Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Everything?"
Dia nodded. "Everything."
She pointed one tiny finger toward the mall around them. "If they live here, then they have stuff. If they have stuff, we take the stuff. Then they have no stuff."
She folded her little arms proudly. "Easy."
Adrian stared at her. "...That’s your strategy?"
"Yes." Dia nodded again. "The System calls it hoarding."
[SYSTEM CHIME! ✧]
[Host is so smart! Leave them nothing but the dust! Take the toilet paper! Take the decorative soaps! TAKE EVERYTHING!]
Dia’s eyes immediately brightened. "Decorative soaps?"
[YES! THEY SMELL NICE!]
"I want them."
Adrian burst out laughing.
"Economic warfare," he repeated. The Thunder God was officially taking military strategy advice from a kindergartener, and he was absolutely loving it. "Alright, kiddo. Let’s go do some extreme shopping."
Dia raised both tiny fists.
"Shopping!"
He kicked open the door to the second floor.
The second floor was the home goods and hardware section. It was significantly darker than the atrium, the aisles forming a labyrinth of towering shelves.
It was also decidedly not empty.
As the door banged against the wall, a chorus of guttural snarls erupted from the darkness.
Six Tier-1 zombies, still wearing the tattered remains of Starlight Galleria employee uniforms, shambled out from behind a display of imported Egyptian cotton sheets.
Dia peeked around Adrian’s shoulder.
She stared at them.
The zombies stared back.
Dia frowned.
"They’re ugly."
Adrian grinned.
"Target practice."
He didn’t put Dia down. Instead, he shifted her onto his back and secured her with one arm like a tactical backpack.
"Hold on tight, kiddo."
Dia wrapped both arms around his neck.
"Okay."
"Don’t look."
"I’m looking."
"Dia."
"I wanna see."
Adrian sighed.
"Fine. But don’t complain."
Instead of swinging the wrench, Adrian channeled his lightning core directly into the steel tool.
The metal instantly superheated, glowing with blinding blue energy. The wrench hummed so violently that Dia could feel the vibration in her teeth.
Her eyes became enormous.
"Oooh."
Adrian glanced backward.
"Pretty?"
Dia nodded enthusiastically.
"Very pretty."
Adrian threw the heavy steel wrench like a javelin.
It flew across the department store like a bolt from Zeus himself and struck the lead zombie square in the chest.
The kinetic impact combined with the S-Rank electrical discharge.
BOOM!
The zombie was instantly vaporized.
Electrical arcs exploded outward, chaining into the remaining five undead employees.
One after another, they dropped as smoking piles of ash.
Adrian held out his hand. The magnetic field generated by his lightning violently reversed the wrench’s trajectory.
The weapon shot backward through the air and snapped perfectly into his waiting grip.
Adrian stared at the smoking wrench.
"...Okay."
He grinned.
"That was incredibly cool!"
Dia peeked over his shoulder.
She stared at the ashes.
Then at Adrian.
Then at the wrench.
"Do it again."
Adrian laughed.
"Maybe later."
Dia looked disappointed.
"Awww."
She then pointed toward the aisles.
"Now it’s shopping time!"
For the next forty-five minutes, the second floor became the site of the most bizarre looting montage in apocalyptic history.
Adrian walked down the aisles while Dia pointed at objects with absolute five-year-old authority.
"That."
Adrian looked.
"A generator?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it’s big."
"...Alright."
He dragged the two-hundred-pound portable generator over.
Dia touched it.
Poof.
It vanished into her spatial ring.
Dia clapped.
"Next!"
Adrian shook his head, laughing.
"What now, Your Majesty?"
Dia pointed.
"Those."
"Those?"
"The sticky things."
Adrian followed her finger.
"Industrial-grade duct tape?"
"Yes."
"How much?"
Dia thought about it.
"All."
Poof.
Seventy rolls of duct tape disappeared.
Adrian stared.
"Do you even know what duct tape does?"
Dia nodded.
"Fixes things."
"That’s true."
"And if things break..."
She held up another tiny finger.
"...we need more."
Adrian nodded solemnly.
"Excellent reasoning."
They continued.
"What about these camping stoves, kiddo?" Adrian asked, holding up a sleek propane burner.
Dia inspected it.
"Acceptable."
She pointed.
"That."
"Titanium cookware?"
"Yes."
"And that?"
"Mattress."
Adrian blinked.
"Mattress?"
Dia nodded.
"Big bed."
"We have beds."
"Those beds are bad."
"They’re perfectly fine."
Dia frowned.
"No."
Adrian sighed.
"Why?"
"Because my back hurts."
Adrian looked down at her tiny five-year-old body.
"...Your back hurts?"
Dia nodded.
"Yes."
"From what?"
"Being five."
Adrian had absolutely no response to that.
Dia pointed again.
"And those."
"Mattress toppers?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because they are soft."
Adrian stared at her.
Dia stared back.
"...Fair enough."
He started loading them into her spatial ring.
Then Dia’s eyes suddenly lit up.
"Candles!"
Adrian glanced toward the shelf.
"Do we need candles?"
"No."
"Then why are you excited?"
"They smell nice."
[SYSTEM CHIME! ✧]
[HOST! TAKE THE CANDLES! TAKE ALL THE CANDLES! AMBIANCE IS ESSENTIAL TO THE APOCALYPSE!]
Dia nodded.
"See?"
Adrian laughed.
"The System agrees with you."
"I know."
She puffed out her chest proudly.
"Me and System are smart."
For the next several minutes, they cleared out hardware, survival equipment, camping supplies, and an inexplicably large amount of high-end coffee beans.
Dia stared at the coffee beans.
"What’s this?"
"Coffee."
"Does it taste good?"
"Depends."
Dia considered this.
"Take it."
Adrian chuckled.
"Why?"
"Because maybe somebody else likes it."
"That’s surprisingly considerate."
"No."
Dia shook her head.
"So they can’t have it."
Adrian burst out laughing again.
By the time they reached the stairwell for the third floor, Dia’s digital inventory was bursting.
Adrian was also carrying a decorative katana he’d found in a hobby shop.
He held it up proudly.
"Look what I found."
Dia stared at it.
"Is it useful?"
"No."
"Then why did you take it?"
Adrian grinned.
"Because it looks neat."
Dia thought about that.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
She pointed at him.
"Keep it."
"Thank you."
"You’re welcome."
"Alright, third floor."
Adrian booted the door open.
The third floor was higher-end retail.
Designer clothing boutiques.
Jewelry stores.
And a massive, sprawling anchor electronics store.
It was also completely silent.
No zombies.
The floors were relatively clean.
Adrian’s expression immediately hardened.
"They’ve cleared this floor."
His combat instincts flared.
He dropped the decorative katana and readied his lightning-infused wrench.