“Chapter 28”

"Chapter 28"

"The explanation about zombies from the medical officer caused another stir among the crowd."

"The idea of going to the temperature-controlled plantation was risky, and everyone harbored a bit of luck, thinking they wouldn't be the unfortunate one."

"But the realization that their safe haven, the Hive, was now also fraught with danger, was more terrifying and harder to accept than the prospect of going to the plantation."

"Hearing this, Feng Chen touched his forehead. Though he didn't have a fever, he began to feel uneasy and instinctively put Yan Bubu down from his arms."

"Yan Bubu, now surrounded by a wall of legs and unable to see outside, gently tugged at Feng Chen's clothes. Though he didn't dare to ask directly, his action subtly conveyed his wish to be picked up again."

"Feng Chen seemed not to notice, standing still, his gaze fixed ahead, his hand slowly forming into a fist by his side."

"Yan Bubu didn't notice these details, and seeing that Feng Chen didn't pick him up, he didn’t insist further, just listening attentively."

"Then another question came from the crowd, 'What kind of fever indicates turning into a zombie? What if it's just a cold?'"

"The medical officer answered, 'Based on the information we have, the conditions of the mutants vary. Some symptoms are similar to a common cold, some just have persistent fever, occasionally returning to normal. However, the interval between these episodes of normal temperature and the next fever doesn’t exceed three days.'"

"Hearing this, Feng Chen slowly exhaled, unclenching his hands that were now sweaty."

"He had indeed been experiencing frequent low-grade fevers and occasional high temperatures recently, but his temperature had been normal for a while now, and it had been almost a month since his last fever. According to the medical officer's statement about fever intervals not exceeding three days, he was not a virus carrier."

"Yan Bubu, boredly counting the squares on the trousers of the person in front of him, suddenly felt lighter as he was lifted up, his view becoming unobstructed once again."

"He turned his head, grinning at Feng Chen who was holding him, but Feng Chen didn't look at him, just freeing a hand to turn his head back forward."

"General Lin resumed speaking, his cold voice echoing throughout the underground space: 'From now on, everyone must have their temperature checked morning and evening. If anyone develops a fever, they must immediately be isolated and observed at the medical station.'"

"'Right, during the isolation period, if the fever subsides and the temperature does not rebound for over three days, the isolation can be temporarily lifted, and they can return to the Hive,' the medical officer added."

"Suddenly, someone shouted, 'The person living next to me has been feverish for many days now.'"

"Following this, others began speaking up: 'Today, while I was lining up for food, I heard someone behind me saying that their son-in-law is also feverish.'"

"'The family in D54 of Hive C has a young son who is feverish.'"

"'Damn it! My son was just at the medical point a few days ago, stayed there for a few days, and then came back. The doctor said it was just a cold. What the hell are you blabbering about?'"

"'...I didn't know, but better safe than sorry, right?'"

"With the potential for zombies to appear in the Hive, everyone began wracking their brains, trying to recall if they knew anyone with a fever, eyeing each other with suspicion."

"However, it had been stated at the beginning of the broadcast that those with cold symptoms should stay in their rooms, and medical soldiers would come for a check-up. Therefore, those now being reported were already in their rooms, not in the square."

"There were those attempting to hide their condition, and when pointed out by others, they tearfully clung to their family members, refusing to let go. The surrounding people would then band together to push the feverish individual to the soldiers, who would then escort them to the medical station."

"'My daughter just has a common cold, she just caught a chill, she'll be fine in two or three days. She's not going to the medical point. I'll lock her in our room, and she won't come out, alright?' A sharp, piercing female voice drew Yan Bubu's attention. He looked towards the sound and saw the same woman they had encountered in the elevator earlier."

The disheveled woman, with two buttons missing from her clothes, clutched a young girl in her arms, kicking at people around her and biting hands that reached for them, in a state of frenzy.

The girl, her face buried in the woman’s shoulder, trembled in fear, continuously screaming, "Mom, I don't want to go, I don't want to go."

People around them accused, "Whether it’s a cold or something else, just isolate her at the medical station for three days. Didn’t you hear the medical officer say? If the fever subsides and doesn’t return for three days, she can go back to the Hive."

The woman, holding her daughter tightly, yelled back defiantly, "Back off! Stay away from my daughter. She doesn't have that illness. Get away, none of you can touch her. How many have returned from the medical station? The Western Union Army isn’t treating them; they’re locking them up and secretly killing them."

"Don't spread rumors. My mom had a cold a few days ago, stayed in the medical station for a few days, and came back with some cold medicine. If your daughter is a mutant — or not, wouldn't a stay there reveal the truth?"

If it were any other illness, it might have been overlooked, but the zombie mutation was a grave matter, involving the lives of everyone in the Hive. Several people began rolling up their sleeves, intent on forcibly separating the aunt and her daughter.

The scene became chaotic, filled with the aunt's angry curses and loud accusations from bystanders.

"Get away, all of you! Whoever dares to touch us again, I'll—” The aunt's yelling abruptly ceased, her words cut off mid-sentence. Seizing the opportunity, those trying to subdue her quickly restrained her arms, urging others, "Hurry, take her daughter away.”

Feng Chen, holding Yan Bubu, watched the scene unfold. When he saw the aunt suddenly stop resisting, standing dazed, a sense of alarm struck him, and he shouted, "Don't touch them, stay away from them!"

His voice was drowned out in the commotion, and those trying to pull the young girl away from her mother paid him no heed.

The girl had stopped screaming. As she was dragged backward, her head bowed, one arm dangling at her side, long black hair covering her face.

"Sister, calm down, your daughter is just being quarantined for three days..." As some held the aunt back and others tried to reason with her, one of them suddenly stopped mid-sentence, noticing her shoulder.

A gaping hole where her right shoulder and neck met was oozing blood, staining her silver-white clothes a deep red.

"I didn’t hit her, I swear, I didn't do anything..." the person stammered in shock.

Feng Chen shouted again, "Stay away from them, don’t get close!"

As his words fell, the girl, who had been motionless with her head down, suddenly turned and lunged at the person holding her arm.

In that instant, her hair parted to reveal a face marred by purplish veins and a mouth smeared with blood.

Her speed was so swift, leaving no time for evasion. The man, just about to let go, found himself seized by the girl, her teeth sinking into his face.

This all happened within a few seconds, and only after the screams did the surrounding people belatedly start to flee. The aunt, who had been standing dazed, began to gurgle, her voice blocked by phlegm, her face gradually turning a shade of purplish-blue.

"Run, zombies, zombies!"

A terrified scream erupted, and the chaos that had been contained to a small group swiftly spread like a flood, sending everyone in the square running.

In danger, people instinctively flee to what they perceive as the safest place, their home, so the crowd surged towards the Hive like a tidal wave crashing forward.

Some were swept along by the tide, feet not even touching the ground. Others stumbled and fell, trampled by countless feet, quickly losing any sign of life. The aunt and her daughter, meanwhile, were grabbing people passing by, ferociously biting and tearing at them.

On the central platform, the medical officer, pale-faced, said to General Lin, "It's over, General. The mutation rate of the infected has drastically accelerated. There's no longer a latency period."

Carrying Yan Bubu, Feng Chen was involuntarily swept along by the crowd, struggling to keep his balance to avoid falling.

In such chaos, the only option was to keep running; stopping or falling would mean certain death.

The greatest danger wasn't being bitten by the mutants but being trampled if one fell and couldn’t get up.

Terrified by the scene, Yan Bubu saw people being trampled to death, so although scared, he managed to slap the eyes of anyone who bumped into Feng Chen.

His strength wasn't great, but even a grown-up would find a slap to the eye painful. In the confusion, it was assumed to be a zombie attack, causing people to blink away tears and move aside.

But there were too many people. Driven by panic and the will to survive, they pushed towards the Hive. Feng Chen was bumped several times and tripped over a stone, staggering before falling to the ground.

Unable to prevent his fall, he quickly adjusted his position to land on one knee rather than flat on his stomach. His knees hit the ground hard, and he immediately raised his upper body, half-arching his back to protect Yan Bubu in his arms.

“Ahwu bangaga ada wuxia, ahwu bangaga ada wuxia...” Yan Bubu shouted loudly, picking up a rock larger than a bun, clutching it tightly in both hands.

Someone's foot hit Feng Chen's back, tripping and flying over his head. Feng Chen couldn't worry about others; he knew lying down meant he and Yan Bubu would be trampled to death.

People kept slamming into him from behind, causing sharp pain in his back. Holding Yan Bubu, Feng Chen struggled to stand and keep moving with the crowd, looking around for an escape.

He knew they couldn't head for the Hive's main gate, which couldn’t accommodate so many people and would only cause more congestion. The only option was to find a place to hide.

Spotting a large excavator parked about several meters to the left, he made a beeline for it. To cross the running crowd, he had to hunch over, using his shoulder to absorb the impacts.

He felt his body's strength had significantly increased; people colliding with him were knocked away, while he, even carrying Yan Bubu, moved steadily.

Unnoticed by him, the man he had just collided with had his face and head covered in blood, a piece of scalp hanging off, exposing his skull. Yet the man seemed unfazed by the pain, standing still with a bizarre expression, making guttural noises from his throat.

His pupils, like spreading ink, quickly covered his entire eyeballs. Spiderweb-like veins appeared on his face, and then he let out a shriek, lunging at Feng Chen with his mouth wide open.

Feng Chen, focused ahead, didn’t notice the man approaching from behind. But Yan Bubu on his shoulder did, screaming in terror. As the man brought his gruesome face close to the back of Feng Chen's head, Yan Bubu raised the stone and smashed it hard against the man's face.

Screaming, "Ahwu bangaga ada wuxia!"

Although Yan Bubu wasn’t very strong, the rock was real and heavy. The blow knocked the man's head back.

If it were an ordinary person hit like that, they would be in unbearable pain, but the man merely staggered back a bit before lunging at Feng Chen again.

However, Feng Chen had sensed something was wrong when Yan Bubu threw the rock. Glancing back, he shifted to the right with Yan Bubu in his arms, simultaneously kicking at the man’s chest.

Feng Chen's sudden strength surpassed that of many adults, but even after being kicked, the man only stumbled back a few steps before lunging forward again.

Feng Chen set Yan Bubu down and reached for his dagger, but then a crisp gunshot rang out nearby.

The man suddenly froze mid-step, staring at Feng Chen with wide eyes, then slowly collapsed to the ground. A bullet hole was visible in the back of his head, oozing dark purple blood.

Not far away, General Lin, armed with a gun, led a group of soldiers into the crowd.

The crowd continued screaming, wailing, and running in chaos, resembling a hellish scene, spiraling out of control.

Feng Chen picked up Yan Bubu again and rushed towards the excavator, colliding with seven or eight people along the way before reaching the machine.

Catching his breath, he peered through the rear window of the excavator. He saw the girl who had been frenziedly biting people now slowly falling, a bullet hole in her forehead, black blood streaming from her nostrils.

General Lin stood with his gun smoking, a black vulture circling overhead, screeching at the crowd.

He spoke a few brief words to the soldiers beside him. Feng Chen couldn't hear, but he read his lips.

"Kill all those who have been bitten."

The soldiers began firing, not just at the aunt but also at those she and her daughter had bitten, who were now attacking others – all were shot dead.

One man, screaming, lunged at the nearest soldier, fearless even as his chest was riddled with bullets, only falling when a bullet pierced his temple.

After dealing with the mutants, dozens of bodies lay scattered. General Lin fired into the air, and the soldiers followed suit with their machine guns, the continuous gunfire echoing through the underground space.

The noise was so intense it hurt Feng Chen's eardrums, but then soft little hands covered his ears. Yan Bubu pressed his hands over Feng Chen's ears, moving his mouth as if chanting loudly, though Feng Chen couldn't hear a word.

Feng Chen pressed Yan Bubu's head into his chest, making sure one ear was tightly against him, while firmly covering the boy's other ear with his hand.

Huddled behind the excavator, they crouched together, covering each other's ears.

Finally, the running crowd stopped, crouching in panic. Some, like Feng Chen and Yan Bubu, covered their ears, while others instinctively raised their hands above their heads, surrendering.

Once the gunfire ceased, silence enveloped the area. General Lin, with an air of deadly seriousness, bellowed, "Everyone line up by zones, measure temperatures immediately. One by one, return to the Hive."

Among the mutants, only a few dozen were killed, but over three hundred people died from being trampled. Especially at the entrances of the three Hive gates, where people were desperately trying to squeeze inside, bodies were piled up one over another when the crowd dispersed.

Everyone slowly came back to their senses, some sitting on the ground as if in a daze, their spirits shattered. Others called out for their relatives, searching through the crowd, then collapsing into tears. Next to the trampled bodies, their families were crying to the point of fainting.

Soldiers began to clear the bodies, placing them in black body bags and carrying them away. The bereaved families followed, screaming for one last look at their loved ones.

Through the loudspeaker, a soldier assigned tasks: "People from Hive A, go to the far right, line up according to your floor and zone. Hive B, stand in the middle. Hive C, go to the left. Each zone's team leader is responsible for measuring temperatures. Those with normal temperatures return to the Hive. Report any abnormalities to the Western Union Army immediately..."

Feng Chen, still behind the excavator, buried his face in Yan Bubu's hair.

He didn't know why, perhaps due to uncertainty about the future, the recent shock, or the constant tension, but tears suddenly began to flow from his eyes.

Holding Yan Bubu, his shoulders shook slightly, arms tightening around the boy as if seeking comfort and courage from the small, soft body.

Yan Bubu sensed something, trying to look up at Feng Chen’s face but unable to move, quietly allowing himself to be held, reaching his only free right hand around to gently pat Feng Chen's back.

Yan Bubu's touch was gentle, more a caress than a pat, but Feng Chen's body still trembled slightly, as if pained by the contact.

Yan Bubu's hand paused mid-air, then carefully landed on his back, refraining from patting again.

After a while, Feng Chen calmed down, releasing Yan Bubu. Except for a faint redness near his eyes, there was no sign of tears.

"Let's go, we should line up for the temperature check," he said in a hoarse voice.