In the apocalypse, I hoarded goods and handed over my storage space to the government.

Time: Day 2 of the apocalypse countdown.

Qingshan Mental Hospital, Intensive Care Unit.

The corridor was dimly lit, and the air was filled with a strange smell of highly concentrated disinfectant and moldy mops.

This is a forgotten corner of the world, and also the last area to be evacuated.

Special isolation ward, room 302.

"Let me go! I'm not sick! It's getting dark... Blood! It's blood! It's churning in the clouds, can't you hear it? Can't you hear it?!"

The sharp screams pierced through the soundproofing and echoed throughout the hall.

A girl wearing a striped hospital gown had her limbs tightly bound to the hospital bed with heavy leather straps.

She looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old, with messy long hair and a sickly pale complexion.

Those eyes were frighteningly large, their pupils contracting violently, as if they were seeing some indescribable horror through the stark white ceiling.

"Heart rate 140, blood pressure 160/100, patient is extremely manic."

Beside the bedside, Dr. Liu, the attending physician, glanced at the monitor and then wrote a line of text in a flowing hand on the patient's medical record:

"Paranoiac schizophrenia, accompanied by severe violent tendencies."

"Director, she keeps shouting things like 'Red Rain' and 'cannibalism,' and it's been going on for three days now. Her voice is hoarse from shouting."

The nurse next to me was carrying a tray, her hands trembling slightly. "It sounds terrifying."

"Then increase the dosage."

Standing by the bed, Director Liu's eyes were cold and held a hint of professional disgust.

"These are extraordinary times. Reading apocalyptic novels can make her lose sight of reality. Give her a sedative and arrange for an electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)."

"No! Don't give me a shot! I won't sleep! I want to keep watch... If I fall asleep, I won't be able to escape!"

The girl on the bed, Bai Lu, looked at the sharp needle and struggled desperately.

"Doctor, she's already had one injection today," the nurse said.

Director Liu sneered, "Am I the doctor or are you? In the eyes of a mental patient, even a mushroom in the corner can fall in love with her. Do it!"

Two burly caregivers rushed in and pinned down Bai Lu's hands and feet like a dead pig.

The cold needle tip slowly approached Bai Lu's pale, slender arm.

The white deer closed its eyes in despair.

Nobody believes it.

Nobody in this world believes her.

The loneliness of being abandoned by the whole world chilled her to the bone more than the monsters of the apocalypse.

Just a second before the needle tip was about to pierce the skin.

"Bang!!!"

The specially made explosion-proof alloy door was kicked open from the outside!

The immense impact caused the entire door panel to detach from the frame and slam into the floor at Director Liu's feet with a loud bang.

"Who?!"

Director Liu's hand trembled, and he almost pricked himself with the needle. He turned around and roared, "Which department are you from? Don't you know the rules?! This is the intensive care unit!"

At the entrance, Su Ran stood dressed in a black combat trench coat, her eyes sharp as knives.

Behind him stood Li Guodong, who looked menacing.

Su Ran ignored Director Liu and looked through the crowd at the girl who was being held down on the hospital bed.

In her previous life, she was the strongest mentalist among humans, the "Empress" Bai Lu.

It is said that during the apocalypse, she was locked up in a hospital as a madwoman and was almost eaten by doctors and patients who had mutated into zombies.

Driven by extreme terror, she awakened her S-level psychic abilities and used her mind to snap the necks of all the zombies in the building.

But that trauma also made her extremely extreme and neurotic; anyone who wanted to recruit her was completely out of their mind.

"We made it this time."

Su Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

He lifted his foot, stepped over the door panel on the ground, and walked into the ward step by step.

"Who are you? Security guard! Where are all the security guards? Throw these lunatics out!"

Director Liu felt an instinctive sense of fear upon seeing these uninvited guests.

"Shut up."

Su Ran didn't even glance at him, and went straight to the hospital bed.

"What...what do you want to do?"

Director Liu, blustering but actually weak, stood in front of them, saying, "I'm the head of this department. If you dare to do anything wrong, I'll call the police immediately!"

"Call the police?"

Su Ran stopped in his tracks, pointing to Bai Lu trembling on the hospital bed. "You're saying she's sick?"

"Of course! Typical paranoia, illogical thinking, and hallucinations."

Director Liu straightened his back, a confidence born from his expertise. "She even said that in three days the world would rain red blood and there would be cannibalistic zombies. What else could she be but madness?"

"oh."

Su Ran gave a perfunctory answer, turned around, and looked at the white deer curled up in a ball.

The girl was also looking at him in horror.

Su Ran spoke up, "Bai Lu, it's very noisy outside, isn't it?"

Bai Lu was stunned.

"It felt like tens of thousands of cicadas were chirping in my head. When I closed my eyes, I could see red clouds and smell... a smell like rotten meat being roasted on a hot plate."

Su Ran extended a finger and gently tapped Bai Lu's brow: "Is this the feeling?"

Bai Lu's pupils dilated violently, and his whole body trembled.

"You...you can see?"

Bai Lu's voice was hoarse, with a trembling sob in it.

"I can't see it, but I know it's real."

Su Ran smiled, took a piece of chocolate out of her pocket, tore open the wrapper, and held it to Bai Lu's lips. "Eat something sweet, and your head won't hurt anymore."

"Are you... are you insane too?"

Bai Lu stared blankly at the chocolate, tears streaming down her face without warning.

"crazy?"

Su Ran turned around and looked at Director Liu, who had just gotten up from the ground and looked terrified.

"In this world on the verge of collapse, only we are normal. As for them..."

Su Ran pointed at Director Liu, then at the people outside the window, "They're the ones who're still half asleep."

"Bullshit! You're the crazy one!"

Director Liu clutched his chest, pointing angrily at Su Ran, "You all have severe schizophrenia! It's mass hysteria! I'm calling the police! I'm having the SWAT team arrest you all!"

"No need to report it."

Li Guodong, who had been standing silently at the door, walked in.

He expressionlessly pulled a document stamped with the bright red national emblem from his pocket and slapped it directly onto Director Liu's pale face.

"Ministry of State Security, Special Operations Group."

Li Guodong's voice was like the clash of metal, cold and imposing: "According to the 'Special Wartime Mobilization Order,' this hospital is under military control. Furthermore..."

"And this Miss White Deer."

Li Guodong pointed to the hospital bed. "She's a top-tier national strategic talent. You're giving her a sedative? If that injection damages her brain nerves, even being shot a hundred times wouldn't be enough to compensate for it!"

Director Liu froze.

The document slipped out, and he saw the words on it: [Order to recruit Comrade Bai Lu, a special sensory talent - issued by the Supreme Command].

He recognized each word individually, but when put together, they completely shattered his worldview.

Is it normal for the state to recognize her?

To admit that the nonsense about the red rain and monsters is true?

"No, this is impossible, this is not scientific..."

If Bai Lu isn't crazy, then who is? Is it this world?

Director Liu rolled his eyes and immediately shut up.

Su Ran was too lazy to pay any more attention to this doctor whose worldview had collapsed.

"Can you still walk?" Su Ran asked.

Bai Lu stared blankly at him, then looked at the steel behemoths outside the window.

"Are you... here to arrest me?" she asked timidly.

"No."

Su Ran pulled a tactical dagger from his pocket, and with a flash of cold light, he cut through the tough straps used to restrain the madman.

"I'm here to tell you that you're not sick."

Su Ran extended her hand, her eyes sincere and fervent: "This world has indeed gone mad, but you and I are clear-headed. The country believes in you, and I believe in you."

"Come with me, to a place where you can see the future."

The white deer looked at the hand that was being reached out to it.

Slender, strong, and warm.

This is the first time in six months that someone has reached out to her without intending to tie her up.

"Wow!"

The girl suddenly threw herself into Su Ran's arms and burst into tears.

The grievances and fears that had been building up for countless days and nights finally burst forth at this moment.

Su Ran gently patted Bai Lu's back, and once she calmed down a bit, she draped a military overcoat she had brought over her shoulders.

"Let's go."