AFTCKCTCKATD - Chapter 34

       Chapter 34

He Decided To Kill All The Zombies Who Wanted To Kill Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing had just instructed Ji Le to keep the thermometer tucked under his armpit when he heard the sorrowful cries. Turning around, he discovered Ji An, with his back to him, crying uncontrollably.

“What happened?” Ji Yanqing hurriedly asked as he approached.

Turning Ji An to face him, Ji Yanqing noticed that the bandage he was holding had fallen off. Ji An’s small hand was clenched tightly into a fist. With a gentle gesture, Ji Yanqing reached out to help rewrap it. “Does it hurt?”

Feeling the touch on his hand, Ji An quickly hid it behind his back, shaking his head vigorously. “No, I’m fine.”

Ji Yanqing was momentarily speechless, unsure of what had happened. Ji An had seemed perfectly fine just a moment ago.

“Brother...” Ji An looked at Ji Le with tear-filled eyes.

Hearing the crying, Ji Le turned toward them. His fever had left him feeling dazed and lethargic.

Ji Yanqing sighed softly. “He’s fine; he just caught a chill last night.”

Wiping the tears from Ji An’s cheeks, Ji Yanqing felt a surge of protectiveness wash over him. No harm would come to them—neither Ji Le nor Ji An.

“Brother.” Ji Le obediently held the thermometer with one hand while reaching out to Ji An with the other. He understood that Ji An was upset because he too was sick, and he wanted to hold his brother’s hand.

Ji Le knew Ji An had injuries on both hands, so he gently grabbed Ji An’s shirt.

After touching the heads of the two little ones, Ji Yanqing, checking the time, waited a bit longer before reaching beneath Ji Le’s clothes to retrieve the thermometer.

Indeed, Ji Le had a fever, just over eighteen degrees. While the temperature wasn’t extremely high, it still posed complications for a child who was already unwell. Ji An’s fever, however, had not subsided at all…

Ji Yanqing took a deep breath and reached into his bag to retrieve the cold medicine Ji An had been taking previously. 

A full box of antipyretics had dwindled to just six packets after Ji An had consumed nearly half in the past few days.

Taking out the medicine, Ji Yanqing glanced at the empty water bottle in his backpack, feeling somewhat troubled as he looked at Ji Le.

After all, Ji Le was still young. An adult could manage to swallow pills dry, but it would be challenging for a small child of Ji Le’s age.

“It might taste a bit unpleasant, so don’t chew, just swallow,” Ji Yanqing instructed as he tore open the packet of children’s cold medicine. Despite its sweet flavor, it was still medicine, and sweetness couldn’t mask its inherent bitterness.

Ji Le nodded obediently, opening his mouth wide. Recalling a time when Ji An had taken medicine, Ji Yanqing knew Ji Le probably knew about its taste. 

Gently holding Ji Le’s chin, Ji Yanqing poured the entire packet into his mouth. “Alright, swallow it all at once.”

Ji Le obediently closed his mouth and began to swallow. The first few gulps went down easily enough, but as the medicine dissolved, his delicate brows furrowed involuntarily.

Already thirsty, he found the dry, gritty texture clinging stubbornly to his mouth. The unpleasant sensation and the taste of the medicine filled his mouth, but he fought back the urge to spit it out, determined to swallow it all.

Ji Yanqing watched, his heart aching for the boy, but there was nothing he could do. “Just swallow it,” he encouraged softly.

It took a considerable effort, but Ji Le finally managed to swallow the last of the medicine, his eyes red and watery from the ordeal.

Ji Yanqing turned to Ji An, who had taken advantage of the distraction to sneakily re-bandage his injured hand. Ji Yanqing smoothed out the wrinkles in the makeshift bandage before handing him a packet of medicine as well.

Looking at the two pairs of wet, pitiful, yet incredibly obedient eyes, Ji Yanqing felt a pang of guilt, as though he had committed some terrible offense.

“Get some sleep, you two,” he said gently, guiding Ji An and Ji Le to lie down. “You’ll feel better when you wake up.”

The two boys obediently lay down side by side. They knew Ji Yanqing would have to leave soon, and though fear gnawed at their hearts, they were sensible enough not to throw a tantrum at a time like this.

“I’ll be back as soon as possible,” Ji Yanqing promised.

He turned to Feng Yimo. “Could you keep an eye on them for me?”

Feng Yimo, who had been silently observing, glanced at the two children. “Okay.”

With Ji An and Ji Le settled, Ji Yanqing rose and surveyed the room.

Except for Lan Zi and the other unconscious man, everyone else had awakened. Those who could move had bandaged their wounds and were ready to go.

Ji Yanqing steeled himself, his focus shifting to the task at hand – exploring the county.

He selected six or seven of the fittest individuals and led them out of the apartment and into the hallway. They ascended to the fifth floor and peered out the window.

Most of the buildings in the county were low-rise, the tallest reaching only seven or eight stories, with the majority standing at four or five stories. However, the county was vast and prosperous, the dense buildings seemingly stretching endlessly from their vantage point.

Ji Yanqing assigned areas to each person. Those without guns were tasked with scouting the safer areas on the periphery of the county. Xia Shen Shu, Li Pingsen, Xia Chen, Su Luo, and Ji Yanqing, armed with their precious firearms, were responsible for the more dangerous areas near the main streets.

Based on their observations from the mountain, the bustling street in the center of the county was quite long, lined with hundreds of shops.

If there was a large supermarket in the county, it would likely be located near that street.

With their areas assigned, Ji Yanqing wasted no time, leading the group back down.

Instead of using the stairwell, which was blocked by over twenty zombies on the ground floor, they opted to descend the building using the rope they had climbed up on.

Their water supply was completely depleted, leaving everyone’s mouths dry and throats parched and sore.

The hottest part of the day had passed, and they could probably endure the remainder of today. However, they wouldn’t last until noon tomorrow. Finding water was their top priority.

Back on the ground, stepping onto the dry, sunbaked earth where the snow had long since melted, Ji Yanqing led the group silently towards the street on the left.

Zombies roamed the street in significant numbers. Ji Yanqing expertly navigated around them, using the fields as cover.

Where the street met the farmland, a vegetable shed stood in the field. Though not tall, the mutated cabbages surrounding it had grown thick as small trees, towering over the shed.

They skirted the street and entered a narrow alley on the opposite side. After exchanging silent glances, the group dispersed, each heading towards their assigned area.

Once everyone had disappeared into the buildings, Ji Yanqing cast a quick glance in the direction where Ji An and Ji Le were resting before swiftly moving towards the buildings himself.

The county was prosperous, its inner areas resembling a city, with shops, flower beds, and abandoned vehicles lining the streets.

The shops were in disarray, covered in dust. The flower beds were overgrown with mutated flowers, plants, and trees. The abandoned vehicles were surrounded by clusters of zombies.

Moving alone, unburdened by the need to protect others, Ji Yanqing was incredibly fast. Within ten minutes, he reached the target street.

As he had observed from the mountain, the street was teeming with activity, the undead a constant, moving presence.

Ji Yanqing slipped into an alley between two buildings some distance from the street and proceeded cautiously, occasionally finding a high vantage point to assess the situation.

Halfway down the street, he reached a fork. Another street, lined with shops, stretched behind the two rows of buildings flanking the main street.

Ji Yanqing hesitated briefly but decided to continue along the main street. He nimbly jumped from rooftop to rooftop, continuing his reconnaissance.

More than ten minutes later, he had surveyed the entire main street, but there was no sign of a supermarket.

He had spotted several small convenience stores and numerous shops selling various food items, but they had all been looted, their interiors ransacked, shelves overturned, and garbage strewn everywhere.

Ji Yanqing returned to the fork and headed towards the other street.

This street was much shorter, less than one-fifth the length of the main street. Its primary businesses were two large supermarkets.

One was relatively small, its faded sign indicating its age. It was a single-story building and appeared to be closed.

The other supermarket boasted a brand-new sign and facade. Its name was identical to the older one, suggesting it had been relocated and renovated before the outbreak.

It was a cruel twist of fate that the store had been open for less than six months when the virus struck.

Spotting the brand-new supermarket with its doors wide open from afar, Ji Yanqing began to formulate a plan to approach it and bypass the zombies guarding the entrance. Just then, he noticed a figure on a distant rooftop.

It was Xia Shen Shu, waving at him from a building not far from the supermarket. He had discovered it first.

Ji Yanqing made his way towards him.

Five minutes later, the two stood on the same rooftop.

“There are at least a thousand zombies in that supermarket,” Xia Shen Shu said, pointing to the first floor of a residential building near the supermarket. The iron gate on the first floor bore a sign that read, “No Parking in Front of the Warehouse.”

“Supermarkets usually have a warehouse,” Xia Shen Shu continued. “Items that can’t be displayed are typically stored there.”

This was a county, and even a relatively prosperous one wouldn’t have a supermarket on the scale of the sprawling shopping malls found in first-tier cities.

This particular supermarket covered an area of only a few hundred square meters and had three floors.

The first floor housed the checkout area and the produce section. Stairs near the checkout led to the second floor, which stocked snacks and daily necessities. The third floor was dedicated to clothing. Its windows were sealed, preventing them from seeing inside.

Ji Yanqing leaned down, trying to get a glimpse of the first floor’s interior, but the glass shelves lining the wall near the entrance were stacked high with paper towels and other daily necessities, obscuring his view of the produce section further in.

After scouting the surrounding area and gaining a rough understanding of the terrain, the two retreated.

On their way back, they committed the landscape to memory, searching for a safe and efficient route.

It was nearly 4:00 PM when they returned to their temporary shelter. Only two of the others who had gone out were still missing.

Ten minutes later, the two stragglers returned, and the group gathered to share their findings.

“There are clear signs of recent scavenging in the city,” Li Pingsen reported. “I even saw footprints. Many footprints, belonging to at least four or five hundred people. I suspect they’re from the survival team from the plains.”

Ji Yanqing’s brow furrowed at this news.

The faces of the others darkened as well.

If the survival team had passed through and already scavenged the city, it was highly likely they had taken all the drinkable water.

If that were the case, they would have to leave immediately and reach the next city before noon tomorrow or face dehydration and death.

“What should we do?”

“Are there any other villages nearby?”

“Even if we find a village, what then? There might not be any water there either...”

As panic began to set in, Ji Yanqing spoke calmly. “If they truly have four or five hundred people, it wouldn’t be worth their time and resources to raid such a small supermarket. The bullets and effort spent dealing with the zombies might outweigh the potential gains. We still have a good chance.”

His words had a calming effect on the group. Seeing Ji Yanqing’s composed demeanor, despite his furrowed brow, helped to quell their rising anxiety.

“There are many zombies on the street and in the supermarket,” Xia Shen Shu added, “and there’s only one entrance. Unless they can fly, they haven’t been to the second floor.”

Xia Shen Shu’s assessment further eased their fears.

Xia Shen Shu glanced at Ji Yanqing, who remained deep in thought.

He didn’t voice his concerns.

After all, their conclusions were based on assumptions. The other group might be desperate enough to exploit every opportunity for supplies. The zombies might have only entered the supermarket after it had already been looted.

If that were the case, their situation would take a turn for the worse.

“Does anyone have something to write with?” Xia Shen Shu asked.

The group quickly responded, and someone found a piece of cement, tossing it to him.

Xia Shen Shu used it to sketch a map of the area surrounding the supermarket on the floor.

The supermarket and the main street formed an “H” shape. The street where the supermarket was located was only one-fifth the length of the main street, measured not by the length of the buildings but by the area occupied by the shops.

Even on the shorter street, the road extended beyond the buildings on both sides.

“There aren’t many vehicles on the street with the supermarket,” Xia Shen Shu explained, pointing to the map, “but there are many zombies, and it’s too close to the main street. Any commotion will attract all the zombies from the main street.” He indicated the supermarket’s location, which was near a street corner.

They had found their target, but the sheer number of zombies presented a formidable obstacle.

Xia Shen Shu looked at Li Pingsen and the others. “How did you handle this before?”

Li Pingsen and the others had experience raiding supermarkets from their time with Xue Gang.

“Xue Gang would send people to create a diversion, drawing the zombies out of the supermarket, while the others would sneak in and search for supplies,” Li Pingsen explained.

Xia Shen Shu nodded. This was similar to what he had suspected.

“We didn’t raid every supermarket we encountered,” Xia Chen, the thoughtful teenager, added. “This method only works in certain situations. This supermarket is too close to the main street. Any disturbance will attract all the zombies from that street. We might not even be able to escape, let alone find supplies.”

Xia Shen Shu felt a headache coming on.

They had just over seventy rounds of ammunition left, and there were at least four thousand zombies on the main street, possibly more. Even if they could kill ten zombies with one bullet, their ammunition was woefully inadequate.

“So, what do we do? Give up?”

“What about water? We can’t give up now...”

“Maybe we can try drinking the snow?”

“You go ahead and try it. Drink it first, and we’ll see if it’s poisonous.”

“Then tell me, what should we do?”

“Is there no way to lure the zombies away silently?” Xia Shen Shu interrupted the escalating argument.

Silence fell over the room. Xia Shen Shu looked up to find everyone avoiding his gaze, their faces grim.

He was puzzled. Had he said something wrong?

Li Pingsen glanced at Ji Yanqing, his expression pained. “...We can send someone to lure them away.”

Xia Shen Shu understood instantly.

Moving things also have a stimulating effect on zombies. As long as enough people run past them, those zombies will definitely go crazy and chase after them.

Xue Gang probably used this method before.

Eight or nine out of ten of those who went to attract zombies would never come back alive. Certainly, no one would be willing to do it voluntarily, but Xue Gang had a gun.

Everyone looked at Ji Yanqing. They had no other choice now.

Even if they were willing to find a new city, who knew if they would have time to find one, or if the situation in the new city would be worse than here?

Ji Yanqing didn’t say anything and just stared at the map Xia Shen Shu had drawn on the ground.

Seeing that Ji Yanqing was silent, everyone’s hearts gradually sank.

Many people even showed bitter smiles directly. After a period of getting along, they could indeed see that Ji Yanqing was different from Xue Gang, but so what?

Sometimes, even if they were unwilling, they had to compromise, otherwise, the only thing waiting for them was a dead end.

Everyone frowned, waiting for Ji Yanqing to make that worst decision.

Of all the people present, only Xia Shen Shu was still casually studying the map, not nervous at all.

After a long five or six minutes, just when everyone’s hearts were sinking, Ji Yanqing’s voice, habitually lowered slightly, came, “We can use light.”

“Light?” Xia Shen Shu raised his eyes.

“Zombies are phototactic. Light doesn’t make a sound. As long as we find the right position and create a lot of light outside the glass window, the zombies will be attracted, and then we can find a way to attract them to a place where they can’t see the supermarket.” Ji Yanqing looked at the others. “But this method can only be used at night, and the danger will increase accordingly.”

After listening to Ji Yanqing’s words, the eyes of the group of people, who had been frowning, lit up. Although Ji Yanqing’s method was troublesome, it was indeed useful.

“There is another troublesome point. The transmission of light is limited, unlike sound, which is pervasive. It is difficult to attract the zombies on the second and third floors downstairs.” Ji Yanqing said.

The windows on the second and third floors were sealed, and the light couldn’t shine in.

Even if they cleared the zombies on the first floor, as long as there were still zombies on the second and third floors, they wouldn’t be able to go up.

The second floor mainly sold snacks, drinks, and other foods, which was their main destination.

Although the first floor also sold vegetables and some frozen food, those things couldn’t be stored for a long time and must have gone bad. Besides, many people might have already been to the first floor.

“The stairs from the first floor to the second floor are near the supermarket entrance. As long as we make some noise at the entrance of the stairs, so that the zombies on the second floor are all attracted near the entrance of the stairs, as long as they can see the light downstairs, it shouldn’t be a big problem.” Xia Shen Shu’s mind turned quickly.

Ji Yanqing tried to recall the structure of the supermarket he had seen before and quickly nodded. Xia Shen Shu’s method was feasible.

After confirming that the plan was feasible, the group entered into a discussion again.

The supermarket was not far from the main street. They were acting at night when their vision was obstructed, so they couldn’t make any mistakes.

Once they made a mistake and attracted all the thousands of zombies on the main street, the only ending that awaited them would be annihilation.

The discussion lasted for an hour, until everyone’s mouths were dry, their throats were sore, and they had gone over every detail countless times.

After the discussion, Ji Yanqing, despite the burning pain in his throat, repeated the plan to make sure everyone remembered it. The group quickly dispersed.

Some went to nearby buildings to find flashlights. Zombies are phototactic. As everyone who had survived in this apocalypse knew, no one would use something like a flashlight, so it was easy to find.

Some cleared their backpacks and found ropes to prepare.

Ji Yanqing took some people to the county. They had to clear a route before it got dark, which would be convenient for them to come and go at night.

After five o’clock, the sun was about to set. The sky gradually darkened, and a hint of coolness appeared in the air. Everyone gathered in the building again.

Ji Yanqing assembled the team for the last time in the setting sun.

He divided the team into two small teams.

Xia Shen Shu was in charge of one team. He was responsible for leading Li Pingsen, Xia Chen, and Su Luo. They would use flashlights to attract the zombies by hanging down ropes from the roof.

Ji Yanqing was responsible for leading the remaining dozen or so people to enter the supermarket to search for food after the zombies were lured away.

There would definitely be remaining zombies in the supermarket at that time. Ji Yanqing was better at close combat without making noise, so he would be responsible for protecting those people.

After dividing the teams, he checked the simple “chandeliers” they had made again. Everyone quickly slid down the ropes to the building below under the setting sun.

Ji Yanqing took this opportunity to look at Feng Yimo, who had gotten up and followed him at some point.

There were not only Ji An and Ji Le in the house, who were looking at him uneasily, but also the injured and unconscious Lan Zi and another man, as well as two frail people and a child who was only about ten years old.

It was best to have someone keep an eye on the situation, and when it came down to it, he was afraid that he wouldn’t have time to take care of Feng Yimo.

“I’ll go too,” Feng Yimo said, his dark eyes looking straight into Ji Yanqing’s eyes. “To protect you.”

Ji Yanqing was stunned. He was always the one protecting others. Except for Ji An and Ji Le, no one had ever said they wanted to protect him. “Why would I need protection—”

Feng Yimo’s deep, dark eyes were devoid of any emotion, only an undeniable seriousness.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment, and the others in the house who had not had time to go downstairs all looked at Feng Yimo.

Feng Yimo didn’t care about being watched.

He didn’t care about the lives of the people in this room. Even if they all died in front of him, he wouldn’t even blink. If necessary, he could even kill them all himself.

But Ji Yanqing…

If Ji Yanqing wanted, he could directly take Ji Yanqing to the supermarket and find food that Ji Yanqing could eat. But Ji Yanqing wouldn’t want that. Although Ji Yanqing never said it, he loathed and hated zombies.

If Ji Yanqing knew that he was the Zombie King, he would definitely run away immediately and even want to kill him.

So he decided to kill all the zombies that wanted to kill Ji Yanqing.

“Ji Yanqing?” A voice came from downstairs. No one had gone downstairs since just now.

The group in the house woke up and hurried downstairs.

Ji Yanqing glanced at those people, then at Feng Yimo, who wouldn’t take no for an answer. The strange feeling in his heart grew stronger, but he couldn’t speak in the end.

After everyone else slid down, Ji Yanqing looked into the room from the window. Ji An and Ji Le, holding hands, were looking at him nervously. The eyes of the other awake people in the room were also filled with tension and unease.

“Please help me look after them,” Ji Yanqing said to the remaining conscious people in the room.

They nodded immediately.

Ji Yanqing looked at Ji An and Ji Le. “Don’t be afraid.”

After he finished speaking, he closed the window, grabbed the re-secured rope, and quickly slid down.

By the time he landed, the sun had completely set, leaving only a faint gray-white on the horizon.

That gray-white color carried a strong and heavy sense of death, dyeing the entire county with a touch of despair.

The faces of Li Pingsen’s group downstairs were all serious, and even Xia Shen Shu no longer had a smile on his face.

Feng Yimo still had no expression on his face, as if he was out of place, as if all the despair, pain, and uneasiness in the world had nothing to do with him.

Ji Yanqing took a deep breath and silently led the group towards the supermarket.

Ji Yanqing had already taken people to clear the road between the supermarket and their camp in the afternoon. Although the route made several big detours, there were no zombies along the way, and it was relatively safe.

Half an hour later, when it was completely dark, the group approached the street where the supermarket was located from the left.

Arriving at the predetermined location, Ji Yanqing glanced at the supermarket entrance, which was only fifty meters away, from the corner. He looked back at Xia Shen Shu, who immediately led the group towards the nearby building entrance.

Attracting the attention of zombies was very dangerous. Using ropes to hang down lit flashlights from the roof could minimize the danger.

After Xia Shen Shu and the others left, Ji Yanqing immediately led the others to silently hide in a building entrance near the supermarket and closed the door from the inside.

In the darkness, everyone held their breath and calculated the time it would take Xia Shen Shu and the others to reach the roof.

Time passed extremely slowly. The agreed-upon five minutes felt like five years.

When they saw the light falling from above, the foreheads of those in the building entrance were already covered in cold sweat.

Ji Yanqing’s breathing was also heavy.

Ji Yanqing turned his head back. He originally wanted to make sure that everyone was quiet and alert, but as soon as he turned around, he saw Feng Yimo’s face close at hand. Feng Yimo was standing right behind him.

There were many of them, and after they squeezed into the crowded corridor, they were almost all pressed against each other. His back was pressed against Feng Yimo’s chest, as if he was being hugged by Feng Yimo.

Ji Yanqing felt a little uncomfortable and moved forward, trying his best to stay away from Feng Yimo and sticking to the door.

He knew that his back was pressed against someone else’s, but after he knew that the person behind him was Feng Yimo, his back suddenly became burning hot for some reason.

As soon as Ji Yanqing moved, a slender but strong hand wrapped around his waist, pulling him back against the chest behind him.

Feeling the strong chest under the two thin layers of fabric on his back and the strong arms around his waist, Ji Yanqing froze.

“Don’t move,” Feng Yimo’s cold and deep voice sounded in Ji Yanqing’s ear.

Feng Yimo’s breath came closer, and Ji Yanqing’s ears trembled slightly. His breathing stagnated.

Ji Yanqing ignored his rapidly warming ears, tightened his grip on the ax in his hand, and focused all his attention on what was happening outside the door.

“Crack…” A sound of something hitting the door came from the supermarket.

Ji Yanqing immediately concentrated on the supermarket.

As a “chandelier” made of five or six flashlights tied together was lowered from above, the zombies in the supermarket quickly noticed the glowing, rotating object.

Their cloudy, rotten eyes followed the light ball as it moved, their heads turning accordingly.

The scene was extremely eerie, especially when the light from the flashlights shone on their eyeballs as it rotated. Even Ji Yanqing couldn’t help but feel a chill down his spine.

The next moment, the zombies surged out of the supermarket’s double doors like a tide, rushing towards the flashlight ball hanging at the height of the shop sign in the air.

They roared, desperately reaching out to try to grab the ball of light. Their eyes revealed madness, and greenish saliva dripped from the corners of their mouths. They were like a group of lunatics.

In an instant, all the zombies on the first floor of the supermarket and the street where the supermarket was located were attracted by the light ball, gathering in a group below it.

As the ball of light moved, the zombies below it moved along. They passed through the building entrance where Ji Yanqing and the others were hiding and headed for a corner further to the left of the entrance.

After a long and agonizing five or six minutes, all the zombies were lured around the corner by the light, disappearing into the alley away from the supermarket.

Ji Yanqing pressed his face against the door and looked outside. After confirming that there were no zombies in sight on the street, he opened the iron door in front of him as lightly as possible and slipped out sideways.

Feng Yimo followed closely behind.

As Ji Yanqing crossed the street and quickly moved towards the entrance of the supermarket, another ball of light was lowered from the roof where the previous ball of light had been hanging.

Reaching the entrance, Ji Yanqing glanced at the roof opposite. After confirming that the ball of light had reached the height of the shop sign, he entered the supermarket.

The several-hundred-square-meter supermarket was dark and messy. All kinds of goods were scattered all over the floor. There were even bloodstains on the shelves and the ground in some places.

Further inside, near the entrance, were several rows of shelves where vegetables should have been displayed. The counters were covered with rotten and dried vegetables, and a stench emanated from the freezers.

Ji Yanqing bent down and picked up a few bottles and jars from the ground.

He aimed at the spacious elevator on the right side of the entrance and quickly threw the things in his hands.

The jar, which he didn’t know contained what kind of cosmetics, hit the top of the elevator. The jar shattered, and the pieces clattered down the elevator shaft.

The crackling sound was like a death knell. Even Ji Yanqing couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

Without hesitation, Ji Yanqing immediately pulled Feng Yimo to hide under the nearby cashier counter.

Almost as they bent down, things poured down the dark stairwell from the second and third floors like a bursting dam.

The zombies poured to the top of the stairs and lost their target. Then, they saw the flashlight balls outside the door and outside the glass windows, and they rushed towards the light balls without hesitation.

This time, the noise lasted a little longer than before, but soon the sound stopped completely. All the zombies on the second and third floors had been lured out.

Xia Shen Shu and the others on the roof did the same, leading the group of zombies towards the place they had agreed on.

As they approached the building entrance where the others were hiding, the light ball suddenly dropped.

The zombies below stepped on other zombies who had been pushed to the ground and climbed up high, grabbing the light ball. They almost pulled the people upstairs down, but fortunately, the people above stabilized themselves in the end.

Five or six minutes later, after seeing the last zombie turn the corner, Ji Yanqing immediately signaled to the others at the supermarket entrance.

The door of the building where the others were hiding opened, and a group of people quickly and silently crossed the street and rushed into the supermarket.

As soon as they entered, without Ji Yanqing saying anything, the group skillfully and quickly dispersed to find food and water.

Their main goal was the second floor. The vegetables on the first floor were no longer edible, and the drinks and water were all on the second floor.

Ji Yanqing stood on the cashier counter and looked around. After confirming that there were no zombies on the first floor, he quickly followed the others to the second floor.

Taking two steps at a time, he ran up the entire staircase and arrived at the second floor platform. Looking around, Ji Yanqing couldn’t help but gasp. The shelves on the second floor were filled with food and drinks.

Although the second floor had obviously been visited countless times, and most of the shelves were left with very few items, but the piles and piles of food and water, in the eyes of Ji Yanqing, who had been struggling to survive in this apocalyptic world for more than half a year, could be described as dazzling.

Suppressing his pounding heart and the ecstasy, Ji Yanqing quickly walked past the others, who were stuffing things into their backpacks, and headed towards the front of the shelves. He hadn’t forgotten his task.

Passing by the last person, Ji Yanqing was about to speed up to take another look around and find the stairs to go upstairs when a figure suddenly rushed out from behind the shelf to his left.

Ji Yanqing instinctively raised the ax in his hand. Before he could strike, the zombie’s head fell to the ground.

Feng Yimo hadn’t forgotten his task either. He was here to kill all the zombies that tried to kill Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing glanced at Feng Yimo and, suppressing his pounding heart, moved on quickly.

The design of the supermarket staircase was very cunning. The staircase from the first floor to the second floor was near the entrance, in the most convenient location for customers, but the staircase from the second floor to the third floor was on the other side of the second floor. To go upstairs, you had to cross the entire second floor, which was filled with various goods.

In the darkness, Ji Yanqing silently and quickly crossed the entire second floor. Just as he reached the elevator to go upstairs, four zombies rushed towards him from near the elevator.

Ji Yanqing swung the ax in his hand, directly sending the first zombie flying into the wall. He turned around and used the momentum to smash the head of the second zombie.

Almost at the same time, Feng Yimo sheathed his sword.

He looked down slightly at the two heads on the ground with a hint of displeasure, as if he was unhappy that the two zombies dared to bite Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing stood at the top of the stairs and glanced upwards. Because the design of the upstairs staircase deviated from their plan and was not near the supermarket entrance, there were still quite a few figures wandering around upstairs.

Fortunately, the third floor mainly sold clothes, shoes, and socks, and there was no food. Even if they couldn’t go up, it wouldn’t be a pity.

Ji Yanqing gestured to Feng Yimo, signaling him to keep watch here, and then quickly went back the way he came. He needed to remind the others that there were more zombies upstairs than they had expected.

The others were more experienced than Ji Yanqing had expected. When Ji Yanqing crossed the entire second floor and found the others again, those who had been to the supermarket with Xue Gang saw that there were more supplies than they had expected. After filling their backpacks, they had found cardboard boxes to continue filling.

They were also surprised by the abundance of supplies in the supermarket. Everyone had uncontainable smiles on their faces, and what made them even happier was that they knew that these supplies belonged to them.

Ji Yanqing was not like Xue Gang. They could eat the things they brought back and wouldn’t have to work hard only to have everything they collected used to support Xue Gang and his group.

Thinking of this and feeling the weight of the box in their hands, everyone smiled even more happily, and their movements became even more agile.

Those smiling faces, with the corners of their mouths almost splitting to their ears, and the swiftly moving figures appeared extremely strange and terrifying in the darkness, like some kind of horror story.

They placed the packed backpacks and cardboard boxes by the elevator, which would be easy to carry downstairs. When Ji Yanqing looked over, there were already more than a dozen bulging backpacks and more than twenty boxes.

The boxes weren’t big. They were all medium and small boxes, but the food and drinks stuffed inside made people couldn’t help but feel happy.

Looking at the supplies that were almost piled up into a small mountain, Ji Yanqing couldn’t help but smile. His heart, which had been pounding with nervousness, beat even more powerfully.

Ji Yanqing didn’t just stand there foolishly. He quickly went downstairs and glanced at the others on the first floor.

All the zombies on the first floor had been lured away, and the five or six people left behind were constantly stuffing things into their backpacks.

The vegetables on the first floor were definitely inedible, and the things in the freezer had long since rotted, but there was still some uneaten flour, rice, noodles, and other things that could be eaten.

After making sure it was safe, Ji Yanqing went to the supermarket entrance and took another look. Those zombies hadn’t discovered them. The street was empty, shrouded in night.

Under the night sky, Ji Yanqing looked towards the roof opposite. There were people on the opposite roof who were looking over here, ready to respond to the signal at any time.

Ji Yanqing made a “safe” and “wait a minute” gesture to the people above and re-entered the supermarket.

Going up to the second floor and crossing the entire floor, Ji Yanqing found Feng Yimo again. From afar, he met Feng Yimo’s dark eyes.

Ji Yanqing wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but there seemed to be a hint of grievance in the depths of Feng Yimo’s eyes, as if he was feeling wronged because he was clearly here to protect him, but was left here to guard the stairwell.

Feng Yimo was tall and slender, and with the long sword that was almost as tall as a person in his hand, he gave off a cold and otherworldly feeling, as if he was completely detached from this world.

Such a person, with cold and gloomy black eyes, now had a hint of grievance.

The scene was extremely contradictory, yet inexplicably harmonious.

Feng Yimo didn’t say anything.

Ji Yanqing was in a very good mood. With so many supplies, they could definitely stay in this city for half a month.

This way, they wouldn’t have to rush on their way, and they could fully recover from their injuries here. Ji An and Ji Le would also have a chance to rest and recuperate until they were fully recovered.

Ji Yanqing approached, his good mood making him shower Feng Yimo with praise in a voice that only the two of them could hear. “Thanks to you, otherwise I wouldn’t have dared to leave this place for even half a step. Thank you for just now, for protecting me.”

Listening to Ji Yanqing’s words of praise, listening to his soft and sweet voice, and feeling the warm breath on his earlobe when he spoke, Feng Yimo’s long, slightly curled eyelashes trembled slightly.

His eyes, usually as still as an ancient pond, rippled with a faint light, and he looked faintly towards the dark stairwell leading to the third floor.

He could easily kill all the zombies on the third floor silently!

The corners of Ji Yanqing’s mouth curled up. It was as if he could see an invisible tail wagging happily behind Feng Yimo.

Feng Yimo sometimes puzzled him. It was as if he had no human emotions, but sometimes, he was surprisingly easy to understand. A word of praise would make him happy for a long time.

“Could you please keep an eye on this stairwell for a little longer? I want to go downstairs and check out the warehouse across the street.” Ji Yanqing’s tone was lighthearted and unconsciously gentle.

There was also a warehouse opposite the supermarket. He wasn’t sure if it belonged to this supermarket.

They had found unexpectedly abundant supplies in this supermarket, enough for them to eat for half a month. But no one would mind having more supplies.

“Okay.” Knowing that Ji Yanqing was very happy, Feng Yimo couldn’t refuse.

Ji Yanqing turned and left.

Watching Ji Yanqing’s back disappear among the dark shelves, Feng Yimo drew his sword, determined to guard the stairwell and prevent any zombies from coming down.

Even though Ji Yanqing wasn’t a zombie, he could somehow control his mind… 

----

<Prev><TOC><Next>

----