C6 Sun Meng, Who Had Met a Living Person, Had Asked for Help. She Had Received the News and Knew Wha

After ensuring the room was clear of a fourth zombie, Tang Bing let out a sigh of relief.

He hastily rummaged through the bodies of the three zombies, hoping to find some valuable loot.

[System: You have found a pair of leather gloves (Normal)!]

[System: You have found a chocolate cake!]

[System: You have found a roasted potato!]

[System: You have found grape juice!]

[System: You have found black sunglasses (Normal)!]

[Leather Gloves: Defense +3, Warmth Effect +1%.]

[Chocolate Cake: Satiety +10, HP +5.]

[Roasted Potato: Satiety +15, HP +5.]

[Grape Juice: Hydration +15.]

[Black Sunglasses (Normal): Defense +2.]

Finding food on a zombie was odd, and Tang Bing was skeptical. But since the items automatically transferred to his virtual backpack during the search, he rationalized that they must be system-generated rather than carried by the zombies themselves. After all, it was highly unlikely for zombies to be stashing away such an array of food and gear.

With this thought, he felt much more at ease.

The leather gloves and black sunglasses were both of standard white quality, but they offered an additional four points of defense. Tang Bing didn't hesitate to swap them out for his current gear.

Continuing his search, he found a bag of chewing gum, some scraps of cloth, and plastic.

[Chewing Gum: Satiety +1, HP +1.]

It wasn't much, but every little bit helped. He decided to keep them for the time being.

Having finished with the third floor, Tang Bing didn't pause for a break and proceeded directly to the fourth floor.

This time, he approached with even greater caution. Before entering any room, he readied himself for combat to avoid another surprise attack from the zombies.

After checking several rooms, he came across one that was locked. Tang Bing used his fire axe to smash the lock, only to discover that the door was barricaded with furniture from the inside and wouldn't budge. Puzzled, he knocked on the door, keeping his voice as low as possible, "Is anyone there? Any survivors inside?"

"Who's there?" came a weak-sounding girl's voice from within.

"I'm a patient who was staying here," Tang Bing replied, his spirits lifting at the prospect of human contact. He had been concerned about enduring the loneliness in a world overrun with zombies. Having someone to talk to and offer mutual support was comforting. Most importantly, he needed to understand how the world had descended into an apocalypse while he was unconscious. "May I ask you a few questions?"

"Do you have any food?" the girl inside asked.

Tang Bing hesitated, then selected a roasted potato from his virtual backpack. "Yes!"

The sound of furniture being moved quickly followed from inside the room. Minutes later, the battered door creaked open, revealing a young girl with her hair simply tied back in a ponytail. She cautiously sized up Tang Bing, who was dressed oddly, her eyes wary. However, her attention was soon captured by the roasted potato he held. "Come in!"

"Okay," Tang Bing stepped into the room, noting that all the furniture was stacked to the sides of the door, leaving the rest of the space bare.

"Can I have that?" the girl asked, her eyes hungrily fixed on the potato, as if they were about to light up with a green glow.

Seeing her eagerness, Tang Bing could tell she was starving. He nodded and handed her the roasted potato without hesitation.

The girl quickly retreated to a corner, crouching down to devour the potato ravenously.

Once she finished, she looked up longingly at Tang Bing, whose face was obscured by black sunglasses and a medical mask, and asked directly, "Do you have any more food?"

"There's just one cake left!" Tang Bing felt a twinge of guilt for thinking it, but in times like these, he believed it was okay to be a bit selfish. Food was a rare commodity in the apocalypse. Yet, seeing the girl's pitiful state, and knowing he might scavenge more food after dispatching a few zombies, he gave a reluctant nod. Turning his back to the girl, he reached into his virtual backpack and pulled out a chocolate cake.

The girl's eyes widened in amazement as Tang Bing revealed the cake, her gaze sweeping over him as if trying to decipher where he could have possibly hidden it. It looked perfectly preserved, not squashed in the slightest. But the rich aroma quickly overpowered her curiosity, and she snatched it from his grasp, devouring it with ravenous haste.

Tang Bing simply watched as she polished off the cake.

With her hunger momentarily eased, the girl's complexion seemed to improve. She gave Tang Bing another scrutinizing look before asking, "Are you some kind of superhero in disguise?"

"What?" He was caught off guard by her abrupt question.

"On your face..." She mimed with her fingers pointing to her own face.

"Oh, this?" Tang Bing chuckled as he removed his sunglasses and peeled off his medical mask. "The mask is just to block out the putrid smell, and the glasses? They're just for show."

He couldn't very well admit they were part of his gear; she might think he was delusional, especially since she was unaware of the mysterious system that had equipped him.

"You claim to be a patient, yet you're donned in a doctor's white coat, splattered with blood. And you're carrying an axe..." The girl's tone was a mix of confusion and curiosity now that her appetite had been sated.

"I can't exactly wander around in a hospital gown, can I?" Tang Bing deflected with a casual shrug. "I've been taking down zombies with this fire axe. The blood's theirs, not mine."

"Oh!" The girl exhaled in relief, then her expression turned serious. "You need to ditch those clothes fast, and disinfect that axe too."

"Why?" Tang Bing's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Zombie blood carries the virus. An accidental taste or contact with an open wound could infect you, turning you into one of them," she explained earnestly. "I mean it. You need to change out of those bloody clothes immediately!"

"How do you know all this?" Tang Bing wasn't overly concerned. He had his antibiotics, which would keep him safe from infection for the time being. Besides, should the worst happen, his virtual backpack held 22 more life-saving doses. These items were his lifeline, his necessary armor in a world gone mad.

"There's still internet access!" The girl gave him a look that was part disdain, part pity, and pulled out a pink-cased smartphone from her pocket. "Two days ago, a catastrophic meteor shower hit the earth. The first meteor struck right here in City A! When it crashed, it unleashed an alien virus that caused anyone who touched it to mutate. Their flesh rotted, they spewed blood, and the stench was unbearable. The police and health officials acted fast, isolating the infected. But that night, chaos erupted. The sick turned into horrific zombies, attacking and infecting the authorities. Anyone bitten or scratched by a zombie turned into one of them. That same night, meteors fell worldwide, spreading the zombie plague. The world plunged into turmoil! Worse yet, the zombies' blood contaminated the water supply. Unaware, people drank the tainted water and got infected too. In just one night, City A fell to the zombies! I'm sure it's the same story everywhere."

"But how come there's still electricity and internet?" Tang Bing wondered, clearly baffled.

"Seriously?" The girl gave him a scornful look. "Power plants, internet infrastructure, and media outlets are all under heavy military guard. The government's doing this to keep the zombies from wreaking havoc on them. They're trying to maintain contact with any survivors, to give them hope and help them hold on. The military is being mobilized to wipe out the zombies and rescue the living."

"I see," Tang Bing nodded, understanding the strategy. It sounded good, but he had his doubts about its effectiveness against the overwhelming zombie tide. Still, he had to admit, a government that tries to save its people deserves some credit. But he couldn't shake the feeling that the power and communication facilities wouldn't last much longer. Without people to defend them, society would regress to a time without electricity or signals.

"Ever since the zombies showed up, I've been holed up in this room for two whole days!" Sun Meng shared with Tang Bing. "All I've heard are the zombies' howls and the chilling sounds of them attacking the living. I've had no food or water and have been starving. At night, I've been too terrified to sleep, afraid that a zombie might break in and eat me. I was on the verge of a breakdown, but thankfully, I've finally found another living person!"

"That sounds awful," Tang Bing sympathized, nodding. "I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I only discovered it was the zombie apocalypse when I woke up."

"Indeed," Sun Meng chuckled. "You're incredibly lucky the zombies didn't get to you before you woke up!"

"Actually, we owe our thanks to whoever lured most of the building's zombies to the first floor and blocked the second floor stairwell with furniture," Tang Bing reflected. "Otherwise, I might never have woken up."

"Wait, are you saying there are no zombies above the second floor?" Sun Meng's eyes sparkled with hope. "Is that true? Then let's hurry to the cafeteria on the sixth floor to find some food!"

"The cafeteria is on the sixth floor?" Tang Bing perked up at the news. Food was crucial. "But we should still be cautious. There might be zombies on the other floors. From what you've said, I'm guessing the zombies were once survivors who barricaded the second floor. They probably drank water contaminated with zombie blood, which turned them. Do you know how many survivors are in the building?"

Sun Meng shook her head vigorously. "I've been in this room since the day the zombies appeared and haven't left since! Oh, by the way, I'm Sun Meng, 21 years old, an intern nurse at this hospital, and a medical student."

"I'm Tang Bing, 22, just a construction worker who ended up here because of an injury."

"You're a year older than me, so I'll call you Brother Bing," Sun Meng proposed. "Brother Bing, I'm starving! Can we go find something to eat in the sixth-floor cafeteria?"

Hearing this, Tang Bing, who also had plans to gather food, nodded in agreement. "Sure, but stay close behind me and be extremely careful!"