Chapter 13 Supermarket Encounter 1
"Go to bed."
The blanket beside the bed was wrinkled. Su Wanqing kicked the crumpled blanket and motioned the boy to lie down.
Lin Che hesitantly climbed up to the corner of the bed, hugged his knees and sat up, refusing to lie down, staring at the water cup in Su Wanqing's hand.
"If you keep staring at me, I'll dig your eyes out."
Lin Che lowered his head quickly and glanced at the cup in her hand. Water, he wanted water.
He had eaten too much salt and his throat was dry and painful. Su Wanqing put the water glass heavily on the table, and Lin Che swallowed subconsciously.
"Thirsty?"
The boy nodded, then shook his head. He wasn't sure if he had permission to drink the water. What if this was another trap? In the laboratory, researchers often used water to trick them into doing more dangerous experiments.
"Pour it yourself."
Su Wanqing threw an empty cup over, and Lin Che caught it in a panic.
He climbed out of bed, tentatively took half a glass of water, and drank it in small sips, keeping his eyes on Su Wanqing, fearing that she would suddenly attack.
"Stay here tonight, I'll take you out tomorrow." Su Wanqing fiddled with the holographic screen on her wrist, "We need supplies."
Lin Che almost spilled the water. Go out? Leave this room?
He put down his water cup and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, not sure if he had heard correctly.
"Supplies. What are they?"
"Food, medicine, clothes." Su Wanqing didn't even raise her head, her fingers sliding across the holographic screen, "Your torn clothes should be thrown away."
Lin Che looked down at his sweatshirt that was stained with salt and blood, and tugged at the collar.
This was the only piece of clothing he had, issued by the laboratory, with the number 0927 sewn on the cuff.
Last time, a researcher thought his clothes were dirty, so he cut them into pieces and threw them into the incinerator. He stood naked in the laboratory for the whole day.
"I can wear this."
"Get up at six tomorrow morning." Su Wanqing turned off the holographic screen and lay down with her back to him. "If you steal anything again, I'll throw you out."
Lin Che hugged the blanket tightly and curled up in the corner of the bed. The room was dark, with only the moonlight from the window shining in, casting a silver spot on the floor.
He listened to Su Wanqing's even breathing and thought of the long nights in the laboratory.
Salt, he needed more salt. Blue blood flowed through his body, and every heartbeat was like someone injecting liquid nitrogen into his veins.
Daybreak came sooner than expected. The alarm sounded at six o'clock on time, and Lin Che woke up suddenly, raising his hands to protect his head out of habit.
The morning in the laboratory always started with electric shocks, and subjects who overslept would be punished.
"Put this on." Su Wanqing threw a black T-shirt over, "Your T-shirt is so dirty."
Lin Che took the clothes and hesitated. Changing clothes meant taking off the current one, revealing the scars on her body.
Researchers always like to see them naked and doing various tests.
"What are you taking so long for?" Su Wanqing said as she put her back to him and sorted out her backpack. "Pack it in ten minutes."
Lin Che quickly took off his old sweatshirt and put on a new T-shirt. The shirt was a bit big, and the sleeves covered the suppressor on his wrist.
He folded his old clothes carefully and hid them under his blanket.
"Eat this." Su Wanqing threw a small plastic bag over. "Salt. 20 grams."
Lin Che caught the bag, tore it open impatiently, and poured a small handful into her palm.
The way he licked the water looked like a traveler who found a source of water in the desert.
Su Wanqing frowned as she watched him wolf down the food.
"Eat slowly. If you choke to death, it's your own fault."
Lin Che huddled in a corner, licking the salt in small sips. He only dared to eat a little at a time, fearing that this was another test and that there would be nothing left after he finished it.
Su Wanqing threw him a bottle of water. He quickly caught it and took a sip carefully to wash down the salt in his throat.
"I'm leaving."
The hallway was quiet; most of the residents had either fled or died.
Su Wanqing walked in front, and Lin Che followed closely.
Whenever the wind blew, he would stop and prick up his ears to listen.
"Don't waste time." Su Wanqing looked back and said, "Others have already grabbed all the items, so you can just starve."
Lin Che quickened his pace, not daring to stay too far away from Su Wanqing. He didn't know what the outside world had become, he only remembered the white coats in the laboratory saying that after the virus broke out, the city had become a living hell.
“Sister,” Lin Che asked tentatively, “Is it safe outside?”
Su Wanqing didn't even turn her head back, "If you don't want to go, go back."
Lin Che shrank his neck and didn't dare to speak. He could only follow Su Wanqing closely and walk out of the apartment building.
For the first time, he stood in the sun, without iron bars, surveillance cameras, or the cold gazes of doctors in white coats.
The sunshine is so warm.
"Get in the car." Su Wanqing pointed at a black SUV, "Don't touch anything."
Lin Che climbed onto the passenger seat carefully and fastened his seat belt. The smell of leather in the car was completely different from the smell of disinfectant in the laboratory. He took a deep breath, but was afraid that Su Wanqing would blame him, so he quickly held his breath.
"Suffocate yourself to death." Su Wanqing started the car, "If you want to hold your breath, just hold it."
There were almost no pedestrians on the road, only a few military trucks passing by quickly.
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Lin Che pressed his face against the car window and looked at the ruins outside. The once bustling streets were now in ruins, with shop windows smashed and several bodies lying on the roadside, wrapped in black plastic bags.
"Are those people dead?"
"Those who are still alive are all grabbing things in the supermarket." Su Wanqing stepped on the accelerator and the car sped through an abandoned residential area. "Don't run around later."
Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a large supermarket. The parking lot was packed with all kinds of vehicles, and some people even rode their motorcycles to the supermarket entrance.
The crowd pushed and shoved at the entrance, and several uniformed security guards tried to maintain order, but with little success.
"Follow me closely." Su Wanqing opened the car door. "If you leave my sight, you will bear the consequences at your own risk."
Lin Che nodded and held onto the corner of Su Wanqing's clothes tightly. He rarely saw so many people. There were only white coats and other experimental subjects in the laboratory.
The noise of the crowd gave him a headache, but he didn't dare to let go.
"Why are you pushing us?" A round-faced woman pushed away the people blocking her way. "My child has been hungry for three days!"
"Everyone, get in line! Get in line!" a bald security guard shouted through a megaphone, "Each person is limited to three items!"
No one listened to him. The crowd surged toward the supermarket entrance like a tide, and the security guard was pushed aside.
Lin Che was pushed by the crowd and almost let go of Su Wanqing's clothes.
The suppressor on his wrist buzzed softly, reminding him that he was too far away from her.
"Hold on tight." Su Wanqing held his wrist tightly, so hard that it hurt him, "Don't fall behind."
The supermarket was even more chaotic. People were scrambling for food on the shelves, and canned food, biscuits, and mineral water were all sold out.
A fat man was walking out with three boxes of instant noodles when he was stopped by several young men and a fight almost broke out.
Lin Che had never seen such a scene before. He shrank behind Su Wanqing, afraid of being dragged into the dispute.
"Take the shopping cart." Su Wanqing pointed to the shopping cart in the corner, "Go to the corner to find salt."
Lin Che pulled a shopping cart and followed closely behind Su Wanqing. She walked straight to the condiment area, where there were relatively few people.
Most people were grabbing mineral water and canned food, and no one cared about salt and soy sauce.
But to Lin Che, salt is more important than anything else.
"Pack two boxes." Su Wanqing pointed at the salt on the shelf, "Don't dawdle."
Lin Che hurriedly put the salt into the shopping cart, and the stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.
With salt, he wouldn't have to worry about dying from lack of salt for at least the next period of time.
Just as he reached for the last box of salt, a large hand grabbed it first.
"Hey, boy, this box is mine."
Lin Che looked up and saw the person who was speaking: a sturdy man over 1.80 meters tall, with red hair shaved into a flat top and a scar at the corner of his eye.
He was wearing camouflage pants and a black vest, and the muscles on his arms were clearly visible.
There was a strange tattoo on his right arm, like some kind of military insignia.
“Xiao Xiaoran?” This name slipped out of Lin Che’s mouth somehow. “Is it you?”
(End of this chapter)
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