Chapter 80: Searching for Zombies with Pink-White Crystal Cores
Song Yuqing had no idea what was brewing between Nanjiao, the Xie brothers, and Shen She. No one mentioned a word to her, entirely because Shen She had forbidden them from doing so.
Working quickly, she managed to finish constructing the raffle box just before the very first participant arrived.
That first customer was Zhang Hua. Ever since his narrow escape, he had been bunking with the water-type espers from Base 27. After spending a few days together, the Base 27 crowd had become fast friends with the squad from Base Zero, and Zhang Hua was no exception. He had even made a pact with the dark-skinned man traveling with Zhang Yimiao to tag along when they eventually left.
Zhang Hua marched into the store holding a severed zombie head in one hand while dragging its limp torso with the other. On the surface, the creature looked no different from an ordinary mid-level zombie. Right in front of Song Yuqing, he sliced open the skull, revealing a distinctly pink-and-white crystal core.
“Where on earth did you find this?” Liu Xiaona asked, thoroughly puzzled. Even the elite espers were still out hunting, so how had Zhang Hua managed to be the first one back with a kill? Her former gang brother’s abilities were barely a step above elementary level.
“Right at the entrance of the alley, buried in the snow,” Zhang Hua said excitedly.
He explained that he had set out a little later than the rest of his group. When he reached the mouth of the alley, he lost his footing and took a nasty spill, face-planting into a drift. As he reached out to push himself up, his hand brushed against something cold—a zombie, staring straight up at him with wide-open eyes.
The creature’s pupils were massive, virtually swallowing the whites of its eyes, and they held a faint, eerie golden glow. Terrified, Zhang Hua scrambled to his feet and ran for his life. But after a few frantic paces, he sneaked a glance back and realized the zombie was still lying motionless in the snow.
“So, I just conjured a water blade and sliced it right in half,” he said, gesturing to the separated head and body.
“Was it really that simple?” Song Yuqing muttered. She couldn’t wrap her head around why these high-level zombies were letting themselves be slaughtered so easily.
“Maybe zombies are just afraid of snow,” Liu Xiaona guessed, taking the corpse from Zhang Hua and tossing it toward the security gate’s scanner.
Ding—One high-level zombie. Eligible for exchange: three lunchboxes and ten bottles of water.
“Oh, I don’t need the water. Can I trade it for more lunchboxes instead? One of each flavor, please,” Zhang Hua requested happily. A few more days of this, and he would have sampled every single meal flavor God’s Supermarket had to offer.
“Gaha…” Up on the rafters, Gaha poked his head out and let out a low noise. That’s not right. Zombies aren’t afraid of snow.
Ignoring the gargoyle, Song Yuqing slid the cardboard box over to Zhang Hua. “Go ahead. Draw a ticket.”
Zhang Hua spat into his palms, rubbed them together for good luck, and plunged his hand into the circular opening at the top of the box. He closed his eyes, muttering a frantic mantra under his breath: “Winner, winner, winner…”
He pulled out a neatly folded slip of paper and reverently peeled it open to read the text inside.
Thank you for participating! Please try again!
Song Yuqing raised an eyebrow. “Oof. Bad luck.”
“Just you wait!” Zhang Hua huffed, marching back out into the winter air determined to try again.
Because the neighbors had all scrambled to hunt down zombies, God’s Supermarket fell completely silent. With no customers coming in, Song Yuqing began to worry about how the hunting was going. She decided to leash up Little Meat Bun and head out for a walk to check on their progress.
“Gaha!” The gargoyle desperately wanted to tag along, but Liu Xiaona caught him by the tail and yanked him back.
“You’re staying right here to help me mind the store. It’s freezing out there, and besides, the snow makes it incredibly dangerous for your kind.”
Gaha shook his head frantically, trying to explain, but Song Yuqing and Liu Xiaona just assumed he was throwing a playful tantrum.
“Gaha…” Left behind, the creature could only watch with immense bitterness as the duo vanished through the front door.
Outside, Song Yuqing and Little Meat Bun adjusted their helmets and stepped onto the thick, pristine powder. The fresh snow was surprisingly springy, giving them the distinct sensation of walking on a trampoline.
The streets were largely deserted, devoid of any zombies. The only signs of life were the occasional espers sprinting past, wearing protective helmets and holding reinforced umbrellas.
“Are they all hiding, or did they clear out entirely?” Song Yuqing wondered aloud, idly ruffling the panda’s fluffy head.
Little Meat Bun looked around warily, his small body tense. In his home world, he had never seen or heard of anything like this. The elder pandas always warned that zombies became most volatile and active during heavy snowfalls. This eerie quiet didn’t make sense.
When they reached Bell Street, the scene finally grew lively. Squads of espers were moving in organized shifts, filtering in and out of the various high-rises to flush out any hidden monsters.
“Song Yuqing! Over here! Look up!” Zhang Yimiao’s voice echoed from somewhere above.
Song Yuqing spun around, scanning the immediate area, but couldn’t spot her.
“Higher up, dummy!”
Song Yuqing and Little Meat Bun snapped their heads back, a flurry of snowflakes nearly stinging their eyes. Only then did she spot Zhang Yimiao leaning halfway out of a window several stories up. Her bright red hair burned like a torch against the stark white backdrop of the building.
“You have to come up and check out this penthouse! There’s so much good stuff here, I want to salvage all of it!”
Amused by her enthusiasm, Song Yuqing guided Little Meat Bun inside and began the trek upstairs. As they climbed, they crossed paths with a group of espers heading down.
“We just cleared the lower levels, folks. Not a single zombie in sight,” a man with a prominent facial scar offered kindly as they passed.
Song Yuqing smiled. She was slightly surprised they didn’t recognize her as the store manager, but then again, she wasn’t a celebrity, so it made sense. She offered a polite nod and continued climbing with the panda.
The higher they went, the more opulent the interior architecture became. Fine landscape paintings and intricate calligraphy scrolls lined the elegant corridors. After conquering eight flights of stairs, they finally stepped into the penthouse where Zhang Yimiao was waiting.
They emerged into a massive, sixty-square-meter living space. A stunning crystal feather chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling, casting a warm glow over a plush leather sectional and a solid wood coffee table resting perfectly in the center of the room. But the real showstopper was the carpet beneath their feet. It was a deep, mystical shade of midnight blue, woven with intricate geometric rings. Inlaid within each circle were glittering, multi-colored gemstones that sparkled like a miniature map of the cosmos.
Zhang Yimiao had already kicked off her shoes and socks, pacing back and forth across the fabric barefoot.
“This feels absolutely amazing! The gems are like a built-in foot massager!” she cheered, waving her hands to invite them over. “Come on, take your shoes off and try it!”
Song Yuqing waved her off with a laugh, refusing to be so easily distracted.
Little Meat Bun, however, wasn’t looking at the carpet. He scanned the perimeter of the room, his expression suddenly darkening as he tugged firmly on the hem of Song Yuqing’s coat.
Something is wrong here. Very wrong.
Seeing the sudden gravity in the little panda’s eyes, Song Yuqing’s heart skipped a beat.
“Yimiao, why are you up here completely by yourself? What if a zombie catches you off guard?”
“Relax, we already swept this entire floor. It’s totally clear,” Zhang Yimiao dismissed easily, continuing to bounce around on the gemstone rug. “The rest of the team is just checking out the upper levels.”
She remained entirely carefree.
Song Yuqing let out a soft sigh and sank onto the edge of the leather sofa. The cushions conformed perfectly to her weight. “Wow, you aren’t kidding. This is incredibly comfortable.”
“Right? Do you think it’s worth trying to haul back?”
Zhang Yimiao shook her head. “Nah, it’s way too heavy to lug down eight flights of stairs.”
“Little Meat Bun, make a note to help me move this sofa back to the supermarket later,” Song Yuqing said, patting the leather armrest as she melted into the cushions.
As she rested, she took a closer look around the space. Oddly, there wasn’t a single speck of dust anywhere. It looked meticulously maintained, as if someone had been living here full-time until very recently. It struck her as bizarre—who would maintain a luxury estate like this in the middle of a deserted sector?
“Did you come out here just to supervise our hunting?” Zhang Yimiao asked, putting her socks and shoes back on before leaping onto the couch right next to Song Yuqing.
“Not really. I just wanted to tag along and see the chaos.”
“Want to see those braindead zombies for yourself?” Without waiting for an answer, Zhang Yimiao eagerly grabbed Song Yuqing and Little Meat Bun by the hands and pulled them toward the stairwell leading further up.
Their footsteps clopped loudly, echoing sharply off the walls.
As they climbed, a sudden realization hit Song Yuqing, and a chill ran down her spine. The building was entirely too quiet.
If a whole squad of espers was supposedly clearing the floors right above them, why wasn’t there any sound of a struggle?
