Chapter 17

The players found a spot a short distance from the survivors and sat down, closing their eyes to rest.

Karen, still worried about her injured mother back home, leaned close to Lin Tu's ear and whispered, "What do we do now? I'm worried about Mom being home alone."

Lin Tu thought for a moment, then said, "The zombies just got lured here, so they're probably still on the move. Let's wait half a day or overnight before heading back. Don't worry, your mom should be safe."

Karen mulled it over. It made sense. Right now, she was surrounded by a dense horde of zombies, while her mother lived in a neighborhood that had been cleared of every last zombie. At this rate, Karen could be gnawed down to bone and her mom would still be leisurely toasting bread and boiling oatmeal.

Karen nodded and sat down close beside Lin Tu, her hunting rifle in hand, and closed her eyes to rest.

On the survivors' side, several people shot covert glances at Karen, who was guarding Lin Tu, and exchanged looks with one another.

Time passed, punctuated by the occasional rumble of stomachs, and soon it was noon.

In the quiet refuge hall, a few rustling sounds arose, and the hungry stomach growls grew denser and louder.

Though nothing had happened, an inexplicable tension settled over the hall.

Seeing that Karen remained seated beside Lin Tu without moving, the few survivors finally gave in after their frequent exchanges of glances. When one of them stood up, the others wore knowing expressions.

Officer Robert frowned. The two nurses had been sticking close to him, and they both looked over at the survivor who had risen.

She was a somewhat gaunt woman—the one who had rolled her eyes earlier.

She now wore a solicitous smile as she walked over to Lin Tu and asked, "Do you have any food? What are you planning to do for lunch and dinner?"

This obviously fake display of concern made Lin Tu roll her eyes.

Just moments ago, this woman had been making snide remarks about more mouths to feed, and now she was suddenly acting all nice—did she take Lin Tu for a fool?

Lin Tu said, "None of your damn business."

The woman's face stiffened. "A young lady like you, why are you so rude?"

An ordinary person would probably have walked away after being shut down like that. But this woman seemed fixated on Lin Tu.

She reshuffled her sour expression and pieced together another smile. "I'm just concerned, that's all. We're all trapped here now, and we can't go without food."

Lin Tu said, "Oh." She'd eaten a big bowl this morning, so she wasn't very hungry at the moment.

Seeing that Lin Tu was impervious to her attempts, the woman's lips puckered again and again. It was clear that some unpleasant words were on the tip of her tongue, and she was working hard to hold them back.

The woman continued, "We can go scavenge for some food. Downstairs is my father-in-law's ward. The cream-flavored cookies, chocolate peanut hazelnut sandwich cookies, and some crispy rice cakes I bought earlier are all still in the drawer by the bed."

She couldn't help swallowing hard, her eyes fixed on Lin Tu, which made Lin Tu look at her with some curiosity. "And then?"

"I thought we could go down and get them," the woman urged. "Of course, if you think it's unsafe down there, we could also search this floor. These two floors are both inpatient wards, so there's bound to be food left by family members in the rooms."

Lin Tu grew even more curious. "Why would we not go if I think it's unsafe? You mean you want me to go get them?"

"Of course you should go—you're the one holding a gun, so doesn't that come with responsibility!" the woman said with utter conviction. "We're all patients and family members here; we can't be the ones to go! Besides you... who else?"

Her pause made Lin Tu understand completely. She turned to glance at Karen, who looked fierce when angry, then at Officer Robert, who was stocky but seemed to have something stuck in his throat. She nearly laughed. So this woman had picked her because she looked like a young, easy target.

The other players understood too and all looked at the woman. But their expressions weren't angry—they were speechless, astonished, even sympathetic.

Out of everyone to provoke, she had to pick the hardest one to mess with.

If this woman had seen Lin Tu smash a zombie's head in with a crowbar, she probably wouldn't even dare walk up to her... they all thought.

"I'm actually a patient too," Lin Tu said with a smile, leveling her gun at the woman. "I have a mental illness. I can't always control myself. So tell me... how could someone like me fetch food for you?"

"Are you crazy?!" The woman flinched hard at being aimed at. But when her gaze moved from the muzzle to Lin Tu's face—harmless, even a bit scholarly with those wire-rimmed glasses—she mustered some courage.

She steeled herself and said, "Then... then we can't just have no food. I'm doing this for everyone's sake; we can't just starve to death, can we... If you don't dare go, then hand over the gun! Give it to someone who will!"

"Seriously, have you no shame..."

"Get lost, stop bothering us!"

The players had finally had enough. But just as they opened their mouths, Karen abruptly stood up first.

She nearly jammed the barrel into the woman's head, snarling, "If you want to die, keep talking. Don't think I won't kill anyone!"

Karen towered a full two heads over the woman. Under such pressure, the woman's attitude immediately softened, and she apologized profusely.

But Karen was the type to make sure someone suffered consequences. She forced the woman to slap herself twice.

Seeing the atmosphere instantly turn hostile, Officer Robert finally let out a sigh. "Enough, enough. Let's all give a little. Stop fighting. Rita, don't push her. And you there, don't worry—I'll go find food."

The woman, Rita, immediately straightened up as if granted a pardon. "How dare you treat me like this! I never said you had to go—I was only thinking of everyone. And I was going to suggest you go start the backup elevator so we can all escape to the North Falls Sea Safe Base together. My father's in charge there; he could always do us a favor. But now... forget it!"

Lin Tu was speechless. Where did this woman get her courage and pride?

Lin Tu turned to look at the most suspicious officer, Robert, who merely shook his head helplessly and tried to soothe the other survivors. The two nurses behind him were full of indignation, but seeing Robert stay silent, they said nothing either. As for the other survivors, they seemed almost pleased to see this happen.

So this kind of thing happened often.

Catching Lin Tu's gaze, Officer Robert apologized, "Everyone, be understanding. We have to stay united. We'll get through this."

Lin Tu immediately averted her eyes, lest she say "None of my damn business" after "None of your damn business." After all, she was quite interested in what Rita had mentioned about the "backup elevator," and she didn't want to start a fight with these people right now.

"Where is the backup elevator?" Lin Tu asked.

"It's in the lab," Rita said, then guiltily looked away.

"Where's the lab?" Lin Tu asked, lifting her head to look for a directional sign.

"No!" Unexpectedly, Officer Robert reacted sharply. "You can't go—absolutely not. It's..."

"Why can't we go?" One of the nurses behind him cut him off. "The doctor's fiancée was bitten, and he had already tied her up and restrained her. But Rita and the others insisted on killing her. That's why the doctor hid in the lab with his fiancée. What's the matter? You didn't uphold justice for the doctor back then, and now you're afraid to face them?"

"No... it's not like that..." Officer Robert said, his face pale. "Calm down."

"How can I be calm?! If it weren't for Rita and the others, now... maybe we'd already be with the doctor, escaping this goddamn hospital through the backup elevator!"

"How was I supposed to know!" Rita shouted. "That damn doctor of yours hid it well—he only mentioned the backup elevator in the lab at the very last second. If I'd known earlier, why would I have argued with him about killing his fiancée? I'd have taken the backup elevator and gone straight to find my father!"

"That's confidential!" The nurse was on the verge of tears. "Everything in the lab is hospital-confidential. He signed a non-disclosure agreement—how could he tell a pig like you?!"

"Who cares about confidentiality at a time like this!"

Seeing that the two were about to keep arguing, Lin Tu simply aimed her gun out the window and pulled the trigger with a thunderous bang.

The deafening gunshot instantly silenced the bickering. The air filled with the roars of zombies from all directions, but in this small hospital lobby, it was terrifyingly quiet.

"Y-you... what are you doing?" the nurse stammered.

"Where exactly is the lab?" Lin Tu demanded.

At that, the other players, along with Karen, stood by her side, weapons drawn, glaring threateningly at the hospital survivors.

"You really can't go," Officer Robert pleaded. "It's... something terrible happened there."

"You all know the doctor's fiancée was bitten—she was bound to turn into a zombie, which meant she was bound to die. But..." Even a man as burly as Robert shuddered. "We heard her voice. Coming from inside the lab."

The players exchanged glances and immediately understood what had happened—

There was a mutated zombie in the lab.