Before going to the supermarket, Yu Hanjiang gave his teammates a few instructions.
His expression was extremely serious as he spoke in a low voice, enunciating each word clearly: "Based on the information Xiao Lou obtained during the meeting, there is currently no cure for this infection. Once infected, the parasites will quickly devour the human brain, turning the human body into their puppet. We need to survive in this sealed room for 14 days. Everyone must be extremely careful to protect yourselves during operations and absolutely cannot get infected! Otherwise, not only will you lose your own life, but you might also drag the entire team down with you!"
Everyone nodded solemnly to indicate that they understood.
The most terrifying thing is that the bugs can disguise themselves. If a teammate is infected, they can disguise themselves as normal people and stay by everyone's side. In the dead of night, when everyone is asleep, they can secretly give each person a bite... and everyone will collectively turn into bugs.
It's disgusting to even think about.
Yu Hanjiang paused, his gaze sweeping over his pale-faced teammates, and continued, "Furthermore, the parasitized people appear to be just like normal people on the surface. They might disguise themselves as normal humans to approach us, and this situation is difficult to prevent. Therefore, in this locked room, the eight of us will work as a group, without cooperating with any other Challengers, and without rescuing anyone—remember, we only need to take care of ourselves."
While it may seem heartless to leave someone in distress to die, it's already difficult enough to take care of oneself in such a situation, let alone determine whether the person rescued is infected. Therefore, Yu Hanjiang's pre-established rule was not wrong—an eight-person team should only trust and be responsible for themselves.
Xiao Lou said gently, "Everyone should listen to Captain Yu and not worry about the others. During these 14 days, no one should leave the team without Captain Yu's instructions. Even if you urgently need to use the restroom, we must use Card to do so."
During the Weekly Routine at sea, a girl gave them a [temporary toilet] card. Xiao Lou is keeping all these supply cards. It would be quite dangerous for anyone to leave the group alone. For the 14 days, it's best for everyone to eat and sleep together and not separate.
The teammates all realized the gravity of the situation and exchanged glances.
Ye Qi said, "Understood. We'll form a group of eight and try to avoid contact with strangers!"
Yu Hanjiang nodded and said, "Let's go. We'll buy supplies together at the supermarket. If any strangers approach you, no matter who they are, get away immediately. Be careful not to be attacked suddenly."
At Yu Hanjiang's command, the eight people acted collectively.
It was already 1:30 PM, and although no one had eaten, no one felt hungry. Perhaps the first day in this world was too stimulating; everyone was tense and had forgotten about lunch.
***
Mo Xuemin's renovation company is located diagonally opposite Central Square, and there is a large supermarket just 500 meters away.
The street was now completely blocked by vehicles, and traffic on the entire street was paralyzed.
The nearby sidewalks were filled with terrified screams and bloodstains. Clearly, the Infected were attacking humans frantically, leaving countless people scratched and bitten. These people scattered and carried the parasites to other areas.
The city center is in complete chaos, and it's only a matter of time before the entire city is infected.
Xiao Lou said in a low voice, "Everyone, avoid the bloodstains on the ground. This parasite is transmitted through blood. If someone is bitten, there may still be surviving pathogens in their blood. Try not to come into contact with the blood."
Ye Qi almost stepped on a patch of blood. His face turned pale, and he immediately jumped away.
A scream suddenly came from the sidewalk across the square. An Infected was chasing and biting two girls. The two young girls ran forward quickly. One of them was wearing high heels. After running a few meters, she twisted her ankle and fell to the ground. The Infected pounced on her and bit off her ear. The girl collapsed to the ground, covering her bloody wound and letting out a broken cry.
"Help! Help!"
However, no one around her paid any attention to her.
Even her best friend, who was running with her, turned pale upon seeing this scene and immediately turned and ran away as fast as she could!
The bloody scene sent chills down Xiao Lou's spine.
Strangely, after Infected bit off her ear, it stopped attacking her and instead searched for its next target with bloodshot eyes, leaving the injured woman behind.
As Xiao Lou walked forward, he spoke to Yu Hanjiang via Telepathic Connection: "It seems that these Infected are just spreading the parasites. Once they are transmitted to another person, they will stop attacking. It's like some kind of creature invading Earth and quickly conquering territory. People who are bitten will become like them?"
Yu Hanjiang also saw the scene across the street and frowned, saying, "What I'm curious about is how they determine which people are their kind and which haven't been infected yet? On the surface, it's hard to distinguish between infected and uninfected people."
Xiao Lou thought for a moment and said, "They should have their own language, or signals, or smells."
This is the only explanation. These things are actually quite intelligent, able to instantly distinguish which ones are their own kind and which ones need to be attacked. It seems that after they take over a human's brain, they send signals to their companions to avoid accidental harm.
Low-level zombies might attack each other, since they lack intelligence. However, these advanced parasites not only don't harm each other, they can also sense each other and might even cooperate... That's terrifying!
If the entire city is infected, wouldn't Xiao Lou and his group of eight be in danger?
We've entered the Zerg's lair?!
Xiao Lou's face paled. He said, "The escape room requires us to survive for 14 days, but it doesn't restrict us to staying in the city. Can we escape?"
Yu Hanjiang said, "Let's play it by ear. If all else fails, we can follow the strategy of completing Spade 3, find a secluded place, occupy a building as a base, and set up traps to eliminate these bugs."
Xiao Lou nodded.
There was a supermarket right in front of them, so the two stopped communicating via Telepathic Connection and led their teammates inside.
The city was in chaos, with traffic jams on the roads. It was also midday, so the supermarket was deserted. Only a few young people were buying groceries. They seemed unaware of what was happening outside and were patiently picking out fruits. A couple was even chatting and laughing as they bought tomatoes.
Yu Hanjiang glanced around and, finding nothing unusual, led everyone into the supermarket.
The temperature inside the supermarket was very low, and the area near the entrance was where fresh vegetables were sold. The open freezers were air-conditioned, and even though Xiao Lou was wearing thermal underwear, she couldn't help but feel her teeth chattering from the cold.
Shao Qingge rubbed his nose and sneezed: "Why is it so cold?"
Xiao Lou said, "The heating might be broken. Everyone, let's hurry up and go buy things first."
Upon entering the supermarket, you'll find the frozen food section, the fresh produce section, and the fruit and vegetable section. Some aunties are there weighing items and helping customers calculate prices. In the prepared food section, several men wearing white hats are making roast duck. Freshly roasted pig's trotters and chicken legs are displayed in the cabinets, filling the air with a delicious aroma that whets everyone's appetite. It's then that everyone realizes they haven't had lunch yet.
But supermarkets aren't places to eat either. Yu Hanjiang said, "When you go out to eat after shopping, try to avoid these cooked foods."
It's currently uncertain whether the only mode of transmission is through blood; what if it's also through food? Shao Qingge learned his lesson the hard way at Endless Sea. You can't just eat anything from the Spade Secret Room; only vacuum-packed, sealed foods, like instant noodles and biscuits, are the safest.
Ye Qi swallowed hard, looked away from the roast duck, and quickly followed Yu Hanjiang.
The eight people quickly left the deli section and went deeper into the supermarket.
Unbeknownst to them, behind them, the aunties weighing fruits and vegetables, the chefs grilling cooked food, and the women selling fresh meat products all turned to look at their backs, a strange smile playing on their lips.
***
This supermarket is very large, and people feel like they are wandering through a maze inside. After going around several corners, they finally see the daily necessities and snacks section.
A large amount of milk was stacked in the aisle, with signs that read "Today's Sale". Xiao Lou picked up a carton of milk, glanced at the production date and expiration date - this carton of milk has a shelf life of 3 months, so he could stock up on more. He picked up two cartons and put them in his shopping cart.
Ye Qi grabbed four boxes of compressed biscuits, while Liu Qiao put dozens of boxes of chocolate into her shopping cart.
Lao Mo and Long Sen went to move Mineral Water, Qu Wanyue was in charge of counting the supplies, and Yu Hanjiang went to find a schoolbag.
Since we were going to travel light this time, we didn't need to bring canned food or snacks. We just needed to bring enough to eat. Everyone pushed shopping carts and quickly went on a shopping spree. Yu Hanjiang soon brought over eight backpacks as well.
The supermarket didn't have that many backpacks in stock, and they were all different colors, including some with cartoon patterns. But this wasn't the time to be concerned with details, so he put the backpacks into his shopping cart.
After taking stock of the supplies, Qu Wanyue said, "That's about enough."
Yu Hanjiang nodded: "Let's go."
They had prepared "toiletries" and other toiletries beforehand, which could be brought into the escape room. Therefore, they only needed to stock up on food and common medicines for the survival escape room.
As the eight people walked around a corner, they suddenly saw a group of girls also quickly buying up goods. Their shopping carts contained several identical black backpacks—no wonder the backpack section was almost empty; they had bought them all first.
In addition, their shopping carts were also full of mineral water, milk, and cookies.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged a glance and said via Telepathic Connection, " Challenger Team?"
Ye Qi clearly noticed the girls as well, and whispered, "Why do they look so familiar? Have we met them somewhere before?"
Xiao Lou thought about it carefully and quickly remembered: "The 10-member girl team from the Weekly Secret Chamber of [ Endless Sea ] who left Caribbean? They were all wearing sportswear and flat shoes that were easy to move in, and their hair was all tied up. Judging from their outfits, it must be them, right?"
Mo Xuemin confirmed, "That's right, they're from Luoying Pavilion."
At the time, the girls' team used a method of hijacking another ship to pass through the checkpoint. Judging from the final number of people who passed through, they should have survived. As for whether they encountered sharks and what they did, Xiao Lou did not know because they were not in the same sea area.
These girls are clearly the elite group of the Luoying Pavilion guild.
According to Ninth Brother, the president of Luoying Pavilion is Chu Huaying, codenamed " Spider Goddess," who is one of his surviving teammates from Plum Blossom J.
Although Xiao Lou had never met Chu Huaying, a woman who could survive the Nightmare Secret Room of Plum Blossom J must be a very powerful person. Out of respect for Ninth Brother, Xiao Lou also had a good impression of the Luoying Pavilion guild.
This group of smartly dressed girls acted in unison and were well-trained. I never expected that they would also come to the survival room of Spade 8.
Ye Qi said, " The presence of people from Luoying Pavilion means that this survival chamber isn't just for the eight of us; there might be other Challenger teams from other guilds as well?"
Recalling how they often encountered other Challengers in the Spade Secret Room in the past, Xiao Lou nodded and said, "That's possible. The Spade Secret Room often matches many teams in, but this time it's not like finding gems in Liuxi Village. There's no competition between Challengers. We need to face the problem of parasites together. However, the insects can disguise themselves, and it's difficult for Challengers to have absolute trust and cooperate. It's already a blessing if we just go our own way and don't drag each other down."
Professor Xiao's analysis makes a lot of sense, and the teammates have no intention of greeting these girls.
The girls at Luoying Pavilion had obviously noticed them too. One of them, a tall girl over 175cm, walked over, nodded to Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang, and greeted them, " Outerr?"
The term "outsider" has become a commonly accepted synonym for "Challenger".
Yu Hanjiang only answered with one word: "Mm".
The two maintained a safe distance of more than two meters. It was clear that Yu Hanjiang was wary of her being Infected, and she was not entirely at ease with Yu Hanjiang's team either. Talking from a distance would be safer.
The girl said, "Let's exchange some information. I'll start by saying that this world is a parasitic infection. The parasites enter the brains of the infected and control their bodies. We don't know what the pathogen is yet, but the known transmission route is through blood. The parasites spread very quickly, somewhat like the human world being invaded by insectoids."
The girl was articulate and spoke calmly. Xiao Lou looked at her approvingly and said, "We have about the same information as you. Regarding the transmission route, blood has been confirmed, air can be ruled out, and there are currently no cases to prove whether it can be transmitted through food, so we cannot let our guard down."
The girl nodded and said, "Since it's an invasion by the Zerg, I suspect there's a queen Zerg or a leader of the Zerg in this world. In the stories you've encountered, are there any special bosses?"
Xiao Lou thought for a moment and said, "So far, we haven't found anyone who looks like the Boss. I've only heard that many people died in the respiratory department of the Second Hospital. There was one survivor, and the other characters we encountered were infected later."
The girl looked slightly regretful: "We're in the same boat. It seems that the Second Hospital was the first of all the hospitals to discover infected cases, but it's possible that some people were infected earlier but just didn't go to the hospital for testing... It seems that even with a Boss, it's not easy to find him."
Xiao Lou said, "Yes, after all, surviving for 14 days won't be that easy."
The two teams were several meters apart. After a moment, the girl said, "Good luck to you two."
Xiao Lou said, "I wish you good luck too."
Neither side proposed to "join forces," after all, the idea that "insects can disguise themselves" was a bit scary. No one knew whether insects had already taken over the skin underneath, and how could strangers be trusted?
The girls' group turned and left the shopping area, and Xiao Lou and his group also prepared to go to the checkout.
Just then, a young man in a supermarket uniform stopped them with a smile and said, "Our supermarket has a promotion. If you get a membership card, you can buy one carton of milk and get one carton free. Would you like to join us?"
Before Xiao Lou could speak, Yu Hanjiang coldly interrupted him: "No need."
The young man smiled and said, " Chocolate is also buy one get one free, sir. Why don't you get a membership card?"
Yu Hanjiang looked visibly impatient and lowered his voice, saying, "No need."
He turned to leave, but the young man reached out to stop him. Yu Hanjiang quickly stepped aside, frowning in displeasure: "What are you doing?"
The young man explained softly, "Excuse me, I'm an intern at the supermarket. The manager has assigned us a task, and we'll lose our bonus if we don't complete it. Sir, could you please help me out? It's very simple; I can get a membership card by filling out some forms."
This guy is quite handsome, and he has a very sunny smile.
In the real world, Xiao Lou would definitely help out. Registering a phone number at the supermarket makes it very convenient to get a membership card, and there are also various discounts and special offers during holidays...
But now, looking at the boy's smile, he felt that something was off.
The temperature in the supermarket was getting lower and lower, and Xiao Lou was so cold that goosebumps rose all over his body. This boy was only wearing a very thin work uniform and shirt, and he kept smiling... Wasn't he cold at all?
Just as Xiao Lou realized something was wrong, the boy suddenly turned around and reached out to grab Xiao Lou's cheek!
Xiao Lou was standing right next to Yu Hanjiang.
The boy kept talking to Yu Hanjiang and kept his eyes on Yu Hanjiang's face, without even glancing at Xiao Lou. His teammates thought he was just an ordinary supermarket sales assistant, an intern trying to get people to sign up for membership cards—they never expected him to suddenly attack Xiao Lou!
Just as the boy's hand was about to touch Xiao Lou's face, Yu Hanjiang's pupils suddenly contracted, and he kicked him directly in the stomach, knocking him to the ground cleanly—how dare he attack Xiao Lou, and even know how to use a feint to launch a surprise attack?!
This bug is quite resourceful.
However, Yu Hanjiang had already become wary as soon as he approached.
Yu Hanjiang, a seasoned veteran who had outwitted and outmaneuvered countless criminals, how could a mere insect possibly harm Xiao Lou under his nose? The instant he sensed the boy raising his hand to attack Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang kicked him away—
The boy was nearly 1.8 meters tall and quite heavy, yet Yu Hanjiang kicked him several meters away, demonstrating the immense force Yu Hanjiang used in that kick! With a loud bang, the young man's body slammed straight into the middle shelf of the supermarket, burying him instantly amidst a shower of cola bottles crashing down!
The teammates watched this scene with trepidation.
Trembling with fear.
Captain Yu's movements were lightning fast. The insect probably never expected that its feint attack had been seen through by Yu Hanjiang. A former policeman, Yu Hanjiang possessed an extremely strong sense of danger, and its every move was observed.
The boy was buried under a pile of beverage bottles, motionless. Yu Hanjiang picked up a mop from the supermarket, intending to check if he was dead or alive. Just then, the beverage bottles were suddenly pushed aside, scattering countless bottles all over the ground. The young man who had just been buried miraculously crawled out of the pile of bottles at an incredible speed.
He glared at Yu Hanjiang with his scarlet eyes, and seemingly realizing that this group of people were not easy to deal with, he simply crawled away nimbly along the ground.
The boy crawled on the ground with the speed of a nimble snake. When everyone suddenly saw a handsome guy crawling on the ground, they were stunned for a moment. By the time they reacted, he had already disappeared around the corner.
Yu Hanjiang's face darkened: "The supermarket is infected too! Everyone, let's get out of here!"
***
At this moment, at the cashier.
There were eight checkout lanes, and eight young girls were standing in front of them. The Luoying Pavilion team was queuing up.
Since everyone had bought a lot of things, there weren't many people in the supermarket at noon, so they split up and each pair pushed a shopping cart into the checkout lane.
The cashier girls quickly scanned the barcodes, and the price of each item appeared on the computer.
Challengers at Luoying Pavilion began paying with gold coins.
The captain, who is 175cm tall, had just reached out to hand the gold coins to the cashier when the cashier grabbed her hand and her sharp nails dug directly into the back of her hand!
The tall girl, being from Luoying Pavilion's elite team, reacted extremely quickly, swiftly retracting her right hand to dodge the attack. Her expression changed, and she shouted sharply, "They're all Infected! Run!"
The professionally trained team had excellent execution capabilities. Upon hearing their captain's words, the girls around them immediately and nimbly jumped over the fence. Since the shopping cart was too heavy to carry, they simply abandoned it and ran faster than rabbits.
Xiao Lou witnessed this scene just as she arrived at the cashier.
He stood at a distance and glanced around. There were eight checkout lanes and eight young female cashiers with identical expressions on their faces, as if they were carved from the same mold!
In the dead of winter, there was no heating in the supermarket, and they were all wearing short skirts with bright smiles. It was really strange to look at them!
The girls at Luoying Pavilion ran very fast, vaulting over the fence and disappearing in the blink of an eye. The eight cashiers, having failed in their attack, didn't chase after them. Instead, they all turned their heads and smiled at Xiao Lou.
Xiao Lou: "..."
His hair stood on end, and he whispered, "They're all infected..."
Yu Hanjiang's expression was serious: "We can't lose the supplies, let's get them back to the supermarket first!"
The aisle at the checkout is very narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. If you try to escape by climbing over the fence, you might get scratched in the process, which would be disastrous. These insects were pretending to be cashiers, trying to scratch customers' hands while they were paying. Now that their plan has failed, they certainly won't be so gentle. If they attack with all their might, it would be even riskier to go directly through the checkout aisle.
Yu Hanjiang calmly retreated to the supermarket, wanting to discuss a strategy with his teammates.
His sharp gaze swept behind him—
Sure enough, the supermarket staff who were just making roast duck, weighing fruit, and cutting fresh meat, as well as the customers who were pretending to pick out vegetables and fruits, had somehow quietly appeared behind them.
These people made no sound of footsteps.
Because they crawled over close to the ground.
At this moment, dozens of people crawled on the ground like insects, staring at them with their scarlet eyes.
Ahead, eight pretty cashier girls were smiling at them.
Ye Qi's scalp nearly exploded: "Holy crap, this supermarket is a nest of insects!"