Everyone began packing their bags. In the dim light, Liang Xiao picked out the much-needed bandages, antiseptics, and fever reducers. Hai Baihe asked, "Do we have anything for diarrhea?"
"You have a stomachache?" Liang Xiao asked.
"Just in case we can't leave, we'll still need to find food. These supplies have expired for so long..." Hai Baihe worried, unsure if she should commend her for being prepared or scold her for being pessimistic. Nonetheless, Liang Xiao handed her two boxes.
Mu Ge timidly asked, "What can I do?"
Hai Baihe handed her a coin. "Zombies are attracted to light, sound, and even the smell of blood. Maybe this will help."
Having watched many movies, Mu Ge immediately nodded. "I understand. Should I wrap my legs with plastic bags to mask the scent?" Feeling guilty for slowing down the group as the only injured member, she apologized.
Hai Baihe thought it would comfort her, so she took a plastic bag and wrapped it around Mu Ge's wound.
After hesitating for a moment, Mu Ge spoke up again. "Baihe, if something happens, don't worry about me. Just run ahead, okay?"
Hai Baihe's face darkened. "Get lost."
Mu Ge shrunk back, afraid to say anything more. She remembered when her parents divorced during her ninth grade year, her father didn't come home all night, and her mother threatened to commit suicide. She gave up on herself, her grades plummeted, and she started hanging out with a group of delinquents from the streets.
Once, when they were trying to lure her into trying drugs, Hai Baihe burst in and saw the drugs on the table. Without a word, she grabbed a chair and attacked the delinquents, leaving Mu Ge in awe as she single-handedly took down four of them, forcing the drugs into their mouths before emotionlessly calling the police.
Then, Hai Baihe coldly looked at her. "Do you want to try it too?"
Mu Ge was terrified! After being best friends for so long, she never expected her closest friend to be so fierce!
(Hai Baihe: That was the time when I secretly tried drugs. It didn't work.)
Since that incident, Mu Ge was strictly supervised by Hai Baihe to focus on her studies. Eventually, she managed to enter a prestigious high school and turned her life around. So, when Hai Baihe got angry, Mu Ge still felt a bit scared. Ni Xuanxuan wandered around the pharmacy, unsure. "Should we find some weapons for self-defense? If we get bitten by a zombie, we'll likely get infected."
Hai Baihe said, "There's a utility room at the end of the corridor. There might be some useful things there. What about you?" She directed her last question to Liang Xiao.
He handed Mu Ge an empty cardboard box. "If they come at you, put this on their heads. It might provide some protection if nothing else."
Mu Ge sat in her wheelchair, holding the cardboard box. "..." She never knew you could fight zombies with this! In movies, even without a dagger, they would have a handgun! At the very least, a knife would do! A kitchen knife would work too!
As if reading her thoughts, Liang Xiao said, "You haven't used weapons before. Even a kitchen knife can be dangerous if you're not experienced. This is the most suitable option for you."
Humbly listening, Hai Baihe said, "That makes sense."
Zhang Qihang improvised and picked up a three-legged stool from the pharmacy.
Nervous, Ni Xuanxuan
still grabbed a fruit knife and wrapped it with bandages before putting it in the side pocket of her backpack.
With everything prepared, the group set off.
Perhaps it had been several years since the outbreak of zombies in this area, and the most dangerous time had already passed. There weren't many zombies left in the hospital, and at least the second-floor corridor was empty.
Mu Ge's heart pounded with fear. The corridor, which seemed already long, appeared endless to her.
In silence, everyone could hear their own heartbeats.
As they reached the end of the corridor, Hai Baihe saw the utility room. It was probably where the janitors stored their cleaning supplies. When dealing with zombies, it was crucial not to let them get too close. Even a broomstick would be more useful than a knife.
Unfortunately, there was a zombie inside the room.
Hai Baihe glanced at Liang Xiao, silently asking if they should go in.
He nodded slightly and gestured to Ni Xuanxuan to push Mu Ge away. Then, he positioned himself and forcefully pushed the door, trapping the zombie behind it.
The glass above the door was missing, and the face of the zombie from earlier could be seen through the gap. Its muscles were decayed and bloody, oozing thick liquid. Its eye sockets were sunken, as if its eyes had rotted away, and a foul-smelling liquid dripped from its mouth.
"Roar!" The zombie struggled, unable to make specific sounds due to its damaged vocal cords, but the loud roar startled everyone.
Zhang Qihang, in a panic, tried to poke its mouth with the stool legs but accidentally jabbed its eye.
Hai Baihe grabbed a broom from the room and stabbed the zombie's mouth twice. Zhang Qihang then used the stool legs to smash its head.
Only then did Liang Xiao release the pressure on the door.
Hai Baihe crouched down and dragged out a toolbox from the room. Zhang Qihang discarded the stool and picked up the broom Hai Baihe had used earlier. After removing the broom head, the solid wooden stick proved to be quite useful.
Ni Xuanxuan commented, "Old-fashioned things are more practical. Nowadays, everything is made of hollow plastic handles."
Mu Ge, who had witnessed the entire process of smashing the zombie's head, was surprised she didn't throw up. It was definitely thanks to years of watching American TV shows!
Hai Baihe sifted through the tools on the ground, and Mu Ge spotted a familiar screwdriver. "A screwdriver!"
With strict security checks, it wasn't realistic to bring any self-defense tools. Pepper spray was no longer available, and after a failed attempt at making homemade pepper spray, Hai Baihe gave Mu Ge a screwdriver.
Easy to handle, convenient, passable through security checks, and capable of breaking windows or poking eyes in critical situations, it was Mu Ge's most familiar self-defense tool. She had one in her bag, but unfortunately, during the accident, her bag got trapped under the seat and Hai Baihe couldn't retrieve it.
"Here you go." Hai Baihe gave her and Ni Xuanxuan one each for self-defense.
They abandoned the electric saw, which required electricity and made noise. After some selection, they kept a few small tools like wrenches from the toolbox.
Seeing Mu Ge struggling to carry something heavy, she said, "Give it to me."
Hai Baihe handed her the toolbox, and Mu Ge cradled it in her arms as if protecting a precious item.
Weapons acquired: ✔
They reached the end of the corridor and turned right. This section of the corridor wasn't long, and they would reach the
back door by going down the stairs.
The sky seemed to be getting brighter. It wasn't as pitch black as the previous night, and they could see things more clearly.
But it wasn't a good sign.
Reality confirmed Hai Baihe's suspicion. Just as they stealthily prepared to descend the stairs, a zombie on the ground floor noticed them and lunged towards them.
And that wasn't all—it let out a loud roar, attracting more zombies.
However, the first zombie stumbled and fell under the stairs. Before they could catch their breath, the second zombie climbed over it and stumbled on the fifth step. The third zombie continued climbing over them.
"Damn it!" Hai Baihe held onto Mu Ge, who was about to jump down the stairs. "Let's go."
Liang Xiao grabbed the wheelchair and caught Ni Xuanxuan, whose legs had gone weak. "Let's go."
They quickly ran back to the second floor and hid inside an operating room, securely closing the door.
Mu Ge bit her finger to prevent herself from making any noise. Her teeth forced out a few words: "Oh my god, there are so many!"
The back door was no less crowded with zombies than the front door. As soon as they appeared, a horde of zombies flooded towards them, terrifying them all.
Hai Baihe listened at the door, but she didn't hear any footsteps after a while. She cautiously opened a small gap in the door and breathed a sigh of relief. "They didn't follow us."
Nervous, Ni Xuanxuan tightly clutched Liang Xiao's arm. "What do we do? Can we still get out? Baihe, what should we do?"
Hai Baihe replied, "... I'm not sure, but we can't say that. How about we wait until it gets dark and try then?"
The horde of zombies outside gave Hai Baihe goosebumps. Although they weren't sure if these zombies could infect them, the odds were high.
Twenty minutes ago, they were full of confidence, but now they realized that imagination was always much better than reality. Even when facing the most ordinary zombies in a novel, encountering them face to face made them want to run for their lives.
Hai Baihe felt like her intelligence wasn't enough. "Or do you have any other ideas?"
Liang Xiao sat cross-legged. "I don't have a better plan. Maybe at night, when their vision is impaired, we might be able to sneak past."
Mu Ge hesitantly said, "In post-apocalyptic stories, when there are zombies, there are usually supernatural powers..."
Ni Xuanxuan couldn't help but retort, "This is reality, not a novel. Where would those supernatural powers come from?"
Zhang Qihang stood by the door and observed for a while. "I think these zombies feel... more realistic."
After so many years of "Resident Evil" and similar movies, he had some understanding of these creatures.
"Realistic? What do you mean?" Mu Ge complained, "Isn't it realistic enough to be face to face with them?"
Hai Baihe interjected, "I think he means that these zombies feel... practical. They're not like the ones in many novels with different ranks and levels. We can't even understand how those elemental powers came to be or what those crystal cores are. In other words, it's the level of mutation that humans could possibly reach."
Liang Xiao didn't speculate; he stated the facts. "Their power is stronger than that of ordinary people, but there are still differences. The first nurse had slightly more strength than an adult man, while the janitor in the utility room was weaker than the nurse."
"That janitor was probably
an older lady," Hai Baihe said, imitating sagging breasts with a gesture. "They sagged all the way down here. I don't believe she's not in her fifties or sixties."
Mu Ge asked, "Why?"
"Because they sagged." Hai Baihe made a hand gesture to demonstrate. "They sag all the way down here. It's impossible unless she's fifty or sixty."
Liang Xiao remained calm. "Overall, their abilities are not beyond the scope of human capabilities. With long-term training, ordinary people can achieve similar levels. They have probably only tapped into the human potential, but due to differences in physical fitness, the strength they gain after being infected varies."
"Moreover, their vision and vocal cords are damaged, so their visual and vocal abilities are compromised."
Ni Xuanxuan held her knees tightly. "Would it be contagious?"
Liang Xiao pondered before answering, "It's hard to say. We don't know the exact situation here, how the outbreak started, how it spreads, or what has happened in this town. But I believe it must be a very dire situation."
Ni Xueanxuan didn't want to hear comforting words. She couldn't help but be sarcastic, "If there are zombies everywhere, how can it not be serious?"
"You misunderstood me," Liang Xiao didn't get angry at the young girl. He explained, "Have you heard of the Ebola virus? This virus spreads through blood, saliva, sweat, and secretions. The incubation period is less than a month, and once symptoms appear, internal and external bleeding occur, with a mortality rate as high as 88%. If you don't quite understand, think about the SARS epidemic."
His tone wasn't necessarily intense, but SARS was something everyone had experienced. They couldn't help but become nervous, listening attentively to his words.