“Please, I beg you…”
As soon as this abrupt plea sounded, Zheng Yi raised the fire axe. The leader immediately started wailing and loudly shouting those “five magic words.”
During this time, Zheng Yi took a tour of the office. She casually picked up a fruit knife from the coffee table and, with a flick of her wrist, embedded its tip into the tabletop.
“Here, have a slice.”
The leader’s eyes widened. His finger was still bleeding profusely, and Zheng Yi had no intention of bandaging it for him. He had thought that was cruel enough, but he never expected-
“Oh~ I see, you’re not satisfied with the meat from this part.” Zheng Yi feigned a look of sudden realization. Before she could even get closer, the leader, as if possessed, grabbed all the slices of flesh from the table and stuffed them into his mouth:
“Satisfied, satisfied! I would never dare to be dissatisfied with you in any way!” he said repeatedly. However, his swallowing motions were accompanied by an instinctive dry-heaving, but he had to forcibly suppress the urge to vomit. In the end, with his face covered in tears, he continued to chant the five magic words.
His nerves were stretched taut, completely controlled by Zheng Yi to the point where he had no chance to think, leaving only the instinct for survival.
But no Saint Points were coming in. Zheng Yi thought, bored. She walked behind the man and placed a hand on his shoulder in a seemingly intimate gesture. With a “crack,” his arm was dislocated. A pig-like squeal had just escaped his lips when, with another movement, Zheng Yi popped the dislocated shoulder back into place.
During this “lengthy” process of torture, just as Zheng Yi, bored once again, raised the axe and pinned the man’s arm to the tabletop, the system in her mind suddenly chimed with a [Ding].
[Ding! Detected someone who believes from the bottom of their heart that the Host is a Saint! Assessing emotional intensity…]
[Assessment complete. Awarding 5 Saint Points!]
‘It can assess intensity? Are five points considered a lot?’
Zero One was dumbfounded. It never imagined Zheng Yi could forcibly alter someone’s perception, binding the term “Saint” to herself. [It’s about average. But this person is on the verge of collapse. Forcing it further… is probably not possible…]
“Very good, I can feel your piety.” Zheng Yi’s tone softened. She soothingly patted his arm. “Now, can you be a little more pious?”
More pious? How could he be more pious? The leader could barely think. He had no idea how to satisfy this madwoman!
Just then, Zero One watched as Zheng Yi opened the store and leisurely spent one Saint Point to purchase three Designated Lures.
Each Designated Lure was only the size of a button battery. By attaching them to small everyday objects, the Host could detonate them with a thought. Their destructive power was almost zero, but the moment they destroyed the object they were attached to, they would erupt with an incomparably loud noise!
In the apocalypse, such a massive sound could attract all the zombies in the vicinity, serving as a lure.
“Oh, right, let me show you a little magic trick~” As the man, on the verge of collapse, was forced to look up at Zheng Yi, she casually picked up the water cup from his desk and presented it to him like a real magician. “See? This is your water cup~ Pretty ordinary, right?”
The leader nodded stiffly.
Zheng Yi covertly attached the lure and tossed the cup into an empty corner-
[BOOM!]
The powerful explosion nearly blew the roof off! The leader almost fainted. He looked at Zheng Yi, trembling, and saw a thin layer of water mist covering that area. As for his cup… it had been practically blasted to dust.
“Boss! Boss, what was that just now! Boss, what’s wrong with you!” The tall, thin man outside finally couldn’t hold back. With his ears still ringing, he burst into the room, only to see a thin layer of water mist clinging to the wall, and his boss… looking pale and unwell. Before he could survey the surroundings, the boss’s angry shout came.
“Get out! Did I say you could come in?” Before Zheng Yi could speak, the leader, knowing what was good for him, cursed the man out of the room again. The pain in his ears from the explosion was nothing compared to the agony in his arm and finger. But Zheng Yi’s move had shocked him, making him even more afraid to resist. He only asked cautiously, “Are… are you a dual-ability user?”
Zheng Yi had Zero One take a small, spherical hard candy from her inventory. She leisurely poured a glass of water using another cup and pushed them in front of the leader. “Swallow it.”
“Of course~ you have a choice. Die right now, or… put your life in my hands at any moment~ Let me tell you in advance, after you eat this, even if you find another ability user who can retrieve objects from a distance, they won’t be able to find it~” After all, it was just an ordinary piece of candy. It would probably be digested by tomorrow.
Could that even be called a choice?
“Don’t worry, I’m not a bad person~ As long as you’re willing to do me a small favor, I won’t let you get blown up.” Zheng Yi’s tone was light and playful. She even gave the leader a “wink.” “My jiejie and I won’t be staying here forever~ Right?”
“Yes, yes, you’re right about everything. I will serve you willingly.” The leader’s voice trembled. He picked up the candy with his right hand and, as if marching to his death, popped it into his mouth, then grabbed the water Zheng Yi had poured for him and quickly swallowed.
He never would have imagined it. He had been so lucky to survive the initial outbreak of the chaotic apocalypse, and he had even awakened an ability after the heavy rains… He had his own stronghold and his own men. He even controlled this area, extorting a hefty price from anyone who passed by. The food, water, and various resources he had stockpiled could last him a long time. And yet, this smooth life had been so suddenly shattered by a single woman.
If Zheng Yi weren’t standing right in front of him, he would have rushed out and hacked that tall, thin man outside into a thousand pieces! He had even shared a cigarette with him just now!
“Oh, my dear, we’re friends now, aren’t we? Friends shouldn’t be so distant~” Zheng Yi said with a smile. “You see, you didn’t know me at first, so we had an unnecessary misunderstanding. Now that you know me, and you know I’m a Saint, shouldn’t you let more people get to know me and know that I’m a Saint?”
At that moment, regardless of the man’s true thoughts, he could only agree repeatedly. “Yes, yes. I know what to do.”
“No, you don’t know yet. You have to make them believe from the bottom of their hearts that I am a Saint~” Zheng Yi said with a smile. “Just like how you believe from the bottom of your heart that I’m a Saint, understand? You can even fabricate some… rather positive deeds to publicize me. Use every method at your disposal.”
She was clearly a demon with immense power, yet she wanted to be known by the title of Saint? Was this some kind of sick joke for a madwoman? The leader tried to fathom Zheng Yi’s thought process. He nodded repeatedly, the five-word mantra “Zheng Yi is a Saint” practically engraving itself into his DNA.
Yes, this madwoman must be doing it on purpose! Weren’t his own men deceived by her appearance? Being known as a Saint… in the future, more people who met her would let down their guard, even forming the wrong first impression. And once someone had ill intentions, they would end up in the same situation as him. That’s right, the most skilled hunters often appear as prey. When this person sliced his pinky and forced him to eat it, her eyes had clearly filled with fanaticism and delight. She was a complete and utter pervert!
“I will do everything in my power to accomplish this! Rest assured, I’ll gather all my men later and indoctrinate them.”
“Mm, no need for me to watch. I can sense the results anyway.” Zheng Yi pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped the blade of the fire axe. She looked up and gave the leader a friendly smile. “After I leave, you can feel free to guess what abilities I have.”
“Alright now, I didn’t kill you, so why the long face? Look at this wound, why is it still bleeding? Here, let me help you bandage it.” Zheng Yi felt her pocket, had Zero One place gauze and alcohol inside, then pulled them out. She unceremoniously poured the alcohol over the severed finger to “disinfect” it, and as the man let out another pig-like squeal, she “thoughtfully” wrapped it with gauze.
“These are troubled times. It’s best to do more good deeds~ Otherwise, who knows when you might bite off more than you can chew again? Right?”
“Yes, yes, you’ve taught me a lesson. It’s my fault for not training my men well, my fault for being blinded by greed, my fault for being so blind, my fault…” The man’s breathing grew faint. His face was covered in what could have been sweat or tears; either way, he was soaked through. He trembled as he spoke these words, looking as if he might pass out at any second.
“Can you treat my jiejie and me to a meal, give me a few decent weapons, fill up my car with gas, and then personally see us off?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll have them prepare right away! We… we don’t have a lot of supplies here. How about hot pot? As for weapons… kitchen knives, crowbars… we don’t have any great weapons either. I’ll bring them all over later, and you can take whatever you like.” Hearing that Zheng Yi planned to leave, the leader felt he could hold on a little longer. He forced himself to rally. The pain from his severed finger had almost numbed his entire body, which still twitched and trembled occasionally from the shock of the alcohol.
“You look a bit pale. I hope you can tidy yourself up a bit, maybe put on some makeup~”
“Well then, thank you for your hospitality~”
Time ticked by, second by second, but Zheng Yi still hadn’t returned.
But the good news was, the man who had taken Zheng Yi away hadn’t returned either. So, the situation couldn’t be too bad, right?
Zheng Yi… she was too reckless, too naive, too simple-minded! How could she think of persuading a bunch of roadside robbers? Even if she could protect herself, how could she possibly take on an entire camp? I already told her this is the apocalypse, not the world we knew, bound by laws. Morality? The law? What’s left of any of that in these times?
You can’t just trust strangers. Even if you see someone in danger who needs help, you can’t just rush in to save them! Just surviving, just staying alive, already takes every ounce of effort.
Yu Yinan’s mind was a mess. She even started to regret agreeing to travel with Zheng Yi. She and Zheng Yi were completely incompatible. She hated people who couldn’t get a grip on reality in this chaotic apocalypse. Kind? Simple-minded? Naive? People who were so kind they were stupid didn’t deserve to survive in the apocalypse. They might even drag their companions down with them!
