The girls had already finished their steamed buns, but their eyes remained fixed on the one in Feng Moxi’s hand. Every one of them looked at it with naked hunger before glancing up at the tiny window above.
In the end, none of them dared fight her for it.
“Thank you.”
Feng Moxi nodded gratefully. She lifted the cold steamed bun and held it beneath her nose, taking a careful sniff.
It smelled wonderful.
Even with the layer of mold, the faint fragrance of grain still lingered.
It was a scent she had not experienced in a very, very long time.
She tore off a small piece, mold and all, and slowly chewed it.
The moment the food reached her stomach, the gnawing emptiness inside her eased almost instantly.
Yes…
This was exactly the taste she remembered.
The soft bun, moistened by her saliva, slid slowly down her throat. She closed her eyes for a brief moment as warmth spread throughout her body, wrapping her in an indescribable sense of comfort.
The delicate-looking girl smiled faintly after seeing Feng Moxi finally eat. Encouraged, she cautiously edged a little closer.
“My name is Luo Yunxi. Are you feeling any better now?”
Because of the habits she had developed in her previous life, Feng Moxi instinctively smiled back.
Her features were naturally delicate and striking, with large, expressive eyes. Whenever she spoke sincerely, her lips curved into a gentle smile that made her seem innocent and harmless.
“I’m Feng Moxi. Just call me Xiaoxi.”
The words had barely left her mouth before she froze.
It was too late.
Without thinking, she had slipped back into the refined, gentle persona she had cultivated throughout her previous life.
That sweet and graceful image was instantly etched into Luo Yunxi’s mind.
Luo Yunxi found the change astonishing.
She didn’t know much about Feng Moxi, but over the past few days, this girl had cried, screamed, refused to eat, and stubbornly refused to touch the steamed buns.
She had only stopped resisting after being beaten unconscious.
When she woke up, she had even seemed half-crazed for a while.
Yet now…
It was as if she had become a completely different person.
“Okay.”
As darkness gradually settled outside, distant roars echoed faintly through the night.
Another dangerous evening in the apocalypse had begun.
Creak…
The rusty iron door suddenly swung open.
The girls in the corner immediately panicked.
They curled into themselves even tighter.
Luo Yunxi quickly hurried around Feng Moxi and squeezed herself against the wall with the others.
Feng Moxi’s heart sank.
Heavy footsteps approached.
Two burly men appeared before the frightened girls.
“Hmph. Still alive?”
The man spoke in a low, hoarse voice.
“What a damn nuisance. Even half-dead, you’re still blocking the way.”
Feng Moxi instantly recognized his voice.
He was the same man who had been talking outside the window earlier.
Without warning, a sharp pain exploded in her waist.
The man kicked her viciously.
Her frail body slammed into the wall before crashing back onto the concrete floor.
He hadn’t held back in the slightest.
The tremendous force sent pain surging through her body all over again.
Feng Moxi lowered her eyes.
A flash of murderous hatred flickered within them before disappearing just as quickly.
Although she had awakened a dark-element psychic ability in her previous life, she had always hidden behind the image of a fragile, helpless woman.
She intended to keep doing the same.
There would be plenty of opportunities in the future to secretly settle the score with Wan Wanxin.
Besides, this body was far too weak.
Right now, she probably couldn’t even crush an ant.
For the time being, enduring and waiting was her only choice.
The other man stopped his companion.
“Wang Bing, don’t kick her to death. Boss said this girl’s family has some influence. She might still be useful.”
Otherwise, they would have strangled her two days ago instead of wasting precious food on her.
No one knew how much longer this disastrous situation would last.
If rescue ever came…
Keeping this girl alive might prove valuable.
“Hmph.”
The man called Wang Bing finally gave up on beating Feng Moxi.
Instead, he casually grabbed one of the girls hiding in the corner and dragged her toward the staircase.
The girl crouched desperately on the ground, shaking her head over and over.
“No… please don’t take me… please…”
She didn’t even dare cry loudly.
She simply resisted with everything she had.
Smack!
Wang Bing slapped her across the face so hard that she stumbled sideways.
He seized her arm again.
“You want to die? Then behave yourself. Otherwise, I’ll feed you to the mutated monsters.”
With that, he yanked her up the stairs.
The girl looked utterly lifeless as she was dragged away.
The other man let out a sinister laugh before grabbing another girl at random.
Having witnessed what had just happened, this girl was terrified.
She struggled weakly, but not nearly as fiercely.
Soon, both men disappeared beyond the iron door.
Bang.
The heavy door slammed shut behind them.
Only then did the remaining girls release the breath they had been holding.
They huddled even closer together in the corner.
At least for tonight…
They had escaped disaster.
As for tomorrow…
Tomorrow could wait.
Under circumstances like these, none of them had the luxury of thinking that far ahead.
Feng Moxi gently rubbed her bruised waist.
A cold light flashed through her eyes.
The weak truly had no dignity.
In this life…
She would become strong.
Almost unconsciously, her hand reached for the necklace around her neck.
A smooth, thumb-sized, dark green bead slipped into her palm.
This…
How could it be?
She carefully pulled the bead from beneath her collar.
Before the apocalypse, her grandmother had personally placed it around her neck.
After the apocalypse began, her cousin, Wan Wanxin, had said she liked it.
Although Feng Moxi had been reluctant to part with it, she had ultimately given it away in gratitude for her cousin’s protection.
She had never seen it again.
She never could have imagined…
That after being reborn…
The bead would return with her.
No matter how little she had understood back then, she now knew this bead was anything but ordinary.
Thinking back, Wan Wanxin had always possessed an endless supply of food and had frequently disappeared without explanation.
If circumstances had been different, Feng Moxi would have burst into laughter.
There was no doubt about it.
This had to be one of the legendary spatial treasures.
Excitement surged through her.
She immediately extended her psychic power into the dark green bead.
Inside…
Everything was shrouded in darkness.
She couldn’t make out its boundaries.
Of course.
If this truly was a spatial artifact, then it probably needed to recognize its owner through blood.
The light coming through the window was rapidly fading.
She couldn’t wait any longer.
Turning her back to the other girls, Feng Moxi steeled herself and bit down hard on her fingertip.
Blood immediately welled up.
She pressed her bleeding finger against the dark green bead once more.
Instantly, the bead became wrapped in crimson.
Her finger throbbed violently.
A sharp sting spread through her hand as though the bead were greedily drinking her blood.
The next moment, a strange black light flashed and disappeared.
An invisible connection instantly formed between her and the bead.
She could clearly sense the space inside it.
The interior remained pitch-black, impossible to measure.
Only one object hung silently in the very center.
A gigantic sword.
Or rather…
Not exactly.
At first glance, it looked like only half of a massive sword.
Its entire body was pitch black, and the broad tip slanted downward in an unusual, heavy-looking shape.
Although its appearance was strange, it wasn’t actually broken.
Curiosity stirred within Feng Moxi.
She cautiously reached out with her slender fingers.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch the sword…
A tremendous force rebounded from its surface.
Bang!
The impact slammed painfully into her arm.
She jerked back instinctively.
“Huh?”
Feng Moxi gasped inwardly.
Could it actually possess its own consciousness?
With that thought, she gathered a little more strength into her hand.
Then she reached toward the enormous black sword once again.