Regressed with Omnipotent AI on Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 194: Hospital

By the time they arrived, the hospital had already been partially cleared. Only a few dozen zombies remained. The scavengers made quick work of them, using only machetes and wooden shields. They didn't even need to fire their guns. Months of brutal survival had sharpened these people into efficient killers.

"Griffin!" Hank barked. "You and Leo stay with the trucks." The rest of the team follow me inside. Move fast." The two scavengers he assigned to guard duty were his lackeys. It was fitting—dogs should guard the door.

"Once inside, grab every medicine you see! I don't care if you can't read it— just take everything!" With orders given, Hank took two men and headed toward the inpatient wing. He had another goal. "If I remember right... Last time, Team 3 found a little nurse here." A nasty grin spread across his face. He pushed open the doors and stepped into the darkened hallways.

The moment he entered the building— A deep, unnatural chill ran through his body. It wasn't cold from the season. It was bone-deep, soul-freezing cold. Something was wrong. Hank shivered, his breath turning visible. "What the hell? Winter's not here yet... why is it so cold?" He muttered, rubbing his arms as he kept walking.

Everyone who stepped into the hospital—whether in small groups or alone—felt an eerie cold seep into their bones the moment they entered. It wasn't the kind of chill from a drafty room but something unnatural, something that made the hairs on their arms stand on end. "This place gives me the creeps! Let's hurry up, grab what we need, and get the hell out of here!"

A group of scavengers entering the building were visibly unnerved by the inexplicable cold, quickening their pace without even discussing it. They spread out, searching in different directions. The hospital's medicine storage had already been raided months ago by supply teams from the larger bases, leaving behind only scraps. But that was precisely why the hospital wasn't crawling with zombies—there was nothing left to attract them. "Still... it's weird," one of them muttered. "Why aren't there any zombies inside?"

Just because there weren't many outside didn't mean the place should be completely empty. They'd been inside for a while now, and aside from a few scattered Immortal lurking near the entrance, the hospital was eerily still. Too still. "Eh, whatever. Probably another group came through and cleaned them out," a younger scavenger shrugged, gripping his homemade shotgun as he spoke nonchalantly.

Without hesitation, he strode toward the utility room at the end of the corridor. But before he could get close, an icy draft slithered out from the gap beneath the door. His pupils shrank. A thick, white mist leaked from the cracks, curling in the air like steam from a freezer. It was as if the room wasn't a storage space, but a walk-in refrigerator. "Hey! I found something over here!" he called out, gripping his shotgun tighter. With cautious movements, he nudged the door open with the barrel.

Hissss—

A wave of bitter cold slammed into him, making him shudder involuntarily. The mist rolled out, dispersing slowly, revealing what lay inside. There was a man. Or rather—a frozen corpse. The body had turned into an eerie ice sculpture, frozen solid mid-motion. From his clothing, the man was clearly another scavenger, probably from one of the big bases. His many-pocketed vest, the small backpack strapped to his shoulders—still bulging with medicine—and even the rifle lying on the ground all screamed "raider."

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But none of that was what made the sight so horrifying. It was his face. His eyes were wide open in absolute terror, as if he'd seen something so nightmarish that he couldn't even close them in death. His skin was covered in burn marks, yet his clothes remained untouched. Cold mist still seeped from his mouth, nose, and ears—contradictory signs that made it impossible to tell if he had been burned alive or frozen to death.

One thing was certain—he had died instantly. So fast that the terror on his face remained frozen in time. The young scavenger gulped, his throat dry. For a moment, he considered leaving. But greed won out. A backpack full of medicine was too valuable to ignore. Steeling himself, he stepped forward and reached for it.

Hiss—

The second his fingers brushed against the corpse's exposed skin, a searing pain shot through him. His breath hitched as his fingertips immediately turned purple, frozen numb in an instant. He yanked his hand back, gasping. That's when he saw it—a shadow flickering in the reflection of the utility room window. It was barely there. Something unnatural, shifting just beyond the edge of his vision. Not visible to the naked eye, but in the right angles, through the right reflections—he could see it.

A creeping horror clawed its way up his spine. "Shit—ghost! There's a goddamn ghost in here!" He stumbled backward, his voice echoing through the empty halls. But no one answered. Only the bitter cold pressed against his skin, wrapping around him like unseen fingers. Panic overtook him. Screw this. He had to get out. Clutching the medicine tightly, he turned and bolted from the utility room, sprinting toward the stairs.

As he ran, he spotted one of his companions standing ahead, unmoving. "There's something We-" But the moment he got closer, his words died in his throat. His "companion" was just like the man in the utility room. Frozen solid. Burned skin, intact clothing, cold mist seeping from his nose and mouth—a perfect replica of the previous corpse.

The young scavenger stumbled backward, nearly losing his balance. "Shit—SHIT!" Heart hammering, he scrambled to his feet and fled. He didn't care about the others anymore—he just needed to get the hell out of this cursed place. He barreled through the hospital doors, gasping as the crisp autumn sun hit his face. But instead of warmth, he still felt the chill clinging to him like death itself.

From the inpatient building, another scavenger, Hank, leaned out of a window and scowled. "Oi! Zell! The hell are you running for? Did you find the meds or not?!" But Zell didn't even glance back. He just ran.

Hank clicked his tongue, annoyed at being ignored. "The hell's wrong with this guy? Acting like he's seen a damn ghost." Shaking his head, he turned to go downstairs— Then he saw it. Mid-stride, Zell suddenly stopped. His legs froze mid-motion. His entire body stiffened, bit by bit— Then, in an instant, he collapsed.

Bang!

He shattered. A human body, broken like brittle ice. Fragments of red ice scattered across the pavement, sparkling in the sunlight. A second later, warmth melted the shards, leaving behind a pool of crimson blood. Hank's breath hitched. His fingers curled against the windowsill. What the hell did he just witness?

Even as a mutant, Hank felt a shiver crawl down his spine. This wasn't normal. "Move!Everyone, get out! NOW!"