The public announcement of the X Virus shattered the last remnants of peace, plunging people around the world into even deeper anxiety and panic.
Countless people refused to believe it, yet had no choice but to face reality. They flooded the streets, overwhelming markets and clearing out shops, supermarkets, and pharmacies. A single pack of compressed biscuits or instant noodles was selling for hundreds. All order had completely collapsed!
Some were panicked and terrified, while others were excited and exhilarated. They stormed the streets in groups, smashing, looting, and robbing, stopping at nothing. Gold shops and banks were ransacked...
Every time Ye Zhao refreshed the news, she saw another video pleading for help: supermarkets stripped bare, streets in chaos, children sitting on the ground and crying, and bodies lying by the roadside with no one to deal with them.
The world had fallen into chaos.
Ye Zhao went to the window and looked down at the crowds hurrying along below. Most people were out in groups, backpacks on their shoulders, big bags of supplies in their hands, and weapons at the ready. They climbed warily into cars and sped off, while the few who were alone became targets for robbery.
Standing at the window, she had already seen several people get robbed.
This was what human tragedy looked like.
After thinking it over, Ye Zhao spent 1 Creation Point to create a sniper rifle. She had never fired one before, of course, so she searched online for tutorial videos and learned step by step. Thank you, Baidu Teacher. She was about to become a master of both pen and sword.
She set the sniper rifle on the windowsill and attached a silencer. Afraid she might miss, she fired a few shots at the rooftop of the building opposite. She missed every time. She didn't even know where her shots had landed. She still had a lot of practice ahead of her.
Until she got the hang of it, she wouldn't dare shoot at anyone. Accidentally killing someone would be a disaster.
Just before dusk, Ye Zhao spotted more than a dozen luxury cars and sports cars worth millions pulling up below through her scope. Thirty-odd men carrying machetes and clubs got out, then surged into the hotel...
Ye Zhao immediately sensed trouble.
Did these people think the world was in chaos and the old order was over, so they could carve out their own territory? Or were they looking for one last night of wild indulgence?
Just then, she heard several gunshots from downstairs.
Ye Zhao: ...
Those bastards!
They had come to seize the hotel. Even if Ye Zhao was safe for the moment, she wouldn't be for long.
Ye Zhao packed up, put on a hat, stored the sniper rifle in her space, and left her room with her handgun.
She didn't take the elevator. Instead, she went down the stairs, one floor at a time.
On the way, she ran into several hotel employees and guests fleeing upstairs in a panic. When they saw Ye Zhao, they cried out, "Don't go down! There's a bunch of murderers down there!"
"They killed all the security guards!"
"I saw them rape a woman right in public. It was horrifying, sob..."
"Wuwu, what's happening to the world? What are we supposed to do?"
Ye Zhao held up her gun to show that she could protect herself. The moment they saw it, their expressions changed. They even took a few cautious steps back, watching her warily. Xia Kingdom strictly prohibited guns, after all. Anyone among the public who had one clearly wasn't a good person.
Ye Zhao didn't mind and continued downstairs.
When she reached the first floor, she saw more than a dozen men standing at the front desk, smoking and chatting. One of them was holding the guest registration forms. "This woman's gorgeous. I'll take her."
"The guy in Room 501 is so hot. He's mine!"
"Where's the master key? Why hasn't it been brought over yet?"
"Haha, I've never seen such a beautiful woman in my life!"
"Brother Hao, this hotel is really comfortable. We can make it our base and gather some more survivors. Then this whole world will be ours~"
"The apocalypse is great! The apocalypse is when we get to rule!"
They sounded pretty pleased with themselves, already dreaming of conquering the world.
Ye Zhao hid behind a screen and peeked out. More than a dozen bodies lay on the floor, men and women alike. She recognized several of them: some had served her, and others had helped carry her suitcase.
From nearby came a woman's screams and a man's lecherous laughter. Ye Zhao was so furious that her nose started bleeding again.
She stuffed a wad of tissue into her nostrils with practiced ease, then spent 1 Creation Point to create a machine gun. She looked up instructions on Baidu. This was her first time holding a machine gun too, but she was strong, and her increased Constitution had come with increased strength. Holding one was no problem. Accuracy didn't matter. Without a second thought, she sprayed the machine gun at the scum.
The more than a dozen thugs at the front desk didn't even know what had happened before they all fell to the ground, eyes wide open in death.
Nearby, several men who heard the gunfire scrambled to their feet. They didn't even have time to pull up their pants before grabbing the weapons beside them and trying to hide. They only had knives and clubs, after all, and didn't dare take on bullets.
But the next second, all three were decapitated and collapsed to the ground.
Blood sprayed everywhere. Holding a watermelon knife, Ye Zhao moved like a specter. Before long, she had cut down the other bandits guarding the hostages too.
She was so strong and fast that the bandits never even got a clear look at her before their eyes closed forever.
The survivors tied up in the lobby looked at her in terror and excitement. A few sparks of triumph shone on their pale faces. Ye Zhao casually cut the ropes off one of them and tossed over a small knife. The person was a hotel employee. He thanked her several times, then quickly set about freeing the others.
Ye Zhao walked over to the woman hiding behind the sofa as she got dressed and tossed the bloodstained watermelon knife at her feet. She said nothing more and went on killing.
She remembered that more than fifty people had entered the hotel. Where had the rest gone?
"They wanted to stockpile more supplies. The leader, a man called Brother Leopard, took a group to the supermarket up ahead..." The woman's hoarse voice came from behind her. Ye Zhao nodded and said, "Oh." She looked back at the dozen or so people behind her. "You have weapons now. If that group comes back in, can you defend yourselves?"
They exchanged glances, tense and frightened. "Brother Leopard has a gun. We can't beat them."
"Yeah, they've all seen blood and they're ruthless. We're decent people. How could we possibly be a match for them?"
"Big Sis, you're so powerful. Just kill them all too!"
"I've got money. I can give you a million if you kill those bandits!"
Ye Zhao glanced at the man, sniffed as her nose bled, and couldn't be bothered to answer.
"I can do it!" The hotel employee whose ropes Ye Zhao had cut first picked up a long knife from the floor. His face was full of hatred as he glanced at the woman behind the sofa. "I'll kill them and avenge my dead coworkers!"
He also rallied a few of his male coworkers, urging them to act together. "The world's already fallen into chaos, and we can't even get through to the police. If you don't get stronger yourselves, next time something like this happens, you may not be lucky enough to have a kind person like Miss Ye come to your rescue!"
"Think carefully. Do you want to keep letting others slaughter you, or pick up a weapon and save yourselves?"
His words did stir a few people. They said they were willing to act with him, but others hid behind the crowd, shrinking back and saying they were powerless.
All Ye Zhao could do was give them a chance. What they chose to do was up to them.
Put aside the urge to help others and respect their fate.