Chapter 4: Supermarket

Thud… thud… thud…

Each step the Black Tortoise took made the ground tremble slightly.

Lin Yue lay on its back, feeling this unique rhythm, yet his heart felt an incomparable tranquility.

With the Black Tortoise's defense plus the Savage Collision, dealing with level‑1 mutant creatures is basically an instant kill.

The only drawback might be its lack of speed, but it makes up for it with stability.

That doesn't matter; the Black Tortoise is only level 1 now, and perhaps its speed will increase as its level rises.

Furthermore, even if it's not fast, it doesn't matter as long as its body is big enough—covering several meters, tens of meters, or even hundreds of meters in a single step—can that still be called slow?

Right now the most important thing is to collect energy points so the Black Tortoise can keep evolving.

Lin Yue, who had originally planned to go straight to the supermarket to gather supplies, decided instead to first test the efficiency of active hunting before heading into the supermarket for supplies.

His gaze fell on the two mutant ground squirrels that were feasting on that unlucky guy.

Those two monsters seemed to notice the Black Tortoise, this uninvited guest, stopped eating, rose upright, and emitted a threatening 'hiss' from their throats.

"I'll start with you."

Lin Yue's eyes showed no pity whatsoever.

In this world, being merciful to enemies is cruelty to oneself.

He didn't even need to speak; a thought alone sent the command to the Black Tortoise to roll over them.

"Roar!"

A flash of brutality crossed the Black Tortoise's ancient eyes; it lowered its head and charged forward like a bulldozer at full power straight at the two mutant ground squirrels.

Those two monsters, whose strength lay in speed, immediately scattered in different directions upon seeing this.

One of them had barely run a few meters when the Black Tortoise's huge head swung violently!

"Savage Collision!"

"Bang!"

A black shadow flashed— that mutant ground squirrel had no chance to dodge and was slammed hard into the air, landing as a bloody mush.

The other, terrified, tried to flee around the Black Tortoise's side.

But it clearly underestimated the agility of this massive beast.

The Black Tortoise merely tilted its body slightly, and its pillar‑like massive leg rose up and came down heavily!

"Plop!"

A muffled thud sounded, and the ground squirrel's shriek cut off abruptly.

When the Black Tortoise's giant foot lifted, the ground retained only a red stain mixed with mud.

Clean and swift.

"Nice!"

Lin Yue jumped down from the Black Tortoise's back, his mind set at ease.

With the Black Tortoise, hunting these low‑level mutant beasts is easier than chopping vegetables.

He walked over to the two corpses, and the expected notification sounded in his mind.

【Detected dead lifeform (level‑1 mutant ground rat), detected energy crystal. Absorb?】

"Yes!"

Lin Yue pressed his hand to the corpse; a faint, almost invisible light seeped out, condensed into a crystal the size of a fingernail, then turned into a warm current that flowed along his arm into his body.

【Absorbed level‑1 energy crystal, gained 10 energy points.】

【Absorbed level‑1 energy crystal, gained 10 energy points.】

Plus the ambient energy automatically absorbed from the man whose body the two unlucky guys had been feeding on near the mutant dog's corpse, and from the mutant rat flung aside by the Black Tortoise.

The numbers on the system panel flashed rapidly.

【Energy needed to reach level 2: 40/100 points.】

"Wow, that's already almost halfway!"

Lin Yue felt a surge of joy.

Meanwhile, the mutant beasts that had dared not approach fled in all directions at once upon seeing how fearsome the Black Tortoise was.

Having dealt with the trouble, Lin Yue wasted no more time and directed the Black Tortoise to the entrance of the 'Happy Purchase Life' supermarket.

The supermarket's glass doors were long shattered, revealing a dark opening, and a foul smell of rotting food mixed with dust blew out.

Black Tortoise, guard the entrance—don't let anything in.

Lin Yue patted the Black Tortoise's shell and gave the order.

The obedient Black Tortoise laid its massive body across the doorway like a living wall, blocking the already narrow entrance completely.

Its black shell and cold stare were the best warning.

With such a 'door god' present, Lin Yue felt completely assured.

He tightened his grip on the iron pipe he'd picked up from under the car—his only weapon at the moment.

Even with the Black Tortoise around, caution never hurts in a post‑apocalyptic struggle for survival.

He took a deep breath and darted into the supermarket.

Inside the supermarket was chaos—shelves overturned, goods strewn across the floor, and every step made a crackling noise.

Lin Yue moved carefully between the shelves, his eyes scanning quickly.

His goal was clear: sealed‑pack food, bottled water, and any medical supplies that might be present.

The wound on his face still burned painfully and needed treatment.

Soon he found a full case of unopened bottled water on a relatively intact shelf—six large bottles.

"Great!"

Lin Yue felt a surge of joy; this was hard currency.

He rummaged through the snack area again, finding several packs of vacuum-sealed beef jerky and a few sausage links.

Although he didn't know if they were expired, the packaging was intact, which was better than nothing.

As he was stuffing his loot into a scavenged backpack and preparing to check the medicine area, a faint sound suddenly came from deep within the supermarket.

Shush—shush...

Lin Yue's movement froze abruptly, his whole body's muscles tensing instantly.

He immediately crouched, hid behind the shelves, held his breath, and gripped the iron pipe tighter.

Was it a monster? Or... a person?

The sound was intermittent, not like a monster's howl, but more like something being dragged.

The source seemed to be the warehouse at the back of the supermarket.

Lin Yue's heartbeat quickened involuntarily.

The gruesome sight of the man whose flesh had been picked apart by mutated earth-patting rats was still vivid in his mind.

In this world, surviving humans could sometimes be more dangerous than monsters.

He hesitated for a moment, but his strong curiosity overcame fear, and in the end Lin Yue still decided to investigate.

After all, with the Black Tortoise at his side, he still had a fallback.

He crouched low, using the shelves for cover, moving step by step silently toward the warehouse.

The warehouse door was ajar, leaving a gap.

As he approached, the "shush—shush" sound grew clearer, mixed with faint, suppressed breathing.

Suddenly, a weak, tearful male voice came from the crack in the door.

"Water... could someone give me some water... save me..."

It's a person!

Lin Yue's heart jumped violently.

There really are still survivors!

His first reaction wasn't joy, but deeper wariness. A person trapped in the warehouse, weakened to this extent? That sounded too much like a trap.

"Please... is anyone there... my leg is pinned..." That voice sounded again, filled with despair.

Lin Yue stopped in his tracks, his mind racing.

To save, or not to save?

To save might mean facing unknown danger.

Not to save, if the other person were truly a pitiful soul, his conscience would not rest, and having more companions might allow them to exchange useful information.

After weighing it repeatedly, Lin Yue decided to take the risk.

He had the Black Tortoise as his trump card, giving him enough confidence to handle sudden situations.

"Who's in there?"

Lin Yue lowered his voice and asked solemnly through the gap.

His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet supermarket it sounded especially clear.

The person inside was clearly startled, followed by a frantic, intense struggle.

"A person! A living person! Good heavens, I'm not dreaming! Brother, please save me! I'm pinned under the shelves, I'm about to suffocate!"

Lin Yue hesitated no longer, shoving the warehouse door open.

The warehouse was dim, with only a sliver of light filtering in from a small window above.

Using that light, he made out the scene inside.

A young man in his early twenties lay on the ground, his face as pale as paper, his lips chapped.

His left leg was pinned under a collapsed heavy metal shelf, already somewhat deformed.

Seeing Lin Yue, the young man's eyes flared with a strong will to survive.

"Brother! Please, help me lift this shelf!"

Lin Yue examined him closely; aside from pain and despair, there was nothing unusual in his gaze.

The leg trapped under the shelf was badly injured, not feigned.

"All right."

Lin Yue nodded, set down his backpack, and stepped forward.

He grabbed a corner of the shelf and heaved upward with all his strength.

The shelf was enormously heavy; even with all his might, he could only make it wobble slightly.

"Together! I can still muster some strength!"

The young man struggled, using his hands to brace himself.

"One, two, three, lift!"

Lin Yue let out a low roar, veins bulging in his arms as he unleashed his full strength.

"Creak——"

With their combined effort, the heavy metal shelf finally lifted enough to create a gap.

Seeing this, the young man quickly pulled his bloody, mangled leg free.

The shelf crashed to the ground.

"Hah... hah... Thank you! Thank you so much, brother!"

The young man collapsed on the ground, clutching his injured leg, so overcome he could barely speak, tears streaming down his face.

"Don't stand on ceremony; in these times, every survivor counts."

Lin Yue said, taking a bottle of mineral water from his backpack, unscrewed it and handed it over.

The young man snatched it up, as if grabbing a lifeline, tilted his head back and gulped down half the bottle with a glug-glug.

Ha——I'm alive again!

He let out a long breath, looking gratefully at Lin Yue.

Brother, you are truly my lifesaver! I'm Zhao Si, I've been trapped here for two days; if it weren't for you, I really thought I'd die here.

Lin Yue.