Last Days On Earth

Chapter 18: Foothold (1)

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Time flowed by little by little. Ye Ke needed to move. Historical experience warned him of the night. No matter when and where, nighttime was where dangers frequented. He needed to vacate into a safe place urgently, if possible.

He could not possibly stay in the throes of the garbage can all the time. There were too many microorganism bacterias hidden. Sooner or later he’d get sick and not to mention, he had no medicine, be it over the counter or prescribed, to fight off against the sickness if it chooses to so wholly attack him.

Putting the matters aside, there were many supermarkets, restaurants, and internet cafes nearby as the university was situated at a close proximity to them, but much to Ye Ke’s dismay, almost all the doors were locked. As for the open doors, he dared not to look.

It was like the wild where two caves enamored you to search and explore. One was blocked by a huge boulder yet signified safety the other open yet exuded an eerie chill of hidden dangers.

Which would you choose?

The unknown too often represented dangers. Who knows what laid inside. As for the other, you know it’s safe so it’s only right you’d want to dive right in. Although the expenditure takes time and effort, you know it’s worth it.

He is like this now. Though the supermarket was locked from the inside possibly with iron chains, Ye Ke knew it was an absolute safe haven. He could make it his temporary fort. There would probably be one or two of the corpses inside. No big deal. He’ll take care of them right away.

When people relax, they’d find it difficult to return to their previous state.

Ye Ke felt that every step taken forward was a painful thing. When he stumbles into a corpse not too far away, he’d slow down, pace himself slowly, waiting and waiting for the corpse to move. Sometimes he’d stop for ten minutes, sometimes an hour, sometimes even longer.

By the time he found a medium-sized supermarket, it was already afternoon.

The name of the supermarket was called “Xiao Lin’s Cheap Supermarket”. He found it in the street corner and with a twinkling eye, Ye Ke moved towards the supermarket very slowly.

Stopping at the supermarket front entrance, he moved around, carefully observing his surrounding areas.

There were corpses at twelve o’clock, nine o’clock, and three o’clock, all of which add up to a total of nine corpses.

It’s not too far off from him but so long as he remains quiet, they would not be attracted to him.

Holding the bottom buckle of the garbage can with one hand, Ye Ke lifted it to a certain height. He stretched out the other hand and bent his arms out, fingers regularly tapping on the glass door.

He could not see from the inside. The supermarket front door entrance was coiled with thick iron chains. Not only that, myriads of boxes, cabinets, shelves, and so forth blocked the front door entrance.

Tap… tap… tap…

Tap… tap… tap…

Ye Ke tapped on the front door entrance three short intervals, a universal distress signal evolved from the Morse Code. The distress signal could be used for anything to send information via flashlights, honking of the horn of the car, or even a gunshot.

He hoped someone on the other side would be able to understand the distress signal sent.

Besides, the corpses would never be able to make such a rhythmic beat.

After tapping three consecutive times, Ye Ke paused a moment, carefully observing the surrounding situation. About five minutes in, there was finally a movement on the other side.

He watched as the shelves moved about slowly.

A sense of excitement bubbled in his heart.

Eventually, a carton box in the middle of the front door entrance was removed, revealing the face of a little girl with long black hair sprawled messily. Her face looked as if she hadn’t washed herself for several days. But no matter, her whole entirety was decadent. If cleaned up, she should be a beautiful girl.

She looked around seemingly, attempting to find the source of the sound. Ye Ke moved the garbage can a little and extended a few fingers out from the hole to grab the attention of the little girl.

“What’s going on?” A rough voice said. It came from someone who looked to be strong. Though the voice was low, Ye Ke could hear it sound and clear.

“There’s a person outside hiding in the green trash can.” The little girl looked away, her face overflowing with fear.

Because there were obstacles blocking the front entrance door, Ye Ke could not see the appearance of the man. Though based on the sound, he could tell the little girl was weak. It wasn’t low like the man, but weakly low as if she’d not eaten enough for several days straight.

“Scram! There’s nothing here for you, you little fucker!” When the other party heard from the little girl it was a person, the strong voice suddenly boiled with anger.

Ye Ke saw a big hand grabbing the little girl to pull her back. Then suddenly, a middle-aged, fat-headed face with big ears and deep red nose appeared in the place the little girl was at originally.

Ye Ke’s heart grew bitter for a short while. He did not think the people from the other side would be resistant. At most he believed they’d be willing to let in someone for a help of hand.

Sighing inwardly, his mind was brought back to thinking of the beautiful flower… that lovely girl.

The middle-aged man looked left and right then straight towards the garbage can.

“Who are you?”

“I escaped from the university nearby. Would you let me in? Do you need any help? I’m not infected nor do I have any weapons in my body.”

Putting aside his melancholic predicament, he was in a much better position to help out survivors. As selective survival goes, he was able to survive thus far proving that Ye Ke had the skills necessary to survive in the current world.

“We don’t need anyone here. You should go. Scram!” The middle-aged man looked at the garbage can as if the person inside was a useless thing.

“Ah, and don’t make a noise again. If you do it one more time, I’ll make a ruckus and bring those things over.”