Likely because the doors and windows were tightly shut and the curtains were drawn, the interior was pitch black except for a single beam of light shining through the open front door. Lu Ning simply pushed both doors wide open.
Seeing the living room completely empty, Ye Mian froze for a moment. She then looked toward a corner in the back that was blocked off by a large amount of furniture and appliances.
If those things were intended to block a mutant, they would likely only hold for a brief moment. Yet, surprisingly, they hadn’t budged at all, as if the person trapped inside hadn’t struggled in the slightest.
“Did they not tell you? There might be an even more powerful mutant inside.”
Ye Mian followed the voice and saw a long-haired girl standing at the corner of the slightly dark staircase. She looked to be about the same age as Ye Mian. Because she was standing in the shadows, her face wasn’t clearly visible, only her eyes, which emitted a faint, eerie glow.
“They didn’t.”
To be more accurate, they hadn’t had the chance to say it yet.
Ye Mian had thought those people were blocking them because they didn’t want the trouble of taking in outsiders. It turned out to be because of this… She really had misunderstood them.
Lu Ning remained silent for a moment before saying, “You said ‘might.’ Does that mean you didn’t see it with your own eyes?”
Seeing that the two women weren’t afraid at all—their expressions hadn’t even changed—the girl shifted her gaze to scan the three-headed Da Hei. After a while, as if having made up her mind, she walked down a few steps and sat down weakly on the stairs.
“When the mutation began, my sister realized something was wrong with her body. She immediately locked herself and our grandparents—who were also acting strange—inside that room. She even made me block the door.”
“Since then, I haven’t seen her.”
Hearing the girl’s emotionless words and seeing her face, Ye Mian and Lu Ning were temporarily unable to react.
The girl probably hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for several days. Her cheeks were sunken, and a layer of white, dead skin covered her lips.
However, after seeing her skill, Ye Mian understood why she still looked largely alright and was able to hold on.
[??? (Evolutionary), Initial Skill: [Super Resilience]]
Lu Ning lowered her gaze, her heart feeling heavy.
She had heard from other Evolutionaries that some people retained a sliver of rationality after becoming mutants, able to recognize their closest relatives or return to familiar places.
But while this girl’s sister’s first instinct had been to protect her family, Lu Ning’s former colleague had chosen to attack.
Ye Mian patted Da Hei, whose fur was standing on end as he faced that corner, and looked at the girl. “Then why don’t you go out?”
The people outside had moved so many supplies. Even if there were many people gathered, she wouldn’t starve.
The girl hugged her arms and slumped over her legs, speaking lifelessly.
“If I go out, those people will point at me and say: Look, there’s that poor girl with a missing gambler father and a mother who ran off with another man.”
“They’ll say her family all became mutants, and even though she evolved, she’s just a useless deadweight.”
“How pitiful, truly pitiful.”
“The world is already like this. What is the point of struggling just to survive?”
Ye Mian paused before speaking. “I am Ye Mian, and she is Lu Ning. What is your name?”
The girl looked up at her. “Chen Jia.”
“So, Chen Jia, do you want to try a different way of living?”
Upon hearing this, not only was Chen Jia stunned, but Lu Ning was also startled. She looked at Ye Mian with some surprise.
She hadn’t expected Ye Mian to find people so quickly, locking onto a target immediately.
Although Chen Jia had maintained a calm and composed demeanor, she was still young. Without reliable family or friends around to advise her, she didn’t know how to answer for a moment.
“No rush. Think about it slowly.”
After saying that, Ye Mian turned to look out the door—people had finally arrived.
Quite a few people, in fact. About a dozen people were gathered in a grand display in front of the small building, holding tools like axes and machetes as weapons.
It was unclear if they were only guarding against the mutant in the building that hadn’t made a sound yet, or if they were also guarding against the women and Da Hei.
Ye Mian scanned the crowd, her gaze eventually resting on a young man who was clearly standing in the center and was relied upon by the others.
[??? (Evolutionary), Initial Skill: [Dodge]]
Dodge, huh?
Then he really could lead others into battle and act as the best bait.
“Let’s go out and talk to them.”
Lu Ning acknowledged her and walked out of the building with her. Da Hei followed closely at their side, staring warily at the group.
After seeing Da Hei’s full appearance, the crowd broke into an uproar. One by one, they gripped their weapons tighter, looking ready to charge into battle.
The young man also frowned, but then his expression smoothed out as he looked at Ye Mian and Lu Ning. “Are you two okay?”
Ye Mian shook her head. “You’re overthinking it. The one inside is not a mid-level mutant.”
“Huh?”
“Have they already dealt with it?”
“That’s unlikely… we didn’t hear any noise just now…”
Seeing that most of the people didn’t believe Ye Mian’s statement, Lu Ning added coldly, “It hasn’t eaten enough people yet.”
“…”
While the crowd was shocked into a stunned silence, the young man spoke again. “So what you mean is, we can let it out… and kill it?”
Likely because he saw Chen Jia sitting on the stairs inside, he lowered his voice slightly for those last few words.
“Yes. Better to kill it early and be done with it, lest it becomes a hidden danger.”
Hearing Ye Mian’s cold words, the group snapped out of it and began warning the young man.
“They just arrived ten minutes ago. They haven’t even seen that mutant. Their credibility isn’t high.”
“Yeah, A-Yi, what if they’re tricking us?”
“What decent Evolutionary would associate with a mutant beast? They barged in just now; they’re clearly not good people.”
“Exactly—”
BANG—
A sudden, loud explosion interrupted their words. When they saw what had happened, their faces were filled with even more fear and defensiveness.
Lu Ning had directly punched the circular decorative stone pillar by the door, shattering it into pieces and ending the noise.
Seeing this, the young man’s expression was complex and surprised. He immediately spoke decisively. “I’ll stay behind to assist them. The rest of you go back and protect the others.”
“How can we do that!”
“A-Yi!”
The young man looked at the crowd with a gaze that brooked no argument. He said slowly, “My duty is to protect all of you, and that includes Chen Jia.”
Perhaps because they had followed his commands all along the way—which was why they had successfully found a place to settle and avoided the danger of mutant attacks for the time being—the group looked at each other and, though worried, chose to obey.
Once the crowd had slowly retreated, the young man pulled a pitch-black police baton from behind his back.
“My combat power is average, but I can help you draw its attention.”
Hearing these familiar words, Lu Ning couldn’t help but look at Ye Mian.
Ye Mian didn’t try to take his role. She simply nodded. “Let’s make this quick.”
As the three entered, Chen Jia, who had caught bits and pieces of the conversation, realized what was happening and instinctively stood up.
“Brother Xie Yi…”
Ye Mian walked directly to her. “Go up a bit further.”
“?” Though confused, Chen Jia obediently walked up the stairs. She then saw Ye Mian stand where she had just been, blocking the staircase.
With Ye Mian in position, Lu Ning began moving the large objects blocking the door.
Xie Yi—the young man—had originally wanted to help, but seeing Lu Ning’s movements were so efficient and effortless, he felt he was actually getting in the way. He had no choice but to step back, standing in front of Ye Mian and Chen Jia.
Just as Lu Ning had moved most of the obstacles, a heavy thud came from behind the sturdy-looking iron door.
The atmosphere grew tense instantly, especially for Chen Jia and Xie Yi. For the former, it was because whoever came out was once someone very close to her; for the latter, he was still worried it might be a powerful mutant.
Lu Ning clenched one hand into a fist and reached for the door with the other. “Ready…”
Almost the instant Lu Ning forced the locked iron door open, the mutant inside lunged out. But Lu Ning wasn’t slow either; her clenched fist was already swinging.
Just when everyone, including Ye Mian and Lu Ning, thought it was impossible to miss at such close range, they saw the dark shadow weirdly dodge the punch. It then kicked off the wall, using the momentum to leap directly over Lu Ning toward the three people further back.
At this close range, even though the person was unrecognizable after mutating, Chen Jia immediately identified her: “Sister…”
[Low-level Mutant, Danger Rating: B]
Not only was it an agility type, but it was also B-rank. It seemed this would be a bit more troublesome than imagined.
Ye Mian had already rolled up her sleeves and quickly pulled out a machete, meeting the low-level mutant with a slash.
Xie Yi also reacted quickly, swinging his baton down with force.
At the same time, the powder attached to Ye Mian’s arm (the Sanqi pollen) was scattered entirely over the mutant as she swung.
So even though the attacks from the two of them were negligible to it, they still managed to slow its movements slightly. Before it could adjust and dodge, Lu Ning’s second punch arrived just in time.
This time, the blow landed solidly on the mutant, knocking it back against the side wall with a loud thud that shook loose a shower of stone fragments.
Before Lu Ning could follow up, the mutant repeated its trick, kicking off the wall to put distance between itself and Lu Ning.
Immediately after, it seemed to sense something and shifted its position in advance, causing Xie Yi—who had quietly moved to ambush it—to strike nothing but air. Xie Yi didn’t fall forward; instead, he stumbled back, as if he had been attacked in that instant but had successfully dodged.
Though that moment was fleeting, Ye Mian still captured a faint afterimage. She immediately called out a warning:
“Watch out for its hair!”
At her shout, everyone’s attention shifted to the mutant’s excessively long hair.
It was no longer soft strands of hair; it had become like countless hard, sharp steel needles, densely protecting its entire body. It could be used as a weapon or as a shield to block fatal damage.