Apocalypse Escape: Day One of Survival

Beichen was speechless, silently observing the girl. ”But you don’t seem nervous at all.”

’This girl has always been so composed,’ he thought. ’She’d be unfazed even if a mountain collapsed right in front of her.’

It was as if nothing in the world could make her look surprised.

’I’d love to see a different expression on her face.’

’What would a girl who’s always so cold and detached look like if she had an emotional breakdown? It would probably be pretty interesting.’

”Beichen.”

The young man froze for a second. When he looked up, the girl was already right beside him.

She was so close he could practically gaze into her crystal-clear eyes and count her long, feathery lashes as they fluttered.

’This seems to be the first time she’s ever said my name so softly.’

’The first time she hasn’t just called me ’hey you,’ but clearly and gently said... Beichen.’

”What are you spacing out for?” Xie Ning gave him a push, a strange look on her face.

Beichen felt his face flush instantly, the blush starting from his ears and spreading across his entire face.

”I’m going out to greet them in a minute. Don’t come out until I call for you. Got it?” Xie Ning gave his helmet another impolite push.

Through the resin visor, that annoying feeling surged up once again.

”I know, I know.” The young man swatted her hand away in embarrassment. ”You’re so naggy,” he said irritably.

”Focus!” Xie Ning shot him a warning glare. She reached down, cleared away a patch of crushed ice, and pulled out a round, convex manhole cover. Then, she began walking out.

Beichen watched her puffy, bundled-up back and felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.

The girl’s expression was grave as she clutched the manhole cover and shouldered a long-handled axe, moving slowly toward the ruins. Beichen felt like this was a picture worth taking...

”SWISH! SWISH!” Several arrows shot toward Xie Ning from different directions at once.

Xie Ning blocked three with the manhole cover, while her Gold Ability bent the other two, causing them to fall to the ground.

”What kind of heroes sneak around in the shadows? If you’ve got any guts, come out and fight me to the death!”

She sounded just like some passionate, brainless heroine from a bad drama, making one want to snort with laughter.

Xie Ning turned her head and saw two figures in white standing atop the ruins to her left.

They were roughly the same height, both wearing white hoodies with the CityArrow Club logo on the chest. Their eyes were fixed on Xie Ning with ravenous hunger, as if they were looking at a lone, plump lamb, filled with bloodlust and eagerness.

Xie Ning’s gaze fell to their hands.

Their hands, too, were covered in frostbite, partly festering and partly scabbed over, looking utterly grotesque.

They stared like wolves at Xie Ning’s puffy, warm gear. The hand of the one holding the bow was even trembling slightly.

Scarf, down jacket, insulated pants, snow boots, and even thick gloves!

This was the kind of gear they now dreamed of having.

’I wonder what we’ll get if we take down these two plump lambs.’

Greed filled their eyes.

Xie Ning held the manhole cover in front of herself and shouted like a moron, ”Is it just the two of you? Why are you hiding? Get out here, all of you!”

”Hahaha, the little lady’s got some nerve.” A burly man in a white down jacket stepped out from behind a ruined wall nearby.

Xie Ning took a closer look and saw five or six more people emerge from beside him. Each of them wore a CityArrow Club hoodie and stared at her with burning intensity.

Or more precisely, they were staring at her down jacket, insulated pants, and other gear.

”Whoa, there are so many of you.” Xie Ning feigned fright, taking two steps back with a look of utter defeat.

’Strange. It’s surprising that there are still survivors in this part of Canghua Home after all the bombing.’

’Judging by their clothes, they must be survivors who were hiding inside the CityArrow Club.’

She quickly reviewed her mental footage of the survivor search in the Canghua Home area and was certain she had never come across this CityArrow Club.

”Little lady, we don’t want to make things hard for you,” the burly man in the lead said, flashing Xie Ning what he considered a very kind smile. ”Call out your companion, and come with us.”

”You may be a Gold Ability User, but we have two Power-type Superpower Users and one from the Speed System.” The burly man shattered a nearby chunk of ice with a single punch. ”Are you sure you can win against us?”

”Wh-what do you want?” Xie Ning’s face crumpled as if she were about to cry. She took two cautious steps back and called out in a delicate voice, ”I’m telling you! My... my father is the director of a major base! If my dad finds out you captured me, he’ll send bombers to blow you all to bits!”

”What did you say?” A woman with short, curly hair standing next to the burly man glared at her furiously. ”Your dad was the one who bombed Canghua Home last week?”

Xie Ning, playing the role of a brainless rich girl to perfection, puffed out her chest, lifted her chin, and nodded emphatically. ”That’s right, it was my dad! He’s the second-in-command of a major base! You’d better not mess with me! Otherwise, none of you will be able to handle the consequences.”

”That major base you’re talking about... it wouldn’t happen to be Golden City Base, would it?” The speaker was a woman in her fifties standing next to the one with curly hair. Her narrow, upturned eyes gave her a sinister look.

Acting like a clueless child, Xie Ning threw her head back with a look of haughty pride. ”It is Golden City Base. My father, Huang Zhaosheng, is the second-in-command of Golden City Base. Even the base commander has to respectfully call him Mr. Huang and give him face. You can ask anyone you want! In Golden City Base, I, Huang Shi Yao, can do whatever I please.”

Beichen rolled his eyes, speechless.

’This young miss is one heck of an actress!’

’Ask around? Where are they going to ask around in this frozen wasteland? If these people actually make it to Golden City Base, they’ll be like fish in a barrel, and Miss Xie can deal with them however she wants.’

The woman with the narrow, upturned eyes licked her chapped lips and gave a sinister laugh. ”Well then, it seems we were blind to the greatness before us.”

”That’s what I was thinking. One look at Miss Huang’s gear tells you she’s no commoner,” the man with the frostbitten hands said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

”Miss Huang.” The burly man in the white down jacket put on a wheedling, childish smile. ”Look, it’s getting dark. Golden City Base is at least two or three hundred kilometers away.”

”Why don’t you come back to our stronghold for the night? We can escort you back to the base tomorrow, Miss Huang.”

”You want to go to Golden City Base too?” Xie Ning’s eyes lit up.

”Of course, of course.” Sarcastic smiles appeared on all their faces.

Like a pure, innocent flower, Xie Ning completely ignored the looks on their faces and called out joyfully, ”Zhong! Zhong, you can come out now!”

Beichen: ”...”

He shuffled out from behind the wall, his eyes frosty. Through his visor, he shot a glare at the beaming Xie Ning.

”Young Miss, are we really going back to their stronghold with them?”

The man in the white down jacket sneered and looked at Beichen. ”You’re just a servant. Do you have any right to speak?”