Chapter 22

After everyone had hidden, a voice came from inside the supermarket: "This place is ours tonight, get lost as far as you can!"

David Scarface was naturally unwilling to back down and shouted, "You think you can get away with killing our people? Dream on! Get out of the supermarket now, or don't blame me for being unfriendly!" After saying this, Scarface gave Ma Le a nod and made a throwing gesture, clearly signaling him to prepare to throw a grenade.

Ma Le understood immediately. Scarface was planning to show their strength to the people inside and use up some of the grenades to reduce the threat. However, Ma Le wasn't worried. He had found a total of six grenades, given one to Johnny, and still had five left. Throwing one or two wouldn't hurt. Besides, he had more supplies in his apartment in the infected zone, including rocket launchers and grenade launchers. A few grenades were nothing. Ma Le took out a grenade and nodded at Scarface.

The group inside the supermarket, having the advantage of their position, was naturally unwilling to let go and continued to shout, "Hmph, if you're not afraid of death, come over and try! We'll see if your heads are harder than our bullets!"

Scarface David snorted coldly and shouted, "You asked for it! Anderson, throw!" At Scarface's command, Ma Le gathered his strength, didn't show his head, and threw the grenade. With Ma Le's abnormal strength, the grenade flew straight toward the source of the voice and exploded inside the supermarket with a loud "boom." A scream of pain followed, along with the panicked cries of many people: "Is James okay?" "What's wrong with James?"

Seeing the perfect opportunity, Scarface David shouted, "Charge!" and led the group out of the abandoned car. However, they had only run a couple of meters when another gunshot rang out, and another person fell in a pool of blood. The remaining people immediately lost their courage and scrambled back behind the abandoned car.

"Damn it, you actually have grenades!" the people inside shouted angrily. Scarface David laughed and responded, "James, I heard your name. I didn't expect to run into you here!"

The one inside called James responded, "Ah, you're David Scarface, damn it! I didn't finish you off last time, and I won't let you go today!"

Scarface didn't care and said, "Stop shouting. If you want to kill me, go ahead. My head is right here, come and get it!" After a few arrogant words, seeing no response from the other side, Scarface David's tone turned cold, "James, don't blame me for not warning you. We have twenty grenades. If you give up the supermarket, I'll let bygones be bygones and leave you some loot. If you refuse, I'll blow up the supermarket rather than leave it to you!"

This threat clearly worked. The grenade Ma Le had thrown earlier hadn't hit James directly; it had just knocked him over with the blast. In the densely packed supermarket, one grenade was enough to turn several shelves of goods into useless fragments. James watched as several rows of red wine bottles shattered into glass, and he was truly heartbroken.

James was once Scarface David's boss, but Scarface had stolen goods behind his back. When James discovered this, he was about to execute Scarface, but a hunter happened to pass by and decimated James's team, nearly killing James himself. Scarface took advantage of the chaos to escape.

James never expected to encounter this bastard again in the infected zone! Although he had heard in the safe zone that Scarface had returned and was forming a team, he hadn't taken it seriously. James had been a significant figure, with a group of followers, plenty of guns, and ammunition. Scarface, after betraying him, was alone and couldn't amount to much. But James never imagined that David would not only make a comeback but also obtain grenades. Damn, how did David manage to get such powerful weapons during this period of strict military control?

"Alright, we'll leave through the back door. You can come in after ten minutes," James shouted, and the sound of scattered footsteps could be heard inside the supermarket, followed by silence.

Scarface David was cautious and didn't dare to act rashly even after ten minutes. During this time, Ma Le used his crossbow to kill about twenty zombies attracted by the gunshots and shouting. After all, his weapon was the quietest, and the ammunition was easy to recover. Ma Le was happy with this arrangement. Although his crossbow proficiency was 120 points, he had never used it in real combat before. This was a good opportunity to get familiar with it and collect blood samples, achieving two goals at once.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, Scarface David made a move. He pointed at the young black boy Jerry and said, "You, go in and get some stuff out!"

This was clearly a way to use Jerry as a human shield to test for traps. Johnny immediately objected, "Boss Scarface, my brother is young and weak. He can't carry much..." Scarface David glared at him, "Then you go!" Johnny, of course, didn't dare to, and he knelt down, pleading, "Boss Scarface, please, don't send us to our deaths..." Jerry also knelt down, tears streaming down his face, unable to speak.

Ma Le couldn't stand it anymore and volunteered, "I'll go!" Scarface David looked at Ma Le and sneered at the kneeling black brothers, "Alright, since Anderson is willing to go, I'll spare you two!" Ma Le saw the hint of joy on David's face and realized that he had probably planned to send him from the beginning.

Ma Le was about to step out of the cover with his crossbow when Scarface David stopped him, "Anderson, the grenades on you are our trump card. If the enemy takes them, it won't be good. Leave them behind."

Ma Le turned to see Scarface David's gun subtly pointed at him, clearly a threat. But Ma Le didn't back down. He took out a grenade, inserted his finger into the pin, and coldly said, "What did you say? Let me correct you. These grenades are mine, not ours. If you're worried about my grenades, you can go yourself!"

Scarface's eyes narrowed as he watched Ma Le's actions. He knew that "Anderson" was telling him, "If you shoot, I'll pull the pin with my last strength, and the grenades will explode, leaving you with nothing!" Scarface snorted, "Be careful, they're very accurate with headshots!"

To be honest, Ma Le was a bit wary of the hidden headshot expert, but his high health and fake death skill gave him confidence that he wouldn't be in real danger. He had used the fake death skill a few times in the infected zone. This skill could only be activated when he received significant damage or was hit in a vital area. Once activated, he would appear dead but remain conscious, able to observe his surroundings and exit the fake death state at any time, making it a lifesaving skill in a melee.

Ma Le stepped out of the cover, rolled a few times on the ground, and hid behind the wall at the supermarket entrance. He picked up a piece of broken glass and used it to look inside, seeing no abnormalities. He then quickly dashed into the supermarket and hid behind a shelf full of goods. After about ten seconds, he took a box of cookies from the shelf and threw it into the darkness.

With a "thud," the cookies hit the ground, and there was no other sound. With his current hearing, Ma Le didn't hear even a breath or a noise, indicating that the enemy had truly left.

Ma Le casually took two bags of chips and threw them to the people behind the abandoned car, telling them the enemy was gone. They cheered and ran into the supermarket. When Johnny passed by Ma Le, he paused, and Ma Le patted his shoulder, saying nothing. Johnny lowered his head and followed the others. Jerry, being a child, was among the first to rush into the supermarket. He came out with a lot of stuff and gave some to Ma Le, "Anderson, this is for you. I love this brand of chocolate; one piece can last me a whole day!"

"Haha, keep it for yourself. I was already full when I saved you!" Ma Le patted the boy's head, and Jerry, not understanding the deeper meaning, happily went back to loot.

Scarface David didn't care about the ordinary goods; his goal was the money in the cash register. But when he reached the counter, he found the register had been broken open, and there wasn't a single coin left!

"Damn James, he took all the money!" Scarface David pounded the cash register and shouted. Old Frank, smoking a cigarette, walked over and handed David a newly opened pack of Marlboros, saying, "It might not be James. There are about four or five groups of 'gold diggers' active now, and most of the stores and supermarkets in the infected zone have been looted."

Ma Le heard this and shook his head, thinking, "No wonder I only found some loose change after running around so many stores. I thought the owners had taken it all, but it turns out it was you guys. And you only come out at night, when I usually return to my apartment. No wonder I never ran into you..."

The others were busy collecting things, and David came over and ordered, "Hurry up, don't be too greedy. We have several more places to go tonight! Move quickly, we're leaving!"

The "gold diggers" were still unsatisfied, hastily eating a few bites, and preparing to leave. Suddenly, one of them changed his expression, pointed at Scarface David's back, and shouted, "M... Monster!"

David quickly turned around with his gun, and saw a half-human, half-beast creature crouching on the shelf he had just passed. The creature was smooth and seemed to be covered in mucus, wearing only a tattered pair of shorts. Its limbs were long and sharp, firmly gripping the shelf. It had an unusually long neck, sparse hair on its head, a twisted mouth split into three parts, and a blood-red tongue about a meter long, slowly swaying.

"What... what is this thing?!" Scarface David's voice trembled.