Big Willow Supermarket

No one paid any attention when Chen Ye said those words.

Zhou Xiaoxiao instinctively argued, "Wasn't that girl... wasn't she..."

For some reason, Zhou Xiaoxiao simply wanted to argue with anything Chen Ye said. There was no reason for it.

But as Zhou Xiaoxiao searched her memory, she suddenly realized she could not recall the girl's name at all.

Or rather, she had never seen that girl before.

The expressions of those around them slowly began to change as well.

Zhou Xiaoxiao stubbornly raised her chin. "How can you be sure you've never seen that girl? Her hair was so long you couldn't even see what she looked like!"

As she spoke, even Zhou Xiaoxiao's own voice gradually grew quieter.

Chen Ye sneered, looking toward the spot where the girl had vanished. "This is Longevity Village! A strange girl appeared in a place like this and followed us."

"Don't you think there's something wrong with that?"

Zhou Xiaoxiao wanted to argue further, but Zhou Lan grabbed her.

"Xiao Xiao!"

Chen Ye cast an indifferent glance at the little boy.

Or rather, the little girl.

She was clearly a girl, yet she had been disguising herself as a boy all along to blend into the convoy.

Chen Ye knew exactly why she was doing it. He simply had not exposed her.

It was not that Chen Ye was so good-tempered that he could keep tolerating her provocations.

There simply weren't many people left in this world.

If danger arose, using her as a sacrificial shield would not be a bad option.

"Let's hurry. We should try to gather enough supplies and leave Longevity Village before four this afternoon!"

The Young Sword Immortal spoke as she watched their surroundings warily.

The group suppressed their unease and continued toward the big willow tree in the village.

From outside the village, the willow had merely seemed large.

Only as they approached did they realize just how enormous it truly was.

It would take three people joining hands to encircle its trunk.

A willow this large would have been a rare sight even before the apocalypse.

"Could this willow be turning into some kind of spirit?"

"What a huge willow! I've never seen one this big. Good lord!"

"If you sold this willow, it'd probably fetch quite a bit!"

"It's the apocalypse now. Who would want a giant willow?"

The survivors following the group chatted back and forth.

Once they rounded the corner ahead, they would be able to see the willow in its entirety, along with the Big Willow Supermarket.

And so Iron Lion, Nana, and Chen Ye quickened their pace.

Although the other survivors did not know why these transcendent beings had come here, they knew that sticking with them would make things much safer.

At last, Iron Lion was the first to round the corner ahead, only to freeze in place.

Nana's eyes sharpened. "Iron Lion, what happened?"

The big man swallowed, his voice dry. "Nana... you... come here..."

The girl hurried forward a couple of steps, following Iron Lion around the corner.

Chen Ye watched as the girl caught her first glimpse of the entire willow. Her whole body stiffened, then began to tremble uncontrollably.

It was as though she had seen something utterly horrifying.

A bad feeling rose in Chen Ye's heart.

The Young Sword Immortal was the strongest fighter in the convoy. Even Iron Lion fell far short of her.

What... what happened?

Chen Ye raised his hand crossbow and slowed his steps.

The survivors behind him wore terrified looks, and their footsteps slowed considerably as well.

"Iron Lion, Nana, what did you see?"

Hearing Chen Ye's voice, Nana turned to look at him.

Chen Ye could clearly see her pupils dilating. Her face was filled with terror, as though she had seen something she would never be able to forget.

"Chen Ye... you... come here..."

Chen Ye knitted his brows.

What was wrong with these two?

It did not look as though they had been attacked.

After a moment's thought, Chen Ye slowly edged closer.

They had to go to the little supermarket beneath the willow. Without supplies, death was all that awaited them in the apocalypse.

As he slowly peered around the corner, more and more of the scene came into view.

Beneath the dim sky, the sun outside Longevity Village seemed especially distant.

A large square lay at the center of the village. In its middle stood an enormous willow, filling almost their entire field of vision.

Strands of green hung down from the sky.

Had this enormous willow stood beneath a clear sky on a pleasant afternoon, or at some scenic attraction, it would undoubtedly have been a beautiful sight.

That was, of course, if not for the corpses suspended from its green branches.

They were corpses, one after another.

A corpse hung from the end of every dangling green branch.

There were men and women, old and young, like fruit borne by this enormous willow.

They hung densely packed beneath the tree.

At a rough glance, there were at least a hundred, perhaps two hundred.

Every corpse hung suspended by a willow branch. There was no wind, nor any sign of life.

Chen Ye now understood why Iron Lion and Nana had been so dumbstruck.

His own expression was exactly the same.

Chen Ye swallowed. His whole body trembled, his throat went dry, and he could not force out a single word.

His eyes kept trembling.

The sight before him was more chilling than even the most terrifying horror movie.

What happened here?

What exactly was this enormous willow?

Why were those people hanging from it?

Countless fears and questions surged through Chen Ye's mind.

Soft sobbing came from behind him.

Chen Ye shuddered and stiffly turned his head, only to find Zhou Lan and Zhou Xiaoxiao.

The sisters clamped their hands over their mouths, keeping themselves from making a sound that might disturb the unknown horror.

The survivors behind them wore the same expressions.

Everyone's eyes were wide, filled with terror.

Chen Ye took a hard drag on the cigarette at his lips, biting its filter so tightly it creaked between his teeth.

The cigarette's glow lit a tiny patch of murky darkness.

"Stop looking, everyone. Gathering supplies comes first!"

Chen Ye reminded them quietly, his voice dry.

A small, single-story building stood beneath the willow. Beside it was a wooden sign bearing the words "Big Willow Supermarket."

Next to the sign was a small door, standing open. In the faint light, they could even make out the glass counters inside the supermarket.

"Be careful, everyone. Don't disturb those things!"

Chen Ye warned them in a low voice.

Iron Lion cautiously edged his massive frame toward the little supermarket.

The Young Sword Immortal held her longsword, moving like a nimble cat.

Chen Ye held his hand crossbow. The cigarette at the corner of his mouth had burned down to the filter, but he had forgotten to discard it.

The survivors behind them were still utterly terrified, but they gritted their teeth and followed the Sequence Transcendents.

At last, they reached the supermarket entrance.

They slipped inside.

Iron Lion and Nana each switched on the flashlights they carried, quickly revealing the supermarket's interior to everyone.

It was a perfectly ordinary small-town supermarket.

A row of glass counters stood just inside the entrance, with a long row of shelves behind them.

The shelves held all sorts of goods, with cigarettes and liquor taking up more than half the space.

To the right stood more rows of shelves.

Compared with other small-town supermarkets, this one was fairly spacious.

Everyone's eyes lit up at the sight of the supplies.

An old woman hid behind the others. At the sight of so many supplies, her legs no longer hurt, her eyesight no longer blurred, and her face filled with greed.

She was the grandmother from the grandmother-and-grandson pair who had clashed with Chen Ye earlier.

Perhaps knowing that following the transcendent beings would surely yield something, the old woman had been quietly trailing them all along. She had not said a word on the way, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

Now, seeing the supplies in the little supermarket, the old woman felt her decision had been absolutely right.

Outside the supermarket, a breeze rose from somewhere, making the corpses beneath the willow branches sway gently.