The snow had already dyed the entire city of Donghai a stark white.
This city, located in the southern part of the Great Yan Empire, was experiencing a phenomenon it hadn't seen in decades: being completely covered by snow.
After a single night, the snow depth across the city reached over half a meter.
In a normal world, this would have been a considerable meteorological disaster, let alone in the post-apocalyptic era.
What made the situation even more desperate was that the snow showed no signs of stopping, filling the citizens hiding in various safe zones with a sense of deepening pessimism about the future.
On one hand, the apocalypse had only been ongoing for a day, and nine-tenths of the global population had already perished.
On the other hand, this extreme cold had caused the survivors' demand for supplies to skyrocket.
However, even without monsters outside the safe zones, the current blizzard alone posed a significant obstacle to movement.
Yet, faced with extreme cold and hunger, people were capable of anything when pushed to their limits.
The unjust act of slaughtering fellow humans would not be elaborated upon here.
Those who voluntarily ventured out of the safe zones, however, encountered new problems.
Amidst the blizzard, a group of four emerged from a small convenience store on the street corner. Their backpacks were full, and they advanced with difficulty, their feet sinking deep into the snow.
Suddenly, a young voice from within the group called out, "Brother Zhang, the snow is too heavy. Why don't we rest in the convenience store? They have water and food there. Besides, if we take our supplies back, others might try to rob us!"
The man at the front of the group, hearing this, did not stop. Without looking back, he replied,
"Glasses, what nonsense are you spouting? Have you forgotten what happened last night? If we had stayed outside the safe zone, those monsters that surrounded it at night wouldn't have let us go!"
"As for others robbing us? The food my brothers and I found, they want it, they'll have to pay the price! I dare to come out in broad daylight, and I'm not afraid of those cowards hiding in the safe zones?!"
Hearing the man's words, the three behind him silently followed. After a moment, the young voice spoke again, "Then Brother Zhang, if they want our food, what should we ask for?"
The leader, Brother Zhang, laughed and cursed, "Glasses, you sly dog, you're playing dumb. Now that we have food and clothes, what else could we want?! Weapons! Women!"
"You kid, when you first hid in the safe zone yesterday, you stared at those office women's stockings more times than I can count. Did you think I didn't see it?"
"Just watch, when people are hungry, they'll do anything! As long as you have a bite to eat, you can have any position you want!"
The man's words made the three behind him feel a surge of heat, and the biting wind and snow seemed less cold.
This apocalypse is damn awful, but this apocalypse is also truly wonderful!
The three couldn't help but exclaim inwardly. Then, the man called Glasses suddenly said, "Brother Zhang, speaking of which, where have all these monsters gone? The monsters from last night are gone, and the monsters that appeared during the day have also disappeared."
Brother Zhang frowned and replied,
"It is a bit strange. Last night, the East Sea coastal area was ablaze with fire. Perhaps the army was fighting the monsters, drawing the night monsters there."
"But now it's daylight, and the monsters that appeared during the day, why have they also disappeared?"
The four pondered this question, falling into a period of silence as they walked.
Last night, taking advantage of the late hours after darkness had completely receded and the monsters had vanished, the four, led by Brother Zhang, had boldly ventured into the night.
Last night, due to the heavy snowfall, after finding the convenience store, they had spent the night there.
This morning, seeing that it was daylight, the four began their journey back to the safe zone. They were now several kilometers away from it.
The world covered in white snow was as silent as the land of the dead, except for the sound of the four people's feet crunching through the snow and the sound of the wind and snow.
When the four fell silent, the entire world seemed exceptionally still.
Suddenly,
*Crack*,
The foot of the man called Glasses seemed to step on something, emitting a crisp sound.
The other three turned at the sound, casting questioning glances at their companion.
But as the three turned, they saw that Glasses' face had turned deathly pale.
*Puff...*
A stream of hot blood spurted from Glasses' foot, which was buried in the snow, onto the snow's surface.
The blood splattered on the accumulated snow, still steaming with white heat, but the hearts of the four felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
With a deathly pale face, the man called Glasses reached out his hand and shouted hoarsely,
"Save! Save me! There's something under the snow!!"
But to Glasses' despair, the three he had considered his companions turned and fled without hesitation, showing no intention of helping him.
Anger and despair instantly filled the man called Glasses' heart. He glared venomously at the fleeing three, but before he could curse them.
*Boom!* A gray shadow suddenly burst from the ground, sending Glasses flying into the air.
Amidst the scattering snow, the gray shadow revealed its true form.
It was a giant, gray-white worm, its body a pallid gray and lifeless. At its foremost end was a massive, bloody maw filled with sharp, rotating teeth.
"Ah!!!"
The man called Glasses, looking at the monster that had propelled him into the air, only managed to let out a cry before being swallowed by the giant worm.
The three who were fleeing heard the loud noise behind them and dared not delay any further.
The leader, Brother Zhang, a flicker of determination in his eyes, directly discarded his fully loaded backpack. To the astonishment of the other two, he increased his distance.
However, their astonishment did not last long!
*Boom!!*
Another loud noise echoed, and this time, hearing two screams from behind him, Zhang Cheng, who had discarded his pack, felt even greater fear.
"The safe zone, as long as I run back to the safe zone, there's still a chance of survival!!!"
The light of a skill flashed across his body, and Zhang Cheng's speed suddenly increased.
After rounding another corner, the lights of the safe zone were faintly visible.
But,
*Boom!*
The snow beneath Zhang Cheng's feet was suddenly broken through by the giant worm. At the last moment, relying on a burst of strength born from facing death, Zhang Cheng barely managed to leap out of the maw's reach.
*Thump!* Zhang Cheng landed heavily on the snow-covered ground, gasping for breath, his eyes staring blankly at the monster before him.
The monster's mouth, filled with spiral teeth, was less than half a meter away from the man. Gazing at the creature that seemed to have stepped out of a nightmare, Zhang Cheng momentarily lost the ability to think.
The giant worm seemed to have no immediate intention of feeding. After its maw rotated around Zhang Cheng for a moment, the worm's body suddenly trembled, and the front part of its maw opened wide.
*Puff!* A skeleton frame, still covered in slime, was spat out from the monster's mouth.
The bone frame stood on the ground, and the broken glasses on the skull allowed Zhang Cheng to recognize the identity of the skeleton before him.
*Boom!* The giant worm burrowed back into the ground.
Zhang Cheng stared blankly at the monster's disappearance, mumbling, "Did it eat its fill?! Am I saved?!"
As he muttered, a look of ecstatic relief began to appear on his face.
But the next moment, *Puff,*
A pair of slime-covered skeletal arms ruthlessly pierced Zhang Cheng's chest.
His strength was fading... death was imminent...
Looking at the animated skeletal frame, Zhang Cheng's eyes were filled with astonishment...
In the final moments of his life, in a daze, he saw countless skeletal arms emerging from the pure white snow, and even more terrifying monsters slowly crawling out from the snow...
"Heh... heh... they all have to die..."
The next moment, the man's consciousness plunged into eternal darkness....
And the daytime in Donghai City had only just begun...