“Do you have any self-awareness?”

Yu Fei’s team wanted to curse—would that be okay?

But for the sake of the skewers, they held it in.

Lan Shiru continued, “Each of you looks like you just walked out of a refugee camp in Africa. I seriously doubt whether the supplies you mentioned even exist. And what about the majority of the ability users you talked about? Weren’t there supposed to be over twenty of you? Where are the rest?”

Yu Fei clenched his teeth and said, “They’re outside guarding the vehicles.”

“Can they even guard them? More like no one’s interested in stealing from you, given how poor you are compared to everyone else. It’s a miracle you’ve managed to survive this long—you must have some brains. But how come you don’t seem to have any sense of judgment? Do we really look that stupid to you? Do you think we’d believe your nonsense?”

“Miss Lan,” Yu Fei snapped, “Did you give us these skewers just to humiliate us? Isn’t that a bit too extravagant?”

Lan Shiru smiled. “It is quite extravagant, isn’t it?”

“Let’s go. If they want to get themselves killed, we don’t need to follow them. They really think they’re invincible just because they took out a few small-time thugs. If Long Zhan were that easy to deal with, everyone in B City wouldn’t be giving him a wide berth. They’re just being reckless.”

The others didn’t want to leave. It had been three days since they’d had a decent meal—just a piece of bread and half a bottle of water each day. They were truly starving.

Yu Fei was furious. These useless deadweights—his squadmates were humiliating him beyond belief.

Meanwhile, Miao Miao had just finished grilling the skewers when Lan Shiru called out. “If you’re not planning to leave, then come eat. Food is food—no point wasting it.”

The dozen or so people exchanged glances before rushing over to grab whatever they could. Yu Fei, burning with shame and anger, tried to stop them—only to be outpaced by a group that suddenly burst in through the window. They were fast, ruthless, and didn’t hesitate to snatch food straight from people’s mouths.

Yu Fei’s squad was livid but didn’t dare to say a word. All they could do was lick their fingers and pretend it was enough.

The leader of the intruders was a burly man holding a butcher’s knife. He used to be a butcher, after all. “Got anything else to eat? Hand it over. Now.”

Lan Shiru’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Sure. Miao Miao, there’s more meat in the car. Go get it—we’ll grill it all.”

“Got it, sis.” Miao Miao shot the newcomers a glare, clearly reluctant. Feeding these people was a waste—she’d rather give the food to the dogs.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xiang, the dog, lay curled up on its master’s lap, looking peaceful and harmless.

Yun Shuiyao was busy applying medicine to her face, using a mirror to dab it on. Any spare moment, she was reapplying it. In just this short time, she had already gone through two tubes of ointment. “Lan girl, you’re so mean,” she pouted.

He Lian glanced at her, visibly cringing. She couldn’t stand Yun Shuiyao’s fake-sweet act. “Shiru, there aren’t many people left outside.”

“Whether they come or not is up to them. Ignore them—just keep an eye on Long Zhan’s crew.”

“Got it.”

Miao Miao went to fetch the meat, followed closely by a few burly men. The moment she opened the car door, they shoved her aside and helped themselves, expecting to find a mountain of supplies inside. Instead, all they saw was a small cardboard box with barely three or four pounds of neatly cut meat.

“Damn it! Should’ve come earlier. Can’t believe we let a bunch of women waste so much already.”

“Hurry up, I haven’t had real meat in ages.”

Miao Miao watched them leave with cold eyes, shutting the car door behind her. A tiny spark of excitement flickered in her gaze.

Upstairs, the newcomers had taken over the second floor, forcing the four of them—and the Tibetan mastiff—into a corner. At first, there had been some fear, especially of the dog. But after seeing it up close, they realized it was all bark and no bite. Their victory had come from catching them off guard, nothing more.

A group of men were now loudly discussing how to make the most out of the few pounds of meat. They added whatever scraps they could find, pulled out a large iron pot, and threw everything in for a messy stew.

They weren’t in a rush to leave. If they stuck around, they could even make some extra cash from the bounty later.

Long Zhan was a psycho, but he knew how to keep his people loyal—hence why he had so many willing to follow him.

“They’re here,” He Lian said softly.

Lan Shiru turned to Yun Shuiyao. “Did the gift get delivered?”

“Of course! You can always count on little Teng Teng. It was sent out ages ago—the guests should be halfway here by now.”

“Good. Let’s stall for a bit longer.”

“Sis, can I be a little rough with them? They’ve eaten so much of our meat—it hurts my soul.”

“Go ahead. No need to hold back. Long Zhan would probably love to watch us tear each other apart.”

The four of them—and the Tibetan mastiff—started loosening up their joints. In the apocalypse, survival belonged to the ruthless.

From the window, the butcher called out, his tone both respectful and cocky. “Yo, Brother Long, what brings you here in person?”

Long Zhan exuded an eerie, oppressive presence. His smile was especially unsettling—cold and sinister. “Someone dared to lay hands on my men. Of course, I had to come see for myself. And you are?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare call myself your brother, Brother Long. A nobody like me isn’t worthy of your notice. I just can’t stand injustice, you know? Saw a few reckless women causing trouble for your men, so I stepped in with my guys. Nasty little things—they took out a few of our brothers. But it wasn’t for nothing—we managed to catch them. Was just about to send them over to you, but looks like you came in person instead.”

Long Zhan smirked. “Much appreciated, brother. The men you lost—I’ll personally cover their burial costs. Now, would you be willing to hand them over? It would bring some comfort to my fallen brothers’ souls.”

“Brother Long, you’re too generous. We really shouldn’t accept, but my men have families to feed, so I’ll shamelessly take your kindness. Thank you for your consideration. Alright, men, tie them up and hand them over to Brother Long.”

The butcher waved his men over to restrain the captives. With their numbers, a few women weren’t worth worrying about.

Meanwhile, one of Long Zhan’s lackeys muttered in confusion, “Boss, they’re just a few women. We could’ve handled this ourselves. Why let these idiots get a piece of the action? Bunch of self-important fools.”

Long Zhan’s smirk deepened. “Idiots? Sure. But even idiots have their uses. They took down Biao Hu and his crew like it was nothing—so they’re not completely useless. If we fought them head-on, we’d take losses too. But if someone else is eager to do the dirty work for us, why not let them? Besides…” His eyes darkened. “Nothing that belongs to me is that easy to take.”

The lackey grinned. “Boss, you always think ahead.”

Long Zhan shot him a sideways glance. He knew better than to be fooled by flattery, but damn, being admired felt good. The taste of power—it was addictive.

Meanwhile, the four captives and their Tibetan mastiff looked around at the men closing in on them. Their smiles grew wider.

Before anyone could figure out what was so funny—

They struck.

Each of them held a blade. They weren’t trying to kill—just to bleed their enemies dry.

Jiang Xiang’s claws struck with eerie precision—drawing blood but never severing tendons.

Screams rang out one after another. The butcher’s smug grin faded. “What the hell are you all doing? You can’t even handle a few women?”

His men, humiliated, roared in anger. No way were they weaker than a bunch of women. Grabbing whatever weapons they could find, they charged at the four fighters and the Tibetan mastiff.

The battle was fierce.

Long Zhan watched, amused. His lackey was quick to flatter him. “Boss, you called it perfectly.”

Long Zhan sneered, his blood pumping. He loved the smell of blood.

It was many against few, and even the four fighters and their dog weren’t invincible. Wounds were inevitable but compared to the others who had been bled dry, they were still holding up. Winning wasn’t their goal. Killing wasn’t their goal.

They just needed to stall.

Weaving through the chaos, they used the enemy’s numbers against them.

The tight space grew thick with the scent of blood—stronger, heavier with every passing second.

The butcher was livid. He had just boasted in front of Long Zhan, only to be humiliated moments later. Face burning, he grabbed his cleaver, let out a furious roar, and charged.

=^_^=