7: Chapter 7 Storing Living Things

Screams rang out one after another, but the remaining people had long since been scared out of their wits, caring only about running desperately to the second floor, praying only to get as far away from that man-eating monster as possible.

The survivors who had managed to rush to the second floor, still shaken, watched the zombies approaching step by step from below. They no longer cared about anything else and frantically moved trash cans, appliances, and shelves at the top of the stairs, blocking the stairwell like madmen, completely isolating the first floor from the second and firmly blocking the zombies' path.

The heavy, cluttered pile formed a crude but temporarily safe barrier, trapping the zombies on the first floor. The roars and the dull thuds of them slamming against the barrier came from behind the obstacles, but they could no longer harm the people on the second floor.

Before long, the sound of fleeing footsteps gradually subsided. All those who had luckily survived hid in various corners of the second floor, not daring to breathe loudly, suppressing even their sobs in their throats for fear that the slightest sound would attract the zombies.

Apart from the aimless low growls of the zombies on the first floor and the dull thuds of them slamming against the blockade, the vast Mall instantly fell into dead silence. The original clamor and chaos were gone, leaving only an intensely oppressive quiet, occasionally broken by a child's crying, which was quickly stifled by their parents.

Mo Yufei leaned against the corner of the second-floor corridor and slowly squatted down. His gaze was calm as he looked toward the blocked stairwell. He opened the plastic bag in his hand, took out a pack of biscuits, bit open the packaging with his teeth, picked up a biscuit, and put it into his mouth.

The crispy aroma instantly exploded in his mouth, the savory flavor rushing straight into his nasal cavity; it was far more delicious than he had imagined.

Mo Yufei could no longer restrain himself and stuffed it into his mouth in large mouthfuls. The bread was soft and sweet, the biscuits crispy and tasty; these ordinary foods that were ubiquitous in modern society now felt like the finest delicacies in the world.

The hunger of the past few days surged like a tide. He devoured the food, barely having time to chew, feeling incredibly satisfied with every bite.

Before long, the bread and biscuits in his hands were eaten clean, not even leaving a single crumb behind.

Mo Yufei licked the last bit of breadcrumbs into his mouth, the sweetness of the food still lingering on his fingertips, but the sense of satisfaction in his heart quickly cooled.

Food will always run out. No matter how much stock the supermarket has, there will come a day when it is all gone. Relying on scavenging and looting is, in the end, not a long-term solution.

He had land and water in his Taoyuan Secret Realm. Although there was no sun in the secret realm, there was light, albeit relatively dim, like an overcast day.

But if weeds could survive, food seeds might be able to as well, although the yield might not be guaranteed.

As long as there were seeds, he could keep planting and would no longer have to live in constant anxiety over a bite to eat.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he frowned. The rice, flour, and grains sold in the supermarket were mostly processed and inactivated. They looked edible, but they would never sprout if planted in the soil. Those could only be considered food, not seeds.

To truly survive, one had to rely not on the snacks and dry rations on the shelves, but on seeds that could propagate generation after generation.

Mo Yufei stood up, his eyes completely calm. His next goal was clear: he would no longer scavenge for food aimlessly, but would prioritize finding agricultural supply stores, seed stations, or places that specialized in selling fruit and vegetable seeds.

Only the seeds held in his hands and the crops planted in the Taoyuan Secret Realm would be his true, inexhaustible source of confidence.

First, he needed to recover his strength. It was too chaotic now, and he didn't know where to buy seeds. Mo Yufei dared not linger, so he immediately got up to find a hiding place to sleep and recover his strength.

He scanned quickly while hugging the wall, and finally, his gaze landed on an inconspicuous cleaning room next to the restroom.

Without alerting anyone else, Mo Yufei walked over slowly and gently pushed the door open. The space inside was small and cramped, piled with clutter like brooms, mops, buckets, and cleaning agents, and a yellowing cleaning log hung on the wall.

Mo Yufei grabbed a long-handled broom and wedged it horizontally across the door handle, firmly bracing the door.

This door was a thick metal door, much more secure than the wooden doors of the shops, and its soundproofing was quite good.

After confirming he was temporarily safe, he was surprised to find a folding lounge chair in the corner, which must have been for the cleaners to rest on.

His nerves, which had been tight for days, instantly relaxed. He practically collapsed onto the lounge chair, wanting only to recover his strength as quickly as possible.

But he had barely closed his eyes for long when chaotic sounds exploded outside.

A mix of chaotic footsteps, screams, and roars erupted as a group of people ran frantically toward the upper floors, with the dull growls of zombies interspersed among them.

Judging by the commotion, either the second-floor defense line had been completely breached, or someone infected had mixed into the crowd fleeing upward; the situation was completely out of control.

Although the metal door had good soundproofing, it could not block the shrill screams outside. Each one pierced his ears, making it impossible for him to rest in peace.

Mo Yufei tore off his sleeve, rolled up a clean piece of cloth, and stuffed it tightly into his ears; only then did the piercing sounds fade away.

His tense body finally relaxed completely, and exhaustion surged like a tide. He leaned against the lounge chair and soon fell into a deep sleep.

He slept heavily, not knowing how much time had passed.

Mo Yufei suddenly woke up with a start, realizing that being caught by a zombie just now was only a dream.

Mo Yufei checked his panel.

Name: Mo Yufei

Status: Normal (mild indigestion)

Physical Stats (changes with current status)

Strength: 8

Constitution: 7

Speed: 9

Spirit: 11

Endurance: 10

Backpack Space: 59% used

Shelter Information:

Name: Taoyuan Secret Realm (Independent Small World)

Level: 1 (Upgradable)

Function: Space Channel (Connecting)

Seeing that his body had basically recovered, he pulled out the cloth from his ears, carefully removed the broom bracing the door, and gently pulled it open a crack to peer outside.

The Mall before him was already unrecognizable. Shelves were overturned, merchandise was scattered everywhere, and bloodstains and debris were mixed together; it was a complete mess everywhere.

Mo Yufei stepped out of the cleaning room on tiptoe. He could hear a broadcast from outside the Mall, though it was unclear; it was likely telling the general public to stay in a safe place and wait for rescue. He could hear car alarms, the roars of many zombies, and the screams of people mixed in.

Compared to the outside, the entire Mall was dead silent; not even a single breath could be heard.

He didn't know if everyone had hidden away or if they were all gone completely.

Judging by the sunlight coming through the glass windows, it should be three or four in the afternoon. He had traveled back in the morning, and except for those who went to work early, most people should still be at home, so there were not many people on the streets.

Mo Yufei hugged the wall and first quietly peeked to scan the first and second floors and the corridor. There were only a dozen or so zombies wandering around, moving slowly, so they weren't much of a threat.

But when his gaze turned to the third floor, his heart sank instantly. A massive, dark swarm of zombies was gathered there, growling incessantly.

Mo Yufei remembered that this Mall had three floors in total, and the top floor had an open-air cafe and a small bar terrace.

Most likely, the survivors had all run to the top floor. It was open, easy to be spotted by rescuers, and convenient to defend. Precisely because of this, almost all the zombies had been drawn to the third floor by the movement of the living.

Mo Yufei made up his mind to leave the Mall. To survive for the long term, he had to find seeds first; he must get a smartphone with navigation to locate a seed store.

The emergency stairs were not far away, and the route happened to pass a clothing store. He lowered his profile and quickly slipped inside, where neat men's clothing was still hanging on the shelves.

Without much hesitation, with a thought, he directly used the space to collect a dozen sets of well-fitting men's clothing, including both underwear and outerwear. Clothing was consumed quickly, so having a few extra sets was never a bad idea.

Passing through the home appliance section, Mo Yufei paused. It was The Apocalypse now; no one would come to buy these things, nor would anyone use them.

He walked straight into the sales area and, with a sweep of his mind, collected several refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, and the small appliances next to them, all at once into his secret realm space.

But looking at these appliances, he knew clearly in his heart that without electricity, even the best things were just decorations.

Thinking of this, his next goal became instantly clear: he must find a generator and enough fuel as soon as possible.

Since he had already collected home appliances, he needed to find some entertainment for life in The Apocalypse.

Mo Yufei dove straight into the digital area, collecting desktop computers, laptops, and large-screen monitors into his space all at once, not leaving out speakers and headphones either.

Walking to the counter, he opened the drawer, where U-disks and mobile hard drives of all sizes were piled up. Regardless of whether they were new or old, or had data or not, he swept them all into his space at once.

Movies, TV series, novels, games... In case they contained advanced tutorials from Japanese teachers, he could have some fun in the long, boring days ahead.

After collecting the items, he confirmed there were no abnormalities in the surroundings and continued on tiptoe toward the emergency stairs. He had already planned to go to a mobile phone store to get a few usable phones first, and then find an opportunity to get a generator and fuel.

Walking to the entrance of a shop, Mo Yufei caught sight of an ornamental fish tank displayed at the doorway, with a few ornamental fish swimming slowly inside.

A thought stirred in his heart; he wanted to test whether his space could actually hold living things.

He reached out and gently pressed his hand onto the surface of the water in the fish tank, and with a thought, the entire tank of fish and water was instantly collected into his space.

After waiting for two minutes, he released the fish back out.

As soon as the fish landed back in the water, they immediately panicked and bumped around everywhere, jumping up and down; they were clearly frightened, but other than that, there was nothing unusual.

Mo Yufei frowned. He still couldn't be completely sure that the space could stably store living creatures. Fish breathed through gills and could last for a while even in an oxygen-deprived environment. To truly confirm, he would have to find an animal that breathed with lungs, like a cat or a dog, to try again.

However, there were no other test subjects at the moment, so he simply waved his hand again and collected the entire tank of fish into his space, planning to release them directly into that pond to raise them once he returned to the secret realm.