An hour later, the street gradually quieted down. The police began clearing the bodies on the ground. Since the hospitals had become a hotspot for the mutated creatures, many of the gunshot victims received no medical treatment and were left to bleed out on the sidewalks. The two of them, still holed up in their apartment, kept up with the situation in the streets several hundred meters away through videos online.
Under normal circumstances, videos showing a violent clash between protesters and riot police would have ignited global media outrage. But today, social media platforms were flooded with videos of riots and conflicts from around the world. Some people had taken to the streets due to their loved ones turning into mutants, some were demanding the government reveal the truth, others were showing symptoms of aftereffects and had gone out to protest, and there were even those who tried to mix in with the crowds to steal supplies.
Shao Ming clicked on a video where a doctor was desperately hiding in an office, bidding farewell to his family.
"I don't know what to do… all my patients have mutated. They've gone crazy. Please, don't come to the hospital… My colleagues and I have tried everything. The aftereffects and mutations are related; it's true. But some people who showed symptoms haven't mutated yet, they were bitten to death… Some normal people have already gone mad… Alexis, I'm sorry, Daddy won't be home to celebrate your birthday…" The doctor's voice broke as he cried, and the video ended.
Shao Ming closed the video, his emotions complicated.
By noon, the street had returned to something resembling normal. Some residents had left their homes to search for supplies.
"It's time to head out," Li Long said, putting on his backpack and handing another one to Shao Ming. The area with the most pharmacies was near the Manchester Royal Hospital, the closest to their apartment. Though the situation inside the hospital was still unclear, from other videos they had seen, the police had managed to contain it.
The hospital, established in the 18th century, was now completely locked down by the police. Since all the regular patrol officers had been dispatched to maintain order, the ones guarding the hospital were fully armed special forces. Of course, it was also possible that regular police forces were insufficient to deal with the potential breach of the hospital.
Several armored vehicles had surrounded the main entrance of the hospital, and the special forces had their guns aimed at the building. Some people who seemed to be relatives of patients were gathered outside, pleading with the special forces to enter and rescue their loved ones. Others were demanding the immediate clearing of the hospital.
The leader of the special forces could only keep explaining that the situation in most large hospitals across the country was similar, and the orders from higher-ups were only to contain the hospitals, with no further actions permitted.
From behind the glass doors of the hospital, Shao Ming could see the chaos inside. Countless mutated creatures pressed against the doors, trying to break out. Some doctors in white coats had been torn to pieces. Thankfully, the main entrance had been reinforced with steel bars, and for now, the mutated creatures could not escape.
"Let's go," Shao Ming said, "We'll head to the area near the hospital and see if we can get lucky."
When they reached the main street, the situation was even worse than yesterday. Every few steps, they encountered bloodstains. Abandoned cars lined the roads, some smashed while others bore slogans scattered across them. They made their way across the street and finally reached the first pharmacy. From there, they could already see the main building of Manchester Royal Hospital.
Through the tightly shut doors of the pharmacy, Shao Ming saw nothing but empty shelves. They had no choice but to continue toward the hospital. Shao Ming had a nagging feeling in his mind—if the mutated creatures broke through the police blockade, it wouldn't be worth risking their lives for a few bottles of antibiotics.
"I'll check the situation," Shao Ming said, signaling for Li Long to stop. He jumped up onto the roof of a nearby car to get a better look.
The police were indeed setting up a cordon in front of the hospital, and the entrance had been sealed.
Shao Ming let out a sigh of relief. For now, it seemed that things weren't too bad.
Right next to the blood donation center, there was a decent-sized pharmacy directly opposite the hospital's entrance. The two of them jogged over to the pharmacy.
Perhaps due to the riot earlier that morning, or the fact that the hospital across the street was crawling with mutated creatures, there weren't many people inside the pharmacy. The store was surprisingly calm, perhaps because the special forces were just across the street. Customers were quietly browsing the shelves and paying for their items.
As soon as they entered, Shao Ming noticed the shopkeeper, who was slumped against the counter, head down.
Shao Ming said to Li Long in Chinese, "The shopkeeper doesn't look too good…"
Li Long nodded and pulled a baseball bat from his backpack, gripping it tightly.
"I'll go look for the medicine," Shao Ming said, opening his backpack and heading to the back shelves in search of antibiotics.
"Wait!" Shao Ming had just grabbed the antibiotics and was putting them into his bag when he heard Li Long shouting his name.
He rushed back to the counter, only to find the shopkeeper had collapsed.
"He just suddenly collapsed," Li Long said.
"Are you okay?" A daring Black man extended his hand and patted the shopkeeper, but to his shock, the shopkeeper suddenly opened his mouth and bit down on the man's hand.
"Damn it, hit him!"
Without needing to be told, Li Long swung the baseball bat at the mutated shopkeeper's head.
The mutated shopkeeper seemed momentarily stunned, allowing the Black man to pull his hand away and scramble out of the pharmacy.
The shopkeeper, furious, lunged at Li Long and Shao Ming, growling and trying to claw his way out from behind the counter.
The way the shopkeeper moved was unlike anything seen in typical zombie movies or TV shows.
Li Long charged forward, swinging his bat with all his might, landing a hard blow to the mutated shopkeeper's head.
The shopkeeper staggered back two steps, then came back at them.
"Damn it!" Li Long quickly raised the bat to block. The shopkeeper bit down hard on the bat.
Shao Ming drew a kitchen knife from his waist and sneaked up behind the shopkeeper, then slashed at the back of his neck.
The knife landed with a sickening thud, severing half of the shopkeeper's neck. The mutated shopkeeper lost control of his body and, propelled by inertia, stumbled two steps forward before crashing to the ground.