Looting the Dead, Spoils of War: A Kukri

At 7:35 p.m., the sky was just beginning to darken.

At a sewer opening near the dental clinic, Yu Yuan carefully lifted the manhole cover and surveyed the street, recalling where the gunshots had come from.

"I remember the gunshots coming from the two o'clock direction of the dental clinic. I should search that way. It can't be far..."

He waited patiently for another ten-odd minutes. The sun set completely, and darkness swallowed the city.

Yu Yuan climbed out of the sewer and carefully set the cover back in place without closing it fully.

Under cover of the dim evening light, he headed toward the gunshots he remembered.

He checked street signs and confirmed his direction as he went, stopping now and then but making good time.

More than half an hour later, Yu Yuan lay in a roadside planting strip. Half-height shrubs concealed him as he watched the destroyed armored vehicle a few meters away. This was Phoenix Tree Apartments.

Signs of explosions and fighting marked the ground everywhere. Close to the pavement, he could still smell gunpowder in the air.

Clouds drifted overhead, revealing a thin crescent moon that cast a little light onto the street.

Yu Yuan did not rush out. Instead, he pressed himself lower and stayed perfectly still.

He had no idea when the refugees would arrive or how many there were. For all he knew, someone was already watching the area from the shadows.

He could not gamble on that. He had to assume the worst and use the moonlight to quickly study and memorize his surroundings.

A few minutes later, clouds covered the crescent moon again.

Darkness swallowed the street once more, sharply cutting visibility.

Now!

The instant darkness fell, Yu Yuan rose without a sound. Bent low and stepping softly, he hurried toward Phoenix Tree Apartments.

Only after slipping through the apartment entrance and pressing his back against the wall did he notice how wildly his heart was pounding, as though it might burst.

He took several deep breaths, struggling to calm himself and silently reassuring himself.

As a survival enthusiast, Yu Yuan had imagined a scene like this more than once. But imagination and reality were never the same.

He understood the theory. His mind and body still needed time to adjust.

Once he had steadied himself, Yu Yuan knew he could not linger.

Every second before the refugees arrived was precious.

Feeling his way through the dark, he found the stairs on the first floor. He was now well away from the building's exterior.

But just as he reached the landing between the first and second floors, something caught his foot. He nearly fell.

Nothing else mattered at that moment. He switched on his headlamp to see what it was.

When he saw what lay at his feet, Yu Yuan drew a sharp breath and instinctively backed away.

"Holy shit!"

Two corpses lay on the floor, riddled with bullet holes. Blood had spread everywhere.

His first day in the game, and things were already this intense?

Then Yu Yuan froze. His pupils contracted as his gaze locked onto something beneath one of the bodies.

What was that under the corpse?

He hurried over and pushed the body aside, revealing a short blade. Blood coated it, but Yu Yuan did not care. He wiped it on the corpse and picked it up.

"Is this... a kukri?" Delight spread across Yu Yuan's face.

He gave it a couple of practice swings. It felt comfortable in his hand, and extra weight along the spine would make his chops more powerful.

"Finally, a weapon to defend myself with. Does scavenging bodies like this count as looting the dead?"

People were strange. Sometimes a change in perspective took only an instant.

Yu Yuan really was afraid of the dead. But looting? That was something he knew all too well.

When he looked at the two corpses again, there was not a trace of fear in his eyes—only a hunger for supplies.

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After making sure his headlamp could not be seen from outside the building, he wasted no more time.

Ignoring the blood, he searched the bodies for supplies.

Two minutes later, Yu Yuan smiled at the items laid out at his feet.

One lighter

One crushed packet of instant noodles

Seven Marlboro Cigarettes

One Snickers

He found no guns or ammunition. The Black Shield Police Department might have taken them.

Even so, Yu Yuan was pleased. At least he had food now.

He put the corpses back as he had found them, cleaned the blood from his soles, and headed upstairs.

The newspaper had said eight people died in the clash. He had seen no bodies at the building entrance, so the others were probably inside.

Yu Yuan was not set on finding them. His only destinations were the three supply rooms. If he happened upon more bodies, so be it.

He had to move faster. Getting the supplies back safely mattered more than anything else.

On the third floor, Yu Yuan took a piece of bloodstained white cloth he had torn from a corpse and wrapped it around his headlamp. The beam was no longer bright or focused.

Instead, it became dim and diffuse. He could see only about a meter ahead, but the chance of someone spotting the light was much lower.

He climbed to the fourth floor. A brutal battle had clearly taken place there: the walls were covered in bullet holes and blast marks.

He could also see several defensive walls built from sandbags.

The corridor was pitch-black. Yu Yuan listened for two minutes and, hearing nothing, cautiously stepped onto the fourth floor.

Three gunmen's bodies lay scattered along the corridor, shot beyond recognition. There was no point searching them.

Two rifles lay on the floor. They looked like AK-74Us, but both were warped by gunfire, and their magazines were empty.

Yu Yuan checked them. Only one spring was worth salvaging, so he slipped it into his pocket.

He looked around. Bloodstains, bullet holes, broken glass, debris, and drink cans were everywhere.

The fighting must have been fierce.

Yu Yuan pushed some cans and glass shards near the stairs to make a crude warning trap. If anyone came up and stepped on the glass or kicked a can, he would hear it.

Then he followed the door numbers toward Room 408. As he passed Rooms 401 and 402, he paid particular attention to the trip mines.

Sure enough, he spotted two fine, gleaming wires at the doorways, each connected to a grenade behind a door.

If he accidentally tripped one, he would have no chance to react before he was blown to pieces.

He wanted to take the grenades, but in the end he gave up. It was too dangerous.

"Forget it. Supplies first. Safety comes first."

He soon found Room 408, but his brow furrowed.

The room was a mess. The security door was riddled with bullet holes and bore a bloody footprint. A brutal fight had clearly happened here too.

Nothing about it looked like a supply room.

The information shouldn't be wrong... The supplies must be hidden somewhere in the room!

With that thought, Yu Yuan began searching quickly.

Nothing in the wardrobe. Nothing under the bed. Nothing in the bathroom...

The room was not large. After checking every place something could be hidden, Yu Yuan grew frustrated.

"How can there be nothing?" He scanned the room again, unwilling to give up.

Then his gaze happened to land on one spot.

He paused. A moment later, his eyes lit up...

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