"I… I'll kill you!"
Even at the very end, Kawakima Aki refused to abandon her desire to kill Chen Xiao. That stubborn hatred alone spoke volumes.
Chen Xiao sighed softly, almost regretfully.
"Since you acted so convincingly," he said, "I'll send you off to a peaceful reincarnation."
A slender water thorn formed instantly and pierced straight through her heart.
There was no pain—just sudden stillness.
Kawakima Aki fell backward into the dense undergrowth. Her eyes remained wide open, fixed on Chen Xiao with unrestrained hatred until her final breath faded away.
In the apocalypse, a woman driven purely by hatred was terrifying—especially one capable of feigning affection toward someone she despised. That level of scheming alone deserved death a hundred times over.
Chen Xiao lit a cigarette. After a brief hesitation, he adjusted her torn clothing, covering her properly—an almost imperceptible flicker of humanity.
Then he turned and disappeared into the forest.
"Mad Ghost Boss! We guarded the perimeter perfectly!"
"No one got within five hundred meters!"
Zhang Longqi and Zhao Yuanhang rushed over, brimming with excitement.
"We didn't sleep at all! Not even once!"
Chen Xiao nodded in approval.
"Well done," he said calmly. "Now we split up."
"Huh?""Split up?""Why?"
"I'm looking for someone," Chen Xiao replied. "Splitting up will be faster."
Zhang Longqi's eyes widened.
"A Yao?"
Realization hit instantly. The Mad Ghost Butcher had once faced four entire camps alone just to protect her—of course he would be anxious now.
"We'll handle it!" Zhang said firmly.
Neither Zhang nor Zhao was weak. With their abilities and mentality, they ranked among the top tier of the National Fortune Game. As long as they avoided the Euro Alliance's elites, survival wouldn't be an issue.
They agreed to search separately and regroup in twenty-four hours to exchange information.
Freed from his temporary "followers," Chen Xiao activated [Divine Wind] and soared above the forest.
Dawn approached. Darkness retreated as pale light seeped between the trees. Despite staying awake all night, Chen Xiao felt unusually refreshed—his encounter with Kawakima had relieved more stress than expected.
He questioned everyone he encountered.
Those who resisted were killed.
Those who cooperated were spared.
Excessive slaughter would only slow progress toward the Underground Furnace, so he maintained a deliberate balance.
"Have you seen a small Huaxia girl?""Cute. Extremely fast."
When he stopped three men from the Samba Homeland Camp, they immediately stood at attention. Their camp had already chosen to align with Huaxia.
"We've seen many young girls," one said carefully, "but someone that fast… yes. We saw her not long ago."
"She was chasing someone from the Euro Alliance."
"Chasing?" Chen Xiao froze.
A Yao… hunting others?
And Europeans?
Did she really have that kind of strength now?
He thanked them and shot off in the indicated direction.
Minutes later, he sensed it.
A familiar, lightning-fast energy signature.
A Yao.
She was indeed chasing someone.
Lams of the Euro Alliance.
"Are you insane?!"
Lams was screaming as he ran.
"I just flirted with you! I didn't touch you! Why are you acting like this?!"
He had noticed A Yao's D-rank awakening and thought her harmless. But her speed far exceeded his expectations.
He wasn't weak—just slower.
Whenever he stopped to fight, she vanished.
Whenever he fled, she harassed him relentlessly.
Chen Xiao watched from afar, eyes narrowing in admiration.
This was the terrifying dominance of pure speed.
If he possessed a speed talent like this, his combat strength would increase exponentially.
"Damn it!"
Lams roared, finally cornered.
"You leave me no choice!"
He pulled out a dagger wrapped in eerie, sinister runes and stabbed it into his own left hand. Blood soaked the blade as he laughed hysterically.
"With my flesh and blood, I summon the god—"
Boom!
A massive foot slammed down from above.
Lams barely reacted. The impact clipped his side, launching him more than a hundred meters away. He smashed through a dozen trees, blood spraying from his mouth as his internal organs shattered.
He twitched once.
Then went completely still.
Chen Xiao stepped forward and picked up the fallen dagger.
A line of text appeared before his eyes.