Ten minutes later, Azlan returned to Akane's side who was waiting for him patiently on the mall's third floor.
The zombie horde in the mall had vanished, leaving silent corridors except for the faint sound of snow seeping through broken windows.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Akane approached him. Without hesitation, she took out a clean handkerchief and wiped Azlan's forehead which actually wasn't sweating.
"You... Aren't you afraid of me?"
"Afraid of Azlan-kun? Why should I be afraid? You don't look scary."
Akane answered with a thin smile, her blue-green eyes meeting his without hesitation.
"You know that's not what I mean, Akane."
Azlan didn't know if Akane was more special than women in general, or if he rarely interacted with women so he didn't understand them.
In his opinion, Akane's calmness was somewhat abnormal. Normally, a normal woman would feel afraid or at least disgusted seeing the zombie slaughter like before.
"Listen Azlan-kun, you are my savior. I'm not an ungrateful woman who would be afraid of a good person who has helped her."
Pausing for a moment, Akane stepped back. She looked at him earnestly, her expression sincere.
"It would be a lie if I said I didn't feel anything seeing you finish off those zombies. But, I'm fully confident that you won't hurt me."
"Even though we just met less than 24 hours ago. You're quite naive to place such great trust in someone you just met. That—"
"Azlan-kun misunderstands. I don't carelessly trust other people, you know~ it's you. I trust because it's you."
Not angry at being interrupted, Azlan raised one eyebrow and asked Akane curiously.
"Where does that source of trust come from?"
Akane tapped her lips with her finger, smiled thinly and gave an answer that sounded irresponsible.
"Hmmm... Let's just say it's a woman's intuition."
"Never mind. It's good that you're not a naive woman like I initially thought."
Not wanting to continue this topic, Azlan turned around, and Akane followed walking beside him, her steps light even though the mall was still dark and cold.
"It's so dark... I can't see anything."
Walking down the non-functioning escalator, Akane reflexively held Azlan's right hand.
"Should we look for a flashlight first? The electronics area is on the fourth floor."
Although she appeared brave, she was still a young girl. Fear of darkness was natural.
"No need." Azlan refused.
He raised his free palm, and with brief concentration, a warm white light ball began to form, illuminating their surroundings.
*BUZZ!*
Clearly, this was an application of Senjutsu—natural ki he controlled to create simple but effective illumination.
"Azlan-kun can even do that? So amazing!" Akane exclaimed, her eyes widening in admiration, the light reflecting on her bright face.
"Not worthy of mention." Azlan replied humbly.
"You're too humble, Azlan-kun."
"..."
Akane's friendly attitude as if they had been friends for years didn't make Azlan uncomfortable. On the contrary, he began to enjoy interactions like this.
Years of living in war had made his personality quiet and introverted. However, in the presence of a woman skilled at socializing like Akane, his hard nature gradually began to soften.
In the middle of the mall's eerie darkness, the light in Azlan's hand not only illuminated their path, but also began to illuminate the corners of his heart that had long been frozen.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Their main destination was the ground floor, the supermarket area. However, their journey stopped briefly on the first floor.
Akane suggested taking clothes on the first floor. After all, the dimensional space in the 4D Pocket was truly too vast. She wanted all the still-wearable clothes on the first floor stored as supplies, to face weather and clothing damage in the future.
Since the owner of the 4D Pocket had already said so, there was no reason for Azlan to refuse. So, the two of them looted men's and women's clothes according to their sizes, filling the 4D Pocket until it was slightly filled.
Fifteen minutes later, the mall's first floor looked like it had been ravaged by locusts. Clothing racks that were previously full were now completely empty.
An expression of satisfaction and happiness was clearly visible on Akane's face. Apparently, a woman's shopping instinct remained strong, even in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.
Next, they both arrived at their destination, the spacious ground floor supermarket.
"This feels odd... The items here are still very complete. There are no signs of looting." Akane murmured, her eyes sweeping the neat shelves, cans and packages still intact though dusty.
"According to logic, when the zombie apocalypse just started, people would panic and fight over resources, especially food which becomes more valuable than money."
"Except for being dusty from not being cleaned for a long time, everything is still neat. It seems no one touched them."
"Don't the survivors need food? Or... is there something else? What really happened to this world? Everything is shrouded in mystery..."
Akane frowned, thinking the same thing that had crossed Azlan's mind when he first found the minimarket.
"Uncovering the truth behind all this has nothing to do with us for now. We have only one priority: survival."
"Mm, Azlan-kun is right."
Stopping thinking about complicated things, Akane nodded and followed Azlan into the supermarket, her steps lighter.
They took food products that hadn't passed their expiration date: still-sealed canned sausages, vegetable oil, rice, canned beef and chicken, sweet canned pineapple and apple fruit, crispy potato chips in large packages, chocolate bars for quick energy, and various snacks like almonds and wheat biscuits.
Instant food shelves like ramen noodles and canned soup were also cleared out, plus powdered milk and honey for long-term nutrition—everything went into the 4D Pocket.
Not only primary needs, they also didn't forget secondary and tertiary needs. Azlan took simple carpentry tools, batteries, matches, and first aid supplies. On the other side, Akane deftly inserted hygiene products like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and tissues.
However, there were some "special" items that Akane secretly put into the 4D Pocket when Azlan wasn't paying attention. Some basic cosmetic products, skincare, and most importantly—several packs of women's sanitary pads. Her face reddened as she did so, but this was an unavoidable necessity.
What made her even more embarrassed, with a pounding heart, she secretly slipped several boxes of condoms into the pocket.
"Just in case... for precaution in the future." She whispered to herself, her face blushing red.
Akane quickly closed the 4D Pocket before Azlan noticed.
With the 4D Pocket now filled with abundant supplies, they both felt more prepared to face the uncertainty of this destroyed world.