Predators!

These were a pair of beautiful hands!

The knuckles were distinct, the fingers fair and slender. The veins lay hidden beneath the flesh, not protruding in the slightest. Even every pattern on the skin was evenly formed, as if they had been meticulously sculpted by the Creator.

The Dogleg Knife, ground from an iron sheet, danced and spun swiftly between his fingers, carrying a pleasing beauty and a rhythm that could easily draw one in.

The knife's handle was rough and worn, with patches of rust that could not be fully scrubbed away. Yet its tip gleamed silver, capable of cutting iron like mud. Every strike landed precisely, cleanly severing an arm or slicing open someone's throat.

Every slash drew blood!

Yet the blade remained unstained!

Its edge was still crystalline white, without the slightest trace of red.

Its speed was simply too fast. By the time it sliced through flesh and severed limbs, the blood had not even had time to spurt forth and spread across its body.

The one holding the knife was a boy of fourteen or fifteen. His hair was somewhat long, as though it had not been cut for quite some time. Beneath the tangled hair, only half of his fairly handsome profile could be seen.

What left the deepest impression was his eyes. They were clear and bright. It was hard to imagine that such eyes could still exist in this treacherous, criminal world where lives were worth less than grass.

He had been smiling at them from the moment they first saw him, his smile sincere and even carrying an irresistible warmth.

Until he suddenly struck, slicing open the throat of the bald brute who had stepped forward to snatch the prey from his back.

Even then, the smile on his face did not fade in the slightest.

If anything, it became even more radiant than before.

"Do you still want it?" Tang Fei asked gently, a knife in one hand and a sheep in the other.

It was unfair, really. He had been carrying home the fruits of his labor without provoking anyone, only to be surrounded by a group of Predators.

The so-called Predators were a bandit organization made up of ruthless, physically strong Refugees.

When you had fought vicious beasts until you were exhausted and covered in wounds, they would appear at precisely the right moment.

They did not hunt. They were merely transporters of prey.

They moved it from other people's hands into their own, or from other people's homes back to theirs.

They burned, killed, robbed, and plundered, committing every evil imaginable.

They demanded that Tang Fei hand over his prey. How could he possibly agree?

Edible prey around human settlements was becoming increasingly scarce. As for places farther from the settlements, he did not dare go there.

If he gave them this Red-Horned Twin-Headed Sheep, his whole family would have to keep drinking old crow soup.

That old crow had been simmering in the pot for three days. The broth was pale and tasteless; if they had not fished it out in time, even its bones would have melted away.

So he made his choice without hesitation.

Scarface, the man leading them, looked at the Red-Horned Twin-Headed Sheep, fear surfacing in his eyes.

He knew he had made a fatal mistake. How could someone who had entered Hate Mountain alone, slaughtered a Red-Horned Twin-Headed Sheep by himself, and emerged completely unscathed possibly be prey they could covet?

At the time, he had thought they had strength in numbers. If all his brothers charged in with weapons and took the boy down, the Twin-Headed Sheep would be enough to give them a hearty meal. Perhaps they might even find other treasures on him.

A hunter who spent all day hunting hawks had been pecked in the eye by a fledgling hawk.

"You killed three of our brothers. You think we can just let that go?" Scarface said viciously.

To be honest, he was in a difficult position too.

They had intended to kill and rob first, but facing someone who had taken down three of their companions in an instant, he truly did not have much confidence.

If he said nothing, did nothing, and simply let the boy swagger away, his position as leader would be lost. He would no longer be able to command respect.

Someone stronger would step forward and challenge his authority.

The Predator group was exceptionally brutal inside, following the law of the jungle and respecting only strength.

No successor would ever feel at ease with the former leader remaining in the group. Therefore, the only thing awaiting him would be death.

That was exactly what he had done before!

Yet for some reason, the ferocity he deliberately displayed melted away without a trace when faced with the boy's smiling face.

You were seriously and earnestly delivering threats, while the other person merely kept looking at you with a cheerful smile.

Did he not care about your words at all, or did he simply hold you in complete contempt?

It gave him a feeling of helplessness that was strangely humiliating.

"How do you want to settle this?" Tang Fei asked.

"Leave the sheep behind, and you can go." Scarface gritted his teeth as he spoke. He clearly was not happy with the deal, but he had no other choice.

"Are you sure?"

"I swear on my life and everything I own."

"Deal." Tang Fei nodded. "One sheep for three lives. Not a bad trade."

He tossed the Twin-Headed Sheep in his hand forward, indicating that the prey now belonged to them, then turned and walked toward the edge of the forest.

Scarface watched the boy's thin back and pulled a completely black pistol from his clothes.

This was a rare item, something from before the Great Cataclysm. Back then, guns had been widespread in many countries, and buying one had been as easy as buying cabbage.

Of course, cabbage was not easy to buy now either.

After the Great Cataclysm, humanity's elites had migrated to New Star, while Blue Star had become a wasteland. Manufacturing guns again was extraordinarily difficult. Even those left behind had been consumed over centuries, leaving very few still in existence.

Yet the leader of these Predators had one hidden away. It seemed that in this Chaotic World, being a bandit really was a promising profession.

Scarface raised the gun, aimed at Tang Fei's back, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

How could he possibly let him go?

Everything he had done just now was merely to lull the boy into a false sense of security, making him believe he had escaped danger and lower his guard, before delivering a fatal strike at the critical moment.

Predators never left survivors.

As though he sensed something, Tang Fei suddenly stopped and turned to look in their direction.

He saw Scarface, and he saw the gun in Scarface's hand.

He was still smiling!

"Die!" Scarface roared.

He hated Tang Fei's smiling face. He swore that once the boy became a corpse, he would use a knife to cut off his face.

Then he would hang it from a branch to feed the man-eating ants.

Bang!

The bullet left the chamber.

At an unimaginable speed, it flew toward Tang Fei's head.

Tang Fei merely tilted his head. Yes, it looked as though he had casually flicked his long, matted hair aside.

He failed to flick it away!

Then the bullet grazed past his cheek.

The shot missed!

Just as Scarface was about to pull the trigger again and fire a second bullet, he felt a chill at the back of his neck.

Confused, he reached back and touched it.

His hand came away covered in blood!

His pupils dilated, and only then did he feel the pain.

First, a thin red line appeared there. Then the line grew thicker and larger, quickly turning into a gushing spray.

Behind him, a Dogleg Knife hovered in midair. It was the culprit that had sliced open the back of his neck.

It was utterly silent, yet it carried a chilling pressure that made one's spine go cold.

"Qi Control Technique!" Scarface cried out.

He had not expected to provoke a Cultivator, much less a Master who knew the Qi Control Technique.

He was so young. What gave him such... confidence?

"Surprised?" Tang Fei said with a smile. "Old Man once told me not to believe in human nature, because that thing does not exist at all."

"Predators leave no survivors. How could I possibly trust a group of Predators? How could I possibly believe that you would truly let me go?"

"If you want to blame someone, blame your terrible reputation and your habit of wiping everyone out."

Scarface felt his strength draining away rapidly. Even standing upright had become an extremely difficult task.

"So tired..." he muttered.

It was unclear whether he was lamenting how he felt at that moment or his turbulent life.

Then his eyes widened, and with a thud, he fell to the ground.

"Brother Hu."

"Boss."

"Everyone, get him! Kill this brat!"

The remaining seven Predators had bloodshot eyes. Gripping their weapons, they charged at Tang Fei.

Tang Fei raised his right hand and casually drew several lines through the air. Under the pull and control of his qi, the Dogleg Knife plunged into the crowd.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The charging bodies froze in one strange posture after another, followed by the repeated sounds of objects falling to the ground.

Cutting people was like cutting vegetables!

These bandits, who possessed only Brute Force, could not possibly contend with a Cultivator. They lived in two different worlds.

Tang Fei recalled the Dogleg Knife and searched through the Predators' bodies, stuffing every useful piece of supplies into his pockets. He was particularly covetous of the pistol in Scarface's hand.

Unfortunately, there were only three bullets in the magazine. That was far too few—not enough to use.

Thinking of that, he glared resentfully at Scarface again. Such a precious thing—why waste it on someone like him?

I don't deserve it!

"You wasteful bastard!" Tang Fei cursed angrily.

Scarface did not refute him.

After finishing this insignificant matter, Tang Fei hoisted the wild sheep from the ground onto his shoulder and set off toward home.

In this apocalyptic world, who was the hunter and who was the prey could only be decided at the moment one closed one's eyes.

Just then, a silver point of light suddenly appeared in the gray sky, as though ink had been diluted across it. The point grew larger and larger, carving a bright arc through the vast heavens as it fell toward the ground like a meteor, before crashing into the earth with a clang.

Tang Fei darted behind a massive boulder like a rabbit and hid himself. Yet unwilling to flee too far, he remained there and watched cautiously.

He had only killed a few Predators. There was no need to make such a big fuss, was there?

Clang!

A silver cabin door was shoved open with force, and a "person" wearing a black skintight uniform and a smart helmet of the same color crawled out of the cabin.

Why call it crawling?

Because the steel shell had flipped over when it crashed, leaving her face upward and her back downward as she slowly wriggled her way out.

Why her?

Because when she was using her body to plow the earth, her smart helmet had already opened its facial protection, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

Hiss.

Tang Fei gasped in amazement!

"Her face is so white!"

"Her family must not lack water!"

"She must wash her face at least three times a week!"

After Tang Fei spent a while envying the abundance of another family's resources, a new question arose:

Was this edible?

Wonderful, we meet again!