"Ugh, that's disgusting…" Jo Jiajin wrinkled his nose at the filth on the floor. "That smell… Could it be excrement?"
Excrement?
Qi Xia turned to Jo Jiajin, his brows raised. It was an intriguing idea.
In other words, aside from the nine of them and the people in animal masks, there were others present. Or perhaps… other things.
Whoever or whatever it was, it must have been living here for quite some time to leave behind so much waste.
The group searched the convenience store but couldn't find any needles or bandages. There wasn't a pharmacy or clinic in sight outside either, and wandering aimlessly could cost Han Yimo more time than he had.
"What do we do now…" Officer Li muttered, hands on his hips, casting a helpless look at Dr. Zhao as if seeking advice.
Before Dr. Zhao could respond, a sound came from behind the cash register. The door to the employee break room slowly creaked open.
The nine of them recoiled in shock, stepping back as they fixed their eyes on the door opening inch by inch.
A frail figure emerged from behind it.
As they looked more closely, they saw that it was a young woman, so thin she barely resembled a person, her age impossible to determine.
Her cheeks were deeply sunken, and her eyes bulged unnaturally, as if all the flesh had been stripped from her face.
She licked her chapped lips and looked at the group with a curious expression.
After a moment of stunned silence, it seemed to dawn on her that she wasn't alone. Hastily, she straightened her filthy, ragged clothing and croaked out in a hoarse voice, "Welcome…"
Welcome?
Officer Li took a moment to process her words and seemed to understand.
"Are you… the store clerk?"
The girl nodded. "Yes."
The group fell silent again. Something about this didn't make sense.
Never mind why another human was here—if she truly was a store clerk, why was she working in a completely derelict convenience store?
Seeing that the group remained motionless, the clerk tentatively added, "Please, feel free to look around."
But the store was in such a state that there was hardly anything left to choose from.
The shelves were nearly bare, and what few items remained were spoiled and covered in grime.
The clerk's eyes, dull and lifeless, fixated on the group with an unsettling stare.
This made some of the women in the group visibly uneasy.
"Do you have any needles and thread?" Qi Xia asked the clerk with an impassive expression.
"Needles… and thread?" The clerk's eyes flickered as she lifted her hand and mimed sewing. "You mean… like this?"
It was then they noticed her hands, caked with dark, dried blood, an unsettling sight.
Qi Xia stepped forward, undeterred. "Yes, that kind. Do you sell it?"
"Are you serious?!" Jo Jiajin, who once believed himself the bravest person alive, now found himself unwilling to engage with this strange woman. "Can't you see she's not normal?"
"And what if she isn't?" Qi Xia responded calmly. "Things can't get any worse for us."
The girl clerk thought for a moment, then suddenly moved, pulling aside the divider by the counter and stepping out.
It was only then that the group saw her fully.
She wore a large, filthy white shirt that hung off her frail frame like a curtain. The fabric was smeared with unidentifiable substances, possibly oil, or blood.
The shirt reached down to her knees, and she didn't seem to be wearing any pants. Her legs were streaked with dried blood.
Qi Xia's eyes narrowed, and he tried to step back, but the girl grabbed his wrist.
Her touch was like an old vine, dry and achingly tight.
"I do have it!" she exclaimed, revealing her yellowed teeth. "I have needles and thread! Come with me!"
She pointed insistently at the employee break room, urging Qi Xia to follow.
The group exchanged panicked looks; going into that room with her seemed like a bad idea.
"Forget it… we don't need it!" Jo Jiajin stepped forward to pry the girl's fingers off Qi Xia. "Let him go."
But the clerk acted as if she hadn't heard him. Smiling brightly, she tugged at Qi Xia, pulling him closer to the room.
"There's needles and thread inside! Come on!"
Her strength was astonishing, greater than that of both Jo Jiajin and Qi Xia combined.
"Hey! Help us out here!" Jo Jiajin shouted back at the others.
Officer Li and Dr. Zhao snapped out of their stupor and rushed forward.
The clerk suddenly let go.
"Ah!"
They stumbled back, nearly losing their balance. When they stood up again, they saw that the girl had turned back to rummage through the room.
The four men surveyed the space, still shaken.
It was marginally cleaner than the store itself. In one corner sat a fold-out bed with yellowed linens stained with a fresh-looking patch of blood.
In another corner, a rusty stove held an iron pot, bubbling with something unknown.
The clerk seemed oblivious to all this as she rummaged through an old box.
"Where is it… needles and thread…" She tossed items out one by one: empty cans, outdated magazines, cookware.
Jo Jiajin rubbed his nose and glanced at the iron pot.
"Funny enough, I'm actually starving," he whispered to Qi Xia. "If she weren't so crazy, I'd ask for a bite."
Qi Xia glanced at the pot, which seemed to contain a pale, unidentifiable mass.
He felt the hunger pangs as well.
"You'd actually eat that?" Officer Li questioned. "Who knows how filthy that is…"
"But it smells so good."
Jo Jiajin wasn't wrong. The scent emanating from the pot filled the room, masking the rotten odor outside.
"What are you cooking?" Jo Jiajin dared to ask, curiosity outweighing his fear.
"Piglet," the girl replied.
"Piglet?"
Jo Jiajin's interest piqued, and he took a step forward, only for the girl to suddenly exclaim.
"Ah! Found it!"
She turned around, proudly holding something up.
"Look! Needles and thread!"
Officer Li stepped closer, his expression darkening.
It wasn't exactly "needles and thread"—it was a rusty fishhook tied to a bundle of tangled fishing line.
He shot Dr. Zhao a questioning look.
Dr. Zhao's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he addressed the girl. "Miss, is there any other thread?"
"No," she said, shaking her head. "Just this. Do you want it?"