Warning: This chapter has some disturbing content, such as rape and the belittlement of females.

XG 106 - Don't look at dirty things

As soon as they entered the building, they saw a large group of people, their state similar to the man that opened the door for them. With limited amounts of water, they had to sacrifice their personal hygiene. Luckily there was a river nearby, or else the survivors would have a harder time searching for water.

From the corner of her eye, Wong Xue Guo saw someone running away with urgency.

"You will wait until our leader decides to see you or not." The doorkeeper man started to seal the door where they had just entered from.

Everyone's eyes were on their group, their gaze similar to the doorkeeper's assessing gaze. There were some that looked at them in pity and she had also caught a brief hope sparked in an elderly woman's eyes.

"Are you from the military?"

Beom Seok looked at the short man that asked the question. "No. We are from Musihada Laboratory."

It was better to be upfront about their identity because they would definitely return to this area to stock up on their supplies. Kang Xunsu had said it was best not to antagonize this group of survivors so much because everyone only wanted to survive. It's best if they could form some sort of cooperation, just like how they did with Jihyo's camp.

"Ah... the one that created those monsters."

"Don't simply assume things just because we are from the laboratory," Beom Seok warned, meeting the hostile gazes with his fierce eyes. "It is proven that Sinnyeom Hospital is the cause of it."

"Why are you blaming the doctors that worked hard to save us?" The short man scolded angrily.

"I will not deny that Sinnyeom Hospital's doctors have saved a lot of lives, but did you forget we all paid the medical bills? They need money, and we need medicine. It's an equal exchange. As for blaming them, did you ever go to their 7th and 8th floor? If you have the time, you can visit there," Beom Seok's tone was full of sarcasm.

"My father stayed on the 8th floor. In the beginning, we could visit him, but after his condition deteriorated, we were not allowed to visit him or even stay with him."

"My grandma too. She died alone and we could not even get her body back."

"A friend of mine has a relative admitted to that floor too. We thought it's a good room, VIP with good room and service, but VIP rooms don't allow many visitors..."

"Whenever I visit my mother, a nurse is always with me. I thought it's a good service, but now... it feels creepy."

As more and more people started speaking up about their experience, their belief that Sinnyeom Hospital would not be the cause of the apocalypse started to grow weaker.

L.L. gestured for Wong Xue Guo to stand in the middle of their encirclement and stared down at a limping man who thought his movement was not noticed. The man shrank his neck as he caught sight of L.L.'s gun and inched back.

After a long wait, the guy Wong Xue Guo had seen running away earlier returned, out of breath. He has a very bad hunched back, wearing only old crocs shoes that would not protect his toes from the chill.

"T-The leader... allow you all to see him."

Beom Seok nearly snorted out loud at how self-important that sounded. Regardless, it was just a small matter and they followed the guy to the unmoving escalator. Along the way, they saw even more survivors, huddling in groups under blankets to keep each other warm.

Wong Xue Guo noticed that all of them were either disabled, old, or weak.

The hunched-back guy only tells them to climb up the escalator without continuing to lead the way.

There were two guys staring down at them from the first floor, their appearance looking somewhat better than the group of people on the ground floor. The path up to the first floor from the escalator was blocked by a makeshift gate.

"Where's your leader at?" Chanyeol asked.

"The highest floor," the hunched man replied.

With a glance upward, Wong Xue Guo counted that this shopping mall has five floors, but the space on each floor was not wide. With one glance, she could see everything the entire floor had. When Wong Xue Guo finally reached the first floor, her hunch that each floor was divided into the weak and strong was confirmed.

They continue making their way up, ignoring the uncomfortable stares from the occupants of each floor. When they finally reached the highest floor under the guidance of the watchdogs, this hideout reminded Wong Xue Guo of the human pyramid. The highest floor belonged to the rich, while the lowest floor was where the poor were pushed to.

Even the difference in the number of people on each floor was vastly different. There were too many survivors on the ground floor, resembling cramped sardines in a can.

Not only that, but the temperature between the floors was also vastly different. Even though the winter was ending, the air was still chilly and the coziest place was the highest floor. The entire floor was lit up with solar-charged light bulbs, with camping tents as their little 'house'.

They were living so luxurious yet were not willing to share some of the lights and tents with the people on the lower floors. How ridiculous.

Wong Xue Guo's lips pressed tightly in displeasure the more her eyes caught onto the details. She could ignore the eyes on her she made her way up. But the gaze became bolder and bolder, giving off an unpleasant sensation that had her feeling impulsive to blind someone as an example to stop the similar gaze.

Never in her life had she been subjected to these offensive gazes. No one had dared to treat socialite Suzie Yap's daughter that way, but when the apocalypse hit, title and money meant nothing and everything went back to basics.

Only strength and resources matter now.

Their guide led them to a makeshift tent, which was the most luxurious looking among other tents nearby. Ambiguous sounds were coming from the tents, which had Wong Xue Guo's frown lines become deeper.

"Is your leader too busy to entertain us?" Kang Xunsu questioned sarcastically and Beom Seok translated it with an expression of someone that had bitten a sour fruit.

Everyone, except the young Kim Sung-Ho, knew what was going on behind the tents.

"He is doing his daily workout," the guide answered carelessly.

With an even uglier expression, Beom Seok unwillingly translated the guide's words for the rest of his team members.

"Daily workout? Does he not worry about his kidney?" Kang Xunsu asked as carelessly as the guide, which Beom Seok happily translated.

The guide was not happy with that question. He obviously agreed with his leader's actions. "Either you wait, or leave."

Kang Xunsu arched an eyebrow at the guide's threatening words. "They treat their guests that way?"

A man with a lip piercing stepped forward in haughty strides. "If you want to leave, you need to pay the entrance fee. Give us all the food in your hands."

Beom Seok snorted. "Are you dreaming?"

"Don't want to give us food? Then that girl will do."

Already thinking that it was already a done deal, the lip piercing guy called out to his buddies. "Hey, we got a fresh body to taste today! This one looks clean and nice to hug!"

Normally, only talented people would learn another language quickly in a short time. But Wong Xue Guo has strong motivation and desire to learn, hence her absorption rate was quite good. Thus, even if Beom Seok does not want to translate that ass's words, she more or less knew what that piercing guy said.

"Brother Xunsu, they dare to eye me as if I'm something up to be grabbed and even want to rape me with their gang. It's only right for me to defend myself if they make a move," Wong Xue Guo kindly informed beforehand and rested her hand on her sword.

"That's your right," Kang Xunsu said, his legs tensed up in preparation to move.

When the others heard what their buddy said, their curiosity had them looking out of their tent to see the fresh meat.

Most of them were half-dressed and when they saw the clean-looking Wong Xue Guo, they grew interested. But some knew that they could not get the fresh meat from their stronger bros and went back into their tent.

It so happened that most tents were not covered properly, allowing others to peep in. In one of the bigger tents, a group of naked men was surrounding a couple that was going hard at it, not minding they were flashing their naked skin and privates to others.

That was not something Wong Xue Guo would ever want to see, but her eyes were locked on the woman underneath the man, who does not look like a willing lover at all.

That woman's hands were tied up and her body shook fiercely from the man's vigorous movement. But she was not reciprocating his attention, her eyes gazing blankly at somewhere on the ceiling without focusing on anything.

At other tents, a similar scene was going on, except some women were actively participating in the workout. Their active movement gave the impression of wanting to please the men. They worked hard as they straddled the men's laps, using their bodies and charm to capture the men's interest.

A strong chill assaulted Wong Xue Guo's back when she thought about the possible story behind these people. Even in the movies, men raping women or women selling their bodies was always a subject touched by the scriptwriters during an apocalypse.

So how could reality not catch up to it?

If she does not have her parents protecting her, allowing her the luxury to keep clean and well-fed, would her fate be the same as these women too? Would she sacrifice her body just for safety and food?

Wong Xue Guo could confidently say she would not, but would she still have the same answer if she was in those women's shoes?

Anyhow, she wished that the thing between those men's legs would freeze up from overexposure to the cold air and drop off. How dare they waste their energy doing those unproductive things rather than working together in cleaning up zombies from the streets?

"Don't look at dirty things and pollute your eyes. Your mother will worry if you return with red, infected eyes," Kang Xunsu advised as he turned her head away. "Beom Seok, tell them to get the leader out before we find him ourselves, yeah?"

Beom Seok would love to do that too, but he was also worried about his small group member's capability of overpowering everyone in this place.