Merging into Darkness

Soon after, the seven Awakened gathered together and began discussing a plan.

In the darkness, Li Nan was the first to speak.

"If you ask me, we can't report this to the company. We have to recover those supplies ourselves."

"Yeah."

The other six nodded, understanding what was at stake. If the higher-ups at the company found out, the consequences would be severe.

But the young man from earlier hesitantly asked,

"Brother Nan, we don't have a single clue right now. How are we supposed to find them?"

"We'll definitely find a clue. They stole so many supplies; it's impossible they left no trace at all."

Li Nan analyzed the situation. "And that 'monster' is probably still in the mall. We can mobilize the survivors to search together. I refuse to believe we won't find it."

"Survivors? They're scared out of their wits already. Where would they get the nerve to look for a monster? Those people definitely won't agree."

Xiao Liu spoke up.

Li Nan frowned.

"They have to agree even if they don't want to! Tech Company isn't Notre Dame. We saved them so they could move supplies. This is the apocalypse—only people with value deserve to live!"

After he finished speaking, the air suddenly fell silent. No one said another word.

The six Awakened had already understood what he meant.

Even if they had to use the survivors as cannon fodder, they had to find the monster. Those supplies were worth hundreds of millions. Forget the apocalypse—even in ordinary times... they were more important than a few human lives.

After the discussion, Li Nan returned to the survivors.

"Everyone, listen to me. We just discussed this. Now that the supplies are gone, we can't just sit around waiting to die. In a crisis like this, we need to unite and recover them."

"What?"

The people who had been whispering among themselves immediately fell silent.

Go look for the supplies?

Was he serious?

"It's pitch-black, and there might still be monsters in the mall."

"Whoever wants to go can go. I'm not going!"

"Exactly. Five Awakened were killed already. We're just ordinary people—if we run into a monster, we're dead for sure."

"Dealing with monsters is the Awakened's job. I haven't awakened..."

"..."

Listening to their discussions, Li Nan's expression completely darkened. Anger burned in his heart as he enunciated each word.

"You'll go whether you want to or not. I have no obligation to protect you. If you don't want to contribute and only want to sit back and enjoy the benefits, I'll throw you outside the mall."

"Huh? Th-this..."

The crowd was startled. Judging by his manner, he clearly wasn't joking.

And the pressure from an Awakened was overwhelming, leaving them utterly afraid to resist.

Of course, some of them agreed with him.

"We've survived until now because of the warehouse supplies. We've eaten plenty of what was in there. It's only right that we help look for them."

"Yeah, there are so many of us. What's there to be afraid of?"

"What if the monster's ability is just strange, but it's actually weak in a fight?"

"That makes sense. It has to have weaknesses, right? It can't be strong in every way."

"..."

The people discussed it in low voices.

Seeing that the crowd had regained some fighting spirit, Li Nan decided to give them a slap before offering them a sweet reward.

"I, Li Nan, guarantee that anyone who finds the supplies or provides a useful clue will be rewarded by Tech Company with enough food to last a whole year!"

"Whoa! A whole year??"

Everyone looked astonished. In this apocalypse, even when they had guarded the warehouse before, they had always been frugal with food.

They only received fixed rations every day, just enough to keep them from starving to death.

Food that could last an entire year was simply too precious.

Several burly men immediately seemed as though they had been injected with adrenaline.

"Let's go! I'd like to see where that monster is!"

"Yeah, let's go find it."

"Sneaking around is all it's good for—ambushes!"

"..."

The crowd turned on flashlights or used their phones for illumination. Countless beams of light intertwined, driving away the darkness around them.

They formed groups of three or five and began spreading out to search.

Within the crowd, Lin Dong watched the seven Awakened, intending to find an opportunity to kill them.

He stepped backward, blending into the inky darkness.

This mall was enormous.

It could normally accommodate over ten thousand customers.

Two hundred survivors seemed sparse within it. They became increasingly scattered as they walked, and some people simply gave up and secretly hid away.

But Lin Dong wasn't focused on them, because... they didn't taste good!

The seven Awakened, however, were extremely cautious. They remained together the entire time and never separated.

"Brother Nan, why do I keep feeling like... someone's following us from behind?"

A female Awakened frowned.

She turned around to look, but there was nothing behind them except pitch-black darkness.

Li Nan spoke reassuringly.

"Don't scare yourself. You're just too nervous."

"Yeah, Brother Nan is right."

Xiao Liu nodded and chimed in, "Whenever I used to walk alone at night, I always felt like someone was following me too. The more I thought about it, the more scared I became. Just don't think about it."

"Really?"

The girl sounded doubtful.

As they searched, they went from the first-floor lobby all the way to the sixth floor, but found nothing.

"This is really strange!"

Li Nan knitted his brows. Had they really encountered a ghost?

Xiao Liu pondered aloud.

"I think... that monster must have left. It looted so many supplies and killed five of our people. Why would it stay here instead of running away?"

"Yeah, then this is troublesome."

Li Nan frowned and looked down from the sixth-floor railing. The view was excellent here, allowing him to see the first-floor lobby and the situation on every level.

Quite a few survivors were wandering around with flashlights.

Not a single casualty had appeared so far.

"Maybe it really left..."

"Whew—"

Hearing that, the female Awakened let out a long breath. Her taut nerves relaxed. "We've been searching for half an hour, and I've been holding it in the whole time. I didn't even dare pee earlier. I'm going to find a restroom."

"Go ahead."

Li Nan nodded, but then felt uneasy. "Chen Li, go with Xiao Jing. The two of you can look out for each other."

"Uh... fine."

Chen Li spread her hands, looking somewhat helpless.

Is that really necessary?

She needs company just to use the bathroom...

The two women turned a corner. They didn't actually go to the restroom—since it was the apocalypse anyway, they could just find somewhere empty and relieve themselves on the spot.

The deserted corridor was even darker.

But the Awakened had sharper vision than ordinary people and could barely see clearly.

"Hurry up!"

Chen Li urged, turning her back. After all, no one wanted to watch someone else use the bathroom.

"Okay."

Xiao Jing answered and walked over to the wall.

She had just undone her pants and was about to squat when an inexplicable sense of unease suddenly surged through her heart. It was an Awakened's instinct, warning her that she was in extreme danger!

"Filthy thing..."

A whisper suddenly echoed out of nowhere from the darkness.

Then, the figure of a young man slowly materialized. His face was pale, and his cold eyes carried a trace of contempt.

It was as if he were condemning her for how she could relieve herself anywhere she pleased.

"You..."

Xiao Jing was terrified. She raised her hand, about to use her ability.

But a dagger had already plunged into her temple...