"Lejia Convenience Store."
A dust-covered sign hung precariously from the second floor.
This store was smaller than the previous "Legou Life" but was in a more remote location, so there might be unexpected gains.
Xuanwu stopped at the store entrance, its massive body almost blocking the entire alley.
In the air, there was a faint, almost imperceptible stench of decay.
The convenience store's glass door lay shattered on the ground, and two shriveled, blackened corpses lay at the entrance.
They had died horribly, their bodies covered in dense claw marks and bite marks, bones exposed, as if something had gnawed away their flesh while they were still alive.
"Someone has been here before, and they failed."
Lin Yue slid down from Xuanwu's back, his brows slightly furrowed.
He glanced at the corpses, judging from their twisted postures and the weapons by their hands that they had engaged in a fierce battle before death, but ultimately could not win.
"Xuanwu, same rules, guard the door."
Lin Yue commanded.
"Roar…"
Xuanwu responded with a low growl, its millstone-sized head slightly raised, scanning its surroundings vigilantly, like the most reliable door god.
Lin Yue gripped the iron pipe, took a deep breath, suppressed the unease, and slipped into the dim store.
The store was also a mess, but better than the previous one; most of the shelves were still standing.
He quickly moved between the shelves, his gaze sharply sweeping over them.
"Water… found some."
He found a few bottles of bottled water with blurry labels in the corner of the beverage section.
He shook them; the water was a bit cloudy but had no sediment, so it would be drinkable after boiling.
"Canned food… here!"
On the bottom shelf, several dust-covered cans of luncheon meat and douchi dace lay quietly.
He picked one up; the can was intact and still within its shelf life.
"Good luck."
Lin Yue's heart filled with joy, and he stuffed all these treasures into his backpack.
With these, he would have rations for the next week.
As he scavenged, he mused: food and water were just the basics, not enough.
Medicine, especially antibiotics, was the real hard currency.
Also, he needed to find a more suitable weapon; this iron pipe was always awkward to use.
His gaze fell on the wall behind the cashier counter, where something seemed to have been hung.
Walking over to look, he indeed found a forgotten rubber police baton in the corner of the wall.
He weighed it in his hand; it was solid and much better to use than the iron pipe.
Just as he was satisfied and preparing to check the small storeroom at the back, his footsteps suddenly froze.
At the corner of the innermost shelf, he saw a scene that would haunt him forever.
It was a mother and baby products shelf.
A female skeleton, curled up under the shelf in a protective posture.
In her arms, she tightly held a smaller, completely dried-up infant skeleton.
The woman's bony hand, one protecting the baby's head, the other, still clutching an empty milk powder can.
Around them, disposable diapers and empty baby bottles were scattered on the floor.
There was no struggle, no bloodstains, no signs of a fight.
They had simply, quietly, and despairingly, expended their lives here.
Lin Yue's heart felt as if it had been squeezed by a cold hand; an unspeakable sorrow and anger surged from his feet to his head.
He had seen torn corpses, seen struggling living people, and personally ended monsters.
He thought his heart was hardened enough to face the cruelty of this world.
But when he saw the mother and child in front of him, his supposedly hardened heart still trembled involuntarily.
His throat tightened, unable to utter a single syllable.
He slowly walked over and squatted down.
He wanted to do something, but didn't know where to start.
Close their long-gone eyes?
Or bury them?
But in this ruin, where wasn't a tomb?
"Live on…"
Lin Yue looked at the tiny skeleton, his voice terribly low,
"No, just living on isn't enough."
In his mind, Xuanwu's broad, thick shell repeatedly appeared.
A thought, wild and firm, took root in his heart.
I want to build a home… a truly safe home.
A home where mothers and children can sleep peacefully, no longer worrying about hunger and monsters!
He stood up, not disturbing the mother and child, but merely pulled a nearby shelf to cover them, providing them with their final peace.
At this moment, his eyes had completely changed.
Carrying this heavy and new goal, Lin Yue shouldered his heavy backpack, gripped the newly acquired police baton, and turned to walk towards the exit.
Time to leave.
He told himself.
This place is too oppressive.
However, just as he reached the door, before he could even take a breath of the outside air, a dense, scalp-numbing roar suddenly exploded from all directions!
"Awoo—!!"
"Roar—!!"
That wasn't one or two monsters, but an entire massive pack!
Lin Yue's expression changed drastically; he rushed behind the broken door, cautiously peering out.
With just one glance, half the blood in his body ran cold.
The street, at some unknown point, was filled with a dense mass of monsters.
They were mutated creatures, slightly larger than domestic dogs, gaunt, hairless, with sickly grayish-white skin tightly wrapped around their skeletons, like living dog bones.
Their limbs were long, with barbs at the joints, and their eyes glowed with a mad, hungry green light.
Mutated Dogs!
This name immediately popped into Lin Yue's mind; Zhao Si had told him about them when introducing the situation in Hangzhou City.
Mutated Dogs live in packs, are fast, numerous, and extremely troublesome!
Currently, at least thirty to forty Mutated Dogs surrounded the convenience store entrance, blocking it completely.
They were frantically pouncing on Xuanwu.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
One after another, Mutated Dogs fearlessly crashed into Xuanwu's black shell, howling as they were bounced off, some even breaking their bones directly.
However, these attacks were like tickles to Xuanwu; its massive body firmly blocked the entrance, and occasionally, it would dart its head out and bite with lightning speed, tearing a Mutated Dog's head to pieces.
"Good job, Xuanwu!"
Lin Yue shouted, his heart settling slightly.
This pack of Mutated Dogs couldn't harm it at all.
But he rejoiced too soon.
Behind the pack, a clearly larger leader, with a row of bone spikes on its back, let out a sharp, prolonged howl towards the sky.
"Awoo—!!!"
Receiving the command, the pack immediately stopped their futile charges.
They quickly dispersed, dozens of pale green eyes simultaneously fixating on the convenience store's windows, wall holes, and every possible entrance!
Damn it! Lin Yue's heart sank sharply. These beasts actually understood tactics!
"Crash!"
Through the window to his left, a Mutated Dog suddenly smashed through the remaining glass, half its body entering!
"Screech—"
From the direction of the warehouse behind him, came the harsh, grating sound of metal being scraped by sharp claws; they were attacking the back door!
"Thump! Thump!"
Vibrations also came from the ceiling above; something had jumped onto the roof, searching for weak points!
In an instant, Lin Yue and Xuanwu were completely surrounded.
He tightened his grip on the rubber police baton, listening to the increasingly close roars and scratching sounds from all directions, his heart sinking.
These mutated beasts posed no threat to Xuanwu, but they could threaten him!
If he wasn't careful, he might just end up dying here!