Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

"Mom," Xiao Zhu’s husband said, stepping forward with their child in his arms to offer a few words of comfort. It was only then that Granny Liu gave a disgruntled snort.

"I’ll go get the car." Ji Taixian caught the car keys Xie Ning tossed him.

As he turned, a piercing shriek ripped through the air.

Zhu HuiZhen had suddenly snatched a rusty axe from nearby and charged forward, bringing it down on Wang Han’s neck without a word.

Ji Taixian recoiled a step in terror.

He watched as the woman brought the axe down on the already pathetic-looking Wang Han’s head three times, sending blood gushing everywhere.

Now he was truly beyond saving.

Xie Ning stood right next to Wang Han. As Xiao Huang Mao shivered and hugged himself, she simply watched the scene unfold, her face a mask of indifference.

Like a woman possessed, Zhu HuiZhen hacked at Wang Han’s body with the axe, now coated in bits of flesh. She swung again and again, blow after heavy blow, until she was panting for breath.

"MMPH, MMPH!" The muscular, shirtless man, hands bound with thick rope and mouth gagged, couldn’t stop the terrified sounds from escaping as his eyes darted frantically.

Hearing the sound, Zhu HuiZhen whipped her head around. Her bloodshot eyes locked onto him, her hands tightening on the axe.

"Guangzi!" Xiao Huang Mao cried out in alarm.

Zhu HuiZhen swung the axe and staggered forward, bringing it down on the shirtless man’s arm.

Granny Liu and her son, their faces pale with terror, stared at the crazed Zhu HuiZhen and scrambled backward.

And so, Zhu HuiZhen hammered the axe down again and again—on the man’s chest, his neck—splattering droplets of blood everywhere as a crimson tide consumed the ground.

Xie Ning glanced over coolly, the corner of her lip hooking into a slight smile.

"Bro, bro, Guangzi! Bro!" Xiao Huang Mao dropped to his knees with a THUD, buried his face in his hands, and began to wail.

Xie Ning glanced down at him. "Alright, stop pretending. Isn’t this the outcome you wanted?"

The hands covering Xiao Huang Mao’s face paused for a moment. He kept his head down, his face still buried in his hands.

"Trying to pull one over on me? Did you really think no one would notice?"

Xiao Huang Mao slowly climbed to his feet. He lowered his hands, revealing a tear-free face, and gave Xie Ning a grin. "Sis, when did you figure it out?"

"Maybe when you asked about the hedgehog superpower?" Xie Ning offered a gentle smile, glancing at the utterly baffled Ji Taixian and Wang Zongxuan beside her. "Hm, or perhaps it was when these two idiots showed up at my door looking for trouble."

"If you hadn’t fed them the false information that my family—a bunch of old folks, women, and children—was an easy target, why would Wang Han have sent only those two?"

"And if these two idiots hadn’t come to my home to stir up trouble, how would I have gotten this furious?"

Xie Ning spread her hands and smiled faintly. "And so I showed up, just as you wished, didn’t I?"

Xiao Huang Mao’s grin vanished, his expression hardening as he gritted his teeth. "Hmph. They aren’t even human. My sister had a high fever, and just because it lasted longer than theirs and she didn’t regain consciousness, they wanted to ’deal with’ her."

"The reports all said you don’t necessarily turn into a zombie, but they wouldn’t listen. And just like that, they... my sister..."

"Some relatives," Xiao Huang Mao roared. "What kind of fucking relatives are they!"

"My sister was only twenty." Tears finally welled in Xiao Huang Mao’s eyes. "In the prime of her life, only twenty! She didn’t deserve to die."

Xiao Huang Mao wiped his face, his expression becoming calm. "So now you know. Kill me, cut me up. Do what you will."

Xie Ning scoffed, turned, and started walking away. "Boring."

The bewildered Ji Taixian glanced at Wang Zongxuan.