Thinking about it, Chen Wan communicated with System 111 in her mind, “System, scan the surroundings for me. I need to make a trip to the supermarket first.”
“System received. Initiating a 10-meter perimeter alert for the host,” the mechanical voice of the system responded.
Chen Wan took a deep breath and headed towards the dark elevator shaft. The elevators had long since stopped working in the apocalypse, so she carefully descended the stairs, avoiding the corpses underfoot.
Once she reached the bottom, her field of vision widened slightly. However, it was still nighttime, and she could only see a few steps ahead. As if remembering something, Chen Wan quickly asked the system in her mind, “Besides scanning for dangers within ten meters, can you also scan for other items in the vicinity?” Rows of shelves stood before her, but they were shrouded in darkness. Searching through them one by one would be like finding a needle in a haystack, and it would be daylight before she found everything she needed.
“Yes, host. The system will now begin scanning. The two rows of shelves directly in front of you contain kitchenware and related items. Most of these shelves are filled with kitchenware,” the system’s grating mechanical voice sounded again.
Hearing the system’s words, Chen Wan felt more at ease. “System, help me locate the knives among them, preferably a long knife for preparing sashimi.”
When facing zombies, it’s safest to avoid contact. A regular kitchen knife wouldn’t be as convenient as a long knife.
“Understood, host.” The system responded and activated the search mode, quickly identifying a shelf three steps away that held the long knife Chen Wan wanted.
“Detected a long knife for preparing sashimi on the second shelf to your right,” the system announced just as a small red dot appeared in Chen Wan’s line of sight.
Chen Wan quickly moved towards the red dot and found a narrow-bladed long knife at the indicated spot. Although it wasn’t as handy as a large long knife, it was still longer than a kitchen knife, about the length of an adult’s forearm. She quickly grabbed the narrow knife and also picked up a kitchen knife next to it.
As she was grabbing the kitchen knife, the system’s warning sounded again in her mind, “Detected a zombie approaching from your rear left. Host, please be cautious.”
Even without the system’s warning, Chen Wan had already heard the noise. She kept an eye on the approaching zombie while slowly and quietly moving backward. Fortunately, low-level zombies lacked intelligence and moved slowly. Chen Wan used the shelves to hide her figure, avoiding detection. She wasn’t afraid of one or two zombies but worried that too much noise would attract a horde.
At the same time, she issued another command to the system in her mind, “System, keep an eye out for children’s electronic toys or radios—anything that can make noise.”
“Understood. The system is searching. No items matching the host’s request detected nearby,” the system’s metallic voice echoed again, sounding particularly eerie in the surrounding darkness.
The system could only scan items within a ten-meter range, so Chen Wan had to continue searching the supermarket. She also needed to find the doors to the underground parking lot. Based on her experience from the previous life, there wouldn’t be just one door leading to the parking lot; she only needed to find one that she could enter smoothly.
In the enclosed environment, everything was eerily quiet, with only the occasional whiff of decay. Chen Wan slowed her breathing, trying to blend into the darkness. Fortunately, the zombies lacked intelligence and occasionally made noises in the supermarket, making her footsteps less conspicuous. She carefully moved around the shelves while the system continued searching for the items she needed. Finally, in the children’s toy section, Chen Wan found some toys.
Unlike food, children’s toys were untouched, so the shelves were fully stocked. Chen Wan carefully found a singing sunflower plush toy that would sing when batteries were inserted. She placed the batteries in the toy and put it into a backpack she had picked up earlier. She also grabbed two remote-controlled cars and a radio. Not knowing what the parking lot would be like, Chen Wan had to be prepared.
She put the kitchen knife into the backpack, slung it over her shoulder, and held only the narrow knife in her hand. She had noticed earlier that after entering the supermarket, heading to the northernmost part and turning west would lead to an exit. Chen Wan didn’t waste any more time and quickly moved towards the exit, paying close attention to her steps.
With her experience as a special forces member from her previous life, Chen Wan could anticipate potential dangers even in complete darkness. With the system’s assistance, she reached the entrance to the parking lot without alerting any zombies in the supermarket.
The corridor leading to the underground parking lot was even darker, shrouded in a thin layer of black mist, with no trace of daylight. Cold sweat dampened Chen Wan’s forehead. She could only grip the narrow knife tightly, constantly on alert for any red dots that might appear.
This time, Chen Wan wasn’t as lucky as before. A few meters ahead, there were several faint red dots. Chen Wan stood against the wall, trying to find a supportive position, and held her breath, waiting for the zombies to move away from the entrance. However, one zombie started heading in her direction, seemingly trying to enter the supermarket through the corridor.
Chen Wan stood still, hoping the zombie would pass by quickly. Soon, the stench of the zombie filled the air as it approached. She didn’t want to confront the zombie in such an obvious spot, as it could cause her big trouble in the open parking lot.
Despite lacking intelligence, zombies have an uncanny sense for fresh human flesh. The tall male zombie soon tilted its head and slowly approached Chen Wan. The system also detected the zombie’s approach, confirming its position with a red dot.
Chen Wan kept an eye on the zombie while quickly pulling off her backpack. She took out the sunflower plush toy she had just grabbed, glanced at the button on it, and pressed it decisively.
The silly sunflower plush toy twisted its stem, blowing a small trumpet, accompanied by flashing colorful lights and a song.
“Gently whispering in your ear, saranghaeyo…” The playful toy became Chen Wan’s lifeline. As the cheerful song played, sounds of movement followed.
Before the zombie could charge at her, Chen Wan had already thrown the silly sunflower into the narrow corridor leading to the supermarket. At the same time, she quickly ran behind a few SUVs in front of her.
The zombie, which was about to grab Chen Wan, hesitated, unsure whether to continue chasing her or follow the sound. While it was distracted, Chen Wan had already disappeared. The male zombie then followed the sound into the corridor.
Chen Wan had the system scan the area. She was now hiding behind a white SUV, not far from the entrance. Even though she had completed many high-risk missions before, the current situation made her feel a chill down her spine. As the toy’s sound echoed, zombies in the underground parking lot gathered at the entrance, forming a dense crowd of over a hundred. These mindless creatures swarmed towards the sound source.
Chen Wan took a deep breath and started walking quickly in the opposite direction. She needed to bind the RV to gain the system’s maximum protection and leave Zhang Qiang’s territory as fast as possible.
The parking lot was packed with cars. In front of her, a row of medium-sized parking spaces held a line of small minibuses. Chen Wan suppressed her excitement and walked quickly towards the minibuses. Seeing the minibus parking spaces, she thought that maybe in this world, unlike her own, large vehicles could also park in underground garages.
Unfortunately, after searching around, Chen Wan couldn’t find the RV she wanted in the underground garage. Instead, due to the supermarket’s need to transport goods, the ceiling of this level was built very high, allowing large trucks to enter. At the moment, a truck was parked in the transport passage.
Chen Wan sighed. Although she didn’t find an RV, the situation wasn’t as dire as she had imagined. At least, with the system’s help, she could merge a vehicle into an RV in the garage and wouldn’t be stuck once the RV was bound.
Chen Wan cleared her thoughts and immediately asked the system in her mind, “Can you scan which vehicles would be best to merge into an RV? How long will it take?”
“The truck’s large size makes it a good base for modification. Additionally, four regular cars are needed to complete the transformation. The entire process will take five hours,” the system’s mechanical voice replied.
“Okay, how do we proceed with the modification? Do I need to get in the car? We don’t have much time,” Chen Wan asked urgently. The silly toy might not last long, and Zhang Qiang’s people would be a threat once daylight came. She didn’t have much time left.
“Since this is the first fusion and there is no RV absorption device, the host needs to drive the vehicles close together for the system to bind and merge them,” the system explained calmly.
But to Chen Wan, this was far from calming. Driving the vehicles together would undoubtedly make a lot of noise, potentially attracting zombies before the RV was bound.
Chen Wan wiped the sweat from her face and took out a radio from her backpack. Without waiting for the system to ask, she quickly walked to another door leading from the underground garage to the supermarket.
Compared to the bustling corridor, this side was quiet. Chen Wan quickly entered the supermarket from the east door and stopped at a spot far from the garage.
She feared the radio might get trampled by the mindless zombies if placed too low. She untied the shoelace of her left sneaker, stood up, and looked around. She knocked over a nearby shelf and pushed three more shelves together. Then she climbed onto the fallen shelf and balanced herself on top.
The small black grid at the top is the air outlet of the central air conditioning. Chen Wan attached the batteries to the radio and tied it to the air outlet with a shoelace. This way, the mindless zombies wouldn’t easily destroy the radio. The radio had a test button that had pre-stored songs, so Chen Wan wasn’t worried about it not making any sound when pressed. She just didn’t know if the radio would last until she managed to get several cars together.
But she didn’t have time to think too much now, nor did she have any way out.
The next moment, Chen Wan pressed the test button on the radio.
