Chapter 66: Speedrunning the Mall

Endless Paradise

It seemed the friendship Bai Mu had established with the Witch in the Journey of Death did not extend to Lucy.

That was perfectly normal. The title was "Friend of the Witch," not "Friend of Lucy." Since Lucy had not yet mutated into a Witch, the title naturally had no effect on her.

Lucy had never met Bai Mu before, so it was only natural for her to distrust him.

Although Bai Mu possessed the strength to forcibly carry the nine-year-old girl away, the Main Quest required him to fulfill Lucy's wish. If he kidnapped her, granting her wish would likely become much more difficult.

After pondering for a few seconds, Bai Mu switched his active title to "Walking Headline" and took a brightly wrapped candy from his Candy Box.

He crouched down, opened his hand, and offered the candy in his palm to Lucy. The little girl stared at it for a few moments, hesitating slightly, but eventually reached out and took it.

The candy felt familiar to her; it was the exact kind she had been saving up at school as a gift for her mother.

A child's mind was not yet fully developed. They were simple creatures, easily swayed when presented with something familiar.

"Don't be afraid. I am a friend of your mother's," Bai Mu said in simple English. "Come on, I'll get you out of here."

His English was only average, but over the ten years of the apocalypse, watching movies had been one of his few forms of entertainment. He had seen plenty of English films, so basic daily communication was not an issue.

After a moment of silence, Lucy grasped Bai Mu's hand and crawled out from under the table.

She remained tense, her small hands trembling, but she had developed a basic foundation of trust in him.

"Just stay close to me," Bai Mu said. "I will protect you."

She looked up at him, kept her lips tightly sealed, and nodded.

Her face was rather pale. Many of the Infected had already gone berserk, indiscriminately attacking everything in sight.

Screams and the sounds of brutal beatings echoed throughout the dark space. Ignoring the people who had been tackled to the ground by the Infected, Bai Mu quickly led Lucy out of the passageway and into the mall's corridor.

Smoke and dust billowed in certain areas, suggesting a fire had broken out. The mall's smoke detectors had triggered, showering the surroundings with a heavy downpour of water.

Bai Mu retrieved a gas mask from his inventory and slipped it over Lucy's head. When equipped through the system interface, this item would automatically resize to fit a Player, but using it on a character native to a Script was not nearly as convenient.

Placed on a nine-year-old girl's head, the adult-sized gas mask looked like a comical, oversized mascot helmet.

Still, it could effectively filter out the dust and smoke, preventing Lucy from being poisoned or choking.

Deciding to just carry her, Bai Mu scooped her up with one arm and sprinted downstairs while Lucy wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.

Order within the mall had completely collapsed. Panicked crowds and frenzied Infected were everywhere. The sheer scale of the chaos was far greater than when Bai Mu and Yanyu's group had fought their way through the mall.

However, it was merely loud. The screams of the crowd actually drew the aggro away from Bai Mu. The Infected chased after the fleeing pedestrians, lured away by the noise.

Moreover, in the early stages of the viral outbreak, special Infected had not yet had the time to mutate. Such drastic physical transformations could not happen overnight, which was precisely why this Script was only rated E-grade.

Compared to the city a month later, when it would be completely overrun by Zombies, the current number of Zombies was absolutely negligible.

Bai Mu soon reached the first floor with Lucy in his arms. A massive portion of the crowd was shoving toward the exit, packed so densely that the way was completely blocked. A stampede had even broken out.

Lucy clung onto Bai Mu for dear life. The horrific scene before her was terrifying, and she could only squeeze the one person she could rely on to glean any sense of security.

Instead of heading toward the dense crowd, Bai Mu found a clothing store. To display their apparel and mannequins to passing shoppers, the store was designed with glass walls. Compared to walls forged from concrete and steel, this glass structure was far more fragile.

Bai Mu covered the facepiece of Lucy's gas mask with his hand so she wouldn't be frightened. After all, the Charger's appearance could hardly be described as "cute" or "friendly"; it was a monster terrifying enough to make a child burst into tears.

As for where the Charger came from?

It was naturally the active skill Bai Mu had just learned.

Facing the empty glass wall, he cast Charger's Charge.

A towering shadow enveloped Bai Mu's body. The Charger, boasting a grotesquely massive arm, instantly materialized out of thin air before him and let out a furious roar.

Like a heavily armored chariot, the Charger plowed forward, using its massive arm to crush everything in its path like a spiked wheel. Clothing racks were effortlessly toppled. The first obstacle it slammed into was a plastic mannequin, which it subsequently hoisted into the air and mercilessly smashed against the glass wall.

Crash!

The piercing sound of shattering glass echoed out as a massive hole was smashed through the wall. The Charger went into a frenzy, violently battering the plastic mannequin.

This brutal display terrified the surrounding pedestrians. Those who had already escaped the mall sprinted with every ounce of their strength, some even running so frantically that their shoes flew into the air.

No one dared to approach the Charger—except Bai Mu. Under the shocked gazes of the onlookers, he slipped through the hole the Charger had battered open and stepped out into the spacious, open-air parking lot.

Several car accidents had already occurred on the street. From a distance, Bai Mu spotted a driver succumbing to the virus, foaming at the mouth and convulsing violently in the driver's seat.

The passenger in the back hastily threw the door open and fled from the vehicle. Selecting this specific car, Bai Mu rushed over, drew his Revolver from the backseat, and fired at the driver who was rapidly turning into a Zombie.

Bang!

A clean headshot. The driver immediately stopped moving. Bai Mu dragged the corpse out, tossed it to the side of the road, and commandeered the vehicle.

He placed Lucy in the passenger seat, slammed the door shut, and hit the gas pedal. Relying on his exceptional driving skills, he navigated around the wreckage of the crashed cars and swiftly sped away from the chaotic scene.

From the moment the Script began to the time he hijacked the car, the entire process was flawlessly smooth. It had taken him less than five minutes.

The little girl in the passenger seat took off the gas mask herself. Since it was far too large for her, she had no trouble removing it.

Bai Mu initially thought she would be terrified, but to his surprise, her face was flushed with excitement and admiration. Lucy was much braver than he had anticipated.

She babbled somewhat incoherently while gesturing animatedly with her hands and feet, forming a finger gun with her right hand to mimic the stance Bai Mu had just taken.

It seemed she thought it was amazing. Bai Mu's black trench coat did look rather cool. He thought to himself, 'It turns out the Dance of Elvis has a hidden effect that boosts charisma. Lucy probably thinks I am some kind of super agent.'

"Are we going to find mommy now?" Lucy asked, blinking her eyes.

"Do you want to find your mommy?" Bai Mu asked.

Lucy nodded, and Bai Mu replied, "Then let's go find your mommy."