Quarantine

Tu Ran opened the pass Li Wenchuan had sent her.

The soldier carefully checked the date on it to make sure it was today's, then compared her appearance with the photo. Only after the inspection did he let her in.

"Stay safe," the soldier said considerately.

Tu Ran nodded.

When she reached the entrance of Building B, a deafening gunshot rang out from inside, followed by screams.

Tu Ran hurried into the corridor to see what was happening and found two guards from the Executive Department carrying a stretcher toward her.

A corpse lay on the stretcher.

It was a man, his eyes wide open, the pupils gone, replaced by terrifying white.

White bandages were wrapped around his neck, and beneath them, winding, intertwined black veins spread.

Bulging blue veins had already crawled up his cheeks, wrapping his entire face like a spiderweb.

On his forehead, three or four black bullet holes oozed blood.

The blood flowed onto the pristine white stretcher, then dripped from it onto the floor.

The stretcher passed by Tu Ran.

Blood splattered onto her boots.

Tu Ran looked down; the bloodstains on the ground were alarming.

Not just one trail, but countless.

They crisscrossed, staining the white floor.

Footprints stamped through them, blooming like blood-red plum blossoms.

It wasn't just one person who had mutated—many had.

Tu Ran headed toward the elevator, which was stopped on the tenth floor.

She turned and went to the stairwell.

Reaching the fourth floor quickly, she stepped into the corridor and was met with walls splattered with blood.

The blood had dried and turned black, with several bloody handprints standing out starkly.

"Ran Jie!"

Ding Naiqing called out from behind.

His voice sounded exhausted.

Tu Ran turned around and saw Ding Naiqing walking over, gun in hand.

The dark circles under his eyes were very pronounced.

"Go get some rest; I'll take it from here," Tu Ran said.

"Okay." Ding Naiqing didn't refuse.

He was really too tired now.

"Ran Jie, this floor has two Pioneers, six guards, and four doctors, with a guard squad patrolling on a schedule. If you have any questions, you can ask them."

Ding Naiqing tiredly briefed her on the situation. "I'm responsible for these five wards. One mutated in this one, killed one, and only one person is left."

Tu Ran looked through the glass window in the ward door and saw a person lying on the hospital bed, covered by a blanket.

Ding Naiqing walked to another ward and said, "In this room, one mutated and killed the doctor who was bandaging his wound, so now we only have three doctors on this floor."

"I've already reported the situation upstairs, but the Medical Department is short-staffed right now and can't spare any more doctors."

Ding Naiqing pointed to another room. "The two doctors are staying in that room, and they'll come out regularly to change the bandages for the patients in these wards. We need to keep them safe."

Tu Ran listened carefully and nodded, but she had a question. "Where's the other Pioneer? And what about the six guards? There are only three here."

"They're also taking turns resting. See, that room at the end of the corridor," Ding Naiqing pointed. "The other Pioneer is in Ward 401. That patient has a brain injury and unstable vital signs, so he can't be left without a doctor. The Pioneer has to check in on him regularly."

"So I'm also responsible for the wards on his side?" Tu Ran asked.