Night of the Apocalypse

Even though it was only a distance of over two hundred meters, Shen Qiu found it exceptionally difficult to walk. He stared at the bright clinic sign, gritting his teeth as he pressed on.

Finally, Shen Qiu reached the entrance. A short-haired middle-aged female doctor saw him and hurriedly came out to support him, quickly asking,

“Shen Qiu, what happened to you?”

“Li Lan, I don’t know what’s wrong; my stomach hurts a lot!”

Shen Qiu didn’t dare to mention that he had been missing; he felt a bit uncertain and didn’t know what was wrong with his body, nor did he want to go to a large hospital.

“I’ll check you out.”

After saying that, Li Lan quickly helped Shen Qiu inside.

Although this was a street clinic, it was actually quite large and had a full range of standard medical facilities. Most of the nearby residents came here for treatment, and Dr. Li Lan had been practicing here for over ten years. She knew most of the regulars and was well-regarded, deserving of being called a good doctor.

Half an hour later, Li Lan finished examining Shen Qiu. She looked at the examination results, lost in thought.

Shen Qiu, with a tense expression, asked, “Is the problem serious?”

“It is quite serious.”

Li Lan frowned and nodded in response.

Shen Qiu’s heart sank, thinking to himself, ‘Could it be that I’m really going to mutate? ‘

Just as Shen Qiu’s mind was racing, Li Lan spoke again, “You’re severely dehydrated. How could it not be serious? You have a serious bacterial infection; you must have eaten something very unclean. It’s no different from food poisoning.”

“Ah? Food poisoning?”

Shen Qiu was taken aback, and a look of astonishment crossed his face.

“Stop it. You’re not a child anymore; you need to watch what you eat and avoid all that junk. You’re in no condition to be without IV fluids. We need to get you some cephalosporin antibiotics and glucose saline as well.”

Li Lan admonished Shen Qiu with irritation.

“Okay.”

Shen Qiu finally felt some relief as his anxious heart settled down. He replied wearily.

“Lie down on the bed and rest well.”

Li Lan instructed Shen Qiu.

He nodded and walked over to the bed, lying down. Soon, Li Lan had him hooked up to an IV.

As the medication entered his body, Shen Qiu felt his stomach gradually ease. He thought for a moment that it must have been the expired water he drank that caused this.

It was truly fortunate that he hadn’t collapsed while he was over there and that the symptoms only manifested after he returned.

Otherwise, he would have really been in trouble.

Lost in his thoughts, Shen Qiu’s eyelids grew heavier. He had already been tired and hungry for days, and now having suffered from dehydration, he quickly fell asleep.

In a daze, Shen Qiu didn’t know how long he had been asleep when he was jolted awake by loud noises.

“Brother Zhao, I want drink one more bottle! Just one more!”

“Zhao Qi, stop drinking! You’re going to kill yourself.”

A young man dressed in a casual plaid shirt, with a side-swept fringe, hobbled into the clinic, supporting a slightly chubby man whose face was flushed from drinking too much.

“What’s going on here?”

Li Lan stepped out to ask upon hearing the commotion.

“Dr. Li, please help and prescribe some hangover medicine; my brother drank too much.”

Brother Zhao replied helplessly.

“Hurry, help him lie down on the bed; I’ll prepare some hangover medication for you.”

Li Lan said.

“Okay, okay, okay. But before that, could you please bandage me up? I bumped my leg while helping my brother.”

Brother Zhao quickly rolled up his pants, revealing a bloodied left foot.

“Bleeding! Hurry, let me bandage you.”

Li Lan rushed forward to assist Brother Zhao, helping Zhao Qi onto the bed next to Shen Qiu.

She then took Brother Zhao inside to treat and bandage his wound.

Meanwhile, the flushed Zhao Qi turned over and sat up, bleary-eyed, looking at Shen Qiu, who was receiving IV fluids. He then began to shout incessantly.

“Hey, hey, brother, wake up! Stop playing dead!”

After being awakened by the noise, Shen Qiu groggily glanced at the chubby guy, realized he was just a drunk, and closed his eyes to go back to sleep.

He was just too tired.

However, through his haze, he could faintly hear the chubby guy mumbling.

“Down one! I’ll take the first shot!”

After a while, Li Lan came out holding a medicine bottle, followed by Brother Zhao, who was looking down at the hangover remedy in his hand, contemplating how to get it into his brother.

Li Lan approached Shen Qiu, preparing to change his IV bottle, but then paused and said,
“Where’s the IV bottle? Shen Qiu, where’s your IV bottle?”

Hearing Li Lan’s voice, Shen Qiu opened his eyes and was taken aback to find that the IV bottle was missing.

The two of them quickly looked around but couldn’t find the bottle anywhere.

At that moment, Zhao Qi, grinning, sat up and, like showing off a treasure, pulled out the empty IV bottle from behind him and said,
“Are you looking for this? I’ve already downed it!”

Shen Qiu let out a long sigh. What on earth was happening? Even while getting an IV, he encountered such a gem of a person.

“Oh my God! Spit that out right now! Who told you to drink it?”

Li Lan panicked instantly; the first IV bottle contained antibiotics.

Seeing this scene, Brother Zhao also became anxious and rushed forward.

“Spit it out!”

“Quick, help him inside and get his stomach pumped.”

In an instant, the clinic turned into chaos.

Shen Qiu was at a loss for words, quietly watching and feeling powerless to help.

After much fussing, they finally managed to make Zhao Qi vomit and get his stomach pumped, settling him down.

Once they had some free hands, Li Lan reattached an IV bottle for Shen Qiu.

“Doctor Li, who are they?” Shen Qiu asked curiously.

“Who else could they be? Brother Zhao and Zhao Qi from the nearby publicity bureau, two lively characters. It’s strange, though, how did they end up drinking so much today? Never mind, don’t ask too many questions. Just get some rest,” Li Lan replied, a bit puzzled herself.

“Okay.”

Shen Qiu decided not to think too much about it and closed his eyes to rest.

The next morning.

When Shen Qiu opened his eyes, he felt significantly better and no longer felt so weak.

He noticed that the IV drip had been removed at some point and that he was covered with a blanket.

He sat up immediately.

“You’re awake! How do you feel?” Li Lan walked over and asked.

“Pretty good. I’m sorry for the trouble last night. How much do I owe you?” Shen Qiu quickly inquired.

“680 Alliance Coins,” Li Lan replied.

Shen Qiu was taken aback when he heard the price.

Li Lan sighed and said to Shen Qiu,

“Do you think it’s too expensive? I didn’t actually charge you extra. If this were before, it would have only been about 200 at most, but lately, I don’t know what’s happening; prices have been skyrocketing.”

“Has it really gone up that much?” Shen Qiu realized that the situation was more serious than he thought.

“Exactly. Just for the medications and tests I used on you, the cost has already reached 650 Alliance Coins. To be honest, most of the people who come to see me are neighbors, and I don’t even know how to explain this to them.”

Li Lan said helplessly, “The price surge is unavoidable; we can only try to understand each other and see if we can get through this. I’ll take care of it now.”

Shen Qiu took out his wallet from his pocket and handed over the money.

“Okay, thank you for your understanding!”

Li Lan expressed her gratitude after receiving the money.