A Trip to the Hospital

Of the three, only Zhang Yi was familiar with the county town, so he explained where the county hospital, the traditional Chinese medicine hospital, and the maternal and child health hospital were located. As for the newly established private hospitals, he knew nothing about them either, so he could only skip those.

"Although the outpatient pharmacy has a fairly complete range of medicines, it's in the new town, just like the traditional Chinese medicine hospital. There's a lot of foot traffic there, so it isn't a good choice. But this old-town inpatient department of the county hospital-you said obstetrics and surgery are both here, so the pharmacy should carry medicines more specifically suited to those departments. Even if there were a lot of inpatients when the apocalypse struck, they should still be easier to deal with than the outpatient crowds. I suggest we go here," Li Muran said after hearing Zhang Yi's description. She knew a fair amount about hospitals.

Ziyun County was not wealthy to begin with, so its county hospital could hardly be very large, and neither internal medicine nor surgery was divided into subspecialties. According to Zhang Yi, the old hospital was just a small three-story building, so even if it really was full of patients, their numbers would still be very limited.

"There's usually a floor plan showing the various departments at the hospital entrance or in the first-floor lobby. Check it first when you go in." After learning that Zhang Yi did not know the exact locations of the pharmacy and the surgical department, Li Muran could only tell the two of them this. "Our targets are the pharmacy and the operating rooms." At this, she frowned and looked at Zhang Yi. "Could someone have been there already?"

Zhang Yi shook his head. "As far as I know, the ability users haven't cleared the old town." In their eyes, spending their energy here was not worth much. As for ordinary people, that went without saying. If the vanguard team had not organized yesterday's operation, no one would have thought of venturing this far in.

"Maybe we can find a working vehicle here." Nan Shao, who had been quietly listening to them, suddenly spoke.

"That's very possible." Li Muran glanced at him. "They'd definitely need an ambulance to transfer patients from the outpatient department to the inpatient department." There was another point she left unsaid: at large hospitals, quite a few doctors drove their own cars to work. Perhaps the doctors at a county hospital did not earn enough for that, but the hospital director and senior department heads might well be able to afford it.

"Let's hope we're lucky enough." Zhang Yi smiled, but his mind was racing as he considered where else in the old town they might find a vehicle besides the old hospital.

The three had already eaten a hasty meal in the vehicle, but because they did not want to draw anyone's attention, they had waited until they got out to discuss their plan. Once they had decided where to go, they wasted no more time. With Zhang Yi leading the way, they hurried toward their destination.

The old hospital's main entrance was next to the school. After yesterday's events, that road was probably already packed with zombies. After a brief moment's thought, Zhang Yi chose to enter through the back gate. Old neighborhoods generally had winding streets and passages leading everywhere, and only someone like Zhang Yi, who had grown up here, could navigate smoothly between them. Sometimes, to bypass a stretch of road he wanted to avoid, he would even climb over someone's wall or roof. Thus, even when they occasionally encountered groups of zombies, they could quickly shake them off. As for lone stragglers, Nan Shao naturally dealt with each in a single swing of his pickaxe.

They reached the hospital's back gate fairly smoothly. It was a small iron gate set into the perimeter wall. It would not budge when pushed, so it was probably locked from the inside. The wall was about two meters high, built of concrete bricks, and they could not see what lay beyond it.

"Nan Shao, give me a boost." Zhang Yi found a spot where the ground was higher, had Li Muran hold his steel rebar, and spoke to Nan Shao. In the past, he would not have needed help with a height like this. With just a couple of running steps, he could catch the top of the wall and vault over, but his leg was no good now, so he had to rely on help.

Nan Shao glanced at him, thought for a moment, then set his pickaxe on the ground and crouched halfway down, interlacing his fingers. "Step up."

Zhang Yi reached up and gripped the wall, planted his left foot on Nan Shao's hands, and pushed off the ground with his right. As Nan Shao thrust his hands upward, he used the boost to spring up and straddle the wall.

"Nice moves," Nan Shao said with a smile. He stepped back two paces, took a running start, and climbed up as well.

Zhang Yi was a little surprised that he had followed him up, but seeing no zombies in the rear courtyard, he said nothing more. He took the rebar Li Muran passed up, then jumped down. His foot did not land securely, so he rolled on the ground to absorb the impact without jarring his injured leg. By the time he stood up, Nan Shao was already beside him.

The rear courtyard was small, piled with discarded hospital beds, IV stands, and miscellaneous items such as brooms and shovels. The door leading to the front was also tightly shut, presumably explaining why there were no zombies in the courtyard. The small gate in the perimeter wall was secured with a large old Plum Blossom iron padlock. Zhang Yi slipped the rebar through its shackle and pried hard, breaking it open and letting Li Muran in.

The sounds of glass being struck and scraped came from above. They looked up and only then noticed scattered zombies pressing against the windows on the second and third floors, their faces hideous and revolting. Their cloudy eyes and rotting faces were lifeless, but their drooling mouths, rasping breaths, and arms waving, pounding, and clawing at the windows conveyed their excitement and hunger for fresh food. The first floor, by contrast, was quiet. Only in a ward at the corner was there a pregnant zombie with a swollen belly, scraping her nails against the glass with a squeal that raised goosebumps. From this, they could infer that the first floor might be the obstetrics and gynecology department.

"Hurry and get the door open! The windows are about to break!" Li Muran urged. Before she had finished speaking, a sharp crash rang out. A window sash, glass and all, fell and smashed against the ground, its fragments reflecting the sunlight with a dazzling glare that hurt their eyes. Then came the dull thud of something heavy hitting the ground. One of the zombies that had been crowded behind the window had tumbled out. Since it landed headfirst, it kicked its legs twice and went still.

Before Zhang Yi and the others could breathe a sigh of relief, two more thuds followed as another two zombies fell. This time, they were not as lucky as before. One zombie had only broken an arm, while the other had smashed its face flat, but both could still get up and walk toward the three of them. At this sight, the zombies upstairs grew even more frenzied, and several more panes shattered with a series of cracks.