Outbreak

A strange ringing echoed throughout Yujing.

The sound was not particularly loud; it was more like wind chimes tinkling crisply in the breeze.

But it was exceptionally clear.

At this moment, no matter where one was in the city, the sound could be heard. Even those in completely enclosed environments were no exception.

Everyone heard it. Some were surprised, some curious, and others bewildered, but no one knew where it originated, and even fewer knew what it represented.

However, because the ringing did not last long, the vast majority of ordinary people did not take it to heart, pushing it to the back of their minds instantly.

Clearly, not everyone was ignorant of its meaning.

Somewhere in the suburbs.

A woman in a backless evening gown looked back at the brightly lit city center in the distance. Only after the sound faded from her ears did she finally withdraw her gaze.

“Has it begun? Faster than expected.”

Under the wide brim of her hat, the Professor face showed no expression. After a brief pause, she turned and continued walking into the distance.

At the same time.

Near Yujing University.

A lady in a court-style dress stood in a deserted room, waiting until the strange ringing vanished before moving. She reached out to take the phone handed over by her maid, opened her contacts, and pressed the top-most number.

She waited for a long while, until the call was almost about to hang up automatically…

– Hello?

The call was finally connected, and a groggy voice came through. The dark-haired lady immediately recognized that it was not the person she was looking for, so she spoke softly: “Where is Su Mian?”

“Ah? Big… Big sister!?”

Qi Chuan, who had been woken up from a deep sleep by the ringtone, was initially confused but snapped awake upon hearing her voice.

His body shuddered violently, and he nearly dropped his phone. After looking down at the number to confirm he was not having a nightmare, he hurriedly looked toward the adjacent bed.

The quilt and pillows were all there, but Su Mian was nowhere to be seen.

“Su Mian is not here. Maybe he went to the restroom? Big sister, is there something you need him for so late? If it is not urgent, I will have him call you when he gets back. I…”

“Where are you guys right now?”

Qi Chuan was stunned after being interrupted because he suddenly realized her tone made it sound like she already knew Su Mian was not at home. He did not think much of it and replied instinctively:

“We are at Shengri Manor in Yujing. Su Mian and I ran into some trouble today and are stuck here for now. But do not worry, sister, we are both fine. We should be back for classes by daytime! Oh, by the way…”

Again, before he could finish, she hung up the phone, leaving only the beep of the disconnected line echoing in the simple tent.

Inside Yujing University.

A young man who had just finished reviewing at the library dragged his exhausted body back to his dorm. He collapsed onto his bed without a care for his appearance.

As a student of a world-renowned university, being at Yujing University was a matter of pride, but the daily academic pressure was truly immense.

Especially for someone like him whose grades were average—not wanting to fall behind meant the pressure was like a mountain whenever exams approached.

Exhausted in body and spirit, he felt like he could sleep forever the moment he closed his eyes.

But after lying down for a bit, he struggled to crawl back up. Despite his mental resistance, he decided to review the materials he brought back one last time before sleeping.

However, at that moment…

The dormitory door was pushed open from the outside.

It was another young man around twenty years old. He had a tall build and handsome features, but he carried heavy dark circles, sunken eye sockets, and bloodshot eyes. He looked like a severe chronic insomnia patient.

He walked in as if he did not see anyone else in the room, slowly heading toward his own bed.

“Third Brother, you are back?”

the young man spoke up to remind his roommate of his presence. He then noticed the plastic bag in his hand and paused. “Did you go out to buy milk tea again?”

“Mm.”

The youth called Third Brother looked up at him briefly but said nothing else. He sat on his bed and started looking for a straw to drink the milk tea.

The scene looked somewhat strange.

But the young man had grown used to it recently.

He did not know when it started, but this roommate, who used to be sunny and kind, had become gloomy, passive, and irritable. Especially recently, he acted like an autistic child when left alone but would explode like a volcano if touched even slightly.

The only constant was his love for milk tea—if anything, it had intensified. It used to be one cup a day; now it was three or more!

The young man could not understand why he loved this milk tea so much, as if he were addicted. It had made him consider calling the police several times.

“Have you contacted your family?”

Even though his roommate’s emotions were unstable, they used to be very close, and he could not bear to see him like this.

He suspected he had some strange illness and had urged him to go to the hospital many times, but the advice never seemed to sink in.

It was the same this time.

The pale youth did not even respond. After slowly finishing a large cup of milk tea, he pulled a second cup from the bag.

The young man watched this, hesitant to speak. After a moment of silence, he could not hold back anymore. Just as he wanted to stop his roommate from continuing…

Ding-ling-ling!

The strange ringing suddenly echoed in the dormitory.

The young man froze.

A bell? Where was a bell coming from at this time?

He was bewildered but did not overthink it. He quickly looked at his roommate again. “Third Brother, stop drinking. You really are not in a good state, you know? You must be sick. Go to the hospital immediately, do not delay it, it will only get worse!”

The young man advised him kindly. Seeing no reaction, he stood up to approach him.

But at that moment…

“Ugh—!”

The handsome youth suddenly let out a pained sound. His hands tightened instinctively, crushing the half-full cup of milk tea in his hand!

The coffee-colored liquid splashed everywhere, and the thick scent of milk soon filled the dorm.

The young man who had just stood up froze. Before he could react, he saw his roommate clutch his chest and fall to his knees.

“Ugh… ah, I… ugh ugh…”

Incoherent sounds squeezed out of the youth’s throat. He reached out a hand toward his stunned friend, his face filled with terror. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the next second…

“Bleh—!”

A massive amount of blood mixed with organ fragments gushed from the youth’s mouth like a fountain. This scene terrified the other young man.

Before he could react, something even more bizarre happened. The gushing blood mysteriously evaporated the second it hit the ground, turning into a crimson mist that vanished completely!

Simultaneously, as blood and organs were vomited out, the youth’s body deflated rapidly like a punctured ball.

In just three or four seconds, the tall frame shriveled into skin and bones, falling onto the floor motionless.

…

This horrific scene left the young man in a daze, staring with wide eyes as if doubting he was in a dream. It took several seconds for him to react.

“Ah! Help! Help me!!”

The young man scrambled to run outside. His commotion naturally caught the attention of the neighboring dorm. Someone poked their head out and asked: “What happened? Did a rat run into your room again?”

“No! No! Third Brother! He…”

Before he could finish…

“Someone is dead! Someone is dead!”

A voice filled with extreme terror rang out from another dorm nearby. A person came crawling and rolling out, their face pale and filled with horror, as if they had just experienced a nightmare.

The young man and the student from the neighboring dorm both froze.

Then, more students appeared in the hallway upon hearing the noise. Soon, news of the deaths spread rapidly.

With the tolling of the bell, thousands of ordinary people across Yujing died instantly.

Some were students, some were office workers, and some were even company bosses. Without exception, they all vomited their blood in a short time and turned into mummified corpses!

The blood vanished upon hitting the ground. From an ordinary person’s perspective, it looked like it evaporated into thin air. If not for the corpses left behind, it would have looked like a hallucination.

But from a demon’s perspective…

“So red.”

At Shengri Manor, Su Mian, who had just walked out of the villa, looked up at the sky. Those red lines she saw earlier had become extremely bright at this moment.

Dense blood flowed along the lines into the sky, causing the previously thin blood mist to thicken rapidly, soon veiling the entire night sky.

A faint scent of blood permeated the air, and the strong metallic smell gradually stimulated everyone’s nostrils.

Behind Su Mian, the others who followed her out immediately noticed the anomaly.

“…Captain, what do we do next?”

Old He touched his bald head while looking at the surrounding blood mist. His already pale face looked even worse. Beside him, Jiang Xun thought for a moment before speaking:

“Let us regroup with the others first.”

A massive ritual like this could not be solved by one or two people. Moreover, their current intelligence was too limited. Although they knew the Truth Society was behind this, they did not know where those lunatics were or what they were doing.

In this situation, running around blindly was meaningless.

Thus, Jiang Xun’s suggestion was to find the local Administration team to understand the situation first.

The others naturally had no objections, except…

“Why are you looking at me?”

Seeing the others staring at her silently, Su Mian felt bewildered. “Time is tight, let us hurry up and move!”

Seeing her eyes shining with anticipation, the others felt even stranger. She was a demon, so why did she seem more enthusiastic than they were?