The Gun Shop

After surveying the current patients, he chose to abandon the cerebral palsy and vegetative state cases—such patients couldn't survive in this world.

By that logic, Rick, who had been unconscious in his hospital bed for a month and a half, should have been treated the same way. But Doctor Leon knew he was one of the main characters of this world and would wake up soon.

Besides, someone would pay for the supplies wasted on him.

As for Miss Kevira, she surprised him. He hadn't expected this woman to still be in the hospital.

He pushed open the door to Kevira's room. A woman with fiery red hair lay on the bed, dressed in a blue hospital gown, a blanket covering her chest. Her limbs were wrapped in thick bandages and suspended by four metal poles attached to the bed, making her look like a flipped-over turtle.

Hearing the door, she turned her head and saw Leon enter. A faint smirk tugged at the corner of her pretty lips as she spoke with a hint of disappointment:

"So it's you, Dr. Castor. With all the gunfire, I thought the rescue team had finally arrived."

Leon looked at her gaunt face, thinned by hunger, and shook his head with some regret.

From what he remembered, this girl was only in her twenties, a rich heiress who loved extreme sports—street racing, hunting, mountain climbing, wilderness survival.

A few days before the disaster, she'd been racing with a group of underground drivers. Her sports car malfunctioned, turning a multi-million-dollar vehicle into scrap metal. The girl was lucky to survive, but all four of her limbs were severely fractured.

The original Doctor Leon had been her attending physician. They'd chatted a few times and were somewhat familiar. He'd assumed Kevira had already been transferred to another hospital.

When she first arrived, she'd had two bodyguards and two professional caretakers with her—clearly not the type to stay in a county hospital.

Then Leon's parents had their accident, and he never came back to the hospital.

It seemed the disaster had struck too fast. Even the rich could only go with the flow.

Leon approached Kevira, checking her recovery as he spoke:

"There's no rescue team. No government, no military. It's like those apocalypse games you young people play—zombies have destroyed all order. All that's left are survivors struggling to stay alive."

After a quick examination, he looked into her calm eyes and continued:

"Your fractures have regressed. With the long-term lack of nutrition, it'll take at least two to three months to recover—and that's assuming ample supplies."

"In this world, most people have no stable shelter and can barely save themselves. No one's going to take in a cripple who needs months of care and can't even move without help."

"Anything you want to say, Miss Kevira?"

The girl was silent for nearly a minute. Then she lifted her head and met Leon's eyes. Her sky-blue gaze held neither panic nor pleading. In a very steady voice, she said:

"Mr. Castor, you should save me. I'm a very capable person. My value is higher than ten ordinary people."

"I'm an expert hunter. I'm a good shot, skilled at stealth, and I know all kinds of traps and firearms. I've also trained in freestyle fighting. If my body were intact, my combat ability wouldn't be worse than a special forces soldier's."

"Besides, you must be short on guns, right? As a firearms enthusiast, I've been to many gun shops. I know their locations, and I even know some illegal modification shops. There's one nearby."

When Leon heard that she knew the locations of many gun shops, he couldn't help raising an eyebrow. Kevira caught the change in his expression, a faint smile curling at her lips as she continued:

"As a child from a wealthy family, I can drive a yacht, fly a private plane, and my street racing skills aren't worse than a professional driver's."

"And I'm pretty, aren't I?"

"If you think I'm capable enough, I wouldn't mind becoming your partner. In an apocalypse, having a doctor as a partner is a very safe thing, isn't it?"

After she finished speaking, she bit her lip and stared intently at Leon with her glistening sky-blue eyes.

"If you save me, Dr. Castor, no matter what happens, I will never betray you first."

After hearing her first point, Leon had already decided to take her in. He met her gaze with his deep, emerald-green eyes, like swirling whirlpools, a grin spreading across his face as his voice dropped low and rich.

"Then I look forward to seeing what you can do, girl."

A few minutes later, Leon carried Kevira in his arms down to the hospital's first-floor lobby. After brief introductions, he settled her into a wheelchair.

After everyone enjoyed a hearty lunch brought from the base, Leon gave new orders. He would take Daryl's squad with him to search a gun shop about five kilometers away. The other seven would continue moving supplies from the hospital.

They would rendezvous at dusk with whatever he'd scavenged.

The workers naturally dared not object to the boss's orders, nodding in agreement.

After instructing Old Merle to keep everyone safe, Leon got into his modified heavy jeep, with Kevira in the passenger seat, and led a heavy truck to the location the girl had provided.

The gun shop Kevira pointed out was about eight kilometers from King County's town center, in a relatively desolate area. There were no small shops nearby—just a small chain supermarket and some ordinary houses.

When Leon and his group arrived, the situation wasn't good. The gun shop's door was locked tight, and fifty or sixty zombies wandered on the road in front. Near the small supermarket not far away, another group of forty to fifty zombies milled about.

If they made any noise, they'd likely draw over a hundred zombies at once.

With only four combatants and one cripple, and no heavy weapons, if they got surrounded by a massive horde, no one would survive.

At a time like this, Leon wasn't about to play the hero. If he charged in with his strength, he might kill a dozen or so before being overwhelmed by dozens of zombies and torn to pieces.

His mind raced. Since a direct fight was out of the question, he'd have to lure the enemy away. He thought of a few plans, but all were rejected as too risky.

Just then, Daryl walked up to him and said:

"Boss, I saw some big speakers in the supermarket. How about I sneak over, use them to draw the zombies away, and you guys make the most of the time to clean out the gun shop?"

Leon turned and saw the firm, fearless look in Daryl's eyes. He thought for a dozen seconds, then said:

"Alright, but once you're inside the supermarket, don't rush to get the speakers. First, find the back door and make sure you have an escape route. Then move."

"We'll wait for you in the vehicles after we finish loading. If you run into trouble, contact us on the radio."

He patted Daryl on the shoulder and said:

"Don't be reckless. Be careful. We know where the gun shop is now—we can come back anytime. Your safety is what matters most."

Daryl nodded and said:

"Got it, boss. I'll be careful."