XG 14 - The law could not save her now

Nurul Hanani no longer had the energy to sit up, much less walk. Even the pain from the bite wound no longer made her feel uncomfortable and easily ignorable. Her current state had her whole weight practically supported by Suzie Yap, who wrapped an arm around her waist and carried her along.

She knew her zombification was getting closer as her thoughts grew scattered and became harder to focus. She only came to herself when she felt something cold on her back.

Inside the kitchen utility store, Suzie Yap had placed Nurul Hanani down and leaned her against the wall for support while she went to search for new knives. The blood and harsh usage had made her knives no longer in their top shape. She picked two knives that were much sharper than the ones she had been using, quickly losing her favor.

Nurul Hanani was shocked at how casual Mrs. Wong was when she took the knives without hesitation, as someone that lived in a rule-abiding world. Was it so easy to disregard rules? It was only after they left the store and walked far ahead did Nurul Hanani come to terms with it. The current situation was where the law was useless.

The law could not save her now. Which zombie still has the mind to obey them anyway?

Along the way, there were no zombies in sight and they entered another store, this time the convenience store. Once again placing Nurul Hanani on the floor with her back on a shelf, Suzie Yap grabbed a lot of snacks and tossed them at the teenager.

"Eat as much as you can. You need a lot of energy if you want to survive this." If Nurul Hanani does not have enough energy, her survival chance will decrease and the gene will consume her.

Nurul Hanani slowly lowered her gaze onto the packets around her. Mrs. Wong had grabbed a lot of fattening, high nutrient food for her. Strangely, these foods that usually held low appeal to her suddenly looked very appetizing to her eyes. It was with difficulty that she lifted her hands to grab the bananas. If it was not because of common sense to peel the skin first, she would have eaten the banana together with the skin.

Why was she suddenly so hungry? Even her stomach started to feel uncomfortable by its emptiness.

Suzie Yap watched as Nurul Hanani's speed in eating grew as she devoured the bananas and chocolates. Removing the cap, she handed the mineral water for Nurul Hanani to drink.

"Drink. Then continue to eat."

Nurul Hanani could feel herself getting a little better after eating those foods. Gulping down the water until the bottle emptied out, she continued to gorge herself with food. She had never thought the method to survive this was actually this easy. But it was also difficult if one does not have enough food around.

Who would have thought to eat after being bitten anyway?

Suzie Yap was gathering more food when a guy stepping into her view.

"Hi." His clothing told her that he was a worker of this shop. He looked to be in his thirties with oily skin where the light could be reflected from them. "I… I'm a survivor, just like you."

The man stepped closer, and his shirt rode up to reveal his beer belly that was difficult to be covered. "My name is John. Can I follow you? We, survivors, should stick together. I can help you."

Suzie Yap forwardly revealed, "I have an infected person with me."

John's eyes twitched but his words were surprisingly rather accepting. "I don't mind. You can make all the decisions and I will follow you."

Towards his flattering expression that was eager to please, she was not impressed.

Logically, if she was in his shoes, she will first judge them according to their appearance. She was taller and fairer than the average woman of her age. Even with blood on her, it could not conceal her origin as a rich lady that was used to having others doing things for her. How would such a woman survive in hardship?

Suzie Yap had at least fifty years of experience and easily seen through this man's flattery was not out of desperation, but with a plan. His posture was one without arrogance, treating her like a big boss that he could seek help from. But he could not hide his lust that he intended to hide under his reverence.

His sneaking glances at her figure were not one she was willing to endure.

Suzie Yap had seen this kind of scumbag that disrespects women before and could deal with him quickly with her own brand of violence. But she was interested with the glint of recognition she caught from his eyes when he saw her.

She was sure that she had never encountered this man before and she was careful to not get caught in TV or photos. As for shopping, she always called the store manager to bring the new products to her house for her to shop privately.

With a worrying sigh, Suzie Yap spoke with a sad tone, amplifying her feeble and delicate appearance. "I'm only a weak woman and my partner is infected. You should find other people instead."

John glanced at the brand new kitchen knives in her hand with a meaningful gaze before smiling like a saint. "I don't mind protecting you. I'm a man."

What a liar. He clearly does not believe her words and even the offer of protecting her was just lip service.

"Food is important now." Suzie Yap did not say whether he was invited into her group or not, but John was rather optimistic.

Being a worker here, he knew about the shopping mall's exit route rather well. Being antisocial, he often used the exit that was seldom taken by other workers to avoid the crowd. John hated those people that dared to look down on him when they were the same as him. They were so pretentious, dressed smartly with their second-hand goods to make themselves feel superior to others. He had never felt so refreshed in his entire life when he saw those pretentious bastards died under those zombies' bites.

John felt that this end of the world was a good opportunity for him to thrive. He managed to hide in time and survived. His luck had changed for the better when fate allowed this woman to enter his life.

"I will help you gather food. There is a large bag under the counter," John spoke helpfully.

"Please pick food with higher energy refilling," Suzie Yap said after grabbing a recyclable bag. "I will go over there to pick some medicine."

"I can go with you-"

"It would be faster if we go separate ways," Suzie Yap smoothly declined and left without waiting for his response.

Reaching the medicine shelves, she grabbed the medicines without needing to read the labels carefully and left unrelated medicines alone. She shoved them all into the recyclable bag until it occupied half of the space.

Suddenly, her movement stopped and her ears twitched as she accurately pinpointed John's footsteps at the other end corner where the shelves were filled with canned food. Her eyes trailed to the path where John had come out from, which happened to be a small room filled with stored products.

Stepping into the room, Suzie Yap’s uninterested gaze swept the boxes of foods and rested on the black backpack that was left unzipped on the floor. An earphone wire sticks out from the bag, which was attached to a mobile phone.

With a swipe, the screen showed a paused video of a familiar place. Clicking onto the play button, the more she watched, the darker Suzie Yap's face became.

"What a scumbag," Suzie Yap sneered. Tossing the phone to the floor, she destroyed it with her shoes and crushed it into pieces.

But the video did answer why he would insist on being her lapdog, which was playing the moment she cut down the failure into large chunks of meat inside the washroom.

Not knowing his secret was exposed, John had swept as much stomach-filling food into the large bag into a large plastic bag. Satisfied, he immediately thought of searching for his Goddess and brush his favorability.

The sound of chewing and crispy plastic bag entered his ears while he journeys back. John's face unconsciously frowned. He could see Suzie Yap’s partner was someone important to her, or else why would she still let the infected girl remain alive? She had literally barged into the washroom to rescue that girl.

But John has no plans in letting that girl continue tagging along and threaten his safety. Suzie Yap only needs to focus on him and once they experienced hardship together, she would definitely succumb to his seduction. His smile grew wider, already imagining that moment.

Moving silently as he pulled out a knife from his jacket, John headed to where the infected girl was, his gaze becoming ruthless. But the sharp gaze was immediately dispersed like a cloud facing the fierce wind when he saw the girl that was not the one from the video.

His body trembled in fear as he watched the infected girl shoved food into her mouth non-stop. Was she trying to hold back her urge to bite people by eating food?

His distracted state had his guard down, and only when he felt pain on his back did he realize too late of the danger.

Nurul Hanani noticed someone was getting closer to her and raised her head, just in time to see a woman coming behind that man. She trembled from the sudden chill when she saw Suzie Yap's eyes that were staring at the man as if he was trash that needed to be removed.

Her body jerked in reflex when the unguarded man was stabbed on his back. With wide eyes, she watched as the elder woman grabbed the man's neck and dragged him away. That man's trashing failed to dislodge the choking grip, but it successfully makes the wound wider on his back.

"Do you think I will let your kind of person around my daughter?” Suzie Yap whispered and they left Nurul Hanani's view.

Among her family members whose careers were in the police force, Nurul Hanani did not hesitate to admit she was the one with the lowest sense of justice. No thanks to Wong Xue Guo’s influence, she would choose to help her family and good friends that she trusted, whether they were right or wrong, instead of outsiders.

Hands shaking as she grabbed a new pack of potato chips, she messily tore it and stuffed herself again.

Guo Guo, your mother is way too different from what we think!