Everything is So Fragile

Everything Was So Fragile

Mu Xiao remained silent the entire way. An Rongru followed behind him, unable to strike up even a single conversation. What Mu Xiao had said earlier only made her more uneasy, as though she were about to enter a place of utter despair.

"Just as I thought." Part of Mu Xiao's mental power probed An Rongru's physical condition. There was nothing lewd about it; he was merely confirming something.

The two descended to the first-floor lobby one after the other. Everywhere they looked was a complete mess, even bloodier and more horrific than upstairs. It resembled a slaughterhouse, filled with the pungent stench and dried crimson stains of blood, lacking only a mountain of corpses.

An Rongru tightly covered her nose and mouth. A foul heaviness rose in her chest, but having gone so long without food, there was nothing in her stomach to vomit. All she could do was convulse violently. Her face turned pale with pain, and she nearly fainted. If Mu Xiao had not been her last lifeline, she probably would not have had the strength to keep walking.

The law firm's front doors stood wide open, offering a clear view of the street outside. Trails of blood ran along the road like small streams. Maglev cars lay overturned everywhere, while the surrounding shops were utterly silent. It was as though this place had become a dead zone, with only those living dead, their faces twisted and their footsteps heavy, wandering aimlessly about.

"All right. You can go out now and experience how the world has changed." Mu Xiao sat on a sofa in the lobby and glanced at the frightened An Rongru.

He had been using his mental power to conceal his own presence, while also faintly masking An Rongru's aura. Moreover, they were quite far from the zombies in the street, so the creatures outside could not smell the scent of fresh flesh.

The human scent only existed within a certain range. As long as one did not go beyond that range, ordinary zombies generally could not detect it—unless they encountered zombies or mutants with special abilities, such as enhanced smell or heightened perception.

"I don't understand what you mean..." An Rongru's beautiful eyes were filled with terror.

"If you can't bring yourself to see this world clearly, you might as well kill yourself." Mu Xiao rose to his feet, drew a military knife from beside his boot, and walked toward An Rongru. "This is for you to kill yourself with. If you want to die, do it quickly. Once you're dead, I'll throw your corpse outside for those zombies to eat. I don't want the place I live in to become a zombie restaurant someday."

"Stop it!" An Rongru covered her ears and cried out. She had endured fear, cold, darkness, worry, anxiety, and countless other tangled emotions for so long that her heart finally broke under the strain. Tears slid down her haggard, delicate face. She found it even harder to accept Mu Xiao's cold, merciless suggestion.

Mu Xiao silently watched her. He understood the helplessness and fear of the weak, but that was not a reason to run away—especially in this even colder, more merciless world. The weak could not survive. This was a test for An Rongru, to see whether she was qualified to remain by his side.

"If you want me to beg you, then I'm willing to beg you now. But I hope you'll leave me my last shred of dignity..." Beneath An Rongru's outward strength lay nothing more than the fragile heart of an ordinary woman.

"You don't want to kill yourself now... but if you ever find yourself in a true hell where death is better than life, you may realize that suicide can actually be a very happy thing." After speaking meaningfully, Mu Xiao ignored An Rongru's paper-white face and walked straight outside.

To An Rongru, the world outside was a demonic hell. Now that he was walking into that hell, she did not know whether she should follow him. If she followed and he did not protect her, it would still be a dead end. But if he did protect her, how capable was he of keeping both of them safe? Would he abandon her halfway through?

Countless complicated thoughts surged through An Rongru's heart. She had no sense of security whatsoever and could not grasp even the slightest control over her own fate. It was as though she were gambling with her life. If she lost, the outcome would be unimaginably miserable—she would be devoured alive by those demons... suffering worse than death!

At that moment, An Rongru understood what Mu Xiao had meant when he said suicide could be a happy thing.

"I'm willing to do anything for you!" Unable to bear the suffocating pressure brought by her fear, An Rongru pleaded desperately. But Mu Xiao ignored her and walked out of the law firm. Regardless of whether he answered her or not, An Rongru did not dare remain there alone. She hurried after him, hoping only that he would accept her unconditional offer and take her away safely.

As Mu Xiao stepped outside, he drew the attention of several zombies. However, he had concealed his entire aura. The zombies were uncertain whether he was one of their kind, and they could not sense the scent of flesh and blood. When they cautiously approached Mu Xiao, they sensed nothing unusual. Before long, they lost interest in this "dead thing."

Some zombies had sharper senses. When they noticed something unusual about a "dead thing," they would attack to test it. Once the "dead thing" fought back, whether it was dead or alive, the zombies would tear it to pieces.

Just as the zombies were about to pass Mu Xiao and leave, they suddenly caught the fragrant scent of fresh flesh.

At that moment, An Rongru ran out of the law firm. She immediately saw several hideous zombies ahead of her. Like beasts, they bared their teeth, black blood clinging to the fangs in their mouths. Their gray, sharp claws swung through the air, their eyes filled with crazed bloodshot veins as they lunged toward her.

"Save me!"

An Rongru let out a shrill scream, shattering the silence of the entire street. A huge mass of zombies turned to look. Seeing their own kind attack, they instinctively knew there was food. In an instant, every zombie sprang into motion and charged over in a frenzy.

As the terrifying zombies drew closer and closer, that man still did not turn around. A dark, despairing emotion surged over An Rongru like a raging tide, instantly drowning her body and mind in icy, lifeless silence.

But at that moment, she clearly sensed time seeming to slow. A boiling sense of power surged from within her body, and her mind became incredibly clear as the world around her slowed. She sensed that the law firm behind her was still within reach. There was no danger inside—it was a path to survival.

A determined look flashed across An Rongru's face. Her body accelerated as she nimbly turned and ran back into the law firm. Her sudden burst of speed was no weaker than that of a soldier with an A-rank physique. She was only slightly slower than the charging zombies, and was even a fraction faster than some of them. She narrowly dodged the foul claws swinging at her.

"Not bad." Mu Xiao used his mental power to monitor An Rongru's actions and found, as expected, that her potential as a new human was being triggered. That was why he had placed her in a genuine life-or-death crisis: to fully awaken the potential that had only half-emerged, stimulating the bloodline genes of a new human and causing her physique to rise instantly, granting her the ability to escape.

In truth, Mu Xiao had also secretly surrounded those zombies with telekinesis, invisibly slowing their movements. That was how An Rongru had managed to escape their attack first.

Although An Rongru had been forced by the pressure Mu Xiao placed on her to awaken the bloodline genes that would turn her into a new human, Mu Xiao still had not stepped in to save her. He wanted An Rongru to fully experience what despair was, to completely shatter the defenses in her heart and the hope she still clung to. Only then would she understand that her own strength was the only thing she could truly rely on.

Most of the zombies in the street rushed toward the law firm, crazily fighting over An Rongru like starving beasts fighting over a piece of fresh meat.

Mu Xiao drew his laser pistol and fired streaks of pale-blue light. Beautiful rays cut through the air and accurately pierced the heads of the zombies charging into the law firm. A large group of zombies toppled like dominoes, piling atop one another in a heap.

These zombies were not high-level, so they provided little Evolution Force Source and Origin Source. Still, Mu Xiao placed part of the Origin Source into Mechanical Mastery first. After all, he would inevitably need to use this ability often in his future life.

As he fired, his mental power became unstable, and traces of his aura soon began to leak out. The nearby zombies sensed the faint scent of flesh and blood coming from him. Furthermore, the deaths of so many of their kind stirred their instinctive hatred and hostility. They swiftly shifted targets and charged at him with vicious ferocity.

"If I keep killing like this, that busty beauty might end up dead for sure." Mu Xiao did not want An Rongru, a new human who had just evolved, to die. He drew another laser pistol with his other hand, moved rapidly, and fired beautiful beams of death in quick succession. The rays before him bloomed like fireworks, sweeping through the zombies lunging at him. Then he suddenly accelerated, flashed into the law firm, and instantly used telekinesis to shut the front doors, leaving the zombies to slam against them.

His mental power had been tracking An Rongru all along, and Mu Xiao pursued her without error. By then, those few zombies had nearly caught up to her.

An Rongru was frantic with anxiety, her heart filled with boundless fear. But after the burst of potential in her body, she could no longer sustain herself. Potential was not limitless; it only allowed for a brief moment of extreme performance. Especially since she had gone so long without food and was already weak, awakening as a new human had consumed even more energy. Before long, a feeling of weakness spread rapidly through her entire body. Her limbs felt as though massive boulders had been tied to them—heavy, sore, and agonizing.

The high heels she wore were also deadly for running. Her foot slipped, her body lost its balance, and all strength drained from her. Unable to correct her falling body, she crashed hard onto the ground.

The instant she fell, it was not just her body that collapsed, but her heart as well, utterly consumed by despair. Images flashed rapidly through her mind...

"I suggest you go out onto the terrace and take a look first. Then you can consider what price you're willing to pay, or what bargaining chips you have that are worth offering..."

"I can take you with me, but what can you give me?"

"...if you ever find yourself in a true hell where death is better than life, you may realize that suicide can actually be a very happy thing."

Mu Xiao's words echoed clearly through An Rongru's mind. Because she had hesitated all along, her final sliver of hope had been completely shattered. Only then did she realize how easily she had missed her path to survival. Beneath the shadow of true death, all dignity and hope were so fragile...

"Han Yao... Mommy may not be able to see you again."

An Rongru wept, tears vanishing into the air like pearls from a broken string. At the same time, her body struck the ground hard. She clearly felt a foul wind attacking from behind. Fear crawled over her body and mind. Death itself was not terrifying—the terrifying part was the fate of being torn apart and eaten alive by zombies...

"If I could, I'd definitely choose suicide..."

That thought surfaced uncontrollably in An Rongru's grief. She prepared to close her eyes and endure the agony of being torn apart, but the misery she had imagined never came. All she heard were the zombies' hoarse, low roars. Turning around, she discovered in shock and delight that the zombies were struggling in place, as though an invisible giant hand had seized them, leaving them unable to come even one step closer.

Just as she was about to seize the chance to escape, An Rongru saw a figure slowly approaching from behind. She instantly understood that he had saved her.