Clara climbed over the courtyard wall, bending her knees to cushion her landing without a sound. The yard was empty except for a dried-up well. She hugged the wall and moved slowly to the doorway, then listened. No sound inside.
She didn’t push the door open right away. Instead, she tapped the door panel lightly with the handle of her axe.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
She waited over ten seconds. Inside was still dead silent.
Looks safe.
Only then did Clara push the door open a crack with the tip of her axe and look inside. The room was covered in dust and cobwebs, with a broken wooden table overturned on the floor. Just as she was about to step in, a strange rustling came from the sand behind her. Alarm bells went off in her head, and she whipped around.
A black scorpion over a foot and a half long shot out of the sand, tail stinger raised high, pincers clicking. Clara raised her crossbow and activated Enchanting Gaze. The scorpion’s charge froze mid-motion, a flash of infatuation crossing its crimson compound eyes.
The crossbow bolt whistled through the air and slammed into its head.
Splat!
The scorpion thrashed wildly, its tail stinger flailing, scraping a chunk of wood off the door frame. Eventually it went still and its body crashed to the ground.
DismantleDismantle the C-rank mutant corpse?YesNoItemDetails🦂 Scorpion Meat 5 lbC-rank meat. Fills the stomach.🫀 Venom Sac x1Special material for poisoned weapons and venom traps.
Looking at the loot, Clara breathed a sigh of relief.
That was too close. If I hadn’t reacted fast enough, I’d be dead.
She pulled out some milk to restore her depleted Stamina and searched the room, but found nothing.
“Don’t tell me this abandoned little village has no supplies?”
Meanwhile, at the other end of the village, Derek leaned against a broken wall to rest. His face was still a little pale, but he looked lively, his eyes holding their usual sharpness. He glanced at the wound on his chest. It was bandaged, but it still throbbed with a dull pain.
“Clara...”
Derek murmured the name, a complicated emotion flashing in his eyes. There was frustration, wariness, but more than anything, a desire to conquer.
“This woman either becomes a teammate, or...”
Next time, I won’t be fooled by her looks.
Gripping his entrenching tool, he got up and was about to continue deeper when he caught a figure in the corner of his eye.
“Huh?”
He frowned and looked over. In front of a broken-down house not far away, a woman in a light blue dress was crouching on the ground, gathering heads of cabbage.
“Another survivor? But her clothes and her hair look familiar.”
He slowed his steps, preparing to go around. He didn’t want any conflict with other survivors yet. Just then, the woman stood up, tucked a strand of wind-blown blonde hair behind her ear, and turned around. Derek’s pupils contracted sharply.
It was her. It really was her.
Seeing Clara’s face and those purple eyes, Derek’s heartbeat quickened for no reason at all. He concealed himself at once, eyes locked on that figure, his heart filled with unmatched excitement.
“I’ve been looking all over for something like this, and it just walked right up to me.”
Clara had no idea a hungry wolf had already set its sights on her from the shadows. She was still thrilled over the five heads of cabbage she had just harvested.
“Heh heh, nice.”
After putting the food away, she moved carefully, searching six abandoned houses in a row. Besides the cabbages she had already picked, she found nothing. Just when she was starting to feel disappointed, she stopped in the front yard of the seventh house. A small vegetable patch grew there, bright green with chives, baby bok choy, and a few carrots.
“Jackpot.”
In this world, fresh vegetables were even more valuable than meat. They didn’t just supply vitamins. They improved your quality of life and upgraded your meals. Clara stepped forward at once and stored every vegetable in the patch into her Storage Space. Total haul: 11 pounds of wild chives, 8 carrots, and 3.3 pounds of baby bok choy.
Just as she was getting excited, a low growl came from behind her. Clara’s heart tightened. She spun around and raised her Repeating Crossbow. A lean, mutated black panther limped out from behind a broken wall. It had a gash on its belly so deep the bone showed, and one paw hovered off the ground. It had clearly been through a brutal fight. This chapter was copied from novelping(.)com without permission.
Its yellow slit eyes fixed on Clara, blazing with murderous intent. Instead of tensing up, Clara felt a surge of joy. This was a delivery dropped right in her lap. She pulled the trigger.
The panther reacted fast. Even badly wounded, it threw itself sideways on instinct, dodging the fatal headshot. Clara hadn’t expected a one-shot kill anyway. The instant the panther dodged, she activated Enchanting Gaze without hesitation. The panther’s body had just landed when it went rigid. The murderous light in its eyes was replaced by confusion. It even raised a paw and scratched its ear like a docile cat.
Thwip! Thwip!
Two more arrows flew, hitting the panther square in the head and killing it.
LootItemDetails🥩 Panther Meat 33 lbC-rank meat. Fills the stomach.🟫 Animal Hide x1Beast hide. Crafting material for clothing and armor.🪢 Beast Sinew x2Tough beast tendon. Crafting material.🍃 Wood Element Core x1Rare elemental core. A key material for high-rank crafting and vehicle upgrades.
“A Wood Element Core?”
Clara’s breathing sped up, her face wild with joy.
“Lucky Four-Leaf Clover. It’s actually a Lucky Four-Leaf Clover. Once I get back to the car, I’ll make it right away.”
Just as she finished putting the items away and was about to leave, a strong sense of danger hit her from behind. Clara didn’t even have time to turn around. A sharp pain struck the back of her neck, her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.
At some point, Derek had crept up on her. He caught the falling Clara, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
“Now let’s see you run.”
He pulled out a rope and tied Clara up tight. Looking down at her on the ground, Derek grinned, as if everything was under control. With someone who could heal infinitely, having her versus not having her made survival two completely different challenges. Besides, Derek knew she wanted to kill him, but she was just a woman.
Nothing more than some woman’s little tricks. Playing weak, sneak attacks.
“If she doesn’t agree later, then... heh heh... and then I’ll kill her.”
Thinking that, he hoisted her onto his shoulder and headed back the way he came.
He had no idea how much time had passed. Clara woke to a sharp, stinging smell of smoke. Her eyes snapped open, and she found herself lying in the passenger seat of a car. Her hands and feet were bound with rope in a professional tie. She struggled once and found she couldn’t move at all. When she looked up, she saw a tall, lean figure leaning against the car door, leisurely smoking a cigarette.