Chapter 2
Apocalypse survival guidelines.
On one of the bare trees hung two Metapod pretending to be swings. Beneath them lay several huge, elongated white cocoons.
Judging by their size, there must be adults inside. How did those poor bastards get on the wrong side of these Caterpie? Lu Li wondered, deliberately giving those trees a wide berth.
He had no idea how those people had been wrapped up like dumplings, but suffocating to death had to be awful. He had no intention of sharing their fate.
After taking a detour of several hundred meters, Lu Li finally crossed the road and reached entrance six of the mall.
With the water and power out, the entire mall was pitch-black. Lu Li could only switch on his phone's flashlight and venture inside.
The mall's ground floor mainly housed snack stalls and restaurants. Lu Li's destination was the first basement level, where the largest supermarket in the area was located.
Crunch, crunch...
As Lu Li cautiously made his way forward, he suddenly heard faint noises, as though some animal were gnawing on bones.
Remembering that humans were also among the things Pokémon ate, Lu Li felt his scalp prickle. That sound brought all too many unpleasant possibilities to mind.
Just as Lu Li was about to move away from the sound, a dark figure suddenly lunged at him from behind.
Before Lu Li could turn around, a refreshing fragrance washed over him.
A hand covered his mouth, and the person behind him warned in a whisper, "Don't make a sound. A pack of rat monsters has taken over this place. If we draw them here, we'll both die."
Though the voice was very quiet, Lu Li could tell it belonged to a woman.
The voice spoke again. "I'm going to let go now. Whatever you do, don't scream."
Lu Li hurriedly nodded.
Only after making sure Lu Li would stay quiet did the person behind him carefully remove her hand from his mouth.
Finally able to breathe freely, Lu Li quickly pulled away from her, braced a hand against the wall, and gulped down air.
Lu Li was about to use his phone's flashlight to get a clear look at her when she warned him, "Turn that light off. Those rat monsters are especially sensitive to light."
At that, Lu Li didn't dare hesitate. He immediately switched off his phone's flashlight.
"Were you heading to the supermarket on the first floor?" the woman asked.
Lu Li nodded. "I've run out of food at home. I wanted to find something to eat there."
As though she had expected that, the woman sighed heavily and advised him, "Forget it. That place is the rat monsters' nest. Going there would be suicide."
"Come with me. Those rat monsters like dark, damp underground spaces. The sixth and seventh floors of this mall are relatively safe." With that, the woman turned and led the way.
Lu Li hurried after her. They took the emergency stairs, since the elevators had long since stopped working.
Walking ahead of him, Jun Shutong introduced herself. "My name is Jun Shutong. Before the monsters arrived, I was the public security officer for this area. Now I'm the leader of the survivor camp in Zhongxing Mall."
Hearing that she was a public security officer eased Lu Li's anxiety a little more.
Jun Shutong was actually quite well-known around here, something of an internet-famous public security officer. Besides, being chosen as the public face of the local station suggested there couldn't be much wrong with her character.
Lu Li introduced himself as well. "My name is Lu Li. I just graduated from university."
"What was your major?"
"I have a master's degree in classical forging."
Jun Shutong: "..."
Jun Shutong paused mid-step and gave Lu Li a peculiar look.
Classical forging was an extremely obscure field. It was no exaggeration to say that if Lu Li's teacher were gone, he would probably become the country's foremost authority on classical forging research.
After all, in the entire Yaxia region, it seemed that only Juzi University in Teng City offered that major.
Perhaps realizing she had overreacted, Jun Shutong said awkwardly, "That's a pretty niche major."
Lu Li nodded and admitted, "It certainly is, but the university guarantees you a job."
The university really did assign him a job directly. Upon finishing his master's, he had become a teaching assistant there. Once his teacher retired in a few years, he would become a professor at Juzi University, a top-tier institution.
That was far better than being one of those graduates who could fall below the survival threshold at any moment. After all, this world had only one Tran Star Federation, and it was a capitalist world at that.
In the slightly awkward atmosphere, the two soon reached the sixth floor.
Jun Shutong tapped lightly three times on the closed iron door. Her knocks followed a distinct rhythm, as though she were signaling a password.
A moment later, they heard the lock turn.
The iron door slowly opened, revealing a young Chubby Boy.
Seeing Lu Li behind Jun Shutong, Chubby Boy asked in surprise, "Sister Jun, you caught another one?"
"Yes. Just like you, this guy wanted to gather supplies from the supermarket on the first basement level. If I hadn't stopped him, he'd probably be inside those rat monsters' stomachs by now," Jun Shutong explained.
Chubby Boy scratched the back of his head and said awkwardly, "Heh, you can't really blame him. Who would've known it was so dangerous down there now?"
Jun Shutong might have sounded like she was complaining about Lu Li, but he had come to the mall yesterday with exactly the same idea.
Chubby Boy hurriedly changed the subject. "Come on in, Sister Jun."
Jun Shutong nodded and led Lu Li inside.
The sixth floor was spacious. A small marine museum occupied over half of it, while the remaining space held several toy stores and an arcade.
Jun Shutong's survivor camp was set up in those toy stores.
Seeing Lu Li looking around curiously, Jun Shutong warned him, "Don't go into the marine museum across from us. There are lots of aquatic monsters inside. They probably can't leave the water, though, so things are fairly peaceful for now. They haven't caused any trouble."
Lu Li nodded, committing her warning to memory.
Chubby Boy handed Lu Li a leaflet and explained, "These are the camp's safety guidelines. They're all from the last set of guidelines the Federation released. You've probably seen them, but you'd better read them again."
Lu Li took the leaflet and began reading.
Apocalypse survival guidelines.
1. Ghost Magical Beasts prioritize attacks on densely populated areas.
2. Beware of monsters that disguise themselves as unusual plants.
3. Avoid exposing yourself beneath the open sky whenever possible, lest Flying Magical Beasts hunt you.
4. Sewers are extremely dangerous. Stay away.
5. Humanity has lost the skies, oceans, and forests.
Blood, six
The smell will attract omnivorous monsters.
7. Monsters do not necessarily hunt for food.
Seven guidelines. Behind each one lay countless lost lives.
Somewhat worried, Lu Li asked, "How many people are in the camp? Won't having too many people attract Ghost-type monsters?"
Walking ahead, Chubby Boy countered, "Do you think there are more people here, or in the residential complex across the street?"
At that, Lu Li fell silent.
There were plenty of survivors in the residential complex where he had lived. Pokémon appeared entirely at random. Unless someone was unlucky enough to have one spawn right in front of them, most people who stayed home had escaped the initial disaster.
There were exceptions, though. If a Ghost-type Pokémon that fed on life energy spawned nearby, the entire area would become a dead zone.
"Most people in our camp either came here to gather supplies from the supermarket or were employees already working in the mall. But we suffered quite a few casualties when the monsters first arrived."
"There actually aren't many people in our camp now. Even with you, there are only thirty-seven of us," Jun Shutong said from up ahead.
That really wasn't many.
Lu Li immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Based on the information he had read online, a gathering of only thirty-seven people probably wouldn't be targeted by Ghost-type Pokémon.