Chapter 105: Going Out for Soy Sauce

Ji Linmo left his two-story duplex "home" and began to walk along the road. The path grew increasingly muddy and remote, and the architecture shifted from ornate to dilapidated.

It was as if he had stepped out of some secluded, high-end residential complex and arrived in the heart of a decaying town.

Walking straight along the path, Ji Linmo caught the scent of food, garbage, traditional medicinal herbs, and hair dye all mingled together.

He soon found the source of these smells.

"Immortal Barber," "Traditional Medicine Brewing," "Water Curtain Cave Bathhouse," "Hands and Feet Recycling"—

Plaques of all sizes stood along the gray, dingy roadside. The narrow, one-story bungalows bearing these signs were crowded together, dark and cramped.

Along both sides of the road, the slightly taller buildings served as shops on the ground floor, with living quarters above.

Bedding hung out by residents dangled from second-story racks, while massive, exposed power lines tangled in chaotic knots beside the laundry, covering the sky like a bird’s nest.

Following the mini-map on his task prompt bar, Ji Linmo headed toward the convenience store.

Finally, he spotted a rickety sign.

"Liangzai’s Convenience Store"

"Hands and Feet Recycling—High Price Paid for Hands and Feet"

Beneath the recycling sign, a row of fine print was visible.

[Convenience Store Rules]
[1. Do not touch merchandise before purchasing.]
[2. If merchandise is damaged, it must be purchased.]
[3. No skipping out on the bill.]

After glancing at the store rules, Ji Linmo shifted his gaze back to the dark, gloomy room before him.

Yes, this was the convenience store "Dad" had demanded he visit.

Confirming the location, Ji Linmo took out ten yuan and handed it to the shopkeeper.

"Boss, I’d like a bottle of soy sauce."

The thin, elderly man wearing glasses slowly lifted his head from his newspaper. He adjusted his spectacles, his small, squinting eyes peering sideways at the banknote in the man’s hand.

"Not enough."

Not enough?

"Then how much does it cost?"

The moment Ji Linmo finished speaking, he saw the old man lift a cane from the corner and point it toward his left hand.

"This will be enough."

As he spoke, the old man smiled, his small, narrowed eyes filled with purple blood vessels.

"Are you saying you want my left hand?"

Ji Linmo frowned. His left hand was the only one he had left that still functioned; was he joking, asking for it in exchange for a bottle of soy sauce?

"Then I’m sorry, I won't buy it."

Leaving the words cold and flat, Ji Linmo turned to leave.

The old man immediately prodded Ji Linmo’s shoulder with his cane.

"Child, you’ve returned from the outside, haven't you?"

Seeing Ji Linmo remain silent, the old man let out a low laugh, his crooked yellow teeth appearing particularly hideous.

"Fine, I’ll do you a favor and sell it to you..."

With that, the old man turned to his shelves, retrieved a dusty bottle of soy sauce, and handed it to Ji Linmo.

"Pay first."

Ji Linmo did not reach for the soy sauce, but instead held the money out to the old man first.

At that moment, a flash of malice crossed the old man’s eyes—the anger of a failed scheme.

[1. Do not touch merchandise before purchasing.]

"Hahaha, look at my memory."

Laughing heartily, the old man suddenly let go.

The soy sauce bottle smashed onto the ground instantly, shattering into pieces. The black liquid oozed stickily across the floor, staining a large patch.

[2. If merchandise is damaged, it must be purchased.]

"Hee hee, he broke the merchandise."

Sinister laughter echoed from all directions. Ji Linmo turned to see people from every nearby shop emerging, their gazes burning as they looked at him.

Their eyes were all filled with purple blood vessels, appearing deeply uncanny.

Looking at their eyes, these were people infected with "Meteor Purple Pupil Syndrome."

"Do you intend to eat me?"

Ji Linmo looked at the surrounding crowd expressionlessly, his voice cold.

"How could that be? We aren't lunatics." After saying this, the old man walked slowly out of the store, leaning on his cane.

"We... we just want to find you to cure our illness."

"Let me think. With prices so high, the cost of a bottle of soy sauce is roughly the recovery price of your left hand and left leg."

Ji Linmo frowned tightly. His right hand had lost its ability to function, and his combat power had dropped significantly; fighting so many people would likely waste too much time.

Furthermore, according to the third rule, if he attacked the convenience store owner, he might be considered a runner, leading to execution by the rules.

"I am also an infected person. If you eat my hands and feet, will your Purple Pupil Syndrome be cured?"

Ji Linmo scanned the group of townspeople—who looked like walking corpses, dressed in rags, with crooked yellow teeth—and smiled as he pulled back his eyelid.

—Purple blood vessels covered the bottom of Ji Linmo's eyes.

He, too, had contracted "Meteor Purple Pupil Syndrome."

[Ready-to-eat bagged rabbit meat, effect consumed.]

[Mental Power -40]

When Ji Linmo had eaten the ready-to-eat bagged rabbit meat earlier, he had felt suspicious after noticing "Mom’s" clothing change from a cheongsam to human skin.

Did "Mom" know that the clothes she wore were made of human skin?

Because Ji Linmo discovered that the human skin on Mom’s body was worn exactly like a "cheongsam," split down the middle.

Perhaps in Mom’s eyes, she was simply wearing a cheongsam.

Likewise, in the eyes of Mom and Dad, eating humans was forbidden.

But "medicine people"—those were medicine, not humans—so they could be eaten.

In other words, after contracting "Meteor Purple Pupil Syndrome," not only would one’s temperament change drastically, but one’s cognition would also become distorted.

Seeing that Ji Linmo was also sick, the old man’s face showed disappointment.

"Boss, I have something more valuable to trade with you."

Ji Linmo lifted his head, staring fixedly at the shopkeeper.

"I have an uninfected medicine person. I can trade it to you for two bottles of soy sauce, but it’s at my house right now. You’ll have to come home with me to get it."

With that, Ji Linmo gestured for the boss to hand over another bottle of soy sauce.

The convenience store owner looked Ji Linmo up and down. Finally, he licked his lips and reached up to the shelf to retrieve the soy sauce.

"Child, you’d better be telling the truth, otherwise..."

The old man laughed sinisterly, then extended his cane and pointed at a few people in the crowd. Several burly men stepped forward.

The old man signaled for Ji Linmo to lead the way. Ji Linmo walked with long, confident strides, leading the old man toward his own front door.

He then rushed back into the house in a few quick steps.

Seeing "Dad" looking fierce and murderous, as if he couldn't wait to swallow him whole, Ji Linmo hurriedly handed over the soy sauce.

"Dad... it's bad. The convenience store owner is trying to extort our family."

After handing over the soy sauce, Ji Linmo feigned panic and shouted loudly toward "Dad."

"That old man from the shop heard somewhere that we have a medicine person, and he brought people here to rob us!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of someone pounding on the door rang out.

The old man from the convenience store roared loudly from outside.

"Kid! Are you trying to run away? Open the door!"