Apocaly Utopi apocaly utop

Chapter 13 Mutation

Her memory seemed to have been diluted, boiled into a pot of porridge, blurry and muddled. She only remembered that she had been lying in bed, asleep, gradually feeling hotter and thirstier... A man’s gentle voice inquired beside her, and she quickly grabbed his hand, whispering in response, "I’m so thirsty..."

——Her eyes snapped open, and for a moment, Emma thought she would see a pale face again. She sat up abruptly, shaking her head, and in the faint light, she took in her surroundings.

The usually bustling supermarket, where she occasionally came to buy imported snacks, now seemed lifeless—dim, silent, and in complete disarray.

A thin white woman, her face buried in her thick red hair, was fast asleep. On the other side of Shirley lay a fair and delicate young man, who, hearing Emma’s movements, opened his eyes slightly.

"Are you awake?" Jack asked groggily, glancing at the clock on the supermarket wall. "Oh, it’s already past six in the evening?"

Shirley, awakened by their voices, rubbed her eyes tiredly and sat up. "No wonder I’m so hungry..." Emma heard her stomach growling. She took a sip of water and murmured, "That little mummy has quieted down, hasn’t it?"

Indeed, the direction of the staff room was eerily silent, and the shelves still blocked the door as if Wang Ming had never appeared.

"I’ll get some food," Jack said, standing up and dragging his feet, yawning as he walked into the food section. He returned with vacuum-sealed items like duck feet and chicken legs.

After waking up, the tense and uneasy atmosphere from before had almost completely dissipated. The three of them sat in a relaxed circle, eating and chatting.

"You don’t seem like someone who’s been on the battlefield at all," Emma teased Jack, finding a pack of cookies she used to love, which lifted her spirits.

Shirley snorted at this. "Don’t even mention it. After we joined the military, I trained every day, while he, with his adaptive ability, lived a good life..."

"Come on, tell me more!" Emma laughed, pressing for details.

Hearing the two of them chattering away, Jack, with his mouth full of food, couldn’t defend himself. He gulped down some water to swallow the food, nearly choking... Suddenly, laughter, long absent, echoed through the supermarket. For a moment, it felt as if this new world wasn’t so terrifying after all.

Hearing the laughter outside, Wang Ming banged on the door, letting out a sharp cry.

The three had fallen asleep to her screams earlier and were now so accustomed to her presence that they didn’t even blink—calmly finishing their meal with Wang Ming’s piercing cries as the background noise. Jack smacked his lips, unsatisfied. "If only we could have some stir-fried dishes and rice."

This reminded Emma, who clapped her hands. "Aren’t we going upstairs to find Buck’s body later? There’s a stove in the house—it should still work. Let’s bring some rice. We might not be able to stir-fry, but at least we can make some meat porridge."

This suggestion immediately made the other two salivate. Jack was the first to jump up, energetically pulling Shirley along as they ran back and forth in the supermarket, quickly gathering the ingredients: Thai rice, bottled water, vacuum-sealed meat...

But to their disappointment, after searching the entire supermarket, they couldn’t find a flashlight. They each took a lighter instead, using it as a makeshift light source.

After resting for a few hours and estimating that it was completely dark outside, the three packed up their things and left the supermarket—locking the rolling shutter door behind them as a precaution. When they got into the elevator, they saw that the sun had indeed disappeared. The lobby on the first floor was pitch black, devoid of any life.

Unexpectedly, due to the mall’s unique structure, the heat from the sun was trapped inside the building. Without the usual cool breeze from the air conditioning, the lobby felt like a massive, sweltering sauna.

The oppressive heat was overwhelming, and within seconds, their backs were drenched in sweat. Combined with the faint stench of the pile of corpses they had moved earlier, which was now decomposing in the heat, Emma couldn’t stand being in the lobby for even a second longer. She rushed out of the mall’s entrance, finally feeling a slight breeze on her skin.

They will need to find a way to deal with the bodies soon.

The line of cars she and Jack had passed earlier that morning was still blocking the front of the mall, but unlike earlier, most of the vehicles had run out of fuel or power, lying silent and lifeless. Only a few cars, barely clinging to life, still hummed with the sound of their engines.

The line of cars was like a dying snake, motionless in the heat.

Emma led the other two quickly around the cars, not even glancing inside—she had seen enough of the dead. The apartment complex where she had once lived with Buck wasn’t far from the mall, and after about ten minutes of walking, they arrived at the building’s entrance.

Since the heatwave began, unprepared humans had died off by the tens of thousands in a single day, and the power grid, once overwhelmed, had never come back to life—now, they have to climb 38 floors on foot.

As the only man, Jack had no choice but to shoulder the heavier items like the rice and water, following the two women as he huffed and puffed up the stairs.

Although all three were so-called "evolved humans," by the time they reached the 25th floor, they were all feeling the strain—Emma, who hadn’t undergone any physical enhancements, was the first to collapse onto the stairs, waving her hand. "I can’t... I can’t go on... Let’s rest for a bit... catch our breath, have some water."

Shirley cautiously lit the area with her lighter, making sure there was nothing unusual, then opened a bottle of juice and handed it to the two sprawled on the floor.

The sweet taste of blueberries flowed down their throats, and just as Jack was about to compliment the drink, the door to the 26th-floor stairwell creaked open—

"Is someone there? Honey, is that you?" A woman’s voice, trembling with fear, called out.

In an instant, all three of them jumped to their feet, on full alert. The lesson from Wang Ming was still fresh in their minds, and without needing to say a word, Shirley barked, "Stay where you are! Don’t come any closer! Who are you?"

The woman on the 26th floor seemed surprised to hear voices below, letting out a startled gasp before replying, "I... I live here... I’m looking for my husband. Who are you?"

The three exchanged glances. Emma thought for a moment, then called out, "I’m a resident here too. Slowly walk to the edge of the stairs and show us your face."

"Ah... why?" the woman asked, but she complied, stepping closer to the stairs. All three craned their necks, using the light from Shirley’s lighter to look up.

In the orange glow, a normal, clean human woman’s face appeared over the railing. She looked to be in her thirties, wearing a crimson nightgown, her features quite striking, though her eyes were swollen, and her face was filled with fear and confusion. When she caught sight of Emma, she seemed to relax slightly. "Oh, it’s you! I’ve seen you downstairs before!"

Emma had no memory of her. But since she wasn’t one of the Fallen Ones, the three lowered their guard and climbed up to her.

The woman seemed relieved to see Emma, quickly saying, "You probably don’t remember me, but I’ve seen you a few times. You and your boyfriend always take walks downstairs. He’s tall and handsome, right?" As she spoke, her eyes flicked to Jack, the only man present, and then to Shirley, clearly confused but tactfully not asking any questions. She introduced herself, "My name’s Kong, Lucky. Have you seen my husband?"

Emma could barely remember the last time she’d seen a normal, living person. She didn’t want to bring up Buck at all, but before she could speak, Jack chimed in, "... Ms. Kong, what does your husband look like? Wasn’t he with you at home?"

This brought tears to Lucky’s eyes. "Last night, we went to bed together. But in the middle of the night, the power went out, and I woke up from the heat. When I looked, my husband was gone... only his pajamas were left on the bed. He must have gone out, but I don’t know where... I didn’t dare move around during the day..."

It seemed like it had been a long time since Lucky had seen another living person, and she was on the verge of pouring out all her emotions. "You tell me, how could the weather have turned so terrifying... I went downstairs to look for the security guards, but they were either unconscious or dead, all lying on the ground... it scared me..."

Emma nodded sympathetically as she listened, but suddenly felt a gentle tug on her sleeve. She turned to see Shirley giving her a meaningful look.

Shirley had just leaned in to whisper in Emma’s ear when Jack, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, stepped forward, blocking her from Lucky’s view.

"We’re here for Buck’s body. We can’t let her follow us; it’ll complicate things," Shirley murmured.

Indeed, given Lucky’s state, seeing the body would only cause unnecessary trouble. Emma nodded, then called out to Lucky, "Ms. Kong, I need to go upstairs to get some clothes. Why don’t you go back home and rest for now? We’ll come find you later and figure out what to do, okay?"

A familiar face seemed to carry some weight, as Lucky agreed immediately.

"By the way, do you need some water..." Emma glanced at Lucky’s dry lips and reached for the half-empty bottle of juice.

"Ah, I... I, no..." Lucky suddenly hesitated, her eyes darting around. "Well, I mean, okay, I’ll have some. Thank you!"

Even without the two who had been on the battlefield, Emma, who had faced life-and-death situations herself, was highly perceptive—Lucky’s behavior immediately put all three of them on edge, their eyes fixed firmly on her.