In Z city, the largest Wald supermarket in the city center, once the most bustling place in the entire city, is now frozen solid, like a giant can.
Z City was one of the hardest-hit areas in the entire Federation. With temperatures dropping to nearly -70 degrees Celsius, Z City became a ghost town almost overnight.
At this moment, the arrival of several helicopters broke the deathly silence that had lasted for months in Z City.
Several helicopters, like a few buzzing mosquitoes, approached from afar until they stopped over Wald.
"Begin the operation!"
The helicopter began to descend slowly, and a group of staff members with greasepaint on their faces and armed to the teeth stepped out of the cabin.
As soon as they landed, the group sprang into action, using instruments to cut through the thick layer of ice covering the Wald supermarket until they created a passage wide enough for two people to cross the border.
"Alright, let's go in! Our primary task this time is to find the entrance to the Wald Supermarket warehouse." The middle-aged man in a casual suit, clearly their leader, gestured and gave instructions.
"Received, boss!"
"In addition, the second and third teams, explore the entire supermarket and take stock of the distribution of supplies in various locations!"
"Received, boss!"
These people were the advance team sent from country H to collect supplies.
After receiving the orders, the advance team began to take their positions and move into action.
One team ventured inside to locate the warehouse, while the other two teams patrolled the Wald supermarket.
The Wald supermarket, covered in thick snow and ice, looked eerie even in broad daylight.
"Damn it, I was perfectly fine staying in H country, and I was sent here on a mission. What bad luck!"
"Alright, alright, stop complaining! Let's do our patrol properly first. There seems to be smoke over there. Let's go check it out!"
The two inspectors walked together to a counter that used to specialize in selling premium cigarettes and liquors. The crystal glass counter was filled with a dazzling array of famous brands. The cigarettes looked to be of decent quality, but the liquor bottles had burst open due to the extreme cold.
"Look what! So many cigarettes! Damn, we're really lucky! And so much liquor, what a waste!" One of the patrol members couldn't wait to tear open the packaging and light a cigarette.
"Pah! It's all damp! What a waste!" He threw the cigarette in his hand on the ground.
"Alright, alright, stop complaining and let's get going! Otherwise, we won't be able to explain ourselves when the boss asks!"
As the two were preparing to continue their patrol, they suddenly heard a knocking sound coming from somewhere.
"Knock knock knock!"
"Thump thump thump!" The sound was particularly eerie in the quiet and empty supermarket.
"Wasn't it said that all the residents of Z City were dead? Then could this knocking be...?"
"Go away, stop scaring yourself! There aren't that many inexplicable mysterious phenomena in this world. Come on, let's go take a look! Maybe there are survivors!"
"Thump, thump, thump!" The knocking sound continued.
"The sound seems to be coming from behind this door! The staff break room!" The two quickly found the source of the sound: an abandoned staff break room.
"Is anyone inside?" they asked tentatively into the doorway.
"Knock knock knock!" But all that could be heard from inside was the sound of knocking, which became increasingly eerie the more you listened.
"Let's break down the door and take a look! It might just be a stray cat or something!"
"3, 2, 1!" The two men simultaneously slammed their fists against the wooden door.
"Squeak!" The door slowly opened.
A long-haired woman appeared inside, her hair disheveled, squatting on the ground, seemingly gnawing on something.
"Who are you?" one of the young boys in the patrol team couldn't help but ask.
But the other person did not answer. Instead, she mechanically squatted on the ground. Her hair was messy and her movements were slow. When she heard the patrol team's voice, she slowly raised her head.
"My God, how did he survive in temperatures below -60 degrees Celsius?"
What kind of face is this?
Her face was ashen white, and the flesh on her cheeks was almost falling off, making her look like a dried-up corpse drained of life.
Her body reeked of decay, a stench that made one want to vomit. Her pupils had turned a dark red, like two abysses burning with crimson flames, filled with evil and cruelty. Upon seeing a living person, her beastly instincts drove her to lunge and bite, like a hungry tiger eager to tear its prey to shreds.
"What's your name? Where do you live?" Faced with the patrolman's three questions, he slowly raised his head, his pupils gleaming with a wild, beast-like light, like an enraged lion ready to devour its prey.
“She seems to have suffered a great emotional shock. You stay here and take care of her. I’ll go tell the boss about the situation and ask her to find someone to come and help.”
The two divided the work: one went down to the basement to find their leader, while the other stayed behind to watch over the survivors.
What they didn't know was that the so-called survivors in their eyes had long since become zombies, leaving behind only mindless corpses.
The young patrol team members ran downstairs breathlessly, while their captain was studying the ground.
"Boss, something important has happened over there!"
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?"
"We found a survivor near the warehouse at the north gate," he reported as he stepped forward.
“Survivors? What? You didn’t read that right? At minus seventy degrees Celsius, how could there possibly be any survivors?” He waved his hand dismissively.
"It's true, boss, it's all true! We found her near the warehouse at the North Gate. Her hair was disheveled, and she was lying on the ground like a wild animal. Boss, come with me to take a look!"
At his repeated requests, the patrol team leader finally agreed to go to the north gate to check the situation.
The captain followed him toward the north gate.
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