Volume One, Chapter 39: Did I Encounter Something Unclean?

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Lin Feng observed the various mutated creatures he had encountered. Once tiny insects, they had now become enlarged versions of themselves. Their teeth were like forged steel; no matter how the mutated plants evolved, they remained their prey. If these giants were turned into specimens for elementary students to study the relationship between humans and nature, they would surely be very popular.

...

Two minutes later, Yang Shu lit a cigarette, his face beaming with satisfaction.
“A cigarette after the fact really is comforting!”
“Brother Yang, shouldn’t we get down to business now?” Pan Xiaofei spoke with impatience, her eyes flashing with disdain and dissatisfaction.
Yang Shu nodded, took a deep drag, and casually tossed the cigarette into the grass.
“Let’s go. After all this exercise, I’m pretty hungry too. Once we’ve eaten dinner, we’ll find a comfortable room to rest in and fight till dawn.”

Pan Xiaofei looked at him with utter contempt—just you? That would take hundreds of rounds to last till dawn, wouldn’t it? Although she thought this, her tone was teasing.
“I’m just listening to big brother~”

The dim lighting and the white mist obscured the man’s view of her expression. Yang Shu had been here several times before; the plants on floors one through three were too dense to easily find food. He led Pan Xiaofei up to the fifth floor, where they randomly chose a security door to work on.

“Click!”

Minutes later, the sound came. Both showed joy on their faces—they could finally eat. However, upon pushing open the door, they were both stunned.
“Huh? Has this house not been sold yet?”
“That can’t be, Brother Yang. The tiles and chandelier are clearly renovated.”
“But where are the furniture and appliances? It’s completely empty.”

They couldn’t believe it and toured the whole house. No food in sight. Not even pots, pans, or dishes in the kitchen. The spot where the refrigerator should have been bore dusty marks, but the refrigerator itself was missing.
“Could it be that this family moved upstairs after the white mist disaster broke out?”
“That’s possible.”

Pan Xiaofei was very disappointed, rubbing her hungry stomach. She had been starving for three days, having stayed at several men’s places, scavenging leftover scraps. Finally, she had teamed up with someone with special skills. She needed to eat well—at least enough to recover from the energy she spent just moments ago. Yet Pan Xiaofei did not blame Yang Shu; this was just bad luck. Next time, they would surely find a house with food.

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“Brother Yang, don’t lose heart. Let’s try another place. Come on~”
Encouraged by her teasing tone, Yang Shu immediately perked up.
“All right! Tonight, I’ll make sure you eat well.”

They went to the next house, opening the security door with high hopes. Again, it was completely empty—this time, not even a chandelier hung from the ceiling.
“Such bad luck today? I refuse to believe we won’t find any food!”

Yang Shu and Pan Xiaofei tried several more houses, all empty.
“What’s going on? Why is there nothing?”
“Could it be that everyone moved upstairs?”

Yang Shu’s face turned ashen; being embarrassed in front of a woman weighed heavily on him. Pan Xiaofei looked equally grim, her impatience growing. She had found only one skilled man among several, and he was utterly useless.

“Maybe we should check upstairs. Surely not everyone moved away.”
Her tone lost its teasing edge; she was utterly drained.

Yang Shu nodded, deciding to check the tenth floor. He had eaten well there the night before and had even saved some food. To avoid being noticed, they avoided the elevator, struggling up the stairs to the tenth floor. Without a moment to rest, they began working.

Minutes later, the security door opened. What Yang Shu saw made him shudder, nearly losing control of himself. The room was empty; the sofa he had slept on yesterday was gone, the TV he watched was missing, and even the elementary school award certificates on the wall had vanished.
“Could it be… something unclean?”

A chill ran down Yang Shu’s back, cold sweat beading his forehead. Shadows seemed to flicker in the white mist illuminated by the light.
“Smack!”

He slapped himself hard, the pain bringing alertness. Over the past few days, Yang Shu had eaten and drank freely, relying on his lock-picking skills without restraint. Now, without food at home, if he couldn’t find any soon, he would suffer hunger like everyone else.

Pan Xiaofei was already weak from hunger and climbing so many stairs. Her stomach twisted in pain. She knew this wasn’t Yang Shu’s fault; he had opened every security door they encountered. Still, she couldn’t help but resent their situation.
Why keep a useless guy around when the rooms were all emptied? Moreover, he wasn’t very reliable!

Yet, upon reflection, no one else could make her life better than him. The one in their group who always ate well had two beautiful women at his side and wouldn’t even look at her. Being with other men meant at most a single piece of bread a day. This comparison cooled her anger considerably.

Yang Shu’s lock-picking skills were still quite useful in this post-apocalyptic world. Even if this building was emptied, they could try the neighboring residential blocks.

“Brother Yang, what if we don’t find food? I’m too weak from hunger; I might not be able to keep you company tonight…”

Hearing this, Yang Shu felt a surge of energy. But where could they find food? They had searched seven or eight houses, all emptied. The others were probably no better. He felt ashamed, having promised Xiaofei she would eat well every meal, yet they hadn’t even seen a crumb.

“I don’t know where to find food...”

Yang Shu sighed deeply. Seeing morale sink, Pan Xiaofei quickly offered a long-prepared suggestion.
“How about we find a house with people and steal a little?”
“Steal?”

Yang Shu was surprised. The kind and lovely angel Xiaofei had actually said something like that. It must be the hunger talking! He had never told her he was a thief, only that he was a locksmith who could open security doors. He felt no psychological burden about taking others’ things.

Pan Xiaofei thought Yang Shu was afraid and hurriedly encouraged him.
“Brother Yang, don’t worry. No one is watching us now. You saw what happened at the market this afternoon—ten people died and no police showed up. That delivery guy who ate his fill even killed Chen Hao in broad daylight and wasn’t arrested.”

Yang Shu had been at the market today too; he wasn’t afraid of getting caught. After all, going to jail felt like going home—he knew it well. He only worried about making a bad impression in Xiaofei’s eyes.

Pan Xiaofei put on a pitiful expression, her voice tinged with sobs.
“I’m sorry. I know Brother Yang is an upright and good man and wouldn’t want to do petty theft. Just pretend I never said it. I’m really hungry, but I can hold on.”

She wiped away her fake tears and leaned on Yang Shu’s shoulder.
“Being wild with you once is enough for me. It’s a pity we didn’t meet sooner; then I could have left you a child. But our luck’s bad—not only did we get caught in the white mist disaster, we’re starving to death, boohoo...”

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