Hua Zhen departed from the pharmacy, the screams behind him gradually subsiding.
Next, he planned to visit the large shopping mall.
Although there were many supermarkets in the commercial district, finding survivors to understand the surrounding situation would save him considerable time.
Moreover, the security guard mentioned by the old lady seemed quite benign and should be harmless.
Why was Hua Zhen so certain?
Because even in such dire circumstances, he was willing to arrange food and drink for that plump woman and her sedentary son.
If this is not a good-hearted person, what is?
After traversing two blocks, Hua Zhen arrived at the large shopping mall mentioned by the old lady.
As expected, it had fallen into disarray.
Everywhere he looked was a mess; items from the shelves were scattered haphazardly on the floor, and the showcases selling gold jewelry and watches bore marks of looting. It seemed he was not the first to engage in a spree of zero-cost shopping.
The mall was teeming with zombies, especially at the entrance of the first floor where Hua Zhen saw dozens, their bodies smeared with blood. The luxury bags and jewelry hung on the zombies, but they would never appreciate the beauty of these luxuries again.
With the elevators out of service, Hua Zhen had no choice but to ascend the floors on foot.
The mall had six levels, each divided according to function. From the outset, the commercial design had clearly distinguished between the affluent and the less fortunate.
The first floor mainly sold various luxury brands, such as high-end cosmetics, and jewelry, and small boutiques like jewelry and gold shops, allowing for a more spacious area.
The second floor featured a variety of clothing, shoes, and bags.
The third and fourth floors offered a range of household appliances, furniture, daily necessities, and groceries like rice, oil, and flour.
The fifth floor housed various food outlets, chain restaurants, hot pots, Japanese cuisine, barbecue, and more.
The sixth floor was a cinema.
The old lady had said they were holed up on the sixth floor, in the cinema.
At the onset of the outbreak, the third and fourth floors were undoubtedly the hardest hit by panic buying, so a significant portion of their food likely came from the fifth floor.
Hua Zhen felt it necessary to connect with some survivors to understand the extent of the city's situation during the half-month he was unconscious.
After all, when he cleared out the pharmacy earlier, Hua Zhen realized that zombies preferred cooler areas, which explained why there weren't many on the streets; most had taken refuge inside buildings, just like now.
With each floor he ascended, Hua Zhen encountered hundreds of zombies.
Even within the emergency stairwells, numerous zombies stood idly, motionless.
He estimated that there were at least a thousand zombies in the building.
Trapped on the sixth floor, the only escape seemed to be the fire escape on the side of the large mall, and once on the street, there was no telling when a zombie might emerge.
Judging by the zombies' movement speed, an ordinary person walking on the streets without any special obstacles was akin to searching for trouble in a cesspit.
In this light, the old lady was quite fortunate to have made it to the pharmacy two streets away without encountering any zombie attacks.
Soon, Hua Zhen reached the cinema on the sixth floor.
He didn't rush in but instead rummaged around the bar area, finding several buckets of half-sealed popcorn and some hollow potato fries in the transparent cabinets.
There was still cola in the soda fountain.
First, Hua Zhen cleared the surrounding zombies, driving them to other areas. Then he found a spot to sit down, filled a large paper cup with cola, and after microwaving the popcorn for two or three minutes, he began to indulge.
Popcorn and hollow fries with cola. The crunch was irresistible, and he couldn't stop.
These semi-sealed convenience foods wouldn't last long before spoiling.
What a waste that would be, perhaps never again have the chance to enjoy such industrially produced popcorn!
After eating his fill, Hua Zhen began to use his abilities to revert to human form.
The "threads" that emerged from within him were still sparse, far less than when he first reverted to human form after being unconscious for fifteen days.
It seemed the longer the infection, the more of these entities accumulated within.
Hua Zhen thought it necessary, once he found a satisfactory location, to study his condition more deeply and meticulously.
Perhaps later, conducting experiments with a few zombie girls wouldn't be out of the question…
Hua Zhen removed his sunglasses and mask, passed through the corridor, and arrived at the entrance of the cinema. Like other stores, it had a retractable rolling shutter door, albeit more sophisticated than the pharmacy's, lockable from the inside.
However, when the old lady sneaked out, she left the door unlocked to ensure her escape route.
Hua Zhen gently lifted the rolling shutter door, which creaked noisily.
The sound seemed to startle someone inside; hurried yet deliberately subdued footsteps approached, and the door at the front of the cinema cracked open slightly, a nervous eye peering through the gap.
Upon seeing Hua Zhen's face, the door swung open, and a young man in a security uniform emerged halfway, asking Hua Zhen:
"Hey, you're not infected, are you?"
Hua Zhen released his grip on the rolling door.
"My lord, I am alive and well."
"Good grief…"
The security guard breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out.
Only then did Hua Zhen notice that the guard's right hand, previously hidden behind the door, held a sturdy defense stick.
The guard looked outside to ensure safety before addressing Hua Zhen: "Are you alone? Have you been bitten?"
"No, I sneaked over here undetected by those creatures."
"Alright, come on in, brother."
The guard helped lift the rolling door to let Hua Zhen in, then locked it again.
"How did you unlock it?" the guard asked curiously.
"It wasn't locked. The door was just like this."
Hearing this, the guard's expression soured, "That must be that woman's doing. She's got some nerve, and to leave the door unlocked, is she trying to get us killed?"
"What's the matter?"
"Sigh, it's nothing to do with you… Are you hungry? We've still got some food stored here, enough to last us until the next rescue."
"Thank you, that's very kind."
The guard led Hua Zhen into the cinema, which was quite spacious. Six or seven people sat near the big screen, with bedding scattered on the floor.
The guard didn't take Hua Zhen over there but first asked him a few questions.
Like how he got here, how many zombies were left in the mall, and if there were any other survivors outside.
Hua Zhen said he had been hiding nearby and came to the mall hoping for some luck as his home was running out of food. He informed the guard truthfully about the situation with the zombies in the mall, and as for how he got here, he credited the external fire escape.