Chapter 22: Sudden Mishaps, One After Another!

Regarding the upcoming heist, Song Yu and Xiao Hei maintained a stance of expediency. They stood neither with the NPCs nor the players. Simply put, they were fence-sitters; Song Yu only needed to ensure her own safety and that of Xiao Hei.

Dr. Zhong remained indifferent to the players who lingered stubbornly, as well as to the growing number of players inside and around the clinic. After spending a night together, Song Yu had successfully integrated into the clinic's inner circle and was getting along well with everyone. Counting Dr. Zhong, the clinic had seven official members, excluding outsiders like Song Yu. Facing hundreds of players, the NPCs clearly did not have the upper hand. However, this was a technological world, and the clinic possessed the great equalizer: firearms. The melee weapons in the players' hands were no match for guns; a single encounter could mean death. Still, one could not rule out the existence of legendary players among them.

Song Yu ignored these matters. During their rest time, she and the dog began scouting. They explored every area around the clinic, and she even managed to find two bottles of purified alcohol! Song Yu had learned from working alongside Dr. Zhong that purified alcohol combined with cloth bandages could create sterilized bandages. As for cloth bandages, they required hot water, cotton cloth, and rags to craft. Without the recipes for cloth or sterilized bandages, it was impossible to create bandages with healing effects. Song Yu intended to continue following Dr. Zhong, hoping to learn the recipes for professional medical bandages and medical rounds.

Come to think of it, with the recipe for cloth bandages, Song Yu could easily sell them to players. After all, an infection wouldn't kill you right away, but running out of health points certainly would! It seemed she had found another path to wealth. Moreover, since Song Yu possessed medical skills, most players would think twice before killing her—after all, killing a player didn't yield their recipes.

Thus, for the next two days, Song Yu stayed in the clinic, not going anywhere. She not only saved up enough supplies to exchange for "Eternal Partner" but also successfully pilfered the recipe for professional medical bandages. The recipe was slightly complex: sterilized bandages were the foundation, which then had to be combined with a special herbal extract, purified alcohol, and clean cotton gauze. Dr. Zhong likely never imagined Song Yu’s talent was so high that she mastered it in one go.

Cotton gauze was not in short supply; she and Xiao Hei had plenty in their inventory slots. Previously, every time she searched a house, Song Yu would scavenge all the cloth and firewood inside. The herbal extract and purified alcohol, however, were rare. They could likely only be found in places like pharmacies, clinics, or hospitals—or perhaps in distilleries and hotels.

In addition to Song Yu’s successful "theft" of knowledge, Xiao Hei’s "Light-Fingered" talent, learned not long ago, also showed progress. In three days, with a 5% success rate, Xiao Hei had actually accumulated 3 experience points—all by practicing on Song Yu. Everything was developing in a positive direction.

That night, after finishing her shift, Song Yu brought Xiao Hei back to the room assigned to her by the other clinic staff. Due to her excellent performance, the clinic provided her with free room and board. Of course, Xiao Hei’s meals were not included. Sitting on the bed, she and Xiao Hei carefully took inventory of their recent gains.

First were the grenades, totaling three, followed by 27 pistol rounds, one tear gas grenade, and seven Molotov cocktails. Next were the medical supplies: 10 bottles of antibiotics, 10 rolls of professional medical bandages, one Level 1 medical round, six types of specialized medication for illnesses, and a medical kit. This wasn't an ordinary medical kit; no matter how many medical supplies were packed inside, it only occupied one inventory slot! This was a reward for reaching 50 affinity with all clinic members, personally gifted to Song Yu by Dr. Zhong during dinner.

However, Song Yu’s expenditures were also evident; all of these had been traded for food, water, and other supplies. Currently, she only had 67 bottles of mineral water left in her space, along with one potato, 15 standard nutritional meals, and 10 berries. Additionally, there were miscellaneous tools like matches, a hand-cranked flashlight, a grill, a mattress, and a four-wheeled vehicle that lacked both a key and gasoline. Song Yu had saved up quite a bit of mutant blood, which she planned to trade all at once with Chen Su. Aside from that, there was nothing else. It was pitifully little. However, on the whole, the gains outweighed the costs! If the players decided not to go through with the heist, Song Yu was prepared to go to the Tree Source to exchange her items.

After counting the supplies in her inventory, Song Yu put a portion of the food, water, and the single medical round into Xiao Hei’s storage space. Xiao Hei couldn't use bandages, but the medical round could be used by simply biting it. In a pinch, Xiao Hei could save her own life.

Having finished everything, Song Yu took Xiao Hei to sleep. She had another shift in four hours and needed to rest as much as possible. Work at the clinic was grueling; Song Yu had to help lift patients and move corpses every day. Every time she finished a shift, a "Severe Hunger" debuff would appear on her status panel. Song Yu had tested it—this meant her satiety was down to only 10 points. She was on the verge of starving to death. Fortunately, the clinic provided free staff meals, even if they were just steamed buns, pickled vegetables, and the like.

Drifting into sleep, time flew by, and midnight struck. On the eleventh day of the game, a system prompt sounded quietly.

[The eleventh day of the game; one-third of the dungeon progress has passed. All zombie stats will increase by 10%. Please prepare accordingly, players.]

[The game developers wish you all good luck.]

Song Yu’s eyelids fluttered, but she did not wake up. It wasn't until gunfire suddenly erupted outside, sounding incredibly close, as if right against her ear, that she snapped her eyes open and quickly moved to the window to peek outside.

"!!"

The sky outside the clinic was lit with fire. A large open area in front seemed to have been doused with something, igniting a raging inferno! Song Yu’s room was on the third floor, with the window facing the main entrance, so she could clearly see everything unfolding. Masked players had built barricades and were continuously throwing Molotov cocktails at the clinic! Given the sheer number of cocktails, Song Yu was certain that some players had mastered the recipe!

It was currently the clinic’s shift change—the time when patients were fewest and staff were most relaxed. They had chosen this moment to attack, showing no regard for the lives of the other players inside the clinic! One had to remember that many players inside were on their side!

Song Yu quickly grabbed her pistol, she and Xiao Hei both on high alert. At that very moment:

"Bang—!!"

The room door was kicked open with a heavy thud!