By luring the zombies into the alleyway, one could effectively deter any survivors from passing through.
After all, no sane individual would choose to traverse a path infested with zombies, thus mitigating the risk of the collected medicines being pilfered by others.
The zombified maidens proved to be quite docile, compliantly allowing Hua Zhen to lead them by hand into the sunless confines of the alley.
They seemed content with the alley's gloomy ambiance, unlikely to venture back into the sunlight, their movements confined to this secluded space.
However, Hua Zhen found little comfort in the alley, the stench of decay wafting from somewhere causing him nausea.
After numerous trips to and fro, Hua Zhen finally emptied the entire pharmacy.
The alley now housed a dozen more zombies.
Before returning to the pharmacy to investigate the rooms inside, Hua Zhen took some time to closely observe these zombified maidens.
Their pallid skin was webbed with vein-like patterns.
Their eyes were blood-red and unfocused.
Blood dripped from their mouths and noses, not yet coagulated.
These symptoms were not unlike his own.
Hua Zhen pried open the upper lip of one of the female zombies with his thumb, revealing teeth ensnared with strands of flesh, not so fresh.
Truth be told, it was beginning to reek.
"Oral hygiene is quite important, my dear," he mused.
Hua Zhen then examined the site of her infection.
It was the neck, marred by a deep bite, the wound now putrefied.
He inspected the wounds of the others.
Some were bitten, others scratched.
One particular maiden zombie caught Hua Zhen's attention.
Where once two bright headlights were adorning her upper body, now only one remained, the other lost to oblivion.
Glancing at the bloody, beast-gnawed wound, Hua Zhen mused that the attacking zombie must have been yearning for its mother.
At that moment, Hua Zhen noticed a slight wriggling at the site of the wound.
Struck by a thought, he hesitated not a moment longer, drawing his cleaver and slicing deeply into the wound.
Upon rending the flesh, Hua Zhen could see a cluster of "threads" writhing within the wound, identical to the entity that had emerged from his injury hours earlier.
"Do all zombies harbor such entities within?" he pondered.
Hua Zhen dissected several more zombies, confirming his suspicion.
He understood now.
Bodily fluids led to infection, and post-infection, these thread-like growths would emerge.
They resembled minuscule parasites, but Hua Zhen knew they couldn't be, for parasites do not self-divide.
Could it be that extracting these entities might restore others to normalcy?
Hua Zhen attempted it but abandoned the effort after mere minutes.
No deep dissection was needed for Hua Zhen to realize the futility of the task.
These entities did not simply outnumber the host's cells; they rooted in the infected wound first, then spread throughout the body—into the trunk, limbs, viscera, and even along the spine to the brain.
A tree's roots can delve twelve meters deep into the soil and spread eight meters around.
These entities infiltrated the entire human body, akin to tree roots.
Hua Zhen returned to the pharmacy.
Subsequently, he approached the door and seized a female pharmacist of fair countenance, pinning the zombified woman to the ground.
She complied meekly with Hua Zhen's actions, offering no resistance, her hands still mechanically scratching, akin to a marionette.
Hua Zhen produced a disposable syringe, drawing a vial of blood from her arm, then secured it within one of the scattered medicine bottles on the ground.
Though unable to revert zombies to humans, Hua Zhen himself could coax the entity from within to emerge, thereby reverting to human form.
As long as he possessed zombie blood, there was no need to extract the "threads," allowing him to transform into a zombie at will.
After collecting the blood, Hua Zhen dispatched the two zombies, donning sunglasses and a mask.
With a tentative attitude, he gently knocked on the door.
"Is anyone there?"
A voice, slightly agitated, responded immediately upon hearing human speech.
"What's the matter, are you also human? Are you alive?"
The voice seemed familiar to Hua Zhen.
A sense of foreboding washed over him.
Just as he was about to leave, the door opened.
A pair of roving eyes peeked out, and only after ensuring safety did the door fully open.
It was a middle-aged woman, robust and with a stern face.
Hua Zhen remembered her; she was the lady from upstairs.
They had little interaction, Hua Zhen didn't even know her surname, but she had once blocked his lock with glue, splashed his balcony-drying clothes with mop water, and even thrown dog feces on his windowsill.
The reason was that he hadn't shared his WiFi password for her son's online classes, and after changing it, she bore a grudge, leaving behind the infamous words, "If my son fails his exams, it's your fault."
Initially, the woman spoke to Hua Zhen kindly, even offering a basket of eggs. Hua Zhen thought it was no big deal to share the WiFi for a child's classes, so he gave the password, and naturally, he didn't accept the eggs since he didn't cook.
But who would have thought, as days passed, the internet at home became increasingly sluggish.
Upon checking the router, Hua Zhen found a plethora of devices connected, some constantly downloading in the background, never ceasing.
Further investigation revealed that the woman's entire family was using his WiFi, from phones to computers.
Moreover, her son often invited classmates over, claiming they were doing homework, but in reality, they were gaming in locked rooms, even downloading inappropriate videos, seemingly determined to fill the hard drive to the brim.
So, Hua Zhen changed the password.
And thus, he was resented.
The woman did not recognize Hua Zhen.
Seeing the emptied pharmacy, she peered around and, upon noticing the two zombified female pharmacists now dead, she erupted in anger, with the vigor of a rural woman in a street quarrel.
"Are you even human? You're nothing, I tell you! All these medicines in the pharmacy, and you hoarded them all? Do you have no conscience? I think your conscience has been eaten by a dog!"
Her voice seemed to possess a peculiar penetrative power, reaching deep into one's eardrums and directly into the brain, an unbidden auditory assault, of which she seemed blissfully unaware.
Hua Zhen had always thought this woman was unreasonable and overbearing.
Now it seemed she truly was.
Alone, where did she find the courage to confront a strange young man?
Who gave her such audacity?
"You might be mistaken, I'm also here for medicine," Hua Zhen said.
Seeing Hua Zhen's gentle demeanor, the woman grew bolder.
"You're lying, I heard everything just now, the commotion outside, do you think I'm deaf? You ungrateful wretch, let me tell you, my child is sick, and if you don't hand over the medicines today, you're a murderer!"
Hua Zhen's mouth twitched, and then he glanced at the zombies gathering outside due to the noise.
Well, if you insist on courting death, I won't stop you.