I handed the driver a banknote, opened the car door, and got out.

Standing on the side of the street, I looked across and saw a high-end residential area.

Not far from me was a bus stop, where several young people were waiting for the bus while using their phones and swiping through apps.

I idled away, watching the traffic light across the street. It was red now.

Two girls next to me lowered their heads and started chatting while waiting for the bus.

"Why do we keep hearing news about rabies patients biting people recently?"

"My aunt is in the hospital, and she said the hospital wards have been packed lately..."

Their voices were neither loud nor soft, but they happened to reach my ears. I chuckled indifferently, waiting for the last few seconds of the red light countdown.

Ten seconds.

During a brief moment when one of the girls looked up, she caught sight of something. She froze for a moment, grabbed her companion's sleeve, and trembled, "Qingqing, is that a rabies patient?"

The girl called Qingqing suddenly looked up and met the gaze of the person across the street—his eyes were white, his face was purplish-blue, his body twitched, and a bloody wound on his neck oozed dark red blood.

He staggered towards them.

Qingqing stood still, stiffly saying, "Rabies patients don't look like that, do they?"

"Why do I feel like..."

The two girls exchanged glances, and a term frequently seen in movies and TV dramas came to mind: "zombies."

As if suddenly realizing, the two immediately turned around and ran.

I remained in place, waiting for the traffic light to change.

Three seconds.

"...Ayao..."

I raised my gaze, seemingly hearing someone calling my name.

Two seconds.

That "rabies patient" suddenly went mad, pouncing on a passerby and biting into his flesh.

At the same time, many similar "rabies patients" appeared on the side of the street.

They had pale, lifeless eyes, searching for prey.

Screams pierced the air above the city.

One second.

The traffic light turned from red to green, and just as I was about to take a step, someone suddenly grabbed my wrist.

The grip was strong, and for a moment, I couldn't break free.

Frowning, I looked at the person holding onto me—it was a girl.

Before I could shake her off, she immediately took my hand and ran towards the supermarket behind us.

It was early morning, and there weren't many people around. After the girl pulled me inside, she quickly closed the door and shouted to the residents who were about to dash out, "What are you running for? There are monsters outside!"

Several residents looked at each other, suddenly hesitant to move.

The girl let go of my hand, pondered for a few seconds, pulled down the curtain on the door, and rested her hand on the shelf next to the door. She turned her head and said, "Come help me, let's block the door."

As if the people had just realized, they stepped forward to help push the shelves.

After some struggle, the door was finally blocked.

I watched their actions coldly, not feeling particularly good.

A middle-aged man sat on the floor, wiping off cold sweat. "What's happening outside?"

The girl replied, "Have you seen zombie movies? It's probably something like that."

The middle-aged man's expression worsened.

Seeing that someone inside the supermarket had already called the police, the girl didn't say anything more and walked straight towards me.