Picking Up Trash, Picking Up Trash

To be honest... the hand holding my cigarette had already begun to tremble, and the thought of leaving that I had originally intended to act on was almost dispelled in that instant.

"What the... F***! What kind of disgusting world is this?!"

I cursed viciously, but I didn't know what I should be angry at.

The monster?

I lowered my head and glanced at the monster. I thought that if it still had its memories, it definitely wouldn't want to become a monster like this.

The virus?

They were merely a group of mindless creatures, doing what instinct told them to do.

I took a deep drag and felt a burning rush of relief spread through my lungs. Then I fiercely tossed the cigarette butt onto the ground and raised my foot to grind it out before turning around and heading outside.

As for the mess filling the room, I would just leave it as it was...

If I were that monster, I would beg someone to kill me. Thinking about it that way, if that person still had any sanity left, they should think the same way, right?

Perhaps... death was their best possible fate.

"You monsters!"

I clenched my trembling fist and forcibly suppressed the disgust and fear rising inside me. After taking a deep breath, I finally walked into... the corridor.

I had come here several times before, but I had always been accompanying someone else. Back then, the city hospital was crowded, yet the floors were always spotless. But now...

The floor was a complete mess. Several patches of blood had dried into black stains, and a few carts had toppled over. There were even several bags of injection fluid lying on the ground...

"Grrrr..."

That was the sound of my stomach, but it still startled me. At the same time, I thought about how, if it made a sound while I was hiding from Zombies or monsters...

"Then I'd definitely be dead..." I rubbed my smooth lower abdomen. Tsk, tsk, tsk! I had to admit, my current body was far better than a model's.

Ahem...

Stop! Was I fantasizing about my own body because the stress of suddenly waking up in this awful era had become too much?

As I thought this, the corner of my eye suddenly caught sight of those bags of injection fluid...

"Could it be..."

In an instant, I suddenly thought of something. What if... that thing was inside them?!

I walked over in a few steps. The soles of my sneakers scraped across the tiled floor, making a squeaking sound. Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any Zombies on this floor.

Or perhaps even if there had been, the green monster had already dealt with them.

I squatted down and picked up one of the bags, turning it over for a closer look. It was labeled...

"Glucose Injection."

Just as I thought! Excellent! And all of these bags were unused. I hurriedly stood up and began gathering them.

After picking them all up, I looked at the several doors nearby. Some were closed, while others stood open. From behind the closed doors, I could clearly hear strange noises. Judging by the looks of it, those were Zombies that didn't dare come out and had been trapped inside the rooms.

I casually chose an empty room and walked inside. Hmm... it was very clean. The room wasn't particularly messy, so it looked as though no one had been living there before the apocalypse broke out.

Or perhaps they had fled before the outbreak. Even the beds were neatly made at the headboards.

I found the hospital bed closest to the door and placed the bags of 'Glucose Injection' on its white sheet.

There were seven bags in total. At least I wouldn't have to worry too much about my food for the immediate future.

Besides... I had also found a scalpel. Although it didn't look very big, its sharpness and toughness were beyond imagination. It was also easy to carry, so it would definitely come in handy many times in the future.

As for scissors and such, I decided against them. Although they would be convenient at certain times, they were difficult to carry and weren't as versatile as a small knife, so I abandoned the idea.

I picked up a bag of glucose and wiped off the dust on it. Then I gently dragged the scalpel across the bag, instantly slicing a long, clean opening into it.

I hurriedly brought my mouth to it and began sucking it down in great gulps.

I had to admit... this glucose really did taste a little sweet. It wasn't cloying, and it was quite refreshing.

"Gulp... gulp... gulp..."

The little bag wasn't very large, holding roughly three hundred milliliters of injection fluid—about half a bottle of soda. It was flat, with no carbonation, basically like sugar water, and I finished it in just two or three gulps.

"Mm... at least I can fill my stomach a little now."

I licked the clear liquid from my lips and nodded in satisfaction. Then I tossed the empty bag aside and looked down at the six bags that remained.

"It's not easy to carry these... How should I take them with me?"

I suddenly remembered seeing a small women's shoulder bag when I had changed clothes in that room. It was small, but if I squeezed things in, it should be able to hold them.

I acted as soon as I had the thought and didn't hesitate. I walked back to that room and took the small bag out of the wardrobe. It was a shoulder bag containing a wallet, some cosmetics, a small mirror, a handkerchief...

"A handkerchief?!"

The instant I saw the handkerchief, I couldn't help laughing. My face was covered in blood at that moment, and if the color were disregarded, the sight was actually rather comical. As I thought this, I prepared to wipe my face with the handkerchief.

"There are even wet wipes!!"

Fantastic! I had actually found a pack of wet wipes. I hurriedly opened them and wiped the green and red blood off my face, though some dried blood remained at the roots of my hair. There was nothing I could do about that.

Just now, when I was fighting the green monster... Fine, I really was terrible at naming things.

But simple and straightforward was best, so from now on, I would call that thing the Green Monster!

During my fight with the Green Monster, the back of my head had slammed into the wall. Although it hadn't damaged the bone, it had definitely broken the skin. The wound probably wasn't very large...

I reached up and touched it, but...

"It doesn't hurt? It's gone??"

I was shocked and touched the spot again, carefully pressing it up and down. Only then did I confirm it.

"It's really... gone! Could this... also be related to me becoming like this?"

Chapter Ten: Picking Up Trash, Picking Up Trash

The wound was gone, but the blood on my scalp remained. I scratched at it with my fingers, picking off the dried blood. Then I shook my head, and a refreshing coolness instantly washed over me.

"The strange speed at which my hair is growing... and this incredible healing speed... Could it be that after being bitten by that thing, I also underwent some kind of mutation?"

I asked myself and answered myself.

"Looks like... that must be it. And perhaps the reason I became like this is also related to it. Could this virus have changed my genes?"

Perhaps that was the case, but the odds of it happening were far too small. Maybe... I was simply very lucky. Only my XY genes had been altered, rather than some other part of me.

While stuffing the glucose into the bag, I rubbed my head and frowned in thought.

My emergency food supply was secured, but it could only be used temporarily. Long-term consumption of glucose would lead to all sorts of unforeseen problems. After all, humans weren't creatures that could survive on sugar alone.

At the very least, I wanted to eat something else now.

And the world was always full of such coincidences. Just as I happened to glance into one of the rooms with a closed door, I suddenly saw that one of the hospital rooms actually contained a great deal of snack food!

It was all right there!

Ham sausages... grilled sausages... all of them sealed!

There were even potato chips! Wow! There were actually Master Kang instant noodles too!!

When I thought about how I hadn't eaten anything for a month, then looked at the ham sausages and instant noodles inside, my mouth... naturally began to water.

First of all, I wasn't a glutton! Absolutely not.

Thinking of Master Kang instant noodles and Jinluo Wang sausages, my mind once again conjured up images of boiled fish... Although the things were completely unrelated, there was nothing I could do about it. Who was to blame for my imagination being so wild?

Boiled fish... crystal pork knuckle... braised beef... chicken stewed with mushrooms...