ctnovel Chapter 5 Toxic Air
Chapter 5 Toxic Air
Lin Mo made a quick decision and led Hammer back to the supermarket.
He stood at the entrance, looking out at the street through the broken glass door. In just a few minutes, the scene had completely changed.
On the street, some people were kneeling on the ground, coughing violently, with foamy liquid spilling from their mouths and noses. Others lay on the roadside, their limbs convulsing and their pupils dilated.
"Go back and block the door," Lin Mo said to Hammer.
Together, the two men righted the overturned shelves at the supermarket entrance and piled them up at the doorway, forming a makeshift barrier. Two skeleton soldiers stood beside them, eerie green flames flickering in their eye sockets, watching the outside world warily.
Lin Mo leaned against the wall, panting heavily.
He could feel it; his breathing became rapid, his chest felt tight, and he felt a slight numbness in his extremities.
Early symptoms of poisoning.
Hammer was in a worse state; he was pale, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his hands were trembling as he gripped the shelf.
"I...I feel unwell..." Hammer's voice trembled.
"It's normal." Lin Mo wiped his sweat. "Everyone feels unwell sometimes, just get through it."
He quickly scanned the inside of the supermarket.
This place is enormous, with each floor exceeding 2,000 square meters. Including the two upper and lower floors and the basement, the total area is nearly 7,000 square meters. There are seven or eight entrances, including the main entrance, side entrances, fire exits, and unloading areas. Moreover, the street-facing side is entirely a glass curtain wall, offering absolutely no protection against any aggressive creatures.
This is not a proper shelter.
But the air concentration outside had reached a critical point, leaving them with no other choice.
"Find a floor plan," Lin Mo said. "These large supermarkets must have fire evacuation plans, the kind that are hung on the wall."
The two split up to search, and Hammer found it on the wall behind the cashier.
Lin Mo took the floor plan and quickly glanced at it.
First floor: shopping area, fresh food area, cashier area, bakery.
Second floor: shopping area, office area, storage area, staff lounge, manager's office.
Basement level: parking lot and equipment room.
His gaze was fixed on the office area on the second floor.
The manager's office has an iron gate, is a suite-style building, has a separate bathroom, and the windows have security bars.
"This is it." Lin Mo pointed to the location on the floor plan: "Let's go."
Two skeleton soldiers led the way, Lin Mo walked in the middle carrying an AR-15, and Hammer followed behind with a baseball bat in his arms. The four of them went up to the second floor via the fire escape stairs.
The second floor was in better condition than the first floor; the lighting was dim, but it was largely undamaged.
The office area is at the end of the corridor, requiring you to walk through a passage of about fifty meters.
Lin Mo quickened his pace, the two skeleton soldiers' feet making a cracking sound on the floor tiles, which was particularly jarring in the empty corridor.
The door to the manager's office was closed.
Lin Mo pushed it, and luckily, it wasn't locked.
After opening the door, Lin Mo rushed in first, quickly checking every corner.
The outer room is the secretary's office area, with a desk, a computer, and several filing cabinets. The inner room is the manager's office, with a large executive desk, a leather sofa, and a folding bed. At the far end is a private bathroom, fully equipped with a toilet, sink, and shower.
The windows are sliding windows, and the outside is fitted with stainless steel security bars.
Lin Mo walked to the window and looked out through the glass.
Outside was the back alley of the supermarket; there were no monsters or pedestrians.
Safety.
"Hammer, go and drag the bodies inside," Lin Mo said. "The bodies of the three thugs we killed earlier are still in the supermarket."
Hammer's face turned deathly pale: "Drag...drag the corpse?"
"Or you can go move the supplies?" Lin Mo said without looking up. "One of the two!"
Hammer gritted his teeth, turned around, and left.
Lin Mo began to check the room's defenses.
The door was made of iron, very sturdy, many times stronger than those partition walls with light steel frames. He used a large executive desk to prop the door open and then moved two filing cabinets to the back.
The security bars on the window are welded to the wall and cannot be opened from the outside without specialized tools.
The ventilation duct opening in the private bathroom is so small that even a cat can't squeeze in.
This is the safest place in the entire supermarket.
Ten minutes later, Hammer returned, his face deathly pale, his clothes stained with dark red blood, and he was dragging the leg of a corpse in his hand.
"Three...three bodies are in the hallway." Hammer leaned against the wall and dry heaved.
Lin Mo had the skeleton soldiers drag the three corpses into the inner room and neatly arrange them on the ground.
Then he closed the door and locked it.
Hammer slumped on the sofa, panting heavily, looking as if he had been pulled out of the water.
"Drink water." Lin Mo tossed him a bottle of water. "Take small sips frequently, don't drink too much at once. Your body is adapting to the air in this new world, so your metabolism will be faster, and you need to stay hydrated."
Hammer unscrewed the cap and took small sips.
Lin Mo also felt his physical discomfort worsening. His limbs became heavier and heavier, his vision began to blur, and his eardrums felt like they were blocked by a layer of something.
But he cannot fall down now.
He ordered the skeleton soldiers to drag the three corpses into the inner room, closed the door, and gripped the undead amulet tightly.
The gray light surged forth once more.
His mana dropped from 30 to 0, the three corpses disappeared, and in their place were three skeleton soldiers, kneeling on one knee in front of Lin Mo.
Five.
Lin Mo looked at the five skeleton soldiers standing in the room. The eerie green flames in their eye sockets resembled five pairs of ghost lamps, standing out conspicuously in the dim room.
An unprecedented sense of security welled up inside me.
In his previous life, a month after the game began, he was still grateful to have found an expired can of food. Now, less than two hours after the game began, he already has five undead soldiers, weapons, food, water, and a relatively safe shelter.
A world of difference.
Lin Mo walked to the folding bed, plopped down, and felt like his whole body was falling apart.
The symptoms of air poisoning are getting worse.
My breathing was so rapid it felt like I was sprinting 100 meters, my heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of my chest, and my extremities were completely numb; I couldn't even clench my fist.
He lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to his own breathing.
Hammer was silent in the outer room; he must have passed out.
Lin Mo closed his eyes.
Five skeleton soldiers stood motionless in different corners of the room, like five statues.
As long as they are there, he is not alone.
This night was destined to be long.
......
Lin Mo was awakened by thirst.
My throat felt like it had been sanded, my lips were dry, cracked, and bleeding, and my eyelids felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.
He struggled to sit up in bed and glanced at his watch.
The next day, at 10 a.m.
He had been lying there for nearly eighteen hours.
Lin Mo picked up the water bottle from the bedside table and sipped it slowly. The water flowed down his throat as if irrigating a parched land.
My body is still weak and my limbs are still numb, but I'm much better than yesterday.
At least he can move now.
He stood up, supporting himself on the edge of the bed. His legs were as weak as noodles, and he had to lean against the wall after taking two steps.
The five skeleton soldiers remained in their original positions, the ghostly flames in their eye sockets flickering eerily.
Lin Mo pushed open the door to the inner room and walked out into the outer room.
Hammer lay on the sofa, pale and with purple lips, but breathing steadily.
still alive.
Lin Mo rummaged through the pile of supplies and found two cans of food and a pack of compressed biscuits. He opened them with a can opener and sat down at his desk to eat.
The taste was bland, but he ate it very attentively.
Every bite replenishes energy, and every bite accelerates recovery.
In his previous life, it took him three days to recover from the first wave of air poisoning, but that was because he didn't have enough food and water and had to endure it on an empty stomach.
In this life, he has ample supplies, and his recovery speed is at least twice as fast.
After finishing his meal, Lin Mo drank a bottle of water and then went back to bed to continue lying down.
The body needs rest and time to adjust to this unfamiliar air.
It can't be rushed.