Chapter 25

"Sister Lin, don't worry, he won't ditch us," Luo Yongzhi murmured as they walked. "He's just a runner. His boss is in this world too, and if the boss comes and finds us gone, he'll get grilled."

Lin Tu had already heard all this from Luo Yongzhi earlier. In fact, if his superior hadn't held the info on how to clear the mission smoothly, she couldn't care less whether Zhang Jie brought them along—she didn't want to travel with him anyway.

Zhang Jie was secretly relieved. His harsh words had been meant to scare Lin Tu into submission, but she'd turned out to be so capable that she completely ignored him. At least she was stubborn enough not to tag along or mooch off their rented car... Why did a girl have to be so stubborn? He sneered at the thought.

The group, together in name only, rented a few standard rooms at a hotel opposite Lin Tu's place, then hired a car and headed for the mall.

Earlier, Zhang Jie's people had bought a basic map of the city marked with points—that very map had helped Lin Tu land safely in a residential building. The map showed a cluster of malls a few kilometers away. Large malls had big supermarkets and all kinds of shops, so they were the group's destination.

A small cargo van and a pickup truck took to the road one after the other. Since the disaster had just begun and mutant plants were still rare, they reached the mall without trouble.

The crowd here was enormous and noisy, spilling onto the surrounding roads. To stock up as fast as possible, they had no choice but to park on the side, step out into the scorching sun, and walk over.

"We interrupt this program for a breaking news bulletin..."

Suddenly, the giant screen above the mall flickered. A skincare ad faded out, replaced by the familiar news broadcast. At the same time, LED screens of all sizes scattered across the skyscrapers in the bustling commercial district began showing the same anchor, the one who usually appeared only at seven in the evening.

"According to reliable sources, prolonged drought has caused a genetic mutation in plants. Large numbers of plants have shifted from relying on water to relying on iron. This phenomenon is now occurring worldwide. The mutated plants are highly aggressive and have already killed more than three thousand people and injured tens of thousands. Below is footage captured by our reporters at an industrial zone in Toronto..."

The screen showed a clear yet shaky image. A tree seven stories tall was clinging to a cream-painted apartment building with its long, black, bare, twisted branches. The camera angle was from below, making the plant look impossibly tall, like a mother cradling her child, hungrily sucking the life out of it. Its pitch-black crown, which seemed to have eyes, peeked over the rooftop, and a few struggling human figures could be vaguely made out in the branches.

The bustling commercial district fell silent, as if struck dead.

"The Biosafety Prevention and Control Headquarters states that to ensure the safety of every citizen, please stay home and do not go out unless absolutely necessary. Do not approach plants. Stay away from every plant you can see!"

"The Biosafety Prevention and Control Headquarters will act immediately, beginning a coordinated eradication of plants from the city center outward. We ask all citizens to cooperate. May we pass through this crisis together!"

"Thank you! Thank you for watching. Goodbye!"

The screen went dark and the skincare ad returned, but no one paid it any attention anymore.

After a suffocating silence, the commercial center erupted with renewed frenzy. People were crying, running, and searching for each other in the crowd. The hot air was almost unbearable to breathe, and what worried everyone even more was the greenery everywhere around them.

"Forget it! Move! Stock up!" Zhang Jie was the first to jog toward the supermarket, the rest following behind him.

Once inside the mall, they found even more people. News of plant mutations had already spread online, and many had started hoarding supplies. The supermarket was packed, and some shelves had already been swept clean.

"You two go get water—whatever kind, the more the better. Xiaoluo and I will grab the staple food. Little Li, you find canned goods, dried fruit, and anything with vitamins or protein." After assigning tasks to his underlings, Zhang Jie looked at Lin Tu and the woman beside her... and simply ignored Lin Tu altogether. "Xiaoying, go with Little Li, or grab daily necessities. We'll meet at the southwest exit!"

The group scattered, leaving only Yi Ying, Little Li, and Lin Tu.

"I'll go with you," Yi Ying said to Little Li, then turned to Lin Tu with a wary look. "What about you?"

Lin Tu waved her hand. "I really won't be tagging along."

Her supplies were plenty. She'd only come to the supermarket to blend in and not stand out, and to browse for anything she might be missing—maybe a few snacks and treats to tide her over.

Come to think of it, the local moisturizer she'd bought in the frozen wasteland last time was genuinely good. Lin Tu decided to look around this supermarket for quality local brands. Maybe she'd strike gold again.

Already talking, she went to grab a cart. Compared to the frantic crowd around her, she looked exceptionally relaxed.

And that ease made Yi Ying uneasy—she'd bet Lin Tu was being selfish, grabbing what she needed and skipping the team work. Later, when she ran out of stuff, she'd just come mooch off their haul.

Then she watched Lin Tu stroll slowly away from the crowd, heading toward the skincare counter.

Yi Ying: Called it.

She frowned in irritation, but also a little jealousy. She wanted skincare products too. God knew how much it pained a beauty-loving girl to watch her skin turn rough and dry without proper care. But skincare sold for a fortune on the black market, and every time she wanted to stock up during a disaster, she never dared to split from the team on her own. So now she only had a single jar of heavy-duty face cream, which she had to ration carefully, let alone consumables like face wash.

Watching Lin Tu wander through a sea of skincare products, picking things freely, Yi Ying felt her longing hit its peak.

"Maybe..." Little Li had already urged her on. She hesitated, then said, "You go on ahead. I'll just grab some daily necessities first." Face wash, body wash—those were daily necessities too. Taking one or two bottles couldn't hurt.

Little Li suspected nothing and nodded eagerly.

About three hours later, the group regrouped.

Two of them had already pulled over five or six hand trucks stacked with cases of bottled water and beverages. Zhang Jie and Luo Yongzhi had empty hands, but judging by their heavy breathing, they'd loaded a good amount into the Single-Use Backpack. Little Li pulled five or six carts of dried fruit, jerky, canned food, and snacks.

Zhang Jie looked at them with satisfaction, then his gaze fell on Lin Tu and Yi Ying at the back.

Both pushed a single cart. Lin Tu's cart was filled with chips of all flavors, vacuum-packed braised duck tongue, chicken feet, duck wings, tendons, and other snacks in painfully small portions, skincare products, and a beautifully crafted set of bowls and chopsticks. She lazily sucked on a lollipop, and apparently finding it tasty, she'd even tossed a plastic jar full of lollipops into the cart!

These supplies weren't just useless—they were completely, utterly useless!

Zhang Jie swallowed his anger and turned to Yi Ying's cart—

Dammit! His fury finally boiled over. Yi Ying's cart actually had a few damn jars of face cream and face wash too. Was Lin Tu a contagious disease? Even the most obedient Yi Ying had suddenly started doing this!

"Wow, Sister Lin," Luo Yongzhi said admiringly, "this cart of yours looks absolutely delicious. Check out that giant bag of spicy strips. Your end-of-the-world life always makes me jealous."

His approval of her taste made Lin Tu hum lightly. She tossed him a pack of spicy strips, which he caught happily.

Seeing that Luo Yongzhi showed no sign of disapproval, Yi Ying relaxed a little. Her cart was all useful supplies, just two or three bottles of skincare... well, it seemed her teammates wouldn't say anything about it.

Just as she was thinking that, Zhang Jie stormed over, face red with rage.

"Why are you women all—" his voice rose, but mid-sentence he caught Lin Tu's icy glance from the corner of his eye. Remembering how she could curse without mercy, he faltered for a moment. "How could you do this! Are these useful things?" He grabbed the face wash and face cream from the cart and shouted.

Yi Ying felt droplets of spit splatter on her face and froze.

Zhang Jie slammed the bottles to the ground, kicking them aside in frustration, and sneered, "Don't learn bad habits from other people! Or you'll end up dead and not even know how! Why can't you just listen to me? You weren't like this before!"

Yi Ying had never been scolded like this so mercilessly. Flustered, she gripped the cart handle, her knuckles turning white.

"I'm... I'm sorry." She looked helplessly at Lin Tu, who was sucking on a lollipop. She knew Zhang Jie's words weren't just aimed at her—they were pointed at Lin Tu too. But Lin Tu seemed completely unaffected by Zhang Jie, watching him like he was a street performer.

"Forget it, it's fine," Zhang Jie softened, as if appeased by Yi Ying's apology. He casually patted her head. "Don't do it again, got it? Be a good girl. Do what I say, and you'll be fine."

Yi Ying nodded, head bowed.

The group began stuffing everything into Zhang Jie's Single-Use Backpack. Lin Tu had no intention of wasting points on a backpack. She ambled over to the counter to pay, bagging two huge plastic sacks of snacks that were wider than her. With her strength, she hoisted one in each hand with ease, even finding the leisure to twirl her lollipop in her mouth. Luo Yongzhi stood by, feeling utterly useless.

Back at their lodgings, the group split up. Lin Tu returned to her safe house with her haul, cranked up the air conditioning, and happily organized her supplies.

There were a few packs of new doggy chew sticks among them. Lin Tu tossed one to Xiao Huang, who had been trying to gnaw on the shelf in boredom. The golden retriever caught the new scent and immediately settled down to chew contentedly.

After tidying up, Lin Tu nestled comfortably in her chair, doodling and writing. Around five or six in the evening, just as she was getting up to prepare dinner, she heard a commotion outside.

The noise came from the neighborhood. Lin Tu cracked open the window to listen.

As it turned out, the power had gone out in the area around two or three in the afternoon. They said it was a wiring issue and it'd be fixed soon. But then, an hour or two later, the water went out too—and the power still hadn't come back.

In this heat, no power, no water? That was a death sentence.

People poured out of their apartment buildings, ignoring the advisories to stay indoors. "We need to go where there's power and water!"