Chapter 6: Informing
Mo Chu put on the largest backpack she could find in the warehouse and stepped out the door. Once outside, she closed the warehouse door from the outside and placed two zombie corpses at the entrance, creating the illusion that there were zombies inside the warehouse and that a fierce battle had just taken place.
She knew this disguise might be a bit exaggerated. If it were the sixth year of the apocalypse, it wouldn’t deceive anyone. However, during the early days of the apocalypse, when most people hadn’t yet adapted to the brutal atmosphere of the end times, just those two zombie corpses would scare off the vast majority of people.
Though there was still some risk involved, she could only ensure she returned as quickly as possible.
Moreover, before she left, she wasn’t sure if it was in an unconscious state, but Li Chen suddenly grabbed her hand. Strangely, she felt a bit sorry for the Demon rumored from her previous life.
As soon as this thought arose, it startled her.
However, in this life, Li Chen was just “Li Chen,” not the “Demon King.”
Mo Chu sighed inwardly. She hadn’t taken any action yet, but the urgency to return had already taken hold.
She swiftly navigated through the city, avoiding the swarming groups of zombies on the streets since her goal was to find supplies.
The entire city no longer had any pedestrians, resembling a dead city.
Mo Chu knew that the surviving people in this city were either anxiously and despairingly waiting for rescue, hiding in their homes or former workplaces, or they had made the same choice as others during the early days of the apocalypse – to escape this city.
Back then, the majority of survivors in this city believed that only their city had fallen, and as long as they escaped or waited for rescue, they would survive and return to the civilized world.
However, the reality was that the entire world had collapsed, and every city was struggling to survive.
By the third day of the apocalypse, with all communications still disrupted and rescue delayed, some people began to realize that something was wrong, but most still clung to hope.
Yet, they weren’t completely without hope.
Mo Chu thought of that “hope,” pursed her lips, refocused her mind, and searched for supplies.
Finally, she found what seemed to be an underground, large-scale supermarket that hadn’t been looted.
But as she entered, she discovered that the supermarket wasn’t actually devoid of people.
Mo Chu saw two groups of people standing by the shelves, tense and ready for confrontation. One group had more men than women, appearing dominant, but the other group, although mostly composed of girls, was led by three tall and muscular boys, exuding an intimidating aura that said they could take on eight people at once – not someone to be trifled with. The tension between them reached its peak when Mo Chu suddenly barged in.
Everyone turned their gaze toward her, especially the group with more men than women. The leader of that group, upon seeing that she was just a woman, showed a hint of hostility in his eyes.
Mo Chu slowly unsheathed the dagger she had hidden in her boot, her gaze sharp and unyielding.
Some things could be compromised, but some things couldn’t, especially when it came to resources. After experiencing six years in the apocalypse, Mo Chu learned a valuable lesson: allowing concessions once could lead to countless repetitions, a mistake she was determined not to make again.
As soon as she presented herself as a well-armed and formidable woman, the man’s gaze became more restrained.
At this moment, a boy from the other group, still wearing a basketball jersey, furrowed his brow and said, “The supermarket is so big, nobody can take everything. Let’s not disturb each other and rely on our own abilities.”
The man probably realized it wouldn’t be in his favor to continue pressing the issue, so he said, “Fine, let’s rely on our own abilities, but this woman can’t come in.”
He pointed at Mo Chu.
All eyes turned to her.
Mo Chu remained expressionless, contemplating whether it would be better to resolve the situation with the man right now or wait for them to come out and rob them directly.
In the apocalypse, you not only had to deal with getting bloodied by zombies but sometimes had to get involved with your fellow human’s blood as well – a lesson Mo Chu had learned from her previous life.
Before she could react, a girl from the group of three boys spoke with a tone of disgust, “She’s one of us now. Are you going to stop her from coming in?”
As she spoke, the other members of their group showed no signs of opposition.
With so many people backing Mo Chu up, the other side had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
Once they entered the food section, the girl gestured to Mo Chu, “Come in quickly.”
Mo Chu retracted her dagger and walked over, whispering,
“Thank you.”
The girl waved her hand dismissively and hurriedly said,
“Hurry in and find food. Once you’re done, leave quickly, don’t let that group notice you.”
After saying that, the girl didn’t wait for Mo Chu’s response and hurriedly followed her teammates inside.
From behind, Mo Chu asked her, “What’s your name?”
The girl didn’t turn her head and replied, “Yingyi. Goodbye!”
Mo Chu watched the girl’s figure and then entered the supermarket as well.
The supermarket still showed remnants of the initial apocalypse with toppled shelves, bloodstains on the walls, and scattered zombie or human bodies. However, the fact that they caused such a commotion without attracting any zombies meant that the supermarket was likely zombie-free.
Despite this, Mo Chu remained cautious as she stepped inside.
She noticed that the group with more men than women headed straight for the fresh food section, swiftly gathering meat, grains, and other items, indicating they were probably stocking up for their homes. On the other hand, the group of teenagers made a beeline for the ready-to-eat food section, targeting various cooked and fast-food items.
Mo Chu took a quick glance and first went to the beverage section, filling several bottles with purified water and some energy drinks, promptly filling half of her backpack.
Having spent so many years in the apocalypse in her previous life, Mo Chu deeply understood that in such times, water was even more critical than food.
After filling the water, she grabbed a handful of chocolate bars and stashed them in the side pocket. Then, she began searching for high-sugar, high-calorie foods, and non-inflated grains, like oatmeal. With a quick sweep of the shelves, she found what she wanted and added two cans of canned fruits.
Her purpose was clear, and her actions were swift.
She knew that in this kind of supermarket, it was impossible to find military-grade compressed rations like the ones she used to equip the special operations teams in her previous life. In this situation, high-sugar, high-calorie foods could quickly replenish energy, and grains were more filling and sustainable than ordinary cooked or fast food. As for canned fruits, they were precious sources of vitamins in the apocalypse.
After almost filling her backpack, she lifted it and felt an unusual heaviness.
With the bag slung over her shoulder, she looked around the supermarket and unexpectedly saw the man who had shown ill intentions towards her earlier quietly leaving his group and heading in a certain direction.
Mo Chu frowned at the man’s behavior and decided to follow him.
When she caught up to the man, she saw him cornering the girl named Yingyi between a shelf and a wall. He covered her mouth forcefully with one hand and tugged at her clothes with the other.
Once the world lost its order, some people’s wickedness could surface so quickly!
Mo Chu’s anger surged inside her. She stepped forward quickly and grabbed the man’s hair from behind, using all her strength to smash his head against the nearby wall!
The heavy thud resounded throughout the supermarket. The man’s eyes filled with stars, and blood immediately started flowing from his forehead. Mo Chu quickly covered his wound with a towel to prevent the smell of blood from attracting zombies. Then, she raised her foot and stomped down twice with precision, breaking the man’s hand bones.
She used another towel to muffle his screams.
Lifting her foot, she stepped on his broken hand bones again, making him look at her as if she were a dead person.
The man’s eyes were filled with pain, and he was on the verge of passing out, but he couldn’t even utter a cry.
At this moment, Yingyi also realized what was happening.
Mo Chu initially thought she might cry or panic, but she didn’t expect that after the little girl grasped the situation, she immediately grabbed a rolling pin from the side and swung it at the man on the ground, all while being careful not to make any unnecessary noise.
Mo Chu almost burst out laughing, but she didn’t stop her. She just watched.
However, just then, someone from the other side heard the noise and was rushing over. Mo Chu stopped her, then quickly found a jacket from the side and draped it over her, covering her torn clothes.
The girl sniffled, “Thank you.”
Mo Chu helped her fasten the buttons.
Tears finally welled up in the girl’s eyes, and she cried and choked, “Thank you, thank you, you… you’re so kind.”
Mo Chu patted her back.
The girl’s teammates finally arrived and, seeing the scene in front of them, understood what had happened. The three boys in the lead became furious and directly pulled the man to the ground without any explanation, driving him and his teammates out of the supermarket.
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The boys and girls thanked her again.
Mo Chu waved her hand, not saying anything.
When leaving, she dug up the bodies of several zombies on the ground, and from one of the corpses, she extracted a crystal nucleus.
While doing all this, she didn’t deliberately avoid them. When the teenagers saw the crystal nucleus in Mo Chu’s hand, they were all astonished.
They exchanged glances, and the girl named Yingyi, whom she had saved, asked her in a low voice, “Sis, what is this?”
Mo Chu glanced at her and said, “It’s a zombie crystal nucleus. Ability users can use it to enhance their levels.”
“Crystal nucleus?” The teenagers had expressions as if their worldview had been shattered. Some marveled at the existence of such nuclei, while others asked if Mo Chu’s ability was what they had imagined.
On the contrary, one of the young men became serious and started asking about what the crystal nucleus was and how to use it.
Mo Chu explained everything she could at the moment.
One of the boys said, “Such an important matter, and you just told us like that?”
Mo Chu smiled and said nothing.
The boy bowed respectfully to her and said, “Thank you.”
Mo Chu shook her head and didn’t say anything.
Mo Chu had no intention of hiding the fact about the crystal nucleus to gain an advantage.
Firstly, the function of the crystal nucleus would be discovered sooner or later. Secondly, the earlier it was discovered, the more humanity could enhance its strength as much as possible before the second evolution of the zombies, increasing their chances of survival.
Before being an ability user, she is a person.
As a person, she couldn’t just stand idly by while her compatriots were oppressed by the mutants.
She intentionally let them see what she could do, even in the future, she had no intention of concealing it.
Seeing that her purpose was achieved, Mo Chu didn’t linger much longer. After bidding them farewell, she left.
After her departure, the young man who had questioned Mo Chu said,
“I think the professor might have awakened his ability. Let’s quickly go back and tell him about this!”
“Oh? I thought the professor’s mind just got faster after the fever. Is that an ability too?”
“Then, on our way back, let’s try to dig up some crystal nuclei!”
“We should really thank the sister who helped us just now.”
The young man looked in the direction Mo Chu had left, fully aware of how shocking the information she casually shared was. He sincerely said, ‘Thank you’ in his heart.
