Chapter 43: The Fading City
(Morning)
The waiter was surprised to see a boy open the door today. He couldn’t help but peek inside the room.
The TV in the living room was playing the morning news at a low volume. Ye Nianchu stepped out of the room and turned up the volume.
Qin Mubai’s slender figure partially blocked the view from outside the door. In the soft sunlight, his cold gaze was striking.
The waiter felt a chill run down his spine. He shivered and stood there with his mouth open, unable to speak for a moment.
He had only glanced inside for less than a second, but it was enough to frighten him.
"What's wrong?" Ye Nianchu asked, noticing his reaction.
"Sister, breakfast has arrived," Qin Mubai said calmly.
Though his voice was gentle, his demeanor was intense.
The waiter looked at the closed door, stunned. In his job, he had seen many people being affectionate, but he had never encountered anyone with such a chilling presence.
Who had this wealthy lady angered?
---
[Recently, the number of people with similar symptoms in our city has been rising. The public is advised to visit the city hospital if they experience these symptoms.
Early symptoms are similar to a common cold, including coughing, sneezing, and loss of appetite. As the illness progresses, symptoms like skin ulcers, hair loss, and aggressive behavior may appear.]
The zombie virus had been quietly spreading.
People who died on the streets yesterday would soon turn into zombies. Those still alive would experience a longer mutation period once infected.
The zombies came from the lab, but how were ordinary people getting infected? The chance of them contacting the lab was almost zero.
What was the route of transmission?
Air, food, water?
Ye Nianchu grabbed her laptop, realizing that the TV didn’t offer much useful information, and decided to investigate further.
The locations of the first symptomatic patients and the basic information of those currently infected at the hospital were all in the hospital’s database.
Hacking into the hospital’s system was not too difficult.
Ye Nianchu finished typing and turned the laptop toward Qin Mubai.
On the first day of the outbreak, some people had already shown early symptoms, but it wasn’t taken seriously then, as many thought it was just a cold.
The first patients lived near that park, and now the infection had spread to two-thirds of the city, although this was still a conservative estimate.
Since last night, the number of infected people had surged rapidly, causing chaos in hospitals.
No one knew how many infected people hadn’t gone to the hospital yet.
"Are you worried about how the virus spreads?" Qin Mubai asked.
He was also investigating the matter, but there were no leads yet.
"Yes, I plan to stock up on water, food, and protective masks as soon as possible."
It’s better to have supplies and not need them than to need them and not have them.
Ye Nianchu picked up her phone to place an order. With the zombie virus spreading, money would soon lose its value, and supplies would become crucial.
She had just finished paying when an urgent notice interrupted the TV program:
To prevent further spread of the virus, the Atizhou Emergency Council has decided to suspend all external traffic in the city starting early today.
The TV also warned everyone not to panic and to avoid going out as much as possible.
If you do go out, take precautions and stay away from any people or animals that seem dangerous.
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