Hua Xi

On the square of Mine Town, as the officer issued commands and under the "mayor's" direction, more and more refugees were gathered, divided into groups, and began a gradual search.

Meanwhile.

In the pitch-black streets and alleys, a short, stout shadow, like a civet cat, leaped silently between one dilapidated building and another.

The shadow was wrapped head to toe in thick clothing, even its head tightly covered, leaving only eyeholes exposed.

On its back was strapped a large backpack.

Bulging, as if stuffed with many things, it looked heavy just from a glance, yet it didn't seem to hinder the shadow's movements much.

"Whoosh--"

Amid the howling of the cold wind.

The shadow finally arrived outside the most intact small building in town, climbing up the water pipe with both hands and feet.

Reaching the second floor, it carefully pushed open a window that wasn't fully sealed.

Then, with a leap, it flipped inside.

"Thud." Boots frozen stiff from continuous travel through the wilderness landed on the wooden floor, making a faint sound.

Flakes of snow blew in through the window, and in the cold wind, the flames in the room's stove flickered.

This was a room that wasn't large but was quite "decent."

About ten square meters, with a wooden bed and messy, unfolded blankets—clearly, the owner had left in a hurry.

Beside the bed was an old wooden table cluttered with odds and ends: a notebook, a fountain pen, and an unlit kerosene lamp.

Looking closer, the notebook held a hastily scribbled timesheet. Obviously, this was the bedroom of Mine Town's person in charge, the mayor, and the Burning Fire Company's local agent.

The shadow's gaze swept over the notebook briefly, then turned to the other side of the room.

A burning stove, a washstand, and a wardrobe.

Everything seemed safe.

The shadow relaxed a little, but then, from beneath its bulky clothing, came the protesting growl of a hungry stomach: "Grrr~"

"Thud." Gently setting the backpack on the floor, the shadow crouched expertly and stuck half its body under the bed.

Sure enough, there were boxes and bags hidden beneath—stored food.

"Dried jerky, dried vegetables, mutant potatoes, alcohol... and even canned goods!"

As each item was pulled out, the shadow, with its rear in the air rummaging for food, breathed noticeably heavier. When it unearthed a tin can, its eyes practically reddened.

Its vigilance also dropped.

At that very moment, the shadow felt a hard, long object press against its back:

"Don't move!"

Following that came a young voice.

!!!!

How could someone be here?

Who?

Hadn't it checked just now?!

The shadow's hairs stood on end, as if doused with ice water, its whole body stiff.

"Raise your hands, back up... don't make any sudden moves, or else..." The voice continued, unhurried.

The shadow paused, then cooperatively raised its hands and slowly backed up... as if resigned to its fate. But the next second, it contracted its body and sprang!

Like lightning, it spun around, raised a leg, and kicked the "gun" behind it away. At the same time, its wrists twisted.

"Shing!"

"Shing!"

From both hands, it produced two blades as if by magic, crossed its arms, and lunged at Lin Tuo with a ferocious, twisting strike.

Danger!!

In the room.

Lin Tuo, wearing a black down jacket, narrowed his eyes sharply!

In the blink of an eye, he saw two gleaming blades hurtling toward his face!

At that moment, his mind was hyper-alert, and his body instinctively sidestepped, trying to dodge backward.

"Swish swish~"

As his figure shifted, the two knives grazed past his cheek, startling Lin Tuo, who had no real combat experience, into a cold sweat.

Just as he was about to counterattack, he was stunned to see the shadow, having missed its strike, twist around, grab the large backpack on the floor.

Then, with another contraction and spring, it shot like a coiled spring toward the window!

A feint!

This strike wasn't meant to kill him—just to force him back and buy a chance to escape!

"Trying to run?"

Seeing this, Lin Tuo felt a surge of anger rise within him. Every cell in his body awakened as Aether churned inside him.

He stepped back, using his family's ancient martial arts footwork to accelerate, lunging to the window. His right hand transformed into an "Eagle Claw," locking firmly onto the shadow's ankle.

"Get back here!" he roared inwardly, yanking hard to drag the shadow, already halfway out the window, back inside.

At the same time.

He drove a knee strike viciously into the shadow's abdomen.

The opponent let out a muffled groan, fine beads of sweat forming on their forehead, their entire body curling up like a boiled shrimp in agony.

Lin Tuo's knee strike was devastatingly powerful.

So much so that a second after landing it, he realized he'd overdone it!

After all, with that force, an ordinary person would likely suffer ruptured internal organs and be on the brink of death.

Fortunately, this shadow's body seemed abnormally tough. Though they writhed in pain on the floor, it didn't appear too severe.

"Clang." Seeing this, Lin Tuo simply kicked away the short blade in their hand, then grabbed a coarse hemp rope and tied their hands and feet.

"Don't move, don't yell. If you draw those people over, I won't be responsible."

Lin Tuo tossed out the words, finished the knot, stood up, and closed the window before turning back. He found that this person was surprisingly tough—they'd actually stayed silent after hearing his warning.

They just hissed through their teeth, clearly in considerable pain.

Lin Tuo hesitated for a moment, then reached out to cut open their clothes and check the injury. But unexpectedly, they suddenly struggled violently.

"Don't touch me!"

The voice was young, delicate, and full of threat.

"A girl?" Hearing that voice, Lin Tuo froze, genuinely surprised.

After all, the padded coat was too bulky—from the outside, short and stout, impossible to tell male from female.

He reached out and forcibly pulled off their hat, hood, mask, and a pair of cold-weather goggles. In the firelight, an extremely young, delicate, and fair face was revealed.

It was a very young girl, with lingering childishness in her brows and eyes. She looked about fifteen or sixteen, maybe even younger.

Her face was pale and weak, her forehead covered in cold sweat. She gasped in pain, but her eyes glared fiercely at him.

"Uh..."

Lin Tuo paused, shock flooding his mind. He'd assumed this fugitive was some kind of dangerous criminal.

Otherwise, why would two military vehicles be sent to capture them? The brief exchange earlier had confirmed that impression.

This was nothing like what he'd imagined!

But seeing that she was only in pain, not coughing up blood or anything, the injury probably wasn't life-threatening. Lin Tuo was only stunned for a moment before putting on a stern, expressionless face and saying:

"Looks like you're my prisoner now."

The girl maintained her fierce glare, sizing up Lin Tuo as well, a flicker of surprise in her eyes:

"You're not with them?"

Lin Tuo's clothes and demeanor were clearly worlds apart from those soldiers.

No, in her eyes, this mysterious man seemed out of place with the entire world—unlike anyone she'd met in all her years.

"Otherwise?" Lin Tuo exhaled lightly, bent down to pick up the rusted steel pipe the girl had kicked away, dragged over a chair, and sat down slowly with a cold laugh:

"If I had a gun, would you have had any chance to fight back?"

That was as good as an admission. The hostility in the girl's eyes lessened slightly, but she remained tense:

"Then who are you? Eastern Old District? Wasteland Hunter? Or Gray Mountain Group's thug?"

What lousy names... Lin Tuo scoffed inwardly, lounging in the chair, even crossing his legs, and said calmly:

"You need to understand your position. You're my prisoner now, so you're the one being interrogated."

He paused, then asked his first question: "Your name?"

Silence.

In the room, the girl bit her lip at his words and turned her head away, clearly adopting a tough, uncooperative stance.

"Your name?" Lin Tuo asked again, then clicked his tongue. His eyes shifted as he used the steel pipe to lift the chain around her neck, pulling out a metal pendant.

"Ah! What are you doing?" The girl shrank back in fright, but the movement likely aggravated her wound, making her hiss in pain.

Lin Tuo ignored her, forcibly yanking the chain off. He found it wasn't a decorative necklace but an ID tag.

At the bottom of the chain hung a brass-colored metal plate, engraved with crossed swords and the words "Floating Apocalypse."

Flipping it over, the back bore a string of code and a name that clashed with the wasteland style:

"Hua Xi? That's you?" Lin Tuo looked up and asked.

The girl said nothing, just turned her head away even more stubbornly.

It seems so.

Lin Tuo thought to himself, feeling the residual warmth on the necklace as he continued asking:

"What is the Floating Apocalypse? An organization? The name sounds like one.

Mm, I'm guessing it's the faction you belong to?

So then, what you mentioned earlier, like the Gray Mountain Group and such, should also be names of factions, right? And those soldiers who were chasing you, which group do they belong to?

Tch... I haven't stumbled into some conflict between wasteland factions, have I..."

Listening to Lin Tuo's rambling, the girl named Hua Xi grew more and more bewildered.

She keenly sensed that this mysterious person probably wasn't lying.

After all, at this moment, she was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered... So, was he really unaware?

But how could that be?

The Eastern Old District was one thing—just a minor local power.

In this era of poor communication, it was normal for it to be unknown.

But to have never even heard of the Gray Mountain Group or the Floating Apocalypse, yet possess such formidable combat strength—it was simply too baffling.

Thinking about combat strength... Hua Xi's doubts deepened.

From the earlier fight, she had already confirmed that his strength and combat skills far surpassed hers.

It was practically a crushing defeat.

Yet his "battle experience" seemed extremely lacking.

That was why, earlier, when she fought desperately, she had nearly managed to escape.

Yes, he possessed immense power and skill but was severely deficient in "experience."

Moreover, that young face of his bore none of the savagery or brutality typical of wastelanders; even when he frowned, he still seemed gentle.

In short, it was utterly strange.

And hey, big brother, you're supposed to be interrogating me!

I'm not answering—shouldn't you, by the book, be using torture?

Like breaking my arms or legs?

Or sticking a steel pipe into the furnace, heating it red, and then pressing it against me or something?

What's with you analyzing everything with such enthusiasm on your own?

Do you even know how to interrogate a prisoner?

Want me to teach you?

At this moment, inside the small building in Mine Town, Hua Xi, tied up on the floor in a "duck-sitting" pose, felt her small heart suffer a powerful shock from the "outside world."