Chapter 39: Looting the Mall

When the timing felt right, Xiao Yang positioned himself amidst the swaying zombie horde. He nudged an elderly zombie aside to claim her spot. The undead woman, thrown off her morbid dance rhythm, snarled and lunged—only to meet swift decapitation.

"Still fighting for prime real estate even in death?" Xiao Yang snorted. Within half an hour, the entire undead chorus lay dismembered.

The gatekeeper Xu Tong watched in awe. These people moved with lethal precision far beyond her imagination. Gathering courage, she approached Xiao Yang, clutching borrowed Tang sword. "C-can I... search for supplies?"

Xiao Yang tossed her the blade. "Be back before we finish harvesting crystals."

Xu Tong returned thirty minutes later hauling rice and flour sacks, presenting a scavenged crystal. "I killed a straggler. Thought you might need this."

Xiao Yang raised an eyebrow. "Name?"

"Xu Tong."

"Keep the sword. And the crystal." His tone softened fractionally. "Learn to use them."

By noon, their group had cleared three more aging complexes, amassing 600+ crystals. Xu Tong contributed three kills herself.

During lunch break in the armored RV, Xiao Yang absorbed crystals until his time energy surged past 1,000 years—a milestone that once took a decade in his past life. The remaining 300 crystals boosted the women's energy past century marks, their celebratory grins widening with newfound power.

The afternoon target: a sprawling university district mall.

Parking the hulking RV at the entrance ("Guard it," Xiao Yang ordered Xu Tong), they breached intact security grilles. The untouched supermarket became Xiao Yang's playground—aisle after aisle of goods vanished into his spatial storage.

"Does his pocket dimension have no limits?" Lin Shishi gaped as entire clothing sections disappeared next.

Xiao Yang sorted lingerie with deadpan efficiency: black lace for Wanqing, modest cuts for Shishi, generous cups for Lu You. The women exchanged exasperated glances—apocalypse be damned, male instincts remained eternally predictable.