Huaguo—Imperial Capital, E City
The entire city was shrouded in a mass of thick, dark gray fog, making it impossible to see the surrounding buildings and streets.
The empty streets were eerily silent. Even the sound of the wind seemed to have been swallowed by the dense fog.
Visibility was less than five meters. It was already past twelve noon, yet even the sunlight could not penetrate the heavy mist.
At the end of the fog, a building more than thirty stories tall could be vaguely seen.
That place was now the only safe zone in E City.
Many survivors were hiding in various corners of the building.
Meng Ping’an was trembling as she hid inside an inconspicuous electrical room on the rooftop.
Listening to the agonizing screams coming from the stairwell, Meng Ping’an could only hold her breath and press her back tightly against the cold wall.
She was clutching a canvas bag tightly in her arms. Inside were her last remaining supplies: three packs of compressed biscuits and two bottles of mineral water. They were her only hope of staying alive.
A hurried series of footsteps came from the stairwell, mixed with the sound of an iron rod scraping against the railing.
The noise drew closer and closer. Along with the dragging footsteps came low, heavy breathing.
“Ah! Please, don’t kill me! I’ll give you all my food! I’ll give you my water, too!” a woman begged through her tears.
“Hand it over!” a man roared roughly.
A miserable scream followed.
Meng Ping’an didn’t dare move. She didn’t even dare breathe loudly, afraid that she would attract the attention of those madmen.
A few days ago, she and her companions had gone out to look for food. Unfortunately, they encountered a group of survivors who had also come out to rob for supplies. Her companions were brutally killed right in front of her.
She would never forget the faces of those people…
Before her best friend died, she gave Meng Ping’an all the food she had left and told her to hide underneath an abandoned car. That was how Meng Ping’an managed to survive.
She had spent several days hiding and sneaking around, but in the end, she still failed to escape this group of people.
Listening to the screams outside, Meng Ping’an murmured to herself.
“Is this really how it’s going to end?”
She was unwilling to accept it.
Suddenly, the rooftop’s iron door was violently slammed open.
Meng Ping’an’s entire body trembled.
Several burly men stormed onto the rooftop and began searching everywhere. The leader was a long-haired man with a vicious-looking scar across his face.
He appeared to be in his forties, stood about 1.89 meters tall, and had a muscular build. He looked exactly like the kind of underworld boss one might see in a movie.
This was the man who had killed her best friend, Qingqing.
Meng Ping’an clenched her fists and glared angrily at the men before her.
“Little girl, hand over the bag.”
The long-haired man grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth.
Meng Ping’an took a step backward until her heel touched the edge of the wall.
“Pull her out!”
The long-haired man waved his hand behind him, signaling a tall, thin man beside him to drag Meng Ping’an out.
The tall, thin man easily grabbed Meng Ping’an and lifted her up before throwing her onto the rooftop floor.
Meng Ping’an slammed onto the concrete ground, scraping her arm. Several cuts had blood seeping from them.
At the height of the thirtieth floor, the wind howled past their ears.
“I… I don’t have anything here.”
Meng Ping’an’s voice trembled, but she clutched the bag in her arms even tighter.
“Stop wasting your time talking to her. Take it!”
The long-haired man clearly had no patience to wrestle with her and immediately ordered two tall men to take it by force.
“Hand it over!”
Another man rushed forward and grabbed her wrist.
Meng Ping’an struggled desperately, her fingernails leaving bloody scratches on his arm.
“Bitch!”
The man became enraged when he saw the scratches on his arm and raised his hand, slapping her hard across the face.
Meng Ping’an staggered backward from the blow, half of her face burning with pain.
Suddenly, she got to her feet and ran toward the edge of the rooftop, glancing back at the men as she ran.
The long-haired man was furious when the prey that had been within his grasp suddenly ran away. He immediately chased after her.
Seeing that the two of them were about to reach her, Meng Ping’an simply threw the bag over the rooftop railing. She then climbed onto the rooftop wall herself, preparing to jump.
The three men saw that they were about to catch the canvas bag and quickly climbed over after her.
Meng Ping’an kicked one of them, then grabbed the long-haired man and pulled him down with her.
The sensation of weightlessness instantly overwhelmed her.
The howling wind roared in her ears.
She saw the terrified expression on the long-haired man’s face.
She saw the gloomy gray sky.
She saw the city below, covered in thick black smoke.
“Am I going to die…?”
“Qingqing, I avenged you!”
Even at the moment of her death, Meng Ping’an was smiling.
She was finally free.
Living through the apocalypse had been far too painful.
If she had another life, she hoped she could be born in a peaceful era—a world without viruses, zombies, or thick fog covering everything.
There was no pain like she had expected.
Instead, a wave of dizziness washed over her.
The sounds around her were somewhat chaotic, and she could hear several heavy coughs.
Out of habit, Meng Ping’an reached up to touch the mask on her face, but there was nothing there. This made her panic slightly.
She tried to open her eyes, but the dizziness grew stronger, making it impossible.
A pungent smell suddenly filled her nose. Upon closer examination, it was a strong combination of mold and urine, mixed with several other indescribable foul odors that made her want to vomit.
Where was she?
Hadn’t she died?
Could this be the underworld?
Enduring the dizziness, Meng Ping’an struggled to open her eyes. In the darkness, she seemed to see several blurry figures standing in front of her.
No way!
Were those people still following her even in death?
After a while, Meng Ping’an gradually adapted to the darkness around her.
She seemed to be lying inside a dilapidated earthen house. The roof was covered with thick layers of dried grass, with several holes through which she could faintly see the bright stars outside.
“Fourth, go check if he’s dead.”
A man’s voice suddenly rang out, startling Meng Ping’an.
Lying on the ground, Meng Ping’an felt someone approach her. The person leaned down and checked beneath her nose for signs of breathing. His fingers carried an unpleasant smell that made her frown.
“Boss, I think he’s awake. He’s not dead!”
The person beside her turned his head and quietly answered.
“Spit! He’s got quite the hard life. We beat him that badly and he still didn’t die.”
The man in charge spat to the side, his face full of disgust.
“Boss, this kid has been here for several days now. Every time he goes out to beg, he comes back empty-handed. He doesn’t speak either. I don’t know if he’s mute!”
The man beside him frowned as he looked at the skinny child lying on the ground.
“Exactly. Look how weak he is. Just walking a few steps nearly kills him. There’s no use keeping him around. We might as well throw him out.”
“That’s right, Boss. Don’t let him die here and bring us bad luck. If the authorities find out about this, we’ll be in trouble!”
A short man stepped forward and quietly tried to persuade the man who was called Boss.
Only then did Meng Ping’an get a clear look at them.
They weren’t the men who had robbed her.
Instead, they were young men dressed strangely, with their hair tied up in buns on their heads.
They looked like the ancient-style costumes she had seen on television.
“Consider him lucky. You two, throw him out. The farther away, the better. It’ll save us the trouble of looking at him.”
The leader was somewhat older, appearing to be in his twenties. The others were no more than young men in their teens and early twenties.
The two youths who had been ordered to do it looked around fifteen or sixteen. They walked over to Meng Ping’an, grabbed her, and began dragging her outside.
“Wait. Check if he has anything valuable on him. Search him.”
Just as they were about to leave the dilapidated house, the man called Boss reminded the two of them.
“Yes.”
The two men grabbed Meng Ping’an and continued dragging her outside.