7.1 End of the World: The Doctor

Before Qiao Chen could open his eyes, he felt a sharp pain on his forehead. He reached up and touched his head to find a half dried and bloodied wound on his forehead.

Qiao Chen slowly sat up. As he moved, he brushed against the metal parts and knocked them onto the ground. The metal parts clattered against the ground. Qiao Chen looked around at his surroundings. The moonlight filtered in through the upper windows on the top of the wall. It looked like he was in an abandoned factory. The general area was scattered with remnants of old and broken machinery. Scraps and metal parts littered the floor.

Qiao Chen frowned in pain. The injury on his forehead was quite painful. He was also dizzy from the apparent blow to his head. The metal that clattered against the floor didn't help him either. All of this accumulated him unable to recall this life time for now.

Even though Qiao Chen felt dizzy, he didn't relax his guard. There was a strange and chilling feeling about his situation right now. His intuition proved to be true because he suddenly heard some strange noises outside. Qiao Chen stood up using the old machine beside him. Using the nearby machinery as his cover, he slowly and cautiously maneuvered his way to a low hanging window at the corner. Qiao Chen crouched down carefully and looked outside.

Qiao Chen inhaled a sharp breath. The hair all over his body stood up. He quickly popped back and pressed himself against the wall. His heart beat wildly. Half of this reaction was from fear and half was from shock. The gruesome and horrifying looking humanoids made his blood run cold.

Qiao Chen didn't waste any more time on waiting for his mind to recover the memories on his own. He activated the system and had it show him the information he needed. The system affirmed his suspicions. He was currently facing the zombie apocalypse.

Once he prepared himself, Qiao Chen crouched down once more to survey the situation outside. He watched as the zombies outside made their way towards the factory. He had to find a safe place to hide before he could find out everything he needed in this lifetime.

Qiao Chen silently made his way to the opposite wall. Then he climbed up the crumbling iron ladder. Vague pieces of memories flittered through his mind as he reached the top of the ladder. Once he reached the second floor, Qiao Chen had already remembered some things about his reincarnation in this lifetime. He started up the system again and had it scan his body. The system notified him that his healing ability had been activated, so Qiao Chen touched his forehead and healed the wound. When he finished, the gash had disappeared and smooth, healthy skin replaced it.

Qiao Chen silently walked to the electric box and opened it slightly. Qiao Chen looked through the iron railing towards the 1st floor. Several zombies already entered the factory. They circled the area near the spot he had just woken up from and looked around. It was highly likely that they smelled the blood stains he left behind, so they lingered there in search of their next meal.

Qiao Chen's reincarnation in this lifetime was Mu Chen. Mu Chen was born from a family of doctors. This medical family birthed several doctors for several generations of their lineage. Mu Chen's family opened a large private hospital, so that was where most of the family practiced medicine. Mu Chen was also an excellent medical practitioner.

However, the apocalypse suddenly erupted. Most humans on earth mutated into zombies. There were only some people who mutated, but stayed human. This small group of people obtained various abilities. Of this small group of ability users, the healing ability was the rarest.

The rest of the people left did not mutate. They neither turned into zombies nor acquired any special abilities. The previous Mu Chen was thought to be a normal person. However, he actually had a healing ability that just hadn't been activated yet.

Mu Chen's father was the head of the hospital. He had died under a zombie siege in order to allow more people to escape. Mu Chen was left with no other living family or relatives. He had no choice but to follow Fan Huailin. Fang Huailin was a childhood friend who grew up with Mu Chen.

Fang Huailin was a soldier. Mu Chen liked him for many years. The two maintained a somewhat ambiguous relationship, but neither one crossed the line into a truly romantic relationship. Neither one acted too romantic towards each other either.

Mu Chen liked Fang Huailin. Fang Huailin liked him back too. Unfortunately, there was someone who stood between them. That someone was Sun Yu.

Sun Yu's older brother, Sun Bin, was Fang Huailin's close friend in the army. Because of their bad family background, Fang Huailin took it upon himself to take care of Sun Yu. He helped Sun Yu throughout his life as well as in school. Fang Huailin used his relationship with Mu Chen to get Sun Yu into medical school when he failed to obtain a spot. Fang Huailin paid for the tuition fees for the entirety of Sun Yu's education. Then, once Sun Yu graduated, Fang Huailin asked Mu Chen to get Sun Yu a job in his family's hospital.

Mu Chen refused. However, due to Fang Huailin's repeated requests, Mu Chen relented and found a medical internship for Sun Yu at his family's hospital. Immediately after Sun Yu began the internship, Mu Chen realized that Sun Yu's medical skills were subpar. He made frequent mistakes, and it was obvious that he had little no medical knowledge.

Mu Chen figured that since this was a person he personally brought into the hospital, he needed to take responsible for his actions. Therefore, Mu Chen took in Sun Yu's charges in addition to guiding Sun Yu himself. He was taught and reprimanded several times. Mu Chen asked Sun Yu to read more books to supplement his professional knowledge. He also advised Sun Yu to shadow more experienced doctors to learn and consult with them to improve his technical skills.

Unfortunately, Sun Yu didn't appreciate this. He complained to Fang Huailin. He claimed that Mu Chen was constantly targeting him and that Mu Chen would deliberately find faults to scold him. Sun Yu tended to do this in front of Mu Chen, so Mu Chen would explain the real reason. This caused Mu Chen and Fang Huailin to get into heated arguments. Eventually, the sweet feelings would rot when there were enough arguments, so their weak possibility of love crumbled under their fiery arguments. Mu Chen wanted to have Sun Yu to leave the hospital and then leave him to his own devices.

This was when the apocalypse suddenly broke out. The end of the world was here. The world suddenly became sad and strange. People's emotions were running high and trust was thin. Mu Chen had no other family members and no other relatives. He had no choice but to follow Fang Huailin to the base where their army was located.

It was the end of the world as they knew it. Medical supplies and medicines were either scarce or non existant. Furthermore, the injuries from zombies were far more sinister than modern medicine could handle. People could only be treated by individuals with healing powers.

Mu Chen was considered an ordinary person because his medical skills and experience were worthless. He hadn't stimulated his ability, so he was treated like any other common person at the base.

Sun Yu obtained the rarely seen and highly sought after healing ability early. He was given special treatment since there weren't many others who didn't have healing. Furthermore, he constantly and consistently used his abilities to aid others. He was a very, very selfish person and valued his life over all others, but he always put on a face of selflessness when others were present. He'd heal the ones who were lightly injured or had low chances of turning into zombies first. Then he'd feign tiredness so he wouldn't have to treat the patients who were on the verge of turning. This was how he seemed so heroic in the public eye.

Even though Mu Chen's medical skills couldn't play a big role in helping others who were hurt by zombies, he still did all that he could to help everyone he could. Unfortunately, Sun Yu still had the need to make trouble for Mu Chen wherever he went. It was the last straw for Fan Huialin when Sun Yu told him that Mu Chen had beat him up.

Mu Chen was an aloof person with a lot of pride. He never bothered to defend himself because he believed that people who understood who he was as a person would know that he wouldn't do those kinds of things. He wouldn't care about what others said about him. This was especially true for Fan Huailin- the one who supposedly understood him, but didn't care for him.

Mu Chen lived in this way for two years on the base. During these two years countless people died daily. Refugees easily replaced them when they sought shelter on the base. Initially, as a doctor, Mu Chen forced himself to be more indifferent when it came to death. He experienced it regularly as a doctor in modern times. However, now he was face with the zombie apocalypse. His heart turned heavy and he lost hope. He had to numb himself because of the reality they all had to face.

Mu Chen decided that he would live day to day going about his life as best as he could. He couldn't allow petty squabbles with Fang Hauilin and baseless accusations from Sun Yu bother him anymore. However, Sun Yu wouldn't leave him be and set his sights on Mu Chen's set of scalpels.

The only thing Mu Chen brought with him when they escaped the hospital was this set. These scalpels were a very important family heirloom. His grandfather left them behind for his father and his father for him. These scalpels were always carefully locked away in his father's office. His father was already planning and staying behind and stalling the zombies so they could escape. However, he also wanted Mu Chen to grab the scalpels as well. These scalpels were all Mu Chen had left to remind him of his family and his father's sacrifice.

Another group of people arrived at the base to seek refuge recently. One of them was a doctor who had worked at his hospital. Sun Yu somehow found out from that men that Mu Chen's set of scalpels were made with a legendary cold iron*. It was said that these scalpels could cut bone like slicing green onions, and even slice through steel. Furthermore, due to the icy nature of the metal, the scalpels could cut human skin without it bleeding for a while. Then, it would heal was like there was no incision ever made.

Sun Yu asked Mu Chen to take out the scalpels for the "sake" of treating more people. Unsurprisingly, Mu Chen didn't want to. It was not because he was selfish and didn't want others to see it. The truth was that not everyone could use the scalpels. Even his own father couldn't use it very often. He was only able to use it occasionally after he was 40 years old.

His grandfather had said that if the user's medical skills were insufficient, then these tools that were supposed to save others would turn into a weapon of death.

Mu Chen insisted that he couldn't take out the scalpels and use them. Sun Yu kicked up a huge fuss and directed everyone's dissatisfactions to blame Mu Chen. Sun Bin, Sun Yu's oldest brother, joined in too. He self righteously pointed at Mu Chen and scolded him for lazing about and leeching the food and water from the base. He accused him of hiding things away like treasures instead of doing all he could to save people's lives in this time of need and despair.

This was the first time Mu Chen wanted to defend himself. He argued back, but no one wanted to believe him. They all accused him, insulted him, and then shunned him. Sun Yu even forced him to hand over the scalpels.

Mu Chen could no longer stay at the base and live as he intended. Once night fell, he stole a jeep and ran away in the dark of the night. Unfortunately, night was also the time where zombies seemed to more aware. Their strength and attack power seemed to grow. The zombies' nature also became even more ferocious than normal. Mu Chen was avoiding a large group of zombies and was forced to crash the car.

Mu Chen was finally able to get rid of the zombies. He had no choice but to drive the damaged car towards this abandoned factory and seek shelter. Mu Chen only wanted to stay for the night and then somehow escape at dawn. Unfortunately he was very unlucky. He was knocked unconscious the moment he entered the factory by a loose chain that slipped off its hook.

In Qiao Chen's previous life as Mu Chen, the blood on his head attracted the zombies. He died while still unconscious. However, with Qiao Chen's rebirth, Qiao Chen luckily woke up before the zombies' arrival.

Qiao Chen found some tools to repair the car outside. He quietly crept out and walked to the car in the distance. Qiao Chen looked up at the rising sun in the east. It looked like it would be a good day today even though it would be very hot. The dazzling, hot sun in the horizon warmed his heart.

Qiao Chen easily fixed the car back into working shape. Then he returned to the factory to look for things to defend himself with. Even though he used the system to awaken his ability, his current body was at zero attack ability and zero defense capability. He could only rely on his brain right now.

Qiao Chen found a working fire extinguisher, an iron rod, and even a half canister of gas. He quietly brought those items to the car and drove off.

Qiao Chen continued forward without a particular destination in mind. He definitively wouldn't return to that base. He wanted to find his lover in this world first. He really wanted to see his man, but didn't know where he was. However, he knew that because he was given this chance to start again, then fate definitely wanted them to meet soon.

Qiao Chen continued to drive aimlessly. He saw some zombies on the side of the roads from time to time, but it daytime. The zombies' strengths seemed to wane in the day. He'd be able to escape from them as long as he drove a bit faster. The only way he'd have trouble would be from level three zombies. Level one and two zombies didn't have the speed during the day to catch up to a moving car.