Searching for Food

Yang Xiao walked out of the Gene Store, feeling dazed and disoriented. As he passed the two warriors, he deliberately took a close look. The armor and broadswords they wore gave off a powerful aura of killing intent. Moreover, this style of armor and sword didn't seem to belong to anything from Earth, at least nothing he had ever seen before.

Was this a game or a dream? 

Yang Xiao felt doubtful.

By now, the daylight was getting brighter, yet the entire campus remained eerily silent.

With such a huge disaster, rescue teams should have rushed in long ago following standard procedure. However, why were there no rescue crews this time?

Yang Xiao suddenly recalled the little old man, Gu Bo, from the Gene Store, who had said that less than one-tenth of the human population had survived. If what Gu Bo said was true, it could explain why no one came to rescue them, because most people were already dead. There were few left to rescue others.

Yang Xiao rubbed his eyes again and pinched his thigh hard. He desperately wished it was all a dream, but the pain told him that it was all too real.

Raising his head to look into the distance, Yang Xiao noticed the entire world seemed covered in a layer of light blue mist. This light blue mist was not easily discernible up close, but it became visible when he looked into the distance with an expanded field of vision.

Yang Xiao felt this blue mist was very strange, though he couldn't say why.

Despite the many unexplainable mysteries, Gu Bo's words kept echoing in his mind, "Finding a way to survive these seven days."

Only by staying alive could he continue living and see if what Gu Bo said was true. After seven days, whether or not the creatures on Earth would begin mutating.

Seven days without drinking water would lead to death.

Food and water!

A flash of insight crossed Yang Xiao's mind, and he began to run toward a collapsed building on the campus. It was the shopping center, where there should be plenty of food.

There were also many supermarkets and shops outside the campus. However, the shopping center was closest to his current position. Also, he had gone there just yesterday so had a rough idea of the merchandise layout. 

There was another key reason. The shopping center was a single-story building. Even collapsed, it would be easier to find food in the ruins compared to multi-story supermarkets and shops outside the campus. Food in those ruins would be buried deep underneath.

Arriving at the collapsed shopping center, the floor was strewn with wooden boards and broken bricks, all mixed together with various food. 

In the ruins, Yang Xiao found a brand-new canvas backpack and a rolling suitcase. Both were products sold at the shopping center.

He thought for a moment and followed his memories to the sections where chicken wings, chicken feet, sausages, and beef jerky were sold. As expected, there was food scattered all over the ground, ready to be picked up without having to move any debris.

He opened the suitcase and started loading in chicken wings, feet, sausages, and beef jerky. He also stuffed some into the backpack.

After gathering the meat products, he went to the snack section and searched for chocolate and cookies. He ended up filling a whole box with them, along with dozens of bottles of mineral water.

Water was indispensable. 

He also crammed chocolate, cookies, and mineral water into his backpack until it was full.

With all these supplies, he had enough food to last him for over twenty days or more.

Just as he was about to leave, a voice called out from behind.

"Student, which department are you in?"

Yang Xiao jumped in fright. He turned to see a youth staggering over, face black with dust. His left pant leg was stained with blood. He must be injured.

"And you are?" Yang Xiao asked back.

"I'm Xiao Zhe, a third-year finance student. My leg is hurt. What department are you in?"

"Oh, so Senior Xiao, you should rest first. I need to get going."

Yang Xiao hurriedly hauled his bag and dragged the suitcase away.

Now was not the time for long conversations. Many survivors would start coming out soon. He needed to hide these food supplies while there were fewer people around. This food would be crucial for the next seven days, and his survival depended on it.

"Hey, where are you going?"

Xiao Zhe watched Yang Xiao's back, somewhat puzzled and even angry. What kind of person was he? Without any compassion, he didn't even offer a hand.

As Yang Xiao headed toward the playground, he mulled over where to hide the food. 

The backpack could be worn on his shoulders, but carrying around the large suitcase all the time was not practical. When everyone else had nothing to eat, dragging around so much food would make him a target of hatred and attack.

Arriving at the playground, Yang Xiao noticed a deep ditch by the perimeter wall, used for drainage. Right now it was dry. 

There had been a one-meter-high wall between the ditch and the playground, but most of it had collapsed now. Only this section remained standing.

As the sun rose, sunlight started bathing the campus. Faint sounds of people moving and shouting came from the distance. 

Yang Xiao didn't have time to find a better hiding spot. He tossed the bulky suitcase into the dry ditch, then pushed over the crumbling wall to bury it. He also threw some loose bricks into the ditch.

After careful inspection, it would be hard for others to discern something buried below.

He memorized the features of some nearby trees to ensure he wouldn't forget this location. Then he headed towards the Gene Store. 

However, he seemed to recall something, and turned back, running towards the collapsed shopping center again. 

The injured Xiao Zhe was sitting atop the shopping center's ruins, drinking from a bottle of mineral water and eating an open package of biscuits

"Why did you come back?" 

Xiao Zhe eyed Yang Xiao, displeasure in his gaze.

Logically, Yang Xiao should have helped and taken care of him. But this guy didn't say a word and just ran off. Also, why did he pick up so much food from the ruins of the shopping center?

Wasn't it just an earthquake? Rescue crews should arrive soon. This guy was looting like a vulture. Despicable!

"I came back to find something!"

Yang Xiao ignored Xiao Zhe's odd stare and headed straight for a certain area in the ruins. If his memory was correct, this used to be where knives and hardware tools were sold. Last night he had even seen a one-foot-long melon knife for sale.

Sure enough, Yang Xiao found two one-foot-long melon knives in the debris. These knives were alright for slicing melons, but the blades were too thin.

Still better than nothing.

Yang Xiao picked up the two melon knives and slipped them into the outer pockets of his backpack for easy access. 

Xiao Zhe caught sight of this from afar and said coldly, "Hey, why did you pick up melon knives too? Aren't you greedy enough already?"

Yang Xiao glanced at Xiao Zhe and hesitated a moment before replying, "Senior Xiao, let me give you some advice. This is no ordinary earthquake disaster. I suggest you gather some food quickly. Also, a strange building appeared on the playground with some bizarre people. They seem alien. You should go check it out. Good luck!"

Yang Xiao grabbed two bottles of water and some cookies off the ground and then rushed off. 

"F*ck, are you out of your mind? Game-addicted freak. Aliens? It was just a quake! Coward!" 

Xiao Zhe's derisive laughter followed Yang Xiao's departure.

Yang Xiao ignored him and hurried off. As he passed by a pile of rubble, he noticed a steel pipe about three meters long. He picked it up and swung it a couple of times, feeling that it could serve as a decent weapon.

As he passed by another two piles, he saw people crawling out. Seemed he wasn't the only lucky one. 

Injured cries echoed from the rubble.

Yang Xiao pondered for a moment and realized now was not the time for kindness. That Gene Store in the playground was too bizarre, plus the two armored warriors outside, and the old man Gu Bo. 

Yang Xiao decided to stay near the Gene Store to try and figure out what was happening there. Gripping his steel pipe, he strode towards the mysterious building in the middle of the playground.