A touring troupe?
Zhou You had never imagined he would hear that term in this hellish world.
Who were these people performing for? Those freaks that devoured people whole?
He gave her another careful look.
She was probably thirty-four or thirty-five. Though somewhat older, she was very beautiful; it was clear that she had once been a beauty of above-average looks—yet perhaps due to excessive exhaustion, fine wrinkles had already crept across her forehead, coupled with that weathered face...
She really did suit the role of "troupe leader."
After saying that inexplicable term, the woman pulled out a hand-rolled cigarette from her pocket, put it between her lips, and lit it.
Amid curls of smoke, she spoke.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Xia'er, the leader and guide of this troupe. Where did you come from? How did you get hungry enough to eat an anomaly??"
Zhou You considered for a few seconds before answering.
"My... the city I lived in was destroyed not long ago..."
"—The one hit by the Withering Tide?"
Zhou You was somewhat surprised.
"You know about it?"
The woman named Xia'er took another deep drag before exhaling.
"Ordinary troupe leaders wouldn't, but I also work as a guide, so I know a little about situations like this... I know you're a refugee, but how did you go crazy enough to eat an anomaly?"
Even Zhou You's old face reddened when his idiotic stunt was brought up.
"An accident made me lose all my rations before, so I had no choice but to..."
Xia'er interrupted with a frown.
"Even if you happened to pick up an anomaly corpse, you still couldn't eat it. You were lucky to survive. Do you know how many people died outright, or ended up living worse than death afterward..."
Zhou