Chapter 28: The Mysterious Tuantuan

Having made up his mind, Kong Zhe wasted no more time. He rose and surveyed the room. The main entrance not far away was certainly unusable—not only was the staircase swarming with monsters, but their rendezvous point was at the staircase on the opposite side. Exiting through the main door would mean a lengthy detour.

Within this room, aside from the main entrance, the only possible exit was the small window set into the wall.

Kong Zhe led Xiao Lei away and cleared the space near the window. He piled up the remaining table and chairs to form a platform.

He hopped onto it and peered out the window. It faced the interior of the supermarket’s second floor, where the merchandise consisted of home appliances and sports goods.

He scrutinized the area, but saw no sign of monsters. Perhaps, if any lurked on the second floor, they were far off.

Yet the window was far too small for anyone to squeeze through.

Kong Zhe jumped down and rapped his knuckles against the wall, listening to the sound. He then produced his long knife and plunged it into the wall with force.

The blade met no resistance and slid through the wall, hilt-deep.

Kong Zhe’s eyes brightened—just as he suspected, the wall was made only of a layer of thick cardboard mixed with plywood. Much weaker than those concrete walls, and his knife could easily cut through.

He gripped the handle and sliced along the wall, quickly carving out a gaping hole.

A shaft of intense light pierced the darkness, causing Xiao Lei to squint.

Kong Zhe signaled to the dog, which instantly understood and squeezed through the hole to scout ahead.

“Little sister…um, what’s your name again?” Kong Zhe asked, coming up to the young girl.

“My name is Lin Xiaolei. Brother Ye, you can call me Xiao Lei—my sister does!” Xiao Lei smiled brightly at him.

“Alright, Xiao Lei, listen carefully. When we go out, stay close to me. No matter what happens, you mustn’t scream. If you really can’t help yourself, cover your mouth. Do you understand?” Kong Zhe instructed sternly.

Seeing his seriousness, Xiao Lei nodded hastily, her face set with resolve, like a warrior going to her doom.

“Let’s go.”

Kong Zhe led Xiao Lei out through the breach. Rows of sports equipment lined the second floor—not especially useful, but Kong Zhe collected some along the way, since the ring he wore had plenty of space and one never knew when such items might come in handy.

The mall was enormous. Despite following the path the dog had scouted, they still encountered monsters.

Fortunately, the monsters were scattered across the second floor. Kong Zhe avoided them where possible; when escape wasn’t an option, he and the dog attacked together, silencing them before they could cry out.

Xiao Lei clung tightly to Kong Zhe’s back throughout. She dared not look at the monsters, staring fixedly at his figure ahead. Her hands were pressed over her mouth, fearful she might cry out; her movements were stiff, like a puppet with no joints, and she misstepped several times.

After clearing out seven or eight monsters, Kong Zhe finally reached the staircase to the third floor. Along the way, the monsters had yielded four silver coins and one hundred and twenty experience points—but, sadly, not a single piece of equipment.

“Ah, it’s Tuan Tuan’s shoe!”

As soon as they reached the third floor, Xiao Lei spotted a small red shoe lying on the ground and cried out in alarm.

She picked up the shoe and looked around in confusion, but saw no sign of Tuan Tuan. Her heart tightened, tears welling in her large eyes.

“Could she really…no, please no…”

Kong Zhe stroked his chin, carefully examining the surroundings. Soon, he noticed some details that made a smile tug at his lips.

He patted Xiao Lei’s head to comfort her. “Don’t worry, it seems your friend is alright!”

“Really?” Xiao Lei quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve and asked hopefully.

Kong Zhe nodded, moving to the window as he explained, “Look here—there are marks from climbing. There’s a footprint on the opposite wall, and its shape matches this shoe…”

He then pointed to a corner in the stairwell ceiling, where a small hole was visible. “That’s a ventilation duct at the top. Judging by its size, it’s just big enough for a petite girl to crawl inside. The shoe probably slipped off when she got caught on the edge of the duct.”

Kong Zhe led Xiao Lei to the window and pointed outside. “See the direction that duct runs? It connects straight to the building opposite. If I recall correctly, that’s an abandoned warehouse—no one goes there, and monsters aren’t likely to follow. So, rest assured, your friend is safe. If she’s smart, she’ll stay quietly inside.”

Hearing this, Xiao Lei’s face blossomed with relief. She wiped away the last traces of her tears and laughed joyfully, “Haha, that’s wonderful! I knew Tuan Tuan would be alright.”

Her smile was as radiant as a flower, and Kong Zhe couldn’t help but smile in return. Yet his gaze lingered in puzzlement on the footprint on the wall.

What he’d described sounded simple, but in reality, scaling the wall to reach the vent would be a feat even trained adults would struggle with—let alone a girl barely in her teens.

After a moment’s reflection, Kong Zhe couldn’t resist asking, “Xiao Lei, what does your friend do, exactly?”

Xiao Lei seemed to know what he was wondering and proudly lifted her chin. “I told you—Tuan Tuan is amazing! She’s a magician!”

“What? A magician?” Kong Zhe exclaimed, his thoughts instantly drifting to the awakened professions.

Could this mysterious Tuan Tuan be one of the two awakened before him?

But Kong Zhe soon shook his head. If she were truly so formidable, she wouldn’t need to flee—the monsters in the stairwell would be mere playthings.

He pondered a while, but with no answer, he set the matter aside. Still, he was now curious about this Tuan Tuan. Since he had to help Xiao Lei find her, he’d soon see for himself who she really was.

Turning back, Kong Zhe began considering how to reach the building opposite.

Descending was out of the question—the first floor was crawling with monsters, a death sentence. The only option was to keep climbing.

The gap between this building and the one opposite was about ten meters. Jumping from a window was impossible, but from the rooftop there might be a way.

This traced back to the mall’s history. The mall was famous across Qing City, and Kong Zhe knew it well. Both buildings belonged to the same owner.

Originally, the owner had planned to build a skybridge connecting the rooftops, but for practical and financial reasons, construction was halted halfway. From outside, it looked as if the bridge had been blown apart in the middle. Thus, the mall earned its nickname: Broken Bridge Mall.

Though the gap between the buildings was over ten meters, the ends of the broken bridge were less than five meters apart. With a running start, an ordinary adult with some skill could leap across—but few dared try.

The greatest obstacle was height: nearly twenty meters above ground. Most people felt dizzy just looking down, let alone jumping four or five meters at such an altitude. Unless one could conquer their fear, mistakes would be fatal.

To Kong Zhe, however, it was no issue. With his awakened physique, he could easily clear the gap—even carrying another person. As for fear…after three years in the apocalypse, he’d faced every manner of mortal peril. His nerves were steel; whether twenty meters or several hundred, he could trust his movements to remain flawless.

“Let’s go!”

The mall’s third floor was a small library, the fourth an office area—neither held much of use for Kong Zhe, so he didn’t bother searching them. He led Xiao Lei straight to the fifth floor.

The moment they arrived, a pungent stench of blood struck them. Kong Zhe narrowed his eyes and quickly pulled Xiao Lei behind him, shielding her gaze.

The entrance was heaped with the corpses of monsters and humans. The deaths were gruesome—especially the humans, torn beyond recognition, several women even lying naked among the dead.

Skirting the carnage, Kong Zhe quietly led Xiao Lei to the fifth floor’s entrance.

The door was tightly shut. As they approached, Kong Zhe heard faint voices from inside.

Pressing his ear to the door, his awakened senses allowed him to discern that at least twenty people were within.

He hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to knock.

The fifth floor was a buffet restaurant; where there was a restaurant, there was surely food. Kong Zhe was not about to let that slip by, and the fifth floor was the only way to the rooftop.

Moreover, since so many survivors were inside, perhaps he could find someone suitable for his escort mission.

No sooner had he knocked than the voices inside abruptly ceased. Moments later, footsteps approached the door, and a wary female voice called out.

“Who’s there?”

Kong Zhe knew the people inside were probably peering out through the crack. He said nothing, but stepped away from the doorway, standing back so they could see him clearly.