Chapter 9 General Clinic

Chapter 9: Survivor’s Ward

Tang Ning was far from deadweight—she lived with Tang Tang, but she wasn’t a pitiful leech surviving on her scraps.

Tang Tang never provided meals or clean water.

Tang Ning had to fend for herself, hunting zombies and trading crystals to survive. Only when Tang Tang was in a good mood—or a bad one and wanted to humiliate her—would she dump her leftovers on Tang Ning.

So why did Tang Ning endure such degradation and cling to the base?

It wasn’t that she lacked self-respect. When she first arrived, Chen Chen hadn’t yet become commander, and Tang Tang was nobody special—just another resident. Back then, Tang Ning didn’t need to hide from her.

By the time Tang Ning had put down roots, treating the base as her second home—around the fourth year of the apocalypse—Chen Chen rose to power, and Tang Tang’s status surged with him.

Tang Tang found her, keeping her close to hound her relentlessly.

At that point, Tang Ning considered leaving… but ultimately gave up.

From what she knew, nearby small bases had stopped accepting ordinary people.

They saw regular folks as useless—nothing but ball and chain burdens. A few were kept around like beasts of burden, but more would only waste food.

That was how things worked in the apocalypse—might made right.

Besides, the journey was deadly. By the fourth year, not only had superpowered evolved, but zombies too.

As an ordinary person, Tang Ning could handle regular zombies, but against Tier-1 or Tier-2 zombies, alone, she might not stand a chance.

Even if she got lucky and survived the dangers long enough to reach another base, there were no promises they’d open their gates!

The capital city base still accepted ordinary people, but it was too far away. A foot journey would take an eternity, and she couldn’t get gasoline to drive.

Over months, chances were slim she’d dodge every Tier-1 or Tier-2 zombie along the way.

She admitted it—she was scared to die. That fear was the real reason she didn’t dare leave. But how could she not be afraid? The only reason she’d survived the initial outbreak was because her parents sacrificed themselves for her.

She watched helplessly as they plunged into the swarm to protect her—ripped to shreds, eaten screaming.

Even in their final moments, they choked out: “Live.” No matter what, survive.

Her life wasn’t just hers anymore—it carried the weight of her parents’ two lives.

They gave everything for her. Taking a few insults was nothing compared to throwing her life away!

Thinking of them fueled Tang Ning’s rage—as if she wasn’t fighting for herself, but for them too.

Axe in hand, she squared off against the zombie. Up close, she realized—it was a senior turned zombie.

Zombification had twisted its face into a rotted prune, skin sagging like old leather.

Its clawed fingers slashed toward her face. She gripped her axe tight and lopped its arm clean off.

Black blood arced through the air. Even though she was fully covered, goggles shielding her eyes, she rolled aside fast.

Zombie blood and nails carried the virus—spread through contact with open wounds.

If scratched by a zombie or infected blood met an open cut, infection was likely.

Once infected, fever spiked—past 39°C and climbing.

This high fever is the process of evolution. If it fails, they turn into a zombie.

Becoming superpowered doesn’t grant immunity from future infections.

If infected again with the zombie virus, they will develop another high fever. Pushing through it could trigger a second awakening—possibly gaining dual superpowers—or result in no new abilities at all. Failing to push through means turning into a zombie.

However, superpowered individuals are physically tougher, so they only have a 30% chance of turning.

Even so, with that risk, they still take every precaution. On missions, they suit up head-to-toe in protective gear—suits, gloves, goggles, the works—to ensure they’re fully covered and avoid secondary infection.

Zombies don’t feel pain. Cutting off an arm won’t stop their attack. The zombie barely missed a beat, swinging its other arm the second the first was gone.

As Tang Ning rolled away and tried to stand, the zombie’s remaining arm was already reaching for her.

If she stood now, the zombie’s sharp nails would pierce her skin, infecting her with the virus.

Her pupils contracted in terror, despair flashing in her eyes.

Leaving the base was a mistake. First day solo, no backup—and she was about to get clawed.

Just as Tang Ning thought she was doomed, the zombie’s head went flying.

Blood sprayed across her goggles, tinting her world crimson.

The headless zombie dropped like a marionette with its strings snipped, hitting the ground with a dull thud and kicking up dust.

Ji An had saved her!

By then, Ji An was already prying open the zombie’s skull.

Tang Ning bolted up and lunged forward. “Let me.”

Ji An stepped back, letting her search the brain for a crystal core.

“Dud. Just a regular zombie,” Tang Ning muttered, disappointed.

Not all zombies had cores. This one had been slow and weak—Ji An had guessed it might not have one.

But they dug in anyway—better safe than sorry.

Just then, two more zombies—one large, one small—emerged from around the corner.

The smaller one was a child trailing behind an elderly zombie.

“Two more. Make it quick, or the blood’ll bring a horde,” Ji An barked.

Tang Ning’s stomach dropped for a second. She’d thought Ji An, having just saved her, would handle the adult.

Kid zombies were easier kills—low enough for a one-swing decapitation. The adult forced her to leap just to land a headshot.

But she quickly shook the thought off. Ji An had made it clear he wasn’t responsible for her safety. One rescue was a gift—who was she to push her luck?

Wouldn’t that put her on Tang Tang’s level—no way.

Just thinking of Tang Tang’s "poor little me" act made Tang Ning’s skin crawl.

She threw herself at the zombie. She’d die before turning into a snake like Tang Tang.

This time, Tang Ning had a plan. She vaulted onto a ledge and went berserk on its skull, reducing it to mush—no different than a clean decapitation.

The zombie lay on the ground, and Tang Ning searched persistently, but still couldn’t find the energy core.

She felt pretty bummed, thinking she was just plain unlucky. Still, she couldn’t help feeling relieved it had only been a regular zombie. If it had been a mutated one, she might not have made it out alive.

After all, taking down this ordinary one had been plenty tough.

Tang Ning turned to look for Ji An after failing to find the core. Ji An had just finished off the small zombie and was prying out its energy core.

“A Level 2 core!” Tang Ning gasped in shock.

She never would’ve guessed that the seemingly weak little zombie was actually a Level 2. Good thing Ji An had had her deal with the normal one—otherwise, she’d have been a goner.

Suddenly, Tang Ning remembered something. Earlier, she’d been too caught up in disappointment to notice, but now that she thought about it, Ji An must’ve noticed something before having her take on the adult zombie.

“Mr. Ji, how did you know this little zombie was mutated?” Tang Ning stared at the core, her eyes showing envy—but only envy, no greed. She knew her limits; she couldn’t handle a Level 2.

“This one moved faster than the adult zombie and looked more agile,” Ji An replied, tucking the core away. “We need to get out of here fast. The blood will draw more zombies.”

Faint freaky moans were already echoing from the distance. Ji An grabbed Tang Ning and they booked it.

They took a narrow path, winding through back alleys until they reached a private multi-specialty clinic.

The clinic was a two-story building—the sign long gone. After seven years of apocalypse, the place had gone completely to ruin.

The peeling walls revealed twisted, mottled patterns like distorted zombie faces from the end of the world.

All the windows were shattered, with only a few jagged shards left clinging to the frames.

Inside, all medical supplies and usable equipment had vanished. Even the beds and furniture had been taken, leaving only empty rooms and a creepy vibe behind.

“Mr. Ji, this place has already been stripped clean. What could we possibly find here?” Tang Ning didn’t understand why Ji An had brought them here and hinted carefully.

“What we’re looking for isn’t here,” Ji An said. His target was the basement—or rather, an underground base.

Ji An knew about this place because he’d caught wind of it when he was a ghost. Back then, he could only haunt Chen Chen’s bedroom—nowhere else.

Everything he knew came from conversations Chen Chen and Tang Tang had in that room.

They talked about a hospital built by the Japanese in Wolong Village under Yancheng County, Qingfeng City.

Foreign companies usually set up in big cities—what were they doing building a hospital in a tiny village? Charity work? Community service?

Too bad the Japanese weren’t exactly charitable toward the Chinese.

This clinic was supposedly just a regular medical center, but in reality, there was an underground lab built beneath it.

That hidden lab was used for human trial research, fully equipped with high-end medical instruments.

Chen Chen and Tang Tang discussed it because not long after Ji An died, someone discovered the place.

Ji An had overheard it by chance but burned the location into his memory. At the time, Chen Chen even showed Tang Tang a map with the exact spot marked—he remembered that too.

Truth was, Ji An had always been a research junkie with a real knack for it.

Even as a freshman, he got into a famous professor’s lab at Peking University, working side projects with his mentor.

And beyond that, he’d cooked up his own little research project and flipped the patent for 200 grand.

Unfortunately, then the apocalypse hit, and Chen Chen and Ji An were always on the move, with no time or opportunity for Ji An to do his research.

Later, when Chen Chen finally became a base commander, there was no lab equipment available.

Available equipment had long been taken by superpowered folks from major bases, while equipment that cost resources was extremely expensive and hard to obtain—they simply couldn’t gather enough trading goods.

So Ji An never got the chance to conduct his research.

During his time as a ghost, in moments when the room was empty, Ji An had thought that if he got a second chance at life, he would only do two things.

The first was revenge.

But he didn’t want quick revenge—just killing his enemies outright. He wanted them to suffer like he did as a ghost, powerless to do anything, forced to watch as their enemies prospered and grew happier. He wanted them slowly eaten alive by torment until they finally went insane.

Perhaps others would seek immediate vengeance, but not Ji An. Maybe being a ghost for too long had twisted him, making his thoughts different from normal people’s.

Ji An wanted his two enemies to psychologically and physically torment each other, like captured monkeys with collars forced to perform on stage.

And he would be the spectator sitting leisurely in the audience, snacking on sunflower seeds and sipping iced soda.

When the monkeys were beaten half to death, he would occasionally clap twice to provoke them, getting them riled up again—only to be tormented once more, struggling again, and tormented again.

Until they could endure no longer and ended their own lives with their own hands.

That was the best revenge.

The second thing was that he would never compromise or abandon his research for anyone again.

He truly, deeply loved conducting experiments and research. He had so many things he wanted to invent, things he wanted everyone to use.

As a ghost, he had already decided that if life gave him a second chance, the base he would go to was Jingshi Base.

Small bases couldn’t provide the lab equipment he needed—he wouldn’t be able to freely pursue the research he desired.

But Jingshi Base was different. Ji An had heard more than once that this major base highly valued scientific research, being one of the most research-focused bases in the world today.

Jingshi Base was Ji An’s ultimate destination after leaving his current base, but he needed something to prove his worth first.

Otherwise, for a nobody to join the most cutting-edge research team and freely use precious lab equipment upon arrival was nothing but wishful thinking. No sane person would agree to such a thing.

That was why Ji An decided to detour here to collect the lab equipment. With these valuable resources, he could join Jingshi Base’s research team.

Even if, for some reason, he couldn’t enter the most advanced team, he could apply to establish his own lab. He believed that with these resources, it would be an easy request to fulfill.