Outside, everything was in chaos. Jiang Sui even faintly heard the sound of gunfire.
Her phone was on the bedside table. Enduring the dizziness from her concussion, she struggled to reach it, unlocked it, and a flood of notifications immediately poured in.
All of them were about the mushroom disease and the lockdown.
She quickly opened social media and checked news about the Grand Century Mall.
The area had already been sealed off, and nearby residents were evacuated and isolated. However, some daring people had used drones to capture footage of the situation.
The video was taken at dawn, showing blue light ribbons drifting out of every window of the mall. Near the windows, blue mushrooms had already grown.
Around the mall, abandoned police cars and ambulances were parked everywhere. On the ground around them, dense clusters of mushrooms had spread like forests, and faint human-shaped outlines could still be seen within them.
Those were the containment personnel—killed on the spot after being overwhelmed by mushroom spores, their bodies turned into nourishment for the fungi.
The mushroom caps opened and closed like breathing, releasing clouds of spores.
Without Awakened individuals, ordinary humans were completely helpless against these contaminated organisms.
As the Aurora Mushroom spores spread, mushroom disease cases began appearing across South City on a massive scale. Mild cases only developed a few tumor-like growths, while severe cases were covered head to toe, even invading the brain and turning people into zombie-like madmen.
Since last night, many residents had attempted to flee South City by car. Even now under citywide lockdown, people were still trying to escape.
The Grand Century Mall incident was simply too terrifying—the spores floating in the air were everywhere and impossible to defend against.
But outside the city wasn’t safe either.
A quick glance showed similar strange incidents appearing in multiple places. Overseas was even more chaotic—videos of mutated humans caused by contamination were spreading everywhere.
The entire world had changed overnight.
Jiang Sui grew anxious and wanted to discharge immediately, to find somewhere safer than the hospital and survive the coming “zombie outbreak” phase.
The mushroom disease now was only the “appetizer” of the apocalypse’s mutations.
But she couldn’t move. Even lifting her head made her feel like vomiting.
Exhausted and dizzy, she eventually drifted off to sleep.
When she woke again, her dizziness had eased slightly and she could lift her head a little.
Turning her head, she looked at Shen Yanhan on the adjacent bed.
He was also awake, staring at the ceiling. His pale face showed no expression. It seemed he hadn’t noticed her looking at him. His aura was even colder and more distant than before, exuding a chill that made people instinctively want to stay away.
“Shen Yanhan,” Jiang Sui finally spoke first. “You… how are you feeling?”
Only then did he turn his head. Those beautiful, dark eyes were cold and without warmth as he looked at her.
Jiang Sui already felt uneasy around him, and now she was even more nervous. Still, remembering her responsibility, she forced herself to say, “Sorry for dragging you into the car accident. But don’t worry—I’ll take responsibility.”
A dark ripple passed through Shen Yanhan’s eyes. His brows moved slightly, as if confused or questioning.
“You’ll take responsibility?”
Jiang Sui nodded. “I’ll take care of you until your legs recover.”
He stared at her for several seconds, then suddenly laughed.
It was an inexplicable laugh that made Jiang Sui both confused and uneasy. She truly couldn’t understand his thought process—was this anger disguised as laughter?
It didn’t seem like it either…
“Take care of me?” Shen Yanhan’s smile faded. He looked at her calmly, coldly, and darkly. “Both my legs are shattered, and my right wrist is fractured. You really intend to take care of someone like this?”
He paused, then added calmly, “Don’t forget—things outside are very chaotic now.”
His condition was almost like a paralytic patient with only one functioning arm left. Not to mention Jiang Sui, a slender girl—even two strong men would struggle to care for him and survive the apocalypse.
Jiang Sui knew it would be difficult, but she wasn’t afraid.
“Let’s take it step by step. Maybe it won’t be that hard. If it really doesn’t work, then I’ll just—”
She almost said she’d complete the system’s task and “deal with him a bit” for rewards.
“Just what?” Shen Yanhan asked.
Jiang Sui half-jokingly said, “Just sell you off.”
But Shen Yanhan didn’t understand the joke.
He stared at her coldly, his dark eyes deep and unreadable, still expressionless like a corpse.
Jiang Sui: “……”
Wait… he didn’t take that seriously, did he? She was joking!
Shen Yanhan, like Jiang Sui, was now not only seriously injured but also suffering from a concussion.
Jiang Sui spent a lot of effort hiring a female caregiver at a high price. The caregiver helped both of them out of bed, assisted them with basic needs, and even arranged meals.
Because of the lockdown and chaos, hospital food quality had dropped drastically—only plain rice, cabbage stewed with meat, and pickles. Bland and unappetizing.
But Jiang Sui forced herself to finish it, knowing food would only become scarcer in the future.
After that came endless resting.
But the outside world remained chaotic—wailing, shouting, and crying constantly echoed through the hospital. The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.
Armed police even patrolled the hallways, dealing with suddenly violent attackers.
TV broadcasts repeatedly looped lockdown announcements and government response measures, but there was no clear explanation about contamination or mutation.
Due to the concussion, Jiang Sui drifted in and out of sleep.
Her sleep was shallow—she was often woken by the noise.
At night, gunfire became more frequent, while the earlier screams and cries gradually subsided.
Only ambulances came and went continuously.
Jiang Sui forced herself to rest. She realized that each time she slept, her dizziness improved slightly. If she made it through the night, she might be able to get out of bed the next day.
And indeed, by morning, she was awakened by a burst of continuous gunfire.
When she opened her eyes, she found she could finally get out of bed.
Though still a bit dizzy, it was bearable.
She immediately went to the window.
Outside, a security perimeter had been set up. Several special police vehicles were parked nearby, and the gunfire came from officers inside them.
On the congested road outside the hospital, two strange humanoid creatures were running. They moved on all fours like animals, agilely climbing onto car roofs before being shot down.
They were infected.
Humans whose brains had been destroyed by contamination—becoming zombie-like, bloodthirsty beings, yet more agile and adaptable than zombies.
And their numbers would only increase as time went on. Hospitals, which were already filled with infected and injured patients, would soon become hotspots for such creatures.
Jiang Sui’s heart pounded violently.
She had to get discharged—immediately.