"Hiss... it hurts... Merlin's beard, my head feels like it's splitting open!"
On the cold asphalt road, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy clutched his head and struggled to sit up from his coma.
The blinding sunlight made his already aching head buzz, as if countless Goblins were beating gongs and drums inside.
His name was Louis, a transmigrator with a soul from the 21st century but a body only eleven years old.
At this moment, Louis's heart was filled with bewilderment and confusion.
Five minutes ago, he was still looking forward to his future in the magic world.
In his previous life, he was an ordinary college student who was sent to another world by an out-of-control truck while trying to save a Child crossing the road.
Fortunately, he had transmigrated into a young Wizard of the same name living in Surrey, Britain, and had just celebrated his eleventh birthday not long ago, successfully receiving an admission letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
For a hardcore Harry Potter fan, this was simply a jackpot-winning dream start!
So, after purchasing all his school supplies in Diagon Alley, he, with a pilgrimage-like excitement, took his suitcase and, at King's Cross Station, took a deep breath and charged towards the wall between platforms nine and ten!
And then... he was sent away.
In the physical sense.
With a loud "bang" and stars in his eyes, he felt like an egg hitting a city wall and passed out on the spot.
"So, where was I knocked to?"
Louis shook his still-dizzy head and forced himself to stand up, but when he saw his surroundings clearly, a chill instantly shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!
"Wait... what the hell is... this place?"
What met his eyes was a wide but deathly silent street, with overturned cars and smashed fire hydrants everywhere along the road.
Broken glass and discarded newspapers covered the sidewalk; when the wind blew, it kicked up dust, and a strange, indescribable smell of rust mixed with rot filled the air.
The architectural style was also completely wrong; tall skyscrapers pierced the clouds, and huge billboards on the walls were printed with stars he didn't recognize and English brands he couldn't understand.
Everything here was full of modern urban atmosphere, yet it was like a long-abandoned empty city, revealing a heart-palpitating desolation.
Louis endured his headache and staggered to his luggage.
That vintage leather suitcase lay safely on the ground, with a few textbooks scattered beside it. He hurriedly picked them up and stuffed them back into the case.
Just then, a faint, beast-like low groan drifted into his ears with the wind.
Louis suddenly looked up toward the end of the street.
A staggering figure appeared at the corner, moving toward him one step at a time, extremely slowly. The person wore a tattered suit, one arm twisted at a bizarre angle, and dark red stains seemed to be on his face.
Louis's heart skipped a beat.
Then, a second, a third... more and more figures emerged from the shadows of the buildings on both sides of the street and from behind abandoned cars.
Without exception, they were all stiff in movement and dull in expression, emitting meaningless roars from their mouths like marionettes controlled by invisible strings.
Memories belonging to that college student from his previous life, long blurred, flooded back into his mind like a tide.
Resident Evil, Dead Rising, the walking dead... "No... it can't be..."
Louis's face turned pale in an instant, and an absurd thought that almost made him collapse surfaced in his mind.
"Merlin's ragged socks! I'm supposed to go to Hogwarts, not some Raccoon City!"
He couldn't help but curse under his breath, but now was not the time to think about such things.
As a modern soul who had seen countless zombie movies, he knew very well that a sudden living person like himself was like a firefly in the dark to those things—top-tier delicacy!
Almost instantly, the instinct for survival overwhelmed all shock and panic.
His brain began to work rapidly, his blue eyes calmly scanning the surroundings, quickly planning an escape route—
Fifty meters to the front-left was an office building with broken glass doors; that was the nearest cover!
He grabbed his suitcase and was about to take a step when a sudden burst of crisp and rapid gunfire rang out behind him!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
A few gunshots pierced the deathly silent street.
The "Walkers" closest to Louis fell to the ground, blood holes exploding in their heads.
Louis looked back in shock to see a tall man in a police uniform holding a revolver, warily observing his surroundings while running toward him.
"Hey! Child! Are you okay?!" the man shouted anxiously, his thick American accent making Louis even more certain of the fact that he had transmigrated again.
Before he could answer, the man had rushed in front of him, grabbed his arm, and practically lifted him up, charging toward that office building.
"Damn it! Move! The gunshots will draw more Walkers here!"
The man's strength was astonishing; Louis was pulled into a stumble and could only follow him, stumbling along.
In the chaos, he only had time to look back once; as expected, more Walkers were pouring out from all directions of the street, densely packed, all converging toward the source of the gunshots.
The two rushed into the office building one after another, and the man quickly used a nearby sofa and filing cabinet to block the broken glass door.
"Phew... phew... safe for now." The man leaned against the door, panting heavily, then turned his head to look Louis up and down with sharp eyes. "Kid, why are you alone in a place like this?"
"I... I don't know where this is either." Louis was also panting, his heart racing from the intense exercise and shock. "I think I'm lost."
"Lost? Ha, what a time for that."
The man sneered and put away his pistol. "I'm Shane Walsh, a Deputy Sheriff of King County. Listen, Child, it's dangerous out there right now. You have to follow me, understand?"
Shane... King County... When these two terms were combined, Louis's pupils suddenly constricted.
A guess surfaced in his mind.
Although he couldn't be completely sure, this was likely the world of the TV series "the walking dead"!
Merlin's beard! Where's my Hogwarts? Where are Lord Voldemort, the Ministry of Magic, and the savior squad?! How did I crash headfirst into a pile of zombies?!
You want me, an eleven-year-old rookie Wizard who doesn't know a single spell, to fight Walkers?
Fight them with my head?!
Louis felt his head spinning, but he forced himself to calm down, not wanting to show any abnormality in front of the police officer who had just saved his life.
"Alright, Officer Shane, I understand."
Shane gave him an appreciative look; the Child's calmness surprised him a little.
He patted Louis's shoulder and reassured him, "Very well, stay here and don't move. I'll go check other places to see if there's another exit. Don't worry, I'll protect you."
With that, Shane held his gun and cautiously explored toward the stairs.
After confirming Shane was far away, Louis immediately slumped to the ground, leaning against the cold wall and breathing heavily.
"Life is so hard for me!!" He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
The only good news was that, as a fan of American TV shows, he was quite familiar with the plot of the walking dead.
In case his magic disappeared with this second transmigration, he could at least find himself a few "nannies" based on his knowledge of the plot.
After all, he didn't think an eleven-year-old Child with no weapons or cheats could survive alone in the apocalypse.
With this thought, he prepared for the worst and hugged his precious suitcase tightly, opening the latch.
The things inside were all his current assets.
Inside the suitcase, the [Complete Set of First-Year Hogwarts Textbooks] was neatly arranged:
"The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1", "History of Magic", "Magical Theory", "A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration"... and a few extracurricular books like "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" and "The Encyclopedia of Practical Spells".
Beside the books lay a long velvet gift box quietly.
Opening it, a thirteen-inch wand made of Ebony with a core of Thunderbird tail feather lay quietly inside, exuding a dangerous and powerful aura.
Finally, his hand lightly landed on the silver fabric at the bottom of the case, which was as smooth and silky as liquid moonlight.
The invisibility cloak!
No doubt about it, his magic was still there!
This was simply a blessing in disguise!
However, after a brief moment of excitement, Louis calmed down again due to the movement of the Walkers outside.
Even if his magic hadn't disappeared, he didn't know a single spell right now, so the effect magic could have was almost zero.
A Wizard's suitcase, a full set of Magical Theory textbooks, a wand yet to be used, and a... perhaps the life-saving artifact that would help him the most right now.
"Fine," Louis took a deep breath, his eyes gradually turning from despair to determination, "it's better than nothing."