The Pathogen

Zhou Zhi watched with his own eyes as the expressions on Yu Jinhai and Lin Rui's faces shifted.

More importantly, Zhou Zhi was now certain that these two so-called Plague Exterminators had no idea what had caused their companion's death.

The information that had appeared in his mind—visible only to him—what was it? A system?

The second question was the reason for the change in their expressions, which Zhou Zhi understood well.

The blade wound that had appeared on their companion Zhu Xie was the biggest problem.

One of the five-man team was dead, but what about the other two?

Combined with the captain whom Lin Rui and the others trusted, and the strange noises from the communicator earlier, even an ordinary person like Lei Heng knew that something had gone wrong.

There was another possibility.

That possibility was even more terrifying.

Zhou Zhi lowered his head slightly.

[Formal-grade Plague Exterminator].

If the problem lay with that person, things would be troublesome.

Now, he had to observe these two medical students.

Zhou Zhi knew very well that surviving in an epidemic zone teeming with disease was extremely difficult on his own.

He needed to utilize the strength of these people.

"Xie is dead."

Yu Jinhai remained silent, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade.

He was quiet for a moment.

"What do we do now? Can we still contact the captain?"

He directed the question at Lin Rui, but the woman shook her head.

While the ordinary people might not know, Yu Jinhai was well aware.

The Epidemic War Corps from Pingchang had no idea when they would return.

As time passed and the disease deepened, even more terrifying monsters would be born within the epidemic zone.

There was simply no time to wait or linger in survival.

"We must find the captain, and... that [Doctor Qiu]."

Yu Jinhai reined in his emotions.

He still had one hope.

Even if that [Doctor Qiu] was problematic, and the captain had already run into trouble, it didn't matter.

[Chen Yao] was here; her brother, that person, would come.

As long as they held out until that person arrived, an incident of this level could be easily resolved.

That person, known as [In-Situ Tremor] Zhaoxing!

"Move!"

"You! Go to the front."

Yu Jinhai didn't even remember Zhou Zhi's name, even though he had already introduced himself.

But to him, this ordinary person who had mastered a bit of spiritual power was of no use at all.

People like this were everywhere in Pingchang.

"And you!"

Yu Jinhai pointed at Lei Heng next.

Lei Heng's face turned ghastly pale.

But he had no choice.

"Let's go."

Zhou Zhi walked past him.

Something seemed to be writhing in the shadows along Lei Heng's spine.

Zhou Zhi frowned slightly.

He stepped onto the stairs.

"And you lot!"

Yu Jinhai was no longer pretending.

He simply wanted to survive, and he needed people to test the waters for him.

He was a Plague Exterminator seed with a bright future, the hope of Xuanyuan, and he absolutely could not die here.

The death of Zhu Xie had completely shifted Yu Jinhai's mindset.

The young girl before him was even more beautiful and exquisite than Di Qiuyan, whom he had seen when he was a volunteer at a medical summit and who was also one of the Seven Xuanyuan Stars.

But no matter how beautiful, in the face of life and death, she was nothing more than bait.

"If you want to survive, from now on, you will listen to everything I say."

Yu Jinhai's voice was cold.

Zhou Zhi nodded slowly from the front.

The approach was correct.

However, this guy's competence might not necessarily support his ideas.

"Two students, one arrogant and volatile."

"One ordinary and hesitant."

In his previous life, Zhou Zhi had seen too many people like this.

Recalling the past, his head throbbed, and a flash of gloom crossed his eyes.

Click.

The scenery on the second floor was even darker than on the first.

The smell of disinfectant in the air was also more pungent.

It had become irritating.

[Disinfected environment: The disease index in this area is suppressed.]

[Irritation intensified: Prolonged exposure to this area may lead to dizziness, coughing, and difficulty breathing.]

The messages refreshed once more, but Zhou Zhi was already unfazed.

In the deep corridor of the second floor of Blue Stone Town Central Hospital, there was nothing.

Debris on the floor and curtains occasionally stirred by the wind looked like flickering shadows.

Seeing no immediate danger, Yu Jinhai stepped up cautiously.

There was no plague here; just like before, this area had been cleared.

But there were no corpses, so it was impossible to determine who had done the cleaning.

"Second-floor facility map..."

A metal sign was placed in the most conspicuous spot, informing travelers where to go next.

"The third floor is the director's office, which is also his operating room, but we have to pass through this corridor."

Lin Rui held the communicator in her hand and looked ahead.

"Did you sense any spiritual energy?"

"No, nothing at all. At least, it looks safe for now."

Yu Jinhai said coldly.

"Still, we need someone to go ahead and scout the path."

Yu Jinhai scanned the remaining people.

"I'll go," Xia Yu suddenly spoke up. "I can do something."

Yu Jinhai paused for a moment, feeling a bit more favorably toward this young girl, though only slightly.

"You go."

Yu Jinhai pointed to Xiao Nan standing nearby.

Xiao Nan's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

He looked at Xia Yu, somewhat at a loss.

Zhou Zhi was actually a bit surprised that Yu Jinhai hadn't chosen him this time, though he could slightly understand why.

Since there had been no danger the previous few times, Xiao Nan calmed his nerves.

Then, he walked to the front of the group.

Tap, tap.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the quiet space.

It made the already narrow hospital corridor seem even more eerie.

"It's okay, it's okay..."

Xiao Nan took deep breaths while slowly walking forward.

On both sides were windows, and on the windows were grotesque mucus handprints.

They signaled that many Mucus Men had once existed here.

Outside the windows, it remained foggy, and almost nothing could be seen.

"Still no sign of danger?"

Yu Jinhai watched the back ahead of him.

Crackle, crackle.

The static of an electric current sounded.

Lin Rui's expression shifted slightly.

She gripped the communicator in her hand.

"Up ahead..."

"Right..."

"Ahead..."

The sounds were impossible to hear clearly.

The captain's voice rang out once more.

Achoo.

This time, Zhou Zhi heard it clearly: in the background of the so-called captain's voice, someone was sneezing.

It seemed there was more than one person.

"This..."

Lin Rui had never seen anything so bizarre; she was on the verge of panic.

Up ahead, Xiao Nan was still feeling relieved that there didn't seem to be any problems.

At the end of the corridor.

A large door swung open.

A strange figure, nearly two and a half meters tall, reached almost to the ceiling.

The aura it exuded was absolutely not human.

Everyone saw that terrifying shadow.

An oppressive red-letter message surfaced before Zhou Zhi's eyes.

[Warning. Warning.]

[Pathogen detected.]

[Environmental shift occurring.]

[Environment is undergoing medium-level infection.]

[Remaining in this environment for a short period will significantly increase the Pathogen Index.]

Xiao Nan could not believe what was happening before his eyes.

Not until he was hoisted high into the air by one leg.

Then, he was slammed against the floor.

His body separated from his gaunt legs, and blood gushed forth.

ROAR!!!!!