9: A terrifying ordeal at the hospital!

Chapter 9: Terror in the Hospital, Mutant Hunting

The rhino tank's tracks rolled over the potholed streets, emitting a dull roar, while the smoothbore gun barrel on the turret glinted with a cold, hard metallic luster in the sunlight. Lin Zhou sat in the cockpit, his eyes fixed on the Radar screen; the Hospital's outline grew clearer on the map, and the red dots representing zombies were densely packed, more than three times as crowded as the area around the warehouse.

"A place like a Hospital has always been a zombie nest," Lin Zhou whispered to himself, controlling the tank to slow down. "Conscript, stay close to the tank, don't get separated."

"Yes, Sir!" the Conscript's voice came through the intercom, steady and powerful.

The tank slowly approached the Hospital's main gate. The rusty iron gates were tightly closed, covered in scratches and bloody handprints, and faint roars echoed from within. Lin Zhou's eyes sharpened as he aimed the turret at the iron gate and pressed the fire button without hesitation.

"Boom!"

The shell accurately hit the iron gate's lock, and the heavy gate instantly deformed, crashing inward. The moment the gate fell, over a dozen ordinary zombies roared and lunged out; they wore tattered white coats and patient gowns, covered in blood and filth, with dark green pus dripping from their fingers.

Lin Zhou didn't fire the cannon; instead, he steered the tank forward slowly, the tracks crushing the zombies in front. The ear-piercing sound of shattering bones was skin-crawling. The Conscript followed beside the tank, the sound of the AK47 ringing out repeatedly, scoring headshots and taking down the zombies that slipped through.

The tank drove into the Hospital lobby, and the sight before them was chilling. The registration desk was overturned, glass shards were scattered everywhere, and dark brown blood had coagulated on the floor. The walls were covered in scratches and blood splatters. A few zombies in nurse uniforms were crouched on the ground gnawing on something; hearing the noise, they snapped their heads around, their cloudy eyes staring intently at the tank.

"Clear the lobby," Lin Zhou barked. He rotated the tank's turret, and a shell whistled out, blowing those few zombies into fragments.

As the smoke cleared, Lin Zhou opened the hatch and jumped down, Fire Axe in hand, warily scanning his surroundings. The Hospital corridors were deep and dark, filled with a heavy stench of blood and disinfectant—the two mixing into a nauseating odor.

"The Radar shows a red dot with a very strong energy fluctuation on the second floor; it should be a Mutant," Lin Zhou said solemnly while looking at the Radar screen. "I'm going to the second floor. You hold the stairwell and don't let any zombies come up."

The Conscript nodded, walked to the stairwell with his AK47, and aimed at the dark corridor. Lin Zhou took a deep breath, gripped the Fire Axe, and walked toward the second floor step by step.

The stairwell was covered in dust and cobwebs, and the emergency lights on the walls flickered, making a buzzing sound. Just as Lin Zhou reached the corner of the second floor, a dark shadow suddenly pounced from the ceiling, moving as fast as a ghost.

Lin Zhou's pupils constricted. He dodged to the side and swung the Fire Axe, hitting the shadow's leg. With a "squelch," dark green pus splattered everywhere. The shadow let out a sharp roar and fell to the ground, revealing its true form.

This was a Creeper zombie. Its limbs were twisted and deformed, its joints bent backward like a spider's as it crouched on the ground. Its body was covered in a thin layer of bone armor, its head was flat, and its mouth was filled with serrated fangs. A pair of crimson eyes stared fixedly at Lin Zhou, radiating a violent light.

"Fast enough, but unfortunately, your defense is lacking," Lin Zhou's eyes sharpened. Instead of retreating, he advanced, the Fire Axe letting out a sharp whistle as it cleaved toward the Creeper's head.

The Creeper reacted extremely quickly, its limbs suddenly exerting force as it darted to the side, dodging the fatal blow. Its claws left deep marks on the floor as it lunged at Lin Zhou again, its sharp fangs aiming straight for his throat.

Lin Zhou dodged to the side and stabbed the Fire Axe into its abdomen. The Creeper roared in pain, its limbs scratching frantically. Three bloody gashes were torn into Lin Zhou's arm, burning with pain. He gritted his teeth and twisted the Fire Axe violently, instantly shredding the Creeper's abdomen as dark green pus gushed out.

[Ding! Killed Tier 1 Mutant (Creeper) ×1, gained 300 experience points. Current Level 3 (2040/2000) → Level 4]

[Free Attribute Points +10, Constitution +5, Strength +5, Spirit +0]

[Devoured Creeper bone armor metal, metal points +200. Current metal points: 3535.5]

A warm current surged through his limbs, and a cooling sensation came from the wound on his arm, significantly reducing the pain. Lin Zhou shook his arm and looked deep into the corridor. On the Radar screen, the red dot with the strong energy fluctuation was in the operating room ahead.

He gripped the Fire Axe and walked toward the operating room step by step. The door was slightly ajar, with low roars and the piercing sound of metal friction coming from inside. Lin Zhou gently pushed the door open, and a heavy stench of blood hit him.

In the operating room, a massive Butcher zombie stood with its back to him. It was a full three meters tall, its body covered in thick bone armor, and its arms had transformed into giant bone blades that were frantically hacking at the operating table. Medical instruments and rotting corpses were scattered on the table, and the blood on the floor had already solidified into black.

The Butcher's head turned slightly, revealing a face full of fangs. A flash of violence crossed its cloudy eyes as it roared and lunged at Lin Zhou, waving its bone blades. The blades sliced through the air with a sharp whistling sound, as if tearing the air apart.

Lin Zhou's pupils constricted. He immediately retreated while drawing the pistol from his waist and firing at the Butcher's eyes. The bullets hit one after another but were deflected by the bone armor with a series of "clangs."

"What thick skin!" Lin Zhou cursed under his breath, turned, and ran, while shouting into the intercom, "Conscript, support the second-floor operating room!"

The Butcher wasn't fast, but its strength was immense. With every step it took, the ground trembled slightly. As it swung its bone blades, deep cracks were carved into the walls, and debris fell. Lin Zhou circled the operating table to maneuver around it, his eyes fixed on its eyes—still the only weakness.

Just then, the Conscript's gunfire rang out. Bullets hit the Butcher's back repeatedly; although they caused no damage, they successfully drew its attention. The Butcher roared and turned toward the Conscript, its bone blade slashing out.

"Watch out!" Lin Zhou roared.

The Conscript immediately rolled away. The bone blade hit the floor, smashing a deep pit. Lin Zhou seized the opportunity and lunged forward like a cheetah, his Fire Axe held steady as he hacked fiercely at the Butcher's right eye.

"Squelch!"

The axe blade accurately pierced the eyeball, and dark green pus gushed out. The Butcher let out a deafening scream and waved its bone blades frantically. Lin Zhou dodged narrowly but was struck by its tail and thrown hard onto the ground.

"Die!"

Enduring the intense pain, Lin Zhou scrambled up and lunged again, stabbing the Fire Axe into the Butcher's other eye and thrusting it deep with all his might. The Butcher's struggles grew weaker, its massive body swayed, and it crashed to the ground.

[Ding! Killed Tier 1 Mutant (Butcher) ×1, gained 1000 experience points. Current Level 4 (3040/3000) → Level 5]

[Free Attribute Points +10, Constitution +5, Strength +5, Spirit +0]

[Devoured Butcher bone armor metal, metal points +800. Current metal points: 4335.5]

[Prompt: Killed a Butcher, obtained Bone Blade Shards, which can be used to strengthen melee weapons]

Lin Zhou panted heavily and pulled out the Fire Axe. Looking at the Bone Blade Shards on the ground, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes. He picked up the shards, and the system prompt immediately sounded in his mind: [Consume 100 metal points to fuse the Bone Blade Shards into the Fire Axe?]

"Fuse!"

[Fusion successful! Fire Axe sharpness +20, durability +50, comes with an armor-piercing effect]

Lin Zhou swung the Fire Axe, feeling that it felt even lighter. A faint cold light shimmered on the blade, radiating a heart-stopping aura. He turned to the Conscript and asked, "Are you injured?"

"No, Sir!" The Conscript straightened his back, his eyes full of admiration.

Lin Zhou nodded and began clearing the operating room. He found many medicines in the cabinets, including antibiotics, hemostatic drugs, and bandages, as well as several discarded medical instruments. The copper coils and metal parts inside were good resources.

[Devoured medical instrument metal parts, metal points +300. Current metal points: 4535.5]

Just then, Su Mei's voice came through the intercom: "Lin Zhou, the Hardware Store has been cleared, and metal resources are abundant. Also, we found over a dozen survivors in the basement of the Hardware Store, all nearby residents."

Lin Zhou was delighted: "That's great! Take the survivors back to the base and stay safe. I've almost finished clearing the zombies at the Hospital here and will be back soon."

He hung up the intercom and looked out the Hospital window. Sunlight was shining through the broken glass, falling on the Butcher's corpse. On the Radar screen, there were very few zombie red dots left in the Hospital.

Lin Zhou gripped the Fire Axe and turned toward the stairwell.

The terrifying battle at the Hospital was over, but he knew this was just another small battle on the road to survival in the apocalypse. Greater challenges were still ahead. And with the addition of survivors, their Steel Base would also welcome new opportunities for development.