Chapter Two: Contamination

Chapter Two: Contamination (Part Two)

Fang Qiong slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a halt amidst a cloud of dust. With a somber expression, she walked over to Xiao Ran and forcefully tore open his shirt.

The zombie's claws had left a long, commemorative mark diagonally across Xiao Ran's chest. While the wound wasn't deep and had stopped bleeding, the skin around it had turned a dreadful shade of purple, spreading outward.

Fang Qiong took a deep breath. Similar incidents had occurred within the team several times before, and there was currently no method to save those infected. Each outcome ended the same. She drew out her .54 caliber pistol and pressed it against Xiao Ran's forehead. Xiao Ran closed his eyes in despair, awaiting the inevitable shot. This process had occurred over a dozen times within the team, but he hadn't expected it to be his turn today. Despite struggling to survive for over a year, he couldn't escape the fate of becoming a zombie.

After much hesitation, Fang Qiong couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger. She lowered the gun, exhaling heavily. "Get out of the car. I can't help you. Whether you live or die is up to fate."

Xiao Ran let out a bitter laugh. Fang Qiong had already done him a favor by not killing him. He couldn't burden everyone further. Struggling to stand, he staggered out of the van, while others around him kept their distance as if avoiding a plague.

Fang Qiong turned away, unable to bear looking at him any longer. Hastily, she ran into the driver's seat. With the roar of the engine, the car vanished from Xiao Ran's sight in a cloud of dust.

Xiao Ran didn't know what to do next or where to go. With each person's constitution differing, the time it took for them to turn into a zombie varied. However, he had heard from other survivor groups that as long as one survived the 8-hour virus incubation period, the body would produce antibodies against the virus. Not only would they not turn into a zombie, but their physical fitness would also greatly improve. Yet, the probability of this happening was exceedingly low.

As dusk fell, the temperature difference between day and night in Z Province was significant. The nighttime cold air was enough to dispel any warmth from a person's body. However, Xiao Ran felt no chill whatsoever. His body burned with an unusual heat, his tattered shirt drenched in sweat. He felt his mind growing foggy, longing for sleep. But Xiao Ran knew he couldn't afford to sleep. If he lost consciousness, he would undoubtedly turn into a zombie. Driven by a strong will to survive, Xiao Ran would periodically use a small knife to inflict pain on his arm, keeping himself awake. He wanted to live; he didn't want to become a zombie.

Time passed, though how much, Xiao Ran couldn't tell. He stumbled along the rural path, his left arm covered in crisscrossing wounds from the knife. The fresh blood dripped from the cuts, resembling the mouths of children, yet Xiao Ran paid them no mind. The T-virus had robbed him of most of his cognitive abilities. Right now, his sole thought was to find water to alleviate the uncomfortable heat.

The small river by the roadside had long dried up, the land cracked from lack of irrigation. Xiao Ran had walked for a long time without encountering even a drop of water.

Suddenly, a charred black Audi A6 appeared before Xiao Ran's eyes. Its bumper was severely deformed, and a nearby electric pole stood askew, with a broken wire hanging down, crackling and sparking intermittently. It seemed the Audi A6 had veered off course to avoid something, leading to a collision with the electric pole, causing the vehicle to explode.

Not far from the car lay the body of a man in a white coat, his neck pierced by a slender glass shard, which seemed to be the cause of his demise. It was likely that the man was fatally wounded by the exploding glass fragment while fleeing the burning car. His face had been ravaged by nearby wild dogs, making it impossible to discern his original appearance. However, his graying hair indicated he was at least sixty years old. Judging by the advanced stage of decomposition, he had been dead for quite some time.

In this chaotic society, filled with zombies and mutated creatures, Xiao Ran had seen such scenes of corpses lying in the wilderness many times before. He had long grown numb to the gruesome sight; the terrifying corpses didn't evoke fear or panic in him. His only hope was to find water on the corpse, but after enduring the stench and searching thoroughly, he was thoroughly disappointed. There was no container holding water to be found.

After an unsuccessful search for water, Xiao Ran's attention was drawn to a box beneath the body. It was a small square box about the size of a handbag, with a thin steel chain attached to the right hand of the corpse. It seemed this item was of great importance to him. With some curiosity, Xiao Ran cautiously opened the box, and to his surprise, a rush of cold white mist greeted him. It was a miniature electric cooler.

After the cold dissipated, a test tube filled with pale blue liquid appeared before Xiao Ran's eyes. He picked up the test tube, feeling a chill spreading throughout his body upon contact with the glass. Despite his hesitation, Xiao Ran unscrewed the tube's cap without reservation, tilting his head back. Under the effect of gravity, every drop of the blue liquid poured into Xiao Ran's wide-open mouth.

Normally, the cautious and skeptical Xiao Ran would never do such a foolish thing as drinking an unknown liquid. But now, his mind was occupied by one thought: finding anything to drink. Moreover, this substance resembled the blueberry juice he had consumed before.

The sensation as the liquid flowed down Xiao Ran's throat was like plunging into icy waters, bone-chilling and exhilarating. It felt as if he had swallowed a piece of millennium-old ice from a snowy mountain. A coldness spread from his stomach through his veins, as if countless icy serpents were wriggling within him.

However, this pleasant sensation didn't last long. Suddenly, a searing pain replaced the earlier chill, as if he hadn't ingested cold water but scorching lava.

"Hot, hot! It burns!" The intense burning sensation made Xiao Ran feel suffocated. He felt as though his entire body was ablaze, like a piece of dough being tossed and roasted in a scalding oil pan until it was completely charred.