Infectious Aberrants Appear

She kept repeating the same warning.

Tu Ran and Xie Xu exchanged a knowing glance, and Xie Xu headed toward the front of the car.

At the same time, more and more people were pushing their way toward them—adults clutching children, the elderly leaning on one another for support. Everyone was panicked, shouting, wailing.

Some had blood splattered across their clothes, making the whole scene even more terrifying.

Tu Ran also stood up and grabbed a passing man at random. "What's happening up ahead?"

"A bunch of people up front went crazy—biting everyone in sight! Anyone they bite goes crazy too! They're already in the car two ahead of us. Stop asking questions and run!"

The man shook off her hand and bolted toward the back of the train.

But Tu Ran had already found what she needed in that brief moment of contact.

A male passenger had suddenly collapsed after boarding.

A crowd gathered around him to check on his condition.

A woman with her daughter set the child aside, crouched down, and reached out to test his breathing.

The fallen man's eyes snapped open—only the whites showing, utterly chilling.

The woman tried to dodge, but it was too late.

He bit down on her neck and tore off a chunk of flesh.

The woman died instantly, her head lolling to the side.

The man chewed the meat from her neck, blood dripping down his chin.

Everyone fled in terror at the sight.

The man swallowed the flesh in his mouth, leaped up, and chased after them, biting the next person.

Three seconds later, the fallen woman came back to life, propping herself up on her hands and swaying as she stood.

But her dark pupils had faded, her eye sockets filled with ghostly white.

She twitched and stumbled toward her stunned daughter.

As her consciousness returned, a chill shot up from the soles of Tu Ran's feet, racing through her limbs and settling deep in her bones.

Was that... a zombie?!

It can infect others through wounds...

Xi Chunzhi's message flashed through her mind: infectious aberrants.

Xie Xu, who had gone ahead to scout, sprinted back.

He shoved a communicator into Tu Ran's hands, speaking rapidly, "Infectious aberrants have appeared up ahead. Report this to the Administrative Building and have them transfer control of the train's broadcast system to this communicator."

"Got it." Tu Ran nodded quickly.

Though she had her own communicator, it could only be used to contact Xie Xu privately—it couldn't reach the Administrative Building. Only Federal Government-issued work communicators could connect directly to the administrative center.

After giving the order, Xie Xu drew his sidearm and charged forward.

Moments later, Tu Ran heard gunshots—bang, bang, bang—mixed with screams.

She called Zero out and quickly dictated a message: "This is Q4245 maglev train. I'm Pioneer Tu Ran. Unknown infectious aberrants have appeared on this train, with multiple passengers infected and the infection spreading rapidly."

"Senior Researcher Xie Xu requests that train broadcast authority be transferred to this device. We need to coordinate all personnel aboard. Additionally, please suspend intermediate stops to prevent the infected from spreading outward. Finally, the center should prepare to receive us."

None of the Federation's maglev trains had drivers—they were all controlled by computer programs. If they couldn't notify the Administrative Building in time to halt the train's operation, the next stop would release who knew how many sources of infection.

Three minutes after the message was sent, the broadcast in the car changed.

The Administrative Building had responded.