“Xiao Ba, scan for zombies around me.”
【Host, there are about twenty zombies at the main entrance, and many inside the convenience store. However, you can take the small back door—there are no zombies there. After about 500 meters, there’s a large supermarket.】
“Got it.”
It was the eighth day of the apocalypse. Ever since she got the portable space yesterday, Chen Xi had been excited all night.
The milk she drew earlier had strengthened her body significantly. Handling a dozen or so zombies was no problem, and her speed had also improved.
So she got up early the next day, fully armed, ready to go to the supermarket and stockpile, filling up her new space!
After discovering that feeding crystal cores to the system could upgrade it, Chen Xi had given half her cores to the system. Now, the system’s navigation could scan within a one-kilometer radius.
With system navigation, the trip went smoothly. Soon, Chen Xi arrived at the supermarket entrance, barely encountering any zombies along the way.
The supermarket doors were wide open, and a few zombies could be seen wandering inside.
【Host, there are five zombies on the first floor and seven on the second. None of them have powers yet, so they should be easy to handle.】
Chen Xi nodded. The supermarket had two floors and was fairly spacious. The apocalypse had begun around midnight, so the store had already closed.
The doors clearly showed signs of being pried open—someone had probably looted the place and left them open. These zombies must have wandered in afterward.
Checking each zombie individually would be a hassle; they’d probably tire themselves out before finding her.
Chen Xi thought for a moment, then went inside, closing the door behind her. She made deliberate noises to attract the zombies, who gradually approached her. Because they were at varying distances, she avoided being surrounded.
Armed with her short sword, Chen Xi took them out one by one and quickly cleared all the zombies in the store. She then took a careful look at the merchandise.
The previous owner often came here. The first floor had drinks, rice, grains, oil, vegetables, fruits, and various foods. The second floor had household goods.
The first floor had clearly been visited in the past week—cookies, bread, sausages, instant noodles, and other fast food had mostly been looted. Vegetables and fruits had spoiled after seven or eight days.
Chen Xi’s target was the grains and oil section. Today she drew a permanent self-heating pot—an invention she wasn’t familiar with. It heated food automatically when switched on, somewhat like a rice cooker but without electricity. The material was unknown, but it seemed magical.
With this pot, she could finally eat hot meals herself.
Chen Xi quickly reached the back of the store. Rice, flour, and oil were heavy and inconvenient for others, so not many people had taken them. Now, the stockpile was still full.
Soon, she loaded half the rice and flour and seven or eight containers of oil into her space, filling about two-thirds of it.
She also grabbed other food without being picky—milk, canned goods, spicy sauces, condiments, etc.
Next, she went upstairs and took a large quantity of sanitary pads, toilet paper, shampoo, towels, and laundry detergent.
Clothes, socks, and shoes were also conveniently placed into the space. The styles weren’t particularly nice, but in the apocalypse, appearances didn’t matter.
Seeing her space completely filled gave Chen Xi a deep sense of security.
On her way out, Chen Xi carried her backpack with some lighter food to make it look natural, avoiding suspicion.
Sure enough, as she descended from the second floor, a group of people arrived.
The supermarket doors might be difficult for zombies to open but were easy for humans.
The newcomers were likely nearby residents looking for food—three men and two women, all in their twenties.
When they noticed Chen Xi descending, they took defensive stances but relaxed when they saw it was just her with a backpack.
“Excuse me, are there zombies on the second floor?” one of the girls asked cautiously.
“No. The second floor is all household goods,” Chen Xi replied coolly.
“Okay, thank you. Do you live nearby?”
“Yes.”
“Did you deal with the zombies in the supermarket?” an older-looking boy asked.
“Yes.”
“Impressive.” He raised his hand to pat Chen Xi on the shoulder, but she dodged.
Seeing her indifferent attitude, the boy frowned. Glancing at her short sword, his eyes momentarily widened before he continued:
“How many people are left in your community? Do you want to live with us? We’ve cleared most zombies here. It’s safe, and we can protect you. You only need to give some food if you join us.”
“Uh… no, thank you. I’m fine living alone.”
Chen Xi hadn’t expected small groups to form within a week of the apocalypse, and that they were already charging for protection.
“But it’s dangerous alone. Living with us means we can look out for each other,” the boy said urgently.
“No, I have other things to do. Goodbye.” Chen Xi stepped away.
The group considered following but hesitated, fearing dangers outside.
Watching her leave, one beside the man muttered, “Wang, I think there were at least a dozen zombies in the store, and she handled them all. Is she some kind of powers user?”
“Probably, but I don’t know what ability.”
Thinking about her refusal, Wang muttered angrily, “Why act so high and mighty? I wonder what she’d do if she faced a horde alone.”
“Stop staring and move the food.”
“Oh, right.”
Over the next several days, Chen Xi’s routine was check-in, killing zombies, and stockpiling.
She continued to draw good items: eight consumables that enhanced her body, five bottles of perfume that repelled zombies, two short swords capable of cutting through metal.
She also got a laser sword but didn’t dare use it—too flashy, like she had traveled to the interstellar era.
Chen Xi sprayed herself with a bottle of perfume; one spray could mask her presence from zombies for two hours. Each bottle lasted about 20 sprays—really useful.
Other items were carefully stored in her portable space.
Chen Xi spent every day raiding supermarkets, markets, and warehouses, filling her space to the brim. Sometimes she went with Aunt Xu, mostly to supermarkets.
Rice and flour—stockpile!
Cookies and bread—stockpile!
Instant noodles, self-heating hotpot, self-heating rice—stockpile!
Clothes, pants, shoes—stockpile!
Toilet paper—stockpile!
…
After frequent use, the space had expanded to roughly half the size of a football field.
By the 25th day of the apocalypse, after eating, Chen Xi returned to her room to sort the items she’d scavenged. Suddenly, the system screamed:
【Aaaaaah! Host! The male lead is about to die!!! Go save him immediately!】