Chapter 118 During the Qingming Festival, It Rains Endlessly

Following the screams, Zhou Ze and the old Dao found the correct floor. Because Zhou Ze’s legs weren’t very mobile, a crowd had already gathered when they arrived. Many family members of patients on other beds had come out to see what the commotion was, creating layers upon layers of onlookers.

Some patients, still wearing their hospital gowns, even dragged their IV drips along, leaning against the wall to join in the fun, perfectly embodying the spirit of "life never ceases, nor does the love of watching a spectacle."

Several nurses nearby were trying to comfort a girl, while others were on the phone notifying hospital security, who should arrive soon.

Zhou Ze, also wearing a white coat, and the old Dao easily squeezed through the crowd to the front.

On the floor was a pool of brownish-yellow pus, and a thing that looked like an egg yolk floated in it. Those who didn’t know better might think someone had peeled an egg and dropped it there, but Zhou Ze knew that it was a human eyeball.

“Boss, this guy’s amniotic fluid has broken too.”

The old Dao whispered in Zhou Ze’s ear.

Zhou Ze frowned slightly. The old Dao liked to act a fool during the most crucial moments, probably as a self-preservation mechanism in response to tension, a way to relax himself in stressful situations.

Then, Zhou Ze extended his index finger and stirred the pus.

Seeing this, the old Dao also squatted down, stuck his finger in, and stirred. Honestly, the stuff was disgusting, but since the boss was doing it, he had to follow suit.

It had to be said that the old Dao was a very ambitious person, always displaying a strong desire to learn and imitate, whether with his previous boss or this one.

Immediately afterward, the old Dao witnessed a scene that nearly made him throw up his dinner. Zhou Ze actually put his middle finger in his mouth and sucked on it, then lowered his head in thought, as if trying to discern the ingredients.

At the same time, he smacked his lips.

So dedicated?

What does it taste like?

The old Dao hesitated.

He struggled internally for a short time, but in the end, he too brought the finger that had just been stirring pus to his mouth and tasted it. The taste was overwhelmingly pungent; a spicy, stinging sensation burst forth, harsher than drinking strong liquor.

The old Dao’s face turned green, but when he saw his boss still deep in thought, looking perfectly normal, a sense of awe and reverence for Zhou Ze welled up within him.

To be able to withstand that taste, he’s truly not human!

Zhou Ze turned his head, saw the old Dao’s miserable expression, as if he had just been violated, and noticed the liquid still clinging to the old Dao’s fingertip. He asked in surprise, “What are you doing?”

The old Dao patted his chest lightly and said heroically, “Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs; what the boss can do, I can naturally do as well.”

Zhou Ze nodded and smiled.

The old Dao felt flattered, as if he had finally gained the boss’s approval, like when the Patriarch Subhuti tapped Sun Wukong on the back of the head three times.

“I used my index finger to stir, and I put my middle finger in my mouth.”

Zhou Ze raised his fingers at the old Dao and continued, “I had some chives stuck in my teeth from dinner, just picking them out. Who in their right mind would taste that stuff? Are you a masochist?”

“…” The old Dao.

The old Dao wanted to say something more, but his stomach started to spasm, and he pushed through the crowd, rushing to the bathroom to vomit.

Zhou Ze silently stroked his chin. The frightened girl was still sitting in the ward, with several nurses comforting her. Zhou Ze didn't ask about the girl's condition, because he had experienced a similar scene in the morgue before.

But what was just a small matter to him was enough to shock ordinary people.

The dead body suddenly sitting up,

The fatal wound coming from incredibly sharp fingernails that could be used as weapons,

The corpse ultimately dissolving into pus,

All of this indicated that the culprit was not an ordinary person, but a demon hidden in the darkness. In fact, since becoming a ghost messenger, Zhou Ze had never encountered such a mysterious and resourceful opponent.

That thing should not be treated as an ordinary vengeful spirit.

Standing up, Zhou Ze walked to the other end of the corridor, took out his phone, and dialed Tang Shi's number.

"Hello." Tang Shi's voice was as cold as ever.

"I need a favor. It seems like a...a wild zombie has appeared here."

"You can go find the plants."

In other words, she was busy and didn't want to deal with it.

"Then help me call Bai Yingying and have her come to the hospital."

"That's no problem."

Hanging up, Zhou Ze once again felt that keeping Tang Shi around might have been a mistake. This woman was even more useless than a vase.

His own Yingying was so much better.

Both were women, neither were alive, yet the difference was so vast.

The old Dao had vomited up all the stomach acid in his body. He came out of the bathroom and walked to Zhou Ze's side, asking with some resentment, "Why did that thing have to do that to kill people?"

"He did it on purpose," Zhou Ze said.

"Do the people he kills all turn into zombies? Hey, it's just like those old Hong Kong zombie movies from the eighties and nineties. People bitten by zombies also turn into zombies."

As he said this, the old Dao looked into Zhou Ze's eyes, somewhat eager.

"What are you looking at?"

"Um, Boss, I have a small request. Can all zombies become like Bai Yingying?"

"Get to the point. Don't beat around the bush."

"Um, cough cough... What I mean is, you see, Boss, I'm getting old, and who knows when I'll kick the bucket and go to the Western Paradise."

"You're a Taoist, not a Buddhist."

"Um, then I'll kick both feet and ascend to heaven. But I'm worried that after I'm gone, who will take care of you?"

"..." Zhou Ze.

"So, Boss, if that day comes, can you bite me?"

"I find it disgusting."

"..." The old Dao.

Can't we be friends anymore!

"It's not as exaggerated as you think. Being bitten by a zombie won't turn you into one. If you don't believe me, you can have Bai Yingying bite your neck when you get back. Besides getting poisoned and hastening your demise, I guarantee there won't be any other effects.

As for turning into a zombie, you might as well choose an ominous tomb and bury yourself in it. Maybe after a hundred years or so, you'll be able to hop out. But that version of you will have nothing to do with the current you; it will be a new life."

"So the movies are all lies?"

"What do you think?"

The old Dao was somewhat dejected. He had thought he had found a way to prolong his life, but it turned out to be this. However, the old Dao was still somewhat unwilling to give up and said, "Then what about those two people?"

"The end result?" Zhou Ze asked. "They split open directly, and all their bones and organs turned into pus."

"Why is that?"

"Because they were used as nourishment, absorbed by someone. They didn't become zombies. Besides, even if they did, would you want to be that kind of zombie?"

"Will he continue to kill people?" the old Dao asked with some concern.

"If he's not full," Zhou Ze pursed his lips, "Of course, even if he is full, he won't never be hungry again."

Zhou Ze suddenly seemed to think of something else and said to the old Dao, "Find a way to help me find out what happened to those other corpses in the end, whether similar situations occurred..."

At this moment, the phone rang. Zhou Ze picked it up and saw that the caller ID showed "Wang Ke."

Since the last "eating meat" incident, Zhou Ze had not contacted Wang Ke again, and Wang Ke had promised not to contact him again.

"Hello." Zhou Ze still answered the phone.

"I'm sorry, I have to break my promise, but I think you'll be interested in this matter." Wang Ke's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Speak."

"Have you heard about the mass death incident at that small hospital?"

Zhou Ze turned his head and looked at the pool of pus behind him and said, "Just heard about it."

"I'm a part-time consultant for the police station, helping with psychological profiling and such. This time the matter is very serious, and I was also invited to help. Based on the known conditions, I have to create some psychological and physical characteristics of the murderer. Heh, for this reason, I drew a sketch. Would you like to see it?"

"Okay."

"Ding-dong..."

A message notification sound came from WeChat.

Zhou Ze minimized the call, opened WeChat,

It was a very rough sketch, but the person in the sketch made Zhou Ze's pupils shrink.

"Are you kidding me?" Zhou Ze asked.

"Heh, I don't believe it's you, but the person I drew based on the known conditions and clues really looks like you. So, this time I'm not asking you for help, I'm just asking if you're interested?"

"Interested in what?"

"I can get all the investigation materials from the police here." Wang Ke rubbed his brow wearily and said, "Although I don't want to admit it and I feel a little helpless, I increasingly feel that the murderer in this case may not be a person."

"Are you at the police station?"

"No, I'm at home. You can come to my house. The files and the latest information will be sent here." Wang Ke paused and said, "Also, I'm cooking a meat soup for a late-night snack. You can come and have some."

Zhou Ze ignored the last sentence and said directly, "I'll come over."

After speaking, Zhou Ze was about to hang up, but Wang Ke's voice came again: "Don't be in a hurry to hang up."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, I never had the chance to say this to others before, and it's not good to say these words to others, it's like cursing someone;

But this time, I finally have the chance, this is the first time I've said this to someone:

Happy Qingming Festival."