Chapter 27: Emptying the Supermarket, Growing Stronger Once More

Ye Feng turned and left without a shred of hesitation.

After leaving the police station, he headed straight toward his target, not stopping once. Over an hour later, he arrived at Fortune Plaza. Fortune Plaza was a comprehensive shopping center that combined leisure, entertainment, and a large-scale supermarket. Deep in its basement lay an enormous grocery store. When the zombie outbreak began, the mall had been at the peak of its daily foot traffic, so the number of zombies inside was naturally staggering.

Countless zombies roamed everywhere, but Ye Feng paid them no mind, strutting into the mall with an air of complete indifference.

"Excuse me! Pardon me! Everyone, make way!"
"Hey you, pull your leg in!"

Weaving through the gaps, Ye Feng navigated the sea of undead. Before long, he reached the entrance of the supermarket. Glancing around, his eyes widened at the sight of the vast, overflowing inventory. There was everything one could possibly need.

"This place is fantastic!" he remarked. "It’s leagues better than those small convenience stores from before!"

Ye Feng headed straight for the food section. It was incredibly well-stocked with every staple imaginable: rice, mung beans, flour, corn, and more. With a mere thought, he swept it all into his storage space—a haul totaling over a hundred thousand pounds of grain.

Beyond the grains, there was a bounty of meat: pork, beef, lamb, fish, shrimp, and crab. Unfortunately, much of the meat in the display cases had already spoiled, but the stock inside the freezers remained pristine. With another thought, Ye Feng made the meat and the freezers themselves vanish instantly.

Adjacent to the staples and meats was the produce section. Large quantities of vegetables and fruits were on display—bok choy, carrots, Fuji apples, mandarin oranges, imported bananas—though, sadly, most had already begun to rot. Still, some remained edible, if a bit lackluster. Ye Feng, refusing to let anything go to waste, hoovered up everything that was still fit for consumption.

"Yoink, yoink, yoink!"

As Ye Feng darted back and forth, constantly harvesting supplies, the surrounding zombies grew confused. They stood with puzzled expressions, wondering how things could simply vanish into thin air.

"Raaargh!" the zombies groaned in bewilderment.

Ye Feng ignored them, continuing his sweep. Once the produce was cleared, he turned his attention to the dairy products: plain yogurt, fruit-flavored yogurt, whole milk, soy milk, almond milk, and more. Before long, he had cleared the entire food section and tucked it all into his space.

Feeling immensely satisfied, Ye Feng strolled through the supermarket, blending in among the zombies. He couldn't help but reflect on his past life; he had never been able to scavenge supplies with such ease! Looking at the massive store, his hands grew restless. Why not clear out everything else, too? Since he was already here, he might as well take it all—he would surely find use for it later.

He immediately set to work. Shampoos, body washes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, tissues, wet wipes—he didn't discriminate, clearing every shelf into his storage.

"This is amazing!" he thought. "This is enough to last me ten lifetimes!"

He was radiant with joy, acting like a hoarding squirrel, constantly moving and plundering. He reached the clothing section: apparel, shoes, pants, skirts, stockings, uniforms, bedding... *Yoink!* He advanced steadily, sweeping through every corner, leaving nothing of value behind.

In the electronics section: phones, computers, tablets, televisions, stereos... *Yoink!* Since his storage space was vast enough, he simply took it all. The home goods section, with its beds, sofas, dining tables, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners—emptied! The medical section, with its cold medicine, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, and various supplements—emptied! Spices, hardware, tobacco, alcohol, adult products—he cleared them all out!

Time slipped away unnoticed. Like a busy little hamster, Ye Feng gradually emptied the entire supermarket. In the now-hollow, desolate store, the zombies stood amidst the void, looking lost and confused.

Feeling content, Ye Feng pulled a sofa out from his storage and brewed a cup of coffee. "I've exhausted too much mental energy; time for a quick break."

Outside the windows, the sky was overcast and shrouded in blood-red mist. Inside, the store was empty, and the zombies were listless. Amidst the horde, Ye Feng sat leisurely on his sofa, sipping his fragrant coffee while contemplating his next move.

"Large supermarkets really do have more to offer! They're countless times better than the smaller ones."

Where should he go next? Where were the supplies? Other supermarkets? A slaughterhouse? Or perhaps a hospital, or a logistics center? There were so many places worth visiting! Ye Feng fell into a dilemma.

"Forget it, let's do some fishing first."

He checked his bait count: [Bait: 8]. Eight chances left! He focused his mind and whispered, "System, start fishing."

The hook cast into the boundless darkness. A system notification chimed:
[Notification: Fishing in progress...]

"Damn it, don't keep me in the hardware supply pool again!"

[Notification: Congratulations on a successful catch. You have obtained: Banana-brand Bluetooth headphones x1!]

Ye Feng was thrilled. *Yes! Bluetooth headphones! I switched pools! Finally, no more of that cursed hardware pool! It seems the strategy of delaying the catch to change the pool actually works! A huge success!*

He was pleasantly surprised. It seemed he could continue doing this in the future. The notifications continued:
[Notification: Congratulations on a successful catch. You have obtained: Explosive Tags x10 stacks!]
[Notification: Congratulations on a successful catch. You have obtained: 511 Cloud Drive 100-Year Membership x1!]
[Notification: Congratulations on a successful catch. You have obtained: Auditory Enhancement Scroll x1!]

*Explosive tags? An enhancement scroll? Not bad at all!* Ye Feng’s eyes brightened. The cloud drive membership was useless, but the explosive tags—he recognized them from the anime; fueled by energy, they were far more powerful than grenades. As for the enhancement scroll, it was from the classic series.

[Notification: Fishing in progress...]

Ye Feng remained expectant...
[Notification: Congratulations on a successful catch. You have obtained: Illusion Heart Gu x1!]
[Notification: Congratulations on a successful catch. You have obtained: 1000T Solid State Drive x10!]
[Notification: Congratulations on a successful catch. You have obtained: Rare Skill: Mental Detection!]

*Whoa!* Ye Feng’s eyes lit up. *A Gu worm? A new skill?*

The fishing session soon ended. The haul was bountiful. Ye Feng began to inspect his gains.

[Item: Illusion Heart Gu]
[Quality: Rare]
[Description: A Gu worm containing strange power. The user can release it onto any target; the process is silent, and the worm will lie dormant within the target's body. Without activation, it has no effect. Once activated, the target is instantly controlled by the worm and loses all ability to resist.]

Ye Feng narrowed his eyes and took out the Illusion Heart Gu. It was smaller than a grain of sand and transparent. "A perfect tool for control!" He smiled and tucked it away, then turned to his other rewards.

[Skill: Mental Detection]
[Quality: Rare]
[Description: Upon learning this skill, you will be able to better utilize your mental energy to perceive the surrounding environment and situation.]
[Special Note: Be aware that excessive use of this skill will deplete your mental energy.]

"A mental-type skill! And it’s a detection skill at that?" Ye Feng was excited. He immediately chose to extract the skill. A source orb appeared in the air, and he absorbed it into his body.

[Notification: Congratulations, you have learned the rare skill: Mental Detection!]

A moment later, Ye Feng’s body trembled slightly. He had instantly mastered the skill. With a thought, a web-like structure formed of mental energy expanded from him in all directions. Everything within range became crystal clear.

"What a skill! Though... it seems it consumes mental energy?" Ye Feng pondered. "The range limit is twenty meters... The downside is that it requires active use, and both activating and maintaining it consumes a significant amount of mental energy... But with my currently enhanced mental strength, maintaining it for about five minutes shouldn't be a problem!"

He retracted his detection, satisfied. *Right, I also got a new scroll.*

[Item: Auditory Enhancement Scroll]
[Quality: Rare]
[Description: Upon using this scroll, your hearing will be enhanced to a certain degree.]

It was of the same series as the Strength and Vision Enhancement scrolls. Ye Feng smiled; having enhanced hearing would be quite useful. He took out the scroll—a palm-sized item—and tore it open.

*Whoosh!*

The scroll turned into a stream of blue light and surged into his ears. He felt a refreshing, cool sensation spreading through his auditory canals. A moment later, the enhancement was complete.

Every sound around him became distinct. The sound of his own breathing, his heartbeat... the sounds of zombies walking, roaming, and groaning outside... every single noise was clear. He could even faintly hear the voices of survivors in the distance. He realized he could also toggle this state to filter out sounds he didn't want to hear.

Ye Feng was overjoyed. "Auditory enhancement—this is fantastic!"