When a normal human tries to rob an ability user, the result is naturally a thorough beating by said ability user.
Afterward, Jiang Xing would step in to apologize on her behalf and beg for forgiveness, while the original owner would ‘fail to recognize good intentions’ and berate Jiang Xing. Once Jiang Xing burst into tears, the original owner would face cold mockery and isolated bullying from the rest of the squad. Fueled by jealousy and rage, the original owner would then double down and act even more egregiously…
It was a vicious cycle.
Jiang Ye let out a silent sigh in her heart.
What a foolish original owner. How could she not see through her fake-holy-mother sister’s calculations and walk right into the trap every single time?
If one were to ask who harbored the greatest malice toward the original owner in this current squad, it would undeniably be Lin Hui.
As for the reasons—
First, the original owner was indeed infuriating at times: acting without considering the consequences, behaving willfully, and being selfish and foolish to the extreme…
Second, it was because of Zhou Yan.
Lin Hui had a crush on Zhou Yan, but Zhou Yan admired Jiang Xing. Yet, Lin Hui didn’t dare to make things difficult for Jiang Xing openly, so she took all her frustration out on the utterly useless Jiang Ye.
The original owner was wronged, yet she wasn’t entirely innocent either.
Jiang Ye pulled back her hand and stared wistfully at Lin Hui, looking somewhat pitiful.
At least in the eyes of Wu Lin and the other two men, her expression was rather hard to bear.
How strange. They had been thoroughly sick of her before, so what was going on today?
Jiang Ye stared so intently that Lin Hui hid the food behind her back.
Lin Hui asked guardedly, “What are you looking at?”
Is she going to steal again?!
As if completely blind to Lin Hui’s vigilance, Jiang Ye spoke in a matter-of-fact tone: “Watching you eat.”
Lin Hui’s brows furrowed like caterpillars, sweeping a glance over her as if looking at a lunatic.
“Why are you watching me eat?”
What kind of new trick is this? Is she waiting for me to lower my guard before snatching it?
At that thought, alarm bells blared in Lin Hui’s mind, and she gripped the bread in her hand tightly.
I won’t let her steal it again!
Jiang Ye shrugged and said, “I don’t have anything to eat anyway. Watching you eat is like gazing at plums to slake my thirst.”
Lin Hui froze upon hearing this, seemingly caught off guard by Jiang Ye’s blunt honesty. Her brow smoothed out, and one side of her lips curled up.
As expected, she’s still the same stupid, greedy Jiang Ye.
As usual, she brandished the bread in front of Jiang Ye’s face and said high-and-mighty, “If you want to eat, wash my clothes clean first.”
The other team members frowned. This demand was pushing it a bit too far.
Freshwater resources were extremely scarce right now. Setting aside where Jiang Ye would even fetch water and whether she could step outside safely, even if she managed to find water smoothly, would an utterly helpless person like her make it back alive?
Zhou Yan couldn’t help but frown as well.
Jiang Ye certainly had a mountain of flaws, but her offenses didn’t warrant a death sentence.
Just as he tore a piece of bread in half, intending to share it with Jiang Ye, a crisp voice rang out.
“Okay.”
Jiang Ye agreed.
She was just looking for an excuse to go take a shower anyway.
Lin Hui sneered. Looking at Jiang Ye—who clearly didn’t know her own limits—she felt nothing but disdain and couldn’t resist mocking her:
“Your parents must have given all the intelligence to your sister.”
Identical twin sisters, yet their IQs and abilities were worlds apart. Aside from sharing the exact same face, they were completely different in every other way.
A sudden surge of jealous rage flared up inside Jiang Ye’s heart.
She was slightly startled.
The feeling came on so fast, like an instinctive emotional reaction—a knee-jerk trigger from the body itself.
She had to expend an immense amount of effort just to suppress that urge to throw a tantrum.
Lin Hui waited for a long time, but when she didn’t see Jiang Ye flare up as usual, she felt a bit puzzled. Just as she was about to taunt her further, the woman suddenly stood up.
Lin Hui hurriedly guarded her bread and asked warily, “What are you doing?!”
Jiang Ye extended a hand toward her and smiled. “The clothes.”
“??”
Lin Hui petrified on the spot.
Not just her; even the others had question marks written all over their faces.
Zhou Yan’s dark eyes fixed on Jiang Ye. He had no idea what she was trying to pull, but thinking of Jiang Xing, he suppressed the doubts in his heart and offered his own bread to her, putting an end to the escalating farce.
“It’s not safe outside. Take my bread. After eating, everyone should get some rest early. We still have to travel tomorrow.”
First and foremost, they needed to regroup with Jiang Xing and the others. However, without knowing their direction, they could only search while moving forward. Tomorrow was bound to be another grueling day.
Wu Lin and the others nodded in understanding, speeding up their chewing.
Seeing Zhou Yan step in to bail her out, Lin Hui felt deeply resentful, casting a provocative glance at Jiang Ye.
Her look seemed to challenge her: Do you dare?
Jiang Ye didn’t accept the bread Zhou Yan handed over; instead, she obstinately stared at Lin Hui and the piece of bread in her hand.
Zhou Yan knit his brows, but said nothing more.
If she’s bent on seeking death, I can’t stop her.
Lin Hui didn’t want to hear her crush defending the woman any longer. Looking at the slender, fair hand in front of her, she quickly shed her outer jacket and tossed it to Jiang Ye, leaving herself in just a small camisole tank top.
The other men tactfully averted their gazes.
Jiang Ye caught the jacket, then extended her hand again.
Knowing what she wanted, Lin Hui gripped the bread tightly and said, “I’ll give it to you when you get back.”
Jiang Ye shook her head and said firmly, “No way. I’ve been scammed by bad people too many times. Give me the bread first.”
That ‘bad person’ was obviously Lin Hui, who had tricked the original owner plenty of times.
Jiang Ye remained unmoved, adopting a stance that she wouldn’t budge unless the food was handed over first.
Thinking that she could finally get rid of this troublemaker, Lin Hui couldn’t care less about being called a bad person. Gritting her teeth, she handed the bread over.
If one piece of bread can get a hated nuisance killed, it’s well worth it.
Jiang Ye took the bread but wasn’t in a rush to leave. Instead, she stayed in place, fiddling with the bread in her hands.
Zhou Yan watched the woman’s stubborn back, his brows furrowing involuntarily.
Too stupid. Swallowing the bait after just a bit of provocation—does she even know what it’s like out there?
How on earth does Jiang Xing have a sister like this!
Soon enough, the outer crust of the bread, stamped with a clear bite mark, was tossed right back into Lin Hui’s hands.
“I don’t want what you’ve bitten into. It’s dirty.”
Leaving those words behind, Jiang Ye strode toward the entrance.
Lin Hui’s face flushed red with humiliation. Staring fixedly at the retreating back, she quickly caught up and eagerly opened a small gap in the door for her.
Watching Jiang Ye squeeze her way out, Lin Hui said in a dark, ominous tone, “Eat your fill. I hope you still manage to come back alive.”
I won’t waste my breath getting angry at a dead person.
Jiang Ye didn’t get angry as Lin Hui expected. Instead, she turned back with a playful grin.
“Thanks for the kind words, I’ll definitely come back.”
She added silently in her mind: As for your clothes, though, that might not be guaranteed.
Jiang Ye glanced at the goosebumps breaking out on Lin Hui’s exposed arms and smiled mysteriously.
The seasons in the apocalypse no longer followed any rules; the temperature difference between day and night was massive. It was scorching hot during the day, but at night, it could drop below freezing.
Tonight was shaping up to be quite chilly.
Jiang Ye quietly pulled her jacket tighter around herself. After she stepped out, the door behind her was hastily shut tight.
Looking at the dark, dilapidated surroundings before her, she let out a gentle sigh.
The apocalypse, huh…
Jiang Ye devoured the bread in two or three bites. It barely did anything for her empty stomach, leaving her still ravenous.
“System, system, are you there?”
【Dear~ I’m here~】
“I want to take a shower. Help me check if the surroundings are safe, and while you’re at it, find me a secure spot.”
【Understood. Scanning the surrounding environment… No zombie traces detected within a 50-meter radius. Planning a route for you: head east for 10 meters, there is a restroom.】
Jiang Ye couldn’t help but marvel that the location Zhou Yan chose was indeed very safe. As expected of one of the male leads—his strength was top-notch!
Jiang Ye thanked the system and walked toward the designated location.
The surrounding buildings were dead quiet. Only a few streetlights managed to flicker weakly, their intermittent blinks signaling that they wouldn’t last much longer.
Fortunately, the moon in the post-apocalyptic sky was exceptionally large. With moonlight washing over the ground, the visibility around her wasn’t too dark.
Sure enough, as Jiang Ye made her way to the restroom, a streetlight suddenly flickered out. A wave of tension hit her heart, but she wasn’t truly terrified.
For starters, the system had confirmed there were no zombies nearby. Furthermore, she normally enjoyed watching horror and disaster movies, so she wasn’t particularly faint-hearted.
The interior of the restroom was pitch-black, and the door was broken. The dried blood smeared across the walls and floor was more than enough to indicate that a brutal battle had once taken place here.
Relying on the bright moonlight spilling from outside, Jiang Ye pushed open the nearest toilet stall—only to unexpectedly lock eyes with a pair of murky, greyish eyes.