Chapter 25: Survival of the Fittest

Clang—

Another miss.

“Haha, Sister Xiaoman, you suck at this!” Wen Xu, one of the twins, squatted in a horse stance nearby and mocked her mercilessly.

Xia Xiaoman shot him a glare. “Laugh all you want. If you don’t shut it, I’ll tell your dad you’ve been slacking.”

Wen Xu pouted. “Hmph! All you do is tattle. You snitch!”

“Brother, don’t say bad words. Daddy will get mad,” Wen Ling, the more serious twin, scolded with a chubby little face.

Xia Xiaoman couldn’t resist giving her cheeks a squish. “Lingling’s always so sweet and lovable.”

After witnessing the chaos and brutality outside, Wen Jianfeng had forced the twins to start martial arts training after they moved into the Chenyang complex.

Wen Ling was calm by nature and could focus on holding the horse stance. Wen Xu, on the other hand, was playful and fidgety. In a 30-minute session, he’d clown around for 10 minutes, mess with Wen Ling for another 10, and spend the last 10 whining and asking if time was up.

While Xia Xiaoman spent the morning at Wen Jianfeng’s place practicing knife throwing, Wen Xu got beaten three times by his dad. Every beating was well-deserved.

After helping Zhou Qiuyang with personal care, Wen Jianfeng returned only to see his son making faces at his daughter. His expression instantly darkened.

“WEN XU! Do you not want your butt anymore? I told you to practice—what the hell are you doing?!”

He stormed over, grabbed Wen Xu by the back of the collar, and smacked his butt repeatedly.

Wen Xu howled and cast a pitiful look toward Xia Xiaoman, pleading for help.

She looked up at the ceiling. “Oh, look at the time—lunch break!” And vanished in a flash.

—

In the corridor, Xiao Zheyu was sneakily crouched beside the fire door. Xia Xiaoman aimed a swift kick at his butt.

“What sneaky crap are you up to now?”

Xiao Zheyu tumbled face-first to the ground. Before he could even groan, he turned around and made a shushing gesture, whispering, “I just heard something outside.”

“Something outside?” Xia Xiaoman pressed her ear against the door.

Bang—

The loud thud of something heavy striking the fire door made her leap several steps back. She instantly drew the axe from her waist and barked, “Who’s out there?!”

“Oho, there’s a woman inside! Quick, break the door down!” a shrill, duck-like voice shouted.

A frenzy of banging followed.

Wen Jianfeng, Sun Qing, and Ye Xiaojie came out, alarmed by the noise.

Xiao Zheyu looked at them like they were saviors. “What do we do? They’re trying to break in!”

“Shut up!” Xia Xiaoman snapped. She turned and ran back inside, grabbed two iron rods, and tossed them to Xiao Zheyu and Su Ran. “You two, left and right of the door. The moment someone comes in—bash.”

Xiao Zheyu panicked. “No way, I can’t! I don’t know how to fight!”

Xia Xiaoman gave him another swift kick. “Then I’ll throw both of you out the window right now. Your call.”

Knowing when to fold, Xiao “Quick-Thinker” Zheyu begrudgingly held the iron rod and took position. Su Ran obediently followed suit.

The fire door opened outward, and the lock Wen Jianfeng installed was on the inside. They couldn’t break it from outside by hitting the lock.

But—they weren’t hitting the lock. They were targeting the hinges.

After about ten minutes of hammering, the hinges gave way, and the heavy door crashed down.

“Oho, three pretty babes! Still fresh, huh?” said the guy with a nasty yellow-toothed grin, leering at them. He didn’t even register the blades and axes in their hands.

As he stepped inside the corridor—

WHAM! WHAM!

Two iron rods slammed down—one to the head, one to the gut.

Then Wen Jianfeng burst out, took a short run-up, and drop-kicked Yellow Teeth in the chest.

He didn’t even have time to scream. He collapsed like a ragdoll, dragging his buddies down with him.

Xia Xiaoman swung her axe like a hammer, targeting joints and pressure points exactly as Ye Xiaojie had taught her. Every blow rendered limbs useless.

Even with only one working arm, Sun Qing held her own. These thugs had never trained formally, and Sun Qing didn’t hold back—every stab cut to the bone.

Ye Xiaojie was fast and agile, weaving between attackers like she wasn’t injured at all. Her stabs were quick and deadly.

Even Su Ran, who looked soft and scholarly, slipped quietly into the fray and landed a brutal swing with his rod.

Only Xiao Zheyu was useless—his hands were shaking like he had Parkinson’s, and he could barely grip the iron rod.

Wen Xu, hearing the commotion, opened the door out of curiosity.

Xiao Zheyu nearly screamed when he saw the kid. He yanked Wen Xu’s arm and shoved him back inside. “Go! Don’t come out! You’ll get hurt!”

But this was Wen Xu.

The moment Xiao Zheyu’s grip loosened, the little rascal squeezed out. “I’m not scared! My dad will protect me! Move—I need to find him!”

“You little brat, get back inside!” Xiao Zheyu was both terrified and furious. He grabbed the kid’s collar, refusing to let go.

BANG! Something hit the wall hard, and in the blink of an eye, a flash of cold light flew by.

An axe embedded itself directly in a man’s skull.

Xiao Zheyu went pale as death. He immediately covered Wen Xu’s eyes.

The fighting died down.

Xia Xiaoman stepped into the corridor, face blank, boots squishing into the corpse as she yanked the blood-drenched axe free.

Blood dripped slowly from the blade.

Xiao Zheyu was so tense he nearly forgot to breathe. He now believed—truly believed—that when Xia Xiaoman said she’d axe him to death yesterday, she meant it.

“Move your hand. Let him see,” Wen Jianfeng’s voice suddenly came from behind.

Xiao Zheyu turned, confused.

Wen Jianfeng was wiping blood off his face. “The world isn’t what it used to be. A’Xu and Lingling need to learn the new rules of survival—now. The sooner they understand, the calmer they’ll be when it counts.”

Xiao Zheyu hesitated. “But… they’re still so young…”

“Bad people won’t spare them just because they’re kids.”

Xiao Zheyu was speechless. Slowly, he lowered his hand.

Wen Xu blinked as his view cleared—then froze. Right in front of him was a blood-covered corpse. He burst into terrified sobs and tried to run back inside.

Wen Jianfeng grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to stand still.

Xiao Zheyu muttered under his breath, “What a devil of a father…”

“Survival of the fittest. If you can’t adapt to this cruel world, you’ll end up worse than the corpses on the ground.”

After that grim lecture, Xia Xiaoman kicked him. “Go help move the bodies. Throw them out.”

“Move bodies?!” Xiao Zheyu shrieked. “No way! Just seeing a corpse makes my legs go numb!”

She held the bloodied axe up to his face. “How about now?”

Xiao Zheyu: “…”