The sound of the closing door and the zombies crashing against the ceiling above drew the zombies in the back of the carriage.
Hearing the commotion, the zombies in the back came running toward them like madmen!
Seeing the situation, Liu Hong decisively abandoned the door in his hands!
He sprinted forward, remembering there was a door ahead that he should be able to get through.
After the train had tipped over, there was a lot of debris scattered below.
Seatbacks, overhead racks, and fallen luggage were all obstacles blocking Liu Hong's path, preventing him from picking up speed.
But the zombies behind him were different; they lacked consciousness. One zombie would fall, and the one right behind it would step directly on its body and keep running.
Finally, as Liu Hong stepped on a seemingly bulging piece of luggage, it turned out to be all show with nothing inside.
Worse yet, the duffel bag was slippery, and losing his footing, he slipped and crashed to the ground.
Before he could scramble back up, a zombie lunged forward and grabbed his ankle,
jerking him violently backward.
Then, one zombie after another lunged forward to pull at Liu Hong, or leaned right in to tear into his flesh with their teeth.
Waves of piercing pain from the bites shot through every part of his body.
Liu Hong let out a cry of agony, and his screams drew even more zombies to the spot.
Knowing he wouldn't die and that he would bring things back with him, he flailed his arms frantically, desperate to grab onto something.
At last, his left hand seemed to brush against something. Liu Hong didn't care what it was; he grabbed it tightly in his grip.
To distract himself from the agony, as he clutched the object, he strained his entire body, veins bulging on his hands.
His right hand also brushed against something, and he grabbed that too.
Liu Hong felt as though every zombie had crowded around to devour him alive.
Yet, the sensation of pain gradually began to fade.
Could this mean he was about to mutate into a zombie?
Would he stay inside this movie even after turning into a zombie?
After all, zombies were a form of life too!
Even as Liu Hong stopped feeling the pain and his consciousness began to scatter, he kept pondering these questions.
At the very moment his consciousness completely dissolved, Liu Hong felt a flash of white before his eyes.
Before he could fully recover, as his vision cleared, he found himself looking at the hallway of his rented apartment.
The pain from his body instantly washed over him in a flood!
The sensation of being torn apart and bitten returned!
Why?! He had clearly come back! He clearly hadn't felt anything in the movie world anymore!!
Why could he still feel the sensation of being bitten?!
Liu Hong couldn't understand it, but he knew there were other people around and that his current state was highly abnormal.
The things he was holding in his hands should have come back with him; he could still feel objects in his grip.
The bedroom door was still open. Liu Hong crashed straight through it and collapsed onto the bed.
He had no strength left to close the door, nor could he even stand steadily!!
His entire body was in agony!
What on earth was going on here?!
Liu Hong's present sensation was as if every muscle in his body was being brutally torn apart by teeth, only to slowly grow back again.
Fearing that he would make noise and cause people from the other rooms to come check on him, he could only bite down hard on his quilt.
This was a shared apartment; although everyone lived under the same roof, they barely knew each other.
As long as you didn't make too much of a commotion, nobody cared how you lived your life.
To hold back his screams, he bit into the quilt with all his might.
He exerted so much force that he bit his gums until they bled,
and Liu Hong could taste the metallic tang of blood on his tongue.
Fortunately, although the pain this time was intense, it didn't last long.
Within dozens of seconds, the agonizing sensation of being bitten slowly faded away.
Feeling somewhat relieved of the pain, Liu Hong slowly loosened his grip on the quilt.
The fabric had a distinct ring of bloody indentation pressed into it.
Anyone seeing it would have thought something terrible had happened.
Propping his body up, Liu Hong got up, closed his bedroom door, and locked it from the inside.
Then he went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, washing away the bloody taste.
Only then did he collapse onto the bed, feeling utterly exhausted and muscle-sore,
just like after a full day of high-intensity exercise.
Collapsing onto the bed, he couldn't care about anything else and fell fast asleep.
He would deal with everything else tomorrow!!
The next day, whether from sheer exhaustion or something else,
Liu Hong slept straight until ten in the morning.
Bear in mind he had gone to sleep by the afternoon of the previous day!!
Combined with the sleep from yesterday daytime, he had slept for nearly twenty hours!
Upon waking up, Liu Hong was so hungry that his entire body was weak and his stomach was growling.
If not for that bowl of instant noodles yesterday, Liu Hong estimated he would have suffered from hypoglycemia!!
He immediately filled an electric kettle with tap water in the bathroom and plugged it in to boil.
As someone reduced to eating near-expiration instant noodles, how could he possibly waste money buying bottled water?
Tap water was fine to drink, especially when boiled in a kettle; once the water boiled, all viruses and bacteria would be gone, making it clean and hygienic.
Who needs fancy things anyway?!
He ripped open a packet of instant noodles and tossed them into the unwashed bowl from yesterday.
He just wanted to eat right now, and since it was his own bowl anyway, it didn't matter whether he washed it or not.
Living a shabby life ensures a long life!!
After a moment's thought, he ripped open a second packet.
He was far too hungry; two packs of instant noodles felt barely enough for him right now.
The kettle boiled quickly. Once the water boiled, he poured it into the bowl and covered it with a small plate,
then sat down at the table to wait.
His mind wasn't idle either, as he pondered the events of yesterday.
The method of transmigrating was basically confirmed now, and he could test it out later.
Upon returning, his left hand had brought back an item, but his right hand hadn't.
Yesterday he had grabbed things with his right hand too, but only the item in his left hand came back with him.
Furthermore, dying in the movie world was extremely painful, feeling just as real as dying a real death.
And the torture of death carried back over into the real world.
In the first world, he had basically died without participating much.
After returning, the pain of death had lasted for several minutes, nearly ten.
The second time he hadn't died, and upon returning he felt no discomfort whatsoever, his body temperature remaining at normal room temperature.
Since it was summer, that was why he had stripped off his clothes immediately upon return.
In the third world, the pain of death lasted less than a minute.
He didn't know why the duration of the pain had shortened.
Was it because his pain resistance had grown accustomed to it and he couldn't feel it as much, or was there some other reason?
And as for the things he brought back, upon careful thought, he noticed something unusual.
Although the background film era of The Day After Tomorrow wasn't explicitly stated, judging by the surrounding furnishings and everyone's attire, it was definitely further in the past than the first world.
Thinking of this, Liu Hong specifically took out his phone to check when the film was shot.
A movie filmed in 2004 was indeed older than 2012!
So why had the things brought back from 2012 turned into a pile of ashes, yet the items from The Day After Tomorrow could still be used normally?
Thinking of the items he brought back, Liu Hong suddenly remembered that he had also brought things back from Train to Busan, but because the pain had been so intense back then, he had simply dropped them on the floor and left them alone.
Looking down to find them, he saw only a floor full of shredded cloth and ash.
Seeing this, several of Liu Hong's hypotheses formed into a solid theory in his mind.
He had died in both 2012 and Train to Busan, so even though items could be brought back, those objects were automatically destroyed.
As for The Day After Tomorrow, he had survived. After the items were brought back, although they looked somewhat aged due to the passage of time, they still existed.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why the things brought back from Train to Busan in 2016 had turned directly into ash, even though things he bought in the real world in 2016 were still perfectly fine!
Whereas the items brought back from The Day After Tomorrow in 2004, while looking weathered by time, had not turned to ash and even appeared remarkably well-preserved.
With this realization, Liu Hong fished out the US dollars, the watch, and the handkerchief he had brought back from The Day After Tomorrow.
They merely looked very old, carrying the distinct flavor of their era.
Yet they showed zero signs of damage, remaining as pristine as if they had been preserved in a vacuum.
He picked up all the items to examine them closely.
Sure enough, the money had the distinct smell of old currency.
The handkerchief was simply an old pocket handkerchief.
The watch had stopped ticking, but winding the mainspring again would probably fix it.
Wait! This watch looked like a Rolex?!?!
Liu Hong was poor and had never bought a watch in his life; whenever he wanted to check the time, he simply pulled out his phone.
He had never studied watches either, so he knew nothing about them, but he had certainly heard of the legendary Rolex.
After all, whenever people around him mentioned luxury watches, that name always came up.
Back in his college days, there had been a guy in his dorm who was obsessed with studying watches.
He always said that once he got rich, no matter what, he had to get his hands on a Rolex.
Even his computer wallpaper was a picture of the watch he yearned for so deeply.
Years had passed, and while he couldn't remember much else, the logo on the watch had stuck in his memory.
It was a crown-like emblem, and it looked identical to the watch in his hand right now!!
He had no time to examine the rest; right now, the most important thing was his loan.
He snapped a photo of the watch and sent it directly to his friend via WeChat, hoping the guy could help him identify it.
He waited and waited, but no reply came. On second thought, that made sense—it was only past ten o'clock, and his friend was probably still at work.
Unlike him, who had been fired and was now rotting at home.
Never mind, when the guy saw it, he would naturally reply; there was no need to rush for this exact moment.
Checking the time, the instant noodles should be ready. He grabbed the plate, and sure enough, it had softened into a piping-hot, overflowing bowl of noodles.
Having been starved for ages, he dug in right away, slurping them down eagerly.
While eating, he kept glancing at his phone to see if there was a reply.
After finishing the noodles, seeing that his friend still hadn't replied, and remembering his loan repayment due tomorrow, he couldn't afford to wait any longer—it was still early.
The bank closed at noon, leaving him just over an hour. There was a bank on the next street over, and once he got there, he could exchange the US dollars in his hand for RMB.
He immediately decided to go downstairs and exchange the money.
Just as he pulled the door open, he recalled yesterday's transmigration experience.
Hearing that phrase was what triggered the transmigration instantly!
He couldn't let that happen again!!
He hurried back inside to grab his earphones, put them on, and cranked the music volume up high.
Until he could only hear the music and completely tune out any outside sounds.
He checked himself over once more, making sure he had his bank card, ID, and US dollars.
Only then did he let out a sigh of relief and finally head out the door.
He went down to the 33rd floor and waited for the elevator in the hallway.
The landlord saw him coming down and called out a couple of greetings, but Liu Hong didn't hear a word. When the elevator arrived, he stepped right inside.
The landlord behind him muttered,
"What's wrong with him? Didn't even respond to a greeting today? I hope he's not still upset about not finding a job??
Sigh, finding a job these days is so hard."
The trip to exchange the money went smoothly. Once he got the RMB, Liu Hong deposited it straight into his bank card.
Looking at the balance on his card, Liu Hong breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, he could breathe easy for a few months!
With the burden lifted from his heart, his walk back home was light and carefree. Seeing a vendor selling ice jelly by the roadside, he even sat down to eat a bowl of it.
As he ate, he scrolled through Douyin, listening with his earphones on and laughing out loud.
Video after video.
"I'm gradually understanding this whole thing—why the heroes who save the world in anime are always middle and high school students!
If you tell an adult that the world is ending..."
Seeing this, Liu Hong's face drained of color!
"No way?!?!?!"
Then, a flash of white filled his vision.