3 Zombie Scream

Despite the fear and confusion in his heart, Jack's rationality was still intact. 

He quickly deduced that all these strange disturbances were caused by sound. 

First, he had made noise, which attracted the attention of the humanoid creature in the padlocked room. Then, the loud noises from that creature triggered a chain reaction, causing the things locked in the rooms on this floor to become active. 

After that, the sounds spread to the floors above and below! 

And so, it had come to this. 

It seemed that he should avoid making any more noise for now. 

Jack was grateful that those things were locked inside their rooms and not roaming freely outside. 

By now, he had a rough idea of what those humanoid creatures might be. 

However, he still needed to see them in their entirety to confirm his judgment. 

After all, he had only seen that grayish arm and heard some strange noises earlier. 

Leaving the room now to peek into other rooms would clearly be unwise. 

---

Jack turned his gaze to the window of the hospital room. 

Through the window, he might be able to see what was happening outside and possibly find some clues. 

He walked over to the window, pulled back the half-drawn curtains, and looked out. 

But all he saw was the glare of the summer sun reflecting off the smooth tiles outside. 

Other than that, not even a sparrow was in sight. 

Jack seemed unwilling to give up. He gently pushed open the glass window and leaned his head out, trying to get a broader view. 

As soon as the window opened, a foul smell hit him along with the hot breeze. 

The summer heat mixed with the stench filled the room. Jack quickly closed the window, but the smell lingered. 

The stench was identical to the rotting corpse in the bathroom. 

Could there be more bodies quietly decomposing somewhere outside? 

Jack calmed himself and made the worst assumption. 

It seemed that everyone in the hospital had either fled or died. 

And if they had died, no one had come to collect the bodies! 

Otherwise, why would it smell so bad? 

Then, Jack suddenly remembered something he had seen in crime shows—methods for estimating the time of death based on the degree of decomposition of a body. 

The corpse in the bathroom could help him determine how much time had passed. 

Unfortunately, when he first saw the body, he had been too panicked to examine it carefully. 

Thinking this, he tore off the pillowcase and wrapped it around his nose and mouth as a makeshift mask. Then he quickly opened the bathroom door, took a quick look, and closed it again. 

Two days! 

The body had been dead for at most two days! 

Jack immediately made the judgment in his mind. 

If that was the case, he had been unconscious for at least two days. 

And the living people in the hospital had fled at least two days ago! 

So, if he escaped the hospital, he might encounter survivors outside. 

Then, he could finally figure out what had happened! 

As he was thinking this, a noise suddenly came from outside the window—a shuffling sound, like someone walking in slippers. 

If he hadn't already seen the scene outside, Jack might have been thrilled, thinking it was a person. 

But now, he felt goosebumps spread across his body again. 

This sound probably wasn't from a human. After all, no one would be walking around in a hospital like this. 

Despite his fear, he knew he had to check it out. 

Everything was a clue now, and anything could help him escape. 

Moving quietly to the window, he pressed his cheek against the glass and saw a figure in a hospital gown slowly shuffling across the concrete outside. 

The figure moved slowly and unsteadily but managed to stay upright. Its shoes dragged, and one leg seemed broken, scraping against the ground and making noise. 

Its body was twisted and stiff, one arm hanging limply from the shoulder, connected only by a thin layer of tissue. 

As it moved, the broken arm swung back and forth, looking horrifying. 

Even more terrifying was the fact that half of its face was missing, revealing the bone beneath. 

In the sunlight, Jack could see dried blood all over its body, and in some places, the hospital gown was torn, revealing bite marks. 

Just as Jack was observing carefully, the figure suddenly stopped its shuffling steps. 

It turned its head at an unnatural angle, facing the hospital building with its half-rotten face. 

Its cloudy eyes stared directly at where Jack was standing, and it let out a continuous, guttural "huff... huff..." sound. 

Jack gasped and immediately stepped back, hiding behind the curtains. 

Although he knew those eyes couldn't actually see him—it was just a coincidence—his heart was still racing. 

The horrifying face slowly turned away. 

The footsteps started again, growing fainter until they disappeared. 

Jack looked out the window again, but the figure was gone. 

He knew this was the evidence he needed. 

That figure—maintaining a human form but moving stiffly and twistedly. 

Sensitive to sound but almost blind. 

Mechanically making sounds like its throat was being choked. 

Grayish skin covered in wounds, bite marks, and signs of decay, yet unaffected by pain. 

Even injuries that would be fatal to humans posed no threat to that body. 

Jack had seen this kind of image many times in movies. 

But in real life, this was the first time. 

That's why, when he saw the hand reaching out from the room in the hallway, he had a guess but didn't dare to confirm it. 

After all, such things only appeared on screen and were more likely products of human imagination. 

But now, he was certain. These things had truly appeared in reality. 

Zombies! 

Creatures that pursued the scent of the living and fed on flesh and blood!