You Get Out Too
The inner door wasn't locked, so Song Weishi slipped in without trouble. A quick scan showed that all the shops in the mall were closed for business.
It probably meant either that a 24-hour store had been operating here, or that the people inside had left in such a hurry they hadn't bothered to lock up.
Either way, most stores were shut, and the management had gotten lax.
Song Weishi entered smoothly. Without the howling wind, she felt much more comfortable.
She stayed alert, scanning for any lingering people in the mall. On such a freezing day, surely no one would come here, right?
She made a round, noticing that the shops up top were mostly selling accessories and toys—all locked shut.
These old-fashioned locks and rolling shutters were impossible for her to open without tools. The fire axe from the hotel could only be used to chop wood; it was useless against such big locks.
Song Weishi wandered around, seeing store after store locked up. These workers were indeed dedicated, she mused—they bothered to close shop even in this heavy snow.
Still, there were some open-style stores. As she went down, she spotted a barbecue restaurant with only a fence blocking the entrance. She slipped in easily.
She strolled into the back kitchen—not locked either, just a curtain as a barrier. The freezers were all powered down, and the meat rolls inside were frozen solid.
Just looking at it made her mouth water. She didn't feel like wandering anymore and swept all the meat and vegetables into her space, dumping out all the trash she had stored inside. The space was now packed to the brim.
The unexpected boon was a supply of charcoal—much more durable than wood and practically odorless.
She discarded a batch of her stored firewood and put in all the charcoal.
Her space was now completely stuffed. She also piled in a few charcoal braziers, grills, various tools, and cleaning supplies. Song Weishi even admired herself a little—every step she'd taken was the right one. All her road problems were solved; now she only needed a form of transport.
She'd searched the lower levels—level one or two were for dining and parking, so she chose to go up.
On the fourth floor, besides a couple of closed hotpot restaurants and modern cuisine places, the rest were clothing stores. She wasn't very interested.
Unless a store was loosely gated, she didn't bother going in.
She grabbed enough clothes for a change and headed straight to the fifth floor. Her footsteps echoed loudly in the empty mall, making her heart beat faster. It was hard to say she wasn't nervous. She'd collected a lot of things so far, but the most important item—her transport—still hadn't been found.
Without a good tool, all her supplies wouldn't get her anywhere.
The mall was huge, and all the stores were visible at a glance. The cinema took up half of the fifth floor. Song Weishi walked around the entire area, checking every store.
An arcade, a barbershop, a service counter, and a few beauty salons—with each one she passed, her heart sank further.
Where was the ski equipment store? Wasn't it supposed to be here?
She circled around twice more, but still didn't find it.
Deflated, Song Weishi climbed into the small train car parked by the corridor and pulled out her phone to check the map she'd already flipped through many times.
Unfortunately, aside from the streets, the map didn't show any of these shops.
Feeling discouraged, she looked up and saw the barrier in front of the train—the only place she hadn't checked.
She pushed the train car forward a bit, stepped on top of it, and took a look without much hope. She was so overjoyed she nearly screamed.
"It's here!"
Inside the barrier stood a row of various ski boards, neatly lined up.
Song Weishi jumped in. There were only about a dozen boards here. She strapped two on her back, threw away her previous bamboo ones, stuffed two more into her space, and hung various protective gear all over herself, putting some on directly.
She also grabbed a little turtle-shaped snowboarding pad and strapped one onto her rear—it was perfect for a beginner like her.
Content with her single-board score, she decided to leave the rest for Wang Jie and the others to distribute.
Loaded to the brim, she left, dragging a wheel-free flat basket she'd snagged from a toy store.
On smooth ground, she could sit on it and slide down—definitely handy.
This trip had been a real jackpot. When she exited the mall, it was already afternoon. Song Weishi hurried back, her binoculars hanging from her neck. After confirming the way outside was clear, she sat on the cart and slid off.
The way back was much faster than coming.
She'd also pocketed a bunch of useful little gadgets from the ski shop, even a compass—who knew if that was the owner's personal hobby.
She used everything she'd taken, and it worked so well she didn't feel the cold as much on the way back.
She wore the mountaineering suit she'd once gotten from the cart, finally able to wear it openly—no more sneaking around.
About halfway back, she spotted Wang Jie and Xiao Li heading her way in the distance. They waved at her, trudging along with great difficulty. Song Weishi slid over, gliding effortlessly on the snow—her speed was immeasurably better than before.
As she got close, she braked with her ski poles. The snow was frozen solid, so her sled came to a smooth stop. The two stared in amazement.
"Put the bags in here, and we'll pull them back," she said.
"Xiao Song, where did you get all this gear? That's amazing!" Wang Jie's eyes were full of envy as she pulled Song Weishi around to look at her.
Song Weishi let her inspect freely. "I scrounged it from Baolong. The third-floor door there wasn't locked. You two should check it out tomorrow—it's pretty good."
Wang Jie gave her a thumbs up. The three of them dragged the cart toward the hotel.
Up ahead, the sky was growing darker by the minute. Dark clouds gathered overhead, as if about to crash down, devouring the remaining light.
Walking across the vast white snowfield, the three looked like tiny ants.
Finally, they reached the window they'd used earlier. Xiao Li called out loudly twice, but no one came to receive them, and the window was shut tight.
There was a drop of about a person's height from the ground to the window, not easy to climb. By now, Manager Zhao should have been waiting at the door for them.
Vague sounds of arguing drifted out from inside. A bad feeling rose in Song Weishi's chest. She glanced at the other two—they'd obviously heard the shouting too.
Song Weishi pointed at the cart, and the two immediately understood. They pulled the bags out of the cart.
Song Weishi flipped the cart over, leaned it against the wall, and stepped up.
The argument upstairs became clearer: "Zhao Fang, don't be a bitch. I said they're not coming in, and that's final! They were never hotel guests anyway. Who the hell do you think you are? What right do you have to let them in? You get out too!"
Author's Note: