A large gateway stood at the town entrance, bearing the words “Welcome to Apricot Blossom Town!” Its red paint was peeling.
The desolation was palpable.
Beyond the archway, a long, straight street stretched into the distance. Though it was only three in the afternoon, the end of the road seemed swallowed by an encroaching, unnatural darkness.
Shops lined both sides of the street. Their signs all had white lettering on black backgrounds, an unsettling sight. Weeds overran the street, the walls were weathered, and many signs were damaged.
It had only been a few months since the global outbreak of the Anomalies.
Yet, this town looked as if it had been abandoned for decades.
A foul, damp stench of rot assaulted their faces. Anyone with half a brain could see that Apricot Blossom Town was wrong.
Many survivors went pale, their calves cramping as they backed away. Chen Ye looked no better and drew his Hand Crossbow. It was useless against Anomalies, but holding it offered some comfort.
As everyone hesitated, a rough voice rang out.
“Quit dilly-dallying like old women! I’m going in!”
All eyes turned to see a behemoth of a man squeezing himself out of a modified off-road vehicle. And “squeezing” was the only word for it.
Only when he stood on the ground did Chen Ye realize how enormous he was: over two meters tall and weighing more than 150 kilograms, with arms almost as thick as a grown man’s waist.
Ignoring the onlookers, the giant rushed toward a distant supermarket sign like a huge elephant.
The sign marked a large supermarket. A supermarket usually meant plenty of supplies.
“Hey, you big oaf, wait for me!”
A curse rang out from inside the off-road vehicle. The engine roared to life, and the car sped after the giant.
People exchanged looks. Soon the second off-road vehicle followed, also heading for the supermarket beneath the huge sign.
“Damn it, the bold get stuffed, the timid go hungry!”
An old man fired up his Elderly Mobility Scooter, its electric motor whining as he trundled forward.
“You youngsters have less guts than an old man! When I come back out, you can watch me feast while you go hungry!”
Leaving behind this taunt, the old man disappeared into the town.
The others flushed. Curses broke out, and many followed, stung by the old man’s taunt.
But many still stood there, hesitating.
Chen Ye pedaled his tricycle, following the brave ones.
But his target wasn’t the distant supermarket. That place was too deep in the town. If something went wrong, there would be no escape route.
Chen Ye’s eyes were set on the smaller shops lining the street near the entrance.
The shops might hold fewer supplies, but they were safer, and sunlight still reached the street. From experience, survivors knew that Anomalies stopped pursuing them once they fled into sunlight.
He wasn’t the only one with this idea; several others were already breaking off to raid nearby storefronts. Fortunately, there were plenty of shops to go around.
Chen Ye stopped outside a grocery selling tobacco and alcohol. Through its glass door, he could see packets of cigarettes in a display counter. Farther back, shelves stood in shadow, holding snacks he could not yet make out clearly.
The little grocery might have less than the supermarket, but it still held enough to make scavenging worthwhile.
Especially the cigarettes.
Chen Ye had smoked for more than ten years, and going without was hard. Food aside, cigarettes, alcohol, and medicine were all in demand. Even nonsmokers collected cigarettes to trade for supplies they needed.
He looked around for a brick to smash the glass but paused. The lock on the door was corroded beyond recognition.
He gave the handle a gentle tug.
Creak.
The corroded lock gave way. The glass door creaked on rusted hinges that looked ready to break.
Chen Ye peeked inside.
It was nearly four o’clock. The sun, hanging low in the west, cast a long beam of light through the doorway, illuminating the front counter—and the cigarettes—perfectly. The rest of the shop lay in heavy shadow, a stark contrast to the lit entrance.
Raising his Hand Crossbow, Chen Ye stepped cautiously across the threshold. He strained his eyes, scanning the dark corners for any twisting shadows or unnatural shapes.
Nothing.
He moved fast. Swinging his backpack to his chest, he began sweeping food from the shelves near the front. Spicy strips, instant noodles, jelly cups—anything edible went into the bag.
His eyes lingered on the cigarettes, but he forced himself to prioritize. Nicotine withdrawal wouldn’t kill him. Starvation would.
Logic triumphed over desire.
His hands moved quickly. He had sought out this roomy backpack on an earlier supply run for just such an occasion. But there was much less food than expected, and many shelves were empty. A small-town grocery had never stocked as much as a city convenience store open around the clock. Since the supermarket opened in Apricot Blossom Town, business here had only worsened. Had the apocalypse not come, the owner would probably have transferred the shop to someone else before long.
As the sun sank lower, the patch of light on the floor began to shrink, retreating toward the door.
With the food shelves cleared, his bag was only two-thirds full. He compressed the contents down, making it half-full.
Now for the prize.
Chen Ye turned to the counter, swallowing dryly.
His hands moved faster still. There were Tazi Cigarettes, a few packs of Huazi Cigarettes, and only two or three packs of Hehua. Most were cheaper brands, but he took them all, even searching the cabinets beneath the glass counter.
Together with the food, the cigarettes soon filled his large backpack. He took everything he could carry, leaving nonessential household goods behind. He packed two bottles of alcohol as well.
Suddenly, a familiar, icy sensation crawled up his spine.
It was the same feeling he had experienced at the town entrance, and several times before in Jiang City.
Anyone still alive knew exactly what this feeling meant.
A face paler than a three-day-old corpse pressed against the back of his head.
A chill crept over the back of his neck. The hairs on his hands stood up, and a cold, damp stench reached his nose.
Goosebumps spread over his skin, as though a cold snake were crawling down his back.
Chen Ye turned his head slowly.
It was the face of a child, maybe seven or eight years old. It was impossibly close.
Its skin was deathly pale, its cheeks heavily rouged. Its eyes and mouth curved into an exaggerated, eerie smile.
The entire child looked as if it were made of paper.
It crouched in the dark like a monkey, staring at Chen Ye with curiosity.
They stood on the boundary line of the shop—Chen Ye in the fading sunlight, the paper child in the absolute dark.
Had it been watching him the whole time? Or had it just manifested?
“Fuck!”
Chen Ye stumbled into the counter, overturning it as he tried to rush outside.
It wouldn’t open.
Through the glass, he saw a wooden bar jammed through the handles on the outside.
Someone locked me in?
Through the grime, he saw two figures standing by his tricycle. He recognized them instantly.
The yoga pants woman, Jiajia. And the burly fitness coach, Qiangzi.
Sensing his gaze, they turned. Their eyes met his.
Jiajia opened her mouth to sneer, a look of triumph on her face. But then her gaze shifted past Chen Ye, into the darkness of the shop behind him.
Terror swept over her face, and she hurriedly urged Qiangzi to leave.
“Hehehe…”
A child’s playful laughter echoed in the cramped space.
“Lady Moon, shine on the coffin bed; little brother waits for candy, crying his heart out…”
The voice was faint, drifting as if from a great distance, yet sounding right next to his ear.
It was a “Weeping Paper Effigy.”
Lady Moon in the rhyme probably meant the moon itself. In parts of southern China, the moon was associated with protecting children. A “coffin bed” meant a coffin. Sugar had once been scarce, and in some places it was offered as a comfort after a child’s funeral.
Chen Ye had encountered one of these in Jiang City. He never expected to find one here.
His scalp went numb.
Whoosh!
He fired. The bolt passed straight through the Weeping Paper Effigy.
Chen Ye wanted to swear.
“Lady Moon, shine on the coffin bed; little brother waits for candy, crying his heart out…”
“Hehehe… candy, I want candy!”