Chapter 5

What a blunt, domineering statement.

Su Cheng remembered how Yan Yu had also been ready to chop the pharmacy door open with her axe when she wanted to get inside.

Her whole approach was: if force could solve it, don't waste words.

A sound came from inside the convenience store. Su Cheng cleared her throat twice and added, "We're not bad people, and we're not infected. We came here for gas and food."

A few seconds later, the convenience store door opened. Sure enough, it was a gas station employee. She looked to be in her forties, slightly plump and wearing a red, short-sleeved uniform.

She looked the two of them over. Seeing that they were just two young women, she lowered her guard a little. "Come in."

After letting them in, she locked the door again.

The employee frowned, her tone anxious. "Did you come from the city? What exactly happened there?"

The employee had worked the night shift. Early that morning, when the coworker meant to relieve her still hadn't arrived, she had called her supervisor, only to be told that riots had broken out at several gas stations in the city.

The supervisor had told her to stay inside the convenience store, lock the door, and not come out. Arrangements would be made once things were resolved... Then the supervisor had hurriedly hung up.

The employee had then tried contacting her family, but couldn't get through at all... After the downpour, her phone signal had become intermittent, cutting her off from the outside world.

No one had visited the gas station since last night's downpour.

Remembering her supervisor's instructions, the employee hadn't intended to open the door. But Su Cheng and Yan Yu didn't look like bad people, and they seemed ready to force their way in, so she had no choice. It was also a chance to ask about the situation in the city.

Su Cheng hid nothing. "A zombie virus broke out in the city. Anyone bitten by someone infected with the virus will lose consciousness and turn into one of them."

The employee was skeptical, but neither Su Cheng nor Yan Yu looked as though they were making it up. Combined with everything unusual last night and today, it left her somewhat rattled. "I have to go back and find my son..."

Yan Yu disagreed and cautioned her, "You'd be better off hiding here and not going outside. Right now, the zombies are mostly concentrated in the city, but there's no guarantee they won't spread to this area later."

The employee's face fell. Her lips parted, but she didn't know what to say. She sat in the chair behind the checkout counter, clutching her phone, her face filled with bewilderment.

Su Cheng and Yan Yu exchanged a glance without saying anything more. This was something she could only come to terms with herself; no amount of comfort from others would do much good.

After confirming that the convenience store was safe, Yan Yu went outside to refuel the SUV first.

Su Cheng looked at the miserable employee. "Could we take some things from the store?"

The employee gave a bitter laugh. "Eat whatever you like. If things really fall apart out there, no one's going to worry about all that..."

Su Cheng pulled two large plastic bags from the checkout counter. That neatly arranged row of canned food looked perfect for packing up.

The convenience store shelves mostly held food, followed by daily necessities such as toilet paper and sanitary pads.

Su Cheng made a particular point of taking extra paper products. These were consumables; no stockpile could ever be too large.

Remembering that the apartment rules said supplies from instances could be brought back to the apartment, she couldn't stop herself.

By the time Yan Yu returned, Su Cheng had filled two large bags.

Yan Yu raised an eyebrow and paused. "Uh, won't that much be hard to carry?"

"Didn't the apartment say we could bring things back?"

Realization dawned on Yan Yu. "You're a newbie? This is your first instance?"

"Yes," Su Cheng said with certainty. "This probably isn't your first."

"That's right. This is my third instance. You don't know this yet, but unless you have special items, there's a limit to how many supplies you can bring back to the apartment each time. You won't be able to carry all that."

"Oh..."

Su Cheng was utterly disappointed. So many supplies sat right in front of her, yet she couldn't take them away. It hurt even more than the helplessness of having a phone but no Wi-Fi!

Yan Yu patted Su Cheng's shoulder sympathetically. "Don't be upset. Come help me move those shelves."

"Sigh. Do you have a special item?"

"Yes. You can buy items at the supermarket that let you carry more supplies when you leave an instance."

The envy in Su Cheng's eyes was almost tangible, and she pushed the shelves with a little more force.

There was a small storeroom inside the convenience store, with a little bed for employees to rest on.

Neither of them intended to fight the employee for the rest area. Instead, they pushed aside the shelves in a corner to clear a place to rest.

Yan Yu set down her backpack, piling it together with Su Cheng's large bags of supplies.

The employee found two folding benches. "You probably need these."

"Thank you."

The employee shook her head. "I'll be in the rest room. Call me if you need anything."

"Okay."

They unfolded the benches, and Su Cheng and Yan Yu each sat on one.

Now that they had a moment to rest, Su Cheng hurried to humbly seek advice from her senior, Yan Yu. "What instances have you been to before?"

Yan Yu twisted open a jar of canned mandarin oranges and took a bite before answering. "The first was an extreme heat instance. The dangers were dehydration and sunburn. The second was on a train and involved a serial killer. This is the third."

Extreme heat, serial killers... The instances were just as dangerous as Su Cheng had imagined.

Yan Yu swallowed the orange and continued, "Each instance has different tasks, and the points are tied to the difficulty. My task in the extreme heat instance was to survive for five days, worth 300 points.

"There were two tasks in the serial killer instance. The first was to survive for 48 hours, worth 300 points; the second was to kill the killer, worth 400 points. I only completed the first.

"This zombie instance is only worth 100. Maybe it's because we arrived during the early stages of the outbreak, so there's room to escape and hide.

"Every time you press the elevator button, whether you enter an easy or difficult instance is entirely down to luck."

Author's note:

None

Chapter 5

Watching someone else eat made Su Cheng a little hungry too. She simply opened a bread packet and continued asking, "What about special instances? Have you been to any?"

Yan Yu shook her head. "I haven't dared to go, but someone I know has. The special instance she went to involved the supernatural. It was extremely dangerous. After coming back, she shut herself at home for three days to recover, but the reward was high too: 2,000 points."

"Two thousand points is worth several ordinary instances."

Yan Yu nodded. "I'd planned to try a special instance myself, but I suddenly caught a cold, so I came to this one instead."

"One more question. Besides randomly running into each other in instances, are there items at the supermarket that let people team up?"

Yan Yu set down the empty jar and wiped her mouth before answering. "Yes. Besides all kinds of supplies, the supermarket has plenty of useful items, but they're expensive. Every apartment owner has to load money onto a membership card on their first visit... You'll understand when you go to the supermarket.

"I also heard that anyone who hasn't entered an instance for a week can't enter the supermarket."

Su Cheng drew in a breath. "The apartment is forcing people to enter instances."

Yan Yu didn't deny it. "If you have points, it's best to prioritize items that strengthen your constitution. Improve your physical condition first. Most of the useful weapons at the supermarket are expensive. You simply can't afford them early on.

"I wanted to save points to buy items before, so I neglected improving my constitution. After the last instance ended, I thought I only had a minor cold. I didn't expect it to suddenly get worse in this instance."

These were all lessons Yan Yu had drawn from experience.

Su Cheng committed them to memory, truly grateful that Yan Yu was willing to share. "Thank you!"

Yan Yu wiped her hands. "It's nothing. Come help me move some things outside."

Su Cheng didn't understand why, but she still finished the remaining bread in two or three bites, stood up, and followed her to the shelves holding water.

Together, they moved several cases of water, along with bread and instant noodles, outside.

It was muggier outside than inside. The ground was wet, and the sky after the rain was as blue as though it had been washed clean. The sun had emerged, dazzlingly bright when they looked up.

After carrying the supplies outside, Su Cheng was sweating again. When she raised her arm, she could smell the sour sweat coming off her.

Yan Yu said, "We're putting some supplies outside because survivors will pass through here sooner or later. With the supplies outside, they can take them directly, and we can avoid face-to-face contact."

Su Cheng nodded repeatedly, impressed by how thoroughly Yan Yu thought things through, but still voiced her thoughts. "This alone won't stop anyone from forcing their way in."

The convenience store was well stocked. Some people might take the supplies outside and leave, but others might get greedy and want more...

"True, so we also need to reinforce our defenses. That should hold up in the short term."

They got straight to work.

The entrance had sliding glass doors secured with a U-lock. Su Cheng asked the employee for a bedsheet and covered the doors, blocking the view from outside.

Yan Yu emptied several shelves to use as barricades.

"Let's also look for tools to nail the windows shut."

Seeing Su Cheng and Yan Yu busy at work, the employee wanted to help too. "I'll get them!"

Su Cheng suggested, "We can also change the layout inside. If we're really unlucky, we can use it to slow the zombies down and buy time to escape."

Yan Yu gave Su Cheng an approving look. "Just what I was thinking."

The employee scratched her head, looking hesitant. "You young people think of so much. But is it really that terrifying? Will these zombies you keep talking about really come here?"

Yan Yu said, "You have to plan for the worst in everything, so you won't be caught unprepared at a critical moment."

Su Cheng nodded firmly in complete agreement.

The employee froze for a moment, then sighed. "All right. I'll listen to you two. Just tell me whenever you need help."

Having the employee's help made things much easier. She knew where everything was and could get Su Cheng and Yan Yu what they needed as quickly as possible.

Working together, the three sealed off every entrance and exit to the convenience store, leaving only a small side door for emergency escape that led straight to the SUV.

They used the checkout counter's position and shelves loaded with heavy objects to form a passage. If zombies charged inside, they would have to enter in single file rather than attacking from every direction.

Once they finished, all three were drenched in sweat. They sat on the floor, drank some water, and rested.

Yan Yu caught her breath. "Inside is our last line of defense. We still need to set some traps outside, so we'll have a way to deal with any zombies that come this way."

Su Cheng thought for a while, then had an idea. "Pour gasoline onto a designated patch of open ground. Then we just have to throw something burning onto it to burn the zombies on that patch to death."