Chapter 22: The Shop Assistant

Qiao Jiajin furrowed his brows, looking at the dirty thing on the ground. "How disgusting... That strong smell, it couldn't be excrement, could it?"

Excrement?

Qi Xia suddenly turned his head to look at Qiao Jiajin.

That was an interesting perspective.

In other words, besides their group of nine people and the animal masks, there were other individuals here.

Or perhaps... other "things."

This person or "thing" seemed to have been living here for a long time, otherwise, they wouldn't have left excrement scattered everywhere.

The group searched around but couldn't find any needles and thread or gauze. Outside the convenience store, there were no pharmacies or clinics in sight, and venturing out blindly might mean Han Yimo couldn't hold on that long.

"What are we going to do..." Li Jingguan stood with his hands on his hips, looking helplessly at Zhao Yisheng, as if seeking his opinion.

Before Zhao Yisheng could speak, there was a rustling sound from behind the convenience store's cashier counter, and the door to the employee rest room slowly opened.

The nine people were startled and quickly stepped back, staring at the slowly opening door.

A thin figure slipped out from behind the door.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a girl who was emaciated to the point of being unrecognizable, with no way to tell her age.

Her cheeks were deeply sunken, and her eyes bulged outward, as if all the flesh on her face had vanished.

She pursed her dry, cracked lips and curiously gazed at the group.

After a brief moment of stunned surprise, she seemed to snap out of it, hurriedly straightening her dirty and tattered clothes, and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Welcome..."

Welcome?

Li Jingguan pondered the meaning of those words for a moment and seemed to understand.

"Are you... the store clerk?"

The girl nodded. "Yes."

No one spoke further, because the situation felt deeply unnatural.

Never mind why there were other humans here; even if she really was the "store clerk," why would she be working in a completely rundown convenience store?

Seeing that the group wasn't moving, the clerk tentatively said:

"Please feel free to browse."

Though she said that, there was nothing left to browse.

The shelves were almost empty, and the few items remaining were rotten and covered in filth.

The clerk's eyes were vacant, staring fixedly at the group.

This gaze made the female members feel afraid.

"Do you have any needles and thread?" Qi Xia asked the clerk calmly.

"Needles... and thread?" The clerk's lifeless eyes flickered slightly, then she extended her hand, mimicking the motion of threading a needle. "Do you mean... this kind of needles and thread?"

Only then did the group notice that her hands were covered in dried, dark bloodstains, which was terrifying.

Qi Xia took a step forward and said, "Yes, that kind of needles and thread. Do you sell them?"

"You're a fraud, you..." Before knowing Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin thought he was the bravest person in the world, but now even he didn't dare speak to this woman. "This woman isn't right; can't you tell?"

"So what if I can tell?" Qi Xia replied steadily. "Our situation can't get any worse than it is now."

The female clerk stood there blankly for a moment, then suddenly lifted the counter flap and rushed out.

Only then did the group get a full view of her.

She was wearing a dirty, oversized white shirt that hung on her like it was on a hanger.

The shirt was stained with something that looked like oil or blood.

It reached almost to her knees, and she appeared to have no pants on, with her thighs covered in dried bloodstains.

Qi Xia slightly furrowed his brows, wanting to step back, but the clerk grabbed his wrist.

It felt like his wrist was wrapped in a dry, withered vine, painful and unyielding.

"I have some!!" The clerk opened her mouth, revealing yellowed teeth. "I have 'needles and thread'! Come with me!"

She kept pointing toward the "employee rest room," as if urging Qi Xia to follow her inside.

The group was genuinely frightened by her. Based on her behavior, going in with her was not a good idea.

"Forget it... We're not buying!" Qiao Jiajin stepped forward, trying to pull her hand away. "Let go first."

But the clerk acted as if she hadn't heard, dragging Qi Xia along while wearing a happy smile.

"There's 'needles and thread' in this room! Come on!"

Her strength was even greater than that of Qiao Jiajin and Qi Xia combined.

"Hey!! Come help out!" Qiao Jiajin shouted over his shoulder.

Li Jingguan and Zhao Yisheng snapped out of it and rushed over.

The clerk quickened her pace.

Qi Xia felt a tremendous force pulling him, completely unable to break free.

The two were already close to the employee rest room, and in just six or seven steps, they were inside the door.

Zhao Yisheng and Li Jingguan were pulling Qi Xia back, but unexpectedly, the clerk suddenly let go.

"Ah!"

With a cry of surprise, several of them nearly fell over.

After steadying themselves, they saw that the clerk wasn't paying attention to them at all. Instead, she turned around and began rummaging through the room.

The four men warily surveyed the room.

It was a bit cleaner than outside. In one corner, there was a folding bed with yellowed bedding.

There was a large fresh bloodstain on it.

In another corner, a simple stove held a rusty iron pot that was bubbling away with something inside.

The clerk ignored everything else and continued digging through an old box.

"Where is it... Needles and thread..." She kept tossing things out of the box, which contained cans, old magazines, and pots and pans.

Qiao Jiajin touched his nose and glanced at the iron pot.

"You know, I'm actually pretty hungry." He whispered to Qi Xia, "If she weren't crazy, I'd ask if I could have a bite."

Qi Xia looked at the pot, where something white was boiling.

He felt a bit hungry too.

"You'd dare eat something from this place?" Li Jingguan asked. "Who knows how dirty that is..."

"But it smells really good."

Qiao Jiajin was right—the aroma from the iron pot filled the room, overpowering the foul odor.

"What's in there?" Qiao Jiajin boldly asked, clearly hoping for a share.

"A little piglet." The clerk replied.

"A little piglet?"

Qiao Jiajin grew curious and was about to go over to the pot for a look when the clerk suddenly exclaimed:

"Ah! Found it!"

She turned around, holding something in her hands, and excitedly said to the group:

"Look! Needles and thread!"

Li Jingguan stepped forward and saw it, his expression turning awkward.

It wasn't "needles and thread" at all, but a rusty fish hook and a small tangle of fishing line.

He turned to Zhao Yisheng and signaled with his eyes.

Zhao Yisheng thought for a moment and, staring at the fish hook and line, asked:

"Miss, do you have any other needles and thread?"

"No more." The clerk shook her head. "Just this. Do you want to buy it?"