As he saw the outstretched hand, he felt an indescribable chill freeze his blood and his eyes couldn't stay away from the sight before him. The distinctive smell of steel filled his nostrils and the darkened purple light disoriented his senses. Everything felt unreal. Whilst his mouth fell agape, he stared at the spot. Listening carefully as the dying whispers fell on his ears.

"Run… Yunzheng… Run…" 

Flickering flames spread over the wrinkled skin, causing ashes to peel away and drift into the air. The familiar figure's smile still hung on his lips despite his body decaying to nothing, with speed visible to the naked eye. Meanwhile, he who heard those last pleas of escape felt time slow down as his world turned darker. Much to his chagrin, no matter how much his brain told him to move, all he could do was sit on the ground, watching the man disintegrate while he rooted for a while.

Heart thumping to the point it was about to come out of his mouth, a soft mumble echoed in his ears and mind. The voice was much strangled, surprising him even. Still, all he could focus on was the corpse in front of him. Enduring the flood of aching in his chest. 

"....Why?" 

The deafening rumble of explosions and distant roars was the only reply he got amidst the area. Hands clenched until his nails scraped his palm and caused it to bleed, his entire figure shook as a teardrop fell. Before he knew it, streams of tears broke out and his sobbing wails ensued. 

"Just… Why!?" 

His tone became louder and his bloodshot eyes stared at the blackened spot where not even the corpse could be found. A mere pile of ashes glittered with warm flickers of singe, carried away by wind as an only reminder that someone he'd known burned to a crisp till not even his bones remained. 

He lifted his head and gazed at the clouded purple sky. Shouting at the top of his lungs. 

"Why!!!??"

In the next second, a burst of shock waves traveled through the air and slammed at his entire figure, blowing him away. He felt his stomach churn from inside out while he gritted his teeth. Amidst the veiled dust, his squinted eyes peered upon the massive crater not too far away from his previous spot. Formed in a heartbeat as his ears filled with ringing noises. 

Everything sounded muffled and he almost couldn't hear his own heavy breathing. After struggling to rise, the ground trembled, and he was about to trip back to the floor. 

A towering shadow that did not differ from a three-storey building reflected in his eyes. The outline walked in his direction and four massive tentacles came out of its back. It focused eight small glowing irises of bloody crimson on him as a giant fireball erupted behind it. Making it screech with a bloodcurdling scream and causing it to shift its attention to the sky. 

A steel vehicle he always saw in the movies now became his sole hope. The rotating propeller brought a heavily armed helicopter that pointed all of its weaponry to the creature. The two long-barreled guns spitting out endless flames as missiles whistled in the air one by one. 

Without waiting for a second longer, he dashed in the opposite direction, leaving behind the creature and armed helicopter. Gunshots echoing from all directions and whenever he glanced at his surroundings, there would be ruins, corpses, screams and soldiers that fought against creatures that were as big as cars. Four-legged creatures with limbs no different from those of a spider, and sharp mandibles on their gaping jaws sprinted towards the people, ripping them apart as they walked through them. 

Despite the carnage, he ignored everything else and just ran on his own. He ran huffing for air with a vision so tunneled it should be a miracle that he didn’t slam into something. That was, until he found himself out of breath and the soles of his feet became sore. Unable to so much as breathe, he stopped, feeling his chest about to burst. Yet, no matter how far he had progressed, there was no place where the bug-like creatures didn't crawl around. 

"You there!" 

A shout fell on his ears and he turned to see an approaching group of soldiers with their weapons in tow. They moved in a specific formation. Most of them paying attention to the creatures that were both near or far away from them. They haven't pulled the trigger, however, and instead jogged to his side with caution. 

"Come with us! The civilians must go this way!" 

Relief flooded his entire being as he nodded, approaching them himself with hope twinkling in his eyes. As he reached them, shrieking noises ensued and multiple shadows whistled in the air. Landing right near them with wide mandibles and an echoing shriek. 

"Attack!"

The moment after the soldier’s shout, the rest of the men pointed their muzzle and pulled the trigger. As he watched the agile creatures darting around to dodge the bullet, his eyes widened and he froze. A hand grabbed onto his elbow, dragging him away, and snapped him out of his shocked state. 

"Let's go!"

With the other soldiers providing cover and moving in precise coordination, they succeeded in fending off the giant spider-like crawlers. But not long after, a thunderous howl burst forth and almost deafened his ears. Glancing at the soldiers, they were clutching their ears and showing grimacing expressions, perhaps no different from his own. 

A large silhouette loomed above, prompting him and the soldiers to trace the source. The massive black scales and a body similar to a centipede stood over them, staring with the head of a four eyed snake as it flew in their direction. He felt chills on his heart as the previous soldier continued to drag him away, while his jog already turned into a full run as he yelled, "Run away! Now!"

The other soldiers raised their guns and fired together, not minding the bullet consumption. The bullets rocketed off the glossy exoskeleton, leaving countless sparks as the gigantic creature arrived on the ground and leaped its gaping maw to one of the soldiers. 

Meanwhile, Yunzheng got dragged by that lone soldier whilst they tried to create distance as fast as their bodies would allow for. Leaving behind the rest who were struggling with that centipede abomination. 

The abomination rushed with speed defying its massive stature as it lunged at the soldiers. In the blink of an eye, it ripped apart three of them from their torso and plunged them right into its throat. It then swiped the end of its tail to the rest of the soldiers and flung them dozens of meters away, crushing their spines and skulls in whatever surface they landed on. 

Four seconds were all it took to annihilate the group of soldiers. 

Turning its sight towards the last scurrying one beside his direction, the creature howled once more. Though Yunzheng's breath became more ragged and his sweats blurring his vision, he kept swinging his legs nonstop. All he focused on was the road and burning buildings from afar, the striking stench of his blood bleeding out of his lips as he bit them, and the direction he and the soldier took. 

Forward. 

He has to run more, going forward to escape this hellish nightmare. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to face that annoying guy from before… no matter what happened, he could think of it later. For now, just go forward. 

Something fell from the sky and shook the ground, creating a cloud of dust everywhere. Unprepared, he stumbled in his action of screeching to a halt. As he tried to raise, he heard a thud right on his right and prompted him to turn his head to where he saw a severed one with widened, agonizing eyes rolled for a while until it stopped and stared back at him. 

His stomach churned as his gaping mouth became wider. The rising acid swelled in his throat, causing him to belch. A long outline flashed at the corner of his vision and he felt a shock wave bash right on his side, making him roll on the ground before his head hit a large stone.

In his fading consciousness, he took a glimpse at the outlined shadow within his obscured view for the last time. Soon, darkness enveloped his sight and senses, making him plunge into deep, deep slumber.

…

Within a time period that he couldn't tell whether it was brief or long, he felt his body become much lighter than he remembered it to be. To the point that he couldn't feel any resistance to weight at all, and his muddled mind became a bit clearer. 

When the notion of where he was flashed in his head, out of nowhere, his head felt hammered by a sudden pain. Causing him to gasp and open his eyes wide. 

The absence of bright sunlight was the thing he first noticed as something flowed down from his forehead and to his chin. Wiping it with his thumb, he saw a scarlet liquid which smelled of an iron stench. Shortly, that stench got replaced by something putrid coming from his surroundings as his pupils widened to adapt to the dimly lighted area. 

The space was narrow, and garbage littered all over the place. Rough linen shirt scraped his skin, making him feel itchy. The design of his clothes was an ancient one, which he often saw in historical dramas back in his childhood. 

"What is this place…" he mumbled, raising his head and gazing upon the shining full moon colored in silver. Though it did not orbit alone in the starry sky. There were two of them, causing him to be rooted in his spot, just like before, but for a different reason. 

At last, a chuckle escaped his lips while he forced a smile onto his face. His widened eyes became more bloodshot and his shoulders dropped. As his figure trembled a little, he laughed in a dry tone, before he kneeled on the ground, feeling his strength seeping away from him. 

"Ha.. Ha… I'm finally going crazy…"