"Disgusting..." Qiao Jiajin frowned as he looked at the dirty thing on the ground. "This strong stench, could it be excrement?"

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Excrement?

Qi Xia suddenly turned his head to look at Qiao Jiajin.

This was an interesting perspective.

In other words, besides the nine of them and the animal masks, there were other people here.

Or perhaps... other "things".

This person or "thing" seemed to have lived here for a long time, otherwise there wouldn't be excrement all over the floor.

Everyone searched around, but they couldn't find any needles or gauze. There was no pharmacy or clinic outside the convenience store either. If they blindly went out to look for one, Han Yimo probably wouldn't be able to hold on for long.

"What should we do..." Officer Li put his hands on his hips and looked helplessly at Dr. Zhao, seemingly seeking his opinion.

Before Dr. Zhao could speak, there was a noise behind the cashier counter of the convenience store, and the door to the staff room slowly opened.

The nine of them were shocked and immediately took a few steps back, looking at the slowly opening door.

A thin figure flashed out from behind the door.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a girl who was so thin that she didn't even look human, and her age couldn't be discerned.

Her cheeks were deeply sunken, and her eyes bulged outwards, as if there was no flesh left on her face.

She pursed her cracked lips and curiously looked at the group.

After a brief moment of daze, she seemed to have realized something and quickly tidied up her dirty and tattered clothes, speaking in a hoarse voice, "Welcome..."

Welcome...?

Officer Li carefully understood the meaning of this sentence and seemed to have understood.

"Are you... a shop assistant?" Qi Xia asked the girl without changing his expression.

The girl nodded, "Mm."

No one said anything more because this matter revealed an irrationality.

Not to mention why there were other humans here, even if she really was a "shop assistant," why would she be working in a completely dilapidated convenience store?

Seeing that the group didn't move, the shop assistant could only tentatively say, "Please feel free to choose."

Although she said that, there was hardly any space to "choose" here.

The shelves were almost empty, and the few things that were left had rotted and were covered in filth.

The shop assistant's eyes were dull, staring fixedly at the group.

This gaze made several of the girls feel scared.

"Do you have any needles and thread?" Qi Xia asked the shop assistant calmly.

"Needles... and thread?" The shop assistant's lifeless eyes twitched slightly, and then she reached out her hand, simulating the action of threading a needle, "You mean... this kind of needles and thread?"

The group then noticed that her hands were covered in dried black bloodstains, which was quite horrifying.

Qi Xia took a step forward and said, "Yes, this kind of needles and thread. Do you sell them?"

"You... liar," Qiao Jiajin, who used to think he was the bravest person in the world before he met Qi Xia, couldn't even dare to talk to this woman now. "This woman is not normal, can't you see?"

"So what if I can see?" Qi Xia said calmly, "Our situation can't get any worse than it is now."

The shop assistant pondered for a while with a vacant expression, then suddenly opened the partition behind the counter and rushed out.

The group finally saw her appearance clearly.

She was wearing a dirty and oversized white shirt, which looked as if it was hanging on a hanger, completely mismatched.

The shirt had something smeared on it, giving off a greasy feeling, as if it was oil or blood.

The shirt almost reached her knees, and it seemed like she wasn't wearing pants, as her thighs were covered in dried bloodstains.

Qi Xia furrowed his brows slightly and tried to take a step back, but the shop assistant grabbed his wrist.

He felt as if his wrist was entwined by an old vine, dry and painful.

"I have it here!!" The shop assistant opened her mouth, revealing yellowed teeth. "I have 'needles and thread'! Come with me!"

Her hand kept pointing towards the "staff room," as if she wanted Qi Xia to follow her inside.

The group was genuinely scared. Based on this woman's current behavior, it wasn't a good idea to go in with her.

"Forget it... we won't buy it!" Qiao Jiajin walked up and tried to pull the woman's hand away. "Let go first."

But the shop assistant seemed to not hear him at all. She continued to pull Qi Xia while moving her feet, wearing a happy smile.

"There are 'needles and thread' in this room! Come with me!"

Her strength was even greater than that of Qiao Jiajin and Qi Xia combined.

"Hey!! Come and help!" Qiao Jiajin turned around and shouted.

Officer Li and Dr. Zhao snapped back to their senses and quickly rushed over.

The shop assistant unexpectedly let go of Qi Xia's hand.

"Ah!"

A cry of alarm, and several people almost fell.

After stabilizing themselves, they saw that the shop assistant didn't pay any attention to them. Instead, she turned around and started rummaging through things in the room.

The four men also looked around the room in a state of shock.

It was slightly cleaner here than outside, with a folded bed in the corner. The bedding had turned yellow.

There was a large patch of bloodstains on it, which looked relatively fresh.In another corner, a simple stove held a rusty iron pot, in which something was bubbling and cooking.

The female shop assistant seemed oblivious to everything, rummaging through an old box.

"Where is it... needle and thread..." She kept tossing things out of the box, which contained soda cans, old magazines, and pots and pans.

Qiao Jiajin touched his nose and looked at the iron pot.

"Speaking of which, I'm quite hungry," he whispered to Qi Xia, "If she wasn't crazy, I'd ask her if I could have a meal."

Qi Xia glanced at the iron pot, in which a white object was cooking.

He also felt a bit hungry.

"You dare to eat the food here?" Officer Li asked, "Who knows how dirty that thing is..."

"But it smells delicious."

Qiao Jiajin was right. Thanks to the iron pot, the room was filled with a fragrant aroma, covering up the stench.

"What are you cooking?" Qiao Jiajin asked bravely, it seemed he really wanted a share.

"Piglet," the female shop assistant replied.

"Piglet?"

Qiao Jiajin was interested and was about to go over to the iron pot when the female shop assistant suddenly exclaimed.

"Ah! Found it!"

She turned around, holding something in her hands, and excitedly said to everyone, "Look! Needle and thread!"

Officer Li stepped forward and looked, his expression a bit troubled.

This was not a "needle and thread", but a rusty fish hook, plus a small bundle of tangled fishing line.

He turned to look at Dr. Zhao, giving him a meaningful glance.

Dr. Zhao thought for a moment, staring at the fish hook and fishing line, and asked, "Miss, do you have any other needles and threads?"

"No more," the female shop assistant shook her head, "Only this, are you buying?"