Saturday, May 20, 2028, is an ordinary day.
In this year, it is a little special. It is the Xiaoman among the 24 solar terms. Because of the homophony of the date, it becomes a catalyst for the warming of the relationship between men and women.
In Bincheng, located in the northeast of China, the sky was clear and the temperature was pleasant.
On the weekend, the streets are busy with traffic and people coming and going. Couples are walking through the streets and alleys, talking sweet words and looking forward to the most beautiful scenery after nightfall.
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"Uh-uh, uh-uh", a low siren broke the tranquility of the nearby neighborhood, and two fire trucks roared past.
The attentive residents looked up and saw plumes of smoke rising from a residential home in the distance.
The fire was extinguished an hour later.
A firefighter holding a fire ax was checking the situation at the affected user's home to prevent other safety hazards, and kept reporting the situation through the walkie-talkie he carried.
"Report! The living room inspection is completed!"
"Report! Master bedroom inspection completed!"
Suddenly, there was a burst of noise, the intercom signal was lost, and there was no response.
"Xiao Li, can you hear me?" There was no response from the comrades who should be supporting him nearby.
Feeling that the situation was abnormal, the firefighter hurriedly walked to the ladder outside the window.
When he came to the window, it was like being in a fire scene again. The skin of his upper body felt a sharp burning pain. Even the fireman's suit couldn't resist it at all. He quickly lay down.
The moment his eyes passed through the window, he saw his inseparable good brother fall from the ladder.
"Xiao Li!" Shouting at the top of his lungs could not alleviate his grief and anger. He immediately stood up and wanted to save others, but was forced back by the blazing sunshine.
The neighborhood, which had been in order just now, suddenly boiled. Harsh brakes, crashes, explosions, and the ensuing shouts and screams kept reaching my ears.
I stood up several times to check the situation, but I couldn't resist my body's instinctive reaction.
He followed the shadow of the room to the door. Just as he was about to go downstairs, he was repelled by the sunlight coming from the corridor window, which eventually turned into bloody fist prints on the wall and low whimpering.
···
"Sister Xu, open the curtains, the light is too dark."
"Isn't the light on?"
"Sister Xu, you are too conservative. You usually wear protective clothing in class. Is it hot?"
"Concentrate on your homework!"
"Sister Xu, sister Xu, listen, what's the sound outside? Is there a fire somewhere?"
"Shut up now and do the questions honestly!"
"Sister Xu——, go and check the situation. I'm still so young and don't want to die in a sea of fire."
"It's really a fire. We've already announced it!" After saying that, the woman still got up and opened the curtains and looked around.
"Sister Xu, I'm right, it's on fire!" There was a head next to him with a proud look on his face.
"It doesn't matter if you are so far away from us, just keep doing your homework!"
"Sister Xu!" Seeing that the woman was unmoved, the student could only pout, return to his seat, continue to look at the test paper bitterly, and start chewing.
Less than three minutes later, "Sister Xu, do you think the fire will spread? It won't reach this point, right?"
"Even if the fire reaches the door, you still have to finish writing the test paper!" This sentence completely dispelled the student's thoughts, making her lower her head again and suffer.
···
"Sister Xu, I'm done, you go check it out!"
The student handed the test paper to the woman and slipped to the window sill to watch.
The woman who was very efficient in answering students' questions turned the paper to the end and lectured: "Why didn't you write down the last two big questions? Come back!"
"I don't know those two things!"
The woman knocked on the table with a stern look.
Seeing this, the student had no choice but to turn back three times and walked back in dismay.
The outside world is the sky where she can spread her wings, but she is trapped in a cage of dozens of square meters because there is a vicious witch with a face as sweet as a snake and a heart like a snake next to her, holding a staff to restrain her.
When can we wait until the prince charming with his feet on the colorful auspicious clouds appears and rescues the beautiful princess from the sea of misery?
"Ah, it hurts!" The illusion was shattered, and the student fell to the ground and kept saying "Ouch".
"What kind of monster are you doing?"
She knew that her student was eccentric and often cheated. This was the first time he had cheated so realistically. The woman hurriedly got up to check.
As soon as I walked over, I felt a sharp pain in my arm. I quickly dodged it and noticed the curtains that were open. I understood something instantly and quickly closed them. Unexpectedly, my fingers turned red the moment I touched them.
"Teacher, what's going on? My neck hurts!"
"It's okay, come here with me, I'll just put some burn medicine on you!"
At this time, screams and cries also came from outside the window.
"Teacher, what's happening outside? I want to go home!"
Facing the panicked student, the woman held her in her arms and kept comforting her:
"Be obedient, don't be afraid, no matter what happens, the teacher will protect you!"
His trembling hands caressed the student's back, and his red eyes were as firm as ever.
···
"Old fellows, get your gifts ready. The train will leave in ten minutes. The train will leave on time in another ten minutes!"
In a room with closed curtains and bright lights, a man with a tattoo on his arm is holding a mobile phone and staring intently at the screen. In the picture, a man wearing a mask is actively talking to his mobile phone, on the bed. There was also a woman sitting, also wearing a mask.
"What, you want to look at your face? This brother, you really can't do it with your face! My wife's? My wife's can't do it either!"
"Thank you for the rocket! Brother, you are really making things difficult for me. Come here and let me show you my wife's figure up close!"
The man in the picture walked over, picked up the woman, and walked around in front of the camera a few times, causing the live broadcast room to flood the screen.
"Thank you for the rocket sent by another veteran. How about it, brothers? I'm not lying. Is this body tall enough?"
"Guys, keep getting gifts! There are still five minutes left. The train will leave on time in five minutes!"
Throwing the phone aside, the tattooed man looked at the woman hiding in the corner and said, "If you don't want to do a good live broadcast, how about we do this?"
The woman sat on the ground with her hands and knees, raised her head, and said in a low voice: "Didn't I follow your request? I can't help it if the live broadcast room is not popular."
"Are you listening to me? I asked you to reveal a little more and you wrapped it up like a rice dumpling. I asked you to twist your waist a little more and you danced like a mechanical dance. Which of these did I say?"
The man was so angry that he walked over and raised his hand. After thinking about it, he punched the wall with his fist.
At this time, the lights in the room flickered and went out instantly.
"Damn it, what's going on, one punch is so powerful?"
The man hurried over and pressed the light switch a few times. Nothing unexpected happened. He checked his cell phone and found that there was no signal either.
Suddenly, there was a scream outside the window. The tattooed man ran over and tried to open the curtain to check. He screamed and fell on the bed.
He rubbed his hands, looked at the woman in the corner, and said angrily: "What are you still doing? Hurry and find a place to hide. Something happened outside. Remember to stay away from the window!"
With his back to the woman, he didn't notice that the fleeting surprise turned into regret, then turned into bone-deep hatred and finally died.
···
"Lao Zhang, tell me what happened to our account!"
In the dim living room, a man held a machete in his hand, slashed the coffee table, and then sat down on it.
A middle-aged couple was huddled on the sofa opposite, shivering.
"Why don't you talk to Boss Lu and give me some more time?"
"Tell Boss Lu? Is it more important for you or for me? I'll give you the phone number. You go and tell me!" He took out his cell phone and handed it over.
The middle-aged man stretched out his hand and shivered several times but still didn't dare to take it.
"Why don't you fight? Tell me how many times you have done it. We have visited your house three or four times. Brothers, it's interesting enough. We don't want you to pay for running errands, right?"
"I don't want it, I don't want it."
"Then tell me, we are so reasonable, why don't you give your brothers face?
Let’s give face to my sister-in-law and be nice and kind all the time. Do you think honest people are easy to bully? "After speaking, he pointed the machete at the middle-aged man's thigh.
"No, no, I just can't take advantage of it now. I'll wait a few days to get it together. I'll definitely get it done by then, and it won't be a penny!"
"Made, you said the same thing last time. Do you think my brain is not working well? Do you want me to remove a few parts from you so that it can be remembered?"
"Biaozi, pay attention to your tone!"
At the restaurant table, a young man dropped the melon rind in his hand, took out a tissue and wiped his hands and walked over.
"Yes, Brother Lu!" The knife-wielding man nicknamed "Biaozi" quickly stood up, bent over, and stepped aside.
"Brother Zhang and Sister Zhong, please introduce yourself first. My surname is Lu. I am the second son of Boss Lu you just mentioned. I have just returned to China recently.
No, there's something going on in the company, and my eldest brother can't leave, so I'll follow him and have a look. If you have anything to say, tell me the same thing. If you have any difficulties, I will definitely help. "
The man in front of him was in his thirties, fair, somewhat delicate, and well-mannered. He was about 1.7 meters tall, not too tall or short for Bincheng, and the smile on his face made it easy for people to let down their guard.
"Hello, Mr. Lu, I..."
"Hey, call me Manager Lu, what kind of young master am I?"
"Yes, yes! Manager Lu, I really can't come up with the money now. Give me half a month, no, ten days, and I will definitely get the money for you."
"Okay! Have fun! Brother Zhang gives me face, so I will also give Brother Zhang face. If I say ten days, it will be ten days! After ten days, you pay the money and I will hand over the person!"
"To whom should I pay? Who should I pay...who should I pay to?"
"Of course it's your precious granddaughter. I heard that she is about to go to kindergarten. Your family must not have money to pay for school fees.
Don’t be afraid, the company will take care of this. We’ll hire the best kindergarten teachers to take care of you, and we’ll serve you delicious food and drinks. Brother, you will have no worries!
This is what my dad always calls humanized management! Look, are you humane enough? "
In the dim environment, the young man's smile was still warm, but in the eyes of the middle-aged man, he looked like a beast with fangs spread out, eager to devour him.
At this time, painful screams came from outside the door. Manager Lu put away his smile and said, "Biaozi, come over and see what's going on?" He walked to the dining table and picked up the machete.
"Okay, Brother Lu! Qiangzi, speak, what's wrong?" Biaozi called out from across the door. Apparently there were accomplices guarding outside.
Without waiting for a response, after a while, there was a tapping sound on the door.
"Call, call someone!"
Biaozi picked up the phone and dialed for a long time. "Brother Lu" beside him had black lines on his head: "Does your phone have a signal?"
"Brother Lu, there is no signal!"
"Farke!"
The two looked at each other, Manager Lu winked, and held the machete in his hand.
Biaozi raised the knife with his right hand, slowly turned the handle with his left hand, turned sideways, and was ready to slash with the knife at any time.
The door was opened, and standing was his colleague Qiangzi. His eyes were red, and his exposed skin was covered with blisters, which were slowly dissipating. The careless Biaozi did not notice this.
Biaozi glanced outside and found no one else. Biaozi was a little puzzled: "Damn it, what are you doing outside?"
Seeing him staggering and looking like he was about to fall, Biaozi dropped the machete and quickly used both hands to help him.
"Biaozi, be careful!"
Biaozi was about to turn around when he heard the noise, when Qiangzi in his arms suddenly opened his mouth and bit his neck.
"I x you x, are you crazy?" He pushed Qiangzi away with both hands.
He stretched out his hand and touched it, and there was blood all over it. Just when he was about to continue cursing, Qiangzi rushed over and threw him to the ground, lowered his head and bit him in the same position again.
Biaozi kept hitting Qiangzi's head with his fists and tried to get away, but failed. As the yelling and cursing continued to weaken and disappear, his arm slowly fell to the ground and remained motionless.
Manager Lu's forehead was covered with sweat, and he was holding knives in both hands as he watched the Qiangzi being bitten away bit by bit, while the two people on the sofa were already so scared that they hid aside and didn't know what to do.
After a while, Qiangzi raised his head, with blood dripping from the corners of his mouth. His scarlet eyes turned to Manager Lu, and he stood up and rushed towards him.
Manager Lu took action and slashed Qiangzi's chest with a knife. Qiangzi took a step back and continued to move forward. He had no choice but to stab Qiangzi again.
The blood of Qiangzi, who had been stabbed twice in the chest, kept dripping, red with a little green light, and he rushed over without mercy.
"You forced me to do this!" He turned sideways, avoided Qiangzi's lunge, and swung the knife down, hitting him in the neck.
With blood splattering everywhere, Qiangzi finally fell down.
"Farke! Farke! Farke!" Manager Lu yelled and paced around the body.
"Brother Zhang, you have to testify for me. I was acting in self-defense. I'll settle your account!"
···
"From the morphological smear of this patient's bone marrow cells displayed on the screen, it is initially determined to be acute myeloid leukemia."
"Does the smear match the M3 type?"
"I don't think it's the M3 type. Let's take a look here..."
A woman was sitting in front of a computer having a video consultation that had lasted for half an hour.
Looking around, the curtains were closed and the lights were bright. There was a girl on the bed, playing quietly with the toys in her hands. She occasionally looked at the woman with eyes full of expectation.
At this time, the computer screen dimmed, the lights went out, and the girl jumped up.
"Mom, can we go out to play?"
···
This day is destined to be an extraordinary day.
After staying up all night with a gay friend, someone completed the "pentakill" in bed;
After cheering excitedly, some people closed their eyes and witnessed their favorite team finally winning the championship;
Some people threw away their wine bottles and saw in their sleep the days when couples lived in harmony and shared family happiness.
They regretfully missed the beginning of the whole thing. When they woke up, the world had already changed drastically.
Will they be surprised that they are one of the few survivors, or will they despair that they have lost their relatives and friends and are struggling to survive?
No matter which way you choose, this is how it all begins!
