49 Apocalypse Rules

After the sixth rule began, crowds started pouring out of the various Gathering Points.

The official evacuation hadn’t even started, yet many people were already looking for their own way out.

If the virus only spread through the air, people might still have gathered in shelters. But since it could also be transmitted through blood, congregating in one place was far more dangerous.

Especially since the Infected would die from a violent hemorrhage within 24 hours. If you were unlucky enough to get splattered by someone else’s blood and become infected yourself, it would be a truly undeserved disaster.

Even if you didn’t come into contact with an Infected’s blood, would their hemorrhaging death create more of the virus? This was another major concern.

Therefore, people decided to seek shelter separately, and many planned to leave the city altogether.

Some people who had a basic understanding of viruses knew that an airborne virus, while seemingly terrifying, didn’t necessarily guarantee a 100% infection rate.

After all, viruses like certain types of flu were airborne, yet not everyone caught them.

It was related to the concentration of the virus in the air. Some believed this new rule might be similar to the snowstorm disaster—that in places with fewer people, the virus would be less concentrated in the air, lowering the probability of infection.

This idea spread across the internet almost instantly. Even though the government issued a special announcement stating that the virus was still under urgent collection and study with no conclusions yet, people firmly clung to the belief that "fewer people means less virus in the air."

And so, after experiencing a massive influx of people, major cities were now witnessing an equally staggering exodus.

Vast numbers of people packed food and drove out of the city in their own cars or shared vehicles.

Others chose to go to remote parts of the city, holing up in abandoned houses and sealing the doors, hoping they’d be lucky enough to survive the next half-month without getting infected.

Besides those who chose to leave, a portion of the population chose to stay in the Gathering Points.

Some of them were determined to wait for official rescue.

Others stayed because they were terrified of surviving on their own.

In their view, heading to less populated areas might be the right move, but even if it was, they didn’t dare stray from the crowd. The sense of security a crowd provided was even more important to them than a higher chance of survival.

Then there was the group that had completely given up. They stayed in the Gathering Points, eating and drinking as they pleased, not taking the virus seriously at all.

If they didn’t get infected, great. If they did, it was just death. Besides, there were other people in the Gathering Point. If they were going to get infected, they wouldn’t be the only one. They’d have company on the road to the Yellow Springs, so they wouldn’t have to die alone.

Thus, based on different beliefs and choices, the city’s population began to split.

The number of people who chose to stay in the Gathering Points and those who chose to leave in search of survival was roughly half and half.

But even with only half the population choosing to leave, it was enough to fill the city with the ceaseless blare of car horns.

With millions, even tens of millions, of people trying to flee the city, one could only imagine how congested the roads would become.

"HONK! HONK! HOOONK—"

"Move it, you guys up front!"

"It’s a total standstill!"

On the highway leading out of North Avenue, a man slammed his hand on the horn and slapped the steering wheel, but it was completely useless. The driver in front of him was doing the exact same thing, urging the car ahead of them to move.

The man wanted to get out of the car to see how far the traffic jam stretched, but when his hand touched the door handle, he snatched it back as if he’d been shocked.

"No, can’t... I can’t go out. There’s a virus in the air..."

Even though the man was well aware his car wasn’t airtight, he found a psychological comfort in thinking that staying inside an enclosed space like a car was safer.

"HOOONK—"

The incessant honking from all sides grated on the man’s nerves, making him extremely agitated.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep drag and exhaling to ease his anxiety.

Although most people in this day and age vaped e-cigarettes with customizable flavors, he was a steadfast traditionalist who always bought paper cigarettes by the pack. He believed life was already saturated with enough digital things. There should be room for some non-digital products.

"Haaaah..."

He finished one and immediately lit another.

Afraid of the virus, the man didn’t dare open his windows, so the smoke swirled and filled the car’s interior.

He quickly finished the second one. Just as he was about to light a third, the sound of a crash and screams erupted from not far ahead.

"What’s going on?!"

He quickly sat up straight and looked ahead. A car not far in front of him seemed to have lost control, lurching forward and backward erratically, hitting the vehicles in front and behind it several times.

The screams seemed to be coming from the owner of the car behind the out-of-control one—a middle-aged man in a mask who had gotten out of his vehicle. He had apparently gotten out to confront the other driver, but after seeing something, he shrieked and scrambled back into his car, reversing and causing a chain reaction of collisions.

While the man was still wondering what was happening, the door of the now-stopped, out-of-control car opened, and a figure stumbled out.

A single glance was all it took for the man’s face to contort with terror.

Blood was pouring from the driver’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, dripping onto his clothes and the ground. But he seemed to still be conscious, struggling to open his mouth and cry out, "Help... help me..."

It was one of the Infected!

"HONK HONK!"

"CRUNCH—!"

The surrounding cars, which had been waiting with their engines off, all started up at once. Horns blared as everyone tried to get away from the figure. But they were completely boxed in, with no room to maneuver. Their only option was to slam on the gas and try to ram their way past other cars.

The scene descended into chaos. The man, still holding his third cigarette, watched through his windshield as the Infected struggled for a dozen or so seconds before, with a sudden SPLAT, his entire body erupted in a spray of blood. He collapsed to the ground, dead.

"Fuck!"

The man immediately yanked his steering wheel, stomped on the gas, and, just like everyone else, rammed into other cars, trying to get away from the hemorrhaging Infected as quickly as possible.

’Who knows if the virus from his body will flood the air now that he’s burst? The infection rate for anyone nearby has to be higher than anywhere else, right?!’

Those who saw what happened tried to drive away; those who didn’t saw others fleeing and followed suit. In an instant, the entire road became a scene of utter chaos.

...

Li Mei Hotel.

This Gathering Point, where Guan Tong had briefly stayed, now had a stable group of residents after the snowstorm disaster rule.

Most were long-term residents. Newcomers who wished to join were required by the old residents to participate in the mutual aid sharing session held every morning.

When Guan Tong was there, this sharing session hadn’t been mandatory. However, during the snowstorm disaster, the session’s founder, Feng, died from a high fever. After that rule ended, the long-term residents unanimously decided that participation was now mandatory for everyone living there.

Now, an hour after the sixth rule, [Deadly Blood Plague], was announced, all the residents of the Li Mei Hotel were gathered in the lobby, sitting together in a circle.

"We don’t need to be afraid. As long as our hearts are firm, we can definitely get through this."

"That’s right, the rules can’t beat us. As long as we’re united, any virus is just an illusion; it can’t invade our bodies."

Someone suggested, "Let’s all sing our anthem!"

The suggestion was met with immediate approval. Everyone joined hands and began to sing their anthem, "Tomorrow Will Be Better."

"Wings of hope, taking flight."

"Wishes we long for, shining bright."

"Let’s all shout together, tomorrow will be better~"

The voices of over a hundred people echoed through the hotel lobby, and warm smiles graced everyone’s faces.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!"

An urgent knocking came from the door. Looking through the window, they could see personnel in Emergency Management Bureau uniforms and virus-protection face shields.

After the hotel’s glass doors were destroyed during the snowstorm, the residents had replaced them with a large wooden door, leaving only a small window for communication and receiving items.

The leader of the Gathering Point got up, walked to the window, and asked, "Can I help you?"

"We’re from the Emergency Management Bureau. We’re under orders to deliver protective equipment to all the Gathering Points." The worker asked, "How many people do you have in this Gathering Point?"

The leader shook his head. "We don’t need any protective equipment. We are a group of pure-hearted people. Singing our anthem is enough to ward off the plague."

The worker outside the window was stunned, thinking he must have misheard.

"What did you say?!"

"I said we don’t need it. Give the equipment to those with weak minds; they might have a use for it."

The worker said angrily, "Who are you! What right do you have to refuse equipment on behalf of everyone else?"

"I am the leader of this Gathering Point. And I’m not speaking for anyone else, because everyone here feels the same way I do."

"That’s right, we don’t need that stuff."

"Go on, take it away!"

"Our anthem can ward off the virus. Look, there are over a hundred of us here, and not a single Infected has appeared."

Other residents crowded the window, chiming in.

The few people still sitting on the floor showed faint signs of wavering. They undoubtedly wanted the protective equipment, but faced with the firm attitude of the majority, they were swept up in the moment and didn’t dare reveal their true thoughts.

Seeing this, the worker outside the window was at a loss for words. Another worker stepped forward and asked, "Are you sure you don’t want the protective equipment? These are in limited supply. Once they’re all distributed, you’ll have to wait for a new batch to be manufactured if you change your minds."

The Gathering Point’s leader nodded. "Yes, we’re sure we don’t need it."

"Let’s go, then," that worker said to his partner. "We’re responsible for distributing equipment to twenty Gathering Points. We can’t waste time on them!"

"You... You’ll regret this!" the first worker said, both bewildered and pained, before leaving with his partner. They returned to their transport vehicle and headed for the next Gathering Point.

After the vehicle was long gone, the leader turned to the crowd with a smile. "I’ve seen the firmness of everyone’s faith, and it’s wonderful. As long as we continue to hold a devout heart, we can definitely..."

As the leader was speaking, he felt something wet on his cheek, as if water had dripped down from above. He looked up in confusion, but the ceiling was dry. There was no water.

When he looked down and forward again, he saw that everyone was staring at him in terror.

He instinctively raised a hand to his cheek. The wet liquid on it was red. ’Is it blood? Where did it come from? My eye?’

The leader came to his senses. Seeing the people backing away from him, he took a step toward the stairs and began to walk, speaking with a smile.

"You don’t need to be afraid. My faith wavered for just a moment, which is why the virus found an opening. But I will fight it to the end in my room. After 24 hours, I will emerge with a healthy body. At that time, I ask you all to witness a miracle."