Rumors About Lord Shen [Monthly Ticket Request]

Hunger, disease.

Corpses littered the roads; starving dead lay piled upon one another.

Not a trace of green could be seen across the vast wilderness. A hundred or so refugees trudged slowly in one direction, their faces numb. Along the road, they occasionally passed a skeleton still smeared with rotting flesh. Mosquitoes and flies circled overhead, maggots wriggling across the remains. A child with sunken cheeks crouched beside them, swallowed, then reached out and stuffed a few maggots into her mouth. Her eyes were as merciless and resolute as a lone wolf's.

Suddenly, a foot came flying at her.

Caught off guard, she pitched forward and hit the ground hard.

Strangely, she didn't turn to look at who had kicked her. Ignoring the pain in her forehead, she scrambled away on all fours. The kicker hadn't expected this reaction and stood there stunned for a moment. Then he snapped out of it and rushed after her.

"Don't run!"

"You little brat!"

"Get your ass over here!"

Though the two were worlds apart in size, the child's desperate will to survive unleashed some uncanny reserve of strength, and she shot ahead like an arrow. Her heart pounded like a drum. She didn't dare stop, because she knew all too well what would happen if they caught her!

She would end up like the neighbor's little brother, traded away and turned into fragrant roasted meat or a pot of tantalizing soup.

"Don't run—"

"Damn it, that brat's fast!"

The man was so thin he looked like a skeleton draped in human skin. He hadn't had a full meal in ages; the last had been the day before yesterday. He didn't have the stamina to chase her, and worried that grabbing the girl from behind would make her struggle and waste his strength.