mutated mosquitoes seem to know they're better off leaving each other alone and are living in harmony.

  A mosquito, seemingly full and content, with a slightly swollen body, staggered through the air like a drunkard, accidentally flying into a gigantic spider web, with a diameter of at least 10 meters, which was almost invisible to the naked eye. Before it could react, it struggled in vain, only to see a huge spider, its eyes shining with excitement, rushing towards it with eight long legs, its pedipalps waving to immobilize its prey. Two nearly foot-long dark fangs, tipped with yellowish-white glow, devoured the succulent catch.

  As I look around, many buildings nearby are on fire, and through the windows, you can smell the air filled with the stench of burning. The whole world seems eerily quiet yet noisy at the same time. There is no sound of vehicles honking, no music, no TV noise. All that's left is the wailing of humans and the instinctual howling of animals.

  What's going on? If it weren't for the surroundings remaining unchanged, Liang Jing would have thought this wasn't even Earth.

  Liáng Jìng took a deep breath, calming himself down, but felt the air was very refreshing, and could even feel the joy in his abdomen. Looking up at the sky, it was very clear, and even the black smoke that was burning and spreading couldn't cover up the blue sky.

  There is no murky air, and the sky is no longer gloomy due to the dust of environmental damage caused by too much industrial waste gas. The whole world looks like it has been washed once.

  "Is this the world's doomsday that the fable says? If so, it would be quite a good look!" Although there is no more evidence, but in Liang Jing's heart, he really wants the end of the world to come, that is what he likes, embracing freedom and relieving all kinds of repression.

  "Humming..."

  "Damn, there are mutant mosquitoes inside the house too." Liang Jing's face changed, and he saw that inside the mosquito net, there were indeed two fist-sized mosquitoes. Compared to those outside, it was unclear whether they had evolved poorly or hadn't absorbed enough nutrients, as they appeared slightly smaller and thinner, with their thin gray wings vibrating rapidly to produce a deafening hum.

  It seems that the tempting food smell emanating from Liang Jing's body is attracting them to fly over, colliding with the mosquito net and forming a tent-like bulge - really stupid.

  He didn't dare to be slow, Liang Jing quickly approached and pulled the mosquito net from the frame onto the bed, his hands quick and agile as he wrapped up the mosquitoes inside, under his control they were like fish in a net, no matter how hard they struggled they couldn't get out. Although the quality of the mosquito net was not very good, it was more than enough to trap two mosquitoes under Liang Jing's grasp for the time being.

  "Ugh......" I didn't dare to get my hand too close, the terror of these mosquitoes was just seen earlier, being bitten and sucking out a lot of blood is still a minor matter, let alone the toxins they carry after mutation, just the swelling of the package as big as a lunch box is already frightening enough, and it also comes with bleeding properties.

  "Go die..."

  Bang! Bang!

  Looking at the two mutated mosquitoes still buzzing and struggling inside the mosquito net, Liang Jing's eyes flashed with a hint of ruthlessness. Without finding any weapons, he wore slippers on his right foot and heavily stomped on the mutated mosquitoes. The consequences were predictable, and in the face of Liang Jing's robust physique, they were directly trampled to death.

  At this time, the two mosquitoes' heads and thoraxes had been flattened, their abdomens were directly exploded, leaving only their long legs struggling weakly, gradually losing their voices, death.

  Almost at the same moment, a bright white dagger and a vermilion coin burst out of the bodies of two mutated mosquitoes and fell near the corpses. Two clusters of white spiritual light that were barely visible to the naked eye also flew out of the mosquitoes' bodies and entered Liang Jing's body.

  In an instant, a white light poured into his body, and Liang Jing's body and mind trembled, as if a bucket of clear water was poured from head to toe, refreshing.