She gently pushed open the door to the bedroom and saw two mangled corpses lying on the floor.
A man’s body was tightly embracing a woman’s, his neck covered in countless bite marks.
A significant amount of blood had pooled beneath them.
The woman’s face was rotten and twisted in a snarl, her hair a mess.
The one thing both bodies had in common was that their heads had been smashed in, and they filled the room with a foul stench.
Crouched in a corner was a girl of about eight or nine.
Her eyes flickered between emptiness and ferocity as she tightly clutched an orange canvas bag.
She ignored Feng Moxi’s arrival, remaining motionless in the corner.
This was clearly the source of the faint breathing she had heard.
‘I can’t believe she’s this strong mentally,’ Feng Moxi thought.
‘To survive in this environment without crying or making a scene…’
Feng Moxi could piece it together.
The woman must have turned.
To protect the girl, but unable to bring himself to harm his wife, the man had held her in a tight embrace, letting her maul him to death without ever letting go.
As for the fatal blows to their heads, however, she had no idea who was responsible.
The girl struck a chord with her.
“Do you want to come with me?”
“…”
After a long moment, the girl remained silent, her expression and posture unchanged.
“This is no place for you.”
“…”
“You won’t last more than a few days in the Apocalypse like this.
I’ll be in the room next door.
I’m leaving at dawn.
If you want to live, come find me.” Since her rebirth, she’d never had much patience, but this time, for once, she softened her voice.
But the little girl still gave no reaction.
Feng Moxi turned and walked into the living room.
The town grew even gloomier at night, taking on an exceptionally eerie atmosphere.
The darkness was oppressive, almost suffocating, and a faint, putrid smell permeated the entire area.
‘Today’s events mean that the animals are starting to mutate.
I probably can’t stay here long.
I’ll gather some supplies and leave immediately.’
Just as dawn was breaking, right as she was about to push the door open and leave, the little girl appeared at her side.
A small hand reached out and tightly gripped the hem of her clothes.
Her face still wore a cold expression.
‘It seems the Apocalypse hasn’t broken this young soul,’ Feng Moxi mused.
‘On the contrary, it’s made her even tougher.’
Feng Moxi immediately swept the little girl into one arm and leaped directly out of the broken upstairs window.
She hit the ground in a roll to absorb the impact.
Even so, the sound drew the attention of the surrounding monsters, which came swarming in her direction.
The little girl didn’t make a sound, quietly curling up in her arms.
She kept a tight grip on her orange canvas bag, her eyes indifferent.
With one arm protecting the girl, Feng Moxi swung the broken sword with the other.
Monsters fell wherever she passed, letting out agonizing wails.
She didn’t get bogged down in the fight.
To avoid being surrounded, she moved with exceptional speed, weaving through the narrow alleys as she ran straight for the clothing store.
The moment she got inside the small shop, she quickly yanked the door shut.
This alerted even more monsters.
They had a twisted hunger for flesh and blood, and smelling it from afar, they threw themselves forward recklessly.
They beat against the small door relentlessly, the impacts—BAM!
BAM!—shaking the very ground.
It wouldn’t be long before they broke through.
The shop wasn’t large, but it was piled high with clothes.
Feng Moxi didn’t bother sorting through them, simply stowing everything away.
Just as she pulled open the front door, the back door was breached, and the monsters swarmed in.
Feng Moxi glanced at the densely packed monsters all around, unleashed a slash of golden light, and abruptly stored her broken sword.
She shot up several meters in a single leap, landing on the roof of the two-story shop.
The entire sequence was one fluid motion.
Before the monsters could even react, Feng Moxi was already far away.
She continued to gather supplies from numerous shops, her speed keeping her from being surrounded, as she rushed toward the small bridge.
However, the commotion had already drawn a large number of monsters to the small bridge.
It was on the verge of being completely blocked, and more monsters were continuously pouring in from behind her.
Just as she was about to break through, another chaotic noise erupted from the opposite side of the bridge.
It turned out Chaoyang and the others had retreated to a small building across the bridge the previous night.
At dawn, they had still been worried about Feng Moxi, and the commotion had prompted them to charge back in.
Just as Feng Moxi was about to be surrounded, a circle of Wind Blades suddenly erupted around her.
Interspersed with her own Golden Blade attacks, they forced back a wave of monsters.
‘Wind Ability?’ Feng Moxi froze for a second.
She glanced down at the little girl and saw her lips were pressed into a thin, tight line as a small Wind Circle emanated from her hand.
“Well done,” she couldn’t help but praise.
‘This kid may be young, but she’s incredibly independent.
I originally brought her along because of her resilience and stubbornness.’
‘Now, I’m actually starting to like her.’
‘I’m no saint, but I’m not completely heartless either.
I thought I was taking on a burden, but she’s turned out to be a pleasant surprise.’
After forcing back another ring of monsters, the two of them quickly moved onto the bridge.
Sima Yue and the others were also fighting their way closer, with the group including He Ping right behind them.
The surrounding monsters were swept back like fallen leaves in an autumn wind.
A moment later, the groups converged.
Everyone stared in stunned silence at the little girl Feng Moxi was holding by the hand.
Luo Yunxi came forward.
“Xiao Xi, you found a survivor!”
Chaoyang exclaimed, “And a cold little loli, at that!”
As all eyes turned to the little girl, her expression remained completely indifferent.
Chaoyang gave her a thumbs-up.
“A bona fide, lethal, ice-cold loli!
Xiao Xi, you’ve got a sharp eye.
You’re really something else.”
A thought struck Feng Moxi.
‘In my past life, I clearly remember the nickname of the world’s fifth-strongest expert was “Lethal Little Loli.” I never met her, though.’
‘She was said to be only around ten years old—stone-faced, emotionless, and cold-hearted.
The face of an angel, the heart of a demon.
A Wind Ability user who never associated with anyone.
No one knew her past, and it was said she could kill without batting an eye.’
‘She moved like the wind, appearing without a shadow and vanishing without a trace.’
‘Even those who wanted to exploit her could never find a trace of her.
My own cousin had her sights set on her for a very long time.’
‘Anyone who tried to cross her didn’t live to tell the tale.’
‘The late Zhang Tao mocked me more than once, saying I was a waste of space, that I wasn’t even as useful as a little loli.’
‘My luck can’t be this good, can it?
I just happened to pick up a huge potential asset?’
‘I think her name was…
Ling Yusi?
Very few people remembered her real name, but Zhang Tao mentioned it so many times that it stuck in my memory.’
But her good mood didn’t even last three seconds before it was shattered by the sight of Wan Wanxin, who was standing beside Sima Yue, just behind Chaoyang.
There she stood beside Sima Yue, a gentle and serene expression on her face, with Yao Zichong and the others behind her.
She watched the group’s interaction with a faint smile, neither trying to insert herself nor acting like a stranger.