Chapter 29 The Marketplace

Emerging from the zombie horde, Su Ling surveyed the neatly arranged corpses filling the entire road. After a moment’s thought, she tossed a ball of flame. The flame leaped and landed on the nearest corpse, igniting with a roar. Watching the inferno consume the remains, Su Ling turned with her Tang dao and left without looking back. Her target was the largest mall nearest to her. Killing the zombies in the vicinity put the time at three or four in the morning, and she needed a place to rest. The nearest mall was undoubtedly the best choice, offering a prime location and a good vantage point for observation. However, reaching and successfully infiltrating the mall promised a fierce battle. When the apocalypse struck, it was during peak shopping hours, meaning the mall would be teeming with zombies. Besides the undead, there would likely be a number of survivors. For Su Ling, places with zombies meant a steady supply of crystal cores. Places with survivors meant conflict, plunder, and bloodshed. After clearing the zombies loitering around the mall, Su Ling went straight inside. Unlike the darkness outside, some shops within the mall still had lights on, especially the largest department store, which was brightly lit. This indicated that its generator was still working after the power outage. This discovery was a significant boon for Su Ling. Unsure of where the survivors might be hiding, Su Ling cleared zombies while remaining vigilant. After clearing the zombies from a sushi shop, Su Ling slipped inside, closing and locking the door for safety. Her greatest fear was a surprise attack from behind. Inside the sushi shop, Su Ling headed straight for the kitchen. She was incredibly lucky; the sushi shop had recently received a shipment, all stored in the cold room, with ample inventory. The ingredients taken out for use had long since spoiled due to being out of the freezer for too long, but those in the cold room and freezers were still intact. Su Ling unceremoniously collected them all into her personal space. After looting the sushi shop, Su Ling quickly left and headed for the next establishment. Outside the sushi shop was a Haidilao, which Su Ling also entered and cleared of any threats before looting. Following that were a steakhouse, a hot pot restaurant, and a buffet restaurant. She systematically swept through any shop that was still lit. However, she didn't empty them completely, leaving some items to avoid suspicion. After a thorough sweep, Su Ling checked the time, it was already five in the morning. She looked at the department store in the distance and decided to loot it before it got completely light. Upon entering the department store, Su Ling sensed something was amiss. There should have been wandering zombies, but the place was eerily silent. Only the residual bloodstains on the ground reminded Su Ling that someone had already looted the department store before her. This struck Su Ling as odd; if they had already looted the department store, why would they leave the shops outside untouched? Su Ling’s guard went up considerably. Gripping her Tang dao, she moved slowly through the looted department store. Standing at the escalator entrance, Su Ling hesitated about whether to go up or down when a scream echoed from the upper floor: “Help—!” Without a second thought, Su Ling jumped onto the escalator and headed upstairs. Arriving on the upper floor, Su Ling had just stepped off the escalator and steadied herself when a chill ran across her forehead. Immediately after: “Don’t move.”