Chapter 29: Departure to Yida Mall

In the early morning, a group of 43 people gathered at the city gate, each member carrying three days' worth of rations as a precaution against any unforeseen circumstances.

With the fear of zombies lifted, both search teams have expanded to 15 members each. If it weren't for Ye Zian's restrictions on numbers, the teams would have more members.

The primary reason for limiting the number of search team members is that exceeding 15 would greatly reduce mobility and easily attract the attention of zombie hordes.

In addition to the two search teams, An Ziyu also brought ten new recruits to participate in the search mission today.

The incentive of earning 100 points for attendance had many people eager to join.

After careful consideration, and acknowledging An Ziyu's evident strength, Ye Zian allowed her to lead some of the new recruits on nearby simple training tasks.

Equipped to the teeth, the convoy set out in ten heavy trucks, heading toward the Yida Mall, located three kilometers away.

On the way, any zombies blocking the path were crushed under the heavy trucks. The massive convoy's passage caused many survivors in nearby houses to cry out for help, but Ye Zian ordered the convoy to ignore them.

The fortress needed high-quality individuals; the senseless shouting would only attract the attention of nearby zombies.

The three kilometers passed quickly, and before long, the convoy arrived. Just before reaching the destination, Ye Zian instructed the convoy to circle around the nearby houses to shake off the zombie horde trailing behind.

The Yida Mall, with its four prominent red signs, came into view. As the largest comprehensive mall in the area, it held an enormous amount of supplies, enough to feed the more than two hundred residents of the fortress for several years.

The security gate of the mall was tightly closed, indicating that no one had opened it. However, Ye Zian cautioned:

"Although the mall was closed for business when the apocalypse began, we still need to be wary of possible zombies or other survivors inside."

Looking at the thick shutter door, made of evenly spaced metal alloys, Ye Zian noted that each alloy was as thick as a thumb. Even with his sharp Tang knife, he wouldn't necessarily be able to damage this metal.

However, that didn't stump Ye Zian; after a moment of thought, he came up with a solution.

After taking that SS-grade potential enhancement potion, Ye Zian's control over his strength had reached a new level.

He gripped two of the metal alloys tightly and forcibly bent them to create a sizable gap.

Sure enough, it worked.

Following this, Ye Zian continued to bend the center of the shutter door, creating a space large enough for an adult to pass through.

The team members behind him were left in awe, their jaws dropped. It was known that each alloy could withstand at least 700 kilograms of pressure, yet their leader had bent it with sheer strength.

If that had fallen on someone else, it would have certainly been fatal.

Inside the mall was pitch dark, so dark that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face. However, Ye Zian had anticipated this and took out several powerful flashlights from his storage space to illuminate the dim interior.

The team had long since grown accustomed to Ye Zian's extraordinary capabilities.

Anna was the second to enter. She surveyed the surroundings and noticed some peculiar marks on the ground. Crouching down for a closer look, she said:

"Boss, there are people inside the mall."

She pointed to several muddy footprints on the ground that led toward the escalators.

"Judging by these footprints, there are likely seven or eight adult males."

Ye Zian had no doubt about Anna's professional assessment; it appeared that there were indeed survivors inside the mall.

He looked around and spotted the mall's directory not far from the entrance, which clearly displayed the locations of various stores.

The basement level housed a supermarket, the first and second floors were for clothing stores, the third and fourth floors had various dining establishments, the fifth floor was home to electronics and computer stores, the sixth floor featured a cinema, and the seventh floor contained offices.

"The new recruits will stay at the entrance. Group A will search for electronics on the fifth floor, while Group B will collect various styles of clothing downstairs. If you encounter any suspicious individuals, you are authorized to shoot. Always prioritize your safety in any actions taken."

The training in the simulation room had not only involved fighting zombies but also replicas of the other residents within the fortress.

After issuing the orders, Ye Zian led Group A, including Chen Ruoxue, toward the nearby escalators.

Although using the escalators in a power outage could pose safety risks, Ye Zian decided it was a risk worth taking in the apocalypse. The only other way up besides the escalators was the elevator, which had long since lost power.

With his Tang knife in hand, Ye Zian forged ahead, while two team members followed behind, holding flashlights to illuminate the path ahead.

Ye Zian lowered his voice and instructed the members of Group A:

"Form groups of five and bring all unsealed electronics to the bottom of the escalator. I'll collect them later. I'll scout upstairs."

With that, Ye Zian headed toward the cinema on the sixth floor.

At the top of the escalator, he found many bags of food waste scattered about, along with opened beverage containers.

At the end of the escalator, there were several obstacles made of tables and chairs stacked up.

It seemed there were indeed survivors up there!

These obstacles, which hindered others' progress, posed no challenge for Ye Zian. With a wave, he stored the tables and chairs into his space.

Ye Zian stopped Chen Ruoxue from turning on her flashlight. Although it was pitch dark, his senses were sharp enough to detect any obstacles around.

If the opponents were ordinary people, turning on the light would eliminate his advantage.

Seeing this, Chen Ruoxue carefully followed behind Ye Zian. While her perception was not as strong as Ye Zian's, she could still manage basic night vision.

Having already seen the layout of the cinema on the sixth floor from the first floor, Ye Zian noted that there were four screening rooms on either side.

A strong smell of blood permeated the air, just as he had suspected.

Although the mall closed at midnight, the cinema on the sixth floor was operating normally on New Year's Day, with a separate elevator for entrance and exit.

Ye Zian had felt puzzled when he saw the layout; if the sixth floor was a cinema, there should have been many people watching movies during the New Year. Why was the entire mall so quiet, without a sound?

Where did the survivors go? Or were there no survivors on the upper floors?

Ye Zian initially thought they might be hiding on the top floor to avoid the zombies below, but now it seemed they had all been killed by some creature.

A cold wind swept through, prompting Ye Zian to raise his blade in defense.

The Tang knife seemed to slice through a soft object, leading Ye Zian to suspect it was some kind of creature's body, but the damage inflicted was minimal.