Doomsday Awakening GL - Chapter 1

An Yimu was in an exceptionally good mood watching the scenery flash past the car window, a shallow smile playing on the corner of her lips.

It was a rare National Day holiday, and An Yimu had set a time with her two best girlfriends to come out and have a good time and relax. The three of them borrowed a car and prepared a lot of food, including a tent and a barbecue grill. This time, they were determined to play until the end of the holiday before going back.

“Little An An, haha~ The air in the suburbs is so good!!! Staying in the city all day is suffocating me, your old lady!” Nuan Qianyu opened the car window and happily yelled into the rushing cold wind, her eyes curved into smiles, her wavy chestnut-colored long hair fluttering wildly in the wind.

Ling Qiuyu wordlessly brushed aside the hair Nuan Qianyu had blown onto her face, “You are the most noisy.” But there wasn’t a hint of blame in her tone.

Nuan Qianyu was the most lively and cheerful of the three, always giggling and laughing every day, she was the life of the trio. She also called herself a “tomboy,” very carefree and blunt. Ling Qiuyu was a typical Jiangnan woman: slender crescent eyebrows, smooth black long hair draped over her rounded shoulders, and a faint, almost nonexistent smile always playing on her lips, making her look delicate and very pitiable.

The three of them had known each other since high school, and because their personalities clicked, they quickly became close friends, even promising to attend university in the same city.

It was the National Day holiday, and the three of them had tacitly cleared their schedules to have a good get-together. Because since their senior year, facing graduation and various other issues, they had not been able to properly meet for a long time.

“Little An An, you should say something, don’t be so reserved, tell your big sister if you have any difficulties.” Nuan Qianyu squinted, looking innocent and harmless.

“…” An Yimu cleared her throat, deciding it was better to focus on driving.

“By the way, what are you planning to do after graduation?” Ling Qiuyu suddenly remembered that graduation was approaching and couldn’t help but feel a little melancholy.

Nuan Qianyu rolled her eyes wordlessly, “I say, little Yu Yu, can you not spoil the mood? Why bring up that annoying topic in such a good atmosphere?”

“Tsk tsk, watch your image, my dear lady, I’m just being practical,” Ling Qiuyu raised her right hand to half-cover her face, stifling a laugh.

An Yimu was concentrating on driving, but hearing Ling Qiuyu’s words sparked an idea in her mind. The three of them had a great relationship, and they always talked about living in the same city, getting married together, having their children recognize each other’s children as goddaughters/godsons, and when they were old, the three old ladies would gather to take walks in the sunset. In short, they had to be a constant presence in each other’s lives. Given this, why not start a company together and venture into business?

When An Yimu brought up the idea, the other two immediately agreed.

“Little An An, you are so smart!!! Big sister loves you! Mua, what a quick-witted little mind.” Nuan Qianyu was so excited upon hearing this that she directly blew a kiss towards An Yimu.

“Qiuyu, you haven’t been carsick today, are you okay? Should I pull over so we can rest for a while?” An Yimu directly ignored the clowning friend, thinking about how Ling Qiuyu usually got so carsick that she would vomit terribly, which was painful to watch, so she asked.

Ling Qiuyu’s face was a bit pale, but she didn’t feel too uncomfortable. Perhaps because she was in a good mood, the carsickness wasn’t as severe.

“No need, Xiaomu, focus on your driving. If you get tired, switch with Xiaoyu.” Ling Qiuyu shook her head, then realized Xiaomu couldn’t see her, so she spoke up.

The few of them began excitedly discussing which direction to develop their business venture after graduation.

Just then, a heavy fog suddenly appeared ahead.

An Yimu’s vision instantly blurred, and her consciousness began to fade. An irresistible wave of drowsiness hit her brain. In the final moment before her eyes completely closed, it seemed like…

When An Yimu woke up again, she found that she had fallen asleep while driving. She cursed herself for being muddle-headed. Fortunately, the car was parked on the side of the road, otherwise, something serious could have happened on this highway.

She rubbed her throbbing temples, feeling like her head was stuffed with cotton, constantly buzzing.

After regaining her senses, she quickly got out of the car, opened the rear door, and felt relieved to see the other two intact. She gently nudged them but saw they didn’t react. She figured they must have been extremely tired, so she didn’t disturb them further.

Then she noticed a very strange sight: all the cars on the highway were stopped in place.

Could today be an auto strike day? Were they all broken?

She pondered for a while but couldn’t figure it out, so she went to the trunk to retrieve her thermos cup. She opened it and took a big gulp, as she was incredibly thirsty, her throat feeling dry and burning. A mouthful of warm water slid down her throat, instantly making her feel much better.

By the time she returned to the driver’s seat, Nuan Qianyu and Ling Qiuyu had slowly woken up.

“Ugh… My head is so dizzy. Did I fall asleep just now, your old lady?” Nuan Qianyu frowned, clutching her head, and mumbled groggily.

“Have some water, Qianyu.” An Yimu passed the thermos cup to the back.

Nuan Qianyu took the water and drank a few sips. It was then that she noticed Ling Qiuyu next to her was frighteningly pale.

“Oh no, Little An An, quick, look. Is Little Yu Yu carsick? Why is her complexion so bad?” Nuan Qianyu rubbed Ling Qiuyu’s smooth, delicate cheek and spoke loudly.

A few black lines appeared on An Yimu’s forehead; she was utterly speechless. “Qianyu, stop taking advantage of her.” Then, seeing that Ling Qiuyu’s face was indeed not good, she opened a few car windows, thinking it might help to air out the car.

Ling Qiuyu pushed away the hand that was messing with her face, too weak even to complain. She braced herself with her hands and sat up straight. Only then did she speak softly, “Little An An, why did you stop on the highway?”

Hearing this, Nuan Qianyu also noticed the car had stopped and muttered, “Luckily it’s the emergency lane. Huh? Why did I fall asleep just now? I don’t get carsick.”

An Yimu was stunned. It suddenly felt odd. Why did all three of them fall asleep at the same time? So she said, “Look outside. The cars in front of and behind us have all stopped.”

Nuan Qianyu and Ling Qiuyu both leaned out the car window to look. Indeed, scattered cars were all stopped and motionless. Their first thought was the same as An Yimu’s: could the cars be broken?

Ling Qiuyu had excellent eyesight. Her face suddenly changed, and she forcefully pulled An Yimu’s hand on the front seat, saying, “Xiaomu, look quickly, what is that thing?”

A figure was staggering towards their car.

Nuan Qianyu was also startled by Ling Qiuyu’s cry, but she played games and surfed the internet often, so her eyesight wasn’t very good, and she couldn’t see clearly. She guessed, “It must be someone injured. Oh, Little Yu Yu, don’t be so jumpy, you scared me to death.”

An Yimu’s complexion wasn’t good either. She opened the car door and got out to observe better.

Indeed, a person was walking towards them, but this person looked too strange, and their movements were very stiff, like a corpse. An Yimu was startled by the thought that suddenly popped into her head. She took a moment to calm down, then opened the trunk and took out a police baton. She had acquired the baton from a friend, mainly because she was afraid of the three girls encountering bad people when out, so she carried it just in case.

Nuan Qianyu and Ling Qiuyu also got out of the car.

“Little An An, why are you taking the police baton? We should prepare the first aid kit. I think that person is badly hurt; they can’t even walk properly.” Nuan Qianyu said, already rummaging through the trunk for the first aid kit.

Ling Qiuyu shivered and grabbed Nuan Qianyu, “Xiaoyu, that’s not a person.” As the figure drew closer, she had seen clearly. That thing was absolutely not a person. How could a human look like that? Its face seemed to have been splashed with sulfuric acid, a large piece of flesh was hanging down on its chin, one eye was popping out, horribly embedded near its nose, and the other eye socket was pitch black, like a bottomless hole. The person’s movement was very stiff, and white ribs were visible on its chest.

Nuan Qianyu gasped, looking terrified, her normally narrow, beautiful eyes wide open. “Holy moly! Could it be a zongzi?” Zongzi is the jargon for a corpse in the tomb raiding business. Nuan Qianyu had been obsessed with The Lost Tomb recently, so the phrase popped out immediately.

At this point, the un-dead, un-ghostly thing was only 10 meters away from them, and all three had a clear look at it. It was truly not human.

An Yimu tightly gripped the police baton, desperately suppressing the fear in her heart, staring intently at the monster. At this moment, she was immensely thankful that a safe distance was mandatory on the highway, giving them time to react. Without further hesitation, she rushed forward with the baton and launched a frenzied attack on the monster. Unexpectedly, the monster’s body was incredibly stiff. Hitting it felt like hitting steel, making An Yimu’s tiger’s mouth (the web between thumb and forefinger) intensely painful. The monster seemed to feel nothing, lunging suddenly at An Yimu. The force of the pounce directly knocked An Yimu down.

An Yimu was shocked. The monster was practically face-to-face with her, and its enormous strength made her feel utterly helpless. Just as the monster opened its bloody mouth to bite down, she held her breath and kicked it away.

The monster was kicked and fell to the ground, but it stiffly got back up and walked persistently toward An Yimu.

An Yimu suppressed her heart, which was pounding wildly from terror. If she hadn’t been sent to learn martial arts as a child by her parents because she was frail, she might have already met her maker.

Perhaps the instinct for survival at a moment of life and death unleashed her potential. An Yimu used all her strength to swing the police baton and smash the monster’s head. The monster raised its stiff arm to block the baton, and its other hand reached for her.

An Yimu raised her leg to kick the monster back a few steps, gritted her teeth, and leaped, using all her strength to smash the monster’s head.

With a bang, brain matter splattered. A mix of red and white fluid flew out, accompanied by a thick stench of decay.

An Yimu, her small face pale, stumbled backward. Seeing that the monster was no longer moving, she finally collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. The scene was too shocking. She stared blankly at the monster’s corpse on the ground, having a momentary illusion that she had committed murder.

Nuan Qianyu and Ling Qiuyu were already dumbfounded. Leaning against the car, they looked bewildered and helpless. Seeing An Yimu sitting on the ground, they quickly ran over to help her up.

“That, that… was that really a zongzi!” Nuan Qianyu looked at the mess, still shaken, feeling her stomach churn.

Ling Qiuyu seemed calmer. She saw shadowy figures in the distance, and it sounded like people were screaming. “Xiaomu, we need to leave here quickly.” However, her bloodless, slightly trembling lips betrayed her inner anxiety.