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墨書 Inktalez
Boss Lin seemed a bit eccentric, but he was reliable in his work. After all, he had been a local for twenty-five years. Even though the city had turned into a ghost town, desolate and barren, it still couldn't erase the coordinates in Boss Lin's mind. Song Jiu and the others arrived safely at the nearest private hospital. Aside from having to walk instead of driving due to the overpass, they encountered no other issues.
Having left the city for so long, Song Jiu gazed at the desolate steel forest overgrown with wild grass and felt a sense of disorientation. It took decades to build a city capable of housing millions, yet it could all be destroyed in just three years or even less.
The hospital was unrecognizable. The once bright tiled building was now covered in vines, and the green areas were overrun with weeds. Rusty abandoned vehicles littered the streets, and the various infrastructures that once provided convenience to people were now in ruins—street lamps lay toppled, advertising light boxes were twisted and deformed, and the sidewalks were battered and colorless, a sight of utter devastation.
The private hospital was small. Entering through the overgrown entrance led them to the outpatient building, where all the floor-to-ceiling windows were shattered, and the glass doors stood wide open. In front of them lay many corpses that had become one with their shrouds. The lobby was a scene of chaos covered in dust; the service desk and registration windows showed signs of extensive burning, with shards of tempered glass scattered everywhere. Inside the pharmacy, silence reigned.
Boss Lin held a flashlight as he walked ahead, while Luo Yu and the others gripped their weapons tightly, keeping their voices low as they remained vigilant against any potential zombies lurking in the darkness.
The hospital had only four floors. Boss Lin found a layout map and waved to Song Jiu, whispering, "The surgical room is on the third floor."
"Let's go." Song Jiu nodded and located the door to the emergency exit but found it secured with a chain lock. He tugged at the rusty lock; with a loud clank, it surprisingly opened.
Song Jiu didn't rush inside but carefully removed the chain and pushed against the door. It creaked ominously as if something was blocking it from behind.
Liu Yan looked at Luo Yu, who then glanced at Song Jiu, who turned to Jiao Ziqian. The group of outsiders fell into deep confusion—there was a hospital, but no doctors; what would they do about the injured?
" Brother Jiu," Jiao Ziqian weakly called out.
"Hang in there; just hold on a little longer," Song Jiu quickly leaned in to reassure him. "We're figuring things out."
He let out a weak grunt; Jiao Ziqian lacked strength in his arms and could only roll his eyes slightly.
"What's wrong?" Song Jiu followed his gaze and asked curiously.
"Blood," Jiao Ziqian managed to force out with difficulty. "Living zombie blood."
Everyone heard this and stared blankly at Liu Yan, murmuring, "Is there a difference in zombie blood?"
"I—I don't know either," Liu Yan replied as he looked at his own veins. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he exclaimed joyfully, "Right! Our bodies have better self-healing abilities; our platelets should be stronger than yours!"
Everyone listened in confusion, sensing that something was happening, but also feeling that something was off.
"But won't the blood types conflict?" Luo Yu asked, a bit uneasy. "After all, Ziqian isn't a Zombie."
"Is there a better way?" Song Jiu frowned and asked, nodding at Liu Yan. "If we delay any longer, eating Zombie meat won't help; we might as well do a direct transfusion."
Boss Lin stood dumbfounded on the side, listening to them talk about terms he didn't understand. He watched in disbelief as the bespectacled young man drew a vial of blood from himself and then inserted the needle into the nearly lifeless man's vein, injecting dark red blood. Boss Lin felt completely dazed, as if he had stumbled into a world of lunatics; surely this kind of blood transfusion wasn't even in dramas.
"You... you... you will kill him!" Boss Lin croaked, feeling faint at the sight of blood. He weakly protested, "You can't share needles! Oh my god, this isn't just injecting water into meat; blood transfusions need to control the flow rate! You guys are insane; get someone else to draw it!"
Amidst Boss Lin's frantic shouting, Liu Yan remained calm as he injected nearly 800cc of blood into Jiao Ziqian. Everyone held their breath, purely hoping for a stroke of luck. So far, Jiao Ziqian showed no adverse reactions; instead, Liu Yan's complexion grew somewhat pale.
"Stop for a moment," Song Jiu said uneasily. "Have you lost this much blood before?"
"I did before becoming a Zombie," Liu Yan replied with a grin. "But not since then. I've been injured before, but my self-healing ability is strong."
"That's enough; don't end up sacrificing yourself too," Song Jiu said, gripping the edge of the hospital bed until his knuckles turned white. He tried not to think about any scientific rationale and only hoped for a miracle.
"He must have lost over 1000cc of blood already; since we've started, let's give him more to ensure it's enough," Liu Yan said, abandoning reason and simplifying complex medical procedures to just 112, which made Boss Lin feel like he was on the verge of collapse.
"I'll do it." Chef Jia suddenly squeezed in, expressionless as he opened a new syringe and handed it to Luo Yu while rolling up his sleeves to reveal his pale arm.
Song Jiu's eyebrows twitched as he gave Chef Jia a deep look. The latter responded with a playful smile. Both Liu Yan and Luo Yu's expressions shifted slightly before they finally turned their attention back to Song Jiu.
"Perfect timing; I’ve been meaning to find an opportunity to tell you all," Chef Jia tossed his long hair back and chuckled lightly. " Master Jiu, can I come off the blacklist now?"
Song Jiu felt a bit awkward and smiled sheepishly. "I believe in you."
"I know; you must have guessed it long ago," Chef Jia said nonchalantly about Song Jiu's mixed feelings and turned to Luo Yu. "I'm healthy too; let’s go for 800cc."
Luo Yu hesitated for a moment but after receiving an encouraging glance from Song Jiu, he steeled himself and plunged the needle in.
"Ah!" Boss Lin let out a wail, heartbroken as he exclaimed, "Don't you all have any medical knowledge?"
"Daoist, if you're so free, why not help Ziqian with some prayers? Just keep quiet," Song Jiu interrupted the Fake Taoist's cries. "Unless you have a better plan."
"I know a place where there’s a doctor; I can take you there," Boss Lin suddenly perked up, but then hesitated, "But I'm not sure if they're still there."
"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Song Jiu frowned.
"You said to go to the nearest hospital," Boss Lin retorted confidently, his long beard swaying. "I thought you had medical personnel with you, and besides, that place is quite far."
" Brother Jiu, let's first check the blood transfusion situation. If we can stabilize Ziqian's condition, then we can go take a look," Liu Yan adjusted his glasses. "After all, the shrapnel hasn’t been removed yet."
"Alright." Song Jiu had no other choice but to agree; in situations like this, ignorance was just ignorance, and no amount of anxiety could change that.
More warm blood was infused into Jiao Ziqian's veins. Song Jiu couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but he thought he saw a hint of color returning to Ziqian's previously pale face. His eyes remained open; though he didn’t speak, it was certainly better than the previous state of shock. Chef Jia pressed a cotton swab against the injection site and looked somewhat fatigued. Luo Yu quickly helped her sit on another bed.
"Hey, Fake Taoist, what kind of place are you talking about?" With everyone else seemingly stable for now, Song Jiu felt a bit more at ease.
"It's a camp. I saw it about two years ago when I went to the city center," Boss Lin scratched his head. "I don't know if it's still there now."
"Two years ago? Why didn’t you go to the camp then?"
"Why would I go?" Boss Lin looked at him strangely. "I was doing just fine on my own."
Song Jiu didn't want to waste time on that and jumped straight to the point: "What was the situation over there?"
"I'm not sure about the specifics. I went to the city center during winter to gather supplies and found that a large area of Green Belt had turned into Vegetable Greenhouses. There were soldiers guarding it and quite a few men and women around," Boss Lin recalled carefully. "Those people were nice; they gave me some seeds, and then I went back to the temple to plant them."
"Soldiers?" Song Jiu found it strange; aside from seeing military forces during the initial disaster in the city, he hadn’t encountered soldiers since.
"Yeah, they were pretty easy to talk to. Their leader said that if we needed anything, we could find them; they had doctors and food."
"Luo Yu" was intrigued, asking curiously, "Could it be another 'Riverside Camp'?"
"What 'Riverside Camp'?" "Boss Lin" replied, puzzled.
"Nothing much, just go on. They didn't ask for anything in return for the seeds they gave you for free?"
"No, I just stayed for a bit. Their leader looked a bit fierce, but he was actually quite nice."
"Song Jiu" lowered his head in thought, increasingly feeling that it was somewhat similar to the 'Riverside Camp.' Going there would be like diving back into the 'Zombie' den.
"Sister Jia, do you think that place could be a 'Zombie' territory?" "Luo Yu" asked.
"I don't know either. It's uncertain where the 'Zombies' draw their boundaries. But it shouldn't be, since two years ago—right after the disaster." "Chef Jia" shrugged, expressing helplessness.
"I don't understand a word of what you guys are saying," "Boss Lin" sniffed and said, "And don't get your hopes up too high. Didn't I mention? There have been many 'Horde' incidents in the city over the past two years, especially a lot in the city center. I estimate it's basically all ruined; even if they haven't died, they've probably run away."
"You never went to check later?"
"No, I didn't dare go alone."
""
"Luo Yu, keep an eye on things here. I'm going to scout the situation," "Song Jiu" decided that it was better not to delay. After all, he wasn't of much use here; it was better to check out this potential lifeline.
"I'll go instead; you're still injured," "Luo Yu" suggested.
"It's fine. If there's a doctor there, it would be perfect for me to get treated. Once 'Ziqian's' condition stabilizes, you all can head back first," "Song Jiu" smiled and glanced at the vigilant "Militia" at the entrance, frowning as he said, "Wow, how come they're all here? Aren't there just a few girls left in that temple?"
"I was wondering about that too," "Chef Jia" pouted and said, "Why don't we all go back together? It's not safe for you to be out alone at night."
"I'm worried something might happen to 'Ziqian' on the way," "Song Jiu" thought for a moment and decided to set off immediately. He left the car keys with "Luo Yu," then grabbed the "Fake Taoist," who was sitting aside enjoying the scenery: "You’re coming with me."
"I won't go," the Fake Taoist shook his head vigorously.
"If you don't go, I'll have to force you," Song Jiu half-threatened, half-joking, as he dragged the ethereal Lin out of the operating room.
Outside the hospital, the night wind howled, and distant thunder rumbled ominously, hinting at the possibility of rain. The wild grass swayed like waves in a field, undulating outward in circles, creating a desolate beauty.
"You've been given a fishing rod, yet you don't show any gratitude in return," Song Jiu teased as he noticed the Fake Taoist's unwilling expression. "Did you lie about the seeds being stolen?"
Lin Daozhang's face flushed with anger. "How can you call it stealing when it comes to scholarly matters?"
"Stop joking around. Seriously, you haven't been to the city in so long; can you still recognize those people?" Song Jiu asked.
"They're easy to recognize. Their leader is a Cyclops dragon," Lin Daozhang replied confidently, stroking his long beard.
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