Immediately, the seven Evolved gathered to discuss a strategy.
In the darkness, Nathan was the first to speak.
"In my opinion, we can't report this to the Company. We have to get the supplies back ourselves."
"Agreed."
The other six nodded, knowing the serious consequences if the Company's higher-ups found out.
But the young man from earlier hesitantly asked, "Nathan, we have no leads right now. How are we supposed to look?"
"We will find a clue. Something that stole that much material couldn't have left without any trace."
Nathan analyzed, "Besides, that 'monster' is likely still in the mall. We can mobilize the survivors to search. I don't believe we won't find anything."
"The survivors? They're practically scared to death. They won't have the guts to look for a monster, and they certainly won't agree to it," Alex stated.
Nathan's brow furrowed.
"They have to agree, whether they like it or not! Our Company isn't a charity. We saved them to move supplies. This is the apocalypse; only those with value deserve to live!"
The air suddenly went silent, and no one spoke again. The six Evolved understood his meaning.
Even if they had to use the survivors as cannon fodder, they had to find the monster. After all, a fortune in supplies was at stake. Even in normal times, this amount was worth more than a few human lives, let alone in the apocalypse.
...
After the discussion, Nathan returned to face the survivors.
"Listen up, everyone. We just discussed this. Now that the supplies are gone, we can't just sit here. In times of crisis, we must unite and retrieve the goods."
"What?"
The murmuring crowd immediately fell silent.
Look for supplies? Are they serious?
"It's pitch black, and there might still be a monster in the mall."
"Whoever wants to go, go. I'm not doing it!"
"Exactly! Five Evolved were killed. We are just ordinary people; we'll definitely die if we run into the monster."
"Solving the monster problem is what the Evolved are supposed to do. I haven't Evolved..."
...
Listening to the chatter, Nathan's expression turned completely grim. His anger flared, and he spoke slowly, enunciating every word.
"You will go, whether you want to or not. I have no obligation to protect you. If you don't want to put in the effort and just want to freeload, I will throw you outside the mall."
"Ah? But..."
The people were shocked. Seeing his posture, he didn't appear to be joking. The intimidating presence of the Evolved prevented any of them from daring to resist.
Of course, some people were more agreeable.
"We owe our survival to the Warehouse supplies. We ate plenty of it, so we should help look."
"Yeah, there are so many of us. What's there to be afraid of?"
"What if the monster just has a tricky ability but weak combat strength?"
"Hmm, that makes sense. It has to have a weakness, right? It can't be strong in every way."
...
People whispered among themselves.
Seeing the crowd showing some fighting spirit, Nathan decided to balance the threat with a reward.
"I, Nathan, guarantee that anyone who finds the supplies or provides a useful clue will be rewarded by Tech Corp with enough food to last one year!"
"Wow! A year??"
Everyone looked astonished. In this apocalypse, even those who had been guarding the Warehouse were constantly rationing food. They were only given fixed daily rations to ensure they wouldn't starve.
A year's worth of food was incredibly precious.
Several strong men instantly became fired up.
"Let's go! I want to see where that monster is!"
"Yes, let's find him."
"He's just good at sneaking around and ambushing!"
...
People turned on their flashlights or used their cell phones for illumination. Countless beams of light crisscrossed, driving back the surrounding darkness.
They broke into small groups of three to five and began to disperse and search.
In the crowd, Ethan kept his eyes on the seven Evolved, planning to find an opportunity to kill them.
He moved backward, merging into the inky blackness.
The mall was huge. It normally held tens of thousands of customers.
The two hundred survivors looked sparse. They became more and more spread out, and some even gave up, hiding away secretly.
But Ethan's attention wasn't on them, because... these people weren't worth eating!
The seven Evolved, however, were extremely cautious, remaining tightly grouped and never separating.
"Nathan, why do I keep feeling... someone is following us?" a female Evolved frowned.
She looked back, but the darkness behind her was empty.
Nathan offered comfort.
"Don't scare yourself. You're just too tense."
"Yeah, Nathan's right."
Alex nodded, agreeing. "When I used to walk home at night, I always felt someone behind me. The more you think about it, the scarier it gets. Just stop thinking about it."
"Really?" Jillian asked skeptically.
Their search took them from the first-floor lobby all the way to the sixth floor, but they found nothing.
"This is really strange!" Nathan frowned. Had they truly run into a ghost?
Alex mused aloud, "I bet... the monster has left. After stealing so much supply and killing five of us, why would he stick around?"
"Hmm, that would be troublesome then."
Nathan frowned, looking down from the sixth-floor railing. The view here was excellent, offering a look at the first-floor lobby and the other levels.
Many survivors were wandering around with their flashlights.
So far, there were no casualties.
"Maybe he really is gone..."
"PHEW—"
The Evolved woman Jillian let out a long sigh of relief, her tense nerves relaxing. "I've been holding it in for half an hour. I didn't dare use the restroom until now. I'm going to the restroom first."
"Go ahead."
Nathan nodded, but then thought better of it. "Cynthia, go with Jillian. You two can watch each other's back."
"Uh... fine."
Cynthia shrugged, looking a bit resigned. Is it necessary? she thought. Watching someone go to the bathroom?
The two women turned a corner and didn't bother looking for a proper restroom. Since it was the apocalypse, they just found a secluded spot to relieve themselves.
The deserted hallway was even darker.
But the eyes of the Evolved surpassed those of ordinary people; they could still see clearly enough.
"Hurry up!" Cynthia urged, turning her back. After all, no one wanted to watch someone else use the restroom.
"Okay," Jillian replied, heading to the wall.
She had just undone her pants and was about to squat when a strange sense of unease suddenly flooded her mind. It was the Evolved's intuition, telling her she was in extreme danger!
"Filthy thing..." A faint whisper came from the darkness.
Then, the figure of a young man slowly materialized. His face was pale, and his cold eyes held a hint of disdain.
It was as if he was chastising her for urinating in public.
"You..."
Jillian was utterly tense. She raised her hand, ready to use her ability.
But a Dagger had already plunged into her temple...