Apocalypse, then transforming into a magical girl

They struggled to hold on for several more hours.

Old Qian, Xiao Feng, and the veteran took turns on guard duty, carefully pouring the last bit of diesel fuel onto the makeshift torch made of riot control forks to scare away the monsters that tried to break in.

During this time, bad news came from the middle-aged man with the missing arm in the station hall.

The severely injured woman ultimately succumbed to her injuries; her breathing became increasingly rapid, and she breathed her last. Meanwhile, the man, whose abdomen had ruptured and intestines were spilling out, also deteriorated rapidly, his body burning with fever.

What's even more disheartening is that, on Old Wang's side in the equipment room, the diesel generator is lasting longer than expected. More than four hours have passed, and the water pump is still working under immense strain.

However, Lao Qian felt that this extended lifeline was an even crueler form of torture for them. Lao Qian didn't know what the veteran and Xiao Feng were thinking, but he felt he couldn't hold on any longer.

He was considering giving up.

……

"boom--"

A deafening roar suddenly came from deep within the subway, followed by a sickening metallic tearing sound.

It's over.

Old Qian shuddered, and the two people next to him instantly became alert as well.

"Platform level! A watertight door on the platform level has been breached!" A terrified scream came through the walkie-talkie from the middle-aged man with the severed hand. "Old Wang? Old Wang! Run! The station hall is doomed!"

Screams, the roar of rushing water, and Old Wang's curses emanated from the walkie-talkie, announcing their deaths.

Not long after, in the station hall, the middle-aged man with a missing hand was carrying a military green oil drum tightly with his remaining left hand, rushing towards the subway entrance.

Beside him was Old Wang, who was equally disheveled.

Old Wang mustered his last bit of strength to carry the critically injured man on his back.

"Is there... anything that can start a fire?" the one-armed middle-aged man asked loudly, panting.

Behind them, monsters were already coming up from the platform level.

"No!" Old Wang roared back. Even if they had some, it wouldn't have mattered; they were soaked to the bone and had no means of starting a fire. Diesel fuel wasn't gasoline; it would take considerable effort to ignite it.

Just then, the seriously injured man who was being carried on Old Wang's back weakly whispered in Old Wang's ear, "I can't go on... my stomach hurts so much... I won't live much longer..."

Then, the man used his last bit of strength to break free from Old Wang's back and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Feed—" Old Wang's eyes were bloodshot.

"Get out of here!" The middle-aged man noticed all this and turned around to yell at Old Wang.

The two scrambled to the subway entrance, getting away from the monster's chewing sounds.

The five survivors who were still able to move finally gathered on this last line of defense.

Old Qian glanced at Old Wang, who had just rushed up, and the middle-aged man with the missing arm, then at Xiao Feng, whose face was pale, and the silent old soldier beside him, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

"Hey...we've been working so hard for so long, and in the end we don't even know each other's names. Isn't it a bit of a waste to die like this?" He chuckled self-deprecatingly, pulling out the misshapen notebook from his soaked pocket.

"Just call me Lao Qian. I'm just someone who drifts through life in that run-down office building next door. I'm not very capable, I just like to study some weird and mysterious things. Here, these are the kinds of things."

"My surname is Chen," the veteran replied briefly. "Save your strength; if you're going to die, die standing up."

"Damn it!" Old Wang slammed his fist on the wall next to him, making a heavy sound.

"What's the use of knowing him! If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have preferred to..." He swallowed the rest of his words, only breathing heavily, his eyes filled with violence.

But soon, he sighed, his spirits deflated like a balloon: "My son was supposed to take the college entrance exam this year."

The youngest person here, the robust female college student Xiao Feng, could no longer control her emotions and sat on the ground, letting out suppressed sobs.

"I... my name is Feng Yue... I was admitted through a sports scholarship... I just started my sophomore year... Waaah... I miss my mom and dad... They were hoping to see me win a medal... I don't want to die... Waaah..."

The middle-aged man with a missing hand looked at everyone in front of him, then at the last remaining bucket of diesel fuel on the ground. After a moment of silence, he spoke in an equally weary voice: "My name is Wei Yuan."

He glanced towards the station hall: "Those wounded soldiers from earlier, that woman, and that young man... they all didn't make it... Sigh..."

He sighed heavily, as if to expel all the pent-up frustration in his chest.

He paused, then continued, "I was recently fretting over that messy divorce case, fighting for the kids, money, and custody. Looking back now, it's fucking ridiculous, it all means nothing."

"My only worry right now is my daughter. I wonder if she's... alright."

Then, a silence engulfed everyone, and only the sound of rain and burning diesel fuel remained.

Old Wang seemed genuinely curious and reached out to Old Qian to take the bloated notebook of ghost stories.

He casually flipped through the damp pages, glancing at the handwritten notes about various urban legends and supernatural tales. A smirk crept onto his lips as he chuckled.

"Ha...you're really something, aren't you? A water monster? A lizardman? What kind of outdated stuff is that...a study of the magical girl legends of Xinmao City?"

After turning to the last few pages, his finger stopped, and after a moment of stunned silence, an extremely strange, barely suppressed amusement appeared on his face. In the end, he actually chuckled softly.

This was probably the first time he had laughed from the bottom of his heart in the past few days.

Old Qian wanted to say something in his defense, but in the end, all he could manage was a bitter laugh and a sigh: "Sigh, it's just a hobby, it doesn't require much study, just a little memorization..."

"Ugh! Hmm!"

The strange, unintelligible cries coming from the walkie-talkie startled the five tense survivors at the subway station entrance.

"Damn it! What's all this noise! ​​Why are you causing trouble at a time like this?" Old Wang was the first to react and immediately started cursing.

"Quiet! Listen again!" the veteran surnamed Chen hissed. "There's sound coming from all three walkie-talkies! It's coming from outside!"

Old Qian was also stunned; he had indeed heard that strange cry coming from the walkie-talkie.

He stared in disbelief at the black metal lump in his hand. This thing had actually made contact? Was it a rescue? They had tried countless frequencies before, but nothing had worked!

His fingers trembled as he pressed the call button:

"Hey? Hello? Is anyone there? Can you hear me?"

After a brief silence, a voice came through the walkie-talkie again. The voice was not very clear, but it was clearly the clear, energetic voice of a young girl:

"Wow—Little Green, Little Green! Did you hear that?! There's a living person here!"

On the fifth floor of the unfinished building, Xia Zhaozhao was shouting into a walkie-talkie when she suddenly heard a "hello, hello" voice coming from inside. She was so startled that she almost threw the walkie-talkie away.

But she quickly realized that the walkie-talkie really worked, and there was someone on the other end?

Xiao Lü snatched the walkie-talkie from Xia Zhaozhao's hand, pressed the call button, and began to communicate with the other party in a voice even more immature than Xia Zhaozhao's:

"We are two survivors who heard your calls. Are you... in any trouble?"

At the entrance of Shanghe Road subway station, Lao Qian listened to the new voice coming from the walkie-talkie. Although the tone was much calmer than the previous loud voice, it sounded so soft.

Forget it, who cares who she is, as long as I can survive!

Without further hesitation, Lao Qian quickly explained their current predicament to the other party in the most concise language possible, and eagerly asked if there were any adults on their side who could provide support—even just a sliver of hope.

On the fifth floor of the unfinished building, before Xiao Lü could reply, Xia Zhaozhao leaned over, pressed the call button, and shouted loudly:

"Hey! Uncle! We're super—awesome! We're magical girls! Are there monsters over there? Do you want us to come rescue you—ah!"

Before she could finish speaking, Xia Zhaozhao felt a "thump" above her head.

Little Green withdrew his fist expressionlessly.