Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Golden Pointer – The Door to Rebirth in the Apocalypse

The Golden Pointer

When Gu Mama and Gu Ning finally returned home, each carrying two large bags, Gu Papa was stunned: “Did you guys just raid a snack store?!”

In total, there were four of the largest supermarket bags, filled with all kinds of biscuits, sausages, bread, chocolate, and even some compressed biscuits.

“No choice, your daughter was thrilled,” Gu Mama said helplessly. She had tried to convince Gu Ning that these snacks weren’t good for her health, but Gu Ning insisted on buying them. Not wanting to spoil her daughter’s mood, Gu Mama had no choice but to let her have her way.

Gu Papa could only say, “Alright, as long as Ningning is happy. Now, wash your hands and get ready for dinner.”

After hastily finishing her meal, Gu Ning told her parents, “Mom, Dad, I want to sleep in tomorrow. Don’t wake me up if I’m not up yet.”

She then carried all four bags of food to her bedroom, locked the door securely, and pulled out a box from under her cabinet. She changed into a long-sleeved hooded tracksuit and sneakers, then took out a large backpack from the cabinet. She packed some compressed biscuits, bread, chocolate, and two large bottles of mineral water. When she tried the backpack on, it felt almost weightless, as if she were carrying an empty bag. She added more items until the backpack was nearly full, but it still felt light. Only when the backpack was completely stuffed did she finally feel some weight.

It seemed that not only her vision and hearing, but also her strength, were evolving. Gu Ning felt a mix of anxiety and excitement. The unknown nature of this evolution was unsettling, but at the same time, she was thrilled by the changes in her body. This meant she could better survive the apocalypse and protect those she cared about.

After returning from the apocalypse last night, she had calmed down and thought long and hard. She was certain that both worlds were real—her parents here were real, and her parents in the apocalypse were also real. She couldn’t forget the parents in that world and pretend they didn’t exist while living happily in this one. She had to protect them, especially now that she had the ability to do so.

Gu Ning emptied her backpack again and picked out some essentials, including a large amount of medical supplies she had bought under the guise of going to the bathroom. Her father’s leg injury in the apocalypse wasn’t severe at first, but without proper treatment, it had worsened. If she didn’t act quickly, it could become even more serious.

She checked her digital watch—it was 7:15 PM. Grabbing her large knife, she thought of the apocalypse. When she opened her eyes, she was back in the white room. She ran to the door, about to open it, when she suddenly realized she had overlooked something… A thought flashed through her mind.

Right, she had almost missed a big problem.

Every time she opened this door, she appeared at the same spot where she had last disappeared.

So if she opened the door now, she would end up in that underground garage?! She could imagine the looks on people’s faces if she suddenly appeared out of thin air.

After careful consideration, she decided to wait until midnight, just to be safe.

She sat cross-legged on the floor and glanced at her watch—it was 7:25 PM.

It would be at least 10 PM before those people fell asleep. That meant she had two and a half hours to kill.

Time was dragging on.

The room was empty, with nothing to do. To pass the time, Gu Ning opened a bag of snacks and started munching.

She was too full from dinner to eat much. She checked her watch—7:45 PM.

Bored out of her mind, Gu Ning walked over to the black door and began examining it.

The door looked like it was made of wood, with a black finish that didn’t seem like paint but rather the natural color of the wood. She touched it, feeling a cold, icy sensation. Then she looked up at the compass or clock-like Tai Chi symbol embedded in the door.

The golden pointer was still stuck in the middle, unmoving.

Gu Ning, as if possessed, reached out and gently nudged the golden pointer toward the white side. Nothing happened.

Unable to figure it out, she gave up and set an alarm on her watch for 10 PM. She lay down on the floor, closed her eyes, and tried to nap. But whether it was due to excitement or nervousness, she couldn’t fall asleep.

So she lay there, letting her thoughts wander.

Somehow, she ended up thinking about the day she was abandoned by the car and bitten by a zombie.

To this day, she couldn’t understand why. Besides her parents, there were also her uncle’s family and other neighbors she had known for over a decade. And then there was Lu Jiazhi. Setting aside her five-year crush on him, they had grown up in the same neighborhood. Although he was three years older, they had attended the same schools from elementary to college, and their parents were close friends who visited each other during holidays. He had always been affectionate toward her, to the point where she had once mistaken his kindness for something more.

But when she ran toward the car that day, she had clearly seen Lu Jiazhi sitting by the window. She even saw the apology in his eyes. Then, to her disbelief, he rolled up the window, turned his head away, and said something to the people inside. The car drove off.

A car full of people she thought were “close” to her had driven away, leaving her behind. She heard her parents pleading, but they did nothing. They had cruelly taken away her last chance of survival.

Gu Ning closed her eyes in pain. The more she recalled that day, the stronger her hatred grew.

“Beep—beep—beep—”

Her digital watch let out a sharp alarm.

Gu Ning turned off the alarm and checked the time—10 PM sharp.

She slung the backpack, now filled with supplies, over her shoulders, feeling a sense of hope.

She walked up to the door, took a deep breath, and gently pressed the handle—

A cool summer night breeze brushed past her. Gu Ning was surprised to see the closed garage door less than five meters away from where she stood. She was confused—she had last left from inside the garage, so why had she reappeared outside?!

Though puzzled, this situation worked in her favor. She could slip away without alerting anyone.

The darkness didn’t affect her vision, so she decided to travel through the night. Her father’s leg injury couldn’t wait, and without her, her parents were likely in a tough spot. She had to catch up with them as soon as possible. But first, she needed to find a car.

Though she was confident her strength had increased three to four times, she remained vigilant. Like a wary beast, she was constantly on alert, her breathing slow, her pores open, sensing any hint of danger in the air.

Ahead was an upscale neighborhood where she might find abandoned cars. It was the third month of the apocalypse. At first, the government had sent troops and local police to protect the people, but the number of zombies was increasing exponentially every day, and the situation was spiraling out of control. Even a scratch from a zombie could lead to infection. Although the government had initially reassured everyone that they were working on a vaccine, the severity of the situation far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

So, those who had initially believed in rescue and stayed put at home were forced to venture out as food and water supplies dwindled. They joined the growing number of survivors searching for supplies and other survivors.

A month into the apocalypse, nearly half the city had lost power and water, and communication networks were nearly paralyzed. The ever-increasing number of zombies plunged everyone into panic and despair.

The population was divided into three groups: those who stayed in their cities, those who headed for the capital, and those who decided to move to sparsely populated mountainous areas.

Gu Ning’s family had originally belonged to the group that stayed put. Her father was the only man in the family and was getting older. She had been terrified of the zombies with their rotting faces and couldn’t even look at them, let alone go up and bash their heads in. In the early days of the apocalypse, before the internet went down, forums exploded with posts. Gone were the discussions about mother-in-law conflicts or whether to break up with a boyfriend. Now, every post was about zombies and survival skills.

Soon, someone posted about killing a zombie, emphasizing that attacking any part of the zombie except the head wouldn’t stop it. They also noted that zombies were slow but had twice the strength of an average adult.

The thread quickly racked up tens of thousands of replies.

More people shared their experiences and information on the forums. Gu Ning began to understand the physiology and attack patterns of zombies.

No one knew how the first zombie appeared. By the time people noticed them, zombies had already reached a significant number and were spreading at an alarming rate.

After being bitten by a zombie, a person would quickly become infected with the zombie virus and begin to turn. The speed of transformation varied depending on the individual’s constitution. The most obvious signs were red streaks in the eyes, followed by skin decay, and finally, the loss of human consciousness, turning the person into a mindless zombie that only sought to bite the living.

These zombies had incredible biting strength and would attack any living thing. They were also twice as strong as an average person and had keen hearing, using scent and sound to locate fresh flesh.

They were quite similar to the zombies in movies.

It took Gu Ning a month to muster the courage to kill a female zombie that had been banging on their door with a watermelon knife. She had nightmares for several nights afterward. But as the situation worsened, she was forced to kill more zombies and gradually became less afraid.

She even started looking up strategies online to improve her combat skills.

Even Gu Papa and Gu Mama were amazed by Gu Ning’s strength and bravery.

Once you overcame your fear, stayed agile, and remained vigilant, these zombies weren’t so invincible after all.

Gu Ning took a deep breath, tightened her grip on the knife, and pushed open the iron gate next to the guardhouse. The gate creaked loudly in the silent night—

Gu Ning nervously scanned her surroundings but saw no sign of zombies. She then entered the upscale neighborhood.

The neighborhood was well-landscaped, with dense crabapple bushes and large plane trees lining the streets. The streetlights had long since gone out, but for Gu Ning, light or darkness made no difference. The vast neighborhood was eerily quiet, with only the sound of her sneakers hitting the ground. She gripped her knife tightly, still feeling tense.

Gu Ning avoided walking near the bushes and stayed in the middle of the road to keep her field of vision as wide as possible, ready for any zombies that might pop out from anywhere. She searched the neighborhood nervously but had no luck finding a car with keys. She hadn’t yet mastered the skill of hotwiring a car.

The night breeze rustled through the trees, carrying a coolness that would have been pleasant if not for the faint stench of decay that hinted at the presence of zombies.

Suddenly, Gu Ning stopped in her tracks and turned her gaze toward the neighborhood entrance.

In the next moment—

A loud crash came from the direction of the entrance! It sounded like a car had smashed through the automatic gate and was speeding toward her!

Making such a racket in the middle of the night was practically asking for trouble.

Gu Ning cursed under her breath. She could already sense something stirring in the shadows.

Author’s Note: I’ll add another chapter if we hit 100 bookmarks. QAQ

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