“Yeah, I know, but it’s possible she left her belongings somewhere around the scene.”
What he said made sense. But looting food from someone who was already in trouble didn’t feel noble.
“Boss, that’s not exactly a great idea. How about this instead? What if I help her and ask for some of her food in return? I do loot food from convenience stores and supermarkets all the time. But taking food from someone else makes me feel like I’m losing my dignity.”
“What are you even talking about? If we don’t eat, do you want to starve to death? Is that it?”
“Boss, when it comes to food, I don’t want to rack up bad karma by stealing someone else’s.”
“Then what are you going to do now? Help her? Weren’t you the one who didn’t want to put your life in danger?”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Raiden replied with a mischievous laugh. “But if there’s compensation involved, of course I’ll do it. Besides, that building seems to have plenty of food supplies—or maybe other things we need. I haven’t explored this city yet. It’s nice to stumble across a shopping mall right away.”
Raiden hurried to prepare all his equipment, checking his weapons and inspecting the quickest escape route.
His communicator beeped.
“Have you arrived at the place yet?” Bayuda asked.
“Boss, I just came down the stairs. What am I, a genie who can appear somewhere else with a snap of my fingers?”
“Oh, sorry. I thought you were already there. Is the shopping mall really that far away?”
“Yeah, kind of,” Raiden replied shortly.
At last, he reached the building’s ground floor. The chaos in front of him was an eyesore. Even the stench of rot and other strange odors had blended together in the air.
Raiden put on his mask and hurried toward another entrance to the shopping mall.
During his travels among the undead, Raiden had experienced several terrifying, life-threatening incidents. However, he had avoided far more deadly situations than he had faced.
That was why his brain automatically worked out escape routes and the right solutions for avoiding hordes of undead gathered in one place.
“If it weren’t for the food and the gadgets I want to check out, why would I come in here?” he muttered to himself when he finally reached an emergency staircase.
The stairs seemed to lead to an administrative area.
Raiden walked forward, observing his surroundings. Everything was utterly silent and, of course, dark. The flashlight he carried illuminated the area around him brightly.
There was no ominous or dangerous atmosphere.
It was completely quiet.
“This reminds me of when a mall finally closes for the night.”
Raiden felt a little nostalgic, then quickly shook his head.
“I can’t be thinking like this. Letting my guard down for even a moment could cost me my life.”
He immediately searched for the map usually mounted on the wall. Once he found it, he took a picture and studied it carefully.
“So that woman is probably still in the western section of the building. And I’m in the southern section.”
The next second, he contacted Bayuda and told him his location.
“Good. You’re inside the building now, right? Oh, yeah. If there’s still a lot of stuff there, can you find me some new clothes? I want something more comfortable to wear.”
“Boss, you’re still the King of Orders!”
“Come on, I’m just asking you for a favor, aren’t I? Besides, if I went over there, I’d only get in your way. How about this? Bring me two outfits. I’ll buy them.”
“Buy them? With what?”
“I have something valuable here. If you’re interested, we can barter.”
“Boss, you want me to buy something with money when humanity has turned into the undead?”
“Who said anything about money? I said something valuable! Are you listening to me or not? I have an antique watch here. If you manage to get me some good, decent, comfortable clothes, I’ll give it to you. It’s worth a fortune, you know! Tens of millions, easily.”
Raiden thought for a moment.
“Okay, fine. Even though I don’t really need it, I’ll find you some clothes.”
Their conversation ended. Raiden hurried on, surveyed the area around him, then peeked around a wall.
Terrifying voices and screams echoed through the dark building. Afraid of drawing attention, Raiden used a small flashlight this time.
Raiden carefully checked his surroundings. He had taken only a few steps when another barrage of gunfire and explosions rang out.
Raiden was startled and sprinted toward the source of the noise. He aimed the small flashlight downward.
The sight that greeted him was truly horrifying. Even with his mask on, the stench of their bodies stabbed at his nose. Raiden frowned.
He had only enjoyed fresh air for a few weeks, and now he had to breathe an unbearable corpse stench.
Had they only just turned?
If they smelled this foul, their bodies had probably only been decomposing for a few weeks.
Could they be a group that had managed to survive, only to fail in the end?
Usually, when he encountered a group of undead, their bodies were drier and their smell was still bearable. Like preserved rotten food. But now?
Raiden’s precautionary measures had turned out to be useful after all.
Whenever he was about to encounter a horde of undead, he divided them into two groups.
The first group consisted of undead who had turned less than six months ago. The second consisted of undead who had been turned for six months to more than a year. The difference between them was obvious in both their appearance and smell. Undead considered relatively fresh could move like ordinary humans and had a fairly voracious appetite.
The older ones, on the other hand, moved a little more slowly, and their appetites could be said to have diminished. However, the most dangerous ones to come into direct contact with were the older undead. That meant the virus in their bodies had lasted longer and adapted to its surroundings.
“Go away! Get away from me!” the woman screamed as she fired in every direction. She held a weapon in each hand, looking professional and steady. But there was something strange about her.
Raiden watched as she became increasingly cornered and tried to make her way toward the escalator.
The horde of undead kept flooding the ground floor and chasing her.
Since the building had been abandoned for quite some time, vines had begun to show through in places. The thick darkness, without any proper lighting, made the place look gloomy and haunted.
With a horde of undead and a woman fighting for her life unfolding before him, Raiden was once again impressed by the sight. He quickly grabbed his camera and began recording.
Even though the lighting was far from adequate, he kept recording from various angles.
Call him a bastard, but what good would it do for him to go downstairs and play the hero? He wasn’t the kind of person who helped others just because they were beautiful or because he cared about his fellow humans.
Sometimes, selfishness could save you from danger.
“Wow! This is so iconic!”
Raiden whistled as he continued watching the woman nimbly leap from one displayed car to another below, finally landing on an escalator.
Although she had managed to get onto the escalator and shoot at the undead trying to reach her, her efforts had not achieved much. She was still struggling to get away.
“Damn it! Why are there so many of them? That bastard Daniel! He tricked me!” she cursed angrily, her voice echoing through the vast building.