At the pharmacy, he filled a burlap sack with boxes of vitamin capsules, bandages, medical cotton, antibiotic tablets, as well as surgical instruments like hemostatic forceps and scissors.

The shoe store’s doors were wide open. In the storeroom, he tore off the packaging boxes and stuffed dozens of pairs of breathable, protective sneakers into his bag, tossing them into the vehicle.

Although it was summer, that didn’t stop him from entering a shop with a “Clearance Sale” sign at the entrance, specializing in “Erdos” down jackets. He swung his hunting knife, severing the limbs of two zombies wandering inside the store. While quickly preparing putrefactive hormone, he called out to Grace Sutton to load the clothes she fancied onto the vehicle, then left.

This city wasn’t as peaceful as it appeared on the surface. Zombies were creatures without active thought, easily attracted by other animals. A single mouse, a sparrow, could cause them to gather in a corner for a long time. Once they couldn’t find food, they would disperse again, searching for new targets.

Henry Sutton had to collect more supplies as quickly as possible. Besides the zombie hordes, much of the food would rot, and shelves left unmanaged would gather dust… If he wanted to get them, he had to act fast, as early as possible.

Chapter 7: Common Sense

“Ikea Supermarket” was located on the north side of the block, less than two kilometers from the bank office building. The store wasn’t large, but it had a complete range of goods.

Parking the armored vehicle by the roadside, Henry Sutton jumped down from the driver’s seat, vigilantly surveying the surroundings. After confirming there were no infected in sight, he fished out a key from his pocket and unlocked the chain lock on the supermarket’s rolling shutter door.

The last time he’d come, he had already cleared out all the zombies in the store. To prevent damage to the supplies and avoid another fight, he’d closed and sealed the store.

Henry Sutton hadn’t chosen a large mall with abundant supplies. Those were in busy districts, and when the virus broke out, the crowds were already extremely dense. No one could say for sure whether there were massive zombie hordes inside. Although Henry Sutton wasn’t afraid of the virus and his physical condition was being enhanced by taking Silver Bone, he didn’t want to take risks, nor did he dare to.

After all, he wasn’t a fully enhanced human yet.

Grace Sutton stood at the supermarket entrance with a riot shotgun, constantly watching the distant street, a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

The armored vehicle’s rear door was open. Henry Sutton shuttled back and forth between the vehicle and the store. Soon, the compartment was filled with bags of rice and flour, large barrels of cooking oil, and unopened boxes of canned food. He felt like a hardworking groundhog, greedily gathering everything his eyes could see: cured meat, sausages, biscuits, salt and various seasonings, candies… He didn’t even want to leave behind the rolls of toilet paper stacked by the store entrance.

There was a slight commotion behind the wall at the street corner. Grace Sutton immediately fixed her gaze there, raising the police shotgun to her chest.

Henry Sutton put down a bag of white sugar he was about to pack, quickly took the assault rifle off his shoulder, leveled it, and closely watched the circular space in the scope.

His survival experience in the future world had taught him—danger often came from those easily overlooked noises. Carelessness was the deadliest factor. No one knew where extremely dangerous lifeforms might be hiding. When they appeared or erupted, there were always some faint signs. When you couldn’t pinpoint the exact location, the best option was to leave as soon as possible.

“Start the car, now!”

Henry Sutton controlled his gun with one hand, slammed the rear door of the vehicle shut, his eyes never leaving the wall where the noise came from. Grace Sutton didn’t argue. She quickly climbed into the driver’s seat, turned the key, and started the engine. Just as Henry Sutton was about to get in and leave, a dark figure suddenly darted out from behind the wall.

“Hey! Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot! Look, I’m human, I’m human, not one of those monsters—”

It was a man of about thirty. He wore a black shirt with the sleeves rolled high, the collar open, exposing most of his chest. Maybe he was sure they wouldn’t shoot, so he raised both hands and jogged to the middle of the road, blocking the armored vehicle, waving his arms excitedly and shouting in a deliberately lowered voice, “Hey! See? I’m not a monster, not—”

Two more men came out from behind the wall, holding weapons like sticks. Like the man standing in the road, to show they meant no harm, they raised their hands and walked over quickly.

Grace Sutton had already pressed the clutch, ready to release it. Seeing this, she immediately pressed it down again, shifted to neutral, and quickly glanced at Henry Sutton, who had already jumped into the passenger seat, asking, “What do we do now?”

Henry Sutton silently watched these suddenly appearing strangers, the muzzle’s sight moving back and forth over their bodies.

They were strong, with daggers at their waists, and their wooden sticks had been specially modified—either wrapped in iron sheets at the tip or densely studded with nails. Their expressions were excited, their eyes full of wild joy. But for some reason, Henry Sutton always felt that in those eyes, there was something else, something hard to guess.

“Drive—”

Henry Sutton’s voice was cold, but very clear.

Grace Sutton looked at him in surprise, her expression a bit startled.