Chapter Four: No Infection?

The sound of splashing water instantly stiffened Liu Wen, who had been sitting lost in thought. The noise came from the bathroom, and in that moment, every strange thought imaginable flashed through her mind.

“Damn it, I was about to burst,” a sudden voice exclaimed, making Liu Wen’s hair stand on end. The dead have risen—this was her only thought, and her face turned pale.

There had been no movement before, but now Ma Yi, who had been submerged in the water for over ten hours, suddenly struggled upright in the bathtub, gasping for air, his face pale from lack of oxygen.

At that moment, Ma Yi was sitting naked in the tub. He panted heavily, then froze, staring at his bare body beneath the water. His mind went blank for an instant, then his eyes widened in shock.

“I’m not dead? I haven’t turned into a zombie?” Ma Yi looked at himself in disbelief, then, overjoyed, scrambled out of the tub and rushed to the washstand. There, affixed to the wall with silicone, was a plain glass mirror. Ma Yi had been here for two or three years, and the mirror had always been there. It wasn’t large, about thirty centimeters across.

“Wait, my height?” Ma Yi realized that while he used to be able to see his entire face and neck in the mirror when standing straight, now he could only see his chin, neck, and collarbones.

Hunching slightly, he examined his reflection. His complexion seemed a bit darker, almost bronze. He checked his eyes—his pupils were still black, nothing unusual. He grinned, revealing teeth that looked whiter and healthier than before. His face was thinner, a little more attractive—at least, in his own opinion.

Suddenly, Ma Yi looked down, his heart racing. Relief washed over him—everything was still intact. In fact, there was a marked improvement: not only had things grown, but there seemed to be a heft and substance that hadn’t been there before. His belly, which had been threatening to grow round, was now flat, and when he tensed, he could even see the outlines of abdominal muscles.

Excited, Ma Yi admired his newfound abs, then glanced down again. If it weren’t for the face in the mirror, he might have suspected he’d crossed into another world after dying.

Suddenly, a woman’s voice came timidly from outside the door: “Have you turned…?”

“A woman?” Ma Yi was startled, then remembered he’d rescued a pretty young woman—her name was Liu Wen, he thought. She really was beautiful.

“I don’t know! I’m fully conscious, just a little chilled after soaking in the water,” Ma Yi replied. He glanced at his nakedness, feeling awkward. Even though she couldn’t see him from outside, he couldn’t just stand around like this.

“Oh, let me get you some clothes to change into,” Liu Wen said with relief, hearing that Ma Yi was coherent. She hurried to the bedroom, rummaged through the wardrobe, and found some thermal underwear for him.

The clothes weren’t very thick, but she pushed them piece by piece through the gap beneath the bathroom door. Ma Yi quickly dried himself off with a towel and dressed. In truth, ever since he woke, he hadn’t really felt cold. Even though the temperature outside was close to freezing, he felt as if it were late spring or early summer—comfortable enough for short sleeves.

“Are you warmer now?” Liu Wen called, listening for movement inside. The sounds of dressing had stopped; he must have finished.

“Much better. Thank you,” Ma Yi replied, his voice calm and steady, which reassured Liu Wen even more.

“How are you feeling now? Any violent impulses?” Liu Wen remembered what she’d seen on the news and hesitantly asked.

“No, I just feel a bit hungry,” Ma Yi answered, realizing that aside from hunger, he felt nothing out of the ordinary.

“Hungry?” Liu Wen tensed up. Was he about to eat people? But then she remembered how desperately hungry she’d been just moments ago. Maybe hunger was normal. Comforted, she fetched two packs of sausage from the fridge, unwrapped them, and pushed them one by one through the gap under the door.

Ma Yi took the sausages without hesitation, tore open the packaging with his teeth, and ate eagerly. The more he ate, the hungrier he felt. He finished off six packs and was still hungry.

“Could you cook some rice for me? I still feel a bit hungry,” he called out helplessly.

“I can cook the rice, but… how will you eat it?” Liu Wen was stunned by his appetite. Six sausages—most people with a big appetite would be full by now. Was he turning into a monster? A clear-thinking monster? But then, if monsters ate rice and sausages, there wasn’t much to fear.

“How about this: you bring the watermelon knife from the kitchen, I’ll cut a hole in the door, and you can leave the food outside. I’ll take it myself,” Ma Yi suggested, eyeing the wooden door.

“Alright, wait a moment.” Liu Wen was confused but complied, passing the knife through. Suddenly, she worried: if Ma Yi did turn into a monster, he could easily break through the door. Her heart pounded with anxiety, but she tried to calm herself—after all, he was just a rice-eating monster.

She listened nervously as he banged and hammered at the door. Unsure what to do next, she decided to get the rice started—maybe if he ate enough, he wouldn’t want to eat her.

She went to the kitchen, which was tidy. Two bags of rice sat on the wooden table by the wall; one had already been opened, about a quarter gone. She filled the rice cooker, rinsed the grains, dried the pot, and started the machine. Power was still available, thanks to a nearby wind generator—this area was a demonstration zone, which was fortunate.

After she finished, Liu Wen anxiously returned to the bathroom door, watching the hole in the door grow larger. The knife occasionally poked through the plywood, making her heart race. If Ma Yi tried to break through the door, she’d lock herself in the bedroom.

“Damn, I seem to be a lot stronger now,” Ma Yi thought. With just a little force, the knife pierced through the twelve-millimeter-thick plywood. He made the hole about thirty centimeters above the ground, stabbing again and again until he’d carved a roughly square opening about twenty centimeters across—not exactly a square.

The door had a steel pipe frame, but Ma Yi had carefully avoided it when cutting. He’d chosen the bottom of the door for convenience—food could easily be passed through, and if he was still carrying the virus, perhaps his breath wouldn’t infect others. Really, there was only Liu Wen here, but still.

Most importantly, he still didn’t realize that the infection came from the red mist outside; anyone who breathed had already been exposed.

Liu Wen, seeing that Ma Yi was only making a hole at the bottom of the door, relaxed a little. His hand, visible as it pried away the wood, was only a bit darker, not monstrous. She let down her guard a bit more.

The rice wasn’t quite ready when Ma Yi finished the hole. Liu Wen crouched to peer inside. Ma Yi, wearing thermal underwear, was sweeping up wood shavings with a broom and dumping them into the trash. The day before, things had been too chaotic for her to get a good look at him; now, through the hole, he looked no different from a normal person, apart from being a little darker.

When Ma Yi finished cleaning up, he turned and saw Liu Wen watching him from outside. He smiled helplessly.

“You’d better keep your distance. I don’t know if I’m infected—wouldn’t want to pass it on to you.” The thought of infection stung a little, but he was relieved not to have become a zombie. Having a beautiful young woman as a housemate under the same roof wasn’t so bad, even if there wasn’t much between them yet.

“Alright,” Liu Wen nodded, stood up, and checked the rice cooker. To be safe, she’d made a full pot—enough for six or seven people. That should be sufficient.

She placed a big bowl at the opening. Ma Yi, smoking inside, saw the steaming bowl of rice, stubbed out his cigarette, and reached to take the bowl. A pair of chopsticks followed.

As she passed the chopsticks, Liu Wen deliberately exposed her hand, watching for any strange reaction from Ma Yi. But he just took them; the watermelon knife was now back in her possession, and the steel frame under the wood gave the door extra strength.

Ma Yi devoured five bowls of rice before his hunger was finally sated. He washed the dishes in the bathroom and left them on the washstand.

“I’ll just leave my bowl and chopsticks in here. I’ll take care of my own utensils—keeps things hygienic.” Liu Wen understood: he really was worried about infecting her. She replied with a simple “mm.”

“He eats like a monster—an entire pot of rice, and now there’s only one bowl left. And that’s just plain rice, not counting all the sausages he ate earlier,” Liu Wen thought to herself.

“Do you always eat this much?” she asked curiously, peering through the hole in the door. From this angle, she could only see the leg of his jeans. She’d brought him more clothes, worried that just thermal underwear wouldn’t be enough in this cold.

“Not usually. One bowl is enough. I don’t know what’s happened—I’ve gotten taller, and my appetite’s increased, too,” Ma Yi replied with a wry smile.

“You’ve grown taller?” Liu Wen asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, I used to be about your height. But overnight, I shot up—I must be at least one eighty now,” Ma Yi answered honestly.