**”How disgusting…”** Qiao Jiajin frowned as he looked at the filthy mess on the ground. **”This overwhelming stench… Could it be excrement?”**
**Excrement?**
Qi Xia suddenly turned to Qiao Jiajin.
That was an interesting observation.
In other words, besides the nine of them and the animal-masked figures, there were other *people* here.
Or perhaps… other *things*.
This person—or *thing*—must have lived here for a long time, otherwise, they wouldn’t have left so much waste scattered around.
The group searched frantically but found no needles or bandages. Outside the convenience store, there were no pharmacies or clinics in sight. If they wandered aimlessly, Han Yimo wouldn’t last much longer.
**”What do we do now…”** Officer Li crossed his arms, looking helplessly at Dr. Zhao as if seeking his advice.
Before Dr. Zhao could respond, a rustling sound came from behind the cash register. The door to the employee break room creaked open.
The nine of them recoiled in shock, taking several steps back as they stared at the slowly opening door.
A frail figure emerged from the darkness.
Upon closer inspection, it was a woman—emaciated beyond recognition, her age impossible to guess.
Her cheeks were sunken, her eyes bulging unnaturally, as if all the flesh had been sucked from her face.
She licked her cracked lips and stared at them with curiosity.
After a brief pause, she seemed to snap out of her daze and hurriedly adjusted her tattered, filthy clothes. In a hoarse voice, she uttered:
**”Welcome…”**
**Welcome?**
Officer Li took a moment to process her words before nodding in understanding.
**”You’re… the store clerk?”**
The girl nodded. **”Mm.”**
Silence fell over the group. Something about this was deeply *wrong*.
Forget the fact that another human was even here—if she *was* really a clerk, why would she be working in a completely ruined convenience store?
Seeing their hesitation, the clerk tentatively added, **”Feel free to browse.”**
But what was there to browse?
The shelves were nearly empty, and the few remaining items were rotten and covered in filth.
The clerk’s hollow eyes remained fixed on them, unblinking.
Her gaze sent a chill down the spines of the women in the group.
**”Do you have needles and thread?”** Qi Xia asked calmly, unfazed.
**”Needles… and thread?”** The clerk’s lifeless eyes flickered slightly as she mimicked a sewing motion with her hands. **”You mean… like this?”**
It was only then that they noticed her hands—covered in dried, blackened blood.
Qi Xia took another step forward. **”Yes. Do you sell them?”**
**”Liar, you—”** Before meeting Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin had prided himself on being the bravest man alive. But even *he* couldn’t bring himself to engage with this woman. **”She’s not right in the head. Can’t you see that?”**
**”And what if she isn’t?”** Qi Xia replied evenly. **”Things can’t get any worse for us.”**
The clerk stared blankly for a moment before suddenly flipping open the counter gate and rushing out.
Now, they could see her fully.
She wore an oversized, grimy white shirt that hung off her like a coat on a hanger. The fabric was stained with something dark—oil, or maybe blood.
The shirt reached her knees, and beneath it, she seemed to be wearing nothing. Her thighs were smeared with dried blood.
Qi Xia frowned slightly and instinctively moved back—but the clerk seized his wrist.
Her grip felt like gnarled tree roots, dry and painful.
**”I have them!!”** she shrieked, baring yellowed teeth. **”I have *needles and thread*! Come with me!”**
She kept pointing toward the break room, as if urging Qi Xia to follow.
The group was thoroughly unnerved. Whatever this woman was, following her didn’t seem like a good idea.
**”Forget it—we don’t need them anymore!”** Qiao Jiajin stepped forward, trying to pry her fingers loose. **”Let go!”**
But the clerk ignored him, dragging Qi Xia along with unnatural strength, her face twisted in an unsettling grin.
**”There are *needles and thread* inside! Come!”**
Her grip was stronger than both Qiao Jiajin and Qi Xia combined.
**”HEY! Someone help!”** Qiao Jiajin barked over his shoulder.
Officer Li and Dr. Zhao snapped out of their shock and rushed forward.
The clerk quickened her pace.
Qi Xia felt himself being yanked forward with terrifying force.
The break room wasn’t far—in just a few steps, they were inside.
Dr. Zhao and Officer Li pulled back on Qi Xia, but the clerk abruptly released him.
**”Ah!”**
A collective stumble nearly sent them all crashing to the floor.
When they steadied themselves, they saw the clerk had already turned away, rummaging through a pile of junk in the corner.
The four men took in the room with wary eyes.
It was slightly cleaner than the store outside. A folding bed sat in one corner, its yellowed sheets stained with a fresh pool of blood.
In another corner, a makeshift stove held a rusted pot, its contents bubbling ominously.
The clerk ignored them all, tossing aside cans, old magazines, and kitchenware as she dug through an ancient crate.
Qiao Jiajin rubbed his nose, eyeing the pot.
**”Y’know… I’m actually starving,”** he muttered to Qi Xia. **”If she wasn’t a lunatic, I’d ask if I could have a bite.”**
Qi Xia glanced at the pot. Something pale floated in the murky broth.
He *was* hungry.
**”You’d eat something from this place?”** Officer Li hissed. **”Who knows how filthy that is—”**
**”But it smells amazing.”**
Qiao Jiajin wasn’t wrong. The aroma from the pot filled the room, overpowering the stench of decay.
**”What are you cooking?”** Qiao Jiajin asked boldly, clearly tempted.
**”Piglet,”** the clerk replied without looking up.
**”Piglet?”**
Intrigued, Qiao Jiajin moved toward the pot—but the clerk suddenly gasped.
**”Ah! Found it!”**
She spun around, clutching something in her hands, and beamed at them.
**”Look! Needles and thread!”**
Officer Li leaned in—then grimaced.
It wasn’t a needle and thread.
It was a rusted fishhook and a tangled mess of fishing line.
He exchanged a glance with Dr. Zhao, who hesitated before asking:
**”Miss… do you have any *other* needles and thread?”**
**”No,”** she said flatly. **”Just this. Do you want it?”**
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