“Heh heh heh, this little lady looks fair and tender—looks like we brothers are in for some good fortune today.”
“Quick, carry her into that ruined temple. I can’t wait any longer.”
“Heh heh, that Second Madam Ren really is straightforward—agreed to our demands without a word.”
Ren Jingshu was awakened by a burst of lewd laughter. Enduring the waves of dizziness in her head, she slowly opened her hazy eyes. The first thing she saw was the sky above—clear blue, dotted with drifting white clouds, fresh and pure.
Another hallucination?
It had been so long since she’d seen such a clean sky that she could hardly remember when it was.
Her head felt like it was splitting apart, her entire body devoid of strength. Thinking back to that brutal battle—companions being torn apart by zombies one after another, herself gravely injured—she gave a bitter smile. So she hadn’t died after all… had she fallen into those people’s hands again?
Remembering what she had heard about the fate of women captured by them, a chill ran through her whole body.
Rather than suffer that kind of torment, a fate worse than death, she might as well self-destruct now.
At least she could take a few of them down with her—no loss there.
Three years into the apocalypse, she had struggled bitterly to survive, endured countless zombie sieges, watched her companions leave one by one. Now, there was nothing left worth holding onto.
Maybe death wasn’t so bad. Die early, be free early. Perhaps in the underworld, she could see her loving parents again.
Ren Jingshu slowly closed her eyes, gathering the last of her powers, preparing to perish together with these men at the critical moment.
Letting them live would only bring harm to others.
Consider it the final thing she could do for humanity before dying.
Feeling the faint threads of power coursing through her body, a breathtaking smile appeared on her face. She couldn’t help but open her eyes once more.
Let her look at this blue sky and white clouds one last time.
Suddenly, her half-open eyes snapped wide as she stared at the man before her.
He wore a half-worn gray-blue robe, a crooked little cap on his head, and was looking at her with a lecherous grin.
“Heh heh, Eldest Miss Ren, your second aunt said you’d be accompanying us along the way. Don’t worry—as long as you serve us brothers well, we won’t treat you badly.”
“Hahaha—”
“Old Lin’s right. Don’t even think about dying. You’re prisoners now—no one cares whether you live or die. Besides, if you really die, isn’t there still your younger sister, Fourth Miss Ren?”
The other men burst into laughter, spouting filthy remarks one after another.
What was going on?
Eldest Miss Ren?
Ren Jingshu looked utterly confused, unable to understand what was happening or who these people were.
While she was dazed, the men had already pushed the flatbed cart into a dilapidated temple.
“Come on, little beauty, I can’t wait any longer.”
A large hand reached toward her. If the Ren family hadn’t fallen into misfortune, a noble lady raised in seclusion like her would have been beyond their reach—let alone touching her, even seeing her would have been difficult.
“Oh? Can’t wait? Then go die!”
Though her mind was still blank, Ren Jingshu instinctively grabbed the man’s arm. With a fierce twist, a crisp crack rang out, followed by the man’s pig-like scream.
“Ah!”
The others were startled. In the next instant, Ren Jingshu had already flipped up from the cart, a cold smile on her face. Her other hand clenched into a fist and slammed into the man’s temple.
“Urgh—”
The man’s eyes bulged as blood spurted from his nose and mouth.
“Old Lin!”
Someone cried out in alarm. The others snapped to their senses and rushed toward her.
“If you’re looking for death, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
Her gaze turned icy. Grabbing Old Lin’s now limp body, she hurled it at the others.
“Ah!”
“Ow—!”
“That hurts like hell, you damned woman—you’re courting death!”
The men were knocked down by the corpse, all collapsing onto the ground with cries of pain.
Before they could even scramble back up, a pair of delicate pink embroidered shoes appeared before their eyes.
Looking up, they saw that the once-dying Eldest Miss Ren was now standing upright before them.
Ren Jingshu picked up a stick and began striking them relentlessly. Blow after blow landed on their bodies until they were covered in wounds, curling up and clutching their heads as they wailed.
“Heh… tell me, who’s the prisoner now?”
She sneered and stomped on one man’s leg.
“Ah!”
The already half-dead man clutched his deformed leg, veins bulging on his forehead from the pain.
The others sucked in cold breaths, terror filling their eyes as they dragged themselves backward, ignoring their injuries.
“Can someone tell me what exactly is going on?”
Ren Jingshu looked at her hands—fair, slender, with delicate fingers. There was no way to connect them to her former hands, once covered in horrific wounds and missing two fingers from mutant beast attacks.
A thought formed in her mind.
Could it be… she hadn’t died, but instead traveled through time and taken over another person’s body?
But she had just checked—her powers, though weak, were still there.
Suddenly, her expression changed. She quickly sent her consciousness inward, then let out a soft sigh of relief.
Great—her abilities were still intact, and even her storage space filled with supplies remained.
It seemed fate had treated her quite well.
The trembling men exchanged glances, assuming she simply didn’t understand how she had been brought here.
“Th-this…”
One man stammered, not yet knowing how to explain, when suddenly another scream rang out beside him.
Startled, he turned to look. A man on the ground—his leg already broken—suddenly spat out a long stream of blood. That small foot in the pink embroidered shoe was firmly pressing on his chest. His body arched violently from the pain before slamming back down, head lolling to the side. Blood poured from his nose and mouth until he went still.
“My patience is limited. If you don’t explain clearly—”
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
“We’ll talk too! Eldest Miss, spare us, spare us!”
Terrified by her brutality, the men scrambled to speak.
“Shut up!”
Ren Jingshu frowned and barked sharply, pointing at the one trembling the most.
“You. If you can’t explain it clearly, you can go join your two brothers.”
Her tone was calm, but the man shuddered violently. A dark stain spread beneath him.
She frowned in disgust, about to pick someone else, when he hurriedly dropped to his knees, banging his head on the ground repeatedly.
“Eldest Miss, spare me! I’ll tell you everything—right now!”