12: Chapter 12 Mysterious Creatures in the Dark

Due to the sudden arrival of darkness, many people failed to react in time.

On the street outside the window, the sharp sound of brakes screeching rang out.

After several dull thuds of impact, orange-red flames suddenly burst through the thick darkness.

Not just in one place, but in over a dozen!

Car crash explosions were everywhere.

Then, the streetlights along the road lit up one by one.

Pedestrians on the road were forced to stop in their tracks, huddling where they stood.

They looked up blankly toward the sky.

There, the warm sun should have been hanging.

But at this moment, there was only a void of darkness.

"Holy shit, why did it suddenly get dark?"

"What time is it? My phone shows it's only eight-thirty in the morning!"

"A solar eclipse? That's not right, I didn't hear anything about a solar eclipse today!"

"Where's the moon? Why can't I see the moon now that it's dark?"

Soon, lights were turned on in every street and alley, and the entire city returned to its nighttime appearance, brilliantly lit.

The sound of sirens soon approached from the distance.

Traffic police worked hard to direct traffic, even though few cars on the road dared to continue driving.

At that moment, the phone screen on the table lit up.

The screen displayed a new WeChat message from someone saved as "Zhang Xinmei."

Zhang Xinmei: Song Yang, what on earth is going on outside? Why did it suddenly go pitch black? I'm scared to death!

Song Yang: "It's nothing, just the apocalypse."

Zhang Xinmei: "The end of the world for real? Don't scare me. But there's a Safe Room under my Villa. Do you want to come over?"

Song Yang: "No need, my own home is very safe."

After replying to the message, Song Yang tapped on the Neighborhood Owners' Group, which was constantly flashing with new message notifications.

[Property Manager Li]: "@All Members, everyone please don't panic! Stay calm! Preliminary judgment suggests it might be a large-scale solar eclipse phenomenon. Please wait patiently at home and do not create panic!"

[Auntie Wang from Building 3]: "Solar eclipse? Manager Li, don't lie to us! What solar eclipse is so thorough that you can't see your hand in front of your face? My daughter is crying from fear!"

[Old Man Zhang from Building 1]: "Nonsense! I've lived for over seventy years; what kind of solar eclipse haven't I seen? This time something is wrong! The sky is completely black, it's not as simple as being blocked!"

[Owner - Boss Zhou]: "Dammit! I don't care if it's an eclipse or not! I just left the house and got rear-ended at the community entrance! Who the hell doesn't turn on their lights when it's dark? Think you're special just because you have money?"

Song Yang looked at the chaotic messages in the owners' group, swiped his finger across the screen, and sent a message himself.

[The apocalypse has arrived. I have surplus food at home. I am willing to shelter single women with clean backgrounds, good looks (score of 8 or higher), and large chests. I will provide a safe residence and basic living necessities. Interested parties, come quickly.]

This message was like a stone thrown into a boiling pot of oil.

[Mrs. Liu from Building 2]: "??? Song Yang, has your brain gone bad? What kind of time is it, and you're still posting this kind of stuff?!"

[Youngster from Building 5]: "Holy crap, what a legend! The end of the world is here and he's still thinking about picking up girls? [facepalm]"

[Property Manager Li]: "@Song Yang, please watch your words and actions! Do not post inappropriate information and create chaos!"

[Auntie Wang from Building 3]: "Little Song, I know you're usually a good person, but you can't make this kind of joke! It's already so chaotic outside!"

[Owner - Boss Zhou]: "Dammit, are you a psychopath? Score of 8 or higher? You still have the fucking heart for this? Believe it or not, I'll find someone to beat you up when it gets light!"

[Xiao Xue]: "Heh, Song Yang, I knew a poor loser like you would only try to take advantage of the crisis and indulge in daydreams.

Shelter? How many people can that pigeonhole of yours hold? Don't be surprised if you're the first one to starve to death!"

By this time, Song Yang had already exited the WeChat interface. He walked to the window and gently pulled back a corner of the curtain.

His gaze pierced through the glass, falling on the street outside that was barely illuminated by the lights.

In the depths of that ink-like darkness, in corners where the streetlights could hardly reach, something was wriggling.

At first, they were just blurry shadows, but soon, those shadows began to condense and elongate, gradually revealing twisted humanoid outlines.

There was more than one.

They crawled silently out from the shadows of buildings, from the ends of alleys, and from every crevice where darkness bred.

By the roadside, a middle-aged man who had just been calling the police suddenly froze.

He seemed to see something and turned around stiffly, his phone falling to the ground with a 'clack.'

Immediately after, a shrill, distorted scream pierced the night sky!

The scream stopped abruptly, so fast it was suffocating.

Song Yang's pupils constricted.

He saw that behind that streetlight, a 'person' with an exceptionally tall build and skin of a sickly, morbid pallor was slowly straightening up.

It seemed to be clutching something—no, it was dragging it.

The middle-aged man's leg was being dragged into the deeper darkness like a ragdoll.

"Heh... heh..."

Strange, wheezing breaths, like a broken bellows, began to drift in from all directions.

Screams rose and fell, but were quickly silenced.

The monsters born from the darkness had begun to hunt.

They were the monsters that appeared punctually after the apocalypse.

Song Yang took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart.

"It really has begun."

Fragments of memories from before his rebirth flooded his mind; those blurry scenes of the initial stages of the apocalypse now became clear.

The sun going out was just the beginning. The real disaster was these things that came with the endless darkness.

The outside world was turning into a hunting ground.

Those monsters were swift, possessed incredible strength, were numerous, and had various bizarre abilities.

At that moment, someone in the owners' group posted a video.

In the video, a sedan parked by the roadside was split in two by a twisted monster with its bare hands!

The woman inside the car was grabbed by the throat by the monster, which opened its huge mouth and swallowed her whole into its stomach.

[Property Manager Li]: "@All Members, please return to your homes immediately and lock your doors and windows! Wait for rescue! Do not believe any rumors!"

[Auntie Wang from Building 3]: "My god! Is that even human?!"

[Owner - Boss Zhou]: "Whoa, what the hell is going on? What are these monsters?"

[Neighbor Old Wang from Building 5]: "My son-in-law just called and said it went dark on his side too. The call was cut off halfway! I can't get through no matter how I call now! I'm worried sick!"

[Old Man Zhang from Building 1]: "Listen! Are those gunshots outside?"

[Social Youth from Building 5]: "It sounds like it! Intermittent, coming from the direction of the city center? Holy shit, is it the police? Or has the army arrived?"

[Grandpa Ma from Building 8]: "Gunshots? What exactly is happening! My grandson is still at school!"

[Resident from Building 4]: "My wife works at the City Hospital, and I can't get in touch with her! Does anyone know what the situation is over at the hospital?!"

The messages in the group flooded in like snowflakes, and panic quickly spread and fermented.