Chapter 6 Patients

Behind him, the occasional howls of dogs and the intermittent gusts of wind carrying the scent of blood made Jack's scalp tingle as he ran.

How had this become his reality?

It all felt surreal to Jack.

But the things chasing him were undeniably real, and he had no choice but to keep running.

At first, his stamina held up, but the relentless pursuit of the zombies—though they moved slowly—began to wear him down.

As a recovering patient, he couldn't maintain his speed for long. Soon, he was reduced to a fast walk, gasping for breath.

To make matters worse, Jack realized he had strayed from his planned route.

Plans never survive contact with reality, and he couldn't force himself back onto his original path. The hospital was vast, and he wasn't familiar with its layout. Some paths were blocked by zombies, forcing him to detour.

Every time Jack passed by, more zombies joined the chase.

Now, there were twenty or thirty zombies behind him, and the number kept growing.

When he had looked out from his hospital room earlier, he hadn't seen where the zombies were hiding.

At night, without lights, he could only hear their growls and movements but couldn't see them.

Now, Jack understood: during the day, the zombies lazily lurked in shady spots, waiting for prey to appear before giving chase.

As he dodged potential zombie ambushes, Jack searched for a way forward.

No matter what, he had to get out of the hospital.

Beishan City Second People's Hospital was a large, sprawling complex covering tens of thousands of square meters. It was filled with patients, medical staff, and others—most of whom had either evacuated or turned into zombies.

The hospital was surrounded by walls about two meters high, with only a few entrances and exits.

Jack knew that staying trapped inside would only make things worse, so he headed for the walls.

If he followed the walls, he was bound to find an exit!

The sun was now high in the sky, and the air was growing stiflingly hot.

The little food Jack had eaten in the morning was long gone, and his lips were cracked from dehydration.

He desperately needed to stop, rest, eat, and drink.

But under the current circumstances, he couldn't stop, and there was no food or water in sight.

Earlier, he had imagined that once he left the hospital, he'd quickly find supplies in nearby stores. Now, that seemed like a pipe dream.

At this point, escaping the zombies alive would be enough for him.

As he turned onto a tree-lined path, Jack looked up and saw a row of people standing ahead. The sight instantly filled him with dread.

They were all wearing hospital gowns like his, standing unnervingly still.

The noise Jack made caught their attention, and in an instant, they all turned their heads toward him.

What Jack saw next was the most horrifying scene of his life.

Their faces were grayish and lifeless, their eyes cloudy. Many bore gruesome injuries: deep bite marks on their cheeks, half their faces torn off to reveal bone with maggots crawling in and out, eyeballs dangling by thin threads, or even skull-like faces with hollow, black eye sockets that would haunt anyone's nightmares.

So many terrifying faces staring at him sent chills down Jack's spine, and goosebumps erupted all over his body.

These weren't fellow patients—they were zombies!

Jack felt like he'd been thrown into a pot of boiling peppercorns—completely numb!

"Roar—"

"Huff—"

"Huff, huff—"

The zombies let out excited noises and lunged at Jack.

It had been a long time since they had seen fresh flesh, and the sight of a living, breathing human activated their innate brutality and bloodlust.

Jack cursed under his breath and, despite his exhaustion, made a sharp turn and leaped into the greenery to escape, narrowly avoiding being caught between the two groups of zombies.

However, the two groups merged into one large horde, relentlessly pursuing him.

The noise from the growing number of zombies attracted even more stragglers, making Jack's escape increasingly difficult.

The was overgrown with lush plants, both tall and short, nearly tripping Jack several times.

He stumbled but managed to regain his balance each time, thanks to his athletic background. His superior balance was a lifesaver in this situation.

If he had fallen, the zombies would have caught up to him in no time, turning him into a quick meal.

These zombies usually wandered aimlessly in search of food, so they had never encountered prey like Jack, who seemed to be delivering himself to them.

But as time passed, Jack felt himself nearing his physical limit.

The zombies were right on his heels, just a step away.

Suddenly, a zombie burst out from a bush ahead, howling as it lunged at Jack.

Jack sidestepped to avoid it, but the maneuver slowed him down, allowing the zombies behind to close the gap.

Two zombies in hospital gowns, their faces twisted and snarling, reached for Jack, their guttural growls sending shivers down his spine.

For a moment, Jack panicked, but he quickly regained his composure.

As someone who had competed in sports, he had better-than-average mental resilience. While he could still feel fear, he was able to adjust quickly in emergencies.

He crouched slightly, then pulled out the sharpened metal rod from his waist.

Gripping it tightly with both hands, he thrust it into the eye socket of the first zombie.

The rod pierced through with a satisfying sensation, and thick, foul liquid oozed out.

This was what it felt like to kill a zombie—the scenes he had seen in movies, the thrill many people fantasized about!

The zombie collapsed instantly, lifeless, onto the grass.

Jack quickly withdrew the rod and thrust it again.

Since the second zombie was right behind the first, he didn't have time to aim properly. This time, the rod struck the zombie's cheek instead of its eye socket.

The resistance made Jack stumble back, nearly falling.

The zombies continued to advance, and Jack pulled the rod back for another strike.

This time, he hit his mark, driving the rod into the zombie's eye socket.

Another sickening squelch, and more viscous fluid spurted out.

Jack didn't dare linger. He yanked the rod out and wiped it on the grass, worried that contact with the fluid might infect him with the zombie virus.

After reattaching the rod to his waist, he took off running again.

He had to escape!

If he didn't shake off these zombies, running until he dropped dead wouldn't save him.

Looking ahead, he saw the hospital's inpatient building.

He had just left there that morning, and now, after running in circles, he was back.

But Jack knew he couldn't hide in the inpatient building. Not only were there restless zombies inside, but he also faced the threat of running out of food and water.

Even if the building were zombie-free, hiding there wasn't a long-term solution. He needed to get out and find supplies.

The horde of zombies was still hot on his heels as Jack, panting heavily, continued forward.

After circling the inpatient building, the number of zombies behind him had grown even larger.

"This is like starting a game on the hardest difficulty," Jack thought, feeling unlucky.

If he didn't find a way out soon, he was done for.

"I can't die like this. It's too unfair," Jack muttered to himself as he ran. "I've studied hard for over a decade, enjoyed just one year of college life, and haven't even started working to ease my parents' burdens. Dying now would be such bad luck."

The thought of his parents sparked a surge of energy in Jack, and he managed to put some distance between himself and the zombies.

He wasn't thinking about how he needed to repay his parents if he survived.

He was thinking about how, given the current situation, the zombie virus had likely spread across much of the city. He had no idea how his parents were doing.

No matter what, he had to survive and see them again.

Even if they had turned into zombies, he needed to see them—alive or dead.

No! They couldn't have turned into zombies.

They lived in the countryside, where the population was sparse. They wouldn't have turned into zombies!

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Jack looked up and saw a few medium-sized trees ahead. Beyond them was the hospital wall.

There was no way forward.