Lu Wu’s poor aim had been entirely within expectations.
She hadn’t hit any vital spots, but she didn’t care. She had only attacked to protect herself.
Even so…
It was enough to leave her flustered and panicked.
Watching the childlike Dwarf slowly clutch his bleeding abdomen in disbelief, Lu Wu spoke coldly before he could open his mouth.
“If you don’t want your tongue anymore, then go ahead and scream.”
The Dwarf’s face turned deathly pale, and genuine fear finally appeared in his eyes.
She had drawn her knife too quickly. He had never imagined that he would fall into the hands of a little girl.
Just moments ago, he had planned to threaten her into returning with him to his basement dwelling.
Now, he had completely lost the mood.
Still, it didn’t matter.
Once Lu Wu left, he would report her to those people driving the military vehicles.
What the Dwarf didn’t know was…
He no longer had a future.
Lu Wu tied up both his hands and his mouth before slinging her backpack over her shoulders and running toward the Base’s main gate.
The Collection Team’s vehicle was also military-grade and was parked at the very front.
Behind it were three seatless buses. At a glance, every single one was packed beyond capacity.
Grabbing the handrail, Lu Wu desperately shoved at the butt of the person in front of her with her tiny arms.
The person didn’t budge an inch.
Fortunately, her small stature worked to her advantage. She slipped between the adults’ waists and squeezed herself into a tiny spot.
The already overcrowded bus became even more cramped after someone forced their way in through the front door.
Meanwhile, the skinny young man standing at the outermost edge near the rear exit was launched straight out of the bus, landing flat on his back.
He was completely dazed.
Before he could squeeze back on, the bus doors slowly shut and the vehicle sped away before his eyes.
Lu Wu couldn’t describe how she felt at that moment.
The desolate scenery outside the window didn’t frighten her.
Instead, it filled her with eager anticipation.
Leaving the Base, where everyone adored Lu You, also meant escaping the prison where she had been ignored, suppressed, and ridiculed.
Goodbye, Scumbag Dad.
Today, she was setting sail toward a new life.
If she stayed at the Base, she would eventually be found.
Lu Wu had no intention of ever returning. Whether she could survive afterward was another matter.
The bus ride was far from smooth.
Fortunately, there wasn’t a single extra inch of space inside the bus, so no one had room to lose their footing even when it jolted.
Hiss—
With the sound of the brakes…
They had arrived at the gathering site.
The passengers burdened with supporting their families rushed off the bus in a frenzy, afraid that if they were even a step too late, all the edible ingredients would end up in someone else’s bag.
Lu Wu was practically shoved out along with the crowd.
This wasn’t her first time in the wilderness.
At this point in her previous life, she had often come out to gather food just to fill her stomach.
The Shelter wasn’t an orphanage.
Neither did the Base give orphans any special treatment.
There were only so many resources to go around.
After the privileged elite took their share, there were still the upper class, the backbone of society, and the ordinary citizens.
Nothing was ever left for the Shelter.
Sometimes, poverty had nothing to do with whether someone worked hard enough.
The distribution of resources had been unfair from the very beginning.
Every gathering area Lu Wu approached, the adults swinging sickles drove her away.
None of them would soften their hearts just because she was a child.
The law of the jungle was the only rule for surviving the apocalypse.
With so much weighing on her mind, Lu Wu kept walking farther and farther away, her brows tightly furrowed.
The wilderness contained more than just Zombies.
There were also mutated animals and plants.
Finding a place to stay had become her highest priority.
Lu Wu remembered that during the Zombie Tide, when Scumbag Dad had driven everyone to escape, they had passed an abandoned three-story building about two kilometers away.
Relying on that vague memory, Lu Wu set off in search of her new home with complete indifference toward life or death.
Having no sense of direction whatsoever, she walked for a long time.
She never found the building she remembered.
Instead, she discovered a campsite.
Two plain, unremarkable tents surrounded a campfire.
Since it was close to the gathering site, Lu Wu mistakenly assumed they belonged to people from the Base.
She walked closer and politely asked,
“Hello. Excuse me, is this road heading east?”
Rustling sounds came from inside one of the tents.
Xie Yuanchuan slowly poked his head out. The glasses on the bridge of his nose slid slightly downward.
“Little one, what exactly are you trying to find out?”
She hadn’t expected him to be so suspicious.
Lu Wu wasn’t really a six-year-old child.
In her previous life, she had lived to the age of twelve. She had been a genuine teenager.
Naturally, she wasn’t about to tell a complete stranger everything.
Keeping her guard up, she replied,
“My family asked me to come and ask.”
Xie Yuanchuan chuckled and leaned farther out of the tent.
“If you don’t tell me, then I won’t tell you either.”
Lu Wu took two adorable little steps backward.
“In that case, I won’t bother you anymore, Uncle. My mom and dad are right behind me. They’ll get worried if they can’t find me.”
The tent rustled once more.
A stunningly beautiful woman poked her head out.
She looked Lu Wu up and down before nodding to herself in satisfaction.
Fragile yet alert.
Covered in dust, like a discarded doll.
When Cen Yi had been little, she had always wanted a doll.
Unfortunately, her family hadn’t been able to afford one.
She climbed straight out of the tent and crouched down so she was eye level with Lu Wu.
“There’s nobody behind you.”
A clear possessiveness shone in Cen Yi’s eyes.
Lu Wu panicked for a brief moment before forcing herself to remain calm.
“I came with the Collection Team. Before they return to the Base, they’ll count everyone.”
The warning lacked confidence.
Instead of discouraging Cen Yi, it only made her even more excited.
What an interesting little thing.
“Husband, I want her.”
Xie Yuanchuan let out a sigh, propping his forehead up with his long fingers.
Once his wife had made up her mind, there was no changing it.
The fact that she had even bothered to tell him first was already giving him tremendous face.
“Then let’s take her home.”
One extra mouth to feed wasn’t beyond their means.
Lu Wu immediately turned to run.
Before she could take more than a step, the woman effortlessly lifted her by the back of her collar.
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
Her tiny arms and legs flailed wildly.
Xie Yuanchuan walked over to the little girl, amusement filling his lazy eyes.
“Congratulations.”
“You’re about to have a new mom and dad.”
Lu Wu felt as though she had been struck by lightning.
She had never imagined things would turn out like this.
Amid her shock and fear…
A tiny, deeply hidden spark of hope quietly emerged.
A… new Mom and Dad?
Seeing her suddenly stop struggling, Cen Yi turned her around so they faced each other.
The two of them stared at one another with wide eyes for a moment.
Then Cen Yi burst into laughter.
“Little Doll, what’s your name?”
“Lu Wu.”
Cen Yi nodded solemnly.
“From now on, you’re Cen Wu. Look how well-behaved you are. Come on, call me ‘Mom.'”
Cen Wu didn’t particularly mind having her surname changed.
But asking her to call someone “Mom”…
She shyly turned her head aside.
Her obsidian-like eyes blinked softly as her long eyelashes trembled.
Cen Yi assumed the little girl was unwilling.
After setting her down, she proudly showed off her impressive physique from every angle—her broad deltoids, bulging biceps, well-defined serratus muscles, and sculpted abdominal muscles.
“I’m a Fire-Type Ability User.”
“I can punch two Mutated Wild Boars to death with one fist.”
“Become my daughter, and from now on, you’ll be able to walk sideways through this apocalypse.”
Cen Wu’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
Keeping a serious expression on her tiny face, she asked,
“Then… if I stay with you, will I be able to eat until I’m full?”
Xie Yuanchuan tugged lightly at her thin little braid and answered with complete sincerity,
“Of course.”
“As long as we have a bowl of meat to eat…”
“…there’ll be a bowl for you to lick.”