Chapter 5
Qin Jiulin’s gaze shifted back to the news on the television. Nowadays, many news broadcasts were done live, as no one had the time to produce pre-recorded videos. However, at that moment, his attention was caught by a figure in the middle of the screen—a figure that seemed somewhat familiar.
The central figure was a reporter, holding a microphone. He appeared disheveled and covered in dirt, with visible wounds indicating that he had been attacked earlier.
He was now seated inside a moving car, as could be seen from the footage. The scenery outside the window was rapidly receding, making it difficult to discern the details. The cameraman, while the reporter continued speaking, intermittently shifted the focus to the window, capturing the unfolding situation outside. The live broadcast revealed the grim reality of the city—streets teeming with half-transformed individuals desperately searching for food.
The roads were drenched in blood, and car accident scenes were scattered throughout. Even in the fleeting glimpses on screen, one could make out numerous partially devoured limbs, strewn entrails, and even scenes of creatures feasting.
It was under these circumstances that Qin Jiulin, as the car passed through a particular intersection and slowed down to make a turn, captured a person on camera. This individual stood at the street corner, appearing lost and bewildered.
Lying in front of the person was another individual with signs of partial transformation—bloodshot eyes, abnormally protruding sharp teeth—a clear indication that they had lost their sanity after partial transformation.
However, this partially transformed individual was already deceased, lying on the ground with only a thin layer of skin holding their severed neck together.
This scene flashed by in an instant. Most people would not remember the details of such a fleeting image, but Qin Jiulin could recall it vividly.
He wasn’t particularly close with this person, but he recognized them from his previous life. However, their interactions were limited since in his previous life, Qin Jiulin’s focus revolved primarily around Xia Liansheng.
Consequently, he didn’t pay much attention to other individuals and events. The only thing he remembered was that this person seemed to have held a favorable opinion of him, but he didn’t think much of it at the time.
After all, in this era of reversion and transformation, the number of variant beastmen was scarce, and interactions among them were common. Strong individuals tended to associate with others of equal strength.
What had this person done back then? Oh, right! It seemed that he had hunted down a fully transformed creature and offered it as a gift, expressing his feelings. However, Qin Jiulin had declined the gesture and hadn’t accepted it.
The other person tried to give Qin Jiulin gifts two more times, but he declined firmly. Afterward, that person stopped giving him anything, and when they encountered each other, they would simply nod and pass by.
For Qin Jiulin, he could only consider them an acquaintance at best, not even close.
Encountering this person so early in his current life was quite unexpected, but… seeing them aside, he would definitely not leave this place and go somewhere else until his adaptation period was over.
While Qin Jiulin remained calm, the outside world had turned upside down. All the cities were engulfed in panic and bloodshed. The number of partially transformed individuals wasn’t particularly high, with one or two among every ten people.
However, the problem was that these partially transformed individuals appeared randomly, resulting in heavy casualties in places where people lacked combat abilities, such as residential areas or office buildings.
The live stream that Qin Jiulin had been watching would occasionally go offline, and by two or three in the morning, the television was no longer of any use.
But his phone still worked, and the internet connection remained uninterrupted. He continued to refresh news and forum posts online. Many messages and videos were constantly being updated, and none of the videos were censored. Of course, there was no need for censorship anymore.
Because if anyone wanted to see similar scenes, all they had to do was stand by the window or go out and witness it directly, which was even more thrilling and real than what was shown in the videos.
Just then, Qin Jiulin’s phone rang—it was a call from Xia Liansheng.
He hesitated for a moment but decided to answer, “Hello, it’s me…”
Xia Liansheng asked, “Jiulin, how are you doing? Are you okay over there?”
Qin Jiulin replied, “I’m fine. There aren’t many people here. How about you? I remember you live in the city center. You should be worried about yourself…”
Xia Liansheng let out a sigh of relief, “As long as you’re safe. Don’t leave the house during this period. Once I take care of things here, I’ll come find you. Remember, you must wait for me…”
Qin Jiulin asked, “Are you sure everything is okay over there? I’ve seen many people partially transformed. What exactly is happening?”
Xia Liansheng sighed, “I’m not sure either. Something seemed off last night, and today I went to the rooftop to take a look. I noticed some partially transformed people wandering around.”
Qin Jiulin worriedly asked, “Are you really okay? The place you live must have a lot of people, right?”
Xia Liansheng lived in a densely populated residential area close to his workplace, but it was different for the Qin family. Although the location was excellent, they lived in detached villas with large yards. As long as they didn’t do anything foolish, there wouldn’t be any problems.
Just then, the people from the Qin family descended from upstairs. Qin Jizhen followed at the back, and their faces were pale, clearly affected by a great shock.
He hurriedly said, “Jiulin, stay at home and wait for me. Once I found an opportunity, I would come to you immediately. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone.”
Qin Jiulin detected the urgency in his tone. He must have been at the Qin family, talking to someone. If that was the case…
A coldness flashed in Qin Jiulin’s eyes. “I understand. I trust you. But you also need to be careful and stay safe. It’s dangerous outside. I have seen in the news that there are partially transformed people everywhere. They seemed to have lost their sanity and attacked anything that moved, especially if it carried the scent of blood.”
Yes, the partially transformed individuals had lost their sanity. They would attack anything that moved in front of them, especially if it had a bloody scent.
Of course, they would also attack other partially transformed beings.
Xia Liansheng never hung up first whenever he spoke to Qin Jiulin, so when he saw the Qin family members coming downstairs, he greeted them and then moved to another side with his phone.
“I knew you were worried about me, but you also knew my… Anyway, you must wait for me and absolutely nothing should happen to you, understand?”
Qin Jiulin replied, “Okay, no problem…”
He didn’t have the inclination to continue the conversation with Xia Liansheng and quickly ended the call.
Xia Liansheng let out a sigh of relief when he saw the call had ended. As he turned around, he noticed Qin Jizhen standing behind him. Of course, he could sense the footsteps, considering he had successfully transformed into a beast last night.
“What’s wrong?” he looked at Qin Jizhen and asked gently, “Were you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”
Qin Jizhen shook his head. “I was fine. It was just my grandfather and great-grandfather…”
