The third floor turned out to be filled with more than just clothing stores. There were also several places to eat. He checked their supplies and managed to find an incredible amount of food that was still in decent condition.
It seemed the mall truly hadn't been touched by any survivors. How strange. Especially since it had been over a year.
Raiden furrowed his brow, feeling that something was seriously off.
Whatever had happened here, at least it worked in his favor. Maybe no one here had dared to go out and scavenge, choosing to survive as best they could in their own hiding places.
Keeping things simple, Raiden grabbed a fully loaded shopping cart and pushed it toward the store where Nayara was.
Every so often, he glanced down, observing the darkness illuminated only by the light from the large glass windows all around.
If he fell from the third floor and landed below, he would obviously be torn to pieces by a pack of starving undead.
Just thinking about it made Raiden's entire body crawl. He shuddered in horror and pushed the cart as fast as he could.
At the store, Raiden was startled to see Nayara fast asleep behind several piles of new jackets, making her look as if she had sunk into them.
Raiden smiled faintly and gave a small snort as he gently pushed the cart into the middle of the room. Carefully, he took out some food and prepared to cook it.
There was flour, canned food, and instant noodles. Truly rare food after spending months wandering the streets.
Raiden muttered to himself, “This place is a hidden treasure trove.”
Whatever had happened here would probably remain a mystery to him.
In the other cities he had traveled through, shopping centers, both large and small, rarely had any food left in stock. This place was different. Their food supplies seemed practically endless.
Right around midnight, Raiden was halfway through cooking an incredibly fragrant and delicious meal. Nayara woke up to the tempting aroma. She stared at him with a dazed, sleepy expression.
“What are you doing?”
Her stomach suddenly growled, making her look embarrassed in front of the man who turned toward her.
Raiden laughed.
“I knew you had to be hungry. Come here and eat first.”
“What is that?” Nayara asked, swallowing hard. It looked mouthwatering.
Amazing. Apparently, the man wasn't just good at taking pictures—he could cook, too.
“Don't be shy. Come on over. I don't want to carry out the corpse of a woman who starved to death,” he teased jokingly.
Raiden pushed over a bowl of instant noodles in a thick, enticingly red broth. Nayara swallowed again, slowly dragging herself over and staring at him in confusion.
“Where did you get this?”
Raiden answered proudly.
“This place is incredible. It seems the survivors haven't looted any of the food. I have no idea what happened. I have a wild theory. Maybe they were infected by the virus on such a massive and rapid scale that most of the population turned into undead in an incredibly short time, leaving behind very few survivors. Some of the undead you encountered earlier looked newly turned. Maybe they were survivors who failed to make it.”
Nayara ignored Raiden's explanation. Her eyes remained fixed on the bowl of noodles in front of her as she swallowed again.
“You really are hungry. Here, eat.”
Nayara hesitated, eyeing him warily.
“Come on, I won't poison you. Just eat. I can't believe you're still so suspicious of me after everything.”
Raiden shook his head in bewilderment. After everything he'd done to help her, she still suspected him?
Maybe it was just a woman's natural instinct—or maybe it was because she was a special forces soldier.
Not only did he give her a bowl of noodles, he also handed her two packages of instant sausages.
“Add these. They'll make it taste even better. It's not every day I get decent instant food and someone to share it with. I don't know what kind of food you have back at your place—maybe it's better than mine. At least this will hold you over for now.”
Nayara immediately snatched the two packages of sausages and devoured them so quickly that she choked.
“Hey, slow down. Nothing's chasing you here.”
Raiden chewed his own food while keeping a careful eye on her.
Nayara was truly starving. She even ignored Raiden's continued stare. Every so often, he gave her some water to keep her from choking.
About half an hour later, the two of them patted their stomachs, completely stuffed.
“I never thought I'd someday be grateful to enjoy instant food in the middle of a horde of undead trying to turn me into their dinner,” Raiden said with a playful laugh, glancing at Nayara as she leaned against the wall with her eyes tightly shut.
“What kind of person are you, anyway?” Nayara whispered hoarsely, slowly opening her eyes.
Raiden stopped enjoying the cup of coffee in his hand and looked at her in confusion.
“What kind of person am I?”
Nayara gave a small nod.
The man chuckled.
“You're not interested in me, are you? Sorry, but I'm not the kind of man who touches a woman before marriage. So you don't need to be suspicious of me or afraid of me.”
Nayara burst out laughing. She stared at him as if she were looking at the most ridiculous and hilarious thing in the world.
“So you're a traditional man,” she said again.
Raiden chuckled at that. “I guess so. I'm a traditional man—and actually a coward. Why? Has your opinion of me gotten even worse?”
Nayara slowly shook her head.
“There’s nothing wrong with being traditional. I like traditional men, but don't get the wrong idea. I'm not interested in you. And there's nothing wrong with being a coward, either. Not everyone has to be brave.”
Raiden nodded as he quietly enjoyed his coffee.
“Oh, right. What about that man earlier? Have you contacted him again?”
Nayara was referring to Bayuda Gunawan. That brought Raiden back to his senses.
“You're right. I need to contact him first.”
Raiden switched on the communicator and immediately heard a barrage of curses from the other end.
“You little brat! Why didn't you turn on your communicator? What the hell were you doing, huh? I thought you'd died over there. You scared the hell out of me!”
His booming voice startled them both. They exchanged a brief glance, then laughed together.
Clearing his throat, Raiden replied to the man through the communicator.
“Sorry, things got a little dangerous earlier. Everything's stable now. I also managed to find some decent clothes for you, Boss. Oh, and the good news is that we don't need to take anyone else's share of the supplies. This place turns out to be a hidden paradise. There's tons of food we can take. There's even a whole large cabinet full of instant noodles. Enough to last several months.
“I think this city may have suffered a fast and deadly virus outbreak that transformed its population faster than in other cities. As a result, they didn't have much time. Not many survived, leaving behind plenty of food.”
“Oh, that makes sense! Seems likely. I was thinking the same thing. On the way to this city, I saw tons of undead wandering around in all kinds of places. Even if anyone survived, those survivors probably didn't dare go out looking for food. What about that woman? Is she okay? If she's injured or bitten, you should just leave her behind.”
Hearing his cruel, indifferent words made Nayara's expression turn dark with annoyance.
Raiden quickly cleared his throat.
“She is injured, but not because she was bitten or scratched. I'll keep an eye on her for twenty-four hours first. If she doesn't turn, then she's safe.”
Bayuda Gunawan was shocked on the other end.
“What? You're going to watch her for twenty-four hours? That means you won't be coming back all day?”
“This building is crawling with them. Getting downstairs is going to take some careful planning. Doing something reckless would only put our lives at risk.”
“Damn it. So what do we do now?” Bayuda snapped tensely.
“Heh! Obviously, it's better to fill our stomachs first while we gather our strength. Besides, I still want to try the newest spicy curry-flavored instant noodles. The bathroom here isn't bad, either. It'll come in handy if my stomach acts up from all the spice.”
“RAIDEN!!! YOU'RE KIDDING, RIGHT?!”