Apocalypse Chapter 12: Awakening Day

Chapter 12: Awakening Day

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The phenomenon in the sky lasted for a long time, until night fell, the sky was still shrouded in a strange red hue. Under the influence of the red light, communication was severely disrupted, and cell phones could no longer make calls normally. The internet and broadcast television also experienced severe lagging.

After coaxing Jiang Xiaoheng to sleep, Jiang Rong closed all the doors and windows of the house. Although the mutated flora and fauna were not very strong in the early stages of the crisis, out of caution, he still lowered the blinds outside the windows.

Jiang Rong sat in the study and turned on the computer. Based on his understanding from his past life, the crisis should have begun after the sky turned red. While the situation in the countryside was still manageable, there should have been deaths occurring in the cities. He skillfully opened the most popular online forum, and upon opening it, half of the posts on the homepage were about how beautiful the sky was today, while the other half complained about the severe network disruptions.

While the page was still buffering, Jiang Rong went to the kitchen to pour himself a large glass of water. When he returned, the post he was looking for had already been refreshed.

Two months ago, he anonymously posted a thread on the forum with a sensational title: “In three months, half of the world’s population will die.” The post detailed the crisis and the situation of humanity afterward, as well as a portion of the hoarding list.

He thought that a sensational title would attract more attention. However, after the post was published, there were few responses, and most people just laughed at his wild imagination. But that wasn’t surprising. Throughout history, there have always been people worried about the end of the world. Every once in a while, there are predictions of the world’s impending doom. However, every time the world remains intact, and humanity continues to see the sunrise. Over time, everyone has become accustomed to it, and when they see such posts, they just dismiss them with a smile.

The post Jiang Rong made had sunk so far that it was impossible to find. Luckily, he had bookmarked the thread, so he could still see its contents. While drinking water, he scrolled down the page, and after a long delay, he finally saw the mocking replies to his post.

“Is the OP not awake yet?”

“Half of the population dying overnight? Unless there’s a nuclear war, it’s absolutely impossible.”

“Posting for the record, OP has no balls.”

Jiang Rong stared expressionlessly at the screen, the reactions of the online users were just as he had expected. But whether they believed it or not was their business, and whether he said it or not was his. He did this just for peace of mind.

After logging out of the forum, Jiang Rong opened the local forum, where he could see all the news that had happened in D city within the past 24 hours.

Sure enough, a post quickly rose to the top: “So scary, a family of three disappeared while out for a walk!”

This was a vividly illustrated news post, with a video attached.

In the video, the owner encountered a family of three neighbors while out for a walk. The four of them exchanged warm greetings, and then the owner followed behind the three as they walked towards the gate of the community.

But before they had even walked ten meters, the video suddenly shook violently. In the video, only the female neighbor exclaimed in horror, and then the family of three collapsed straight to the ground. The owner of the video quickly approached to help with CPR, but all three had lost their heartbeats.

As the owner of the video was making an emergency call for help, cries for help and screams came from nearby, “Help! Someone help!” It seemed that more people had collapsed.

With a voice trembling with fear, the video owner said, “What’s happening? What’s going on? So many people have collapsed… wuwuwu…” The video ended there, but the terrified voice of the video owner left a deep impression on everyone who watched it.

This kind of situation was not isolated, and many people in the comments section below said that their neighbors/friends/family had encountered the same situation. They were talking to each other one moment, and the next moment they collapsed. People speculated wildly about what caused the deaths. Some wondered if it was a gas leak, others wondered if it was a chemical weapon, and still others wondered if the red halo in the sky was to blame…

The variety of explanations only added to people’s panic, and the authorities had no solution to offer, only issuing a notice urging citizens to return home quickly and not to linger outside. Most of the people who collapsed died on the spot, with only a very small number of them running high fevers and passing out. Those who were unconscious were carried away by ambulances and rushed to the hospital. Seeing such photos or videos, Jiang Rong frowned slightly.

On the same day in his previous life, he went to bed early. But in this life, he was witnessing the crisis unfold before his eyes. According to his understanding from his previous life, on the day of awakening, some people would awaken abilities. These awakeners would have high fevers and pass out when they awakened their abilities. The higher the level of the ability, the longer and hotter the fever. This was a natural selection process, and as long as they could endure the fever, they would gain abilities.

So those who were taken to the hospital with fevers had a good chance of becoming the new humans of the apocalypse world.

Jiang Rong opened his phone and glanced at it. In comparison, the situation in D city was still relatively good, but some cities had already descended into chaos.

People collapsing was just the beginning; what was terrifying was the series of reactions that followed. For example, drivers driving buses suddenly lost consciousness, causing uncontrolled vehicles to crash into the roadside. Workers in chemical plants collapsed, causing hazardous chemicals to spill and explode…

The shocking casualty figures continued to rise, and the horrifying scenes in the videos and photos made people shudder, while the sound of police cars and ambulances wailed incessantly.

Seeing such a situation, Jiang Rong created a new post, titled: “Why are so many people suddenly dying? Is it the end of the world?” He pretended to be an ordinary person, lamenting for a few sentences, and then threw the link to his post on the forum.

Having done all this, Jiang Rong shut down his computer directly. He had done what he needed to do, fulfilling his duty. The rest was not something he could worry about.

Just as Jiang Rong was about to get up, he suddenly felt shortness of breath and dizziness, and stars appeared before his eyes. At the same time, his body’s strength was rapidly disappearing, and he couldn’t help but collapse to the ground.

The sound of the wheels under the chair rubbing against the floor was piercing, and Jiang Rong fell heavily to the ground, panting like an old ox who had run eight hundred meters. He struggled to raise his hand and touch his forehead, feeling the heat in his palm, his heart pounding.

Oh no, why was he having a fever? Was he also awakening?

Seeing his master fall to the ground, Lele anxiously licked Jiang Rong’s face, whimpering beside him, not knowing what had happened. Jiang Rong gasped heavily and said to Lele, “Lele, go call Xiaoheng, call Xiaoheng.”

His voice was hoarse and heavy, the high fever came suddenly, catching him off guard without any preparation. Fortunately, Lele was smart. Upon hearing Jiang Rong’s words, he hurriedly ran to the bedroom. After a moment of waiting, Jiang Xiaoheng’s footsteps sounded.

Jiang Rong’s face flushed red, and his vision became blurry. Jiang Xiaoheng’s voice became indistinct in his ears, “Dad, Dad, what’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Rong tightly grasped Jiang Xiaoheng’s hand, trying hard to keep his clarity, but his consciousness became increasingly confused. He had thousands of words to say to his son, but in the end, it all condensed into one sentence, “Don’t worry, Dad will sleep for a few days first. Xiaoheng, don’t be afraid…”

Not knowing if Jiang Xiaoheng heard his words clearly, as consciousness drifted away, Jiang Rong felt hot tears splashing on his cheeks. Jiang Rong’s last thought was: Oh no, Xiaoheng must be frightened.

Although fainting, Jiang Rong’s experience was uncomfortable. He had splitting headaches, recurring nightmares, and his body felt heavy, sore, and achy. He knew he was having a nightmare, with mutated plants covering the sky and grotesque mutated animals. Mutated rats flooded like tide waves, and he was back to the time when rats gnawed at him in his past life, with no way to hide or escape. Just as he was about to be consumed by mutated rats, the dream changed again. This time, he was in a scorching desert, with sweat evaporating rapidly from his body. Then, it was like being thrown into an icy tundra, shivering uncontrollably.

His consciousness was hazy, as if in chaos, unable to distinguish directions or find his way back. He didn’t know if he was alive or dead, or what time it was. Countless times, a voice in his heart told him: Don’t resist, just close your eyes and sleep, you’re so tired, why not rest for a while?

Jiang Rong wanted to rest, but he also knew that if he gave in to this voice, he would never wake up again. His death was a trivial matter, but what about his child? How would Xiaoheng live without him, so young? For the sake of his child, he couldn’t die.

He didn’t know how long it had passed before that voice gradually faded away. The surrounding chaos also gradually became clear, and in a misty fog, he saw a towering tree. This tree seemed to support the heavens and earth, and beneath this giant tree, he felt as small as an ant.

Feeling calm, he looked up at the tree, wanting to remember its appearance. At this moment, faint singing came from the tree, “Dad, Dad, good Dad~”

Jiang Rong was stunned for a moment. This sounded like… Xiaoheng’s voice?

After the shadow of the giant tree flickered a few times and disappeared, Jiang Rong felt his body becoming lighter, and his consciousness swiftly returning. Xiaoheng’s faint voice became clear. He heard his son singing in his ear, “I have a good dad…”

He felt a cool towel on his forehead, and small hands were carefully adjusting the towel’s position. Jiang Rong opened his eyes, his vision blurry. At the same time, the singing in his ears abruptly stopped, turning into surprised and exhausted cries, “Dad! Dad, are you awake?”

His vision gradually cleared, and Jiang Xiaoheng’s surprised yet tired little face became clearer. And he was lying on the floor of the study, with a child’s blanket on his stomach. Jiang Xiaoheng’s eyes were red and swollen, holding a wet towel and children’s fever patches in his hands. Seeing Jiang Rong awake, Jiang Xiaoheng tried to force a bright smile for his dad, but as soon as he opened his mouth, tears dripped down, “Dad… Dad…”

Jiang Rong turned his head to look at the electronic clock on the wall, clearly showing: June 10th, 6:30. He had actually been unconscious for four days and five nights!

 

 

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