Humans were constantly facing the test of life.
She grew anxious, not knowing how much longer the iron door could hold. Even though she knew it was futile, she pushed herself to speed up her Cultivation. Suddenly, a sharp pain pricked her palm, and a faint golden light began to emanate from it.
It dissipated just as quickly. But despite its incredible speed, Feng Moxi's eyes still caught it. For the first time since her rebirth, a hint of joy appeared in her cold, severe eyes.
'This… Is this the Gold Ability?' In her past life, this was the superpower she had yearned for, obsessed over even in her dreams, yet her body had never shown the slightest reaction.
It wasn't until years later, after most of the people around her had awakened their superpowers, that she finally understood. Due to her own constitution, she was stuck with only a Power Mutation.
Forced to struggle through the Apocalypse.
She never expected this body's aptitude to be so good. To awaken a superpower just from Cultivation was a truly wonderful surprise.
"Heh." Feng Moxi let out a small laugh. Her gaze turned cold as she looked toward the monster still relentlessly ramming the door. 'Getting out shouldn't be a problem now.'
'Still, no need to rush.'
At that thought, energy churned in her palm. A stream of golden Powerful Energy formed into the shimmering image of a short blade and shot toward the wall. Dust and plaster burst outward, revealing a small hole.
However, this Power seemed limited. She couldn't attack continuously; it felt like she lacked the stamina for a follow-up. 'If I want to increase my Power output, I have to keep up my Cultivation.'
In her past life, she had spent countless hours observing others and dreaming of cultivating her own superpower, so using them now felt like second nature.
Luo Yunxi, who had been watching Feng Moxi the entire time, was so stunned her jaw dropped. 'Is… is she a magician? No, no, that's a superpower.'
She had read plenty of books about the Apocalypse, but she never imagined…
Luo Yunxi secretly pinched her own fingers. Nothing happened. She used every ounce of her strength, trying to force all the Powerful Energy in her body to gather in her fingertips.
The result was, once again, disappointing.
She glanced at Feng Moxi with envy before silently retreating to a corner. It seemed only leaning against the wall gave her even a sliver of security.
The entire basement fell quiet. The banging from above grew sporadic and then stopped completely. Only then did the young girls inside let out a collective sigh of relief.
They all collapsed to the floor.
A short while later, the monster grew even more frenzied. The dilapidated iron door once again began to shudder under the creature's relentless impacts, accompanied by its guttural roars.
The sounds rose and fell, and the group of girls held their breath.
'I can't wait any longer!'
With a slight movement of her fingers, Feng Moxi gathered the wisp of golden vapor in her hand again.
She glanced up at the rusty iron door and said calmly, "I'm leaving. You all can do as you please." With that quiet declaration, she started toward the stairs.
A girl with a dust-streaked face suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Feng Moxi's legs and sobbing, "You can't go! If you leave, what will we do when the monster gets in?"
"Let go," Feng Moxi said coldly.
"No! I'll die before I let go! If you leave, we'll all be killed!" The moment she finished speaking, two more girls rushed over and grabbed onto Feng Moxi as well.
One by one, their pathetic, cowardly expressions turned vicious, as if Feng Moxi were the one about to kill them.
"Heh. And you're not afraid of starving to death down here?"
As if on cue, a series of loud RUMBLES echoed from the girls' stomachs.
'Just one more day. I have to reach the Innate Realm. This basement might be safe for now, but without food or water, none of them will last long.'
"Waaah…" The low sound of sobbing started up again.
Thinking about their own predicament, the girls' long-suppressed emotions finally erupted. They slowly let go of Feng Moxi's legs, but the overwhelming grief could no longer be contained.
They all covered their faces and began to weep bitterly.
Only Luo Yunxi, though her face was etched with sorrow, had an unusually resolute look in her eyes.
Feng Moxi shook her head. 'In the Apocalypse, the weak are the last thing you want to be. I am the perfect cautionary tale—killed, just like that, by my own cousin.'
'The rest is up to them now.'
The commotion in the basement alerted the monster outside once more. Guttural roars drew closer, and the sound of it ramming the iron door started up again.
The girls in the basement were so frightened they all fell silent again.
Feng Moxi walked slowly to the iron door. The sound of the monster ramming it grew even more violent. She tried to summon the broken sword from her Sea of Consciousness, but she still wasn't strong enough to draw it out.
She focused her mind, took a deep breath, and with a slight twist of her fingers, a Golden Blade leaped into existence.
Without hesitation, she thrust the Golden Blade toward the lock. With a twist, the door clicked open. The monster ramming it from the other side didn't even have time to react before Feng Moxi kicked it away.
When the monster lunged at her again, she swiftly dodged aside.
Immediately after, a Golden Blade shot out and pierced straight through the back of the monster's skull.
The monster didn't even have time to finish its guttural roar before it collapsed with a heavy thud.
Feng Moxi narrowed her eyes, surveying her surroundings. She was in an abandoned courtyard. The sound of her killing the monster had attracted two or three others that were loitering nearby. Twisting their stiff bodies, they began to shamble toward her.
Their eyes were a milky, grayish-white. Black veins bulged haphazardly across their faces and hands, giving them a hideous appearance.
The monsters were slow and clumsy. 'This is typical for the Early Stage, not long after they've mutated,' she thought.
Besides them, two corpses lay on the ground in pools of black blood. Stinking entrails were spilled everywhere, and the flesh had been gnawed clean from their bodies.
Only their mutated heads remained, still twitching and WAILING.
Though their features were mangled beyond recognition, she could still tell who they were: the two men who had gone into the basement earlier.
Although the monsters were slow, they were exceptionally strong. Combined with their durable bones, they weren't easy to deal with.
Watching the approaching monsters' stiff, twisted movements, she noted their slow speed. With two quick strikes, Feng Moxi dispatched the wailing heads on the ground.
After two days of training, her body had already been strengthened. Combined with the instincts from her previous life's Power Mutation, her reflexes were sharp. The only problem was that her Golden Blade lacked staying power.
Her eyes darted around and spotted two blood-stained iron rods on the ground not far away. She dashed over and snatched one up.
She swung the rod at the head of the nearest monster. At the same time, another creature HOWLED and lunged at her, its jaws snapping shut just inches from her arm.
"Ah!" At that moment, Luo Yunxi, who had made it to the doorway, covered her mouth and let out a small gasp.
Feng Moxi was gradually being surrounded by several monsters. 'She seems capable,' Luo Yunxi thought, 'but those are mutated, ferocious creatures. If she's careless for even a second and one of them touches her…'
Hearing her gasp, another monster turned and lunged toward Luo Yunxi.