Chapter 5: Distress in the Supermarket
Only then did the three of them see clearly what was happening inside the supermarket.
To the left of the entrance was the cashier counter; all the shelves had been moved inside and were arranged in a messy manner, leaving a large empty space in the middle. To the right, several people sat against the wall. A man with a shaved head sat in the only chair. He had a hideous scar running from his left eyebrow to his cheek, which made his already unfriendly face even more sinister.
He was hugging a woman who looked like a store worker, and she was secretly observing them.
There were three young men nearby, all wearing the same uniform as the scarred man. They were security guards from somewhere. The man with glasses was sitting closest to the door, glaring angrily at Gu Chao and Lu Ming. There was also a male clerk inside, holding a candle to start a fire.
Away from the crowd sat two older women, mumbling to each other and glancing at them from time to time. There were two figures in the far back corner, but it was too dark to make out their identities.
The scarred man stared at Luming for a long time, then laughed strangely, "Are you three together?"
Lu Ming felt uneasy under his stare and nodded, "They are my friends. We won't cause any trouble. We'll just stay for one night."
Gu Chao helped Zhang Rui to sit down in the corner diagonally opposite, walked over slowly, and with a flick of his boots, he stood in front of Lu Ming and raised his eyelids nonchalantly.
The scarred man's vision was blocked. He raised his eyes unhappily, and his pupils shrank after meeting his gaze. He glanced at his waist again, suppressed his complicated emotions, narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Okay, then you guys stay here for now."
Lu Ming breathed a sigh of relief and sat down next to Zhang Rui with Gu Chao. She whispered, "I have some wet wipes in my bag. Take them out and help cool him down later."
Gu Chao nodded slightly, "Eat first, take some time to rest, and be alert at night."
Lu Ming was startled and lowered his voice even more: "You mean tonight..." Could something happen?
Gu Chao agreed.
Not only that group of people might cause trouble, but the two middle-aged women were also a concern. They kept looking at Zhang Rui with fear on their faces, and no one knew what they were discussing.
And the innermost part.
Gu Chao tilted his head to look at the two blurry figures. A man was lying flat on his back, and a young woman was sitting next to him with her knees hugged, holding his hand. He had no reaction to their coming in, which made him feel uncomfortable.
He didn't say much, but was secretly wary of a few people.
Lu Ming took off his backpack and put it aside. He pounded his shoulders a few times, then took out a bottle of water and a piece of bread from the bag and started eating.
The security team over there was also discussing Lu Ming and the other two.
A little yellow-haired boy looked at Luming greedily and asked the scarred man, "Brother Li, when are we going to get those girls?"
The scarred man glanced over there and warned him, "Xiao Wu, those two men are not ordinary people. They are carrying weapons. Don't cause trouble for me."
The little yellow-haired boy curled his lips and muttered a few words in disdain.
Lu Ming and his friends didn't plan to eat or drink in the supermarket, they only ate what they had in their bags.
She finished her food and took out some more and handed it to Gu Chao. Gu Chao first fed Zhang Rui a few sips of water before eating himself.
Lu Ming found a pack of wet wipes, took out one and wiped his face and hands, then put it next to Gu Chao, motioning him to use it.
The room was quiet and there was no sound outside.
Such silence was the most hypnotic, and the people from several parties began to slowly fall asleep.
Lu Ming originally wanted to help Gu Chao take care of Zhang Rui, but unfortunately his health was not good enough. He held the backpack to block the wind, and soon his eyelids drooped and he fell asleep on his side.
Gu Chaoxian tried to lower Zhang Rui's temperature, but it didn't help. This high fever was strange, and he hadn't received any information about it while in the hospital.
And those zombies appeared almost suddenly, but their numbers were small and scattered, which was completely inconsistent with the law of virus transmission.
He thought slowly, his eyes clear and without any sleepiness.
He turned his head to look at Lu Ming. He had seen her rubbing her feet more than once during the day. The pain made her gasp uncontrollably, but she did not complain. She gritted her teeth and followed them. Although she would hide behind them in fear when she saw the zombies wandering around, she did not scream in panic.
She had always tried hard not to be a burden, trying to find ways to play her limited role. Ignoring some strange details, it had to be said that this was a strong and independent girl, which had slightly changed his impression of her.
The deep night brings a rare peace, and people are hoping that the dawn will bring restoration, order, and the end of this inexplicable absurdity.
However, they were destined to be disappointed, as the real nightmare was about to begin.
The floor and walls were very hard, and Luming woke up in the middle of the night feeling uncomfortable all over. She opened her eyes blearily, rubbed her stiff neck, and sat up straight with her hands.
Gu Chao turned his head and glanced at her, lowering his voice: "What's wrong?"
She shook her head and whispered back, "I'll go find a clean...er, toilet."
Gu Chao pointed in a direction. She stood up quietly, looked around, and walked over there.
In the dim candlelight, she found that the girl who was originally sitting in the innermost seat was gone. Could she have gone to the toilet as well?
Turning the corner, there is indeed a door at the end.
She walked over in the dark and almost tripped on the road. She felt a little regretful that she didn't bring a candle with her.
Dark, silent, and alone—a perfect horror movie setting. But thinking of her friends outside, she felt a little relieved.
The further we went, the stronger the stench became.
Lu Ming frowned, covering his mouth and nose in disgust. The power had been out for three days, and the produce in the supermarket must have rotted. He didn't know if the toilets would still flush.
She missed the new technological era again. The toilets were upgraded to cleaning rooms with complete functions. Filth could be decomposed immediately and deodorizing smoke would be sprayed automatically, so there was no odor at all.
She reached out to push the door, but before she touched the doorknob, the door creaked open suddenly.
She shuddered and almost screamed.
I saw a blurry figure standing in the door with his head lowered.
Huh, she patted her chest, it turned out to be the missing girl.
Her heart relaxed as she murmured softly, "Why is there no sound? It's so scary."
Then he stepped aside to make way for the girl, motioning her to go first. The girl's hair was disheveled, her head lowered, and she seemed to be thinking about something, her breathing heavy.
She said nothing and walked back past Lu Ming, her steps staggering and her limbs stiff.
Lu Ming found it very strange. Was this girl sick? Especially when they passed by, she smelled a sour odor coming from her body, as if she hadn't taken a bath in six months.
She didn't want to stay in this gloomy place for long, so she walked in without thinking much.
After quickly solving her physiological problem, she hurried back.
But after taking a few steps, I heard a sudden scream from outside!
The sound was shrill and terrifying.
Immediately afterwards, this voice seemed to turn on a switch, and sporadic screams and cries for help were heard one after another.
"Ah! Help!"
"Eating people! Ah! Don't come over here!"
"Ah, ah! Get out of here, get out of here!"
The people in the supermarket were also awakened and sat up to look outside.
At this moment, something unexpected happened!
The man lying on the ground suddenly opened his eyes, jumped up, and pounced on the nearest supermarket employee.
"Ah!" The male employee was unable to dodge and was bitten on the left shoulder. A large piece of flesh was torn off. While struggling, he kicked over several candles on the ground, and the room suddenly became dark.
Gu Chao had been paying attention to their movements and jumped up almost at the same time as the man who bit someone.
But just as he was about to go forward, he heard another scream from the direction of the restroom. He quickly turned around and saw that it was the girl who had been sitting with her head down, throwing herself at one of the middle-aged women, while Lu Ming stood behind them in amazement.
He first pushed Zhang Rui into the corner, took out a dagger with one hand, and stabbed the female zombie.
The room suddenly became a chaotic mess. Lu Ming stood there in a daze, watching Gu Chao chop the female zombie's neck with a dagger, blood spurting out, and the two middle-aged women screaming in fear. Only when he lunged to the other side did she come to her senses, take two deep breaths, remembering the unconscious person, and hurriedly ran towards Zhang Rui.
Gu Chao grabbed the male zombie's shoulders from behind and stabbed the zombie's temple with a dagger. However, the zombie lowered his head to avoid the fatal blow, and suddenly turned around to bite Gu Chao!
Gu Chao's heart sank. He turned around to avoid the attack and jumped behind the zombie. He grabbed the back of his neck and used his body force to press him firmly to the ground. He stabbed the dagger in his hand into the back of the zombie's head and twisted it left and right until the zombie stopped moving.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard a shocked and angry shout from the corner, "What are you doing!"
It’s the sound of a deer calling!
Startled, he quickly drew his gun from his waist and looked up. Lu Ming was crouching in the corner, grabbing the yellow-haired boy's right hand with both hands, while the damned guy was holding a dagger and trying to stab Zhang Rui on the ground. Gu Chao didn't point his gun at the yellow-haired boy, but at the scarred man next to him.
"Don't move! Throw your gun over here slowly!" The scarred man held the gun he had taken from Zhang Rui, pointed it at Zhang Rui's head, and said harshly to Gu Chao.
The little yellow-haired boy knew that the matter was exposed, cursed inwardly, and did not continue. Instead, he grabbed Lu Ming's hands, trapped her in front of him, put the dagger against her throat, and turned to look at Gu Chao.
At this moment, the emergency lights in the supermarket suddenly lit up, and the scene in front of them was exposed to everyone.
Two to one.
The scarred man held the gun steady, the safety on, his eyes fixed on him with murderous intent. Gu Chao knew this ruthless man wasn't bluffing. If the gun had been pointed at him instead of Zhang Rui, he'd have been 100% certain of hitting him. But the scarred man was clearly experienced, and with a subordinate blocking most of his body, Gu Chao had no confidence he could subdue him while keeping Lu Ming unharmed.
There is no foolproof way to save both people.
Can't gamble.
"If you dare to shoot, today will be your death." Gu Chao's tone was cold, but no one would doubt the truth of his words. Although his eyes were filled with turmoil and his whole body was tense, his face remained calm.
The scarred man raised one corner of his mouth and said, "If I die, your little beauty will not survive either."
The little yellow-haired boy cooperated by tightening the dagger in his hand, and Lu Ming was forced to raise his head.
Gu Chao turned his eyes and glanced at her, then sneered, "Her? It's up to you."
A low voice reached his ears, and a trace of surprise flashed in Lu Ming's eyes. He bit his lower lip and said nothing.
The scarred man gritted his teeth and stared at Gu Chao, narrowing his eyes for a moment, "Xiao Wu, teach him a lesson."
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