It was Shen Wanqing who brought the medicine.
The wound on her left arm was not healing properly – Lu Chen’s water could rinse and reduce the swelling, but it couldn’t penetrate the dead thread stuck in the flesh.
She needed instruments, sutures and antibiotics.
“Turn left at the intersection ahead.
There’s a chain pharmacy there.” She said.
“Further ahead is a convenience store.
Both of them need to be taken.”
The three of them left through the fog.
Su Wanran led the way, Lu Chen in the middle, and Shen Wanqing at the back.
The rolling shutter door of the pharmacy had been pried open halfway.
Inside the glass door, it was pitch black.
Lu Chen squeezed in sideways, his feet碾过 something.
Looking down, he saw – a pile of empty medicine boxes, which had been rummaged through but not taken away.
The person who did the rummaging wasn’t in a hurry.
They laid out and picked the items one by one.
“Someone has been here.” He said.
Shen Wanqing wasn’t willing to give up and went to the back storage area.
From the bottom of the last overturned storage box, she retrieved half a box of cefazolin, two packs of suturing thread, and a bottle of expired anesthetic.
She put these in her pocket, as if they were gold.
The convenience store was even worse.
The shelves were so empty that one could see one’s own shadow.
Not a single bag of spicy snacks remained.
Lu Chen felt under the cash register and found two boxes of unopened mineral water – hidden very deep, as if someone was preparing to retrieve them later.
He just lifted the water out when a soft sound was heard from behind the shelves.
Su Wan’s gun muzzle immediately turned around.
Slowly, a person stood up in the shadows.
About forty years old, emaciated beyond recognition, clutching a fruit knife, trembling violently.
“Stop the robbery…” the man said in a hoarse voice.
“There are children down there.
Please, don’t rob the water.”
Lu Chen didn’t move.
He glanced at the half-open maintenance hatch under the cash register – a dark hole, with breathing sounds coming from inside, more than one.
“Just you?” Su Wan asked.
“They are all hiding in the underground garage.
They have been looking for food above for these few days.”
Shen Wanqing crouched down and showed the half-box of cefazolin to her.
“We won’t rob.
The medicine for water – do any of you have injuries?
The kind of injuries from being bitten?”
The man’s face turned pale in an instant.
He opened his mouth, his gaze drifting towards the maintenance hatch.
Just this moment, all three people saw it.
Suddenly, from the depths of the hole, a very soft, uncontrollable cough was heard.
Not a human cough – it was like a wind blowing through the throat, “Hoo.”
Su Wan raised her hand and aimed the gun at the dark hole.
There was a burst of noise from inside, mixed with the cries of children and a woman’s shrill plea: “He is still burning!
He hasn’t changed!
Don’t kill him -”
“You,” Su Wan’s voice was calm, “How many people with injuries have you hidden?”