Xu Zhenlan stood in the living room, his attention fixed on the television, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the screen.
The announcement was being repeated across every channel, there was nothing else on the tv but this. And it was all the same government officials, the same panel of scientists, the same promises. Hell it was even the same footage of military aircraft being prepared for deployment.
But the tone was different from when they first told the public about the infected. Back then they were in a controlled frenzy, a panic that could only be noticed by people who hid panic for a living.
Now there was no panic anymore. No frantic updates about overwhelmed hospitals or collapsing infrastructure. No reporters standing in front of burning buildings or overrun streets.
Just certainty.
Just control.
Just the promise that at noon, everything would end.
Zhou Chenghai stood near the security panel by the front door, his posture steady, and his expression unreadable. He listened carefully, processing every word, every detail, every implication.
Jian Yuche watched from near the window, his arms crossed and his gaze sharp. He didn't interrupt or try to talk over the television, instead, he stood there and just absorbed the information and waited.
Wei Lingyun remained quiet near the doorway, but the tension that had been present in the room for days—the constant edge of readiness, the expectation of violence—began to ease.
This was what they had been waiting for.
If this worked, the situation ended.
If this worked, everything went back to normal.
Zhenlan exhaled slowly, feeling something he hadn't allowed himself to feel in days.
Hope.
He turned toward the others. "Let's watch it."
Chenghai nodded once as Yuche straightened up with a crisp nod, and Lingyun stepped away from the doorway.
They moved together toward the staircase leading to the upper floor, their footsteps deliberate and controlled. No one spoke. There was nothing left to say.
Zhenlan led them to one of the balconies overlooking the property—a wide stone terrace with a clear view of the grounds, the perimeter walls, and the landscape beyond.
From there, they could see what happened when the release began.
The television continued repeating the announcement in the background, the sound drifting faintly through the open door behind them.
No one noticed that Rouxi was gone.
The four men stood at the edge of the balcony, their eyes scanning the horizon.
The clock on Zhenlan's phone read 11:58.
Two minutes.
The air was quiet... still with the anticipation of what was to come. The scraping and dragging sounds from the infected at the perimeter had faded slightly, as if even they sensed something was about to change.
Chenghai checked his watch. "T minus One minute."
Yuche's gaze remained fixed on the sky. Lingyun stood motionless, his breathing steady.
Zhenlan felt his pulse slow. Felt the tension in his shoulders ease just slightly.
This was it.
The end of the nightmare.
At exactly noon, a sound cut through the silence.
A low, distant rumble.
Zhenlan looked up.
A military aircraft appeared on the horizon—sleek, fast, flying low enough that they could see the markings on its wings. It passed overhead in seconds, the roar of its engines vibrating through the air.
Then another one. And another.
A coordinated deployment.
Exactly as the broadcast had described.
Yuche's eyes narrowed. "There."
In the distance, far beyond the property line, a flash of light appeared. Then another. Explosions—controlled, deliberate, releasing something into the atmosphere.
The sound reached them a moment later. A series of deep, resonant booms that echoed across the landscape.
Zhenlan watched as the sky above the distant city began to shimmer.
It wasn't smoke. It wasn't fire.
It was something else.
If he didn't know better, he would have thought that it was a shock wave.
But that wasn't supposed to happen.
The solution was supposed to be released in the air, it shouldn't cause a shock wave.
It moved across the horizon like a ripple spreading through water—visible but not solid, a distortion in the air itself, particles catching the light as they dispersed and spread.
It was beautiful, in a strange way.
Like watching a storm roll in, but silent. Controlled.
The wave expanded outward, moving faster than seemed possible, covering miles in seconds.
Chenghai's voice was quiet. "It's working."
Zhenlan didn't respond. He just watched as the wave continued to spread, moving closer, sweeping across the landscape toward them.
The infected at the perimeter began to react.
Some of them collapsed immediately. Others staggered, their movements slowing, their bodies jerking as if something inside them had been severed.
It was working.
The solution was working.
Zhenlan felt something loosen in his chest. Felt the weight of the past few days begin to lift.
And then the wave reached them.
It wasn't violent. It didn't crash or explode. It was just... there.
The air around them shimmered. A faint pressure settled over the balcony, like the moment before a thunderstorm when the atmosphere changes and everything feels heavier.
Zhenlan inhaled.
The air tasted different. Metallic. Sharp.
Beside him, Yuche's expression shifted. His hand moved to his temple, his eyes narrowing.
Lingyun swayed slightly, his balance faltering for just a moment.
Chenghai turned, his gaze moving toward Zhenlan. "Do you feel—"
He didn't finish the sentence.
His knees buckled.
Zhenlan reached for him instinctively, but his own vision blurred. His legs felt weak. Unsteady.
Yuche collapsed first, dropping to one knee before falling forward onto the stone.
Lingyun followed a second later, his body hitting the ground with a dull thud.
Chenghai tried to stay upright, his hand gripping the balcony railing, but his strength gave out. He slid down, his back against the stone, his eyes unfocused.
Zhenlan's vision darkened at the edges.
He tried to move. Tried to speak.
But his body wouldn't respond.
The last thing he saw before everything went black was the wave continuing to spread across the sky, shimmering and silent, covering everything in its path.