Chapter 42: Setting Off for Hang Lung Plaza

Hiding in the office for two days, Qin Chong and Xiao Yingyong finally recovered their physical strength and returned to their peak condition.

Of course, these two days were not wasted. First, Qin Chong had Xiao Yingyong stay behind while he went to the monkey enclosure alone. After all, Xiao Yingyong was still injured, and Qin Chong alone would find it much easier to escape if he encountered any danger.

Compared to the aquarium, under the shroud of the apocalypse, the monkey enclosure had long lost its former vitality and vigor, sinking instead into a profound desolation.

Inside the monkey enclosure, following Sun Xiaoyan's reminder, Qin Chong found the ring, which also proved that Sun Xiaoyan's previous guess was reasonable.

Secondly, Sun Xiaoyan had returned to Kyoto and used the consecutive thunderstorm days to transmit some newly collected supplies, crossbow bolts, and steel balls to Qin Chong via her mobile phone.

This was thanks to the heavy rain that had fallen continuously over the past few days. Who knew, perhaps the heavens were weeping for the miserable plight of humanity in the apocalypse.

On this day, a fully recovered Xiao Yingyong could no longer contain her active nature and insisted on going out to take a look. Unable to resist her, Qin Chong and she ate breakfast, packed plenty of crossbow bolts and steel balls, grabbed two high-intensity flashlights, and left the office for the corridor.

At this moment, the typhoon outside had passed, and the dome of the sky was a brilliant blue, with only an occasional stray bird sweeping past. Looking out through the transparent glass on one side of the corridor, the depths of the entire aquarium appeared as gloomy and murky as ever.

Leaning against the window and looking deep into the aquarium, Xiao Yingyong saw numerous zombie corpses floating on the water's surface and muttered to herself, "Those crocodiles killed the zombies, so why aren't they eating them?"

Qin Chong touched his chin, thought for a moment, and said somewhat uncertainly, "Could it be that they think zombie rotten flesh tastes terrible?"

Xiao Yingyong nodded in agreement, figuring that Qin Chong's words might be the real answer. But immediately afterward, her brow furrowed. "Brother Qin, if the crocodiles and giant pythons don't eat zombies, what else is there for them to eat?"

Qin Chong walked over to a transparent glass panel, turned on his flashlight, and shone it down below. He quickly found the answer: floating on the water were not only the corpses of zombies, but also mutilated remains of sharks and other marine fish.

Needless to say, during these past few days, the giant python and crocodiles must have been feeding on these dead marine creatures.

"These guys sure are picky eaters..."

Xiao Yingyong suddenly seemed to think of something, shuddered, and looked at Qin Chong with a look of terror in her eyes. "Brother Qin, once they finish eating the dead fish, they won't come up here to eat us, will they?"

Qin Chong smiled and raised the crossbow in his hand. "Do you know why I didn't take you to the monkey enclosure? Because our equipment wasn't complete—it was only enough to arm myself. Now that we are fully equipped, we don't even have to fear them in the water. What is there to be afraid of now?"

Qin Chong's words lifted Xiao Yingyong's spirits. Seeing a crocodile lying lazily on a large rock downstairs, she aimed through a broken pane of glass and said, "Right, I'll kill this crocodile first."

Stopping the crossbow that Xiao Yingyong was aiming, Qin Chong smiled and said, "Don't rush."

"Why?"

Xiao Yingyong looked at Qin Chong curiously, not understanding why he wouldn't let her kill the crocodile.

Qin Chong relaxed his brow, pointed at the floating dead fish in the aquarium, and smiled, "Let them serve as sanitation workers first. Otherwise, just think about how many dead fish there are in a massive aquarium like this. Once they start to rot... hehe... the two of us will be stunk to death!"

To make hunting more convenient, these giant pythons and crocodiles were almost all entrenched within the aquarium, having virtually no impact on the two of them residing in the second-floor office area.

Considering that he still needed to stay here for a few days, Qin Chong saw no need to provoke these behemoths. His previous experience in the water taught him one thing: even with Sun Xiaoyan continuously supplying equipment, they could not afford to waste it infinitely.

Otherwise, just like last time, if they encountered some sudden emergency and wasted all their gear, it would be fatal.

...

"Brother Qin."

Seeing the hesitation in Xiao Yingyong's expression, Qin Chong patted her head and asked, "What's wrong? Haven't you always been someone who speaks her mind? Why are you suddenly acting all shy?"

Hesitating slightly, Xiao Yingyong looked at Qin Chong and said, "Brother Qin, my injuries have all healed. I want to go to Henglong Plaza right away."

Qin Chong glanced at Xiao Yingyong, sighed, and said, "Xiao Ying, although you won't like hearing this, I still have to say it: your mother won't be there."

Xiao Yingyong did not reply; she only pressed her lips tightly together and fell silent. It was evident that deep in her heart, she refused to believe these words were true.

Qin Chong shook his head and persuaded, "Look at the rain that fell on the street the other day—the stagnant water is almost as high as a person. Just wait two more days. Two days from now, once the water recedes, I'll go with you to take a look."

By now, the zombies outside the aquarium had decreased significantly, mostly scattering to various parts of the wildlife park. Qin Chong calculated that in at most two days, once the stagnant water on the roads receded, they could set off.

After walking around for a while, the two returned to the office and turned on the camp light sent by Sun Xiaoyan. It illuminated the entire office. Because the office had only one security door, as long as it was closed, the place became airtight, eliminating any fear of light leaking out.

It was just a pity that the camp light ran on a lithium battery and could not be kept on constantly, as there was nowhere to recharge it. After all, half a year into the apocalypse, electricity in most of the Magic City had been cut off long ago.

Although Sun Xiaoyan could also procure a generator, this was merely a temporary stronghold, and there was no need to go to such trouble.

Looking at the various ingredients piled on the table, Qin Chong smiled at Xiao Yingyong and said, "Xiao Ying, let's have hotpot tonight."

Sun Xiaoyan had put a lot of thought into preparing supplies for Qin Chong. There were all kinds of items: fresh vegetables, bean sprouts, meat, ham sausages, canned luncheon meat...

If not for the limited storage space Qin Chong and Xiao Yingyong could carry, Sun Xiaoyan would have practically emptied an entire supermarket and transmitted the supplies to Qin Chong.

Xiao Yingyong merely let out a soft "hmm," looking somewhat absent-minded. Knowing that she could not let go of her mother, Qin Chong had no idea how to comfort her, figuring that only time could slowly dull the pain, and people always had to face reality.

After dinner, with nothing else to do, the two played with the deck of cards Sun Xiaoyan had sent, ending up playing all the way late into the night.

The next day, waking up from a deep sleep, Qin Chong opened his eyes and glanced at his wrist watch. This luminous watch was a special gift from Sun Xiaoyan, said to be a world-famous brand with many functions, the most crucial being waterproof.

Seeing the time on the watch, Qin Chong was slightly startled. He had slept for a remarkably long time; it was already two o'clock in the afternoon.

"Xiao Ying."

Qin Chong stretched his limbs, gave a lazy yawn, and called out lazily into the pitch-black room, "Are you up yet?"

The office was dead silent without a sound. Qin Chong called out two more times, and seeing no response, he muttered to himself, "How can this girl sleep like a dead pig?"

With that, Qin Chong felt around and turned on the camp light. The brightness flooded the room, only to reveal that the sofa in the opposite corner was completely empty, with only a piece of white stationery lying on it.

Seeing this, Qin Chong felt a slight chill, and a thought flashed through his mind: "Oh no, this is bad."

With a solemn expression, Qin Chong walked over and picked up the stationery. Sure enough, there were just a few hastily written words: "Brother Qin, I went to Henglong Plaza to look for my mother. Don't worry, in three days at most, I will definitely be back."

Engulfed by anger, Qin Chong crumpled the stationery into a ball and threw it on the ground, cursing, "Stupid girl, she really doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Just because she killed a few zombies, she thinks she can act with impunity and go wherever she pleases. She truly has no idea how terrifying the apocalypse is."