The Doomsday Paradise

Chapter 13: Another evolution

Memories seemed to have been diluted like water added to a thick porridge, vague and muddled. She only recalled that she had been lying in bed, sleeping, gradually becoming hotter and thirstier... A man's gentle inquiry sounded nearby, and she hastily grasped his hand, responding in a low voice, "I'm so thirsty..."

—Abruptly, her eyes snapped open. For a moment, Lin Sanjiu thought she would see another pale face. She quickly sat up, shook her head, and by the dim light, she recognized her surroundings.

The beautiful supermarket she used to visit occasionally to buy imported snacks seemed lifeless, dim, and quiet, in a mess.

A thin white woman, her face buried in her lush red hair, was fast asleep. Next to Mather, lay a fair-skinned and handsome young man who, upon hearing Lin Sanjiu's movements, slightly opened his eyes.

"Are you awake?" Lu Ze, just awakened, mumbled. He glanced at the clock on the supermarket wall, "Oh, it's already past six in the evening?"

Mather, awakened by their conversation, also rubbed her eyes wearily and sat up. "No wonder I'm hungry..." Lin Sanjiu heard her stomach rumbling and murmured after taking a sip of water, "That little mummy has quieted down too."

Indeed, the direction of the staff room was silent, and the shelves were still blocking the door, as if Wang Sisi had never appeared.

Lu Ze said, "I'll get some food," then got up, dragging his feet and yawning as he walked into the food section, returning with some vacuum-packed foods like duck feet and chicken legs.

The uneasy and tense atmosphere from before sleep had almost completely dissipated. The three sat in a relaxed circle, eating and chatting.

"I must say, you don't seem like someone who's been to war at all," Lin Sanjiu found a pack of cookies she used to love and teased Lu Ze in high spirits.

Mather snorted upon hearing this, "Don't even mention it. After we joined the army, I was training every day, but he, relying on his ability to transform, lived a very comfortable life..."

"Hey, tell me more!" Lin Sanjiu pressed with a smile.

Hearing the two chatting, Lu Ze, with his mouth full of food, couldn't defend himself at all, which made him quite anxious. He hastily took a big gulp of water, trying to swallow the food, and almost choked... Immediately, the long-lost laughter echoed in the supermarket. The group laughed and joked, feeling for a moment as if this new world wasn't so terrifying.

Hearing the laughter outside, Wang Sisi, unwilling, slammed the door and let out a sharp cry.

The three had fallen asleep to her screams in the morning and had long since become accustomed to her presence, not even blinking an eye—they finished eating calmly, accompanied by Wang Sisi's harsh background noise. Lu Ze, still unsatisfied, smacked his lips: "If only we could eat stir-fried rice with dishes."

This remark immediately made the others salivate. Lu Ze was the first to jump up, full of energy, pulling Mather to run around the supermarket. In no time, they had prepared the ingredients: Thai rice, mineral water, vacuum-packed meat...

But to their disappointment, they couldn't find a flashlight in the entire supermarket. The three had to make do with a lighter each for illumination.

After resting for a few hours, guessing that it should be completely dark outside, they packed their things and left the supermarket—making sure to lock the rolling door behind them. Upon entering the elevator, they saw that the sun had indeed disappeared, and the lobby on the first floor was dark and lifeless.

What they didn't expect was that due to the special structure of the shopping center, the heat from the sun was trapped inside the building. Without the air conditioning, the lobby had become a huge, high-temperature steamer.

This uncomfortable heat was very aggressive, soaking their backs with sweat in just a few seconds. Coupled with the faint smell of the corpses they had moved out in the morning, which began to emanate under the high temperature, Lin Sanjiu couldn't bear to stay on the first floor for a second longer and rushed out of the shopping center's door, finally feeling a slight breeze on her skin.

It seemed necessary to find a way to dispose of the bodies as soon as possible.

The line of cars they had passed through early in the morning was still blocking the front of the shopping center. Unlike the morning, most of the vehicles had run out of fuel and were lifelessly silent. Only a few cars were still barely running, their engines buzzing.

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

Lin Sanjiu led the two quickly across the road, not even glancing at the cars—for the dead, she had seen enough. The community where she used to live with Ren Nan was not far from the shopping center. After about ten minutes of walking, they arrived at the bottom of the 38th-floor apartment building.

Since the arrival of the high temperature, unprepared humans had died almost 70-80% within a day, and the once paralyzed power grid had never lit up again—now they had to climb to the 38th floor on foot.

As the only male, Lu Ze had no choice but to carry the heavy items like rice and water, following the two women and panting as he climbed the stairs.

Although the three were so-called "evolved humans," by the time they reached the 25th floor, they were really struggling—Lin Sanjiu, who had not undergone physical enhancement, was the first to collapse on the stairs, waving her hand repeatedly: "I can't, I can't, let's take a break... catch our breath, have some water."

Mather cautiously lit the surroundings with a lighter, saw that there was nothing unusual, and then twisted open a bottle of juice, handing it to the two sitting on the floor.

The sweet taste of blueberries flowed down the throat and into the body. Lu Ze was about to compliment the drink when the door to the 26th-floor stairwell creaked open—

"Is anyone there? Husband, is that you?" A female voice with a hint of fear trembled and echoed.

In less than a second, all three jumped up, fully alert. The lesson from Wang Sisi was still fresh in their minds. Without needing to say more, Mather already sternly warned, "Stay there and don't come over! Who are you?"

The woman on the 26th floor didn't expect there to be people downstairs and was startled, letting out an "ah," before she said a bit shaken, "I, I live here... I'm out looking for my husband. Who are you?"

The three exchanged glances. Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment and said loudly, "I'm also a resident here. You slowly walk to the side of the stairs and show us your face."

"Ah... why is that necessary?" The woman said while still doing as told, step by step, walking to the side of the stairs. All three craned their necks, looking up by the light of Mather's lighter.

In the orange-red light, the face of a normal, clean human woman appeared on the handrail. She looked to be in her thirties, wearing a scarlet nightgown, with quite a bit of charm between her eyebrows, but her red eyes and a face full of fear and helplessness were unmistakable—she glanced at Lin Sanjiu and suddenly seemed to relax: "Ah, it's you, I've seen you downstairs before!"

Lin Sanjiu had no recollection of her. But since she wasn't a degenerate, the group let down their guard and went upstairs.

The woman seemed to feel very close to Lin Sanjiu and quickly said to her, "You probably haven't noticed me, but I've seen you several times, you and your boyfriend always take walks downstairs. He's tall and very handsome, right?" Speaking of this, her gaze shifted to the only male, Lu Ze, then looked at Mather, obviously very confused, but she sensibly didn't ask anything, only introducing herself: "My surname is Kong, Kong Yun. Have you seen my husband?"

Lin Sanjiu could hardly remember the last time she saw a normal living person. She didn't want to mention Ren Nan at all and was about to speak when Lu Ze said, "…Sister Kong, what does your husband look like? Isn't he at home with you?"

This made Kong Yun's tears well up immediately: "Last night, we went to bed together. But in the middle of the night, there was a sudden power outage, and I was woken up by the heat. I looked again, and my husband was gone... Only his pajamas were left on the bed. He must have come out; I just don't know where... I didn't dare to move during the day..."

Probably because she hadn't seen a living person for a long time, Kong Yun had a tendency to vent her emotions: "You say, how could this damn weather become so terrifying... I went downstairs to look for the security guard, and I don't know if they were fainting or dead, all lying on the ground, scaring, scaring me..."

Lin Sanjiu listened and nodded comfortingly when she suddenly felt her clothes being gently tugged. She turned her head and saw Mather giving her a meaningful look.

Mather had just leaned close to Lin Sanjiu's ear when Lu Ze, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, took a timely step forward, perfectly blocking her, so Kong Yun didn't notice anything amiss.

"We're heading upstairs for Ren Nan's body; we can't let her follow and cause unnecessary trouble," Mather whispered.

Indeed, judging by Kong Yun's appearance, if she saw the body, it would only cause unnecessary trouble. Lin Sanjiu nodded and said loudly to Kong Yun, "Sister Kong, I'm going upstairs to get some clothes now. How about this, you go home and rest first, and when we come down later, we'll come to find you and see what to do, okay?"

It seemed that a familiar face was very effective, and Kong Yun agreed immediately.

"By the way, do you need to replenish some fluids..." Lin Sanjiu glanced at her dry lips and reached for the half bottle of juice left earlier.

"Ah, I, I, I don't..." Kong Yun suddenly hesitated, stammering and shifting her gaze around. "Well, I mean, okay, I'll have some. Thank you!"

Not to mention the two who had been to war, even Lin Sanjiu, who had been around death twice, had keen senses—the three of them couldn't help but stare intently at her.