Chapter 103: The Fare Dodger and the Rescued One

As Chen Qing steadily made his way toward the meeting point, Jiang Wan’s journey was rapidly nearing its intended destination. She pressed forward, passing through the furniture section and then the appliance area, until she arrived at the spot the physical entity had indicated for her.

Though curiosity stirred within her, the objective was right before her eyes—there was no reason to turn back.

She reached up to the shelf and took down the item, her practiced hands immediately tearing open the packaging. Inside lay a piece of human flesh, freshly cut, swarming with a mass of writhing maggots that feasted upon it relentlessly.

Her brows furrowed deeply, waves of nausea rising within her. She lifted her gaze and found the smiling face hovering in midair had quietly appeared again.

“Is this... what Chen Qing ate?” she murmured.

Clenching her teeth, her complexion paled further. Without hesitation, she picked up one of the wriggling maggots and popped it into her mouth.

Chewing slowly, she tasted nothing but protein mingled with the stench of decay.

It was no wonder—what flavor could a carrion-eating worm possibly have?

Her expression twisted with disgust as she glanced back at those smiling faces, which vanished at that very moment.

“But something’s not right...” She turned, a trace of doubt shadowing her features as she searched for the physical being who had guided her. “This piece of corpse seems incomplete somehow...”

Puzzled, she hesitated, but time was too tight to continue searching leisurely.

Shaking her head, she sealed the packaging to prevent any of the maggots from escaping, checked the time, and dashed toward the destination within the agreed final five minutes.

After several minutes of hurrying, both Jiang Wan and Chen Qing had arrived at their final destination. She looked at Chen Qing’s battered form, her brow knitting with worry.

“Chen Qing? How did you get yourself into this state?”

Yet upon closer inspection, a tinge of confusion crept over her. She uttered a soft “eh” as her gaze wandered.

There were large wounds on his shoulder, but remarkably, the injuries formed a perfect oval, intact in shape. Blood dripped beneath him, yet his legs showed no visible damage.

These injuries... she frowned, unable to fathom their cause.

Seeing her, Chen Qing’s awareness flickered faintly. He fixed his eyes on her hand.

Frowning, a trace of displeasure crossed his face. “You actually ate that?”

She paused briefly, then nodded.

“Tch.”

He frowned deeply and, swaying unsteadily, came over to her side. Letting her support him, he accepted the chocolate she took from her pocket and fed it into his mouth.

“What is this?”

“I don’t know,” Chen Qing said softly after a moment of silence. “But it’s something that can save your life.”

Together, they made their way to the supermarket checkout counter.

“What do we do? We have no money.”

Chen Qing panted, his body swaying with each breath. “We break out.”

“Break out?! Can that even work?!”

“Where else do you expect the money to come from?”

Her face froze at his words.

“And besides...” Chen Qing gasped, then continued, “Didn’t you notice? The rules at the entrance clearly say: ‘Violators will be dealt with by the staff.’ Do you know what that means?”

Jiang Wan blinked, shaking her head.

Chen Qing looked at her, then suddenly smiled wickedly. “It means they have to catch us first before talking about any punishment!”

Jiang Wan’s expression froze in surprise. The line ahead was already nearly at their position.

They watched as the person in front paid and left. The cashier scanned the packaged item with a beep, then asked, “Anything else?”

She glanced into Chen Qing’s pocket, and noticing her gaze, Chen Qing suddenly smiled.

“No, no more.”

“No more?” She frowned, lowering her eyes to the checkout screen just as Chen Qing gently tapped her shoulder with the back of his hand. He moved close beside her, teeth clenched, and slowly crouched down.

“Not painful enough, not painful enough... has my ability really weakened this much?”

At that moment, holding onto her and the item, his feet scraped fiercely against the ground, sending up thick smoke. Before the cashier entity could react, the two had already vanished far from the scene.

At the checkout, a blaring alarm immediately sounded. The entity stood with its head lowered, still stunned. Looking up and scanning from side to side for Jiang Wan and Chen Qing’s whereabouts, it found nothing. Dumbfounded, it stood and shouted loudly in the direction Chen Qing had fled:

“Stop him! He didn’t pay!”