Everyone nearby was startled and immediately stopped talking.
“Is This Man ‘Sick'”
Several hands kept slapping the glass wall. A few figures emerged from the thick fog, then a few more appeared. There were both men and women, all shouting desperately, each face anxious and panicked, pounding the entire floor-to-ceiling glass wall with loud bangs.
Just a moment ago, everyone was either explaining or being explained all sorts of zombie movies and disaster novels. Now, frightened by the commotion outside, they froze and didn’t dare make a sound.
Someone got closer and looked outside, quickly confirming that the situation they feared hadn’t happened.
They were just ordinary people. Zombies and mysterious fog were just scenes from movies.
The floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the Supermarket were of excellent quality, and with the people outside shouting all at once, it was a while before those inside could finally understand—they wanted to come in, but the fog outside was so thick they couldn’t find the Supermarket entrance.
Soon, someone inside pointed out the direction of the entrance to those outside. The Supermarket had two entrances: one on this side, facing the Parking Lot and driveway, and another inside the commercial complex, on the same side as several Cashier counters.
Now that people outside wanted to come in, naturally, they headed straight for the entrance facing the Parking Lot.
Someone inside gestured the way, walking along the glass wall to guide the outsiders, afraid they wouldn’t find it. Some, fearing the thick fog outside, retreated between the shelves, while others rummaged through their bags for masks.
Those without masks, but quick-witted, rushed to the Supermarket’s mask shelf, grabbed a new pack, tore it open, and put one on right away.
Besides the Cashier, there were also staff arranging shelves in the Supermarket. Although everyone was distracted by the upheaval, when they saw people opening products without paying, they still spoke up to stop them.
But more than one person did this, and some people directly promised they would pay before leaving. So, after a few words, the staff couldn’t stop them.
Tang Siqing passed by this aisle, took several boxes of 100-count medical protective masks, a few large boxes of band-aids, and several bottles of alcohol disinfectant, stuffing them into the gaps in her shopping cart. She also opened a box of masks and quickly put one on.
She tried her best not to make her actions seem panicked or abrupt, keeping her attention on the Supermarket entrance, mentally checking her shopping list and planning the fastest, most reasonable route to the Cashier.
The people outside had already rushed into the Supermarket. Those inside only approached after the automatic doors closed, all talking at once, questioning the situation outside.
“We don’t know either! We just know something happened at the Highway Overpass. A car flipped over and crashed into the Greenbelt, caught fire, and a few cars parked nearby were unlucky!”
These people were the lucky ones. Because the sudden thick fog forced them to slow down, when the accident happened on the Highway Overpass, they hadn’t yet reached the site, but the cars ahead blocked their way.
As the fog thickened and visibility dropped, they all called the police and an ambulance. Later, the signal was lost. They waited in their cars but then heard chaotic footsteps and screams coming from the direction of the Highway Overpass entrance.
The gray fog blocked their view—they couldn’t see what was happening. All they knew was that everyone was running, and feeling uneasy, they got out and ran too.
Like those in the Supermarket, they worried something was wrong with the fog, so they covered their mouths and noses and ran to the nearest building.
Luckily, this commercial building wasn’t far away. After crossing the road and Greenbelt, they just had to go through a ground Parking Lot. But the fog was so dense, it was hard to walk, and they couldn’t find the entrance, bumping into trees and cars several times.
Those gathered to ask questions were a bit disappointed—in other words, these people actually knew nothing.
They weren’t disappointed for long. Soon, a second group arrived at the Supermarket. This group was larger and, like the first, couldn’t find the entrance at first due to the fog. After some guidance, they rushed in through the automatic door.
This group was clearly more flustered than the first. Several had blood on them, which didn’t look like car accident injuries but rather someone else’s blood.
They rushed in, shouting to lock the doors and pull down the shutters, scattering through the Supermarket, frantically searching between the shelves for a safe hiding place.
Some, in their panic, found the passage to the commercial building, pushed past the staff without a word, and ran straight for the nearby escalators.
Tang Siqing glanced at the chaotic second wave flooding into the Supermarket and sped up, scanning the last few items at the Auto Checkout Machine and restacking them in her Hand Cart. This Supermarket was part of the whole commercial building, so as long as she stayed inside, she could keep using the Hand Cart.
Her phone had lost signal, but the Auto Checkout Machine could still be used offline, just requiring a different payment method. Because of a special situation, she had cash on her, and was about to get it from her backpack when she remembered she’d enabled Offline Payment. She tapped to try, and it worked, saving her time.
She jogged with her Hand Cart out of the sales area, heading for the corridor where the restrooms were.
There weren’t many people here today, and the restroom corridor was empty. She quickly pushed the Hand Cart into the largest stall.
The restroom facilities in large Shopping Malls were always complete. This was the Mother and Infant Restroom, with a wide door and spacious interior—big enough for the Hand Cart to fit inside.
Before closing the door, she glanced back to make sure no one was around, then locked it.
In this independent, sealed, and unmonitored space, she turned to the tall Hand Cart, reached out, and the stack of newly purchased food and water supplies inside vanished instantly. Frowning in thought, she made the entire Hand Cart disappear as well.
Tang Siqing had a secret. Ten days ago, after showering at home, she discovered she had a Personal Space.
The activation mechanism was on her wrist—a faint Wrist Mark on the inside of her left wrist, at the vein. About the size of a thumbnail, just a shade darker than her skin, it looked like a birthmark, or perhaps a tattoo.
She had touched the mark by accident and activated the Space.
This Personal Space existed in her consciousness. After the first activation, she could use it freely without any medium. People couldn’t go in, but by touch, she could instantly store items, and by thought, she could instantly retrieve them.
Time flowed inside, but much slower than outside. After testing with a clock and hot water, she determined that one hour inside equaled about a day outside—only one twenty-fourth the normal speed.
In this era of diverse web novels, even though she hadn’t been a Personal Storage fan, she’d heard of the concept from classmates and friends. Personal Storage stories usually went along with survival, infinite flow, and Disaster Survival themes.
She wasn’t an outwardly emotional person. When she confirmed the Space was real, she didn’t scream or panic. Instead, she sat quietly on the sofa, silently processing everything.
For the next three hours, she repeatedly confirmed she wasn’t dreaming, experimented with the Space, and confirmed its basic functions. That night, she went online, searching for any info related to Personal Storage and Disaster Survival.
Of course, most info was from movies and novels, but some was practical survival data.
She had two phones, a tablet, and a laptop, each with 1TB of storage. She began downloading and saving all the materials she thought she’d need, for easy reference. Considering device wear, she bought a backup phone and tablet, both with 1TB of storage.
As for external hard drives, though not as convenient, they were cheap, so she bought two 12TB drives to back up everything from her devices.
For novel texts, she could just listen with headphones—wouldn’t affect her daily life or work. Since that day, she’d listened to hundreds of novels, mostly just the first twenty chapters, enough to get a sense of the Disaster Survival genre and the protagonist’s logic.
She started making lists, withdrew cash from the bank, and bought supplies in small, inconspicuous batches, storing them in the Space, while planning this purposeful road trip.
There was something that had troubled her for a whole year, something she never had the courage to do. The appearance of the Space was a turning point, giving her the confidence to push forward.
Today was her sixteenth day since discovering the Space, and the third stop of her road trip—still a long way from her real destination.
In the previous two cities, she’d always do the same thing: buy supplies in separate trips, stay a night at an inconspicuous hotel, and leave the next day.
Today was the same. She’d stayed in West City last night, had a simple lunch upstairs in this Shopping Mall at noon, packed some prepared food and drinks from the second floor food court and stored them in the Space with her car as cover. Before leaving, she saw the Supermarket on the first floor and thought to make one more round of purchases.
She didn’t expect the weather to suddenly change.
She did have an advantage, but in the end, it was only a Personal Space—an oddly shaped one at that, about thirty cubic meters, the capacity of a small truck. It looked like a rectangular empty room.
Strictly speaking, most of it was like a room, with smooth walls and ceiling, but one wall was uneven and bumpy, like an unfinished, abandoned wall…
Tang Siqing’s face was expressionless, but her heart was pounding, her mind in chaos. She didn’t linger in the restroom. After storing her things and the Hand Cart, she organized a rough plan in her mind and took action.
Leaving the restroom and passing through the corridor, she saw the Electronic Map Screen on the wall, showing a rolling map guide of the Shopping Mall. The images were preset and didn’t freeze even though the network was down.
She took out her phone and quickly snapped photos of the maps for the first, second, third, and basement floors.
Tang Siqing’s plan was simple: no matter what was happening outside, she needed to prepare more before things got worse.
Just now, when she left the Auto Checkout Machine with the Hand Cart, she’d noticed an Outdoor Gear Display Area in the Supermarket corner, apparently holding some event with lots of new products.
She already had a few tools in her Space that could serve as weapons, but not enough. She’d glimpsed several Multifunctional Knives there, planning to grab a few and check them out at the Auto Checkout Machine.
She quickened her pace, jogging out of the corridor. Passing the round open area by the escalator, she saw another group running from the left-side entrance connecting to the Supermarket.
These people looked even more battered, many with blood on them, clearly injured. Some supported each other, some were dragged by companions, the wounded crying out in pain, but still desperately running this way.
Everyone in the Supermarket and Mall was shocked by the scene. Some shrank back in fear, others stepped forward to grab a straggler to ask what happened, only to be shoved away.
“Don’t block the way!”
But their appearance was terrifying, and as more people blocked the path, those newcomers couldn’t help but shout.
“Run! There are Creatures outside!”
“Stop asking! There are Creatures in the fog… people are dead!”
“Get out of the way!”
The people yelling were wild with fear and anger, some faces streaked with blood, veins bulging, eyes wide with terror—a horrifying sight. The people in the Mall, confused and at a loss, were frightened by them, and in just a moment, chaos broke out.
Even if they didn’t understand what had happened, or believe there were really Creatures outside, the tense atmosphere made many start running too.
Some were completely lost, running like headless chickens with the crowd. Others, thinking fast, didn’t follow—they had cars in the Parking Lot outside. Even in the thick fog, it would only take a minute or two to reach them.
In such a confusing situation, all they wanted was to get to their familiar, safe cars. Even if they couldn’t leave right away, it was more flexible and comfortable inside.
In the end, they didn’t believe in Creatures. How could there be monsters in a city like this? This wasn’t a movie! They were more inclined to believe that the thick fog had caused a chain car accident, many had died, and the witnesses were just traumatized.
Tang Siqing also wanted to get to her car. Hers was in the ground Parking Lot, a bit farther from the Supermarket—meaning farther from the accident site at the Highway Overpass. From her current position, she could exit the Shopping Mall’s main entrance and turn right about thirty or forty meters.
If she was worried about not finding her car in the fog, she could just use her key to flash the lights.
It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in the Creatures, but if zombies really did appear, all the wounded would be potential carriers. In the early days of a disaster, staying away from crowds, hiding in her car, and looking for a chance to escape would be safer.
With that thought, she stopped hesitating, shifted her backpack to the front, and used it as cover to take out a Sushi Knife.
She held the Sushi Knife low, gripping the handle tightly, weaving quickly through the chaotic crowd toward the open area by the escalator, heading straight for the left-side exit of the Mall.
There were more than ten people running ahead of her. The fastest, a man, had already rushed out the main entrance, followed by a young couple—the man pulling the woman, who raised her collar to cover her mouth and nose.
The fog outside was so dense that as soon as the three ran out, their figures disappeared into the gray mist.
It felt as if the fog outside was swallowing people whole. Tang Siqing felt it, and so did the people running behind her. Suppressing their fear, they were about to dash outside and get to their cars, when suddenly, a shrill scream came from the thick fog outside the entrance.
The people behind froze, and everyone stopped running, just like in every apocalypse or horror movie when something unexpected and inhuman appears—there’s always someone who freezes in place, even though a voice inside is screaming, “Don’t look, turn around and run!” But their feet were rooted to the spot.
As the screams echoed, the people who had just run out came rushing back in—the first man who’d dashed out. Half his face was splattered with blood, full of terror. Seeing the people frozen inside, he waved desperately, but before he could even shout “Run!”, his whole body suddenly stiffened as if nailed in place.
Everyone saw his skin and features start to twist, as if something was writhing inside his mouth and skull. He coughed, spat out a mouthful of blood, then a crack split his upper lip, tearing up through his nose.
His features twisted and deformed, his body spasmed twice as if electrocuted, blood streaming from the corners of his eyes, and his face split open right in front of everyone.