Disclaimer:This story is purely fictional. Any people, locations, or events mentioned have no relation to the real world. Also, nuclear weapons do not exist in this world.
September 23, 2029 — SundayStar City — A Key University
After finishing a full day of part-time work, Yang Bin returned to campus in a good mood. Two days of weekend labor had earned him 300 yuan. If he spent carefully, it would cover his living expenses for the week.
As soon as he entered the dorm, he saw the two resident shut-ins glued to their phones, playing games.
"Yang Bin, you're finally back! Hurry up and log in. Wenliang completely dragged me down—I can't carry this guy anymore!" Liu Bo cried out like he had just seen his savior.
"Carry me? Look at your own stats first. One kill and eight deaths and you still talk about carrying?" Hu Wenliang replied speechlessly.
"That's because of you! Every time I try to gank for you, you refuse to move and insist on farming those two minions."
"They were already under the tower! Couldn't you wait until I finished farming?"
"By the time you're done farming, the enemy's already gone!"
"And when you went in alone, didn't you just get killed?"
"..."
Yang Bin shook his head and laughed.
"Alright, stop arguing. You two are equally terrible. Don't blame each other… you're both feeding!"
"..."
"By the way, Chen Hao still not back?" Yang Bin asked.
"Nope. He went on a date. Maybe he won't even come back tonight," Hu Wenliang said.
Yang Bin sighed.
"So you two just stay in the dorm every day? Not even thinking about finding girlfriends? You're already juniors and still single—aren't you ashamed?"
"Girlfriends aren't as fun as games. With that time I could play several more matches," Liu Bo replied.
"Exactly. And don't talk about us—you're single too. Never seen you chase a girl either," Hu Wenliang added.
"I'm broke," Yang Bin said helplessly. "The money I earn from part-time work barely covers my own expenses. If I had another mouth to feed, I'd be drinking northwest wind."
"With a face as handsome as yours—almost like the readers—you wouldn't even need to spend money. There are plenty of rich girls at school. Just hook up with one and live easy."
"My teeth are good," Yang Bin replied calmly. "I don't need to eat soft rice."
"....."
He took out his phone and called Chen Hao, but the phone was switched off. Yang Bin frowned.
"This guy… goes on a date and doesn't even charge his phone?"
Shaking his head, Yang Bin didn't bother thinking about it anymore. He played a few games with the two of them, carried them to several victories, then took a shower and went to bed. After two days of hard labor, he was genuinely exhausted.
Late at night, the dormitory was silent. Everyone had fallen asleep.
"You are my little, little apple—♪"
A loud ringtone suddenly shattered the quiet night. Yang Bin hurriedly covered his phone and glanced at the caller ID before answering in a low voice.
"Haozi, where the hell did you go? I couldn't reach you all day!"
There was a long silence on the other end before Chen Hao finally spoke.
"Brother Bin… can you come drink with me?"
"It's the middle of the night. What's wrong with you? We've got class tomorrow," Yang Bin grumbled, then asked, "Where are you?"
"The rooftop."
"Holy crap!"
Yang Bin instantly sobered up and jumped out of bed.
"Don't do anything stupid. I'm coming right now!"
He quickly threw on his clothes and rushed out of the dorm toward the rooftop.
He and Chen Hao had known each other since middle school—close enough to share the same pair of underwear. Hearing that Chen Hao was on the rooftop in the middle of the night, how could Yang Bin not worry?
He sprinted from the third floor all the way to the seventh floor.
Normally, students weren't allowed on the dorm rooftop. The iron gate was locked most of the time. But that had never stopped certain "resourceful" students. Who knew how many duplicate keys had been made over the years?
Apparently Chen Hao had gotten one.
When Yang Bin reached the rooftop, he saw Chen Hao sitting on the ground in a miserable state, surrounded by piles of beer cans.
Yang Bin finally breathed a sigh of relief, though he still sounded annoyed.
"What the hell are you doing up here in the middle of the night? I thought you were about to jump!"
Chen Hao looked at Yang Bin's angry face—but also the concern hidden in his eyes—and felt touched.
"Sorry, Brother Bin… I made you worry."
Yang Bin shook his head, walked over, and sat beside him. He grabbed a beer and took a sip.
"So… what happened?"
Chen Hao chugged half a bottle before speaking with a painful expression.
"She… and I… broke up."
"Three years together… and in the end, reality still won."
Yang Bin paused slightly, though he wasn't surprised.
From Chen Hao's miserable state, he had already guessed.
This guy had loved that woman too deeply. People like that usually suffered the most in relationships.
Yang Bin patted his shoulder.
"Look on the bright side. Three-legged toads are rare, but two-legged women are everywhere. Life's long ahead of you. You're not ugly—what are you afraid of?"
"But… I really loved her…" Chen Hao said, voice trembling.
"Get a grip. Can love fill your stomach?"
"Yes," Chen Hao said seriously. "When I look at her, I'm not hungry."
"..."
"But she still cheated on you."
"How did you know?"
"With your personality? If she hadn't cheated, you'd never break up."
"..."
"Come on. Tell me. Whose bed did she crawl into?"
"..."
"Brother Bin, are you here to comfort me or reopen my wounds?"
Yang Bin grinned.
"Of course I'm comforting you. I just want to know which bastard had the guts to cheat my brother. That debt has to be repaid."
Chen Hao clenched his teeth.
"It's Wang Yuehao. That bastard relies on his family's money and set his sights on Shiya. What hurts the most… is that she actually betrayed me for him."
"I see," Yang Bin said calmly. "Don't worry. I'll break his third leg someday."
"Don't! That's illegal!"
"Hmm… good point. Then I'll just steal one of his girlfriends."
"Wait—he's already dating Shiya now! Are you planning to go after her too?!"
"You're overthinking it. That guy has plenty of girlfriends. Liu Shiya isn't even near the top of the list."
"...."
Later that night, the two boys lay on the rooftop under the stars, empty beer cans scattered around them.
The moonlight was dim tonight, but the stars were unusually bright.
Half drunk, Chen Hao suddenly pointed at the sky.
"Brother Bin… don't you think… the Big Dipper looks… like it has nine stars tonight?"
Yang Bin chuckled drunkenly.
"You're really wasted… I've only heard of the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper… where did nine come from…"
"Yeah… guess I'm drunk…"
"…Wait… maybe there are nine."
"Let me count…"
"One… two… three… eight… nine…"
"Hey… there really are nine…"
"Haha… guess we're both drunk."
"Yeah… being drunk feels strange… I think I even see… the North Star falling…"
"I see it too… dragging a long tail… looks even better than a meteor…"
"Wait… another one appeared…"
"It's… red…"
"Haha… definitely drunk… I can't take it anymore… I'm sleeping… tomorrow everything will be fine…"
Chen Hao fell asleep immediately.
Yang Bin stared at the crimson "North Star" in the sky with curiosity, though his vision was already blurry.
Soon, sleep overtook him as well.
After the celestial anomaly appeared, it seemed as if some ancient restriction had been lifted.
Across the entire planet, spiritual energy suddenly began surging out from countless places.
Within a short time, it spread across the whole world.
However, the newly emerged spiritual energy carried a faint aura of decay.
Eventually, it seeped into every living creature on Earth.
Some people remained unchanged.
But most began to mutate.
Their eyes turned blood-red. Their bodies decayed. Their consciousness vanished.
They became walking corpses—zombies that only knew how to devour.
Yet a very small number of people awakened special abilities.
Most of them were those who had been directly illuminated by the Crimson Star.