After Raising Monsters, I Was Loved by Everyone in the Wasteland – CH19

Chapter 19

In the beginning, only a small group noticed the rumors about a mutated rabies outbreak in City H.

They were the marketing accounts operating in various social entertainment sections.

Like hyenas smelling meat, they swarmed in, compiling the first-hand information they gathered, and regardless of its truthfulness, paired it with blurry online images, wildly reposting across major platforms.

#Breaking! City H experiences autumn flu; risk of infection upon contact.

#Suspected new infectious disease confirmed; fatality rate as high as 100%

#Don’t panic! Remember to take preventive measures to keep the new infectious disease away from you and your family

#Debunked: Fake drug dealers fabricate new viruses to boost sales—is it a distortion of human nature or a loss of morality?

In today’s era of information overload, the internet is full of both true and false news.

Often, before you finish digesting one piece of gossip, someone kicks it away the next second, and you’re bewilderedly handed a new one, stuck in your throat.

As a result, netizens who’ve been poisoned by fake news looked at this and immediately rolled their eyes.

“Seriously, is there nothing better to report? Every year it’s the flu, year after year. Can’t you find something new?”

“The last time I saw it, it was mutated rabies.”

“First you spread rumors, then you debunk them—in the same media outlet. Can’t you at least get your stories straight before publishing?”

“Disliked. A 100% fatality rate? Only fools would believe that.”

…

“I’m from City H, and I’m writing in blood: Can someone first deal with those animals running around? It’s been so long, and there are still tigers and lions roaming outside. Are you kidding me?”

“For a moment, I thought I was living in a primordial jungle.”

“Also from City H, I’m nervous every time I go out to work now, afraid that a tiger might pop out of nowhere and bite me to death!”

“Honestly, those large animals are so conspicuous; why haven’t they all been caught by now??”

“Seven people have been bitten and hospitalized, and even three people have been bitten to death. Can’t we take this seriously!”

“Help, the incident happened not far from my home!”

Compared to flu transmission, animals biting people is a real and visible threat.

When heavily pixelated bloody images spread online, they instantly stirred public panic and anger.

No one wants to find out what it’s like to be bitten alive. Netizens in City H complained bitterly, flocking to traffic and public safety accounts to protest.

For a while, everyone’s focus was on the incidents of escaped animals injuring people, and few paid attention to the flu virus.

Even the official warnings and suggestions were drowned out in the noisy chatter.

Until incidents of people biting people began to occur frequently.

The first case appeared near a vegetable market. The attacker was an unsupervised mental patient who injured both vendors and well-meaning passersby who tried to help. Several ambulances were dispatched to take all the wounded away.

The second case happened less than 300 meters away in a restaurant, where at least three people were harmed.

The third case occurred in a hospital. A patient suddenly went berserk, biting through a doctor’s throat. Blood splattered all over the bed and floor. The attacker was tested and confirmed to have rabies.

…

More and more patients began biting people on the streets. An increasing number of citizens witnessed their madness during episodes.

People were shocked to find that these patients not only lost their minds and couldn’t recognize anyone, but their appearances had drastically changed.

Someone couldn’t help but upload a video, with text visibly anxious:

“My dad was bitten by a lunatic who jumped out from the roadside, and suddenly he turned into this. His jaw won’t close, and he’s drooling nonstop. What should I do?!”

The man in the video was tightly bound with bedsheets, and his original appearance was almost unrecognizable—abnormally swollen skin, eyes red like dripping blood, turbid yellow saliva flowing from the corners of his mouth. He opened his mouth, emitting beast-like growls.

Those who saw this video felt as if their hearts had stopped.

They trembled as they tried to download it.

The next second, the page refreshed, showing that the account had been banned for spreading false information.

It was as if fate had played a ridiculous joke on the people of City H.

In the days that followed, the number of injured skyrocketed. Major hospitals were overwhelmed, and even clinic beds began to run out.

Food prices soared; supermarkets were cleared out by shoppers; pharmacies were looted; scalpers hiked up drug prices.

Roads out of the city were blocked, prohibiting residents from leaving.

Similar disasters were also unfolding in other cities.

*

At the same time, in City G, near Wen Xin’s residential area.

Tang Qi walked briskly while scrolling through his phone.

But no matter how much he refreshed or switched data cards back and forth, the page only showed a 404 network error.

He couldn’t help but curse under his breath, “Are these real news or Photoshopped images? What the hell is the official doing? Not even coming out to debunk the rumors!”

Wen Xin was looking ahead. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone behind them charging recklessly and quickly pulled Tang Qi aside.

Tang Qi stumbled out of the way, watching the person brush past them without looking back, rushing into the supermarket ahead. He shouted angrily, “Running so fast—are you in a hurry to reincarnate?!”

But they didn’t have time to argue now.

City G was far from City H, and many news and reports had been suppressed by hidden forces. By the time people got wind of it, there were already over a dozen cases of the new type of rabies virus patients in the city.

Moreover, the City G People’s Hospital had officially issued a notification, leaving no chance for people to ignore it.

At this moment, the supermarket was packed inside and out with people who had seen the news online and were urgently coming to stock up on supplies.

Some had even teamed up and driven vans, hauling away goods by the box.

In desperation, Tang Qi grabbed Wen Xin’s wrist and squeezed inside.

Wen Xin hurriedly held onto Canary, who had come along to help, to prevent the boy from getting separated in the crowd.

To improve purchasing efficiency, after entering the supermarket, the three split up. Tang Qi went to buy snacks, and Wen Xin took Canary to buy rice and flour.

The scene of people grabbing goods could only be described as chaotic.

Someone was just about to reach for items on the shelf, only to see an entire row of instant noodles being swept into a shopping cart below by someone else’s arm. They were so anxious their voice raised by two decibels, “Buying so much—planning to eat it into your next life?”

“Screw you! Mind your own business whether I can finish it or not.”

“Those online news might not even be true. The officials haven’t said anything yet. Can you calm down? I just want to buy some meat and vegetables to cook at home!”

Staff hurriedly tried to organize the crowded people: “Don’t grab! Don’t grab! Our supermarket restocks every day; please don’t push! Those in the back, line up properly; don’t push!”

“Stand back! You’re going to step on someone—”

Wen Xin used his arm to shield Canary, standing side by side with another girl in a hoodie.

Seeing the hoodie girl being pushed and about to collide with the metal shelf, he said, “Careful!”

At the same time, he reached out quickly to help block her.

After the girl regained her balance, she immediately reacted, using her elbow to push away the person who had bumped into her.

Then, she quickly grabbed the last two bags of rice, tossing one into her own shopping cart and the other into Wen Xin’s.

This almost made the person behind them, who was trying to cut in line, see red.

But since they were surrounded by people, if he stopped, others would occupy his spot. He could only give up angrily and go with others to grab bulk rice.

“Make way! Everyone, make way! Let us get out!”

Wen Xin shielded Canary behind him. The three of them finally squeezed out of the crowd in front of the shelves and reached an open space.

The girl let out a long breath, almost squatting directly on the ground.

A month’s worth of training had paid off. Compared to her, Wen Xin could still stand steadily, but he was also left with a lingering fear of people’s madness.

He looked at the extra bag of rice in his shopping cart and said to the girl, “Thank you.”

The hoodie girl caught her breath and nodded, “Thank you too for helping me just now.”

She had other items to buy. After saying this, she rushed out again, heading straight to the canned goods section.

Wen Xin couldn’t afford to rest either. Staring at the shopping list in his hand, he proceeded to other sections one by one.

There were quite a few items on the list, but fortunately, Canary was by his side.

As a mutant, Canary was much stronger than ordinary people. When he saw someone sneaking up to push Wen Xin aside, he unceremoniously kicked them away.

“Damn, who kicked me! Ah, don’t push—”

What usually would take only half an hour took over two hours due to the crowding and queuing.

The moment they left the supermarket, all three felt the air was much fresher, grateful to see the light of day again.

Tang Qi couldn’t understand how their routine daily life had suddenly turned into this.

“I really regret not buying more food when I went to the supermarket with you before.”

He looked back at the sea of people behind them, his scalp tingling. “This is terrifying, damn.”

When he saw the news, Tang Qi doubted his eyes. After scrolling through more than a dozen pages of netizen comments, the more he read, the more his hair stood on end. So he hurried to Wen Xin’s home to inform his good friend.

He was so shocked that he hadn’t even thought about stocking up on food. It was Wen Xin who quickly calmed down and reminded him, and the three hurried to the supermarket.

Now, they had bought enough food for almost a week. Combined with what Wen Xin had stored in his utility room, they had enough to last over a month at least.

Wen Xin rubbed his forehead.

With the prior presence of the furballs, he wasn’t as shocked as others by this earth-shattering reality.

He had seen the images Tang Qi shared and felt that the situation might not be as simple as just needing to stock up on food and medicine.

Why had Wen Jinfeng warned him to stock up a month earlier? Why hadn’t the infection been controlled yet? Why did those patients look nothing like humans but more like mutated monsters?…

This was only the first day that City G reported the appearance of a mutated rabies virus within the city.

By the second day, even more surreal events occurred.