Apocalypse: I have a supermarket stocked with supplies

Chapter 77: Rancid taste

The person didn’t care at all whether they had stolen anything or not, stealing in the apocalypse was just too common.

He just wanted a share of the spoils.

He was hungry too.

So hungry his eyes were turning green.

But he knew that Wang Xin’s group of kids, though small, were quite fierce, and he couldn’t take on so many of them by himself.

So he spoke loudly enough for others to hear.

People nearby all heard him.

Then, thinking that with more people around, Wang Xin’s group wouldn’t be able to pay attention to him, he could fish in troubled waters.

His loud voice made others curious whether Wang Xin and his group had brought back food, and they started thinking about snatching it.

One by one, they started pleading with the kids, saying they were about to starve to death, that they’d all been living here for so long that they were like family, and that if Wang Xin’s group had food, they must help these poor souls.

While saying this, they tried to grab the food.

The food they had gotten hold of, Wang Xin and his friends were not willing to give up, and would protect it with their lives.

These kids were tough and not above playing dirty. They had eaten more than the others before, so they had a little more strength too.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝοѵǤօ.ƈο

So, those three packs of instant noodles weren’t stolen or seen by anyone.

Wang Xin secretly traded food with others, sharing it with his friends.

But while they were eating, they were accidentally seen by someone living next to them.

Realizing they’d been spotted, they didn’t care about being choked and swallowed the food in a couple of gulps, managing to avoid being robbed.

But that person spread the word, saying they still had food.

It was because of this that they had been closely watched these past few days.

Wang Xin sneaked around, cautious as ever, and managed to trade the remaining two packs of instant noodles as well.

The food they got in exchange was also hidden carefully.

There were too many eyes on them, and several times they’d nearly been discovered. Luckily, Wang Xin was cautious enough. Although those watching them didn’t find their hidden food, they would occasionally steal some of their stuff.

It was too dark in the cave, even with someone always on guard, things would go missing.

Xiao Cao had cried several times over it.

Wang Xin and the others didn’t dare go back to dig for noodles, the people watching them were too many these past few days, and although previous trips had been narrowly safe, he couldn’t guarantee it would always be that way.

That box of instant noodles was his lifeline.

He absolutely couldn’t let anyone take it.

“Brother Wang Xin, what should we do?” Ah Qian clutched his stomach, hungry again. Not extremely hungry, not to the point of wanting to eat dirt, but his stomach kept growling.

He drank several bowls of water; his stomach stopped growling afterward, but it wasn’t long before it started again. He also had to keep running to the toilet.

In the cave, there was a communal toilet specially built by the base, as they weren’t allowed to relieve themselves just anywhere.

You see, feces was also considered a resource.

The base would collect it, and the group of Wood-Element Superpower Users responsible for agricultural research would use it as fertilizer.

Back when they lived at the base, people would collect it as well.

Everyone would save up their waste, and once they had enough, they could exchange it for Contribution Value.

The toilet in the cave was enclosed by some dirty cloths, it was dark inside, and there was a certain smell around it.

During the heavy rains, there were mutant mosquitoes.

After mutating, the mosquitoes had grown significantly larger, but thankfully weren’t poisonous – a bite wouldn’t kill. But if swarmed by a group, one could easily be drained of blood and turned into a dried-up corpse.

So, no one liked to go there.

Most importantly, everyone ate so little that they barely had anything to dispose of.

There was only one toilet, and those living far away had to take a long detour, which meant more exercise and even more hunger.

Wang Xin’s group had chosen a good spot, not too far from the toilet, but also not so close that they could smell it.

“Hold out. I asked around, and the base is planning to organize a cleanup in the next few days. We’ll all live together; they’ll provide breakfast and lunch. We’ll try our luck then.” Wang Xin sipped the water from his bowl slowly.

The weather was now far too hot, and staying inside the mountain cave was stiflingly oppressive, not to mention the overwhelming stench from so many people. But luckily, they had gotten used to the smell over time.

“If I get selected, I’ll take everything with me when the time comes,” Wang Xin licked his lips.

“Alright, we’ll do as Brother Wang Xin says,” Ah Qian, seeing Wang Xin drink water, felt a bit thirsty himself. But he didn’t really want to drink either, because now the base distributed water without needing to boil it. In this weather, any cold water would turn warm in a short while.

Drinking lukewarm water in this heat was virtually a form of torture.

Yet, they sweated so much in this weather that they had no choice but to drink water.

“When the time comes, we’ll find an opportunity to sneakily take a few packages,” Wang Xin said in a voice so low it was almost a whisper.

If Ah Qian hadn’t been so close, he wouldn’t have heard a thing.

Ah Qian nodded fiercely.

Whimper.

How he longed for something to eat.

Ah Qian took a bite of his own arm, salty.

And it left a sour aftertaste.

He disgustedly spat out his tongue.

“But what if none of us are selected?” he worried. It wasn’t needless worry, there were just too many people wanting a job now.

They were just a few underage kids with no superpowers; the chances of them not being selected were quite high.

“The base plans to organize Superpower Users to hunt Mutant Beasts at night. This kind of job is handed to ordinary people. We ate more than others before, and we look more capable than them. The chances of being selected are pretty high.”

“Brother Wang Xin, you know so much,” Ah Qian looked at him admiringly.

“That’s nothing,” Wang Xin patted his head.

He knew these things thanks to his forays exchanging instant noodles for food. He couldn’t just swap with anyone, he had to know which people weren’t short on food and could afford his noodles.

So, he had no choice but to inquire around.

But he couldn’t be too obvious about it.

He had to listen and observe more. Figure out who had food, who didn’t have to worry about meals.

That’s how he got to know a few people.

And it was from them that he learned the news.

Not because they told him, but because he overheard it when he was passing by.

Another day passed, and Ah Qian and Gou Dan couldn’t bear their hunger anymore.

But Xiao Cao suddenly pulled out a bit of food.

It wasn’t much, just a few small pieces, obviously what she had saved from earlier. Xiao Cao was a girl with a smaller appetite and could endure more than the boys.

So while they had finished theirs, she still had some hidden away.

Seeing Xiao Cao take it out, a few other girls also contributed their stashed food.

Ah Qian and Gou Dan were stunned and greatly admired the several girls.

Xiao Cao then took a few bowls of water and broke the food into tiny pieces, cautiously making a few bowls of something resembling porridge.

It was a very thin porridge.

They treasured every sip, and after drinking it up, they followed it with several bowls of water, which filled their stomachs.

After a good sleep, they felt much better than the others.

The person in charge of registration saw their condition and after asking a few questions, accepted them on the spot.

Then they started working.

The base treated those who worked fairly well, providing a thick and sticky gruel.

“What a pity it’s not a pancake,” Xiao Cao remarked while eating the gruel.

If it were a pancake, she could have saved a bit.

Gruel wasn’t good for keeping.