The post-apocalyptic world has a space full of supplies.

Chapter 3: Four Days of Memory Lost, Zombie Virus Outbreak

When Lu Yuan woke up, he was standing next to the payment window of the city's central hospital, holding a receipt for Lu Guangzong's freezing fee. The date was June 25th, four days after he fainted. It was the last day to pay. He checked the payment receipt again. By now, his old father was probably frozen solid.

Lu Yuan glanced at his left hand. The ring on his ring finger was gone, but a blue line resembling a tattoo had appeared around his finger.

"God, can anyone tell me what happened in these four days?" Lu Yuan sat on a bench next to the payment window, clutching a stack of receipts. Even though the hospital had the air conditioning on full blast, the waves of heat coming from the entrance made the weather feel even hotter.

He had absolutely no memory of those four days. He didn't know how he received the 300,000 yuan, how he paid for his elderly father's cryopreservation for five years, or who he borrowed the money from. There was no trace of it on social media. The only difference was that there was an unknown number calling his phone, but when Lu Yuan called back, the number was disconnected.

Lu Yuan glanced up at the registration window, wondering if he should get a neurological examination, when he saw a commotion breaking out at the hospital entrance. "Sigh, no matter how much civilization progresses or how much technology develops, the doctor-patient conflict will always exist!"

With a sigh of relief, Lu Yuan composed himself. No matter what, he no longer needed to rush to find a job, and he could still enroll in graduate school. His biggest problem was now perfectly solved.

After carefully collecting the hospital payment receipts, Lu Yuan looked at the heatwave outside the hospital and ran towards the subway station not far from the hospital gate.

As soon as Lu Yuan turned into the subway station, a police car drove in from the hospital entrance. Two AI robot police officers got out of the car and walked to the bench where Lu Yuan had just sat, looking around.

"PC004182 detected the suspect has left. Repeat PC004182 detected the suspect has left." One of the robots, unable to find Lu Yuan, was sending real-time video to the police station's main unit via its smart chip when the hospital alarm went off.

What Lu Yuan didn't know was that what he had just thought was a heated doctor-patient conflict was actually a viral outbreak that affected the fate of all humanity.

DAY1

"Warning! Warning! A new, uncontrollable pathogen has appeared! The Municipal Central Hospital is immediately placed under quarantine! Patients, please do not panic, do not crowd together, and follow the nearest nursing robot or safety officer to the quarantine safety zone! Warning! Warning! A new, uncontrollable pathogen has appeared! Please..." The Municipal Central Hospital's broadcast kept repeating this message.

As soon as Lu Yuan boarded the subway, the subway announcement rang out: "Urgent notice from the municipal government! Urgent notice from the municipal government! This afternoon, a new and uncontrollable pathogen was discovered at the Municipal Central Hospital. The pathogen is characterized by being unconscious but aggressive. The virus spreads through saliva and blood produced after biting, and the infection is rapid and highly contagious! The entire city is now under a state of emergency. Citizens are advised to choose the nearest quarantine point and not to linger outside."

In recent years, humanity has repeatedly encountered various highly contagious novel viral crises. China has developed a mature defense mechanism to deal with new viral crises, and can generally control and isolate them quickly, minimizing the harm. Moreover, as long as one enters the quarantine area in a timely manner as required, there is no need to worry about food and accommodation during the quarantine period. After all, robots are not affected by viruses, and the government will use robots to ensure the supply of materials to the quarantine area.

So although the broadcast sounded quite serious, in 2074, even elementary school students would calmly carry their schoolbags, follow the instructions to find the nearest quarantine area, quarantine as required, and then wait to be released from quarantine and go home.

Lu Yuan's school is not far from the city's central hospital. Today, he was rushing back to school to confirm his postgraduate recommendation with his advisor, so he specifically chose the direct subway line between the hospital and the university town.

When a new virus appears, the university town becomes its own isolation zone. Although he couldn't go to see the professor after getting off the bus, it didn't prevent Lu Yuan from returning to his dormitory to isolate. After all, the isolation zone outside was never as comfortable as his own little world.

The subway arrived at the station soon, and Lu Yuan followed the flow of people off the train and walked towards the exit. Everything seemed orderly, as if there had been no announcements or silent management just now. Sure enough, everyone was already used to it.

Using facial recognition, Lu Yuan exited the subway station and saw two robotic police officers rushing towards him from afar. Lu Yuan was a little confused. He looked back and saw nothing happening behind him. Were these two police officers coming for him?

Just as Lu Yuan was racking his brains trying to figure out what wrong he had done, two robotic police officers showed him their identification. One of them said, "Mr. Lu Yuan, these are electronic police officers PC004260 and PC004261 from the University City Police Station. You are suspected of an unlicensed sale of cigarettes and alcohol, and the amount involved is substantial. We are now arresting you in accordance with the law..."

"Ah! Help! Pervert! What are you doing!" Before the robot police could finish informing Lu Yuan of his arrest, a girl's scream came from the direction of the University City Medical School's laboratory building.

The sound gave Lu Yuan goosebumps. The laboratory building was quite a distance from the subway station, so you could imagine how terrible the girl must have been.

The students watching the commotion whispered among themselves, saying that Lu Yuan had been arrested by the police and a girl had been allegedly molested in broad daylight. They lamented how morals were declining.

One of the robotic police officers surrounding Lu Yuan quickly headed towards the experimental building to provide assistance, as instructed by the system, while the other prepared to take Lu Yuan back to the school's police station first.

Before Lu Yuan could figure out what was happening, he saw a large group of people rushing out from the direction of the laboratory building. The first few were running frantically, shouting for help, while the others were acting strangely, their limbs moving uncoordinatedly yet at a rapid pace, their mouths opening and closing involuntarily. Lu Yuan was a bit far away and couldn't hear what they were saying. A girl was running a little behind, her white dress stained with a large red patch on the shoulder.

The robot policeman who was running ahead to rescue the robot judged that the girl was the victim who had just called for help. He immediately ran towards the girl, but he did not expect that as soon as he got close, the girl pierced his chest with her bare hands, pulled out the central chip in the robot's heart, and then tore the robot policeman in two with her other hand.

Everyone present was stunned. There was only a moment of silence, and then countless people screamed for zombies and for help, and fled in all directions!

As a fan of post-apocalyptic literature, what was there for Lu Yuan not to understand? He just never expected that a zombie could dismantle a robot with its bare hands!

He was about to run back to his dorm when it seemed highly likely that the new, uncontrollable virus mentioned on the subway announcement was the zombie in front of him. The city's silent management mechanism had been activated, and in his current situation, the only option was to be taken to the school police station by the robotic police. But first, he didn't want to go to the police station; he had lost four days' worth of memory, and the matter of selling cigarettes and alcohol without a license would definitely be difficult to explain in a short time! Second, he could clearly see that some zombies were being attracted by the students and running towards the police station. What good kids, going to the police when in trouble!

The robot policeman made eye contact with Lu Yuan, and in just a second, Lu Yuan ran past him toward the dormitory building. The robot policeman was a beat slower, hesitating between saving his colleague and chasing the criminal. He glanced at the suddenly chaotic police station and then turned to chase after Lu Yuan.