The corpses in the sky fell down in swarms, like a black curtain stained full of blood. The pungent foul smell was nauseating, and many people’s clothes were stained with viscous black blood. Some people hid underneath abandoned cars, barely managing to stay clean and tidy.
Mental power broke through the zombie bat swarm, surrounded the zombie king, and attempted to enter its brain.
The zombie king let out a low roar, shaking its head to resist the mental power’s invasion. The remaining zombie bats consequently became even more frenzied, swooping down into the crowd as if they didn’t want their lives. Some zombie bats exploded beside people, and black blood plasma smeared all over their masks and eye shields.
The fire-element ability user erected a fire wall for themself. One after another, fireballs shot out from within it towards the high sky, illuminating the sky that was like a closing curtain.
The strength ability user, holding a machete, opened the bow left and right1. Even if the bat zombies had very high defense, they were still hacked to pieces, body and bone, by his one slash.
Su Wenwen and Shen Ming were both not afraid of infection. They guarded Lin Wan and Luo Xi and the others behind them, killing one for each one that came, completely without needing to consider defense.
Everyone retreated backward while fighting, but the number of zombie bats was truly too great. Some people were bitten on the neck, and the smell of fresh blood immediately attracted other zombie bats. In a short moment, they were enveloped. After the bats scattered, the person had already been sucked into a dried corpse of skin and bones. The flesh and blood under the skin had unexpectedly been turned into mud by the toxin, and while they still had a trace of consciousness, their flesh and blood were forcefully sucked completely clean.
“These zombie bats have poison!” This horrifying scene made Su Wenwen’s pupils shrink, and the fine hairs on her body all stood up.
Shen Ming had a very strong regeneration ability, immune to a hundred poisons2. Su Wenwen had the system. Although the two of them were not afraid of the poison, other people were different. Once bitten, not even medicine could save them.
Just at this moment, the abdomen of the zombie king in the sky bulged. Luo Xi, panting for breath, clutched a few crystal cores in her hand and hurriedly said to everyone, “Throw down the supplies, retreat into the hospital.”
The hospital was right behind everyone. No one could be bothered with the supply boxes beside them, and they all ran towards the hospital one after another.
The zombie king sprayed out the liquid gathered in its abdomen in one mouthful. The stream of water, like a waterfall, splashed after landing on the ground. It was enveloped by mental power, which reduced the splash range.
But unexpectedly, the poison liquid sprayed by the zombie king was endless. It slightly raised its head and changed the direction of the spray. Some people ran into the hospital smoothly, while some who ran slower were drenched by the poison liquid, a chill to the core.
The skin that touched the poison liquid instantly grew blisters and was extremely itchy. They couldn’t help but reach up and scratch their necks. The blisters ruptured, and the poison liquid attached itself along the wound. The muscle tissue, visible to the naked eye, instantly rotted and dissolved. Before they could even let out a single scream, they were sucked into human jerky by the zombie bats, leaving only a withered skeleton to wander.
Luo Xi pressed her lips together. After all the living people had entered the hospital, she stretched out both hands and moved all usable objects in the vicinity to block the doors and windows.
The poison liquid was completely blocked. The zombie bats clung to the doors and windows, looking through the small gaps at the panicked crowd inside. They seemed to have no intention of breaking in, merely guarding outside.
Everyone’s held hearts were only put down after a long time, and then they collapsed to the ground.
Having fled for half the day, they were already exhausted. Su Wenwen had even used system items to replenish her endurance value twice, to say nothing of the others.
Most of the supplies had been left on the street, and some of the supply boxes were covered in poison liquid, so they were probably no longer edible.
Right now, only Su Wenwen’s spirit was still considered a bit better. She walked back and forth among the crowd, ordering everyone to check the remaining supplies.
Fortunately, everyone had a little something to eat and drink in their backpacks, enough to last one or two days, which was considered good news.
Su Wenwen let everyone eat something and rest well, then she began to size up the hospital’s main hall.
The glass of the registration front desk was covered by a patch of filthy liquid. The edges and corners had accumulated a thick layer of dust and mold, and there were also fragmented bones and unknown slime. There was a strange smell in the air, like thinned-out congee water.
The surrounding doors leading upstairs were all open. On both sides of the main hall, there were also up and down escalators. The glass upstairs was also all covered with dried blood.
This place did not look very safe, but everyone’s spirits were very weary. Su Wenwen could only keep her five senses on alert continuously, so that everyone could rest peacefully for a while.
She sat down beside Luo Xi. Seeing her complexion was pale, she took a bottle of water from her spatial backpack and handed it over, asking, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just the consumption was a bit big.” Luo Xi twisted open the mineral water, took a drink, and handed it back to Su Wenwen. “You drink a little too, and rest well. Looking at the zombie bats outside, they probably won’t come in.”
Su Wenwen took the water, glanced at the mouth of the bottle, then took a drink and said, “Why do I feel like… these zombie bats intentionally drove us into the hospital?”
“I have that feeling too,” Luo Xi said, leaning against Su Wenwen. “Just now when everyone was squeezing into the hospital, although it was very chaotic, I noticed that in a crowded area, there was a small spot that was empty.”
Su Wenwen was startled. “You mean… that thing followed us in?”
Luo Xi nodded.
If the zombie king outside was also being driven by a hidden zombie, then why was it following behind the team?
Could it be just to drive the living people into the hospital?
Then what is in the hospital?
Su Wenwen was a bit flustered. She felt this zombie was a bit too smart; in the settings of novels, there didn’t seem to be zombies that were so smart, right?
【Yes, Host. The smartest zombies only have the intelligence of a three-year-old child, but they will still be driven by their bloodthirsty instincts, biting anyone they see.】
【But there is an exception in one situation, and that is zombies birthed by a mother nest3. Similar to worker ants, they will go out to find food for the mother nest and feed the mother nest. Looking at the current situation, Host has likely fallen into the mother nest’s nest den.】
【And a mature mother nest will birth even more zombies, thereby forming a zombie tide. The system recommends that Host clears the mother nest. The quest log also has an infinite side quest to clear mother nests.】
An infinite side quest is a quest that can be accepted repeatedly. Each time a mother nest is cleared, the rewards are quite abundant.
Not to mention the items, there were as many as one hundred thousand attribute points alone. Don’t look at how Su Wenwen’s attribute values were already capped; with this many attribute points, she could exchange them for many items in the shop.
As long as there were enough items.
Su Wenwen would be immortal.
Although she was very moved by the prospect, Su Wenwen saw many people with slumped shoulders, looking listless. After thinking it over and over, she felt it wasn’t right to cast aside more people’s lives for the sake of these rewards.
But once the mother nest matured, it would trigger a zombie tide, which also seemed not okay. Caught in a difficult situation4, Su Wenwen told Luo Xi what the system had told her.
Hearing this, Luo Xi did not ask how Su Wenwen knew these things, but just nodded and said, “Don’t be anxious. It’s not certain if there is a mother nest. If there really is one, then we must also prioritize guaranteeing Lin Wan’s safety. Let’s put the matter of clearing the mother nest aside for now.”
Su Wenwen felt that what Luo Xi said was reasonable. Right now, no matter the situation, guaranteeing Lin Wan’s safety was the most important thing.
“But that ‘tail’ has been following us the whole time. Even if we can leave the hospital safely, it will definitely call other zombies to intercept and kill us.”
“Indeed. I was just thinking about something. Other than you, I have never seen a dual-element ability user or zombie. That ‘tail’s’ ability is clearly a control-type. The reason it can hide itself and follow behind us is probably because someone is cooperating with it.”
That was right. The hidden zombie wasn’t necessarily that smart, but if a person was cooperating with the zombie, that was not necessarily the case.
But was it possible?
【It’s not impossible. In order to provide food for the mother nest, there is nothing a sapper5 wouldn’t do.】
While Su Wenwen was pondering, Father Lin and Mother Lin brought their son over to Doctor Liu and asked him to see the child.
Ever since leaving the scientific research building, the little child had been coughing intermittently and his forehead was hot; it was possible he had caught a cold.
Doctor Liu first felt the little child’s head, then looked at his tongue, and said, “It’s because of the cold weather. The child’s constitution is weak and couldn’t bear it, so he caught a cold from the freeze. I don’t have a thermometer or pills with me, but we can look around to see if there is any children’s fever-reducing medicine.”
Hearing this, Father Lin and Mother Lin looked around. Because the doors and windows were all sealed and the sky outside was gradually darkening, the line of sight in the main hall was like being covered by a layer of cloth, blurry and indistinct. Coupled with the nauseating smell and the dilapidated scene, it appeared exceptionally cold and terrifying.
The two felt fear in their hearts and turned to grab Lin Wan, telling her to find cold medicine for her younger brother.
Lin Wan just protected Sisi behind her and did not speak. The two became annoyed and ashamed, accusing and cursing her, cursing in the ugliest way they could.
The surrounding people looked at Father Lin and Mother Lin with unfriendly gazes. It was Shen Ming who stood up and said, “Uncle, Auntie, I’ll go find the medicine!”
“Ai, then we’ll have to trouble you.”
Shen Ming turned on his flashlight, aimed the beam at a route sign, and found the approximate location of the pharmacy. Just as he was preparing to leave, he was stopped by Luo Xi.
“I’ll go with you.”
Though she said she was looking for medicine, Luo Xi actually wanted to see if there really was a mother nest here. Before leaving, she turned her head and instructed Su Wenwen to keep an eye on Doctor Liu.
“You be careful then.”
After Luo Xi and Shen Ming left, Su Wenwen stayed by Lin Wan and Sisi’s side. With her there, Father Lin and Mother Lin did not dare to come looking for trouble. After all, during the last meal, Su Wenwen had retorted them like a fierce god of evil.
The two still had lingering fear towards Su Wenwen to this day, only daring to shoot her a disdainful glance from the corner of their eyes.
Su Wenwen gave a cold laugh, turned her head and patted Sisi’s head, asking in a soft voice, “Is Sisi hungry?”
Lin Sisi nodded.
Su Wenwen then took out candy and meat jerky for Sisi, letting Sisi eat the candy in front of her younger brother. As the candy entered her mouth, the sweet fragrance made a smile appear on Sisi’s timid face.
“Mama… candy… want.”
When the little child saw that Sisi had something good to eat, he stretched out his hand to ask for it. Seeing that he couldn’t get any, he turned his head to tattle to Mother Lin, but his speech was not yet fluent, and he could only pop out a few repeated-character words.
Mother Lin glanced at Su Wenwen. She was clearly born with gentle and obedient features, yet she revealed a fierce gaze. Although it was incongruous, it had the dangerous feeling of an honest person who has been angered.
She did not dare to ask for any, and could only pat her son’s head and sigh. As a result, he cried even more fiercely. No amount of comforting was of any use; he just kept crying.
“So noisy it could kill, what are you crying for? My son died and I didn’t even cry, it’s just you his fucking mom who has so many problems. Believe it or not, This Laozi6 will kill you right now?” Someone couldn’t stand it anymore, staring deadly at the family of three.
That person’s expression appeared agitated, and his voice was a bit loud, which instead scared the child into crying even more intensely. Father Lin, afraid of truly angering the man, backhanded his child with a slap, which finally stopped the crying.
But this instead drew complaints from Mother Lin.
“Da da…”7 Suddenly, a clear and crisp sound came from upstairs.
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