Xiao Muyu felt a chill run down her spine as she met Tian Jia’s gaze. That was not the look of a living person. Her mind raced with countless thoughts, but her instincts told her to shut the door, though Tian Jia’s image lingered in her mind.
What if she harmed the head nurse following her? What role did these NPCs play?
She dismissed the idea of warning anyone. Call it selfish or cold-blooded, but she couldn’t afford to draw attention before understanding the situation. Her top priority was herself and her teammates.
She quickly examined her own body. There were fresh scars on her abdomen, likely from laparoscopic surgery or drainage tubes. Thankfully, she felt no pain. She glanced at the information card by her bed, which indicated she was in the general surgery ward, diagnosed with intra-abdominal bleeding, dated May 3, 2025.
Intra-abdominal bleeding suggested serious issues, possibly liver or spleen damage. She also noted bruises and abrasions on her limbs, likely from some mechanical injury.
Xiao Muyu was in a private room equipped with a TV. Amidst her efforts to piece together the situation, she hadn’t paid attention to it. Now, hoping for information, she focused on the TV screen, where a news anchor was reporting:
“Since the emergence of unexplained high fever cases at Yaxiang Shui Xie, as of May 6, hospitals in G City have reported 138 cases of unexplained high fever. Infected individuals exhibit symptoms such as high fever and diarrhea, followed by manic and aggressive behaviors. The exact cause is under investigation.
Experts suspect a virus targeting the central nervous system and advise the public to take precautions. Seek medical attention immediately if symptoms appear and avoid self-treatment. The primary transmission route appears to be through blood contact. As long as you avoid bites or scratches, there is no risk of infection. Our reporters will continue to provide updates. Please remain calm and avoid spreading rumors.”
Xiao Muyu sensed danger. The scenario felt eerily reminiscent of pre-apocalyptic stories in films and novels. Coupled with Tian Jia’s strange behavior, Xiao Muyu’s instincts screamed trouble.
She immediately thought of Tian Jia, growing increasingly uneasy. Initially, she suspected Tian Jia was another ghost. Without knowing what the ghost intended, Xiao Muyu was reluctant to interfere. But if her suspicions about a contagious infection were correct, she had made a fatal error. This was something that could spread!
Determined, Xiao Muyu yanked the door open. At that moment, a piercing scream echoed through the hallway—a scream of fear and pain, like someone terrified out of their mind.
Accompanying the scream were sounds of heavy objects falling, followed by more screams, and the chaotic stampede of footsteps. Men and women were running towards the nurse’s station, while others ran away from it, creating a chaotic scene.
“Quick, pull them apart! Hold her down!”
“Call security, call the police!”
At the end of the left corridor, doctors and nurses in white coats, along with startled patients and their families, were gathered, some trying to break up a fight. Xiao Muyu noticed people trying to restrain those on the ground.
Her mind clear, Xiao Muyu scanned her surroundings and pushed through the crowd, shouting, “Everyone, move away from her! Stay back! Don’t get scratched or bitten—it’s contagious!”
Xiao Muyu’s calm and decisive voice was like a thunderclap that jolted everyone awake. Hearing that it was contagious, the crowd instinctively backed away a few steps. The two people who were trying to restrain Tian Jia also quickly let go and stood up, their faces turning pale. The reason was obvious: their hands were already covered in blood.
With the crowd dispersing, the scene before them became clear.
Tian Jia had the head nurse pinned to the ground, her body unnaturally arched as she emitted guttural growls like a ravenous beast, continuously gnawing at the nurse’s body. Blood splattered with each bite, and the sickening sounds of swallowing and tearing flesh filled the air, causing those with weaker stomachs to scream, driving the crowd into a frenzy. People began running for their lives, shouting, “Zombies! It’s zombies!”
The sudden chaos drew Tian Jia’s attention away from her grisly feast. She abruptly raised her head and awkwardly stood up, her left leg twisted at an unnatural angle. Unlike a normal person, who rises with the sole of their foot leading the motion, Tian Jia’s foot was flat on the ground, her knee twisted outward, making a snapping sound as her leg forcibly straightened. She wobbled to her feet, her face a grotesque mask of decaying flesh, blood, and oozing fluid, horrifying those who glanced back at her.
The situation was dire. Xiao Muyu, focused solely on survival, eyed a chair at the nurse’s station. She sprinted towards it, leaping over the counter as Tian Jia, drawn by her movement, staggered forward. Xiao Muyu grabbed the iron chair, jumped onto the desk, and, avoiding Tian Jia’s reaching hands, swung the chair down with all her might. The impact was forceful, crushing half of Tian Jia’s head and sending her body crashing to the floor like a felled log.
Taking advantage of the moment, Xiao Muyu glanced at the exit. The general surgery ward’s door had a security lock that didn’t require a card from the inside but opened slowly. In their panic, people were bottlenecked at the door, trying to flee. Even worse, three injured individuals had already begun transforming into zombies.
One infected person, a patient’s relative, was already in the crowd. His transformation was swift; within moments, his eyes glazed over, and he bit down on another man’s neck, triggering more screams and chaos. The other two infected also lunged at the crowd, turning the scene into a slaughterhouse.
Realizing she couldn’t control the escalating disaster, Xiao Muyu swung the chair to fend off the attacking zombies, shouting, “If you can’t get out, get back to your rooms!”
She then had an idea and called out to a nearby doctor, “Do you have an employee elevator that goes straight to the ward?”
The doctor, initially paralyzed with fear, snapped to attention at her words, exclaiming, “Yes, yes! It’s at the back! Hurry!”
The main exit had become a deathtrap as the infected overran the fleeing people. The virus spread like wildfire, with each new victim quickly becoming another predator. Xiao Muyu’s shout prompted a few remaining survivors to act. The doors opened, and three men and two women from four different rooms bolted out, leading the way.
Xiao Muyu, at the rear, noticed a struggling couple: a man with a drainage tube and a pale-faced woman supporting him. They were moving too slowly. She quickly overtook them but felt a pang of guilt.
“I can’t go any further. Run, don’t look back!” the man’s voice barely reached Xiao Muyu amid the chaos. He pushed the woman away and turned to face Tian Jia, who was charging forward. With a roar, he grabbed Tian Jia and another infected, holding them back with all his strength. Tian Jia’s clawed fingers pierced his abdomen, but he held on, blocking the hallway.
The woman’s cries of despair echoed as Xiao Muyu hesitated, then decisively grabbed her and dragged her away. The man, his face twisted in pain, managed a smile before collapsing, the zombies swarming over him like a flood.
Xiao Muyu pulled the woman to the elevator. As others inside struggled to close the doors, she shoved the woman in and squeezed herself inside amidst frantic shouting. The doors closed slowly, too slowly, with Tian Jia’s horrific face getting closer. Everyone in the elevator instinctively shut their eyes.
With a final, resounding crash, the doors closed, and the elevator shuddered as claws scratched at the metal. The elevator descended, taking them away from the nightmare above, though the terror still made everyone tremble uncontrollably.
“You just dragged her in here. What if she’s been scratched?”
The elevator descended from the 15th floor in dead silence until the woman in the corner broke it. Xiao Muyu glanced at her; it was the short-haired woman.
After she spoke, the others shrank away in terror, their eyes turning hostile towards Xiao Muyu and the woman she had pulled in. The rescued woman remained in a daze, tears streaming down her face, oblivious to everything around her.
Xiao Muyu didn’t say much. She turned the woman around, showing her from head to toe to the others, then said calmly, “If she were scratched, I would snap her neck before she turned.”
This statement, which might have seemed offhanded, was delivered with such cold detachment that, combined with Xiao Muyu’s earlier act of smashing Tian Jia with a chair, no one doubted its sincerity. Even the woman in mourning glanced at Xiao Muyu, a flicker of something other than grief in her eyes.
“Is this floor’s door the hospital’s side exit?” The short-haired woman didn’t argue further with Xiao Muyu. She stared at the changing floor numbers, her voice heavy with concern.
At her words, four people subtly backed away. Xiao Muyu leaned against the elevator wall, lowering her gaze without speaking.
There were nine people in the elevator, including two nurses and a doctor. Upon hearing the short-haired woman’s question, the medical staff understood her implication and nervously replied, “Yes, it’s the side exit. Usually, it’s only used during shift changes in the morning, noon, and afternoon. It’s a staff entrance, so there should be fewer people outside, probably safer.”
Just as they finished speaking, the elevator began to slow down, stopping at the 5th floor. Everyone held their breath.
“Ding,” the doors opened, and nine pairs of eyes stared intently. Through the gap, they saw a doctor drenched in sweat, his face pale and desperate. When he saw the living people inside, his face lit up with a near-crying smile, eager to step in.
However, as Xiao Muyu scrutinized him, a growl erupted. A zombie with half its face missing lunged at the doctor, biting deeply into his neck. Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering those inside the elevator.
“Ah—” The doctor’s smile turned to despair and agony as he struggled and reached out.
As the elevator doors fully opened, the woman by the control panel frantically pressed the close button, sweat pouring down her face.
In a moment of mutual understanding, the short-haired woman and Xiao Muyu kicked the entangled doctor and zombie out of the elevator with all their might. The force sent them flying over a meter away. But a swarm of zombies was already advancing, far beyond what they could handle.
Xiao Muyu’s heart sank. She glanced coldly at two men standing behind her.
Their expressions changed instantly. They grabbed the two nurses in front of them and pushed them out. The nurses, lost in their own fear, were completely unprepared and were thrown out, screaming, into the zombie horde.
As the zombies tore into the nurses, the elevator door mercifully began to close, but it was agonizingly slow. Xiao Muyu and the short-haired woman braced themselves against the onslaught, ready to fight off any zombies that might slip through the narrowing gap.
The sounds of tearing flesh and blood-curdling screams filled the elevator as the doors finally shut, blocking out the horrific scene. The surviving passengers collapsed against the walls, gasping for breath, their faces pale with shock and horror.
“Everyone stay calm,” Xiao Muyu commanded, her voice steely. “We’re not out of this yet.”
The short-haired woman nodded in agreement. “We need to stick together and keep our wits about us. It’s the only way we’ll survive.”
As the elevator continued its descent, the reality of their situation weighed heavily on everyone. The horror of the outbreak, the loss of their friends and colleagues, and the uncertainty of what awaited them at the bottom filled the cramped space with a suffocating dread.
Xiao Muyu tightened her grip on the makeshift weapon she had fashioned from the chair, her mind racing with plans and contingencies. She knew they couldn’t stay in the elevator forever, and the moment they stepped out, they would face a new set of dangers. But she also knew that as long as they had breath in their bodies, they would fight.
For now, that was all they could do.
