Last Days On Earth

Chapter 20: Foothold (3)

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The middle-aged man peered outside through the peeled off newspaper, his one pair of eye left exposed. Looking around carefully and seeing nothing unusual occurring, the other party peeled off half of the newspaper.

“Can you let me in? I’m a university student. I’m not infected and I have no weapons. Please help me. I beg of you.” Speaking through the hole, Ye Ke pleaded anxiously.

No one was born fearless nor are they born fearless. Though his psyche was stronger than others, he nevertheless still feared the unknown. So long as he’s able to enter a safe haven, the lingering fear shadowing his back would fade in time.

The middle-aged man seemed hesitant. Frowning, he gave Ye Ke a deep look.

“You wait a minute.” He said and re-covered the newspaper in its original position.

Ye Ke was unsure whether the other party agreed to let him or not.

Inside the open 24/7 supermarket, though smaller, it was still much larger than the average store, its size about the size of a gas station which should be about fifty square meters or so.

Currently, there four people using the 24/7 supermarket as their fort. One was a young woman, another a little girl about seven or eight years old, the other in a man in a suit, and bearded middle-aged man.

“Daddy, is the monster gone?” The little girl gently took the middle-aged man’s hand and slowly lifted her head, looking at him with a pair of big bright eyes.

“Yes sweetie, it’s okay. The monster left.” He said softly and squatted down, tenderly patting the little’s girl’s head while a gentle smile plastered his lips.

“There’s a college student outside hiding in a piece of trash. I want him to come inside.” Seconds after, the middle-aged man rose to his feet and turned to the man donned in a suit while inadvertently taking a glance at the young woman and the little girl on the other side.

“You’re crazy. What if he is infected? He’ll surely eat all of us. Let him go to the other supermarket. There should be other people alive he can group himself with.” The man in suit said albeit his facial expressions said so otherwise. He looked excited. It’s as if he’d not met a person for weeks on end.

But he guessed wrong. Large supermarkets do not necessarily mean a safe placed. Supermarket chains like Wal-Mart, Lianhua, Lotte, and many others usually had several floors. The number of people who’d go there first hand for supplies and those who were infected but hadn’t yet turned would be a disaster. Absolutely no one would survive lest they were lucky.

“We’ve been here for too long. What we need now is not food but news. He’s been out there and up to now, he managed to live. Surely he must know something. He said he’s not infected so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Oh? He said he’s “not infected”? I don’t believe it. What if he’s deceiving you?” Though the man in suit looked excited, his voice was still full of warning and somewhat depressing.

“You know how your body reacts after being bitten? He’s able to get here so far. Chances of him being infected seem rather low.” The middle-aged man conjectured a point.

He looked rather calm. He carefully walked over to the front door entrance and slowly but quietly removed the blockade.

“And this shop is mine. When you were outside and you knelt down begging me to let you in pleading for help and saying you weren’t infected, I believed you. My daughter is her, I would not do anything that would put her life in danger.”

The man in suit looked unhappy. He wasn’t convinced.

“If you don’t want me to make a ruckus and bring those things over, come over and help.” He looked at the man in suit, his gaze calm and piercing. Then he turned his head back and continued removing the blockades.

The man in suit thought it over for a while before sighing deeply. He got up and walked to the middle-aged man.

Night was quickly approaching. The sun struggled to maintain its dominance in the west. Soon the moon would take over.

Neon lights with automatic power supplies suddenly lit on streets. Most of them were in dim conditions and faded out every now and then.

Ye Ke listened to sound of things moving from the inside. It gave him a rebirthed hope of life but then soon after, the pleasant sound stopped abruptly.

Ye Ke kept his cool. He chose to place his faith in the small kindling flame of hope as he kept turning around and watching any movements in his surrounding.

Finally, the obstacles blocking the door was removed. The middle-aged man peeled open the newspaper to confirm the situation outside before opening the lock with a key. A small gap opened allowing a person to pass through.

Ye Ke took off the garbage can and gently placed it back on the ground and quickly headed inside. The whole process was only three to five seconds long.

To Ye Ke, there was nothing better than breathing fresh fragrant air.

As soon as he walked in, the middle-aged man quickly locked the door and began moving the obstacles back to where they were previously.

Everything was silent.

The middle-aged man and the man in suit took two steps back and looked at Ye Ke. They were on guard and vigilant. Though they had chosen to let him in, they were still not at ease.

“Hello, my name is Ye Ke!” He did not know what he was supposed to do so instead he smiled and held out his hands, grateful from the bottom of his heart and for the rest of his life for the kindness these people had shown him in his time of weakness.

The two men did not respond nor shook hands with him. They looked at each other as if wanting to understand their intent.

“I am not infected. There is no wound or any bite marks in my body. If you do not believe it, I will show you.” Without saying anything further, Ye Ke put down his backpack and took out his coat, then his vest off.

Then he looked at the two men, somewhat hesitant but after a second or two, Ye Ke began unbuckling his belt.

“Ahhh ~ (•ﾟдﾟ•) big brother is shameless!” A childish voice sounded off from a certain corner.

Ye Ke was frightened to death. Because it was dark, the light inside was not too good. His attention was placed in front of the two people and hence failed to take notice of a young woman and a little girl in the corner.

“Sweetie, close your eyes.” The middle-aged man’s voice was low and husky. Though the voice was directed towards the little girl, his eyes not once left Ye Ke.

The young woman held the little girl in her arms and covered her eyes with her hands.

The middle-aged man pulled out a flashlight from somewhere. The light hit Ye Ke’s body and the two men carefully examined his body like a true expert in search of treasure.

The world turned upside down in a matter of moments. Ye Ke came from the outside so they could not be careless. Though the middle-aged man chose to believe him and let him in, he was more serious in the examination than the man in suit.

After all, his daughter was here. Safety precaution needed to be put in place.

At the moment, Ye Ke’s trousers fell to the hilt of his heels as he was looked at by to grown men. This was a rather awkward position for him.

“Can you take off your underwear?” The man in suit suddenly said.

Ye Ke shuddered and the young woman in the corner hurriedly closed her eyes.

“Forget it. If a man can’t take care of himself from getting bitten there, he’s better off dead.” The middle-aged man put the flashlight away and took the initiative to reach out and extend his hand. “Su Nan.”

“Ye Ke.” The two people clasped their hands together, a sign of new friendship forming.

“Li Haoran.” The man in suit though somewhat reluctant held out his hand.

He’d been thinking of his own life and not that Ye Ke had come, things would need to change. If he still donned a malic and unhappy expression, he’d surely be isolated in this group. As a smart person, he needed to adjust himself and understand the changing situation.

“Ye Ke.” In order to show respect, he repeated his name again and clasped Li Haoran’s hand.

“An Le.” The voice came from the young woman in the corner. Though she was hidden, Ye Ke could vaguely feel the woman was not bad.

“And me, my name is Su Xiaxiao.” The voice was tender and held an angelic touch of innocence. It was the warmest thing he’d heard since the world became a living hell.

“Big brother, do you have any other clothes? You smell dirty…”

Suddenly reminded of it, Ye Ke smelt the horrendous scent of his body. It was disgusting indeed. He’d been inside the trash can for almost a whole day. Who knows how much of the dirt he picked up.

Fortunately, he had an extra pair of shorts in his backpack which put in a long time ago. He’d just forgotten to take them out when loading things. How fortunate was he?

Ye Ke put his clothes on the shelves and ate some food and drank water provided by Su Nan.

He was exhausted…

Though the room brimmed with the stench and scent of his clothes, he was safe at last.