Chapter 4

Standing in the corridor, Wang Wuyin was immersed in that excited emotion, taking a long time to gradually calm himself down.

Thinking of the pearl, Wang Wuyin touched his forehead, where everything was intact. He then made a few movements to check his body, finding no damage or abnormalities.

In the next moment, Wang Wuyin thought of something and rushed to the bathroom in the teaching building, looking at himself in the mirror.

The teenager in the mirror, around seventeen or eighteen years old, was in the prime of his youth. He was of average height, about 1.75 meters tall, but his body was a bit thin and frail, even thinner than most ordinary high school students. His face was not rosy, and the school uniform hung loosely on his frame, like it was draped over a skeleton.

However, although he was not muscular, the Wang Wuyin in the mirror was still a handsome young man, with large eyes, a high nose bridge, and a broad forehead that revealed a hint of wisdom. His appearance exuded a scholarly air, and perhaps due to his personality, his young face was not overly assertive, even somewhat introverted. He seemed completely different from the man who had been tempered by disaster and war thirty years later, with no trace of similarity.

Really came back... really came back...

Wang Wuyin pinched the tender face in the mirror, bared his teeth, and then tightly clenched his fists. The gaze of the young man in the mirror instantly became resolute. Since heaven had given him this opportunity, he would not let it go to waste.

--Our country will not fall...

Wang Wuyin seemed to hear Li Zhitao's last words before his sacrifice echoing in his ears.

"Ring, ring..."

The bell signaling the end of class rang at that moment.

Determined, Wang Wuyin washed his face in the bathroom and then walked out, heading toward his classroom.

The previously empty corridor of the teaching building was suddenly filled with people. When Wang Wuyin returned to the classroom, Mr. Ni, who had just started the class, was no longer there, and the day's duty student was erasing the blackboard.

"Hey, Wuyin, you're amazing. Did you have a wet dream just now? You actually knocked over the desk and made such a big noise?" As soon as Wang Wuyin returned, his desk partner, Zhu Yuxin, winked and said, "But you're in trouble. When Mr. Ni saw you not standing outside the classroom as punishment, he got even angrier and might report you to the head teacher..."

While speaking, Zhu Yuxin did not notice the strange look on Wang Wuyin's face. It wasn't until he finished that he realized Wang Wuyin was staring at him with a strange gaze, making him feel uneasy. "Wuyin, what's with that look..."

Wang Wuyin grinned and suddenly hugged Zhu Yuxin tightly, giving him a big hug that made Zhu Yuxin shout and flail his arms. "Ah, Wuyin, what are you doing?"

It was just after class, and the classroom was noisy with many students playing around. Not many people paid attention to Wang Wuyin and Zhu Yuxin, and even if they did, it was normal for boys to hug each other.

Zhu Yuxin, like Wang Wuyin, was one of the most unremarkable students in the school, with no prominent family background, average grades, and not particularly handsome. He was not assertive, had no sports talents, and just barely got by. He never attracted the attention of teachers or girls, whether in class or on the field, but he would light up when talking about anime or his favorite games.

Perhaps because they were so similar in many ways and had a lot in common, the two became best friends after meeting in junior high school, sharing almost no secrets. They were even in the same class in high school.

In his previous life, the last time Wang Wuyin saw Zhu Yuxin was at their high school graduation dinner. Soon after, Zhu Yuxin went to a university out of province, and Wang Wuyin found a job on a construction site in the mountains. Then, the global zombie outbreak began, causing chaos and the collapse of social order, leading to countless deaths. From that point on, he lost contact with Zhu Yuxin. Even after joining the military and searching everywhere, he never saw his best friend again. He knew that, given the circumstances, Zhu Yuxin was likely dead.

Recalling these "unhappened events," Wang Wuyin felt a mix of emotions. He hugged Zhu Yuxin's arm even tighter, almost choking him.

"It's great to see you!" Before Zhu Yuxin could cry for help, Wang Wuyin released his grip, took a deep breath, and his smile became radiant.

"Are you okay?" Seeing Wang Wuyin's sincere gaze, Zhu Yuxin took a few deep breaths, stared for a moment, and then touched Wang Wuyin's forehead, relieved. "You're not running a fever!"

"What's the date today?" Wang Wuyin asked seriously, still a bit dazed and wanting to confirm the exact date.

Zhu Yuxin had intended to joke with Wang Wuyin but noticed his serious expression, so he swallowed the teasing words that were about to come out. "It's May 14th. You don't remember? Even though phones are not allowed in school and you don't have one, you shouldn't forget the date, right?"

Wang Wuyin confirmed again, "Is it May 14, 2020?"

Zhu Yuxin rolled his eyes and muttered, "Of course, it's 2020. Wuyin, what's wrong with you today? You seem a bit off."

"Haha, I was a bit dizzy from sleeping and forgot!" Wang Wuyin said, recalling the date in his mind. His eyes widened. 2020, wasn't that the eve of the great changes on Earth?

At that time, the United States was building the border wall with Mexico, and a significant portion of it was already completed. According to the Americans, the border wall was to prevent illegal immigration from Mexico, but in reality, its true purpose was to stop the zombie outbreak that would soon spread from South America from entering the United States.

As a shrewd president, the current U.S. president had sensed something unusual early on and began building the high border wall as soon as he took office, taking preventive measures to keep the crisis at bay.

The U.S.-Mexico border wall was a slowly unfolding iron curtain of the era, but no one could perceive it.

On May 14, 2020, it had been exactly eight years since the first "bath salt" drug user, Rudy Eugene, appeared in Miami and attacked people, and thirteen years since the Chita incident in Russia. The appearance of the "face-eating man" had shocked the global media eight years ago. In the following year, various "face-eating maniacs" and "zombies" began to appear in countries like Brazil and Mexico in South America. The media attributed their bizarre and terrifying behavior to the drug "bath salt," and gradually, such news no longer caused a stir.

In the subsequent years, the drug "bath salt," known as "zombie drug," spread wildly across continents and countries but did not receive the necessary attention and vigilance from governments and the public. Everyone believed that such people would not appear in their own lives...

Looking at the noisy classroom, Wang Wuyin suddenly understood that the greatest crisis for humanity was not the crisis itself, but the numbness to it.