In this world, it was incredibly difficult for ordinary people to survive. They had to find food, avoid zombie attacks, and defend themselves against other humans. Without the system, Sylas probably wouldn't have survived until now. Even if he did, he certainly wouldn't be living as comfortably as he was.
Sylas sensed the miserable conditions of the surrounding survivors, but he couldn't help them. After all, he was just one person. How many people could he assist?
"Damn this wretched world," Sylas cursed, quickening his pace.
He soon reached the second hospital. The place was overrun with zombies, and Sylas doubted if any doctors could still be alive in such an environment.
"No matter, let's go in and see," Sylas muttered quietly.
He landed on the ground, no longer using telekinesis to support himself. Using telekinesis drained his mental energy, so he saved it whenever possible.
As soon as he landed, zombies were drawn to him. However, because Sylas carried the scent of zombies, they didn't attack him. He quickly dashed into the hospital, searching for any possible survivors.
Finding survivors would have been troublesome before, as they would likely be hiding and hard to locate. But now, things were different. With super hearing, Sylas could hear the sounds of survivors. As long as he got close enough, he could determine if there were any survivors nearby.
"Got it," Sylas said, a smile forming on his face as he sensed the presence of a group of survivors.
The group of survivors seemed to be hiding in the hospital's inpatient department, as there were no living people in the outpatient area. This group had more than thirty people, making it quite likely that there were some doctors among them.
Sylas quickly reached the survivors' hiding place on the top floor of the inpatient department. The door to the inpatient department was barricaded, and the zombies outside were unaware of the people inside. As long as the survivors stayed quiet, the zombies wouldn't find them, which was how they had managed to survive.
Sylas didn't use the main entrance. Instead, he flew up and entered through a window. His sudden appearance startled everyone.
"Ah!"
"Someone flew in!"
Everyone looked at Sylas in shock and caution.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" a middle-aged man with glasses asked.
Sylas ignored the question, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. He noticed some people wearing white coats—likely doctors.
Calmly, Sylas said, "My name is Sylas. I am the leader of the Hope Survivor Base. I'm here to rescue doctors. If any of you are doctors, you can come with me. Our base is safe and has plenty of food."
"Your base has plenty of food?" someone asked skeptically, perhaps unable to believe it. In these times, a base with ample food was like paradise.
"We emptied out a supermarket. Food won't be an issue for a while," Sylas explained to reassure them.
"I'm a doctor."
"I'm also a doctor."
"And me, I'm a doctor too."
A large number of people stood up, claiming to be doctors.
Sylas scanned the group, a smile on his face as he said, "Our base warmly welcomes doctors, but those who pretend to be doctors will face the death penalty. So, are all of you truly doctors?"
He continued, "Our base already has a few doctors. You will be assessed to confirm your credentials. Genuine doctors will receive excellent treatment at our base. As for impostors, we will feed them to the zombies. So, I'll ask again, who among you are doctors?"
This time, no one dared to speak.
"Why only doctors? We're human too, can't you take all of us?" a young woman couldn't help but complain.
Sylas replied coolly, "I came alone, and I can only rescue a few people this time. Doctors are the priority, and their families can come along as well. My time is precious, and I cannot afford to waste it here. I'll ask one last time, who among you are doctors? I can take the doctors and their families with me."
"I am a doctor," a middle-aged man stepped forward.
"Me too," said another, a female doctor.
Sylas didn't care what departments they were from as long as they were doctors.
"I... I am also a doctor. I'm the head of the inpatient department," the middle-aged man with glasses stammered.
Hearing him claim to be a doctor, the expressions of the previous two doctors turned a bit strange, but they didn't say anything. However, Sylas noticed their odd expressions.
Sylas wondered if there was some issue here, but he couldn't figure it out.
"I am also a doctor," the middle-aged man with glasses said, trembling. Though he was shaking, he insisted he was a doctor. He had no other choice; staying behind meant certain death. Leaving with Sylas was his only chance at survival. So, he decided to take a gamble. And he wasn't exactly lying—in a certain sense, he was a doctor.
"You," Sylas pointed to the female doctor, "is he a doctor? I want the truth, and you'll be responsible for what you say."
Verda, the female doctor, shivered as Sylas pointed at her and asked. "I..."
"Think carefully before you speak," Sylas said coldly. "A wrong word can mean death. Even if you are a doctor, if you lie, you will be killed. There are plenty of doctors in the city; I can find others."
Verda felt immense pressure. "My family isn't at the hospital; they are at home. Can they come with us?"
Sylas answered seriously, "Yes, as long as you are a doctor, I can take your whole family with us."
Hearing this, Verda made up her mind. "Let me explain briefly. In our hospital, we have two kinds of department heads. One is the head doctor who treats patients and has medical skills, and the other is an administrative head who manages the hospital staff."
Verda didn't explicitly say whether the man was a doctor or not, but she clarified the situation.
"Verda, you're too cruel," the middle-aged man with glasses suddenly shouted angrily. According to Verda's explanation, he was an administrative head. In the eyes of outsiders, he might be considered a doctor, but he couldn't actually treat patients. He only managed doctors.
Verda looked down in silence. People are inherently selfish, and she had to think about herself and her family.
Suddenly, telekinesis enveloped the middle-aged man with glasses, lifting him and throwing him out the window. This was the top floor, twenty stories above the ground. Being thrown from this height meant certain death.
The man screamed in terror, his cries growing fainter until, with a final scream, the sound stopped. He was dead.
Everyone who witnessed this was stunned. They couldn't understand how Sylas had done it, but they were now even more terrified of him.
"Here, take this," Sylas said, tossing a bag of grain weighing a hundred pounds to them.
Seeing the hundred pounds of grain, everyone was overjoyed. Even the two doctors who were about to leave felt happy for those remaining. Sylas's ability to produce a hundred pounds of grain out of nowhere indicated that he genuinely had no shortage of food. Their lives would undoubtedly be better once they left with him.
"Lionel, take me with you. I can be your woman," a woman suddenly rushed forward, grabbing the male doctor's wrist and pleading with him.
Seeing the woman's attractive face, Lionel was tempted. He was currently single, and having a wife would be a good thing. However, he didn't know what Sylas would think.
Hesitantly, Lionel looked towards Sylas. Understanding what Lionel was thinking, Sylas responded indifferently, "I said you can bring your family. Whoever you want to take is up to you."
"I want to take her; she's my woman," Lionel said quickly, grabbing the woman's hand.
"Okay," Sylas replied. It didn't matter to him if he took one more person.
Sylas released the iron ship and boarded it. "Get on the ship, we're leaving," he said.
Everyone was stunned once again by this sight. Lionel and Verda quickly boarded, along with the woman next to Lionel.
The remaining people were restless, but after seeing Sylas's calm demeanor and remembering the fate of the administrative head, no one dared to say anything.
"I'm a nurse, can you take me with you?" a woman suddenly asked, trembling. Sylas was momentarily stunned. The speaker was a woman in her thirties, still quite attractive. Her question reminded Sylas that he was there to rescue people, so why limit it to just doctors? Nurses could be rescued too, and even other useful talents.
"You can come aboard," Sylas said. He wasn't worried about being lied to; if he found out later that she was lying, he would make her regret it.
The woman quickly boarded Sylas's iron ship.
Looking at the remaining people, Sylas asked, "Is there anyone else here with useful skills or talents? Speak up if you have any abilities. If I find your skills valuable, I'll take you with me."
Upon hearing this, the crowd became excited again. It wasn't just doctors who could be taken; anyone with useful skills could go too. They quickly began to think about their own abilities and what they could offer.