Chapter 5: An Alien World

Su Xiaomu waited. And waited. The expected agony, the tearing bite… didn’t come. The foul dripping on his face… stopped.

Cautiously, he cracked one eye open.

Blue sky. Fluffy white clouds. The crushing weight of the zombie… gone. Vanished.

He turned his head stiffly. Rolling green hills dotted with trees met his gaze. The gentle murmur of running water reached his ears. He was lying on soft grass.

“Huh?” Su Xiaomu jackknifed into a sitting position, staring down at the verdant ground beneath him. Just moments ago, he’d been pinned on cold concrete. How…?

Did he have teleportation powers? But G City had no countryside like this. And after the apocalypse… how could any place look so untouched?

He plucked a blade of grass, chewed it thoughtfully. The bitter taste confirmed this wasn’t a hallucination. He was undeniably here.

He turned towards the sound of water. A small stream glittered in the sunlight, chuckling over smooth stones.

“Wahahaha… Hahaha!” Su Xiaomu threw his head back and laughed, the sound harsh and rasping in the peaceful air, devoid of true mirth, more like the caw of a startled crow. Exhaustion and lingering hunger quickly cut the laughter short.

He scrambled to the stream, plunging his hands in, gulping the cool, clear water. His stomach, empty for so long, cramped violently in protest, growling loudly.

He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the water – a gaunt, skull-like visage – and quickly looked away. Revulsion warred with necessity. Spotting fruit trees on a nearby slope, heavy with red apples, his mouth watered.

Spitting on his palms for a dubious grip, Su Xiaomu slapped the tree trunk and began to climb. Bark scraped his thin skin, but desperation lent him strength. He hauled himself onto a sturdy branch.

He picked an apple, wiped it roughly on his filthy shirt, and bit in. Crunch. Juice, tart and sweet, flooded his mouth. He didn’t care where he was anymore. Food. Survival. That was all that mattered.

He’d been reborn only hours ago, but those hours felt like a lifetime of horror. Facing death a second time… only to blink into existence here.

He devoured five apples, core and all, stopping only when his shrunken stomach protested painfully. He patted the swollen curve, a profound sense of relief washing over him. Full. For now.

Leaning back against the tree trunk, lulled by the rustle of leaves and the distant clucking of… chickens? He began to drift, exhaustion pulling him under… until a sudden lurch jolted him awake. He’d almost fallen! Heart pounding, he scrambled down the tree, the near-miss banishing all thoughts of sleep.

That’s when he saw it. Nestled near the trees, almost hidden: a small wooden cabin. To its left, neat rows of green vegetables grew. And to the right… his eyes widened. Chickens! Ducks! Waddling contentedly within a fenced area!

He ran, stumbling in his haste. Rubbing his eyes, he confirmed it. Chickens pecked at the ground. Ducks paddled in a small, muddy puddle maybe a square meter in size. One chicken eyed him, clucked dismissively, and went back to foraging. They seemed… normal.

Su Xiaomu stood frozen, a storm of emotions warring within him – disbelief, overwhelming relief, a dawning, incredulous hope. He’d wondered why he was here… but now… could it be…?

“A space…” he breathed, the word feeling alien yet impossibly right. “A personal dimension…” The fucking heavens had thrown him a bone. A massive, life-saving bone.

He approached the cabin door. Click. It opened easily.

Inside: simple. A bed. A table. Two chairs. Dusty, but intact. And on the table… a single object. A sheet of old, stiffened hide. Parchment? Leather?

Su Xiaomu picked it up, his heart pounding with anticipation. He smoothed it out, his eyes scanning the surface…

“*&%￥#@！！#……” Gibberish. Utter, incomprehensible gibberish. The symbols meant nothing to him. His brief surge of hope faltered, replaced by fresh confusion. What now?