Luo Yunxi crouched at the front of the iron door, watching Feng Moxi charge into the horde of monsters again and again.
The monsters’ savage roars echoed through the courtyard, making her heart pound with fear.
Her palms were slick with sweat.
The other girls peeked out from the side, catching glimpses of Feng Moxi battling the snarling creatures. Their eyes reddened with panic.
They weren’t worried about Feng Moxi.
They were afraid she would fail and the monsters would come for them next.
One of the girls suddenly shoved Luo Yunxi to the ground, stepped on her back, and bent low as she sprinted out of the courtyard.
The others immediately copied her.
One after another, they climbed over Luo Yunxi and fled over the low wall at the back of the yard.
None of them wanted to wait until Feng Moxi died and the monsters surrounded them again.
Those creatures were simply too terrifying.
Not one of them looked back.
In the blink of an eye, they had all disappeared.
Only Luo Yunxi remained behind, still dazed as she slowly climbed to her feet.
By then, the roars coming from the main hall beyond the white walls had fallen silent.
Her numb legs trembled as she cautiously made her way through the open doorway Feng Moxi had left behind.
The spacious hall, roughly eighty square meters in size, was littered with seven or eight rotting monster corpses.
Between two sets of sofas lay the two girls who had been dragged away the previous night.
Their clothes were in disarray.
Their bodies had been mauled beyond recognition.
A vast pool of blackened blood covered the floor.
A sharp pain pierced Luo Yunxi’s chest.
She stumbled to the doorway and bent over, retching uncontrollably.
Suddenly…
A shriveled hand clamped tightly around her ankle.
A monster, whose body had already been severed in half, was lying on the floor.
Black blood still oozed from the wound on its forehead.
Despite barely clinging to life, it had managed to grab her leg.
“Ahhh!”
Luo Yunxi screamed in terror.
Panicking, she repeatedly stomped on the monster’s wrist with her free foot.
She screamed while kicking it over and over again.
She was on the verge of a complete breakdown.
Her palms grew damp with sweat.
Several tiny droplets of water rolled from her fingertips onto the monster’s mangled wrist without her even noticing.
She continued stomping wildly.
Her desperate cries echoed throughout the entire residence.
Outside, the girls who had escaped heard the screams and ran even faster.
Luo Yunxi didn’t want to scream.
The monster was simply too disgusting…
Too vicious…
Too horrifying.
She had never been this close to one before.
Her mind had gone completely blank.
Meanwhile, Feng Moxi had just finished clearing the second floor.
Hearing the scream, she rushed downstairs.
She found Luo Yunxi still jumping around frantically.
Nearby, the upper half of a monster she had cut in two slowly lifted its head.
Its jagged teeth opened wide as it lunged toward Luo Yunxi’s ankle.
Slash!
A golden blade flashed through the air.
The monster’s head split cleanly in half.
Black blood sprayed onto Luo Yunxi’s pant leg.
Only then did Luo Yunxi come back to her senses.
The overwhelming shock finally broke her.
Looking at the monster lying beside her, she collapsed against the doorway and vomited violently.
Her hands and legs shook uncontrollably.
Tears streamed down her face as she retched.
When she had no strength left, she slumped to the ground and burst into loud sobs.
Feng Moxi silently watched the entire scene.
Only after Luo Yunxi had finally calmed down did she speak.
“This is what the apocalypse is like.”
“If you keep screaming like that, ten lives won’t be enough to save you.”
“If you want to survive…”
“Keep your mouth shut.”
With that, she ignored Luo Yunxi’s stunned expression and tear-streaked face.
Turning around, she walked toward a room behind the staircase.
Beyond the hallway was a spacious kitchen.
Unlike the rest of the residence, it was remarkably clean.
Half the room was stacked with supplies.
There were more than a dozen neatly piled bags of rice and flour, countless bottles of mineral water, and a generous supply of packaged food.
Feng Moxi’s eyes lit up.
“These people weren’t fools.”
Her obsession with food came directly from her previous life.
She had experienced true starvation.
Without hesitation, she stored every bit of the supplies inside her spatial artifact.
Then she eagerly opened the refrigerator.
To her surprise…
There were still cooked dishes inside.
Only then did she finally relax.
She took out some cooked beef, several cold steamed buns, and a bottle of mineral water before sitting beside the kitchen counter.
She ate slowly, savoring every bite.
Ever since the apocalypse began, she had treasured every scrap of food.
No matter how hungry she was, she always chewed slowly, enjoying its original flavor.
Because before long…
Every kind of food would become a precious luxury.
Finding the chance to eat peacefully would become almost impossible.
Soft footsteps approached.
Out of the corner of her eye, Feng Moxi saw Luo Yunxi unsteadily walking into the kitchen.
She remembered the moldy steamed bun Luo Yunxi had given her earlier.
And the small kindness behind it.
She gave a slight nod.
“Eat something first.”
Then she lowered her head and continued eating.
“Okay…”
Luo Yunxi answered softly, her eyes filling with tears once again.
After surviving everything that had happened, she treasured life more deeply than ever before.
She carefully walked to the refrigerator, took some food, and immediately began eating with desperate hunger.
The two of them finished their meal in silence.
After a while, Feng Moxi set down the last of her food.
“What are you planning to do next?”
Seeing Feng Moxi finally initiate a conversation, Luo Yunxi hurriedly swallowed the last bite of her steamed bun.
She looked at the girl who appeared to be about the same age as herself.
For some reason…
Simply looking at Feng Moxi made her feel safe.
“I want to stay with you.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
Luo Yunxi froze.
She clearly hadn’t expected to be rejected.
“I… I won’t slow you down.”
“I won’t scream or panic anymore.”
“Look…”
She concentrated.
A tiny droplet of water slowly formed above her fingertip.
Joy immediately spread across her face.
“I just discovered that I’ve awakened an ability too.”
“I can protect myself now.”
She looked at Feng Moxi with complete trust, her eyes filled with hope.
A girl like her had only two possible futures if she wandered outside alone.
Either she would die…
Or she would be captured and treated like a slave.
She wanted neither.
Feng Moxi let out a faint laugh.
“A water-element ability.”
“At this stage, it’s good for only one thing.”
“You won’t die of thirst.”
“Other than that…”
“It’s useless.”
She wasn’t trying to discourage Luo Yunxi.
She was simply stating the truth.
If Luo Yunxi didn’t become stronger through her own efforts…
Death was only a matter of time.
In the early stages of the apocalypse, water-element users were even less useful than the enhanced-strength users Feng Moxi had once been.
Only after reaching the third rank would water-element abilities gradually reveal their true strength.
At that point, they could manipulate the moisture in the air itself to attack enemies.
The problem was…
She first had to survive long enough to reach the third rank.
For that reason, Feng Moxi had no intention of bringing along another burden.
She found a plastic bag and packed away most of the remaining food from the refrigerator.
Then she headed upstairs.
While clearing the second floor earlier, she had already selected a suitable room.
It was clean, located near the outer wall, and had a window large enough to escape through if monsters attacked.
Time was running short.
She needed at least one full day of secluded cultivation.
Her only goal now was to break through to the Innate Realm.
Nothing else mattered.
Luo Yunxi hadn’t expected Feng Moxi to dismiss her newly awakened ability so casually.
The excitement she had felt moments ago vanished completely.
After gritting her teeth, she hurried after Feng Moxi.
Halfway there, she turned back, grabbed another plastic bag, and packed up all the remaining food.
Then she rushed upstairs.
By the time she reached the second floor, she saw Feng Moxi enter one of the rooms.
Bang.
The door closed firmly behind her.