Chapter 8 Unique Case

The woman wore a worn jacket looking haggard. Her hair, messy and unkempt. She raised both hands in surrender as she stood before Sylas and the soldier.

"I'll answer... answer, just don't shoot me," she stammered, her voice trembling with fear.

"Then answer me," the soldier said in a stern, commanding tone.

"I wanted to enter the safe zone. I-I... I haven't eaten in two days," she said hastily and stuttering.

"Then why didn't you go through the gate instead of hiding here and sneaking around?" the soldier asked with a frown, his eyes narrowing.

The woman immediately went silent, her head hanging low.

"Are you hiding something?" the soldier asked sharply before turning to Sylas. "Go and inform the captain. We've found a suspicious individual lurking around the west wall."

Sylas nodded and hurried off to deliver the message.

Before long, he returned with Luke and two soldiers.

"Speak. What's your purpose and intention?" Luke asked, his piercing gaze fixed on the woman, who knelt with her hands raised in surrender.

"I-I... I just wanted to enter the safe zone. I haven't eaten in days. Please, don't kill me," the woman repeated, her voice trembling.

"Do you take me for a fool?" Luke raised his voice. "If you wanted to enter the safe zone, why didn't you use the main gate instead of sneaking around the wall? Are you infected?"

Luke asked, raising his voice once again, filled with suspicion.

"Go fetch a doctor and a female nurse. We need to inspect her thoroughly," Luke ordered firmly.

"No! Don't! Please, don't let them inspect me!" the woman cried out, pleading desperately.

Her words immediately drew suspicion. The soldiers tightened their grip on their weapons, aiming at her vigilantly.

Sylas scanned the woman from head to toe, searching for any visible signs of a bite or infection.

Soon, a doctor and two female nurses

arrived, with Serena following closely

behind.

The woman was immediately pinned to the

ground for inspection.

"Men, turn around," Serena ordered firmly.

"Don't worry-if anything happens, I'll shoot

her immediately."

Sylas and the other soldiers obeyed, turning their backs to give the nurses privacy as they examined the woman.

"Captain, she has a wound on her shoulder."

One of the nurses reported. "It looks like a

bite, but it's nearly healed."

"Draw her blood and run tests," Luke

instructed without hesitation.

The doctor and nurses immediately got to

work, drawing blood from the woman for a test.

The woman laid on the ground motionlessly, her eyes vacant as if she had given up on everything.

The doctor examined the test results and frowned. "Captain, there's a problem with her blood," he said.

"What kind of problem? Is she infected?" Luke asked in a sharp and serious tone. His finger hovered over the trigger, ready to shoot the woman.

"I'm not sure," the doctor replied, his voice tinged with uncertainty. "Let me test her again."

He immediately instructed the nurse to draw another blood sample from the woman.

After conducting the second test, the doctor looked up and said, "Captain, the results are the same. I still can't pinpoint what's wrong. But one thing is clear—she's different from a normal human, though she doesn't appear to be infected," he explained carefully.

Luke stepped closer to the woman, his gun aimed directly at her head. "Answer me. Were you bitten by the undead?" he asked coldly.

The woman trembled, her eyes fixed on the gun in his hand.

"I-I… I was bitten two days ago. B-But I'm not infected. Please, don't kill me," the woman replied in a shaky voice as tears fell down from her voice.

Bitten but not infected?

Sylas and the other soldiers froze, their curiosity immediately piqued. This was the first time any of them had encountered someone bitten by a zombie but had not turn into one.

"You were bitten two days ago? Tell me in detail, what happened after you were bitten, and how did you feel?" Luke asked sharply pointing his gun at the woman.

"I got a high fever after the zombie bit me, but after a day, the fever subsided, and my wound started to heal on its own. I didn't do anything... nothing at all. I haven't even eaten since then. I just wanted to enter the safe zone because I was starving, but I was too afraid. I thought you'd kill me if I entered through the main gate. Please, believe me, I'm not infected," the woman explained and pleaded in a desperate tone.

The doctor was also surprised after listening to the woman. After careful observations and tests, they have already known that anyone bitten by a zombie would turned into one within twelve hours, yet this woman remained unaffected even after two days. This was unprecedented.

"Captain Luke," the doctor said, stepping forward. "Her case is highly unusual. I recommend we take her to an isolation room for observation. At the same time, we can run further tests on her blood in the lab to understand what's happening. This could lead to a breakthrough—maybe even help us find a cure."

Luke shared the same thought and immediately ordered the soldiers and the female nurse to escort the woman to the isolation room.

"Don't worry," Luke said, lowering the gun he had aimed at her. "We won't torture or kill you unless you turn into a zombie. You'll be provided with shelter and food. All we ask is that you cooperate with the medical team."

"Thank you. Thank you so much," the woman said, her voice trembling with relief. She repeated her gratitude as she was escorted away by the team.

As Serena turned to leave, she waved her hand at Sylas, offering him a brief nod before walking off.

Sylas and the others resumed their patrol duties.

Sylas's mind, however, was restless.

Bitten by a zombie but not infected?

He couldn't decide whether this was a good thing or a potential threat.

Are some humans immune to the zombie virus?

If certain people could survive a bite without turning into one, did that make them fundamentally different from the rest of the humans?

Is the zombie virus some kind of natural cleansing process? A brutal means of selecting the survival of the fittest?

These thoughts churned in Sylas's mind as he continued his patrol.