Jianghai Hotel, Tenth Floor
Hu Zheng was the lookout who had just gone downstairs to check the situation. Now, inside Room 1001, he was kneeling timidly on the floor, reporting to the two people sitting on the bed.
"What did you say? Someone was eating downstairs? And they're not our people?"
"That's impossible. Did the guards on the tenth floor slack off and let people go down?"
The reason they had set up obstacles and strictly restricted movement between floors was because the tenth floor housed the hotel's main kitchen. Almost all the food and water were concentrated there.
Qian Cong had deliberately joined forces with others to block off the stairways from the tenth to the twelfth floors. The purpose was to prevent people from upstairs running down—guards were posted above, while lookouts watched below.
"Hu Zheng, did you see clearly? From the ninth floor downward, we've already looted every room. Where would anyone come from who can leisurely eat on the first floor? If you dare bullshit me, I'll chop you up," Yan Fei said coldly.
"It's true, Boss Yan. I saw it with my own eyes. I even thought I was mistaken. There were more than ten of them, not very old—looked like college students."
Both of the men present were people who lived on the edge of a blade, carrying several lives on their hands. Hu Zheng naturally didn't dare provoke them. Before the apocalypse, he had just been a hotel waiter. Now he had simply changed into a lackey's role, obeying orders.
"I like them young. I've already gotten tired of those old women," a burly man said excitedly. "Boss, I'll take two brothers down to have a look."
"Fine. Just in case, take this with you."The man called "Boss" was sprawled over a delicate, beautiful woman, moving wildly. With his brothers around, he seemed even more excited.
After taking the gun, Yan Fei became even more arrogant.
Having a gun meant holding the power of life and death over those people directly. The boss really had thought things through.
He called over two more brothers from next door. Before the apocalypse, one had been a chef, the other a white-collar worker. Under threats and temptation, they had sunk into depravity together.
The moment they heard there were people downstairs, every one of them became excited. Being trapped in such a small hotel space for so long, Ye Xin and the others' arrival was undoubtedly a form of entertainment for them.
"Bang!"Yan Fei kicked away the stool blocking the stairway and shouted arrogantly, "Who gave you the guts to steal food here? Are you tired of living?"
"Yeah, yeah… why aren't you kneeling down for Grandpa already?"
"Hahaha… Brother Yan, there are six tender girls and one mature beauty. Share some resources with your brothers!"
The group of four strode forward. Yan Fei naturally took the lead, holding a kitchen knife as he walked step by step. At a glance, his eyes locked onto Su Momo and the others—after all, that cute and outstanding aura made them stand out anywhere.
Yan Fei rubbed his chin, licked his lips, and let his gaze travel downward, finally stopping on the snow-white, jade-like calves beneath Su Momo's skirt.
What great legs. Enough to play with for a lifetime.
"Haha… they're scared stiff. Boss, give one of those twins to us brothers," a lackey behind him jeered, completely unaware that death was already close.
"What are you dreaming about? These twins are mine. Leave that top-grade one for the boss. You can pick from the rest yourselves."
He had no intention of sharing the twins with his underlings—he wasn't that generous. In fact, he didn't even want to give them to the boss, planning to keep them for himself in private.
"Boss, let me kill them," Wang Jie stepped forward again, eager to gain trust.
Seeing a short, skinny boy step out and say he wanted to kill them, Yan Fei nearly laughed himself to death.
"Hahaha… ugh… are you trying to laugh me to death…?"The two lackeys beside him pointed at Wang Jie and mocked him. Yet without Ye Xin's order, Wang Jie suppressed his rage and didn't move. This restraint made Ye Xin appreciate him even more.
"Brother… I want to kill someone."
Su Momo smiled sweetly. To everyone else's ears, that soft voice was terrifying. Those people had long heard that the three girls were extremely dangerous—some even described them as horrifying.
Indeed, hearing "killing" spoken so lightly from a little girl—your first reaction would once have been that she was either a ghost or a lunatic. Now, she wasn't a ghost, yet she was even more frightening than one.
"Haha… you really shouldn't make me laugh like this…" Yan Fei clutched his stomach.
"Wheel of Time's Tomb!"
Without waiting for Ye Xin's reply, Su Momo stepped forward. After advancing to Tier Three, the range of her ability had expanded to three meters. Anyone within that range would age at a rate determined by their strength.
To let them experience death more directly, Su Momo even slowed the flow of time.
Behind Yan Fei, the scalps of two lackeys slowly peeled away. Their faces aged at a visible speed. Amid terrified screams, they turned into piles of dust.
"B-Brother Yan… they…"Hu Zheng didn't die. From beginning to end, he kept his head lowered, unwilling to get involved, saying nothing, obediently acting as a guide. Because of that, Su Momo spared him.
"Stop talking shit. You coward—get lost," Yan Fei cursed. "Didn't you see? The little loli is walking toward me."
Yan Fei didn't take it seriously at all. He even spread his arms, ready to hug the girl. Who would have thought that his own hands were rapidly aging?
Sensing something wrong, he shouted backward, "Quick—!"
Where were they…?
"No need to shout. A second ago, they all turned to ashes. Didn't you like staring so much? Let's start with your eyes."
Su Momo's cold voice sounded.
"Ah—!"Yan Fei clutched his eyes. As his skin loosened and tore, his eyeballs dropped straight out. With his withered hands, he grabbed the gun from his back pocket, relying on memory of the girl's position, and fired wildly.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"If I'm going down, you're coming with me!"
"Mo Mo, watch out—Ghost Bite!"
Ye Xin didn't know whether Su Momo had activated a defensive skill. At such close range, it was hard to react in time. No matter what danger they faced, he would always rush to the front. A flash of ghostly light—Ye Xin wrapped Su Momo in his arms and used his body to block the bullets.
He let out a muffled groan, blood spraying instinctively.
He was used to being injured anyway. To him, bullets felt like nothing more than scratches.
"Wuwu… I'm sorry…"Su Momo was full of regret. She hadn't expected him to pull out a gun and counterattack so fast. She hadn't even had time to deploy her barrier. Furious, she shot Yan Fei a cold glance, lifted her hand, and wiped him out completely.
Three living people vanished before their eyes, dying in a horrifying way—flesh to skin, skin to bone, bone to dust.
The whole process took less than half a minute.
"From now on, be careful… don't look around carelessly…"
"Pretty ones can't be looked at either…"
"I won't even look at women anymore. Whoever makes me, I'll fight them."
The ones speaking were all men, each more outrageous than the last. Xu Chu was also concerned about Ye Xin's injuries, but with three girls surrounding him, going over would have seemed a bit presumptuous.
"I'm fine. Why are you crying…"Ye Xin hugged Mo Mo, only to realize the other two girls had also gathered around.
It was just a minor injury. Was it really necessary to cry like this? Anyone who didn't know better would think I was dead.
"You're not allowed to do this again… wuwu… Brother… Mo Mo owes you too much…"Su Momo cried like pear blossoms in the rain. This was the second time she had cried—last time was because of Uncle Zhong's death, when she finally released her emotions in his arms. This time, it was because he was hurt.
"Wuwu… you big idiot. Can't you care about yourself for once? You're always treating your life like it doesn't matter… Duo'er feels awful seeing this."
"Brother… Wan'er hurts too. Next time, if your life is in danger, you must protect yourself first."
Xie Wan'er's words made Ye Xin's heart ache. He had never imagined their feelings would deepen to this extent.
"When we were still at school, I already said it—I would protect you all. Mo Mo, don't shoulder everything alone. You're not alone anymore. You have us."
"Wuwu…"The final string in Su Momo's heart snapped. Just as her sister said, sealing those feelings away was useless. Liking someone meant liking them. Even if he never became a Divine Venerable, he was still the person she liked—and that alone was enough.
"Brother… Mo Mo likes you… I really, really like you!"