"How disgusting..."
Qiao Jiajin frowned at the filthy things on the floor.
"This stench that hits you in the face, it couldn't be excrement, could it?"
Excrement?
Qi Xia suddenly turned his head to look at Qiao Jiajin. That was a very interesting point. In other words, besides the nine of them and the animal masks, there were other people here.
Or perhaps... other "things." This person or "thing" seemed to have been living here for a long time, otherwise it couldn't have left the floor covered in excrement. Everyone searched around but couldn't find any needles, thread, or gauze at all.
And outside the convenience store, there were no pharmacies or clinics to be seen. If they went out to search blindly, Han Yimo probably wouldn't last that long.
"What do we do now..."
Officer Li placed his hands on his hips and looked helplessly at Doctor Zhao, as if seeking his opinion. Before Doctor Zhao could speak, a noise came from behind the convenience store's checkout counter, and the door to the staff break room slowly swung open.
The nine of them turned pale with fright and immediately took a few steps back, staring at the slowly opening door. A frail figure emerged from behind the door. Taking a closer look, they saw it was a girl so thin she barely looked human.
It was impossible to tell her age. Her cheeks were deeply sunken and her eyes bulged outward, as if all the flesh had vanished from her face. She pursed her cracked lips and looked at them with curiosity.
After a brief daze, she seemed to come to her senses. She hurriedly straightened her dirty, tattered clothes and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Welcome..."
Welcome...?
Officer Li carefully considered the meaning of her words and seemed to understand.
"Are you... the clerk?"
The girl nodded.
"Mmm."
No one else spoke, because the whole situation felt absurd. Never mind why another human was here; even if she really was the "clerk," why would she be working in a completely dilapidated convenience store? Seeing that they weren't moving, the clerk could only say tentatively, "Please, feel free to choose."
Although she said that, was there any room for "choosing" here? The shelves were nearly empty of products. The few things left were all rotten and covered in filth.
The clerk's eyes were vacant as she stared fixedly at them. Her gaze made a few of the girls a little scared.
"Do you have a needle and thread?"
Qi Xia asked the clerk, his expression unchanging.
"A needle... and thread?"
The clerk's lifeless eyes twitched slightly. Then she held out her hand, mimicking the motion of threading a needle.
"You mean... this kind of needle and thread?"
Only then did everyone notice that her hands were covered in dried, dark bloodstains, a horrifying sight. Qi Xia took another step forward and said, "Yes, that kind of needle and thread. Do you sell it?"
"Con man, you..."
Before Qiao Jiajin met Qi Xia, he thought he was the bravest person in the world, but now even he didn't dare speak to this woman.
"This woman isn't normal, can't you see?"
"So what if I can see?"
Qi Xia said calmly.
"Our situation can't get any worse than it is now."
The female clerk thought blankly for another moment, then suddenly opened the divider at the counter and rushed out. Only then did everyone get a clear look at her. She was wearing a dirty, oversized white shirt that looked as out of place on her as clothes hanging on a coat hanger.
It was smeared with something unknown; it felt like grease, but also like blood. The shirt reached almost to her knees, and it seemed she wasn't wearing any pants underneath. Her thighs were covered in dried bloodstains.
Qi Xia frowned slightly and tried to take a step back, but the female clerk seized his wrist in a tight grip. He felt as if his wrist had been wrapped by an old tree vine, withered and painful.
"I have it here!!"
The female clerk opened her mouth, revealing yellowed teeth.
"I have 'needle and thread'! Come with me!"
Her hand kept pointing toward the "staff break room," as if she wanted Qi Xia to go in with her. Everyone was truly frightened by her. Judging by the woman's current behavior, following her inside was not a good idea.
"Forget it... we're not buying!"
Qiao Jiajin stepped forward and tried to pull the woman's hand away.
"Let go of him first."
But the female clerk acted as if she hadn't heard him. She dragged Qi Xia along, a happy smile on her face.
"There's 'needle and thread' in this room! Come on!"
Her strength was even greater than that of Qiao Jiajin and Qi Xia, two grown men, combined.
"Hey!! Hurry up and help!"
Qiao Jiajin turned and yelled. Officer Li and Doctor Zhao snapped back to their senses and rushed over as well. The female clerk couldn't help but quicken her pace.
Qi Xia could only feel an immense force dragging him, making it impossible to break free. They weren't far from the staff break room to begin with, and in just five or six steps, they were already through the doorway. Doctor Zhao and Officer Li were pulling Qi Xia outward when, unexpectedly, the female clerk suddenly let go.
"Ah!"
With a cry of surprise, several of them nearly fell over. After they all steadied themselves, they saw that the female clerk wasn't paying them any mind. Instead, she had turned back and was rummaging through boxes and cabinets in the room, looking for something.
The four men, still shaken, sized up the room. It was slightly cleaner in here than outside. In a corner stood a folding bed, its bedding yellowed with age.
On it was a large pool of blood, which looked relatively fresh. In another corner, a simple stove held a rust-spotted iron pot, inside which something was bubbling away as it cooked. The female clerk, however, turned a blind eye to all of this and was currently rummaging through an old chest.
"Where is it... needle and thread..."
She kept tossing things out of the chest. There were soda cans, old magazines, and some pots and pans. Qiao Jiajin rubbed his nose and looked at the iron pot.
"Speaking of which, I'm actually pretty hungry," he said quietly to Qi Xia.
"It'd be great if she weren't a madwoman. I'd want to ask if I could bum a meal off her."
Qi Xia glanced at the iron pot. A white object was cooking inside. He felt a little hungry too.
"You'd dare eat something from this place?"
Officer Li asked.
"Who knows how filthy that thing is..."
"But it smells so fragrant."
Qiao Jiajin was right. Thanks to this iron pot, the room was filled with a pleasant aroma that covered up the stench.
"What are you cooking?"
Qiao Jiajin asked boldly. It seemed he really wanted to try a bite.
"A piglet," the female clerk replied.
"A piglet?"
Qiao Jiajin's interest was piqued. Just as he was about to go over to the iron pot to have a look, the female clerk cried out in surprise.
"Ah! I found it!"
She turned around, holding an object in both hands, and said excitedly to the group, "Look! Needle and thread!" Officer Li stepped forward to look, and his expression became a bit troubled.
This was no "needle and thread," but a rusty fishhook and a small, tangled bundle of fishing line. He turned to look at Doctor Zhao, signaling him with his eyes. Doctor Zhao thought for a moment, then stared at the fishhook and line and asked, "Miss, do you have any other needle and thread?"
"No more," the female clerk shook her head.
"This is all I have. Are you buying it?"