But that feeling didn’t last long.

The moment the last drop went down, everything changed.

A sudden wave of heat exploded from her chest, spreading outwards through her entire body in an instant, so fast that she didn’t even have time to react properly. Her grip on the vial loosened slightly as her body tensed up, and a sharp breath escaped her lips without her realizing it. It felt like something had ignited inside her, like a fire burning through her veins, but it wasn’t just heat, it was something deeper, something more intense, like her entire body was being forced to wake up all at once.

Her knees buckled slightly, and she instinctively reached out to steady herself, but her hand trembled as it touched the ground. Her breathing became uneven, faster, heavier, and her heart started pounding harder than before, each beat echoing loudly inside her chest like a drum. The warmth turned into heat, and the heat turned into something almost unbearable, like her body was being pushed beyond its limit, like something inside her was breaking and rebuilding at the same time.

Then the real change began.

It started from deep inside her body, somewhere she couldn’t see but could clearly feel. Her muscles tightened suddenly, then relaxed, then tightened again, like they were being reshaped forcefully. Her bones felt strange, not painful exactly, but there was pressure, like they were being compressed and stretched at the same time. Her entire body felt heavier and lighter together, like it was being pulled in different directions all at once. She clenched her teeth as a low sound escaped her throat, not quite a scream, but not quiet either.

Her senses started changing next.

The world around her became sharper. She could hear more clearly, even the faint sounds outside the boundary, the distant growls of zombies, the subtle movement of air. Her vision sharpened too, the details around her becoming clearer, edges more defined, even the faint glow from the machine looking brighter and more vivid. At the same time, her skin became more sensitive, every small movement of air brushing against her like she could actually feel it properly for the first time.

Her heart kept pounding, faster and faster, but it didn’t feel weak. Instead, it felt strong, powerful, like each beat carried more force than before. The heat inside her body didn’t disappear, but it changed, slowly turning into something more stable, something that didn’t hurt as much but still filled her completely. It spread into her arms, her legs, her chest, even her fingertips, like every part of her was being filled with something new.

Her breathing gradually slowed down, but her body still trembled slightly, not from weakness, but from the sheer intensity of what was happening. She could feel it clearly now, her strength increasing, not suddenly like a burst, but steadily, like something was building inside her layer by layer. Her muscles felt tighter, more responsive, her body lighter yet more solid, like it could move faster and hit harder without effort.

And then, something else happened.

Deep inside her mind, there was a sudden shift, like a door opening quietly.

It wasn’t something she could see, but she could feel it, something new, something unknown, something powerful waiting there. It was like a presence, not separate from her, but not something she fully understood yet either. A faint energy stirred within her, calm but heavy, like something sleeping that could wake up at any moment.

Her body slowly relaxed after what felt like a long time, though it was probably only a few minutes. The trembling stopped, her breathing steadied, and the heat inside her settled down into a quiet warmth that spread evenly through her entire body. She slowly lifted her head, her eyes opening again, and for a moment, she just stood there, silent, trying to adjust to everything.

Everything felt different.

Not just her strength, not just her senses, but her entire existence felt... changed.

She clenched her hand slowly, feeling the strength in her fingers, the control, the stability, and a faint smile appeared on her face without her realizing it.

"...So this is what it feels like..."

Her voice was low, calm, but there was something new in it now.

Something confident.

Something dangerous.

Because deep down, she knew.

She was no longer the same person as before.

After that moment, everything changed for her. With the power she had gained, leaving the hospital back then was no longer the desperate escape it once was. She had walked through those same halls filled with zombies, but this time it wasn’t fear pushing her forward, it was control. Every zombie that came near her was cut down without much effort, their movements slow and predictable compared to her now enhanced body. She didn’t even need to think much, her hands moved on their own, precise and clean, killing each one and collecting their crystal cores like it was something routine. By the time she stepped out of the hospital, there was nothing left around her but silence and corpses. And without wasting time, she had rushed back home, back to the only two people that mattered to her in that entire world, her little Lili and her mother. Back then, when she saw them safe and alive, something inside her finally relaxed for the first time since everything began. That was the moment she truly believed she could protect them, that no matter what came next, she had the strength to stand in front of them and stop anything that tried to harm them.

But reality never stayed that simple. Even with all that power, even with everything she had gained, the world still followed that same cursed path that had been written long before she even understood it. No matter how much she struggled against it, no matter how many times she tried to change things, it still dragged her forward step by step. And in the end, even though she had fought her way through everything, even though she had won in the eyes of others, she still lost the only things that truly mattered to her. Losing them felt worse than death itself, and that empty feeling stayed with her even now, like a shadow that refused to go away.

Just as she was drifting in those thoughts, a loud and irritating voice suddenly cut through her mind, pulling her back to the present. She looked up slowly, her expression returning to its usual calm, almost indifferent look as she focused on the man pacing in front of her.

"Wait, wait, wait... wait for what exactly? Wait to die here like idiots? Doesn’t this place have some kind of emergency exit or secret tunnel or something? This is a hospital, right? I mean seriously, I haven’t even dated a beautiful woman properly in my life yet, and now I’m supposed to just die like this?" Xian Moi kept talking non stop, his voice getting louder with every sentence, his panic obvious in the way he moved around the room.

Before he could go on further, Li Sun snapped at him with an annoyed expression, clearly already fed up. "Can you just shut up for a second? If you keep making noise like that, you’ll only attract more of those things. Do you want all of us to die because of you?"

But instead of calming down, Xian Moi seemed to get even more restless, his expression turning strange, almost twisted. He stopped pacing and looked around the room, his gaze lingering on the two women before settling on Yan Cijin. "Honestly, I don’t care anymore. I’ve already seen enough outside, doctors, patients, everyone turning into those monsters. At this point, what’s the point of being scared? If we’re going to die anyway, shouldn’t we at least enjoy a little before that happens?" he said with a grin that didn’t look normal at all. "Both Dr. Zhen and Dr. Yan... you’re omegas, right? And there are three of us men here. Seems fair enough. Might as well have some fun before the end."

His eyes stayed on Yan Cijin after that, filled with something ugly, something that made the atmosphere in the room instantly colder.

Yan Cijin didn’t react immediately. She just looked at him quietly, her face calm like always.

"Hmm... here it goes again..." Yan Cijin thought quietly in her mind, her gaze still calm as she looked at the man in front of her, but deep inside, there was nothing but cold disgust. The same words, the same expressions, the same filthy thoughts. It was like watching a replay of something she had already seen too many times, something she already knew the ending of. Even after going through so many lives, even after seeing all kinds of people and all kinds of situations, the disgust she felt toward these kinds of men never faded, not even a little. If anything, it only became clearer and sharper with every repetition. These people always managed to sink lower than expected, always proving that there was truly no bottom to how ugly a human mind could become when pushed into desperation or when given the chance to act without consequences.

She had seen this exact situation before, more times than she could even remember clearly. Every time, it started like this, panic, fear, then slowly turning into something twisted and ugly. These men, who just a few hours ago were still normal people, talking, laughing, living ordinary lives, suddenly showing their true nature the moment the world lost its rules. And every single time, they had tried to lay their hands on her, thinking she was weak, thinking she had no way out, thinking they could do whatever they wanted before the end came. And every single time, she had escaped, though not without cost. In those lives, she had been forced to run out into the hallway filled with zombies, a place that was no different from a death trap, just to avoid being defiled by these disgusting people. Compared to them, even the zombies felt more honest.

Her thoughts flickered for a moment as she watched them. Today, she will kill them as brutally as humanly possible for all the mental stress these bastards have caused her in her previous lives. It would be easy. With her current strength, these three were nothing. She could end all of them before they even realized what happened. But then again... a faint, almost amused thought appeared. Maybe she should let it play out a little. Pretend. Watch them dig their own grave a bit deeper. The expressions on their faces when they realized what kind of person they were dealing with... that might be worth seeing.

With that thought, she took a small step back, her movement controlled and subtle, just enough to give the impression that she was intimidated. Her face didn’t change much, but from the outside, it could easily be misunderstood as fear. And just as expected, Zhang Xiao reacted immediately, stepping forward and placing himself between her and Xian Moi like some kind of protector.

"Stop. There may be monsters outside, but the government will definitely handle this situation sooner or later. If you do something like this now, you’ll just end up as a criminal. You should stop while you still can," Zhang Xiao said, his voice sounding firm, but there was still a hint of hesitation in it, like even he wasn’t completely convinced by his own words.

Xian Moi paused for a second, then let out a loud scoff, his face twisting with obvious disdain. "Bah! Government? Do you really believe that nonsense right now? Have you even looked outside properly? Those things are everywhere. You think someone is coming to save us? We’re already as good as dead. So if that’s the case, why not enjoy a little before everything ends?" His tone became more and more shameless as he spoke, his eyes openly scanning Yan Cijin again without even trying to hide it.

.

.

.

To be continued.