The brave one

At that thought, Su Yue turned to look in a certain direction, and her eyes met Cao Chong's as he sat in his car, watching them the whole time.

Cao Chong, who always acted as if he feared nothing, visibly shuddered and instantly ducked his head.

He felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his throat.

He had two options now. One was to drive away. Even setting aside whether he could escape, where could he go?

He knew this world all too well. If he left the convoy and drove off alone, his chances of meeting another convoy along the way were slim. He would most likely drive into some unknown, terrifying deathtrap... and die in unbearable agony.

He couldn't understand why he was so unlucky. Of all these people, why did Su Yue have to awaken? Was her dead husband somehow watching over her?

The other option was to apologize, sincerely. As long as she wasn't a lunatic like Su Nian, he stood a decent chance of surviving.

Su Yue looked away.

So this was what it meant to be an awakened! A single glance had frightened Cao Chong that badly... Memories surfaced of all the times he had harassed her and wished death on her husband.

Fang Cheng really was dead!

"What are you looking at?" Su Nian turned to look too.

"Captain, can I kill someone?" Su Yue asked quietly.

If she hadn't happened to awaken, she could imagine what her future would have been like... miserable!

Su Nian looked a little taken aback. "Who do you want to kill?"

"Cao Chong, probably. That guy's a troublemaker among the ordinary survivors. He's always bullying people." Hao Ren rubbed his chin.

He kept up with a little gossip. Zhang Ping would tell him things while they traveled at night, just to pass the time.

"Oh, there's something I should tell you." Hao Ren looked at Su Yue. "He was the reason your husband lost an arm. Cao Chong shoved him out to block a Cat Ghost, and it bit his arm off. I happened to see it from a building."

Cao Chong made a useful stirrer of trouble. As long as he operated within the rules, he could churn up a stagnant pond, making the fish far more lively and more likely to transform.

People's minds tended to become more active under oppression, which was good for the convoy.

But now that Su Yue had awakened, and given what he knew of their grudge, that little troublemaker was worth nothing next to an awakened.

Su Yue's hand shook, and the paper cup slipped off the table. Her eyes instantly reddened.

If she hadn't awakened, she wouldn't even have been entitled to know the truth. Fang Cheng had never mentioned it, not even before he died.

"Then just butcher him. Want me to help?" Su Nian offered enthusiastically.

As captain, helping out a teammate was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?

Hao Ren's expression turned odd. He felt that Su Nian was showing Su Yue a little too much concern. He had helped try to lift her curse, and although that hadn't worked, he had helped her kill her husband afterward.

Now he was offering to avenge her too... Did he have some special fetish for pregnant women?

Su Yue hesitated. She felt she was imposing too much on Su Nian, but she really didn't have the courage to do it herself.

Then Hao Ren spoke.

"An awakened has to spill some blood sooner or later. Otherwise, how will you face supernatural horrors in the future?"

"Exactly! You're not like Su Nian. He was pretty ruthless even before he awakened," Gong Qing agreed.

He had particularly admired that at the time... After all, a coward was a burden even if they were awakened.

"If I hadn't been ruthless, I'd be dead. Every night when I went to bed, I thought about how to kill someone."

He had simulated murder in his head several times, rehearsing it over and over... And honestly, it really worked.

His grandfather had taught him that method. Back when he was afraid to kill chickens, he had rehearsed it like this, thinking everything through. Then he could grab a chicken decisively and slit its throat without hesitating the way he used to.

Once he had killed enough chickens, he had started learning to slaughter pigs and cattle.

Hao Ren gave him a thumbs-up... You're something else.

The first time he had killed someone, he had suffered nightmares for several nights.

"I'll give it a try." Su Yue took a deep breath, her gaze growing a little firmer.

If she wanted to protect herself and her child, awakening alone certainly wasn't enough. Confidence and courage mattered just as much.

"Let's go, then. We'll eat and sleep once it's done." Su Nian picked up the Sin-Cleaving Butcher Knife from the table.

If he got a stab in before the guy was completely dead, it should still count for 100 survival points.

Couldn't let that go to waste.

Sitting in his car, Cao Chong watched the awakened get up, and his panic reached its peak.

When he saw Su Yue take a knife someone handed her, his last shred of hope shattered. A glint of madness flashed in his eyes.

If they wouldn't let him live, he would take them down with him. Nobody could punish him, Cao Chong-not even the awakened!

"What did it feel like the first time you killed someone?" Su Yue looked at Wen Keyi. Another woman's experience might be more useful.

"It just felt pretty cruel," Wen Keyi said.

"How did you deal with it?"

"Just don't look!"

"How do you kill someone without looking?"

"The captain..." Wen Keyi paused. Hao Ren wasn't the captain anymore. "When the vice-captain made me kill people, I usually poisoned them. I've never killed anyone with a knife."

Wen Keyi told the truth.

Hao Ren pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling rather helpless. He had only wanted to build Wen Keyi's courage, but without some major setback, a person's temperament simply couldn't be changed.

Wen Keyi had joined his convoy as soon as she transmigrated and had never switched groups. Her only setbacks had been going hungry for a few days and falling seriously ill... Then she had awakened. She was practically a protagonist!

And afterward, that bastard Gong Qing was always saying things like, "Don't force her. Poisoning them counts too."

Wen Keyi had only ever poisoned one person. That person had spent over half an hour in agony before dying with blood pouring from every opening in his head. He had truly suffered.

An engine roared, and the surrounding survivors looked over in confusion.

The instant the car shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Some people were shocked... Does he have a death wish? He actually dares to run down the awakened.

A very bright, almost cruel gleam flashed through some people's eyes. Letting the awakened experience the fury of those at the bottom wasn't a bad thing.

Others remained indifferent, as though watching a meaningless play.

The Blood Eye between Su Nian's brows opened, shooting out scarlet light. His Blood Eye could immobilize supernatural horrors, and it worked on humans too. But when he saw Gong Qing raise a hand, he stopped before going any further.

Cao Chong, his face twisted with madness, went rigid for an instant... The negative emotions in his mind were instantly drawn away... A voice sounded in his head, and he instinctively hit the brakes. Bewilderment filled his face, swiftly followed by terror.

It's over!

Trembling, Cao Chong took out a cigarette, lit it, and got out of the car. He looked at the five awakened approaching him and gave a bitter smile. He couldn't even fight back.

"Come on!" Cao Chong spoke before Su Yue could say anything.

"My husband lost his arm because of you, didn't he?"

"Women are always women. So much fucking dithering." Cao Chong sneered. "Yeah, I did it. So what? You just got lucky. Otherwise, you'd be having a good time under me right now."

"And you lot. Aren't you just lucky too? What have you got to be so smug about? I've been sick of you for ages." Cao Chong turned his attack on Su Nian and the others.

At this point, he was dead anyway. Today, he, Cao Chong, was going to be the brave one for once.