Seven hours later, Neon Plaza Street in downtown Shasha. In front of a 24-hour convenience store in the middle of the long street, three figures, two men and one woman, appeared.
After the cataclysm, the quality of human beings has been greatly improved. Even for first-order early evolvers, traveling long distances is nothing. If they weren't carrying the wounded, they could still run some distance away from the area where the explosion occurred.
"Stop for a moment, just here." The lean man in the lead stopped and told the people around him, "Anyang, you and Wang Hu stay outside, I'll go check first."
"I..." the latter grabbed his sleeve, "I'll go too."
"Be good, Wang Hu is injured and needs you to stay and help him. If anything happens, you have to notify me in time."
Zhang Cheng said, putting his hand on Anyang's head and rubbing it for a while, as if treating a child. And Anyang seemed to be enjoying himself a lot and always obeyed Zhang Chengyan.
Perhaps because he suddenly remembered the fact that "he is older", Anyang blushed suddenly.
She shook off Zhang Cheng's hand, took the fruit knife from him, lowered her head and added, "Little man, you have to be careful too."
This knife originally belonged to Guo Qi, but now after passing through many people, it became the weapon in Anyang's hands. Anyang has it for self-defense, which is the condition for Zhang Cheng to explore with confidence.
The location of this store was relatively conspicuous, probably because it had already been looted by other survivors, so not only were all the food and drinking water missing, but even the two limited black corpses were killed and fell to the ground. Zhang Cheng checked it inside and out before calling the two people in with confidence.
"Sit over here." He helped Wang Hu sit behind the cashier and took his arm and put it on the table.
"Hiss." The larger pull caused Wang Hu some pain. When he rushed out of the KTV, he bumped into something unknown, causing a large gash in his entire right arm. The wound was 20 centimeters long, and the bone was deep enough. There was a lot of blood dripping along the way, and no matter how hard he pressed, he couldn't stop it.
"This white layer is fascia. It seems to be intact. There should be no injuries to the bones." Zhang Cheng turned to Anyang and said, "Can you find a suture needle? This kind of wound is too big. It won't be long without suturing it." It’s hard to stop the bleeding.”
"What kind do you want?"
"A little thinner, with a pointed end. If you look through the shelves over there, you can find fishhooks."
"There are also sterile gauze, medical cotton, and sterilized iodophor... Don't use alcohol, as that can irritate tissues. Forget it, just use it. My hands also need to be disinfected in advance."
"I only have pins. Can I bake them over fire to sterilize them?"
"No, there is a risk of infection from oxides."
After a while, Anyang found a kettle under Zhang Cheng's command. After boiling the water, Zhang Cheng bent the pin and wrapped it with a thin thread and put it into the water. He also added a little soap foam to the water. Because it is said that alkaline agents can dissolve fat, thereby enhancing bactericidal power.
Boiling water for 10 minutes is not enough to kill all microorganisms. However, Wang Hu's injury caused serious blood loss, and they did not have a pressure cooker on hand to cook the duck, so they had to hurry up and put the duck on the shelf.
"It will hurt a little, just bear with it."
Once Zhang Cheng becomes serious, his expression will be very focused. Seeing that although his techniques were unfamiliar, he was very reliable. Anyang couldn't help but wonder: "Have you studied medicine? Or do you have a clinic at home?"
Zhang Cheng replied without raising his head: "I read it in the book, it's not difficult."
"In the book...this is really amazing."
Not only Anyang was surprised, Wang Hu also seemed to be shocked. He raised his arm and looked at it for a while, and found that the sutures had really stopped the bleeding, so he gave Zhang Cheng a thumbs up.
"Shengzi, I really belong to you."
"You're welcome." Zhang Cheng didn't smile this time. He took two steps back and pointed in the distance, "The map of Square Street shows that there are many snack bars in that direction. You should be able to find something to eat."
"Oh? That's a good relationship." Wang Hu obviously didn't notice the change in Zhang Cheng's tone, "Find us to eat together."
"No need." Zhang Cheng's voice had completely turned cold.
Wang Hu looked up in shock, not understanding Zhang Cheng's alienation in his eyes. Slowly, his expression also changed, and he became a little panicked, not daring to look into Zhang Cheng's eyes.
"What's wrong with you two?" Anyang dumped the medical waste and returned to the convenience store. She looked at Wang Hu and suddenly said: "Hey, your face looks a little strange, and your eyes..."
"Don't get too close." Zhang Cheng pulled Anyang back to him with a cold face, "He is no longer a human being!"
"Not a human being? What do you mean?"
"Did you know that there was a post about the 'Doomsday Prophecy' before the catastrophe? I didn't believe the nonsense in it, but so many things have happened since the catastrophe that I have no choice but to believe it. The post also said Tao, cannibals will turn into monsters, characterized by the whites of their eyes covered with blue and purple veins!"
Zhang Cheng had already grasped the knife in his hand and continued to ask: "Wang Hu, you also ate those human flesh, right?"
"Human flesh?" Anyang's eyes widened, as if he was remembering yesterday's scene again. Bloody blades, broken human thighs... When did Wang Hu get involved?
Zhang Cheng said: "He can no longer return to human society."
"Yes, I didn't listen to you." Wang Hu relaxed after hearing Zhang Cheng tell the truth. He looked at Zhang Cheng, with a sense of sadness and anger in his eyes: "I can't help it, I'm really hungry. Human flesh can be eaten, right?"
Zhang Cheng shook his head: "You can eat it, but only wild beasts can eat people. Cannibalism rarely ends well. Haven't you heard of mad cow disease, prions, and Kruse disease?"
"I just want to live. Isn't this wrong?" A tear ran down Wang Hu's face at the right time. "Then will I become a monster?"
"The post reads - The flesh and blood of evolved organisms contains a peculiar allergenic factor. When two allergenic factors with extremely similar genetic sequences meet, there will be a large number of strands that induce aberrations in the spore community, leading to Gene expression tends to develop in an indescribable direction. The initial characteristic of the abnormal reaction is the appearance of blue-purple lines in the whites of the eyes."
Zhang Cheng sighed and said: "Become a monster? Maybe, maybe not. For adult individuals, physical changes are not easy. If that post really predicts, then you will still maintain the appearance of a human, but you will no longer be essentially human." As a person.”
"So you want to kill me?" Wang Hu looked at Zhang Cheng's fruit knife and picked up a wooden stick.
"Wang Hu, are you crazy? It was Zhang Cheng who saved us." Anyang said in disbelief. She looked at Zhang Cheng and didn't want her companions who were supporting each other a moment ago to kill each other. But she also knows that if a person like Zhang Cheng really makes a decision, outsiders cannot easily change his mind.
However, Zhang Cheng did not take action, and just said slowly: "I just don't want to be killed and eaten by you."
"You don't believe me, do you?" Wang Hu asked.
"Yes." Zhang Cheng replied honestly.
"good."
Anyang was right. If Zhang Cheng had wanted to kill him, he would have abandoned him as early as the KTV. With Zhang Cheng's mind, there were countless opportunities to die during this escape.
After all, even a very nervous person like Anyang could see his changes, but a genius like Zhang Cheng...how could he never see it?
"Seiko, will we meet again in the future?"
"Maybe, if you and I were still alive."
"Do you need me to leave now?"
"No, we will leave." Zhang Cheng shook his head, "It is very safe here. I suggest you leave after recovering from your injuries. The city is not safe, and the northwest is the fastest way to leave the central city of Shasha."
Finally, Wang Hu took a long breath and said calmly: "Okay, be careful along the way."
Zhang Cheng also nodded and said: "I also wish you good luck, Brother Tiger."
The two parties were wary of each other, watching one of them go away. It wasn't until Zhang Cheng and Anyang had left for a long time that Wang Hu sat back on the chair. He looked at the gauze on his arm and slowly became lost in thought.
"Will he become... a monster?"
…
At the same time, a young man and woman were running three blocks away. They were preparing to find a new foothold before the sun went down, so they couldn't stop and rest.
"Zhang Cheng, do you have a destination?"
"Well, time has passed the third node, let's go to the corresponding gathering point to have a look."
As early as a month ago when he went out to collect food, he had sent out a distress signal. He expected that the military region would also send someone over.
