The morning sky was dull and gray, showing no clear sign of whether it would clear or rain.
Zhen Zhong had gotten up early.
On the bed, a woman rolled over, propping herself up with one hand and exposing her bare upper body.
“So you’re leaving already? Not one more round?”
Zhen Zhong pinched her chin and kissed her hard.
“There’s a mission. Be good and wait for me at home—I’ll come back and f*ck you to death.”
“Tch.” The woman lost interest and lay back down. “Then you’d better come back. Otherwise I’ll go find another man.”
Zhen Zhong slapped her on the butt. “Relax. I’ll come back alive just so I can keep f*cking you.”
He tore open a pack of compressed biscuits and stuffed one into his mouth. After using the bathroom, he was pulling up his pants while opening the door—
“Damn!”
He quickly fixed his pants, pulled the biscuit out of his mouth.
“Sis Xi, when did you get here? Why didn’t you knock?”
Ji Chaoxi stood up from the steps at the doorway and glanced at him calmly. “Just arrived. Let’s go.”
Zhen Zhong pulled a pack of compressed biscuits from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Here. You probably didn’t eat breakfast coming this early.”
Ji Chaoxi didn’t refuse. She took it, opened it, and slowly chewed.
The two walked toward the small square together.
Zhen Zhong asked, “Sis Xi, where’s your… person?”
He originally wanted to say your dog, but changed it halfway.
Ji Chaoxi paused slightly as she chewed. “He didn’t come.”
Normally, she would bring Ye Jiming on missions. He would serve her in every way, and when she was bored, she would publicly humiliate or beat him for entertainment.
Zhen Zhong raised a brow in surprise. So Sis Xi really wasn’t treating that man like a toy anymore. Keeping him at home? Tch. Less entertainment for them, then.
At the small square, the team Zhen Zhong had gathered was already assembled—five people in total. Four were Tier-4 ability users, and one Space Ability User was Tier-3.
The Space Ability User served as logistics. Tier-3 was acceptable.
This team’s chance of killing a Rank-5 Mutated Beast was at most fifty percent—but with Ji Chaoxi, who could both attack and heal, their success rate jumped to nearly ninety-nine percent.
No one wasted words. Zhen Zhong waved his hand.
“Move out.”
After the apocalypse, many humans awakened abilities to resist environmental changes. But Tier-4 ability users remained rare. Any who reached that level would immediately be noticed and recruited.
The Safe Zone outskirts were lined with empty houses. In the early days, people gathered here for safety, but as more mutated humans appeared and purification drugs had not yet been developed, people gradually moved inward. These outer houses became abandoned.
Soon, they reached the edge of the sonic interference zone. In the distance, mutated beasts roamed and slaughtered across the wasteland.
Zhen Zhong suddenly chuckled.
“Sis Xi, your guy is waiting for you.”
Ji Chaoxi’s heart tightened.
She looked over—and indeed saw a tall, slender figure standing beneath a tree.
Her breath hitched.
Memories from last night surged back violently. Her whole body ached faintly—especially in certain places.
Her face paled slightly.
Their eyes met across the distance.
Ji Chaoxi clenched her fists at her side, looked away, and walked forward without acknowledging him.
Ye Jiming’s expression turned cold. He rushed toward her.
“Master… please. Don’t leave me behind.”
His voice was pitiful, like an abandoned dog begging for its owner, his hand grabbing hers.
Ji Chaoxi reacted instantly, shaking him off.
“Go back.”
She said it coldly and walked past him, increasing the distance between them.
Ye Jiming stood still, watching her back, storm clouds gathering in his eyes.
He had only been gone for half an hour. When he returned, she was already gone.
At that moment, he had wanted to capture her, lock her up, even kill her.
Zhen Zhong patted his shoulder.
“Looks like you pissed Sis Xi off. No wonder she doesn’t want to take you on missions. But kid, she’s doing it for your own good. We’re going to fight a Rank-5 Mutated Beast—we won’t have time to protect you. Be good and wait for her to come back.”
He laughed and walked away.
Ji Chaoxi walked at the front, the others following behind. Golden sunlight stretched their shadows across the ground.
She didn’t look back even once.
Yesterday she said she’d take care of him.
Liar.
Ye Jiming knew she wasn’t coming back for him.
“Ji Chaoxi… I said we’re not done. You can’t get rid of me.”
Half an hour later.
Zhen Zhong walked up to Ji Chaoxi.
“Sis Xi, that guy’s still following us. Should we let him join? At least he can watch our backs if anything goes wrong.”
Ji Chaoxi frowned slightly.
A voice kept echoing in her mind:
Ji Chaoxi, you owe me…
She closed her eyes briefly, then exhaled.
A blade of grass shot up suddenly, wrapping around a mutated beast that had lunged from the bushes, crushing it instantly.
“Damn, Sis Xi is amazing. That was completely hidden!” Liang Zimo, the Tier-3 Space Ability User, nearly jumped in shock.
Ji Chaoxi stopped and looked back.
Fifty meters away, Ye Jiming was still following.
Their eyes met.
She bit her lip, then said to Zhen Zhong, “Call him over.”
“Got it.”
Zhen Zhong grinned and shouted, “Hey! Sis Xi says you can come over!”
Ye Jiming’s pupils flickered. He walked quickly to her side, eyes fixed on her pale neck, throat moving slightly.
He lowered his gaze, dark and heavy.
“Master.”
Ji Chaoxi felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively stepped aside.
Memories flashed through her mind—his voice in the dark, calling her “Master” with that brutal, devouring intensity.
This was revenge.
He was deliberately humiliating her.
“Don’t call me that. Just call my name.”
Ye Jiming clenched his jaw. Then, softly:
“…Chaoxi.”
The word came out calm—but it carried a bone-deep chill.
Ji Chaoxi instantly regretted ever saving him.
She should have thrown him into the Mutated Beast Horde and run far away.
Silence stretched.
She only gave a faint “mm” in response and avoided looking at him.
She didn’t notice the dark, predatory gaze locked onto her—like a beast watching its prey.