Red walked through the door without really knowing why. As soon as he stepped in, he noticed Celine hiding behind the counter.
Seeing the fear on her face, Red quickly explained, thinking he had scared her. "Don't be afraid. This blood... it's all from zombies."
Zombies?
Celine froze. Her mind went blank and buzzed with confusion.
Red did not notice the change in her expression. He looked a little anxious and asked, "Can this pawnshop... trade for food?"
Pawnshop?
Celine's eyes scanned the counter, the abacus, the furniture, and the red lantern hanging on the east door.
So, it really was a pawnshop.
Everything made sense now, and she quickly nodded. "Yes!"
Red started checking his pockets. Aside from the wedding ring on his finger, all he had left were a few crystal cores.
The wedding ring was the only thing his wife had left him, and he could not bear to give it away.
He placed the crystal cores on the counter and almost pleaded, "Can I use these to trade for food? My teammates are starving."
What was this?
A black diamond?
Celine picked up one of the crystal cores and studied it carefully.
Under the dim light, the crystal core shimmered like a polished diamond, maybe even brighter and more beautiful.
Red saw her staring at the core in silence and thought she did not want it because it was low grade. He quickly added,
"It is only a level-one core, but it is still useful for normal people. It can strengthen the body. If someone is lucky, it might even awaken powers."
Crystal cores? Powers?
Celine's eyes suddenly lit up.
"How much food do you want to trade for?" she asked, putting the core down.
Red let out a small breath of relief, knowing she agreed.
But he had no idea how this "pawnshop" worked. He could only say what he needed.
"Enough food for twelve grown men."
"Okay." Celine agreed without hesitation. "Wait here."
She turned and walked through a small, plain door behind the pawnshop, disappearing into the darkness.
Red stayed where he was, staring at the empty counter. He felt nervous.
This strange pawnshop, the sudden appearance of the girl, everything felt unreal.
He touched the wedding ring in his pocket. Its cold surface helped him feel a little more grounded.
The small door opened again, and Celine came back.
Before Red could react, she pushed a pile of things into his arms.
Drinks, rice balls, eggs, vegetables, fruits, even a box of instant noodles, several packs of spicy noodles, candy, chocolate, and bags of frozen meat.
Red was stunned.
A level-one crystal core could only get about a pound of rice at the base. Even if he had given several, this much food was way too much. It felt like a dream.
Celine saw his shocked face and thought the food was not enough. She quickly explained, "This is all I have left. If it is not enough, I will give you more next time."
"It is enough! More than enough!" Red finally came back to his senses and answered quickly.
This food could last them several days.
He picked up the supplies and turned to leave.
But after just a few steps, he stopped again.
Seeing her confused look, Red asked the question that had been in his heart, "How... how can I find you next time?"
The question surprised Celine too.
She looked around the room and noticed two keys hanging on the wall.
She walked over, took down the one marked with the word "East," and handed it to Red.
Red took the key. The cold touch in his hand and the glowing word "East" on it told him that this was all real.
Then his figure disappeared into the hazy light of the east door.
At that same moment, the courtyard suddenly lit up.
Sunlight shone through the carved window onto the dusty wooden counter, and everything looked normal again.
Celine snapped out of it and let out a long breath.
She looked down at the peace charm in her hand, feeling a deep sense of regret in her heart.
In her past life, how could Celine have been so foolish to sell this jade pendant?
If she had found out the secret of this pendant earlier, maybe she would not have ended up the way she did before.
This jade pendant was the last memory left by her father.
In her past life, Lorenzo lied to her, saying his mother was very sick and needed money fast.
Celine believed him and lent him all the 30,000 yuan she had saved by living very simply.
But Lorenzo said it was still not enough!
He knelt in front of Celine, crying with tears and snot, saying his mother's illness was very serious, and she needed surgery quickly or she would die.
Celine felt sorry for him and, seeing his desperate face, believed his story.
To get the money, she sadly sold the jade pendant her father had left her.
The pendant was made from the best mutton fat jade, very clear and finely carved, with excellent quality.
The antique shop owner saw it at once and offered more than 20,000 yuan.
Celine was in a hurry for money and did not think twice before selling it.
She gave all the money to Lorenzo, thinking she had done a good thing to save a life.
But what happened later?
Later, Celine found out that Lorenzo's mother was never sick.
It was all Lorenzo's lie.
He took Celine's hard-earned money, used it to make himself look good, and got close to and chased the daughter of his company's boss, Vanissa.
When Celine found out the truth, she just wanted to get her money back.
But because of this, she was betrayed by these two people, and her family broke apart.
Thinking about this, Celine could hardly breathe; hatred wrapped tightly around her.
"Lorenzo Vanissa"
Outside the east gate, Red returned to his own apocalypse world.
Looking at the barren, ruined land in front of him, then at the food in his arms, Red could not help but laugh.
But while laughing, he suddenly started to cry loudly.
Despair, pain, regret, and relief mixed together, turning into a flood of tears running down his face.
If only he had been more careful or stronger before, maybe he would not have lost his wife.
Why, God, did you wait until I lost my loved one to show mercy?
Red's teammates thought he just needed time to deal with his feelings because after such a big loss, anyone would need a break.
But more than an hour passed, and Red still had not come back. They began to worry.
"Could the team leader be thinking of doing something bad?" The young teammate's worry showed on his face.
"Do not say nonsense" Zhennan, the deputy leader, said. "The team leader is not that kind of person"
They said that, but the worry spread among the team.
They searched separately, afraid Red would do something foolish.
"Team leader Team leader"
Zhennan was the first to hear Red's crying. He followed the sound and saw Red holding a full bag of food, crying like a child.
"Team leader, what is wrong?" Zhennan ran over quickly, and the others came when they heard the noise.
Everyone helped Red into the middle of the convoy, asking with concern why he had so much food and what happened.
Red's crying slowly stopped. He wiped his face roughly and said with difficulty:
"I I wanted to die at first but then suddenly I awakened a space power"
"This food all came from inside that space"
As he spoke, he touched his right hand and found the key he held tightly was gone.
Instead, there was a faint key-shaped mark on the inside of his wrist, so light you could hardly see it.
Red was shocked inside but did not show it on his face.
He did not want to lie to his brothers who had been through life and death with him, but after his father-in-law's betrayal, he found it hard to trust anyone again.
Everything he got through the pawnshop, he would share with his brothers, but his own secrets he would keep tightly.
This was his last card in this apocalypse, his hope to survive.
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