A Game Account Carries The Entire Apocalyptic City - Chapter 1

The fifteenth year since the infected invaded.

The city was short on resources, industry had declined, buildings had fallen into disrepair, and an air of decay hung over the land. Once night fell, danger lurked everywhere.

Inside the old house, sheets of metal and old iron plates had been nailed haphazardly across the windows, leaving only a narrow slit.

Qi Li pressed her face close to the window and peered down through the gap.

Before long, the first ray of morning sunlight streamed in, making her dark, clear eyes gleam.

Last night, Qi Li and her family had all heard a piercing scream coming from the building across from theirs.

The sound tore through the darkness, moving from the upper floors to the lower ones, then all the way down to the flower bed outside.

Then it abruptly stopped.

Afterward, in the suddenly deathly still air,

came the continuous, spine-chilling sound of gnawing.

Zombies really had no manners. Hadn’t their mothers ever told them not to make noise while eating? Qi Li thought.

It was all because a few infected had appeared in their residential complex two days ago.

The city’s official combat teams were stretched too thin and still hadn’t managed to get here.

At last, dawn arrived.

Qi Li observed the area through the crack in the window. The infected downstairs had wandered off somewhere again, but at least they weren’t lying in wait in the same place.

She could only hope the combat team would arrive today and clear out those zombies.

Word had already spread that the unlucky person attacked by the infected last night had died beside the flower bed.

No one knew when the same danger might fall upon the remaining survivors nearby.

Living in constant fear like this had long since become normal for Qi Li.

Qi Li straightened, let out a long breath, and sealed the crack in the window tightly with black tape.

She guessed the infected were probably still roaming nearby.

But she absolutely had to go out today.

There were six people in her household: Qi Li herself, her maternal grandmother, her mother, and her maternal aunt.

Then there were her aunt’s two daughters, Qi Li’s underage younger sisters—seventeen-year-old Qi Ning and fifteen-year-old Qi Xing.

Aside from her instinct to survive, Qi Li had little else to her name. The most important things left in her life were these family members.

Her younger sister, Qi Xing, had cut her leg last week.

Unfortunately, signs of infection had begun appearing in the wound the day before yesterday, and ordinary disinfectant had failed to slow its deterioration.

By last night, Qi Xing had developed a high fever, and the wound had become so severe that it was festering and oozing pus.

Combined with malnutrition, Qi Xing was already showing signs of being in critical condition.

Qi Li made up her mind. She would take her other healthy and young sister, Qi Ning, with her. No matter what, they had to buy medicine for Qi Xing today.

Or bring home a doctor capable of performing surgery and amputate Qi Xing’s leg to save her life.

Her aunt wasn’t home. Their elderly grandmother and the sick Qi Xing needed their mother to stay behind and care for them, so Qi Li and Qi Ning going out was their only option.

Grandmother sat beside the dressing table and took eight crystal coins from a polished copper box, handing them to Qi Li.

Crystal coins were made quite small. In fact, Qi Li could hold dozens in one hand at most.

But her family was simply too poor.

Raising children had drained them dry.

Grandmother paused, then turned back and pried another three crystal coins from the box, adding them to Qi Li’s palm.

She said, “Go. Find somewhere that has medicine. As long as it can save Xing, it doesn’t matter if you spend all of it.”

Qi Li’s naturally brown short hair reached her neck, curling softly on its own into a fluffy shape.

Her features were sharp and capable, the contours of her face clearly defined by how thin she was. Aside from the obvious fact that she’d been born with good looks, the sallowness caused by hunger and the pallor of her lips were especially noticeable.

At that moment, she lowered her eyes to the pitifully small amount of family savings in her hand and nodded. Her feelings were complicated, but her wish was singular:

If only she had some way to earn more crystal coins.

Then her family wouldn’t have to go hungry just to scrape together enough money to treat an injury or illness.

“I understand, Grandma.”

But just as she turned to leave, Grandmother suddenly tugged at the corner of her clothes.

“Wait… Li.”

“Hm?” Qi Li turned back.

This time, Grandmother took out the last four crystal coins from the copper box.

Now the bottom of the box was completely empty. The fifteen crystal coins in Qi Li’s hand were all the money their entire family currently had.

Grandmother adjusted the corner of her clothes for her, gazing anxiously at her from behind reading glasses. “Take all of it. What if it isn’t enough? You have to come back safely.”

Qi Li pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes. “Okay.”

Qi Li and Qi Ning cautiously made their way downstairs.

When they reached the first floor, the two pressed close to the wall and looked around in every direction.

The daylight was dim, as though filtering through a haze.

Besides the stale smell of mold that had lingered for years, the air now carried a strong stench of blood and rotting flesh.

There were old bloodstains on the paving stones, and now a fresh pool had appeared in front of the flower bed.

Human hair and broken bones were mixed into the blood, while not far away lay the bluish-green severed limb of an infected.

The person who had died last night had been chewed into pieces, leaving them impossible to identify.

Qi Li swept her gaze around, then looked back at Qi Ning and asked, “If I remember right, don’t you have a pocket sewn inside your clothes?”

Qi Ning unzipped her tracksuit and opened it to show her. “Yeah. Grandma sewed it in. You can hide a few things inside.”

Qi Li immediately handed all fifteen crystal coins to her.

“Then keep the crystal coins with you. They’ll be safer there.”

Qi Ning frowned and immediately dodged away, pulling her jacket closed.

“Sister, no. I’m going to use this to hide the medicine later. You keep the money yourself.”

As if she didn’t know what Qi Li was thinking.

Qi Li persisted. “It won’t matter. Once we buy the medicine, there won’t be any crystal coins taking up space. They’ll stay more secure in your pocket.”

Qi Ning said, “I’m not taking them. Whenever we go out, you’re the one who carries the money. That’s the rule. Come on. Stop wasting time here.”

The two kept watch on their surroundings as they headed toward the entrance of the residential complex.

Suddenly, the scratching sound of claws came from behind a bare, mutated old tree by the roadside!

Every hair on Qi Li’s body instantly stood on end. Of course the exact thing they feared had happened—

An infected wandered out from behind the tree stump, its nails scraping against the bark. The moment Qi Li met its cloudy white eyes,

a chill seeped through every opening in her hooded jacket.

No matter how tightly humans wrapped themselves up, the scent of fresh flesh and the sound of movement could still reach the infected’s senses.

The infected seemed to grow excited. Tilting its head at an odd angle, it charged wildly toward Qi Li and Qi Ning.

It had found humans! Right within reach!

Even though it was only a low-level infected, its crawling and running speed was no slower than an adult human’s.

Its strength even surpassed that of a healthy adult.

Without trained combat personnel fighting it or heavy firepower suppressing it, ordinary people were simply no match for the infected!

When ordinary people faced the infected, there was only one thing they could do—

“RUN!!!”

In a split second, Qi Ning shouted while pulling a stone from her trouser pocket and hurling it straight at the infected’s head!

The infected’s head jerked slightly before turning toward her. Its white eyes seemed to lock onto Qi Ning, and it charged at her in fury.

Qi Ning immediately sprinted in the opposite direction from the residential complex’s gate.

“Sister! Hurry and go find the medicine! I’ll lure it away!”

There was no question about it. Qi Li was carrying the money, so she had to get out safely.

Qi Li had originally thought that since she was the faster runner, she should be the one to lure away any infected they happened to encounter!

But Qi Ning hadn’t given her the chance!

Qi Li gritted her teeth. There was no way to turn things around now.

All she could do was seize the time Qi Ning had bought her and run outside as quickly as possible.

On the other side, the infected’s hurried footsteps thudded unevenly as it chased after Qi Ning.

It let out enraged “Awoo! Awoo!” sounds, rapidly widening the distance between itself and Qi Li.

The rotten stench grew farther and farther away from Qi Li.

[Transmigration Countdown: 00:03]
[Transmigration Countdown: 00:02]
[Transmigration Countdown: 00:01]

Qi Li stared at the white text that had suddenly appeared before her eyes and wondered if the canned food she’d eaten yesterday afternoon hadn’t been sterilized thoroughly enough.

Had she been poisoned and started hallucinating?

When she reached the damaged gate of the residential complex and leaped over it,

the instant her feet hit the ground,

a sensation of weightlessness, as though she were plunging from a great height, crashed into her mind!

[Transmigration Complete]

Qi Li suddenly shot upright from a white bed in the school infirmary!

There wasn’t even the slightest trace of rot or blood mixed into the smell of disinfectant here.

Qi Li stared blankly at the clean walls.

At the soft, pure-white bedding beneath her hands.

A polished solid-wood desk bore no scratch marks from zombie nails. Instead, two cups of fruit tea sat on it, their surfaces beaded with chilled condensation.

The infirmary director, who had taken a sip of her afternoon tea and set it back down, glanced at Qi Li. Her tone carried the practiced indifference of someone long accustomed to working the job.

“You’re awake, Student Qi. Don’t exercise too intensely during PE class. In weather like this, you need to watch out for heatstroke. Are you still feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

Still dazed, Qi Li answered slowly, “N-No…”

What was going on? Had she really transmigrated?

Where was this?

From the looks of it… was this the old world from before?

With the expression of someone blatantly slacking off at work, the infirmary director said lazily, “Then hurry back to class. Don’t do any more strenuous exercise, and remember to drink more water.”

Qi Li slowly got out of bed. She looked at her hands, feet, and clothes, then realized she had become shorter and several years younger.

It seemed that… she’d become a student.

As she passed the desk where the infirmary director sat, she bent down and borrowed the mirror on the table to look at her face. She nearly jumped in fright.

That face was unmistakably what she had looked like at sixteen!

It was just a little fuller than she’d actually been back then…

When Qi Li was little, she had read some transmigration novels from the old era on the bookshelf at home.

Standing beneath a willow tree on campus, she decided to humor the superstition and called out silently in her mind, “System?”

There was no response.

After walking out of the air-conditioned infirmary, nothing appeared in her mind—not even a single memory belonging to the body’s original owner. The only thing happening was sweat forming on her forehead from the heat.

She whispered aloud, “System…?”

Still no response.

Qi Li began to panic. No matter how hard she searched with her consciousness, she couldn’t find any system inside her mind.

She had to go back! If she’d transmigrated, what would happen to her family?

She was still holding all of her family’s crystal coins, and her feverish, infected younger sister was still waiting for her to buy medicine and come back to save her!!

How could she transmigrate?!!

How could she just “beautifully die” at a time like this?!

Was fate playing a joke on her?

“Hey—can I go back home for lunch?!” Qi Li raised her head and stared at the blue sky and white clouds.

“No, student. You only had mild heatstroke. You need another reason if you want a sick leave note.” The merciless voice of the infirmary director drifted out from inside.

“…”

Qi Li felt dizzy. She supported herself against the tree trunk and slowly closed her eyes.

After a long while, the corners of her lips curved upward slightly.

She was so angry she laughed.

The family’s last fifteen crystal coins—the money meant to save her sister’s life—she couldn’t even tell whether they had vanished into thin air along with her.

What was she supposed to do?

Qi Li leaned back against the tree, head lowered, wearing a smile uglier than crying.

Suddenly, a female student ran over.

“Qi Li! Qi Li!”

Qi Li paused slightly and looked up.

The classmate who had come to find her beneath the tree was a short girl wearing glasses, dressed in the same blue-and-white school uniform as her.

Qi Li quietly waited beneath the other girl’s bright smile.

She had transmigrated without gaining any memories. Even if she wanted to speak, she had no idea what lines she was supposed to say.

The classmate said, “You’re awake! Ah, PE class just ended… That’s so tragic. You happened to miss the whole PE period, and next period we have to go back for math.”

Qi Li gave an awkward smile. “Uh… hehe. Yeah.”

The classmate said, “Sigh, let’s go. We’ll head back to class.” As she spoke, she turned around first.

Qi Li followed her, figuring out which class she belonged to. By carefully observing everyone around her, she also managed to sit down in the correct seat.

Only then did she realize that this girl was her deskmate.

Qi Li saw the schoolbag on her seat.

Wanting to get a better sense of her surroundings, she lifted it onto her lap, opened it, and checked what was inside.

Aside from textbooks, Qi Li discovered a phone hidden in the inner pocket of the bag.

She took the phone out and switched it on.

When she saw the date displayed on the screen—“2026/09/10”—she froze for a second.

In her world, the apocalypse had already begun in 2024.
Yet this place remained completely peaceful even in 2026… What did that mean?

To confirm it, Qi Li casually tested the waters with her deskmate.

“Do you think real zombies exist in this world?”

“Haha, if they did, I’d be the first to go find them and let them take a bite out of me. Then I could just give up on life. Be careful with your phone, though. Don’t let anyone see you. XXX will go tell the teacher.”

“Okay, got it.” Qi Li nodded and slipped the phone into the desk compartment.

She thought to herself: So this is a parallel world without the infected virus.

That’s good.

But she still wanted to go back.

She absentmindedly swiped right across the phone screen.

Suddenly, the icon of an app caught Qi Li’s attention!

She stared closely. Wasn’t that icon a picture of the city walls of Yecheng?

The app was called: Walled City and Survivors

Stunned, Qi Li’s hand moved faster than her brain, and she tapped open the app.

[Healthy Gaming Advisory.
Resist harmful games and reject pirated games.
Protect yourself and beware of scams.
Moderate gaming benefits the mind; gaming addiction harms the body.
Manage your time wisely and enjoy a healthy life.]

Classic white text appeared against a black startup screen. Then the game finished loading and entered the login interface.

[Continue Game]
[New Beginning]

Qi Li naturally tapped “Continue Game,” which appeared first.

Her intense curiosity made it impossible not to see what this was about.

[Welcome back, Survivor Qi Li!]

The next second, Qi Li’s eyes trembled.

She saw her own home appear on the phone screen!