Inside a damp, dimly lit underground warehouse, eight or nine ragged young girls huddled together in a corner. They shrank into themselves, heads lowered, their frail bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Not a single one of them dared make a sound.
A short distance away, another girl lay sprawled across the filthy floor, barely clinging to life. Her tangled hair covered most of her face, and grime caked every inch of her body, making it impossible to tell what she truly looked like.
The air was thick with a foul stench so overpowering that it was enough to make anyone sick.
After what felt like an eternity, one of the girl’s fingers twitched.
Once.
Then again.
And again.
Feng Moxi felt as though every bone in her body had been crushed. She was weak, sore, and her mind was clouded with confusion. Yet the agony tearing through her body was unmistakably real.
Could it be that the mutated beasts were still ripping her apart?
That unbearable pain…
She never wanted to experience it again.
Slowly, she forced her eyes open.
A faint beam of light filtered through a tiny square window, barely a foot across, high above her head.
Darkness filled every corner of the room, carrying an oppressive atmosphere that made breathing difficult.
This was the apocalypse.
There was no mistaking it.
She tried to sit up, but her body refused to obey. She couldn’t gather even the slightest strength. The icy chill of the concrete floor beneath her and the pain wracking every inch of her body felt far too real.
Had someone… saved her?
A bitter smile tugged at Feng Moxi’s lips.
In the apocalypse, who would care whether someone else lived or died?
She remembered it clearly.
Her cousin had thrown her straight into a horde of mutated monsters. She had watched with her own eyes as her flesh was ripped away piece by piece.
The creatures had devoured every last shred of her.
That soul-crushing agony, along with the cold, indifferent faces watching from atop the city walls, remained forever engraved in her memory.
She had foolishly believed that, with her beauty and her powerful cousin protecting her, she had managed to live quite comfortably in the apocalypse.
It had all been an illusion.
She had never imagined her cousin hated her so deeply.
Hated her enough to want her dead.
Was it simply because she had confessed her feelings several times to the man they both admired?
Or because, despite awakening an enhanced ability, she had never once killed a mutated beast herself?
A shadow passed through Feng Moxi’s eyes, followed by a flash of cold fury.
Back then, she had only wanted to avoid dying in an ugly, horrifying way.
She painfully flexed her fingers, and another wave of piercing pain shot through her body.
“They’ve kept us locked up for a whole week. Damn it, mutated monsters are wandering everywhere outside. I don’t think there’s any hope left for us.”
A deep, hoarse male voice drifted in through the small window set high in the wall.
A week?
What did he mean by a week?
Had the city’s fall happened a week ago?
Judging by the situation, it seemed they were trapped somewhere hidden underground.
Could it be…
“Forget it. Everywhere’s the same now. Boss took dozens of the guys out this morning to scout the area. When they came back… only three were left. Just three.”
The man’s voice trembled involuntarily as he spoke.
“Tch.”
The other man spat loudly onto the ground.
“Damn this rotten world. I risked my life kidnapping all these pretty girls, and before I even got to enjoy them, this happened.”
“They’re nothing but a waste of food now.”
“Hmph. Even so, we can’t let them off that easily.”
The two men chuckled with disgusting lewdness, their earlier fear already forgotten.
Feng Moxi’s gaze gradually sharpened.
A crimson glint flashed through her eyes as murderous intent quietly stirred within her heart.
She had survived four years in the apocalypse before dying such a miserable death.
That experience had changed her completely.
No matter how weak and gentle she had pretended to be in her previous life, she was no longer the same person.
She clenched her fingers, forcing herself to suppress the violent rage surging inside her. Then, with great effort, she lifted her head.
Beside the small window that let in the faint light stood a tightly shut, rusted iron door. A worn wooden ladder stretched down from it into the room.
The space was cramped and gloomy, filled with the damp smell of decay.
Finally, her eyes settled on the group of girls curled up in the corner.
A flicker of realization crossed her face.
Was this… only one week after the apocalypse began?
After pondering for a long while, Feng Moxi slowly raised her trembling hands again.
They were slender and delicate beneath the dirt, so fragile they hardly looked real.
These were not the hands she remembered.
They were neither the weathered hands that had survived four brutal years in the apocalypse…
Nor the soft, chubby hands she had before the end of the world.
Could it be…
Not only had her life started over…
She had been reborn inside someone else’s body?
Only to endure this endless darkness all over again?
No.
She refused.
Painfully clutching her head, Feng Moxi tugged at her tangled hair until it became an even bigger mess.
“Y… you’re awake?”
A timid voice, barely louder than a mosquito’s buzz, sounded beside her.
A round-faced girl with delicate features was watching her cautiously. Concern filled the girl’s eyes, though she looked frightened even as she spoke.
The sudden interruption sent another wave of irritation through Feng Moxi.
She shot the girl a cold, intimidating glance, her eyes carrying a trace of viciousness.
Startled, the girl immediately shrank back and hurried to squeeze herself among the others, not daring to utter another word.
A moment later, Feng Moxi relaxed slightly.
She curled her lips into a faint apologetic smile and gave the girl a small nod.
Just then, the little window above suddenly slid open a crack.
One steamed bun after another came flying through the opening.
They scattered across the filthy floor.
With a loud bang, the window slammed shut again.
The girls huddled in the corner instantly lit up with excitement.
They rushed forward, scrambling for the mold-speckled steamed buns before retreating to their corner once more.
Each clutched her prize tightly as they devoured the food in desperate mouthfuls.
Many choked from their dry throats, coughing hoarsely between bites, yet none of them slowed down.
The round-faced girl also grabbed a steamed bun and returned to the corner.
She glanced at Feng Moxi, who still lay helpless on the floor.
After hesitating for a moment, she picked up the very last bun left behind.
Slowly, she walked over and crouched beside Feng Moxi.
“You… you should eat something,” she whispered softly. “Please stop being so stubborn. This is the apocalypse now.”
As she spoke, terror filled her eyes, and her voice caught in her throat.
It was as though she had remembered something too painful to bear, leaving her face filled with sorrow.
Feng Moxi stared in surprise at the steamed bun being offered to her.
It had already turned yellow with age, its surface covered by a thin layer of mold.
Grrr…
Her stomach rumbled loudly.
The next instant, a sharp cramp twisted through her abdomen. An overwhelming wave of hunger surged over her, leaving her nauseated.
How long had it been since she had last seen real grain?
By the third year of the apocalypse, the contaminated land had completely lost its ability to sustain crops. Food had become almost nonexistent.
The only grain that could occasionally be found had been dug out from underground storage, but even that was moldy and bitter.
Unless it came from the experimental farms maintained by the upper ranks of the survivor bases, ordinary people never even caught a glimpse of proper food.
What they ate every day was mutated beast meat.
After years of chewing nothing but that, even the taste had become unbearably dull.
This steamed bun might be moldy…
But it was still edible.
The kind-hearted girl took a deep breath to steady her emotions.
Looking at Feng Moxi, who remained silent, she gently shook her head.
Without another word, she carefully placed the steamed bun into Feng Moxi’s hand.
Then she quietly returned to the wall, cradling her own food protectively as she nibbled at it in small, cautious bites.