Chapter 3: Gathering Supplies

What came into Chen Ye’s view was a large gate at the town entrance, with the words "Welcome to Xinghua Town!" painted on it.

The flaking red paint on the gate made the place look desolate.

Beyond the gate stretched a long street that extended into the distance.

Although it was three in the afternoon, the far end of the road felt like it hid endless darkness.

On both sides of the street were rows of shops.

Their billboards all used a uniform black background with white characters, which felt unsettling to the eyes.

Weeds grew rampant across the road, walls were mottled and crumbling, and even those black-and-white billboards were damaged.

Only a few months had passed since the Anomalies broke out.

Yet this town looked like nobody had been here for decades.

Anyone in their right mind could see there was something wrong with Xinghua Town.

Many people’s faces were deathly pale, calves already twitching, and they took involuntary steps backward.

Chen Ye didn’t look good either; he had the hand crossbow at his waist in his hands.

Although the hand crossbow was useless against the Anomalies, at least it provided some psychological comfort.

Just as everyone hesitated without moving forward,

a coarse voice rang out:

"Enough dithering — I’m going first!"

Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a hulking man over two meters tall and weighing more than three hundred jin clambering off a modified SUV.

Yes — he was squeezing out of the vehicle.

Only when the man stood on the ground did Chen Ye realize just how absurdly huge he was.

Over two meters tall and massively built, his arms were about as thick as an average man’s waist.

Ignoring the stares, the hulking man charged like an elephant toward a distant supermarket billboard.

The direction he charged toward obviously marked a large supermarket.

Supermarkets usually meant abundant supplies.

"Hey, big idiot, wait up!"

A curse came from the SUV; the vehicle started and followed the hulking man.

Others glanced at each other, and soon a second SUV also followed, targeting the supermarket under that huge billboard.

"Damn it, fortune favors the bold!"

An old man nearby started up his little motorized scooter and followed.

"You young folks aren’t as tough as this old man!"

"Wait until I get out there — watch me feast and drink!"

The old man tossed out that taunt before leaving.

The others’ faces flushed red.

For a while curses flew non-stop; many were provoked into following by that remark.

But still many people stood frozen in place.

Chen Ye rode his tricycle following those people.

But his target wasn’t the distant supermarket.

That supermarket was too deep into town; if anything went wrong, escape would be difficult.

Chen Ye’s goal was the shops lining the street.

Those shops might not be as richly stocked as the supermarket, but they were safer.

Also, there was sunlight on the street.

From survivors’ experience, when being hunted by Anomalies, getting to a sunlit area often made the Anomalies stop chasing.

He wasn’t alone in thinking this — several others also eyed the storefronts.

Luckily there were plenty of shops here; everyone could take one without conflict.

Chen Ye stopped at a tobacco, alcohol, and grocery shop; through the glass door he could make out the interior layout, cigarettes laid bare in the glass counter.

In a slightly darker corner stood rows of shelving with snacks, though the light was poor so details were unclear.

Although this small grocery store might not match a supermarket in supplies, it was still worth looting for Chen Ye.

Especially those cigarettes in the glass display — they looked tempting.

Chen Ye had been smoking for over a decade; days without cigarettes were hard to endure.

Besides food, cigarettes, alcohol, and medicine were scarce and valuable in the apocalypse.

Even those who didn’t smoke would grab cigarettes to trade for needed supplies.

Chen Ye was about to find a brick to smash the glass door when he noticed the lock had already corroded into a sorry mess.

With a gentle pull he pushed the lock on the glass door open.

The door groaned “creak” in an unpleasant way; even the hinges were rusted and looked like they could break with a push.

Chen Ye peered inside.

It was already past three and approaching four, the sun leaning westward, light pouring into the shop from the entrance.

The area by the entrance was lit, shining directly on the cigarette counter.

Other corners remained dim, creating a stark contrast between the entrance brightness and the shadows.

Lifting the hand crossbow, Chen Ye inched into the shop, carefully surveying the interior and finding no sign of any Anomalies.

He sped up, swung his backpack around from his back to his front, and began sweeping food off the shelves.

Although he wanted those cigarettes badly, he restrained himself.

In the apocalypse, you don’t die from not smoking, but you do die without food.

In that moment rationality overcame craving.

Chen Ye’s hands moved fast; everything in sight went into the backpack.

This backpack had been specially kept for times like this when he previously scavenged supplies.

Its capacity was large, but the food on the shelves was far less than he’d expected.

Many shelves were empty.

A small-town grocery like this could never compare to a city 24-hour convenience store in variety.

Since a supermarket had opened in Xinghua Town, business here had dwindled.

If the apocalypse hadn’t happened, this little shop might have been sold off soon.

Nothing that caught Chen Ye’s eye escaped his sweep: spicy strips, instant noodles, jelly snacks — everything went into the bag.

Outside, sunlight was slowly sliding west, and the sunlit area inside the shop was shrinking.

Chen Ye emptied the shelves, and the backpack was only two-thirds full; he compressed it down, and what had been two-thirds became half again.

Only then did he set his sights on the cigarettes in the display case, swallowing hard.

This time his speed increased further; his hands were like phantoms.

Not only were there Ta zi-brand cigarettes, there were several packs of Hua zi.

But most were cheaper brands; Hua zi was only a few packs.

Lotus-brand was even scarcer — only two or three packs.

Chen Ye didn’t turn up his nose; he shoved all the cigarettes into the backpack.

He even took the cabinet under the glass counter.

Combined with the food, the fairly large backpack was quickly packed full.

Anything he could carry, he stuffed in; daily items that weren’t essential were left behind.

He also grabbed two bottles of alcohol.

Suddenly, a familiar chill crawled up his spine.

It was like the feeling he’d had at the town gate when he first saw the ruin.

He had encountered this sensation several times back in Jiangcheng.

Everyone who survived knew what that feeling meant.

A face paler than a corpse lay pressed to the back of Chen Ye’s head.

He felt the back of his neck go cold in waves; the hairs on the back of his hands stood up.

He could smell a damp, chilling stench.

Goosebumps spread from the backs of his hands across his whole body.

It felt like a cold snake crawling along his spine.

Chen Ye slowly turned his face.

It was the face of a child of about seven or eight, very, very close to him.

Pale skin, exaggerated rosy cheeks.

The eyes and mouth curved into an arc, forming an unnaturally grotesque smile.

The whole child looked like it was made of paper.

Squatting in the dark like a monkey, the child stared at Chen Ye with curious eyes.

Between them formed a dividing line of light and dark.

One side still held lingering sunlight; the other was an extreme cold shadow.

Whether the paper child had been hiding in that dark corner when Chen Ye entered, or had just appeared, he couldn’t tell.

"Shit!"

Chen Ye stumbled, knocking over a counter and trying to bolt out, only to find someone had jammed a wooden stick into the glass door from outside.

The door had been barricaded.

Someone was targeting me?

At that moment, Chen Ye saw through the glass that a man and a woman were standing in front of his tricycle outside the door.

He recognized them.

The woman was the yoga-pants girl he had previously rejected; her name was Jiajia.

The man was the fitness coach Qiangzi.

They seemed to sense something and turned, their eyes meeting Chen Ye’s through the glass.

The yoga-pants woman was about to spit out a smug taunt when she noticed the pale-faced child in the darkness behind Chen Ye.

Her face instantly drained of color and she frantically urged Qiangzi to leave.

"Hee hee…"

A child’s giggle drifted out.

"Lady Moon, watch over the coffin, brother waits for candy and cries his heart out~~~"

The voice came and went, near yet far.

This was a Paper Crying Child!

The lullaby’s "Lady Moon" likely referred to the moon.

In some southern regions, the moon is often associated with the protection of children.

"Coffin" referred to a burial box.

Candy was a precious commodity in the old days, so in some places candy was given as a comfort after a child’s funeral.

Chen Ye had encountered a Paper Crying Child back in Jiangcheng.

He hadn’t expected to find one in Xinghua Town.

A tingling numbness crawled across his scalp.

Swoosh!

A crossbow bolt shot out, passing cleanly through the Paper Crying Child’s body.

Chen Ye only wanted to curse right then.

"Lady Moon, watch over the coffin, brother waits for candy and cries his heart out~~~"

"Hee hee… I want candy! I want candy!"