Late at night, Lin An lay in room 908.
The strong scent of perfume filled the air, almost suffocating, and black ribbons hung beside the bed, resembling ropes for hanging.
Outside, distant explosions echoed, making it difficult to sleep.
Suddenly, a piercing, vengeful shriek cut through the air from deep within the hospital.
The sound was shrill and sharp, piercing glass and traveling hundreds of meters.
Lin An hurried to the window to investigate but found nothing.
The scream appeared for only a moment before vanishing entirely.
What was that?
He stared for a long time, but there was nothing to see.
The hospital was full of towering buildings, and it was impossible to pinpoint the source of the scream.
Lin An reluctantly gave up the search and returned to bed, the weight of uncertainty pressing on his heart.
But the mission to the hospital was inevitable.
He lay there for a long time, unable to sleep.
Staring at the ceiling, his mind was filled with exhaustion.
This was the second day after the apocalypse began, the fifth day since his rebirth.
Memories from his past life, mixed with the past few days' experiences, flashed through his mind like a flickering photo album.
Without power in the hotel, the erratic weather made the night cold.
"Creek."
The door opened without a sound, no lock to hinder it.
Unable to use the room card, Lin An had to remove the lock directly.
In the darkness, Wenya stood at the door, holding a blanket.
After a moment's hesitation, she spoke.
"I can't sleep."
Lin An paused, his eyes piercing through the dark as if it were daylight.
He saw Wenya's red, swollen eyes, evidence of recent tears.
It seemed she had been crying.
Unable to sleep at night, most likely due to worry.
Lin An had an inkling about the cause.
"You have family in Lingjiang Hospital, right?"
Lin An's mental strength was far beyond normal. In the afternoon, he had already noticed something was off with Wenya's emotions.
Wenya held the blanket tightly, nodding slightly.
"Yes."
Her voice trembled.
"My mother has heart problems. She was hospitalized recently."
"She's in the building next to the emergency department, room 303."
Her words seemed to drain her strength.
The room was cold, and Wenya, freshly showered and wearing pajamas, was shivering.
The hair dryer was useless, and her damp hair was hastily tied up.
Lin An fell silent for a moment, unsure how to offer comfort.
"Tomorrow, if it doesn't delay our plans..."
"I'll go take a look."
He observed Wenya, no longer the confident, strong woman she once was.
A sigh rose in his chest.
The entire hospital had turned into hell.
Wenya's mother's ward was situated near the emergency department, one of the areas with the highest concentration of zombies.
Both of them knew, her mother had almost no hope of survival.
Going to see her was merely a form of psychological comfort.
Outside, the cold wind howled, and even through the glass, the biting wind could be heard.
"Thank you."
Wenya wiped away the tears that she could no longer suppress, her gaze filled with gratitude.
"Drip. Wenya's loyalty increases by 30 points. Current value: 80/100 (almost no chance of betrayal, even in the face of death)."
She bowed deeply to Lin An, as if she had made a firm decision.
"I..."
"Can I sleep here tonight?"
After speaking, she slowly walked to Lin An's bed, head lowered.
She gently placed the blanket beside him.
Lin An frowned slightly, surprised by how her loyalty had increased with those few words.
It seemed this matter had deeply affected her, enough for her to completely lower her guard.
"If you think you're repaying me, or want something from me..."
"There's no need."
Lin An had agreed to go see her mother, but had no ulterior motive.
After all, he had never promised he would go. He only said he'd do it if it didn't interfere with his plans.
Wenya looked up at his words, her face flushed.
She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't get the words out.
"Since you've joined my team, you're part of it."
"Teammates help each other, that's how it should be."
"You don't need to feel guilty or grateful."
"And I really don't like what you're doing."
Lin An's gaze was clear as he spoke, before turning his back to rest.
The fresh scent of body wash cut through the cheap perfume in the room.
"Get some sleep."
After saying this, Lin An turned his back and closed his eyes to rest.
Wenya stood still, her hands frozen on the collar of her shirt.
Her body was tense by the bed's edge.
She couldn't utter a word.
After a long time.
"Shh."
Wenya spread out her bed, lying down in the dark.
Lin An felt someone settle beside him but not come any closer.
"I'm sorry."
Wenya lay at the edge of the bed, tears slipping from the corner of her eyes.
Whether she was speaking to Lin An or to herself, neither knew.
———
The next morning.
On the ninth-floor corridor, Lin An had already been waiting.
"Lin Da-ge... Captain!"
"I brought the people!"
At the other end of the hall, Zhang Tie approached, walking briskly.
He still wasn't used to calling Lin An "Captain."
In a rush, he greeted Lin An with a hearty laugh.
Behind him, two middle-aged men followed, seeming to be from his previous team.
"Lin-ge!"
The two men nervously bowed, greeting Lin An with anxiety.
Lin An was indeed handsome, with fair skin, almost like a scholar.
But in their eyes, Lin An had become synonymous with a monster.
Anyone who had seen him chop down a "Licker" would never forget that sight.
That one swing of the knife had been the talk of the night.
Lin An nodded in response.
He led the three to the large window in front of the ninth-floor elevator.
"You two, explain the hospital's internal layout so I can plan the route."
Lin An's gaze fixed on the surgical building. The dark glass windows obscured the view inside.
The entrance was tightly closed, and only a few zombies were wandering around outside. It was peculiar.
"Lin-ge, this is the map we hand-drew overnight."
The two middle-aged men were hospital employees Zhang Tie had found. They knew the building well.
One stood on the left, the other on the right, pointing to the map as they spoke.
"This route is the underground parking entrance. It's about 20 meters to the right of the hospital's main entrance. From there, you can go straight to the emergency department."
"The orthopedics department is on the second floor above the emergency, occupying two levels."
———
Half an hour later, Lin An thanked the two men and took Zhang Tie downstairs.
This time, he didn't bring more people.
Given the concentration of zombies in the hospital, ordinary people tagging along would be heading to their death.
Even Zhang Tie, if surrounded by zombies, risked infection.
As they walked down the stairs, the two spoke.
"Lin-dui, so we're going to the emergency room to find some equipment?"
Zhang Tie followed behind, scratching his head.
Lin An descended quickly, never turning around as he answered.
"Not necessarily the emergency room, but it's the most likely place."
"In the apocalypse game, most equipment is found near monsters."
"Some are mutated creatures, others are zombies."
"Based on what you described, the emergency department has the most zombies, so it's the most likely place to find equipment."
Zhang Tie nodded thoughtfully, struggling to keep up with Lin An's pace.
Logically, Lin An's statement wasn't quite right.
The equipment only started attracting monsters after the apocalypse began.
But the zombies in the emergency were former patients who had been there before the outbreak.
So, the large number of zombies wasn't because of the equipment being there.
Only because Lin An had been reborn did he know that the hospital's equipment was where the most zombies gathered!
A clever person might have noticed the flaw in Lin An's logic, but Zhang Tie, clearly, didn't.
"Is the equipment that powerful?"
Zhang Tie asked, curious. He could tell Lin An was determined to get it.
What kind of equipment could make Lin An take such a risk?
After all, this was a hospital.
Thinking of the sea of zombies, he was understandably afraid.
Lin An thought of the [Skull Crusher's Hand] he had seen in the chat channel in his previous life and replied seriously:
"Very strong!"
As a blue-tier item, the Skull Crusher's Hand only had one attribute boost, but its value was as high as 5 points!
It was considered overpowered.
If an ordinary player obtained it, as long as their base strength wasn't too low, they could easily exceed the 10-point human limit.
That would grant them power comparable to an awakened one!
It was an item that could fundamentally change a person's strength.
"I've never seen equipment before!"
"Lin-dui, you say this apocalypse game is a game, but it seems like it doesn't have any game features?"
Lin An chuckled. He understood Zhang Tie's confusion.
"Never seen equipment? That's normal. In the apocalypse game, every piece of equipment is precious."
"As for the game..."
"It is a game."
"But..."
"It's not our game."