Chapter 34

Chapter 34

001.

Ji Yanqing had just instructed Ji Le to place the thermometer under his armpit when he heard sobbing. Turning around, he saw Ji'an crying with his back turned to him.

"What's wrong?" Ji Yanqing asked, concerned.

Ji Yanqing turned Ji'an towards him and noticed that the bandage on his hand had come off; his little fist was clenched tightly. Reaching out, Ji Yanqing offered to re-bandage his hand. "Does your wound hurt?"

Ji'an, startled by the touch, quickly hid his hand behind his back, shaking his head vigorously. "No."

Ji Yanqing was perplexed, unsure what had happened since everything seemed fine with Ji'an moments ago.

"Brother..." Ji'an looked at Ji Le through teary eyes.

Ji Le, who had been looking in their direction upon hearing the crying, was somewhat disoriented from the fever and lacked energy.

Ji Yanqing sighed softly. "Your brother is fine; he just caught a chill last night."

Wiping away the tears on Ji'an's cheeks, Ji Yanqing reassured him that he would take care of both Ji Le and Ji'an.

"Brother." Ji Le, with one hand obediently holding the thermometer, reached out his other hand towards Ji'an, aware that his crying was due to concern for him. He wanted to hold Ji'an's hand.

Ji'an moved closer to stand beside Ji Le but didn't let him hold his hand.

Understanding that both of Ji'an's hands were injured, Ji Le gently grabbed onto his clothes instead.

Patting the two boys' heads, Ji Yanqing waited for the appropriate time before retrieving the thermometer from under Ji Le's shirt.

Indeed, Ji Le had developed a fever, with a temperature slightly above eighteen degrees Celsius. While not particularly high, it was still troublesome given the circumstances.

Ji'an's fever, on the other hand, had persisted...

Taking a deep breath, Ji Yanqing went over to his backpack and retrieved the cold medicine that Ji'an had been taking.

The entire box of fever-reducing medication had nearly been depleted over the past few days, with only six small packets remaining after Ji'an had consumed almost half of it.

Taking out the medicine, Ji Yanqing glanced at the empty water bottle in his backpack, feeling a bit at a loss.

Ji Le was still a child, and while an adult could force themselves to swallow pills, it was more challenging to have a child do so without water.

"It might taste bad, but don't chew it; just swallow it..." Ji Yanqing opened the packet.

The cold medicine was specifically formulated for children and had a sweet flavor, but even so, it wasn't exactly pleasant.

Ji Le nodded, opening his mouth obediently.

He remembered the taste of the medicine from when Ji Yanqing had given it to Ji'an previously.

Ji Yanqing gently held his chin and poured the entire bag of medicine in, "There, swallow it all in one go."

Ji Le obediently closed his mouth and began to swallow.

It was alright for the first few swallows, but the medicine soon spread in his mouth, causing his shallow brows to furrow uncontrollably.

He was already extremely thirsty, and the dry pills stuck to his mouth almost entirely.

Ji Le disliked that feeling and the taste of the medicine in his mouth. He barely managed not to vomit and tried his best to swallow.

Ji Yanqing watched anxiously from the side, yet there was nothing he could do. "Just swallow them..."

It took Ji Le some time to finally swallow all the medicine in his mouth. By then, his eyes were red from the ordeal.

Ji Yanqing looked at Ji'an beside him. Ji'an had already secretly tied up his own hand while he was feeding the medicine. Ji Yanqing straightened out the creases on his clothes and gave him a pack of medicine to swallow as well.

After feeding them the medicine, looking at the two pairs of wet, aggrieved yet obedient eyes, Ji Yanqing felt as if he had done something unforgivable.

"You should sleep again. When you wake up, your illness will be gone." With that, Ji Yanqing made Ji'an and Ji Le lie down on the ground.

The two boys lay down obediently side by side. They knew that Ji Yanqing was about to leave and were afraid something would happen to him, but they were also sensible and would not act capriciously or cry at this moment.

"I'll be back as soon as possible," Ji Yanqing reassured them.

Ji Yanqing turned to Feng Yimo. "Could you please help look after them?"

Feng Yimo, who had been watching him, glanced at the two boys. "Mm."

Having settled Ji'an and Ji Le, Ji Yanqing got up and looked at the others in the room.

Everyone in the room, except for the unconscious Lan Zi, had woken up. Those with enough strength had bandaged their wounds and were ready to set off.

Ji Yanqing composed himself and focused on exploring the county town.

He selected six or seven people in the best condition from the crowd and led a group out into the corridor. They climbed up to the fifth-floor window and looked out.

Most of the buildings in the county town were not very tall, with the tallest being only seven or eight stories high, while the rest were mostly four or five stories. However, the county itself was vast and more prosperous than ordinary towns. From the fifth floor, the buildings were densely packed, and the end was barely visible.

Ji Yanqing assigned each person a specific area. The few without guns were responsible for the relatively safe areas around the outskirts of the county, while Xia Shenshu, Li Pingsen, Xia Chen, Su Luo, and he himself, who had guns, were in charge of the dangerous areas near the streets.

From what they had observed from the mountain earlier, the bustling street in the center of the county was quite long, with hundreds of shops lining both sides.

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

Having determined their respective responsibilities, Ji Yanqing did not waste any more time and led the group back into the building.

They did not leave directly through the corridor, as there were over twenty zombies outside the entrance on the ground floor. Instead, they chose to descend the wall using ropes, the same way they had come up.

They had no water left, and everyone's mouths were dry and bitter, and their throats sore.

The hottest part of the day had passed, and they could barely make it through today, but they would definitely not survive until noon tomorrow. They had to find water as soon as possible.

Descending to the ground floor, treading on the dry, scorching earth where the snow had long since melted, Ji Yanqing silently led the group toward the left side of the street.

There were zombies on the street, and there were quite a few. Ji Yanqing led the way around the fields.

In the field directly opposite the street, there was a vegetable shelter. The shelter wasn't very tall, but the small cabbages inside had mutated and grown like sturdy saplings, towering over the shelter.

After circling around the street and entering another alley on the opposite side, the group exchanged silent glances before quickly dispersing in their respective directions.

After everyone's figures had vanished among the buildings, Ji Yanqing glanced at the direction where Ji'an and Ji Le were and then swiftly headed into the buildings.

The county town was quite prosperous. After advancing some distance into it, it looked no different from a city, with shops, flower beds, and abandoned vehicles everywhere.

The shops were cluttered and covered in dust, while the flower beds contained various mutated flowers and trees. Around the abandoned vehicles, zombies roamed everywhere.

Acting alone, Ji Yanqing didn't have to worry about others. He moved extremely fast, and within ten minutes, he spotted their target street.

The street looked just as lively as when they had observed it from the mountain, with moving shadows scattered along its length.

Ji Yanqing entered an alley between two buildings some distance away from the street and proceeded in the direction of the street. Every so often, he would find a high point to survey the situation from above.

When he had surveyed half of the street, it forked, and another street lined with shops appeared behind the rows of buildings on either side.

Ji Yanqing hesitated for a moment but did not turn. After jumping from one rooftop to another, he continued to investigate along the original street.

After more than ten minutes, he had finished surveying the entire main street but had not found a supermarket.

He did see several small supermarkets and many shops selling various foods on the street, but those shops had already been ransacked. Chairs and shelves lay on the ground, and trash littered the area.

Ji Yanqing returned to the place where the street forked and headed down the other street.

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

One of the supermarkets was relatively smaller, with faded signs and only one floor, which was closed.

The other supermarket had brand new signage and facade, with the same name as the older one. It must have been a renovation and relocation of the old supermarket before the virus outbreak.

Unfortunately, the store had only reopened for less than half a year before the virus struck.

Seeing the newly opened supermarket with its doors wide open from a distance, Ji Yanqing was contemplating how to avoid the zombies near the entrance when he spotted a figure on a distant rooftop.

Xia Shenshu was waving at him from a nearby rooftop; he had discovered that supermarket earlier.

Ji Yanqing approached him.

Five minutes later, the two stood on the roof of the same building.

"There are probably thousands of zombies inside the supermarket," Xia Shenshu pointed to a residential building not far from the supermarket, where the iron gate on the ground floor bore the words "No Parking in Front of Warehouse." "Most supermarkets have a warehouse where they store items that don't fit on the shelves."

This was a county town, even if relatively prosperous, the supermarket couldn't compare to the massive malls in first-tier cities.

The supermarket covered only a few hundred square meters and had only one floor.

The ground floor was the checkout area and vegetable section, with stairs leading to the second floor next to the checkout area. The second floor was for snacks and daily necessities, while the third floor was for clothing. The windows on the second floor were sealed, making it impossible to see inside.

Ji Yanqing bent down, trying to get a clear view of the situation inside the ground floor, but the glass shelves against the wall were filled with tissues and other daily items, and there were shelves and shadows everywhere, making it impossible to see the vegetable section clearly.

After circling around the area again and roughly memorizing the terrain, the two retreated.

As they walked back, they remembered the terrain and tried to find a safe and short route.

By the time they returned to the building in the afternoon, only two of the others who had gone out had yet to return.

Ten minutes later, when those two returned, the group gathered together to briefly recount what they had discovered.

"There are clear signs of searches in the city, and the traces are recent. I even saw some footprints," Li Pingsen said. "There were many footprints, at least four or five hundred. They're likely from the Survival Team that used to be in the plains."

Hearing this, Ji Yanqing furrowed his brow.

The faces of the others who had gathered around also turned grim.

If that Survival Team had also been here and searched the city, they might have taken all the drinkable water.

If that were the case, they would have to set out immediately to reach the next city before noon tomorrow, or they would be doomed.

"What do we do?"

"Are there any other villages nearby?"

"Even if we find a village, it doesn't guarantee there will be water..."

Amidst the growing panic, Ji Yanqing spoke up. "If their numbers really reached four or five hundred, going to such a small supermarket wouldn't be worth it for them. The bullets and time spent dealing with the zombies might not even cover their losses. We have a good chance."

Upon hearing this, the group, which was gradually falling into panic, turned to look at Ji Yanqing.

Seeing that although his brows were furrowed, there was no sign of panic on his face, their originally anxious hearts gradually calmed down.

"The number of zombies on the street and inside the supermarket is considerable, and the supermarket has only one entrance. Unless they can fly or scale walls, they probably haven't been to the second floor," Xia Shenshu said.

Hearing Xia Shenshu say this, everyone's hearts finally settled.

Xia Shenshu looked at Ji Yanqing, whose brows remained furrowed.

Xia Shenshu didn't elaborate.

Ultimately, these were just speculations. Those people might not be willing to miss any opportunity to obtain food, and the zombies in the supermarket might have entered after they visited.

If that were the case, everything would take a turn for the worst.

"Any pens around?" Xia Shenshu asked.

Heads turned in the crowd, and someone quickly found a piece of cement stone nearby and tossed it to him.

Xia Shenshu took it and began sketching a map of the area around the supermarket on the ground.

The supermarket and the main street formed an "H." The street where the supermarket was located was only one-fifth the length of the main street, but this measurement referred not to the length of the buildings but the area covered by shops.

Even the shorter street leading to the supermarket extended all the way to the sides of the buildings until it reached the end.

"There aren't many vehicles on the street where the supermarket is, but there are plenty of zombies, and it's too close to the main street. Any noise would attract all the zombies from the main street," Xia Shenshu pointed at the location of the supermarket, which wasn't far from the corner of the street.

They had found the supermarket now, and their goal was clear, but the problem was how to deal with so many zombies?

Xia Shenshu looked at Li Pingsen and the others. "How did you do it before?"

Li Pingsen and the others had entered the supermarket before when they were with Xue Gang.

"Xue Gang would have someone make a commotion to lure out all the zombies in the supermarket, then the others would take the opportunity to search for supplies," Li Pingsen said.

Xia Shenshu nodded; this was similar to what he had guessed.

"We didn't enter every supermarket we came across before; this method could only be used if the conditions were right... This supermarket is too close to the street. If any noise is made, all the zombies from the entire main street would be attracted over. At that point, forget searching for supplies, even escaping would be a problem," Xia Chen, who was in his teens, was more composed and thoughtful.

Xia Shenshu was in a bind.

They only had a total of seventy bullets, while the number of zombies on that street was at least four thousand, or even more. Even if they could kill ten zombies with one shot, those few bullets wouldn't be enough.

"What should we do then? Should we give up?"

"If we give up now, what about water...?"

"What about trying to drink that snow?"

"You try it first? Take a sip and let us see if it's poisonous."

"Well, then what do you suggest?"

"Isn't there some way to lure away those zombies without making a sound?" Xia Shenshu interrupted the argument.

The arguing group fell silent instantly as Xia Shenshu looked up. Everyone in the room avoided his gaze, and the room became deathly quiet.

Xia Shenshu was puzzled. Had he said something wrong?

Li Pingsen looked at Ji Yanqing with a grim expression. "...We can have someone lure them."

Xia Shenshu immediately understood.

Moving objects were also stimulating to zombies. As long as enough people ran past them, the zombies would definitely chase after them like mad.

Xue Gang must have used this method before.

Those who lured the zombies had little chance of returning alive. No one would be willing to do it voluntarily, but Xue Gang had guns.

Everyone looked at Ji Yanqing; they had no other choice now.

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

Ji Yanqing remained silent, merely staring at the map Xia Shenshu had drawn on the ground.

Seeing Ji Yanqing's silence, everyone's hearts sank.

Many even wore bitter smiles. They had indeed noticed that Ji Yanqing was different from Xue Gang during their time together, but what did it matter?

Sometimes, even if they were unwilling, they had no choice but to compromise, or else they would face certain death.

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

Among everyone, only Xia Shenshu continued to study the map nonchalantly, showing no signs of tension.

After a long five or six minutes, just as everyone's hearts had sunk to the bottom, Ji Yanqing's habitual low voice sounded, "We can use light."

"Light?" Xia Shenshu raised his eyes.

"Zombies are attracted to light, and light doesn't make any sound. We just need to create a lot of light outside the glass windows in the right spot, and the zombies will be lured. Then we can figure out a way to lead 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 level of danger will increase accordingly."

Upon hearing Ji Yanqing's words, the frowns on the faces of the originally worried group brightened. Although Ji Yanqing's method was troublesome, it was effective.

"There is another issue. Light has limited range and isn't as pervasive as sound. It will be difficult to attract the zombies on the second floor," Ji Yanqing said.

The windows on the second floor were sealed, so light couldn't penetrate them.

Even if they cleared out the zombies on the first floor, they wouldn't be able to go upstairs as long as there were still zombies on the second floor.

The second floor mainly sold snacks and beverages, which were their primary targets.

Although the first floor also sold vegetables and some frozen foods, these items couldn't be stored for long and had likely already gone bad. Moreover, many people had probably already visited the first floor.

"The stairs leading from the first to the second floor are near the entrance of the supermarket. If we create some noise at the stairwell, we can attract the zombies on the second floor to the area near the stairs. As long as they can see the light downstairs, it shouldn't be a big problem," Xia Shenshu quickly thought through the solution.

Ji Yanqing tried to recall the structure of the supermarket he had seen before and soon nodded, agreeing that Xia Shenshu's plan was feasible.

With a viable plan in place, the group resumed their discussion.

The supermarket was not far from the main street, and they would be operating under the cover of night with limited visibility. They couldn't afford any mistakes.

If they made a mistake and attracted thousands of zombies from the main street, their fate would be annihilation.

The discussion lasted for an hour, until everyone's throats were parched and sore from talking, and they had confirmed every detail countless times.

After deliberating, Ji Yanqing endured the searing pain in his throat to repeat the plan, ensuring everyone remembered it before they swiftly split up to act.

Some went to nearby buildings to find flashlights; zombies had a phototrophic tendency, and anyone who had survived the apocalypse knew that no one would use such items, making them easy to locate.

Others emptied all their backpacks and found ropes to prepare.

Ji Yanqing led a group into the town, aiming to clear a path before nightfall to facilitate their nighttime travels.

By five o'clock, as the sun began to set and the sky darkened, with a chill creeping into the air, everyone reconvened in the building.

Ji Yanqing faced the sunset for the final headcount.

He divided the group into two smaller teams.

One team, led by Xia Shenshu, was tasked with lowering ropes from the rooftop and using flashlights to attract zombies. He would lead Li Pingsen, Xia Chen, Su Luo, and others.

Ji Yanqing himself took responsibility for leading the other dozen or so people to enter the supermarket after the zombies were lured away, searching for food.

There would undoubtedly be remaining zombies in the supermarket, and Ji Yanqing excelled at close combat without making noise, ensuring the safety of the dozen individuals.

After dividing the teams, they checked their makeshift "lanterns" once more. Everyone descended the building quickly under the fading sunlight.

Ji Yanqing seized the opportunity to look at Feng Yimo, who had silently risen and followed behind him.

"You should stay here and take care of them," Ji Yanqing said, glancing at the others inside the room.

In the room, there were Ji'an and Ji Le, who watched him uneasily, as well as the injured and unconscious Lan Zi, another man, two weak individuals, and a child around ten years old.

It was best to have someone watch over them in this situation, and he feared he wouldn't have time to look after Feng Yimo if things turned violent.

"I'm going too," Feng Yimo's dark eyes met Ji Yanqing's directly. "To protect you."

Ji Yanqing hesitated. It was always him protecting others; apart from Ji'an and Ji Le, no one had ever offered to protect him. "What do I need protection for—"

Feng Yimo's deep, emotionless gaze held nothing but unwavering seriousness.

The atmosphere fell silent. Those who hadn't yet descended to the lower floors looked at Feng Yimo.

Unfazed by the attention, Feng Yimo didn't care about the lives of those in the room. Even if they all died before him, he wouldn't blink an eye. If necessary, he could kill them himself.

But when it came to Ji Yanqing...

If Ji Yanqing wished, Feng Yimo could directly lead him into the supermarket to search for food he could eat. However, Ji Yanqing wouldn't agree, as he despised and hated zombies deeply, even though he never mentioned it.

If Ji Yanqing knew Feng Yimo was the Zombie King, he would likely run away or even try to kill him.

So Feng Yimo decided to kill all the zombies that threatened Ji Yanqing.

"Ji Yanqing?" A voice called out from downstairs, where no one had descended since.

The group in the room snapped back to reality and hurriedly continued descending.

Ji Yanqing glanced at the others, then at the unyielding Feng Yimo, feeling an increasingly strange sensation. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to speak.

After everyone else had descended, Ji Yanqing looked back into the room through the window. Ji'an and Ji Le held hands tightly, watching him nervously, while the few awake individuals also looked tense and uneasy.

"Please watch over them," Ji Yanqing said to the few awake individuals in the room.

They nodded immediately.

Ji Yanqing looked at Ji'an and Ji Le. "Don't be afraid."

With that, he closed the window and quickly descended on the rope, which had been resecured.

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

This grayness carried a heavy aura of death, casting a veil of despair over the entire town.

Below, Li Pingsen and the others wore grave expressions, and even Xia Shenshu had lost his smile.

Feng Yimo remained expressionless, seemingly detached, as if the world's despair, pain, and unease had no bearing on him.

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

The route between the supermarket and their campsite had already been cleared by Ji Yanqing and his team in the afternoon. Although the path involved several large detours, it was relatively safe, with no zombies in sight along the way.

Half an hour later, as darkness fully enveloped the sky, the group approached the street where the supermarket was located, coming from the left at an angle.

Upon reaching their designated location, Ji Yanqing peeked around the corner at the supermarket entrance just fifty meters away. He then turned to Xia Shenshu, who immediately led a group toward the adjacent stairwell.

Attracting the zombies' attention was a dangerous task, but using ropes to lower open flashlights from the rooftop minimized the risk.

After Xia Shenshu's group departed, Ji Yanqing promptly led the others to hide silently in a stairwell near the supermarket, closing the door from the inside.

In the darkness, everyone held their breath, counting the time until Xia Shenshu and his team reached the rooftop.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly, with the agreed-upon five minutes feeling like five years.

When the light finally descended from above, beads of cold sweat covered the foreheads of those in the stairwell.

Ji Yanqing's breathing was slightly heavier.

He turned his head to check that everyone remained quiet and vigilant. However, upon turning, he found Feng Yimo's face mere inches away, standing right behind him.

Due to the crowded stairwell, they were practically pressed against each other, with Ji Yanqing's back flush against Feng Yimo's chest, as if embraced within his arms.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Ji Yanqing shifted forward, trying to distance himself from Feng Yimo and lean against the door.

The back that had been pressed against another person's became suddenly hot when Ji Yanqing realized it was Feng Yimo behind him.

As Ji Yanqing moved, a long yet sturdy arm looped around his waist, pulling him back to lean against the chest behind him.

Feeling the firm chest beneath the thin layers of fabric on his back and the strong arm around his waist, Ji Yanqing's entire body stiffened.

"Don't move." Feng Yimo's cold, deep voice sounded right by Ji Yanqing's ear.

Feng Yimo's breath brushed past, causing Ji Yanqing's eardrums to tremble lightly, his breathing pausing for a moment.

Ignoring his rapidly heating ears, Ji Yanqing gripped the axe in his hand tightly, focusing all his attention on the door.

"Ka..." The sound of something colliding with the door came from the supermarket.

Ji Yanqing immediately focused his gaze towards the supermarket.

As a cluster of flashlights bound together descended from above, the zombies inside the supermarket quickly noticed the glowing, rotating object.

Their pale, rotten eyes followed the light ball as it moved, their heads turning along with it.

The scene was extremely eerie, especially when the flashlight beams reflected off their eyeballs as they rotated. Even Ji Yanqing couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine at the sight.

In the next moment, the zombies surged out of the supermarket's double doors like a tidal wave, lunging towards the cluster of flashlights hanging at the height of the shop sign.

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

Within moments, all the zombies on the ground floor of the supermarket and on the street outside were drawn to the light ball, gathering beneath it.

The light ball began to move slowly, heading towards Ji Yanqing's location.

As the light ball moved, the zombies below it followed, passing by the stairwell where Ji Yanqing and his group were hiding, moving towards a corner further to the left.

After an agonizing five or six minutes, all the zombies turned the corner, disappearing down an alley away from the supermarket.

Ji Yanqing pressed his face against the door and looked outside, making sure there were no zombies visible on the street. He opened the iron door as quietly as possible and stepped out.

Feng Yimo followed closely behind.

As Ji Yanqing crossed the street and moved quickly towards the supermarket entrance, another light ball descended from the rooftop where the previous one had been.

Arriving at the entrance, Ji Yanqing glanced up at the opposite rooftop, confirming that the light ball had reached the height of the shop sign. Then he entered the supermarket.

The hundreds-of-square-meter supermarket was dark and chaotic, with various goods scattered everywhere. There were even bloodstains in some places on the floor and shelves.

Inside the rows of shelves near the entrance, what should have been vegetable displays were now filled with rotten and dried vegetables, emitting a foul odor from the refrigerators.

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

Aiming for the spacious elevator to the right of the main entrance, he quickly threw the items in his hand.

The jars, which contained some unknown cosmetics, shattered upon impact with the top of the elevator, the fragments clattering down the stairs.

The sound of shattering glass was like a death curse, and even Ji Yanqing was startled, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Without hesitation, Ji Yanqing pulled Feng Yimo into the cashier's counter below.

Almost simultaneously, as they bent down, a flood of zombies poured down from the second floor of the dark building.

The zombies reached the staircase, lost their target, and then spotted the flashlight cluster outside the main entrance and through the glass windows. Without hesitation, they charged towards the light ball.

This time, the commotion lasted slightly longer than before, but soon the sounds ceased entirely, and all the zombies on the second floor were lured away.

Xia Shenshu and the others on the rooftop repeated the same process, leading the group of zombies towards their predetermined destination.

As they approached the stairwell where the others were hiding, the light ball suddenly dropped lower.

The zombies below climbed higher by stepping on the fallen bodies of other zombies, almost grabbing hold of the light ball and pulling the people above down. Fortunately, those above managed to stabilize themselves.

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

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

Upon entering, without needing any instructions from Ji Yanqing, everyone spread out skillfully and quickly to search for food and water.

Their primary target was the second floor, as the vegetables on the first floor were already inedible, and drinks and water were located upstairs.

Ji Yanqing stood on the cashier's counter and scanned the area, confirming that there were no zombies on the first floor. Then, he quickly followed the others up to the second floor.

Running up the stairs two steps at a time, Ji Yanqing arrived at the second-floor platform. At the sight before him, he couldn't help but inhale sharply. The shelves were filled with food and drinks.

Although it was clear that the second floor had been visited countless times, with most shelves having only a few items left, the piles of food and water still seemed like a feast to Ji Yanqing, who had struggled to survive for over half a year in this post-apocalyptic world.

Suppressing his pounding heart and the overwhelming joy, Ji Yanqing quickly made his way through the others who were packing their backpacks, heading towards the front of the shelves. He hadn't forgotten his mission.

As he passed the last person, Ji Yanqing prepared to speed up and take a quick look around before finding the stairs to go up. But just then, a figure lunged at him from behind the shelf to his left.

Instinctively raising his axe, Ji Yanqing didn't have time to act before the zombie's head hit the ground.

Feng Yimo hadn't forgotten his mission either—he was here to kill any zombie that tried to harm Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing glanced at Feng Yimo before pushing down his racing heart and continuing forward quickly.

The supermarket's stairwell design was rather cunning—the stairs from the first to the second floor were conveniently located near the entrance, but the stairs to the upper floors were on the opposite side of the second floor. To reach them, one had to cross the entire second floor filled with various goods.

In the darkness, Ji Yanqing moved swiftly and silently across the second floor. Just as he reached the stairs leading up, four zombies lunged at him from near the elevators.

Ji Yanqing swung his axe, sending the first zombie flying into the wall. As he turned, he used the momentum to smash the second zombie's head with one swing.

At the same time, Feng Yimo sheathed his blade.

He lowered his head slightly to look at the two heads on the ground, somewhat displeased, as if upset that those zombies actually wanted to bite Ji Yanqing.

Ji Yanqing stood at the stairwell and glanced upward. The stairs were designed in a way that deviated from their plan, not near the supermarket's entrance, and there were still many lingering figures upstairs.

Fortunately, the building owner, Y.U.X.I., sold clothing and footwear, not food. Even if they couldn't go up, it wouldn't be a pity.

Ji Yanqing made a gesture to Feng Yimo, telling him to stay here while he quickly headed back the way they came, intending to warn the others that there were more zombies than they had anticipated.

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

They were also stunned by the abundance of supplies in the supermarket, and everyone wore silent smiles they couldn't suppress. What made them even happier was knowing that these supplies were for them.

Unlike Xue Gang, when they took these things back, they could eat them, rather than having all the hard work end up feeding Xue Gang's group.

Thinking about this and feeling the weight of the boxes in their hands, everyone smiled even more happily, and their movements became more efficient.

Those grinning faces, nearly splitting from ear to ear, and the swift figures moving through the darkness seemed bizarrely terrifying, like something out of a horror story.

They placed the packed backpacks and cardboard boxes near the elevator for easy retrieval downstairs. When Ji Yanqing looked over, there were already more than ten bulging backpacks and over twenty boxes.

The boxes weren't large, mostly medium-sized, but the densely packed food and drinks inside couldn't help but make one's heart leap with joy.

Seeing the pile of supplies that was almost like a small mountain made Ji Yanqing's lips curl uncontrollably, and his heart, which had been pounding with tension, beat even more powerfully.

Ji Yanqing didn't stand there grinning foolishly. He quickly went downstairs to check on the others.

All the zombies on the first floor had been lured away, and the five or six people left on the first floor were continuously filling their backpacks with items.

The vegetables on the first floor were definitely inedible, and the contents of the refrigerators had long rotted, but there were still some flour, rice, noodles, and other edible items that hadn't been taken.

After confirming safety, Ji Yanqing went to the supermarket entrance to take another look. The zombies hadn't discovered them, and the street, shrouded in night, was empty.

Under the night sky, Ji Yanqing looked across at the rooftop opposite, where someone was watching them, ready to receive signals and provide support.

Ji Yanqing made gestures indicating "safe" and "wait a bit longer" before re-entering the supermarket.

Ascending to the second floor and crossing its entirety, he found Feng Yimo again. From afar, Ji Yanqing met Feng Yimo's dark gaze.

It might have been Ji Yanqing's imagination, but there seemed a faint hint of grievance in Feng Yimo's eyes, as if he resented that Ji Yanqing had come to protect him yet was left here to guard the hallway.

Feng Yimo was tall and slender, and combined with the long sword in his hand, which was almost as tall as a person, he gave off an icy and otherworldly aura, as if completely detached from this world.

That person, with his chilly, deep black eyes, now held a faint trace of grievance.

This scene was extremely incongruous yet strangely harmonious.

Feng Yimo remained silent.

Ji Yanqing was in an excellent mood; with so many supplies, they would definitely be able to last half a month in the city.

This way, they wouldn't have to rush off hurriedly. They could fully recover here, and Ji'an and Ji Le would have the opportunity to catch their breath until they were completely restored.

As Ji Yanqing approached, in a voice audible only to the two of them, he lavished praise: "Thanks to you, I wouldn't dare to leave here even for a step. Thank you for protecting me just now."

Hearing Ji Yanqing's words of praise, his gentle and sweet voice, and feeling the warmth of his breath on his earlobe, Feng Yimo's long, slightly curled eyelashes trembled lightly.

His eyes, like ancient, tranquil pools, shimmered with a faint light. He gazed into the dark stairwell leading upstairs.

With his abilities, he could easily and silently kill all the zombies in the building!

Ji Yanqing's lips curved upward, as if he could see an invisible, happily wagging tail behind Feng Yimo.

Sometimes, Feng Yimo made him puzzled, as if devoid of human emotions, but other times, he was surprisingly easy to understand—a compliment could make him happy for a long time.

"Can you watch over this hallway for a little while longer? I want to go downstairs and check out the warehouse across the street," Ji Yanqing said in a light and naturally soft tone.

Across from the supermarket was a warehouse, though it was unknown whether it belonged to the supermarket.

They had found unexpectedly abundant supplies in the supermarket, enough to last them half a month, but no one would mind having even more.

"Mm." Knowing how happy Ji Yanqing was, Feng Yimo couldn't refuse.

Ji Yanqing turned and left.

Watching Ji Yanqing's cheerful figure disappear between the dark shelves, Feng Yimo drew his sword, determined to guard the hallway diligently and prevent any zombies from coming down.

Ji Yanqing wasn't a zombie, yet he could exert mental control.