The Fever Phase, My Fever Phase Has Come

Fever period. My fever period has come. Mondays really are the worst—not for work, not for school. From nearly stepping in dog shit when she left home that morning, Xie Li had witnessed at least a dozen car accidents on her way to school—a probability that could only be called heaven-defying.

She patted her chest to calm herself down, then Xie Li unbuckled her seatbelt, grabbed her car keys and backpack, pushed open the door, and hurried toward the public teaching building. Early morning classes were truly exhausting, but as someone who had worked herself half to death as an overworked corporate drone for half a year before dying of overwork and transmigrating into the body of a beautiful and wealthy college student, she had taken it in stride.

The classroom was already more than half full, and the sound of coughing rose and fell, mingling with the smell of breakfast drifting through the air. Lan Ran sat in the back row.

Seeing Xie Li enter the classroom from afar, she raised her hand and called out, 'Li Li, jiejie's here.' Xie Li wove through the crowd toward the back row, tossed her bag onto the desk, sat down next to her friend, and said, 'Do you know what I saw on the way here?' 'What?' Lan Ran set down her jianbing guozi, eyes wide, and asked, 'Did you see Goddess Jin who came to give a lecture at our school?

Damn it, I wanted to go see my goddess too, but I couldn't get tickets. How does someone like you have such luck, running into my goddess?' 'No, I don't know your goddess.' Xie Li shook her head, glanced at the teacher who had already entered, and lowered her voice.

'I saw a plane. It was flying really low—like if it dropped any further, it would crash into Jingfeng Tower.' 'Are you three?

You saw a plane and you had to tell me about it?' Lan Ran rolled her eyes, stuffed the half-eaten jianbing guozi into a bag to eat after class. '...' Xie Li silently closed her mouth.

She just felt that the plane was flying way too low, swaying in the air as if it might crash at any moment. But she didn't hear any loud commotion afterward, so she figured nothing had happened.

Her friend wasn't interested, so Xie Li said no more and turned her attention back to the front. The bald-headed teacher had already begun lecturing on material no one could understand or learn, his voice nearly drowned out by the ceaseless coughing.

Recently, major flu outbreaks had been erupting all over the country. The news reported it daily, it topped the trending lists every day, hospitals were packed to the brim, and netizens were all shouting that the Apocalypse was definitely coming.

Xie Li had been through far worse pandemics before her transmigration, so she didn't take this minor flu seriously at all. Outside the window, someone walked past coughing, one bark after another, so heart-wrenching it sounded like they were trying to cough their lungs out.

The sound drew Xie Li's attention. She turned to look outside and saw a student hunched over, mouth wide open, collapse straight to the ground.

She startled to her feet and called out to the bald teacher, 'Teacher, someone outside fainted!' The classroom instantly erupted into chaos, everyone turning to look out the window. The teacher waved for everyone to quiet down, pushed open the classroom door himself, and walked toward the collapsed person.

Lan Ran stared at the figure lying on the ground outside, clicking her tongue in amazement. 'Grinding, absolutely grinding.

Coming to class sick like this—I'm so moved, I must reward myself with an extra portion at lunch.' 'Someone else studying hard has nothing to do with you. If you want to reward yourself, just say so.' Xie Li retorted as she pulled out her phone.

'Whatever, let me call emergency services first.' Her dialing motion froze as the collapsed person suddenly lunged to their feet and threw themselves at the teacher, biting down on his carotid artery. Blood sprayed out.

The bald teacher's agonized screams echoed through the hallway, mingling with the gurgling sound of blood gushing forth, sending a chill down everyone's spine. The classroom descended into utter chaos.

Some students rushed out trying to pull the biter away, only to be bitten themselves, a chunk of flesh torn from their arms. Many students in the classroom who had already been wearing masks and looking sickly suddenly began coughing violently, collapsing to the ground one after another.

Xie Li was stunned. This scene felt oddly familiar. That person earlier had also coughed violently before collapsing, and when they got up, they'd gone mad and started biting people.

What kind of flu turns people into this? Could the netizens actually have been right? 'Li Li, stop spacing out, hurry up and call!' Lan Ran tugged at Xie Li's arm.

Xie Li came back to herself. Her finger, hovering over the dial button, pressed down. The phone rang and rang, no one answering, until the busy tone came and the call ended automatically.

'No answer?' Lan Ran leaned in to look at her phone screen. 'Yeah.' Xie Li stuffed her phone into her pocket. 'Probably too many people calling.

Let them handle it. Let's go outside and check.' The moment the two moved, the students who had collapsed earlier all stood up—faces deathly pale, bloodshot eyes, moving with terrifying speed as they lunged at the classmates beside them.

'AHHHH!!!' Screams pierced through the entire teaching building. Not just the lecture hall where Xie Li was, but other classrooms too—agonized cries rising and falling, the frantic footsteps of people fleeing, the loud crashes of desks and chairs overturning.

Xie Li and Lan Ran stood like two frozen quails, staring blankly at the chaos unfolding in the classroom. 'Li Li, I feel like things are getting pretty serious?' Lan Ran said in a trembling voice.

Xie Li was about to nod when a former classmate, blood still trailing from the corner of their mouth, lunged at them. Without time to think, she grabbed a thick textbook off the desk and swung it with all her might at the twisted face.

With a muffled 'thud,' the person staggered back two steps and tumbled into the gap between desks. The tremendous recoil force sent Xie Li's body tilting backward.

Fortunately, Lan Ran caught her at the waist, preventing her from falling. Steadying herself, Xie Li's gaze swept quickly across the classroom.

Everyone was crowding toward the door—some tripped, others were tackled to the ground by classmates and bitten, screams and cries merging into one chaotic mess. 'Careful, another one.' Lan Ran yanked Xie Li's arm, and the two narrowly dodged someone lunging at them from the side.

Xie Li swung the book hard at the twisted face, and in the moment the other dodged, she grabbed Lan Ran and rushed toward the door. 'Let's go.

We need to get out of the teaching building first. Too many people here.' 'Okay.' Lan Ran agreed, and while running, she didn't forget to grab the remaining half of her jianbing guozi.

'Of all times, you're still thinking about that crappy jianbing guozi?' Xie Li was almost driven to exasperated laughter by Lan Ran's action. Lan Ran squeezed out alongside her, nimbly sidestepping a lunging classmate, and said in a serious tone, 'Don't you think these people look a lot like Zombies?

If this is the start of the Apocalypse, food will become incredibly precious later. Jianbing guozi even more so. So I have to bring it.' Xie Li was at a loss for words.

If this really was the Apocalypse, as a transmigrator, she was surely the protagonist meant to save the world. A protagonist should have a golden finger, a system, a chance to prepare in advance.

But this script gave her nothing and just threw her straight into the Apocalypse—how was she supposed to save the world? Her mind racing with random thoughts, Xie Li was pulled by Lan Ran into the crowd, flowing with the human tide toward the door.

After finally squeezing out of the classroom door, the two hadn't even had time to take in the hallway before the frantically fleeing crowd swept them apart. 'Li Li—!' Lan Ran's voice came from somewhere in the crowd.

Xie Li turned to look, but all around her were moving figures, panicked faces flashing past—she couldn't see where Lan Ran was at all. 'Go to the dorm, we'll meet at your dorm!' Xie Li shouted toward the crowd, her voice swallowed by the screaming and roaring.

The crowd surged like floodwaters breaching a dam. Xie Li was carried along, barely keeping her feet, swept helplessly with the fleeing masses.

The heavy stench of blood filled her nostrils, making her want to retch. Even hiding in the crowd wasn't safe. Some people would freeze mid-run, then suddenly lunge at those beside them, triggering fresh pandemonium and screams.

Xie Li was like a headless fly, darting back and forth through the public teaching building. The only silver lining was that her current body wasn't as weak as it had been before her transmigration.

Otherwise, with all this running up and down stairs and being chased by Zombies, she wouldn't have lasted—she'd probably have just lain down and let herself be bitten. She didn't know how long she'd been shoved and pushed along before she finally saw the teaching building's exit.

She stumbled out the door, missed a step on the stairs, and her body tumbled uncontrollably into the green bushes not far from the building. Branches scraped her cheek, sending a sting of pain.

Xie Li didn't care, crawling on hands and knees into the bushes, curling up into a ball to hide. She struggled to steady her breathing, peering through the gaps in the branches to observe the situation outside.

Panicked footsteps kept rushing past her, wave after wave. After waiting a long time, the commotion outside seemed to quiet down somewhat.

Only then did she raise her head, push aside the branches in front of her, and cautiously look out. The surroundings were a mess.

The ground was covered with horrifying bloodstains, and many figures lay struggling on the ground. Some had stopped moving entirely, while others twitched and slowly rose, joining the pursuit.

Xie Li pulled her gaze back, took several deep breaths, and gave herself a pep talk inside. A transmigrator definitely wouldn't die at the very start.

With trembling hands, she pushed aside the bushes, crouched out, and hugging the wall, sneakily made her way toward the girls' dormitory. She ran along the wall the whole way, and luckily, didn't attract the Zombies' attention.

But just as Xie Li was clinging to the corner of a wall, peeking out to scout ahead, a door behind her was suddenly smashed open, startling her into whipping her head around. A tall, slender figure stumbled out.

The moment Xie Li saw the person's face, she felt that even the early summer sunlight wasn't quite so dazzling anymore. The woman running toward her was brighter than summer sunshine itself.

The woman's long hair was slightly disheveled, a few stray strands clinging to her flushed cheeks. Her eyes were cool and sharp, her nose high and straight, her lips carrying an unusual crimson.

She wore a crisp white shirt with two buttons undone, revealing a stretch of her slender neck. A black vest outlined her slim waist, and below she wore wide-leg trousers with excellent drape, her feet in stiletto heels.

Those shoes were probably the reason she was running so awkwardly—the stilettos clicking against the ground with a rapid 'tap tap tap' as she hurried toward Xie Li. Behind her, a large horde of roaring Zombies pursued relentlessly.

Xie Li hesitated for a moment. Between lending a hand and saving her own life, she chose to help—just a little. She bent down, picked up a rock from the ground, and threw it hard at the Zombie closest behind the woman.

The rock hit the nearest Zombie's head dead-on, making it stagger. Though it didn't stop its pursuit, it bought the woman a sliver of time.

In that less-than-a-second window, the woman had already reached Xie Li's side. What arrived with her was a pleasant scent.

Xie Li sniffed. The scent filling her nose was like a forest after rain—cool, crisp greenery with a hint of chill. On closer inspection, there was also a faint, elusive sweetness woven through it, contradictory and bewitching.

Before Xie Li could figure out what the scent was, the woman reached out and grabbed her wrist with such force that Xie Li felt her wrist might be crushed. 'Run.' The woman called out in a hoarse voice, dragging Xie Li forward.

'Oof... wait, you're hurting me.' Xie Li stumbled as she was pulled along. The woman had no time for her. Her eyes calmly scanned the surroundings, quickly determining a route.

Avoiding the fleeing crowd, she pulled Xie Li into a small supermarket with its door open not far ahead. Inside the supermarket, a few wandering Zombies heard the commotion and turned their heads in unison, roaring as they lunged at them.

'Let's go outside, an open space is easier to escape from.' Xie Li stopped, trying to pull the woman back out. 'Stop talking.

Stop struggling.' With one hand gripping Xie Li's wrist, the woman grabbed a stainless steel thermos from the counter with the other, kicked the Zombie lunging at them, and using the rebound force, twisted her waist sideways and slammed the thermos into another Zombie's temple.

'BANG!' With a muffled thud, red and white brain matter splattered across the floor. Xie Li's throat bobbed. She clenched her teeth, forcing down the urge to vomit that had risen to her throat.

One-hit kill. The woman pulled Xie Li further into the supermarket, swinging the thermos in wide arcs at the Zombies' heads.

A few muffled thuds later, the Zombies wandering the supermarket were all lying on the ground. The woman tossed aside the blood-soaked, now-dented thermos and glanced back at the supermarket entrance.

A massive horde of Zombies was surging toward them, the closest ones already charging up the steps. Her cheeks flushed, her breathing rapid, but her eyes remained calm as she gave clear instructions: 'Stop spacing out.

Go close the front door.' Xie Li rushed to the door on shaky legs, pulled the open glass door shut, frantically found a mop and wedged it into the handle, then pressed her back hard against the door. Outside, the horde of Zombies had arrived, slamming against the glass door wildly.

Deathly pale faces pressed against the door, their open mouths trailing fresh red shreds of flesh, fingernails scraping against the glass with an earsplitting sound. Xie Li's heart felt like it was about to leap out of her throat.

Separated by only a pane of glass, those pale fingers felt like they were scratching at her back, each scrape making her scalp tingle. She asked in a trembling voice, 'Um... heroine, do you have any other plans?

This door doesn't seem like it'll hold. Should we slip out the back?' The woman didn't reply. Her gaze swept the surroundings, passing over the shelves stacked with goods and the heavy checkout counter.

She placed her hand on a heavy shelf and gestured to Xie Li. Xie Li quickly dodged over to help the woman push the shelf against the glass door.

'Keep going.' The woman directed Xie Li. Working together, they pushed two more shelves over, layering them at the door.

After this, the woman took Xie Li's wrist and walked toward the back of the supermarket, saying in a low voice, 'Go to the back. If they can't see us, they won't keep blocking here.' Xie Li followed her through the aisle between shelves, pushed open a slightly ajar small door, and entered the storage room inside.

With the door locked and sturdy walls surrounding her, Xie Li finally felt a sliver of safety. She leaned against the wall, breathing in great gulps, her heart pounding wildly.

Everything she'd just experienced was too intense—her hands were still trembling. The scent she'd smelled earlier drifted over again, stronger than before—like a breeze through a post-rain forest, carrying sweetness into her nostrils, making her feel a little dizzy.

Xie Li touched the back of her neck. It was a little hot. She turned to look at the woman leaning against the opposite wall, breathing softly.

In the dim light, that face was still breathtakingly beautiful. The flush spread from her cheeks down her neck, disappearing beneath the slightly open collar.

A thin sheen of sweat beaded at her temples. Her breathing was heavy, her chest rising and falling rapidly—she didn't look normal.

'Heroine, are you feeling unwell?' Xie Li chose her words carefully, her gaze circling the woman's face, not daring to ask if she'd been bitten by a Zombie. This woman was a badass who could crush a Zombie's head with one hand.

Xie Li was afraid that if she angered her, the woman would just twist her head off. Jin Zhaoye was silent for a few seconds, then said in a hoarse voice, 'Fever period.

My fever period has come.'