Dimensional Supermarket - Chapter 27

In the afternoon, when the weather is at its hottest, Ye Zhou prepares to go up the mountain.

At this time, even though the bandits are still vigilant, their alertness is much lower than at night. It isn’t easy to hide at dawn, so Ye Zhou decides to do the opposite.

Moreover, in this weather, when it’s so hot, everyone wants to stay cool. They can’t summon any energy and are drowsy at any moment.

This time, he doesn’t bring all the crossbow users, as too many people would make it easier to be discovered. It’s better to be cautious.

However, the heat is intense, and it’s uncertain whether Sun Hao, who has lost half of his life, can hold on until the end. Ye Zhou really can’t afford to be a saint—time is more important than anything else. Although he knows that Sun Hao won’t make it, he still has to let Sun Hao lead the way.

Sun Hao probably knows he’s about to die, so he stops begging for mercy but still clings to a glimmer of hope. When Wu Yan carries him out, his red, swollen eyes look at Ye Zhou, but Ye Zhou doesn’t look back.

Ye Zhou knows he isn’t a heartless person. Perhaps with more experience, he would be able to ignore the pitiful look Sun Hao gives him, but he can’t do it now, so he purposely turns his gaze away from Sun Hao.

He stops himself from feeling any sympathy for Sun Hao.

Sun Hao’s hands and feet can’t move, so he’s tied to Wu Yan with a rope to prevent him from slipping off.

When Wu Yan gets tired, Zhou Wen carries him.

Chen Liu acts as a scout at the front.

Zou Ming walks in front of the main force, and Sarah is the rear guard.

Their six-man team, excluding Sun Hao, is reliable in Ye Zhou’s opinion.

As for Ye Zhou—he is self-aware. He won’t hold anyone back. It’s good enough for him to shoot or run fast when danger arises.

During this time, Ye Zhou takes time each day to exercise, worried that his physical strength won’t keep up with his mind in case of an emergency.

Sun Hao can’t move his hands and feet, so he can only give directions by speaking. But since he’s lost a few teeth, his speech is unclear, and they often have to ask several times before they can understand him.

To avoid walking into traps along the route Sun Hao suggests, Ye Zhou always uses a telescope to look at the path from a high vantage point first, then sends Chen Liu to check the situation.

They walk and rest like this, and after three hours, they reach a small hill near the top of the mountain.

“The telescope is really a great thing,” Ye Zhou whispers to Zou Ming. “Did the person who invented it win a Nobel Prize?”

Zou Ming: “…”

How is he supposed to know?

Ye Zhou doesn’t really care, though. He can always check when he gets back. His focus is still on the bandits’ lair.

“Is it that cave?” Ye Zhou asks, looking at Sun Hao, who is placed on the ground.

Sun Hao is completely numb. He has seen The Lord Immortal use a magical item to see for miles, so he doesn’t dare point them toward any paths with traps.

He doesn’t understand why The Lord Immortal doesn’t fly, but he can’t figure out The Lord Immortal’s thoughts and doesn’t have the energy to care.

“Yes,” Sun Hao pants weakly.

Ye Zhou asks curiously, “Can this cave fit more than 400 people?”

Sun Hao gasps in surprise. Wu Yan immediately gives him a sip of water. After moistening his throat, Sun Hao gasps and says, “There’s a different world inside the cave, cooler than anywhere else, and there’s a pool of water.”

At last, the question of the water source is explained.

Ye Zhou asks, “Does your chief live there too?”

Sun Hao nods. “O-only the chief… has a tent…”

“Well, that works,” Ye Zhou turns to the others. “We’ll just guard the entrance when the time comes.”

Ideally, it’d be a siege. As long as they hold the entrance, they can pick off anyone who comes out—grind them down if needed.

Unless those bandits are crazy enough to use their bodies as shields, throwing themselves in front of bullets and arrows.

But Ye Zhou doesn’t think they have that kind of courage. If they have any spine or dignity, they wouldn’t be eating human flesh and preying on defenseless refugees. Weren’t there wealthy families up north who haven’t fled and still have food?

This isn’t the modern era. And even in the modern era, many people are still deeply attached to their homeland. For most major landowners, their roots are here. If they fled south, they’d lose everything.

The bandits don’t dare rob them, simply because those landowners have people, weapons, and possibly even connections with the government.

Cowards like these who bully the weak and fear the strong—how could they possibly be bold enough to throw themselves at bullets?

If they were, Ye Zhou might respect them as men. But that wouldn’t stop him from pulling the trigger.

He pauses. “How about smoking them out?” Ye Zhou suddenly remembers, “I think the mall has stink bombs and smoke bombs. They’re not expensive.” After all, neither of them has much killing power. “The smoke bombs are cheaper. If you buy smoke bombs, you could get eight or nine, but if you buy stink bombs, you can only get three. The cave isn’t small,” Ye Zhou muses. “Three stink bombs might not be enough.” He thinks about it and decides that smoke bombs should work. “As long as they can force the bandits out, that’s enough. If they don’t come out, we can just surround them. We have water and food, and I’ll have people bring parasols. If it gets too hot, we can even transport ice.”

Ye Zhou needs to take the initiative. He can’t give the bandits time to react.

Sarah comments, “You might as well just buy firewood, light a fire at the cave entrance, and watch the wind direction.”

Ye Zhou shakes his head. “I don’t have a portable space. How could I carry firewood here? The bandits aren’t blind.”

Sarah is silent for a moment. “Right.”

Ye Zhou smiles, thinking that this 400-year-old vampire is a little silly.

“Immortal, he’s dying.” Wu Yan has been taking care of Sun Hao.

He is very attentive, fearing Sun Hao will close his eyes before revealing the cave’s location.

But now, Sun Hao can only inhale, not exhale. He lies on the ground, staring lifelessly at the sky. The blue sky seems so close, so close that he feels he could touch it with a stretch of his hand.

Sun Hao weakly tries to raise his hand.

In his daze, he seems to return to the time when he was still a soldier, before he had eaten people or attacked civilians. He could run and jump. Though he often complained about hunger and a lack of meat, he carried a seed of hope in his heart.

If he served well in the army, killed enough enemies, he could return to his hometown with money, buy some land, and live in that house until his death.

Wu Yan reaches out to check Sun Hao’s breath and looks up at Ye Zhou. “Immortal, he’s dead.”

Ye Zhou purses his lips and takes a deep breath, hiding his feelings. He whispers, “Find a place to bury him when we head back.”

Whether alive or dead, everyone should eventually return to the earth to become part of it.

True bandits don’t even eat human flesh. Yet these deserters…

After sketching a rough map, Ye Zhou and the others return the way they came.

Tomorrow at this time, they’ll block that cave entrance.

On the way back, they find a spot to bury Sun Hao. Ye Zhou doesn’t set up a tombstone for him. After all, they don’t mark the graves of ordinary people they’ve killed. Why should Sun Hao be any different?

When the first handful of earth covers Sun Hao’s face, it seems as though his sins are also being taken away by the soil.