Chapter 22: The Clerk
"How disgusting..." Qiao Jiajin frowned at the filthy thing on the ground. "That stench is unbearable—could it be excrement?"
Excrement?
Qi Xia suddenly turned to look at Qiao Jiajin.
That was a very interesting point of view.
In other words, aside from the nine of them and the animal masks, there were other people here.
Or rather... other "things."
This person or "thing" seemed to have been living here for a long time, otherwise it couldn't have left excrement all over the floor.
Everyone searched around, but couldn't find any needles or gauze. And outside the convenience store, there was no pharmacy or clinic in sight. If they went out blindly to look, Han Yimo probably wouldn't hold out that long.
"What are we going to do..." Officer Li put his hands on his hips and looked helplessly at Dr. Zhao, as if seeking his advice.
Before Dr. Zhao could speak, a noise came from behind the checkout counter of the convenience store, and the door to the employee break room slowly opened.
The nine of them were startled and immediately stepped back, staring at the slowly opening door.
A thin figure emerged from behind the door.
When they looked closely, the person who came out was a girl so emaciated she hardly looked human—it was impossible to tell her age.
Her cheeks were deeply sunken, her eyes bulging outward, as if all the flesh on her face had disappeared.
She pursed her cracked lips and looked at them curiously.
After a brief moment of stunned silence, it seemed she came to her senses. She hurriedly straightened her dirty, tattered clothes and spoke in a hoarse voice: "Welcome..."
Welcome?
Officer Li carefully considered the meaning of those words and seemed to understand.
"Are you... a clerk?"
The girl nodded. "Mm."
No one said anything more, because this situation reeked of absurdity.
Not to mention why there were other humans here, even if she really was a "clerk," why would she be working in a completely ruined convenience store?
Seeing that no one moved, the clerk tentatively said, "Please feel free to browse."
But even though she said that, what was there to "browse"?
The shelves were almost empty, and the few things left were rotten, covered in filth.
The clerk's eyes were blank, staring fixedly at them.
That gaze made some of the women a little afraid.
"Do you have a needle and thread?" Qi Xia asked the clerk without changing his expression.
"Needle... thread?" The clerk's lifeless eyes moved slightly, then she reached out and mimicked the motion of threading a needle. "You mean... this kind of needle and thread?"
Only then did everyone notice that her hands were covered in dried, blackened bloodstains, which was quite horrifying.
Qi Xia took another step forward and said, "That's right, that kind of needle and thread. Do you sell them?"
"Liar, you—" Before Qiao Jiajin got to know Qi Xia, he thought he was the boldest person in the world, but even he didn't dare to talk to this woman now. "This woman isn't normal, can't you see that?"
"So what if I can?" Qi Xia said calmly. "Our situation can't get worse than it already is."
The female clerk pondered blankly for a moment, then suddenly opened the counter partition and rushed out.
Only then did everyone get a full view of her.
She was wearing a dirty, oversized white shirt that hung on her like clothes on a hanger— completely ill-fitting.
There was something smeared on the shirt, hard to tell if it was oil or blood.
The shirt reached almost to her knees; her lower body seemed to have no pants on, and her thighs were covered in dried bloodstains.
Qi Xia frowned slightly and wanted to step back, but the female clerk grabbed his wrist.
He felt as if his wrist had been wrapped by an old tree vine—dry and painful.
"I have some here!!" The female clerk opened her mouth, revealing yellowed teeth. "I have 'needle and thread'! Come with me!"
She kept pointing toward the "employee break room," as if wanting Qi Xia to go in with her.
Everyone was genuinely frightened by her. Given this woman's current behavior, following her in there was not a good idea at all.
"Forget it... we're not buying!" Qiao Jiajin stepped forward, trying to pull the woman's hand away. "Let go first."
But the female clerk acted as if she hadn't heard him. She pulled Qi Xia along, moving her feet while showing a happy smile.
"There's 'needle and thread' in this room! Come on!"
Her strength was even greater than that of Qiao Jiajin and Qi Xia combined.
"Hey!! Come help!" Qiao Jiajin shouted back.
Officer Li and Dr. Zhao snapped out of it and quickly rushed over.
The female clerk involuntarily quickened her pace.
Qi Xia felt a tremendous force dragging him, completely unable to break free.
The distance between them and the employee break room was not far, and in just six or seven steps, they were through the door.
Dr. Zhao and Officer Li were pulling Qi Xia outward, but unexpectedly, the female clerk suddenly let go.
"Ah!"
With a cry, several people nearly fell.
After they steadied themselves, they saw that the female clerk didn't care about them at all. Instead, she turned around and started rummaging through boxes and cabinets in the room, looking for something.
The four men, still shaken, also took a look around the room.
It was slightly cleaner than outside. In the corner was a folding bed with yellowed bedding.
There was also a large patch of bloodstains on it, looking relatively fresh.
In another corner, a rusty iron pot sat on a simple stove, bubbling as it cooked something.
And the female clerk, oblivious to everything, was digging through an old box.
"Where is it... needle and thread..." She kept throwing things out of the box—aluminum cans, old magazines, pots and pans.
Qiao Jiajin rubbed his nose and looked at the iron pot.
"Speaking of which, I'm actually pretty hungry," he whispered to Qi Xia. "If only she weren't a crazy woman, I'd ask her if I could have a bite."
Qi Xia glanced at the pot. Inside, something white was boiling.
He felt a little hungry too.
"You'd dare eat something from this place?" Officer Li asked. "Who knows how dirty that stuff is..."
"But it smells really good."
Qiao Jiajin was right. Thanks to the iron pot, the room actually had a fragrant smell that covered up the stench.
"What are you cooking?" Qiao Jiajin asked boldly. It seemed he really wanted a share.
"A little piglet," the female clerk replied.
"A little piglet?"
Qiao Jiajin became interested and was about to go look at the pot, when the female clerk exclaimed.
"Ah! Found it!"
She turned around, holding something in both hands, and said excitedly to everyone, "Look! Needle and thread!"
Officer Li stepped forward to look, and his expression turned awkward.
This was not "needle and thread" at all—it was a rusty fishhook, plus a small bundle of tangled fishing line.
He turned to look at Dr. Zhao, signaling with his eyes.
Dr. Zhao thought for a moment, stared at the fishhook and fishing line, and asked, "Miss, do you have any other needle and thread?"
"No," the female clerk shook her head. "Just this. Do you want to buy it?"