Not enough supplies

The little supermarket was well stocked. Besides plenty of instant noodles and drinks, the bottom shelves held a good amount of rice, flour, and cooking oil.

For the survivors now, these were undoubtedly the scarcest essentials.

There were also plenty of cigarettes and bottles of liquor in the glass display counter at the front.

Without a second thought, Chen Ye stuffed the cigarettes into the bag he had brought.

Still, there weren't as many cigarettes this time as there had been back in Apricot Blossom Town.

After packing away several cartons, Chen Ye began scavenging other supplies.

Rice came first, followed by flour.

As for potato chips and the like, they took up far too much space for what they offered.

The supermarket also had other everyday necessities, such as brooms, washbasins, and towels.

But no one took any of those.

Chen Ye had brought two backpacks this time.

Chen Ye planned to wear one on his back and the other against his chest.

The backpack for his back was slightly larger and would weigh several dozen pounds when full.

The one for his chest was smaller, so it wouldn't interfere with his arms.

Perhaps because this was a small village supermarket, it didn't carry many fancy goods, but it had plenty of local mountain produce.

There was also quite a bit of cured pork and fish. Without hesitation, Chen Ye was about to pack them into his backpack.

An old woman's arm shot out, grabbing the cured pork and fish in Chen Ye's hands.

She had been only a fraction slower than Chen Ye.

Chen Ye looked up to find an elderly face glaring at him.

Chen Ye remembered her. Wasn't she the grandmother from the grandmother-and-grandson pair he had taught a lesson a while back?

Chen Ye's gaze turned cold. Without hesitation, he drew the billhook from his waist and slashed down.

Every second mattered right now. Chen Ye had no intention of arguing with her.

At first, the old woman had intended to throw a tantrum and fight over the goods.

But when she realized she was fighting Chen Ye, her nerve instantly deserted her.

Then she saw Chen Ye draw his billhook and swing it at her.

The old woman shuddered in fright and hastily pulled her hand back. She gave Chen Ye a venomous look before turning and heading elsewhere.

The Young Sword Immortal witnessed the whole thing. She shot Chen Ye an approving look, then hurried back to work.

Quite a few others had also witnessed the little incident between Chen Ye and the old woman.

Many became even more wary of Chen Ye.

The Young Sword Immortal wasn't doing much better than Chen Ye at that moment.

The girl had a backpack taller than herself on her back, and it was already almost half full.

Judging by her unconcerned expression, the backpack didn't seem to burden her much.

In carrying capacity alone, the Young Sword Immortal far surpassed Chen Ye.

Just what one would expect from a Sequence 2 transcendent of the Sword Immortal Sequence.

As for Iron Lion, the guy was practically a mobile supply depot.

Back in Apricot Blossom Town, Chen Ye hadn't seen how he gathered supplies.

This time, however, Chen Ye saw it for himself, and it astonished him.

The big lug was holding an enormous sack.

It could have fit three Chen Yes inside with room to spare.

Clearly, the sack had been custom-made for situations just like this.

The big lug stuffed in whatever he saw, without being picky at all.

Chicken feet, spicy strips, Lao Gan Ma chili sauce, instant noodles, sausages-he swept them up with his huge hands and dumped them straight into the sack.

In his hands, a twenty-pound sack of rice was no different from a bag of potato chips.

Everyone busied themselves with eyes gleaming.

Some had already stuffed their backpacks to bursting, yet still weren't satisfied. Their pockets and the fronts of their clothes were crammed with food.

Seeing their greed, Chen Ye sighed inwardly.

This place wasn't safe. Loaded down with so much stuff, they might not even be able to escape if danger struck.

Take the old woman who had clashed with Chen Ye, for instance.

She now had two backpacks on her, apparently intending to copy Chen Ye by wearing one in front and one behind.

She had actually managed to fill both backpacks most of the way.

But now she was sitting on the floor, unable to get up no matter how hard she tried.

As for the sisters, Zhou Lan and Zhou Xiaoxiao.

The famous actress had lost all her usual glamour and was focused on gathering supplies. The backpack on her back was full, but the bag in her hands was barely half filled.

Zhou Xiaoxiao, meanwhile, hadn't even gathered half a load of supplies.

Even though this little supermarket in Longevity Village was larger than the average village or town store, there were simply too many survivors scavenging it this time.

Before long, the little supermarket had been stripped bare. Not even a single bottle of seasoning remained on the shelves.

It looked as though someone had deliberately cleaned the place out.

Everyone had gathered something, whether a little or a lot.

"That's... that's everything?"

Someone spoke with disappointment. His backpack still had room for more.

"It's only a little supermarket, after all. We're lucky it had this much."

"Let's see if there's a storeroom. There might still be something in there."

"Hmph! It's just a little supermarket. Did you think it had one of those huge warehouses like the stores in the city?"

The absurdly large sack on Iron Lion's back was only half full, nowhere near what he had hoped for.

The Young Sword Immortal's backpack was only seventy percent full, and she hadn't even taken out her spare backpack yet.

"What do we do? These supplies aren't nearly enough!"

Nana tapped the backpack on her back, looking thoroughly dissatisfied.

Their haul had fallen far short of expectations.

Iron Lion scratched his head. "I can carry more, but there's nothing left here. Should we go to the village chief's house?"

"This little bit of supplies isn't nearly enough!"

Chen Ye hesitated too.

They wouldn't necessarily find a suitable supply point every time they needed provisions.

He couldn't bear to head back just like this.

"We came all this way. Why don't we check the village chief's house?"

"The radio message said there were plenty of supplies there. It should be right!"

After a brief discussion, the three decided to head to the village chief's house.

They had spotted an imposing villa nearby earlier. Presumably, that was the village chief's home, and it wasn't far from the supermarket.

When they heard that the three transcendents intended to visit the village chief's house.

Some of the survivors who had already gathered enough supplies were deeply unhappy.

"Let's not go. Everything about this village feels wrong. We should head back sooner rather than later!"

"Exactly. We have enough supplies already. It's too dangerous!"

The other survivors, who had been a little slower, looked displeased. "You've gathered enough, but we barely found anything! If you want to go back, go yourselves!"

Zhou Lan and Zhou Xiaoxiao were definitely going to stay with Chen Ye's group and continue gathering supplies.

The sisters had managed to live fairly well in the convoy only by taking bold risks time and again.

Seeing another argument about to break out, Nana stepped forward and snapped, "Still arguing? Have you forgotten what's outside?"

At Nana's words, everyone's expression shifted.

There were hundreds of corpses hanging from the willow trees outside the supermarket.

Once everyone fell silent, Nana said coldly, "Anyone who wants to go back can go on their own. You should all remember the way we came. Anyone who doesn't can follow us and keep gathering supplies."

"But remember, if you choose to follow us, you have to do as you're told. Otherwise, we can't guarantee what will happen to you!"

With that, the girl strode out of the supermarket on her long, slender legs.

The hundreds of corpses outside the supermarket watched silently, like an audience enjoying a show, as these people crept through the village they had secretly entered.