The City of Terror Chapter 1 - The Apartment Room's Terrifying Change

 Chapter 1 - The Apartment Room’s Terrifying Change

Name: Wei Xiao Bei

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 21

Creature Rank: 1 star

Status: (The average adult male’s status value is 10)

Strength: 10.5 (Muscle: 11, Sturdiness: 10)

Agility: 9.75 (Hand-eye Coordination: 9, Flexibility: 11, Reflex: 11, Balance: 8)

Vitality: 10 (Health: 9, Endurance: 11)

Intelligence: 7 (Learning: 6, Reasoning: 8)

Awareness: 9.25 (Willpower: 12, Judgement: 8, Perception: 7, Intuition: 10)

Charm: 7.2 (Courage: 10, Persuasiveness: 7, Character: 7, Leadership: 5, Appearance: 7)

Skills: Shooting (Intermediate), Military Boxing (Intermediate), Electrical Work (Beginner)

Special Skills: None

Evolution Points: 0

Items on hand: None

“Fuck! Can anyone tell me what the fuck is going on?”

Wei Xiao Bei’s head throbbed, and his body was sore all over. Waking up with a hangover, he stupidly stared at the ceiling while trying to fathom this unimaginable situation before him.

He had only gone drinking with his friends the night before and after waking up, a so-called status panel appeared in his mind.

Could this have something to do with the [Classic of Mountain and Seas] that I picked up? I remember that, before I passed out, the book emitted a blinding light.

Wei Xiao Bei reached out beside him to find the wire-bound book, but it had disappeared.

Dim light passed through the window as if night had just descended.

Wei Xiao Bei decided to put aside the matter of the status panel as he scratched his hair which had not been washed for almost a week. Moving to get out of bed, his stomach grumbled having not eaten for an entire day.

But just as Wei Xiao Bei rose up, his head felt so heavy as if it was pressed down by a mountain. He shook his head and let out a light sigh laced with a trace of alcohol. He decided against making rice and just cook a cup of instant noodles instead.

After two steps, Wei Xiao Bei suddenly stopped and stared blankly.

What the hell is this? What the hell happened here?

How did my room become so ruined after a single night?

The floor and table were covered in dust, his new poster of Zhang Liang Ying that had just been posted on the wall a few days ago had already become yellow and tattered all over. Even Zhang Liang Ying’s beautiful face became monstrous, as if an old devil was looking at him with a terrifying smile. 

(Zhang Liang Ying: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Zhang)

The walls were covered by a mist of cobwebs and the fruits placed on top of the coffee table were withered and rotted to the point that the mold on them had turned black. The fruits below even seemed to have turned into mush. The aluminium framed window that the landlord had just installed not that long ago was now covered in a layer of white ash and the glass was filled with cracks and covered in dust.

The computer beside his bed was also covered by cobwebs and was accompanied by an empty water glass with a withered worm inside of it.

Dust filled the air making Wei Xiao Bei choke as he tried to breathe.

Everything seemed to be ash gray without any light, as if looking at television static.

After just one night, it seemed like everything in the room had aged for centuries or even millennia.

Mother… is this a dream?

This must be a dream!

Wei Xiao Bei turned around, laid back down on the bed and closed his eyes, thinking that everything would return to normal after waking up.

After turning over countless times in bed, he finally came to terms with the fact that this was not a dream, and everything was real.

He got up again and sat on the bedside. Wei Xiao Bei kneaded his face and tried to think as if his life depended on it.

How did this happen?

Wasn’t I only drunk for a night?

How could this happen?

Could I have run into a demon, or maybe, is this an elaborate prank?

The chance of this being an elaborate prank is too low. The status panel in my mind is something that humans could not create!

After exhaling another alcohol laced breath, Wei Xiao Bei felt that his mouth was very dry.

The frightening changes in his room had made him forget about this. After coming to his senses, he became a little alarmed.

He raised his thermos bottle, but it was empty.

Wei Xiao Bei shook his head, thinking that he could only go buy water.

He touched his pockets and found his wallet had disappeared. Then he opened his closet to search for it, but he discovered that all the clothes inside were all tattered, looking like they were obtained from a garbage bin.

Luckily, the clothes he left on the bed had not changed, after picking them up, a strange odor of alcohol and sweat permeated them.

He scrunched up his face as he wore the clothes, then scratched his head and left the room.

The sight of the corridor chilled Wei Xiao Bei’s mind. There he saw, tattered wallpapers and damaged wall lamps, confirming that the condition of his room was the same as the outside.

However, Wei Xiao Bei still carried a bit of hope. He arrived at his neighbor’s door and loudly knocked on it. Still, there were no signs of activity.

The tenant next door was called Zhou Li Jun. He was a second-year university student, who moved here from the dorms. He could be considered as a veteran shut-in, who would play games in his room from sunrise to sunset. It could even be said that he was a pretty good gamer, and had even earned money from it.

Afterwards, Wei Xiao Bei again tried to knock on the door with all his might, but the results made him smile bitterly.

He hesitated for a bit before gritting his teeth and forcefully tried to open Zhou Li Jun’s door.

The landlord was a miser. Therefore, the door locks were cheap and unreliable. Adding to that fact, the door seemed to have aged, so Wei Xiao Bei only needed to hit the door twice to open it.

The situation inside the room made Wei Xiao Bei’s face tense up.

The floor, desk, and coffee table were all covered with white dust, and all the items inside the room had all aged. It was very similar to his room.

Gritting his teeth, Wei Xiao Bei turned around and ran towards the apartment entrance. He carefully opened the gate as he looked outside.

Wei Xiao Bei lived on the first floor. There was a flower bed outside that was used by the landlord to plant garlic, spring onions and other vegetables.

However, Wei Xiao Bei could only see a ruined flower bed. Everything in it was dried up and was rotten. There was not a single patch of green to be found. Dead leaves were scattered on the pavement beside the flower bed. Even the bicycles next to the flower bed had rusted.

The ash-colored background and the dilapidated building far away made the entire place appear as if he was in the aftermath of a nuclear war and the place had been abandoned for years.

Hell! This must really be hell!

Ten minutes passed before Wei Xiao Bei realized that he needed to do something.

If it were someone else, even if it were a soldier from the battlefield, they might not have been able to calm down after waking up in this bizarre situation.

Could it be that I have to live in this ghost town forever?

I wonder if other places have also changed like this.

As a retired soldier, Wei Xiao Bei was not scared nor at his wits end. Though it wasn’t a surprise as his mental strength wasn’t shabby. After all, his highest attribute was his 12 points of willpower which was very effective in these kinds of situations.

Chapter end