Chapter 17: Survivor’s Diary

Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Survivor’s Diary

She started searching for supplies.

She first zeroed in on a shop with a "Community Mart" sign.

The glass doors were long shattered, and the inside was a complete mess.

Seraphina Sullivan cautiously stepped over the shattered glass, the Sound Wave Vibration Gun in her left hand and a manifested Silver Needle in her right, ready for any sudden developments.

Parasitic variants wouldn’t appear in the sunlight during the day, but they often hid indoors and in other dark corners.

Seraphina Sullivan was determined to stockpile supplies and had no intention of skipping places like shopping malls, so she had to be extremely careful when entering these buildings.

Inside the supermarket, shelves were toppled over, and most of the goods had been looted.

But in a corner, she did find a few overlooked cans, covered in a thick layer of dust.

’I wonder if these are expired...’ Seraphina Sullivan frowned but put them into her Space anyway. ’Canned fruit and meat usually last one or two years. I don’t know how long it’s been since the apocalypse started in this world. I’ll take them all and check them later.’

Seraphina Sullivan put the three cans of fruit and two cans of meat she found into her Space.

She resumed her search but came up empty.

The place had clearly been picked clean.

Suddenly, her gaze was drawn to a small door behind the checkout counter.

A label on the door read, "Staff Lounge."

Seraphina Sullivan approached quietly, a Silver Needle spinning on her fingertip, ready to strike at any moment.

The sound of the doorknob turning was jarringly loud in the silent supermarket.

The moment the door opened, a musty smell assaulted her nostrils.

Inside the lounge, a few pieces of clothing were scattered on a simple cot.

’Looks like someone used to live here.’

After searching the room, Seraphina was about to leave. However, just as she went to close the door, she spotted a map and an open notebook on the cot.

This immediately caught Seraphina Sullivan’s attention.

She picked up the notebook, and the words inside automatically translated into her native language.

[Day 1: I’m so scared. I heard the terrifying Parasitic Bloodworms have appeared in Eldoria Town, too. I want to leave, but my boss offered me ten times my salary to watch the store. Ten times! That’s almost my entire yearly income, so I gritted my teeth and decided to stick it out.]

[Day 10: I can’t take it anymore! It’s too terrifying. At night, I saw so many people get infested by the Parasitic Bloodworms. And I saw the infested animals and humans get dragged away. Whoever wants this ten-times salary can have it. I need to be alive to spend it! I have to leave.]

[Day 15: I was planning to leave today, but then I saw the military starting to enter Eldoria Town. I felt like Eldoria Town was safe again, so I canceled my plans to leave.]

[Day 20: I’m such an idiot. I really should have left earlier. The military failed. They suddenly announced that a Parasitic Bloodworm nest has appeared in Eldoria Town. There are too many monsters inside, and everyone needs to evacuate!]

...

[Day 31: Am I going to die? I can only hide in this small room in the supermarket. The military was attacked by a horde of parasitic monsters during the evacuation. They’re so terrifying!]

As she read on, Seraphina Sullivan’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

The author’s handwriting, initially neat, grew progressively sloppier until the final entries looked as if they were written with a trembling hand.

When she saw the words "the military failed" and "Parasitic Bloodworm nest," Seraphina Sullivan’s fingers tightened unconsciously.

’A monster nest?’ Seraphina Sullivan snapped the notebook shut, her heart pounding violently.

She was clearly shocked by this sudden news.

’This town actually has a Parasitic Bloodworm nest?’

Seraphina Sullivan immediately unfolded the map from the cot.

She saw that it was a map of Eldoria Town.

Several areas on the map were circled in red ink. One of them, an abandoned factory in the northwest corner of the town, was specially marked with a terrifying skull symbol drawn next to it.

A line of small words was written on the edge of the map: [Lair of the parasitic monsters!]

Seraphina Sullivan’s throat went dry. She quickly checked the map to confirm the direction—the location marked with the red circle was right on the helicopter’s flight path!

To get to the helicopter’s location, she would have to pass through the parasitic monsters’ lair.

’What a wonderful surprise,’ Seraphina Sullivan thought helplessly.

She carefully stored the notebook and map in her Space.

Although learning about the monster nest was unsettling, Seraphina Sullivan quickly adjusted her mindset.

’No need to worry too much. As long as I avoid moving at night and stay careful, it should be fine. These parasitic monsters can’t come out during the day anyway.’

Seraphina Sullivan quietly reassured herself. ’No need to scare myself.’

Then, Seraphina Sullivan continued to search for useful items.

The supplies in this supermarket had been pretty much scavenged.

Aside from the bad news about the monster nest, she had found very little.

Seraphina Sullivan left the supermarket and turned toward her next target.

The pharmacy next to the supermarket.

The pharmacy’s glass door was long shattered, and the shelves inside were in disarray.

Seraphina Sullivan stepped inside over the broken glass, the jarring "CRUNCH" echoing clearly in the empty store.

’Looks like all the stores in this town have been looted. Now I’m just picking through trash for useful trash.’

She crouched down and began rummaging through the mess on the floor.

Suddenly, a few intact packages caught her eye.

’Gauze, cotton swabs, alcohol!’ Seraphina Sullivan’s eyes lit up, and she quickly gathered the medical supplies.

’I couldn’t find any medicine, but this is still an unexpected find. As long as I can find something useful, it counts as a gain.’

Seraphina Sullivan continued to move between the counters, checking every single drawer.

Common medicines like cold and anti-inflammatory drugs had long been cleaned out. Even the bottom corners of the shelves had been picked clean.

Just as she was about to give up, a small drawer deep inside a counter got stuck. Seraphina Sullivan gave it a hard pull.

CLATTER!

Three small bottles of vitamin pills rolled out, glinting invitingly in the sunlight.

’Vitamins!’ Seraphina Sullivan picked them up in pleasant surprise and carefully checked the expiration date. ’They’re not exactly miracle drugs, but they’re better than nothing.’

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from outside the store.

Seraphina Sullivan immediately held her breath, a Silver Needle quietly materializing between her fingers.

The sound quickly faded into the distance, seeming to be just the wind blowing something around.

Seraphina Sullivan relaxed.

When she walked out of the pharmacy, the sun had already climbed to its midday peak.

Seraphina Sullivan wiped the sweat from her forehead and decided to search a few more places while it was still light out.

She unfolded the map, her eyes falling on several large shopping malls in Eldoria Town.

’The malls are a bit far, though. I’ll check this place out next...’ she murmured to herself, her finger pointing to a building labeled "Hardware Store."

In this kind of apocalyptic environment, tools were often more valuable than food.

Besides, Seraphina Sullivan also wanted to find a place to test out her second [Tailor] Skill.

However, just as she was about to set off, the roar of an engine suddenly echoed from the distance.

That was unmistakably the sound of a vehicle.