It was clear this wasn't a random attack by a crazed killer. This was a premeditated assault, and Robin was the target.
The knife had long since disappeared, and the man on the ground struggled repeatedly to stand, but failed.
Yu Lin hadn't put much force into her tail sweep, but even so, the man felt as if he'd been struck head-on by a car, a searing pain radiating through his limbs and torso.
"It's... all your fault! All because of you!" The man gritted his teeth, tilted his head back, and glared at Robin in the distance. "You stole what was rightfully mine! It should have been mine!"
Robin was completely bewildered. She hadn't done anything wrong—how could someone suddenly harbor such inexplicable resentment toward her for no reason?
Yu Lin studied the man on the ground, and a photograph suddenly flashed through her mind. She gasped, "You're Qin Chuming?!"
This was none other than Qin Chuming, the sole missing person from the recent Dimensional Rift Incident at Tianming Residential Complex. But the Dimensional Rift Incident hadn't caused any harm; it had merely resulted in the arrival of an Outsider—Robin. So why was there a missing person?
Zhong Wanhong had been investigating the incident and searching for Qin Chuming's whereabouts for days without success. He never expected to find him here, under these circumstances.
Hearing Qin Chuming's name, Robin looked utterly bewildered. She pointed at herself. "You're saying I stole something from you? But I've never even met you. How could I steal anything?"
When Robin first transmigrated, she had initially believed she had undergone soul transmigration into Qin Chuming's body. Later, the System revealed that she had actually physically transmigrated. She had been deeply worried about having taken over Qin Chuming's identity and unsure how to handle it.
However, Zhong Wanhong's subtle hints and their later frank conversation had put her mind at ease. Theoretically, she and this Qin Chuming shouldn't have any connection whatsoever.
No, to be precise, there was a slight connection:
Why did I suddenly find myself transported to his bedroom?
A heated argument had erupted, and with two strikingly beautiful young girls involved, it naturally drew the attention of nearby passersby.
Qin Chuming glared with bloodshot eyes. His trembling right hand pulled an object resembling a lighter from his pocket.
"Don't move!" Yu Lin lunged forward the instant Qin Chuming made his move, but she was a fraction of a second too late. Or perhaps Qin Chuming simply activated the "lighter" too easily.
With a mere flick of his finger, he pressed a button.
Pfft!
A thick cloud of green gas erupted from Qin Chuming's "lighter," billowing outward in all directions.
At first, Robin thought it was a bomb. Isn't it a common trope for villains to self-destruct when they're cornered?
But when she saw the gas, her second thought was that it was a smoke grenade. After all, villains often use smoke to make their escape when they're losing—that's another classic move.
The problem was, Qin Chuming had been knocked flat by the dragon's tail and couldn't even stand. How was he supposed to run?
Robin's third reaction was to turn and flee. She didn't know what this smoke was, but staying away seemed wisest. This was a job for professionals—for Yu Lin, perhaps.
However, the fog spread far faster than Robin had anticipated. Even though she had started running immediately, within just a dozen seconds a faint mist had already begun to envelop the entire street.
Perhaps it wasn't even "spreading" at all. Rather than a smoke grenade, this device seemed designed to blanket the surrounding area in fog.
"Cough, cough!" "Cough—!!"
Suddenly, violent coughing erupted all around Robin. She glanced around to see several passersby clutching their throats, their faces turning cyanotic, their eyes bulging grotesquely. The sight was utterly horrifying.
Within seconds, their skin had turned a deathly gray, like corpses that had been lying out for days.
"Poisonous gas?" Robin hastily covered her nose, but she knew it was too late. If it were truly toxic, she'd already inhaled it. Holding her breath now would only delay her inevitable death.
No, that's not right! Robin's mind raced. She scanned the crowd and noticed that only about one-fifth of the people were exhibiting symptoms of poisoning. Could it be that those with weaker constitutions were succumbing faster, while the toxins lay dormant in others with stronger immune systems?
But to Robin, it seemed more likely that the one-fifth were experiencing an abnormally severe reaction, while the rest remained completely unaffected.
Robin immediately shouted, "Everyone, stay away from the convulsing people!"
Her voice was weak, and even straining her throat, many didn't hear her. Those who did were too stunned to react.
The next moment, several panicked customers burst out of the barbecue restaurant, pursued by the owner, who was covered in blood and had deathly pale skin. This confirmed Robin's suspicions.
It wasn't poisonous gas. It was the Fancheng Zombie Virus.
Following the Dimensional Rift Incident in Fancheng, the Dragon Nation evacuated the entire city, fearing the Zombie Virus might still be lurking within. The displaced residents flooded into surrounding cities, including Longcheng, where Robin now resided.
Approximately twenty percent of Fancheng's population was forced to relocate to Longcheng, including the owner of the barbecue restaurant they had just passed.
Lü Heng had explained to Robin that the Fancheng Zombie Virus only affected Fancheng natives, meaning only they could be infected and transformed into zombies.
The dense green mist Qin Chuming had just unleashed was a lethal poison for Fancheng residents but had no effect on the people of Longcheng.
Suddenly, terrified screams erupted. Fancheng pedestrians who came into contact with the Zombie Virus died rapidly, only to reanimate moments later, fulfilling their primal zombie instinct: attacking those nearby.