The entire Earth was shrouded in darkness as the sun disappeared from the sky. This was by no means an ordinary solar eclipse. The sun’s rays were completely obscured. Even the orange circular halo which oft surrounded the sun had disappeared. The whole world was witnessing this strange phenomenon at the same time. How could this situation not look strange?

  Due to the surprise and panic, many people were unaware of the abnormalities that was happening around them at that moment.

  More than ten minutes passed, the darkness thickened. It was like a flowing liquid that lingered around people, silently drilling into a person’s pores; a slight chill could be felt.

  The noisy classrooms suddenly became quiet. The broadcast that had been repeatedly playing was disrupted and the intermittent noises stopped; a noisy static noise took over.

  Gong Lixin was silent as he stayed seated. He condensed his internal force into his eyes, making everything in his classroom completely clear.

  Most of his classmates sat stiffly in the same position, their expressions were sluggish. their pupils widening as their eyes turned turbid and bloody. Soon, the black of their eyes spread onto the white of the eye, making it seem like they had two hollow holes on their head.

  At the same time, their skin was also turning yellow and dry as it shriveled up. Their blood vessels turned a purplish-black. Their nerves burst and protruded to the surface of their skin, and it was as if their bodies was covered in cockroaches. The sight was extremely disgusting. Anyone who saw their appearance would not believe they were still human. Nobody would believe that they were living people a few seconds ago.

  The eclipse continued. More and more mutations began occurring. Because of his five senses, Gong Lixin had been able to faintly smell their body odor.

  He already knew that they were dead. There was simply nothing he could do as they silently died and mutated. Currently, the corpses were completely still in the classroom. Only when the eclipse was over would the change be complete and that would be when the corpses would jump up and begin moving towards the living humans. They would begin craving for the flesh and blood of the living.

  Gong Lixin could see that there were still a few unaffected people in the room. Their eyes were wide as they watched the gruesome scene. An ominous feeling surged inside of them, their expressions showing fear as they remembered the broadcast that had been playing earlier.

  Gong Lixin walked towards the classroom door, not being hindered by the darkness or corpses which lay around him. Before he left though, he turned back and kindly reminded them, "The apocalypse is coming. When the eclipse is over, most of the people here will become zombies. You should take the time to leave quickly."

  The dark-skinned teenager that had been sitting next to him was not infected. He immediately got up and fumbled towards the door of the classroom. He bumped into the corner of a table and fell, hitting Gong Lixin’s calf with his elbow. "Ah, sorry!"

  With his internal force protecting him, Gong Lixin didn’t notice the pain. The boy had no murderous intent when he had hit him, so he was too lazy to dodge since he knew it wouldn’t cause him any pain anyway. On the contrary, when the teenager accidentally hit Gong Lixin, it felt like his elbow had struck an iron plate. It was very painful for the dark-skinned boy.

  Gong Lixin tried to turn on the lights but they didn’t work. He forgave the boy. "It’s fine, let’s leave." His words seemed to break a curse. The students who were hesitantly seated immediately got up, turned on the flashlight on their phones before rushing and stumbling towards the door. When their flashlights accidentally shone on their fellow classmates, they saw the monstrous changes that had happened to their bodies. Scared, they continuously screamed.

  Gong Lixin moved to the side and waited for everyone to run out before he began closing every single classroom window door. Still remaining calm, he walked at a steady pace towards the school gate. When he was confined in the Underground Palace, the corpses created by Xiao Lin were tens of thousands of times more disgusting than these corpses. He was already used to it.

  "Gong Lixin, why didn’t you immediately leave? Why did you bother closing the doors and windows?" The dark-skinned teenager hadn’t run far. When Gong Lixin was locking the zombies in the classroom, he had been standing on the side with his mobile phone.

  "The zombies are still in their primary stage; their joints can’t bend and their movements are very slow. With the doors and windows locked, they can’t come out. Although only a few dozen of them are blocked, one less zombie is one less zombie. Eventually, all zombies will be cleared up. But leaving them to run about freely…… I don’t know how many people would die to their hands." Gong Lixin patiently explained to the teenager; Gong Lixin tolerated the boy’s questions as he continued walking towards the school gate. If he wasn’t so pressed for time, he would’ve removed the heads of every single zombie.

  Although the dark-skinned boy couldn’t see Gong Lixin’s expression, Gong Lixin’s steady pace, clear, soothing voice and his slow movements showed how calm he was. In the face of the apocalypse, no ordinary person would be able to watch Taishan collapse. [1]

  The teenager stared at Gong Lixin’s straight back as he followed the boy out of the school. His pace was much more sedate now. His hectic heart had calmed down slightly as he watched the other boy. The dark-skinned boy asked, "Can I come with you? It would be safer if we stuck together."

  Hearing the boy’s request, Gong Lixin nodded his head, " Alright, follow me then." This person had helped him earlier by giving him the ballpoint pen. He didn’t mind if he tagged along with him.

  As they walked together in silence, Gong Lixin suddenly thought something important. "What’s your name?" he asked his new partner.

  "My name is Wang Tao, Wang as in Emperor and Tao as in sorrow." Gong Lixin rarely came to class and had his own group of followers, so not knowing his name was normal. Wang Tao knew this and quickly said his name and the meaning of his name, not at all feeling humiliated by the fact that he hadn’t been important enough for Gong Lixin to know his name before.

  Currently, he was stunned by the calm and decisive actions Gong Lixin made. When he was with Gong Lixin, he felt extremely calm and safe. Wang Tao’s attitude towards Gong Lixin improved greatly without him realizing it. Gong Lixin now occupied a higher position in Wang Tao’s mind.

  "Nice." Gong Lixin whispered before going quiet as he walked straight ahead without anything lighting his path, but his pace never faltered; all obstacles were avoided by him.

  Wang Tao was a courageous, thoughtful and observant person. After being blinded several times by the light of his mobile phone and bumping into obstacles, he couldn’t help but be secretly surprised by Gong Lixin’s night vision. This elevated Gong Lixin’s position in his mind.

  The two walked beside each other at a slow quiet pace, but even with their slow pace they moved faster and further than those who were screaming.

  Wang Tao followed Gong Lixin. For the first time, he hated how A school’s school gate was more than 20 minutes from the classroom. There was still some distance left but the sky was gradually turning brighter. The strong sunshine once again landed on the Earth but it didn’t bring hope, instead it brought pure chaos.

  In the distant buildings, the deafening screams came one after another. Beast-like roars shattered the silence. Continuous screams for help could be heard, and the following sounds of death made one imagine the gory and bloody scenes that was playing out.

  Wang Tao shuddered as a cold feeling washed over him. He quickly hurried up to catch up to Gong Lixin. He glanced at Gong Lixin’s face. He saw how Gong Lixin’s delicate face was not horrified or panicked, only indifferent.

  Wang Tao’s body miraculously stopped trembling, and his tense nerves eased as he closely followed Gong Lixin, not daring to lag behind.

  Reaching the corner of a building, Gong Lixin’s ears moved slightly. He smashed the glass of the fire hydrant box. "There are zombies approaching. Hold this and attack their heads." He took the axe inside of the box and handed it over to Wang Tao.

  "Thank you." Wang Tao immediately took the axe but then looked at Gong Lixin, worried that he wasn’t armed. "What about you? Even if I don’t have an axe, I am part of the school’s basketball team, so my body is stronger than yours. You should take the axe to defend yourself." As he said that, he handed the axe back, his eyes flicked towards his palm and handed it without any regret.

  "You hold on to it, I can use this." Gong Lixin shook his head and refused. He walked to the flower bed next to the building and broke off a cypress branch.

  Wang Tao stared at the soft branch in Gong Lixin’s hand, his face incredulous. He was about to open his mouth when six shirtless males zombies wearing flower shorts rounded the corner of the teaching building and rushed straight towards them. Although their eyes were black and lacquered, he could feel their endless desire for flesh and blood.

  These people were obviously brothers from the university department. It was assumed that they hadn’t had the time to go home after the test. They may be from the same school but he doesn’t want to become a zombie. Fortunately, in early July, all colleges and universities were on holiday and only the high school students were gathered in the classroom for final exams. After becoming a zombie, their bodies were stiff and they moved slowly. They weren’t able to open the classroom door which meant that they wouldn’t be able to make it outside. The zombies roaming outside and on the campus were basically the brothers and sisters from the university department that had stayed behind on campus. The number was small and their attack power was limited.

  Wang Tao gripped the firefighter axe tightly and stepped in front of Gong Lixin. Compared to Wang Tao, who had dark skin and a tall body, Gong Lixin looked like a weak and gentle boy. Wang Tao’s mind was at peace when he was with Gong Lixin. He didn’t expect Gong Lixin to help. He wanted to protect the weak boy in this dangerous moment.

  He gritted his teeth and waved his axe in the direction of a zombie’s head, but instead the axe was embedded deeply in a zombie’s shoulder blade. The expected dark-red blood starting splattered all over, giving off a strong rancid smell. The zombie’s throat produced a special low-pitched sound of a beast and did not care about the serious shoulder injury as it reached out to scratch Wang Tao’s face.

  Wang Tao paled when he was unable to retrieve the axe since it was stuck in the zombie’s shoulder. His arms went soft. He turned his face to the side, to avoid the blood, but the stench reached his nose. He had the urge to heave his stomach’s contents. [2]

  Imagining was a very simple matter but acting on those imaginations was very different, especially when it came to taking another’s life. [3]

  Seeing that zombies were going to scratch Wang Tao’s face, Gong Lixin jumped and kicked it. The zombie flew a few feet away from them, falling heavily on the ground. When Gong Lixin kicked the zombie, a loud cracking sound was heard as all of the zombie’s bones broke. The zombie stopped moving, motionless as it lay on the ground like a pile of dead meat.

  "The head is their weakness, attack their head." said Gong Lixin to Wang Tao. He walked past Wang Tao and attacked the five remaining zombies. The soft cypress branch danced as it swung towards the zombie heads.

  The seemingly broken cypress branch was filled with Gong Lixin’s internal force and became the toughest weapon in the world. He hit zombie heads with it and the zombies immediately fell to the ground with a deep crack on their skull, showing red and white. The white brain splashed out and, the zombie di- oh wait, the dead can’t die again. In just a few seconds, the six imposing zombies had been defeated by Gong Lixin.

  One foot could kick back a man of a hundred pounds and break all the bones of his body. How strong is he? Wang Tao shook himself out of his daze, only to see Gong Lixin killing the zombies with a branch. And he was struck dumb once again.

  In fact, Gong Lixin didn’t need any weapons. He could make these corpses fly with only his hands and his feet. In his past life, he was taken away by Xiao Lin because of his special physique. He suffered a lot of torture because of it. It was not a good idea to let others know how he was different from them. So, he restrained his skills and strength so that to others, he would be an unremarkable human. Perhaps when the ability users from Gong Xiangyi’s prophecy appeared, he would no longer need to restrain himself.

  However, Gong Lixin’s internal force was extremely powerful and extremely overbearing. His ’restrained strength’ was still enough to shock others.

  Wang Tao stared at the branch and then faintly looked at the "weak" youth. The worship in his heart that was the flowing river became as high as the mountain.

  The apocalypse had come, it was not strange to find a Master. In Wang Tao’s eyes, Gong Lixin was obviously a hidden master, using a soft branch as a weapon to crack a hard, human skull. The fierce moves were filled with a Master’s style. [4]

  Wang Tao retrieved the axe from the zombie. He clenched the blood-stained firefighter axe and quickly kept pace with Gong Lixin. When he came near the cypress branch, he constantly looked at it. He wanted to make sure it was an ordinary branch. He was becoming more and more devoted to Gong Lixin. [5]

  Following Gong Lixin was undoubtedly the most sensible decision he made in his life.