Ji He frantically swept through the deli section, grabbing whatever she could. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly stopped, bent down, and slipped under the counter. As expected, it was filled with gas canisters. She grinned—this was perfect. Her space needed these to upgrade. With a wave of her hand, she stored all the canisters away.

While clearing out supplies, she also found many half-prepared foods—twisted dough sticks, meatballs, meat strips—along with half-used seasonings and half a bucket of oil. Ji He wasn’t picky; she stored everything in her space.

Leaving these here without air conditioning would spoil them in no time. What a waste that would be.

After finishing with the deli section, Ji He groped her way into the frozen goods area.

It was, unsurprisingly, another neglected section.

Even if people took frozen goods, without a proper freezer, they would thaw. If they spoiled, throwing them away would be a shame, but carrying them around would be a burden.

The area was deserted, though the fridge doors were wide open, and many items had already been taken, leaving a chaotic mess.

With the power out, much of the frozen food was beginning to melt.

Ji He casually pinched an ice cream—it was already getting soft.

It was melting fast.

She wiped the sweat off her forehead and started storing everything she could find—dumplings, steamed buns, siu mai, wontons, stuffed pancakes, ice cream.

Even though each freezer only had about half its contents left, by the time she finished looting the frozen section, she was drenched in sweat.

Without air conditioning, even being underground wasn’t helping much.

It was still unbearably stuffy.

Leaning against the wall, she slowed her breathing. Taking advantage of the darkness, she quickly pulled out a bottle of water and took a sip.

She knew very well that the temperature outside was over 50°C. Without proper training, she wouldn’t last long under the scorching sun.

Unless there was an immediate danger, it was best to stay inside the mall until the sun wasn’t as harsh.

She had plenty of time—she could grab more supplies from the supermarket.

The sounds of people looting and screaming echoed through the aisles.

After resting for a while, Ji He continued feeling her way forward in the darkness. She soon arrived at the seasoning section, which wasn’t particularly crowded.

These seasonings were valuable, with many different brands available. Ji He hadn’t bought much before—only the essentials. Things like spice mixes for braised chicken or Sichuan boiled fish had been skipped.

Now that she had the chance, she wasn’t going to miss out.

Perhaps people still had some sense of shame—no one was using flashlights, so everyone was rummaging in the dark.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Ji He gathered a large haul of seasonings. She wasn’t sure exactly what she grabbed—she’d check later.

Moving forward after collecting the spices, she spotted jams and canned fruits—something her space didn’t have yet.

There weren’t many left on the shelves, just a few bottles, but she took them all.

Jams were great for supplementing vitamins and sugar.

If the apocalypse really did come, these could also be valuable for trade.

Feeling satisfied, Ji He moved on to the instant food section. She reached out to grab something—empty.

Huh?

She tried again—still empty?

She turned on her flashlight.

The shelves were completely bare!

Refusing to believe it, she searched more carefully. Only the very top and bottom shelves still had a few overlooked items.

They were mostly spicy foods—like snail noodles—and some Xinjiang-style stir-fried noodles that required additional cooking.

Her mouth twitched. These people sure knew what would last the longest!

Sighing, Ji He took everything anyway. Others might avoid spicy food, but she didn’t mind—she’d eat it slowly.

Continuing forward, she reached the beverage section, where a large crowd was still frantically looting.

All the bottled water was gone, though there were still some other drinks left.

Moving in the dark, Ji He collected as much as she could.

Drinks were expensive—she hadn’t splurged on them before. Her space only had a few bottles.

This new stock wouldn’t grant her unlimited access to drinks, but at least she could indulge herself occasionally.

Further ahead was the daily necessities section, which was nearly empty of people. Most were focused on grabbing food—supplies like toiletries weren’t a priority yet.

After all, food was the most urgent concern. People weren’t desperate for these items yet.

Ji He didn’t hesitate. She grabbed laundry detergent, high-end shampoos, and sanitary pads, stuffing them all into her space.

If she had known she’d have this opportunity, she wouldn’t have wasted money buying these things earlier!

Though she thought this, her hands didn’t slow down.

She had no grand ambitions—just enough daily necessities to last a lifetime. If the city became truly unlivable, she could always retreat into the deep mountains and live alone.

After finishing up in the daily necessities section, she didn’t waste any time resting. She quickly made her way back through the supermarket in the dark.

The supermarket was one of the most crowded places—staying here wasn’t safe.

With everything stored away, there was no reason to linger. She needed to find a safe place.

Ji He moved cautiously, avoiding people as much as possible. But there was only one exit, and the closer she got, the more people she encountered.

And the more fights she saw.

Many who had failed to grab food were now directly robbing others’ shopping carts.

In just a short while, Ji He witnessed three fights—people nearly beating each other to a pulp.

If someone had told her this would happen just this morning, no one would have believed it!

Some nearby people noticed Ji He, but seeing that she was only holding a large stainless steel basin, they quickly lost interest.

After all, everyone had plenty of those at home—not worth fighting over.

Ji He placed the basin on her head like a helmet and squeezed through the crowd as quickly as she could.

By now, the rabble-rouser who had been stirring up the crowd at the supermarket entrance was gone, and people were noticeably calmer, though still wary of each other.

A pool of fresh red blood stained the ground near the entrance. Many people were carefully stepping around it, pushing their carts toward the escalator.

The power was out, so they had no choice but to haul their goods up by hand.

Ji He glanced at the escalator and then turned away.

She wasn’t planning to go upstairs just yet. It was bound to be crowded up there—not safe for someone alone like her.

She continued up the stairs cautiously.

She wanted to return to the sleep experience center—no one would be there.

Moving carefully, she climbed the stairs.

The stairwell was eerily silent. She had no idea where everyone had gone.

Reaching the sleep experience center’s floor, Ji He didn’t go in immediately. She hadn’t forgotten about the two official players who had been in the pharmaceutical store.

She crouched at the entrance, listening.

Silence.

Only after confirming there was no sound inside did she cautiously slip in, staying low.

The room wasn’t completely dark—faint light from a corner window cast some visibility. Ji He crept forward carefully.

When she reached the spot where the person had been lying earlier, she frowned.

The person who had been there—was gone.

She had no idea when they had left.

Where had they gone?

Were they still inside?