“What is… this?”
Chu Muge looked at the scene before her, whispering softly.
The commercial district was vast, filled with billboards and various shops.
The glass windows of the shops were shattered into shards, scattered like thumbtacks on the ground, reflecting a cold light in the faint sunlight.
In a mall of this size, one would expect crowds to fill the corridors, their eyes glued to the enormous black screens overhead. The lively square, once alive with the hum of entertainment options, now lay in eerie stillness. Even the amusement car, its once-vibrant paint now slightly dulled, seemed to whisper tales of the lively crowds that had once filled this space with energy and chatter. The remnants of its former vibrancy clung to the air, a ghostly echo of a time when the mall thrived with relentless activity.
Chu Muge stood in the empty square, looking around.
Everywhere she looked was silent and desolate, filled with various broken shops, the ground littered with scattered flyers and other miscellaneous items: deflated balloons, broken children's toys, and an open rabbit cage, but…
Not a single person, or rather, not a single zombie.
She didn't see a single zombie in this huge mall.
The zombie crisis had broken out very suddenly, after days of continuous global rain, almost everyone in the world was plunged into this disaster.
The virus lay dormant deep within the flesh, without causing even the slightest adverse reaction in its host. Even the few cases of fever and cough were mistaken for ordinary illnesses, and the world continued to function as usual, with the sun rising and the waves crashing, until that day.
Most people turned into zombies within seconds, swiftly attacking their still very confused companions.
But the special mutants took longer to zombify. They would flee with the survivors or hide in some corner, then, days later, despairingly turn into zombies just like Gu Yao.
So, theoretically, in such a large commercial district, there should be mountains of zombies.
Chu Muge squatted down, picking up a crumpled flier from the ground.
The cartoon character on it gave a thumbs up, its big Casalan eyes bright and spirited, with the address and name of a toy store marked beside it.
Chu Muge sighed, “…A toy store, huh.”
The cartoon character on the flier should have been very cute: simple art style, big smile, but its face was stained with some dirt and blood, covering the sparkle in its big eyes, making it look extremely eerie.
Chu Muge folded it, casually threw it on the ground, and then looked at the dark entrance of the commercial district.
She extended her hand to Gu Yao: "Senior, let’s go shopping."
After they left, a small black shadow hiding in a corner of the square moved.
It was a mouse with ears as big as its head, standing on the ground, staring with green eyes at the direction they left, its ears flapping like wings, as if sending an invisible signal.
In the next moment, a slender tail tip suddenly pierced through its body, skewering it and slowly bringing it to the mouth of the tail's owner.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of chewing echoed.
—
Inside the commercial complex, there was no light.
Chu Muge stepped in, barely able to make out the general outline of objects in the dimness.
Just like outside, there were no zombies inside the complex either.
At least, not for now.
The smooth bricks were dull and dirty, stained with grime and mud, with a few jagged blood trails left by dragged corpses.
The third floor housed clothing stores, and that's where Chu Muge was headed.
With the power out, the elevators that once worked tirelessly were now silent. Chu Muge had to guide Gu Yao by hand, carefully walking up the escalators, making sure she didn't trip due to her stiff body.
It looked almost like a dutiful daughter helping her elderly mother upstairs.
"Senior, we're almost there! Maid outfits! Are you excited?"
No, I'm not excited.
"I'm so excited!"
Oh.
Gu Yao had no such mundane desires, especially since these clothes were meant for her.
As they ascended to the third floor, Chu Muge was as joyful as a child, bouncing and eagerly pulling Gu Yao towards a clothing store.
Gu Yao always found Chu Muge to be a very contradictory person: sometimes an experienced flirt, sometimes an innocent girl, sometimes ruthless, sometimes naive and carefree.
These conflicting traits surprisingly harmonized within Chu Muge.
The third floor was lined with clothing stores. In the dim light, the mannequins in the display windows looked eerie and twisted, their forms almost unnervingly distorted.
But Chu Muge acted as if she didn't see them, leading Gu Yao like she was following a navigation system, turning left and right until they finally stood in front of a clothing store.
The dim environment blurred the attractive signs of the store, but Gu Yao finally made out a few words:
"Maid"
"I've been eyeing this store ever since I saw it on social media." Chu Muge's eyes sparkled. "I always wondered if I could ever get the chance to invite you out and see you in these outfits… I never thought it would actually happen."
She slowly looked at Gu Yao, speaking leisurely:
"But first, I need to measure your bust."
—
Humming a tune, Chu Muge stuffed the chosen clothes into a shopping bag she found in the store, then looked at Gu Yao, who was disheveled, and smiled: "Senior, let me tidy up your clothes."
Gu Yao, feeling violated: ...
Just now, like a Barbie doll, she was stripped by Chu Muge in the changing room, like a woman being forcefully taken.
Chu Muge, with a smirk on her face, methodically dressed Gu Yao, layer by layer. First, she slid on the white stockings, then switched to black ones, followed by the garter belts. Gu Yao felt like she was trapped in an unwanted dress-up game, her frustration building as she struggled to voice her discomfort.
For some reason, she felt she shouldn't be this humiliated. A voice in her heart told her she should be commanding and unstoppable, with countless subordinates rushing to do her bidding at a wave of her hand…
I hate being dressed up in a maid outfit like a Barbie doll!
By the time Chu Muge was satisfied, they had several bags full of clothes around them.
Chu Muge reluctantly took off the cat ears from Gu Yao's head and put them in a bag: "It's a pity it's too dark to take pictures here. We'll take some when we get out."
She then pulled out a tail: "This too."
Gu Yao: ???
W-wait! Isn't that a... buttplug?
Gu Yao: (terrified)
"Alright, alright." Chu Muge buttoned up her clothes, "Let's go—"
Crash!
Chu Muge's eyes narrowed, quickly turning to look outside the store.
There was a sound.
In her sight, a child-sized figure panicked, turned around, and started to run away clumsily.
"Stop!"
Chu Muge moved swiftly, grabbing her long knife, and said to the figure with a smile:
"If you keep running, the next thing I pierce will be your head."
The figure trembled, then shakily stopped and turned to look at Chu Muge.
Chu Muge squinted slightly, then frowned.
The little girl was crying, looking at her with fear.
…
In the deathly silent commercial complex devoid of zombies, they found a person.