Clerk

"Ugh, that's disgusting..." Qiao Jia Jian wrinkled his brow as he looked at the dirty things on the ground, "This pungent smell, could it be excrement?"

Excrement?

Qi Xia suddenly turned to look at Qiao Jia Jian.

This was an interesting point.

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

Or perhaps... other 'things'.

This person or 'thing' seemed to have been living here for a long time, otherwise, it wouldn't have left excrement all over the floor.

The group searched around but couldn't find any needles or bandages. And there were no pharmacies or clinics outside the convenience store. Han Yi Mo was afraid he wouldn't last long if they went out blindly to look for them.

"What should we do..." Li, the police officer, put his hands on his waist and looked helplessly at Dr. Zhao, seemingly asking for his opinion.

Before Dr. Zhao could speak, a noise came from behind the cash register of the convenience store, and the door to the staff room slowly opened.

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

A thin figure emerged from behind the door.

Upon closer inspection, it was a woman.

It was impossible to tell her age.

Her cheeks were deeply sunken, and her eyes protruded as if all the flesh on her face was gone.

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

After a brief moment of stupor, she seemed to come to her senses and hastily tidied up her dirty, tattered clothes. She spoke in a hoarse voice, saying, "Welcome... Welcome?"

Li, the police officer, carefully understood the meaning of this sentence and seemed to get it.

"Are you... the clerk?"

The girl nodded.

The group didn't speak anymore because there was an air of unreasonableness about this.

Not to mention why there was another human here, even if she was really the 'clerk', why would she be working in a completely dilapidated convenience store?

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

Although she said that, there was no room for 'choosing' here.

There were almost no goods on the shelves, and what was there was all rotten and covered in filth.

The clerk's eyes were dull, staring at the group.

This gaze made some of the girls a bit scared.

"Do you have any needles and thread?" Qi Xia asked the clerk without changing his expression.

"Needles... and thread?" The clerk's lifeless eyes moved slightly, then she stretched out her hand, mimicking the action of threading a needle, "Are you talking about... this kind of needle and thread?"

The group then noticed that her hands were covered in dried, dark blood, which was quite frightening.

Qi Xia took another step forward and said, "Yes, this kind of needle and thread, do you sell it?"

"Liar, you..." Qiao Jia Jian, before knowing Qi Xia, thought he was the bravest person in the world, but now he didn't dare to talk to this woman, "This woman is not normal, can't you see that?

"What if I see it?" Qi Xia said calmly, "Our situation can't get any worse."

The female clerk thought for a while in a daze, then suddenly opened the partition of the front desk and rushed out.

The group finally saw her full appearance.

She was wearing a dirty, oversized white shirt that was as inappropriate as if the clothes were hanging on a hanger.

The shirt was smeared with something that felt like oil or blood.

This shirt almost reached her knees, and it seemed like she wasn't wearing pants, with her thighs covered in dried blood.

Qi Xia frowned slightly, wanting to take a step back, but was grabbed by the clerk's wrist.

He felt his wrist as if it were tightly bound by an old tree root, causing unbearable pain.

"I have it here!" The female clerk opened her mouth, revealing yellowed teeth, "I have 'needle and thread'! Come with me!"

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

The group was really scared by her, and judging by her previous performance, following her in was definitely not a good idea.

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

But the female clerk seemed not to hear, pulling Qi Xia as she moved her steps, while showing a happy smile.

"There is 'needle and thread' in this room! Come on!"

Her strength was even greater than the combined strength of Qiao Jia Jian and Qi Xia, two big men.

"Hey!! Come and help!" Qiao Jia Jian turned his head and shouted.

Li, the police officer, and Dr. Zhao came to their senses and rushed over as well.

The female clerk couldn't help but quicken her pace.

Qi Xia only felt a huge force dragging him, completely unable to break free.

The distance between the two and the staff room was not far, and now in just a few steps, they had entered the door.

Dr. Zhao and Li, the police officer, were pulling Qi Xia outward, but they didn't expect the female clerk to suddenly let go of her hand.

"Ah!

A cry of alarm, and several people almost fell over.

After each person steadied themselves, they saw that the female clerk didn't pay any attention to them.

Instead, she turned around and began rummaging through things in the room.

The four men also looked around the room, still shaken.

It was a bit cleaner in here than outside. In the corner, there was a folding bed with yellowed bedding,

and a large, seemingly fresh, bloodstain on top.

In another corner, a simple stove held a rusty iron pot, in which something was bubbling and cooking.

The female clerk, however, seemed oblivious to everything and was rummaging through an old box.

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

Qiao Jia Jian touched his nose and looked at the iron pot.

"Speaking of which, I'm really quite hungry," he whispered to Qi Xia,

"If she wasn't a crazy woman, I'd ask her if I could get a bite to eat."

Qi Xia glanced at the iron pot, where something white was cooking.

He felt a bit hungry too.

"Are you really going to eat something from this place?" Officer Li asked, "Who knows how dirty that stuff is..."

"But it smells really good."

Qiao Jia Jian was right. Thanks to the iron pot, the room was filled with a fragrant aroma that covered up the foul smell.

"What are you cooking?" Qiao Jia Jian boldly asked, seemingly really wanting a share.

"Little pig Hui," the female clerk replied.

"A little piglet?"

Qiao Jia Jian became interested and was about to go take a look at the iron pot when the female clerk suddenly exclaimed.

"Ah! Found it!

She turned around, holding something in both hands, and said to everyone excitedly:

"Look! Needle and thread!

Officer Li stepped forward to take a look and looked a bit troubled.

It wasn't 'needle and thread' at all, but a rusty fishhook and a small bundle of messy fishing line.

He turned to look at Dr. Zhao and signaled him with his eyes.

Dr. Zhao thought for a moment, then, looking at the fishhook and fishing line, he asked, "Miss, do you have any other needle and thread?

"No more," the female clerk shook her head, "Just this, will you buy it?"