"Which room is this?!" Lin Bing asked anxiously.
"Area C on the third floor," Song Shuye quickly looked up the monitor's ID and said, "It's the ward area, 308!"
The two looked at each other and stood up at the same time.
"...Wait!" Fang Yong's eyes widened. "What are you going to do?!"
Lin Bing gave him a strange look and said, "Of course, we're going to Room 308."
"But...but...!" Fang Yong pointed at the display screen. "His...body is already in that state. Is there any need for us to go there?!"
Song Shuye shook his head.
"We can't be sure he's Bai Shuichuan yet," he said cautiously, "and even if he is, we still have to confirm Bai Shuichuan's status before reporting to Queen Bee."
Fang Yong couldn't find any words to refute and fell silent again.
Song Shuye understood what he meant - the room was full of zombies, and it was difficult to ensure their own safety when going in and out. It would be fine if the corpse was not Bai Shuichuan, but if the target of the mission was dead and they had to risk their lives for a wasted trip, no one would be happy.
"Actually, there's no need to be so pessimistic." Eve suddenly said.
Everyone: “?”
"Remember the instant noodles we saw just now?" Eve said, "There were two... which means that up until now, there were at least two survivors in the hospital."
But in 308 they only saw the body of one person.
"You mean," Lin Bing said slowly, "that the other person might have escaped successfully—and he might be Bai Shuichuan?"
"It's just a guess," Eve shrugged. "There could be other survivors."
But everyone's faces still looked much better.
——After all, Eve's speculation still has a glimmer of hope, which is better than letting them do useless work even though they know the mission has failed.
"Let's go," Song Shuye said first, "Now that the zombies have dispersed, a lot of them have left. Let's quickly bring back the bodies and end this quickly."
The subsequent actions will depend on the identity of the corpse.
After the zombies had shared the man's body, they were no longer interested in the remaining flesh and bones. The number of zombies in 308 decreased a lot. When the team opened the door, only three or four were still wandering inside.
"Eve," Song Shuye said, "Please..."
Before he could finish, a powerful black tail squeezed past him - Qi swung the shadow tail hard, and the skull of the zombie closest to the door shattered on the spot, and white brain flowers exploded on the ground like fireworks. The other two zombies reacted a beat too slow, and by the time they remembered to fight back, the shadow tail had already wrapped around their bodies.
Qi Wei raised her eyelids, revealing a pair of winter-like eyes under her dense eyelashes.
“Bang!”
Just like two ripe fruits under pressure, the shadow tail suddenly tightened. Just as the two zombies' faces showed fear, they were crushed by an irresistible force. Blood mixed with broken organs fell down, and the room was immediately filled with a disgusting smell.
It only took two seconds for Qi to strangle the three zombies.
Everyone looked at the scene in astonishment and turned their heads. Qi retracted the shadow tail, wrapped it around Eve's waist, and cast a warning look at them.
——His meaning is self-evident.
Eve: “.”
"Gulp," Fang Yong swallowed his saliva and said cautiously, "Eve... I'm sorry, are we causing you too much trouble?"
Looking back now, ever since Eve revealed her special abilities, everyone seemed to have become too dependent on her...which made Qi unhappy.
The others couldn't help but look embarrassed. Song Shuye scratched his hair, his eyes filled with shame: "Sorry, it seems like I've put too much of a burden on you."
Lin Bing directly threw a small leather bag over. Eve opened it and found more than a dozen nuclear crystals inside.
Eve looked up with a puzzled look.
"These are the nuclear crystals I collected along the way." Lin Bing glanced to the other side, as if avoiding her gaze. "It can't be considered compensation, just consider it as payment for what happened before."
Eve looked through them. Although they were all nuclear crystals of low-level zombies, a dozen or so was not a small amount.
Even though these core crystals were of little use to her at this stage, free ones were always the best. Eve accepted them with a smile, "Thank you."
Lin Bing snorted and didn't answer.
"Ahem," Fang Yong coughed and changed the subject, "Let's move the body away quickly."
Everyone came to their senses. At this time, no new zombies appeared in the area they had cleared, and the corridor was unobstructed. Everyone hurriedly lifted the corpse that had been bitten beyond recognition and retreated back to the second floor along the way they came.
As soon as the door of the monitoring room was closed, Lin Bing asked anxiously: "What's going on? Is it Bai Shuichuan?!"
Song Shuye carefully spread the body on the floor, observed it for a while, and said with difficulty: "...I don't know."
You can't expect zombies to observe table manners when eating. They have almost eaten the dead person's flesh and skin along with his clothes. Only a few strips of cloth are hanging on the corpse. The flesh has been gnawed into pieces, and you can vaguely see the exposed bones through the gaps.
...It's like a honeycomb.
None of them had ever seen a corpse in such a tragic state of death. Fang Yong's face had begun to turn blue, Shoufeng was unusually silent, and Song Shuye and Lin Bing both had unhappy expressions.
"The ID card is broken," Song Shuye took out a small piece of white card from the body, leaving only a finger-width strip, "I can't tell the identity."
All members of the Queen Bee are equipped with an ID card. They originally planned to identify their identities based on the card, but unfortunately this plan has failed.
"Eve, what are you doing?" Fang Yong suddenly asked in surprise.
Eve suddenly squatted down and reached out to touch the corpse.
She ignored Fang Yong, first picked up the dead man's arm, observed it for a while, and suddenly took out a small knife.
Everyone was confused about what she was up to: "Eve?"
Then, Eve did something that surprised everyone.
—She held the dead man's arms and picked clumps of flesh off his bones.
Looking at the pink and white clumps of flesh and tissue, Fang Yong almost vomited: "Fuck... What the hell do you want to do?!"
"Identify your identity," Eve gave him a strange look. "Have you forgotten our mission?"
As she spoke, a small piece of meat splashed on her face. Eve flicked it away nonchalantly, and the meat flew out and landed on Fang Yong's shoes.
Fang Yong: “!!!”
Oh my god, this is human flesh!
He jumped back as if he had been burned, and said in horror: "What are you going to do?"
At this time, Eve had scraped off all the remaining flesh on the arm. The thick and long white bone was held in her hand, like some kind of strange weapon, reflecting a sinister green light under the fluorescent color of the display screen.
Eve looked at him for a moment and said, "He's not the one we're looking for."
Song Shuye couldn't help but ask: "How do you know?"
"You said Bai Shuichuan was still an underage male," Eve weighed the bones in her hand, "but this arm bone is complete, thick, and heavy, more like an adult male. Also, the wrist is severely worn, as if he exercises his hands frequently."
"Bones never lie," she said, "and this arm bone shows it—it belongs to a middle-aged man, sturdy and professionally trained."
After she gave a complete set of reasoning, everyone was stunned for a moment.
"You..." Fang Yong came back to his senses after a while and said blankly, "Do you usually like to read Sherlock Holmes?"
Eve: “?” Who is that?
"I've just been around a lot of corpses before," she said lightly, "so I understand a little bit."
"But no matter what," Song Shuye returned to the topic, saying with a hint of joy, "At least this proves that Bai Shuichuan still has a chance of survival—maybe he's still in this hospital."
Everyone was excited when they heard this.
"Then let's go find him!" Fang Yong said excitedly. He no longer wanted to stay in this ghost zombie city.
"Everyone, please review the surveillance footage again," Song Shuye turned towards the rows of screens, "perhaps there will be footage that captures Bai Shuichuan..."
"Don't bother." Eve interrupted him.
She squatted down and took out a small piece of blue cloth from the body.
Most of the cloth on the body was black, so this piece of cloth stood out.
Song Shuye's eyes flashed with confusion: "Are you going to..."
"This might be Bai Shuichuan's clothes," Eve said, "Let's use it to track him."
Lin Bing: "Guard the wind."
Shoufeng understood, put the piece of cloth under his nose and sniffed it for a while, then raised his head and said, "I remember the smell."
Song Shuye's expression turned serious.
"Everyone, pay attention," he said to them, "while there are fewer zombies now, let's go find Baishuichuan."
But fewer zombies doesn't mean there is no danger.
"Be very careful," he warned. "A bite from a zombie will cause a mutation, and this transformation is irreversible. So..." He took a deep breath. "From now on, if anyone is attacked by a zombie, regardless of whether they can be saved or not, I want you to abandon them immediately and move on."
Everyone fell silent.
"Don't worry, Old Song," Lin Bing suddenly laughed. "No fool would want to save anyone—we all want to survive."
Under the dim light, everyone's expressions were a little blurry. No one was sure of Lin Bing's words, but no one denied it either.
Song Shuye sighed.
"Remember, in this situation, it's not selfish to stand by and watch someone die," he said softly, "After all..."
Once bitten by a zombie, your life is branded with the mark of death.
"Aren't we leaving?" Seeing that no one was moving, Eve raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we hurry?"
"Right, right, right," Fang Yong said quickly, "Let's go first! What if Bai Shuichuan is hiding in some corner waiting for us to rescue him?"
A few people emerged from the solemn atmosphere.
"You're right," Song Shuye adjusted his hand guard and forced a smile, "Let's go."
They reopened the monitoring room, and as soon as the door opened, a zombie's head poked in. Qi moved faster than the wind. Before the zombie could squeeze in with its entire body, a black shadow flashed in the air, and Shadow Tail had already taken off its head.
"How is it?" Fang Yong asked Shoufeng nervously, "Can you smell it?"
Shoufeng sniffed the air hard and looked upwards, "It seems to be upstairs."
"'Seems'?" Lin Bing frowned. "Smell it carefully again, don't go the wrong way."
Shou Feng lowered her head again. This time she sniffed for a little longer, pausing for a few seconds before saying, "...Yes, it's on the fourth floor."
"Okay," Song Shuye said, "Then let's go up..."
"ah--!!!"
His words were interrupted by a sudden scream.
Everyone was stunned.
In the silent hospital, only that terrified voice echoed in the air.
"Help! Someone please save us!!"
***
"It's right upstairs!" Shoufeng raised her head suddenly, her pupils erect, looking a bit like a canine, "...right above us!"
"Let's go!" Song Shuye said.
Without any further urging, everyone quickened their pace and ran towards the fourth floor.
Zombies were constantly attracted along the way, and Qi was still rushing in the front. The shadow tail swung across and cut the leading zombies in half.
Eve was held in his arms, and Qi also cast a shadow tail to protect her. The zombies couldn't touch her at all. She struggled to stick her head out from the shadow tail, and her eyes fell on the door on the right side of the corridor: "There!"
The door was half-open, and there seemed to be sounds of fighting inside, with occasional heavy growls.
"It's that room!" Shoufeng also said, "I smell it!"
“Ah!! Help!!!”
The scream rang out again, and this time they were closer, and the fear in the voice was almost palpable.
Everyone's expressions froze. The voice sounded like a young man. Could it really be Bai Shuichuan...
Lin Bing kicked the door open.
"Don't worry! We'll help..."
He shouted as he entered the room, but when he saw the scene in front of him, his voice suddenly stopped.
——In the huge room, a handsome boy who looked like a high school student was squatting in the corner. In front of him was a burly dark-skinned man who was swinging a pair of hammers to smash the head of a low-level zombie.
...There was only one zombie in the whole room.
Everyone didn't know how to react for a moment, and their originally anxious expressions were all awkward on their faces.
Originally, after hearing the boy screaming so miserably, I thought there must be at least ten zombies in the room, and there might even be some high-level zombies. But when I opened the door, I saw only one pitiful zombie.
Right now, Team Eve, plus the other two, a total of six people, faced that zombie...
Zombies: pitiful, weak and helpless.jpg
Everyone: “…”
The burly man was obviously stunned when he saw them, but he swung his hammer and quickly smashed the zombie's head. He said to Fang Yong, who was closest to the door, "Close the door quickly!"
"Ah...oh!" Fang Yong quickly closed the door.
As soon as the door closed, the man immediately dragged a table over and pushed it against the door. After he had blocked all the cracks, he turned around and looked at everyone: "Who are you...?"
"Song Shuye and Lin Bing are third-level members affiliated with the Queen Bee headquarters," Song Shuye showed his ID card and turned to the others, "and Shoufeng and Fang Yong are branch members. The other two are reserve members, Eve and Qi."
The burly man's gaze swept over everyone like a searchlight before introducing himself: "Yu Kui, a cadre affiliated with Queen Bee Headquarters."
He also showed his ID card, and Eve found that it was slightly different from Song Shuye's. The entire card was pure black and did not have any personal information marked on it.
But Song Shuye and Lin Bing said nothing. On the contrary, they showed respect after hearing Yu Kui's identity as a cadre.
"How impressive! He's actually a cadre," Fang Yong whispered in Eve's ear, "I heard cadres are all S-level psychics!"
Eve thought of the man with the green sword she saw at the Qingshan base: "Changqing Peak?"
"Oh, yes, he is also a cadre," Fang Yong nodded, "but Chang Qingfeng is more famous." He had never seen the man in front of him before.
At this moment, she noticed that something was wrong with the boy's demeanor.
He seemed to be observing Qi, looking surprised, yet with an expression that seemed to want to see but was afraid of being discovered. He only glanced at him secretly out of the corner of his eye, but Qi didn't react at all - he was still focusing all his attention on Eve as usual.
Noticing Eve's gaze, the boy hurriedly looked away: "What for?"
Eve stared at him.
Compared with Yu Kui, the boy was too thin, with a slender figure typical of people of their age, like a bean sprout that grew too fast. Coupled with his pale skin, which showed that he rarely exercised outdoors, it was hard to imagine how he survived in the hospital.
"Who is this..." Eve asked, looking at Yu Kui, "Would you like to introduce yourself?"
Yu Kui glanced at her before saying, "Bai Shuichuan."
"Great," Song Shuye breathed a sigh of relief, "Our mission this time is to find Baishuichuan!"
"He happened to be with me on the day Zishui City fell," Yu Kui explained. "We were hiding in the hospital the entire time. Luckily, there was some food stored in the emergency room, so we managed to survive until now."
It was indeed not easy for the two of them to hold on in the hospital swarming with zombies for more than half a month.
Everyone nodded in agreement, and suddenly Bai Shuichuan said, "It's a pity that Hong Zihan is dead."
For some reason, his eyes looking at Yu Kui were full of provocation.
Yu Kui's face was expressionless as he said calmly, "There was no other way. There were too many zombies at that time. If I stayed to help him, we would all die."
He said this in a very casual tone, as if the death of his companion was no more serious than a feather. Upon hearing this, Bai Shuichuan glared at him fiercely, his expression a mixture of anger and unwillingness, and even a hint of contempt.
These two people... Eve blinked, with an ambiguous smile on her lips.
Bai Shuichuan sneered, "Yes, after all, his death would be good for you..."
"Bai Shuichuan, don't say things that could lead to misunderstandings," Yu Kui interrupted him, his voice filled with warning, "and don't forget who screamed and attracted the zombies that killed him."
Bai Shuichuan fell silent, staring at Yu Kui gloomily, and the scene fell silent for a moment.
"Forget it," Song Shuye changed the subject. "This is how it is in the end times. Yu Kui is right. If you are bitten by a zombie, there is really no way to save you. Kid, you have to learn to get used to this kind of thing." His last words were to Bai Shuichuan.
Bai Shuichuan snorted and turned his head to the side.
Obviously, compared with the child's gentle and handsome appearance, his personality is more aggressive.
"What should we do now?" Lin Bing crossed his arms. "Since we've already found Baishuichuan, should we go back quickly?"
"Okay, okay!" Fang Yong agreed with both hands. "I've wanted to leave this lousy place for a long time!"
"Wait." Yu Kui suddenly said.
Facing everyone's surprised looks, he smiled and explained, "It's too late now. Let's act tomorrow morning. One night won't make a difference anyway."
Song Shuye pondered for a moment and agreed, "That's right. If we rashly travel at night, we might cause unnecessary trouble."
Fang Yong: "Then stay here tonight?"
Song Shuye looked at Yu Kui inquiringly, and the latter nodded slightly.
"Then rest," Lin Bing said simply, "We can talk about it tomorrow if there's anything. I've been running around all day and I'm already tired."
After saying that, he walked to a corner without caring about everyone's reaction, took off his backpack, used it as a cushion for his head, and lay down on the spot.
"Sorry," Song Shuye smiled apologetically at Yu Kui, "That's just his personality."
"It's okay," Yu Kui didn't mind, "I have a child like that here too."
He looked at Bai Shuichuan meaningfully.
"By the way," Yu Kui looked away and casually asked Song Shuye, "What are the special abilities of your branch members?" Glancing at Song Shuye's puzzled look, he smiled and said, "Headquarters has been short on manpower lately, and the higher-ups asked us to recruit some new people."
"Really?!" Song Shuye was surprised.
This is a great opportunity—if I can be valued by headquarters, I won’t have to complete tasks and climb up the ladder!
He quickly said, "Fang Yong has a support ability that can heal injuries, while Shou Feng has a strengthening ability, and his sense of smell and hearing are particularly outstanding."
But he knew that this was nothing in the eyes of Yu Kui, a cadre, so he focused on the last two people: "Eve and Qi are special."
"Seven is a dual-type esper—both the enhancement type and the special type. He has strong physical qualities and can also materialize shadows."
"And Eve," Song Shuye emphasized when talking about Eve, "she can control zombies."
Yu Kui's eyes flashed.
"What's the meaning?"
"She can make zombies work for her," Song Shuye added hurriedly, fearing Yu Kui wouldn't believe him. "The reason we were able to get here smoothly is largely due to Eve's power."
Yu Kui couldn't help but turn to Eve.
She and the silent man named Qi were sitting in the corner. Bai Shuichuan walked over for some reason and was talking to the two of them.
"I see," Yu Kui said slowly, his eyes following Eve. "It's an interesting ability. If what you said is true, I will report it to headquarters."
Song Shuye was happy for Eve: "Thank you for your help."
The other side.
"Is there something wrong?" Eve stared at Bai Shuichuan's shadow cast at her feet and said slowly.
Qi stood between her and Bai Shuichuan, his solid body like a reliable wall.
"It's you..." Bai Shuichuan murmured, "I told you... you can't die...!"
His expression was excited, his eyes fixed eagerly on—Seven.
Eve raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Thinking of Bai Shuichuan's unusual expression just now, she seemed to understand something and suddenly raised her head: "Do you know Qi?"
"Seven?" Bai Shuichuan was a little confused by the name, and then suddenly realized, "Is his name Seven now?"
Eve said nothing, looking at him scrutinizingly.
She moved her hand tucked into her sleeve and slowly grasped the knife hidden inside.
"You know him," she said affirmatively. "Have you met him before?"
Bai Shuichuan hesitated.
"He probably doesn't know me," he whispered, pointing at Qi. "After all, I'm the only one who's seen him." He paused, his voice growing weaker. "...in the cage."
For a moment, Eve almost swung the knife.
——He knows Qi's true identity?!
If Bai Shuichuan had seen Qi before, he must be referring to Qi who was staying at the Qingshan base. At that time, he was still a zombie...
All kinds of thoughts surged in Eve's mind. She took a deep breath, tried her best to suppress her emotions, and retracted the knife slightly.
Can't do it here.
In that case, she would have to face the worst situation - to deal with the remaining five people at the same time. She was not aware of Yu Kui's special abilities. Although Eve never acted without scruples, it did not mean that she was brave but not wise.
"you……"
She had just started talking when she heard Yu Kui suddenly call out, "Bai Shuichuan, it's time to go to bed."
Strangely, Bai Shuichuan's expression suddenly changed. Eve saw the panic on his face. Without even turning his head, he shouted, "Got it, leave me alone!"
"Hey," he turned to look at Eve and rudely pulled her head. "It's the end of the world, and you still have the mood to dye your hair? Don't you know that this will make you a sitting duck for the zombies?"
Qi stood up instantly, and Yingwei was ready to move in the shadows, looking at Baishuichuan with hostility.
Eve pulled him back and said, "Don't move."
Qi paused, looked back at Eve, and then sat back down.
There was no expression on Bai Shuichuan's face. He snorted loudly, turned around and went back to Yu Kui.
While Yu Kui and Bai Shuichuan were talking, Eve waved to Qi Zhao and said, "Go to sleep."
Qi lowered his head meekly, and two shadow tails rose from the ground and gently circled around Eve's body, encircling her in a warm and soft circle.
Eve curled the corners of her mouth, lay down with her back to the crowd, but slowly spread out her hands in a way that no one could see.
——A small note was revealed.
"In three hours," the note read, "go to the next room."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com