Everyone Else Was Spineless, but You Had to Act Tough

Cao Chong's voice was loud. The air around them seemed to freeze, and even the surrounding gray mist stopped churning.

"Interesting." Su Nian smiled. "I respect a real man like you. I've decided not to kill you."

Su Yue looked puzzled... but after a moment's thought, she figured Su Nian must have something else in mind.

Gong Qing and Hao Ren remained expressionless. They had survived in this world for a year-what hadn't they seen? If they hadn't seen ten thousand people shouting about injustice, they had seen at least eight thousand.

Wen Keyi, meanwhile, was a little angry. She had never bullied people just because she was an awakened, yet Cao Chong, a villain without the slightest remorse, was still complaining that fate was unfair.

"You're not going to kill me?" Cao Chong sounded surprised. The cigarette slipped from between his fingers.

"That's right. I'm not going to kill you. I've decided to cut through the muscles beneath your eyes with a knife. Whenever you close your eyes, you'll tear the wounds open, so you'll have to keep them open forever. I also have a rusty sickle. I'll make a thousand cuts on your body. When the pain makes you cry, your tears will run into the wounds. That'll hurt, and then they'll get infected and inflamed."

Cao Chong's face instantly turned white... but Su Nian kept talking.

"I'll also sprinkle salt into every wound on your body. When they scab over, I'll scrape them open and sprinkle in more salt, over and over again. Don't think you can die, either. She awakened a sequence with healing abilities. She'll keep you alive."

Su Nian pointed at Su Yue.

"Then I'll build a big cross and nail you to it, with a couple of candles burning under your feet... There's too much to explain right now. You can experience it all at your leisure. I have plenty of tricks."

"Two of you, get over here and tie him up. I'm going to make sure his heroic spirit lives on," Su Nian called toward the escort vehicle.

Tang Zhou's eyes lit up. The axe being sharpened was promptly set down, and Tang Zhou ran over... Tang Chen hurried after.

"Let go of me!" Cao Chong's voice was filled with terror.

Tang Zhou didn't hesitate, driving a knee hard into Cao Chong's lower abdomen. Cao Chong cried out in pain, his body curling up like a cooked shrimp.

Tang Chen grabbed one of his arms and twisted it hard, forcing Cao Chong to his knees.

"Captain... please, I won't do it again. Just kill me. Please."

Cao Chong was scared.

"You had the nerve to act tough in front of me and turn me into the villain. What are the others supposed to think of me now?"

Su Nian crouched down and slapped the gleaming golden Sin-Cleaving Butcher's Knife against Cao Chong's face.

If he actually let Cao Chong pull it off, wouldn't everyone start coming up to put on a show of defiance? How could the convoy function if there was no order among its members?

"I was wrong. I just wanted to act tough. I was wrong." Cao Chong choked on his words as tears ran from the corners of his eyes, one from fear, another from pain.

He had only wanted to play the tough guy, not actually be one.

"I still prefer that defiant look you had earlier... Do it!" Su Nian looked at Su Yue.

He was only scaring Cao Chong because he was annoyed. When would he have time for all that? It would be a waste. If Cao Chong really had any backbone, perhaps he would give it a try. Everyone else was spineless, yet this one man just had to pretend he wasn't.

Su Yue's eyes reddened, and she brought her blade down hard, but it didn't cut all the way through... The Sin-Cleaving Butcher's Knife pierced Cao Chong's heart, and blood spurted out as Su Nian withdrew it.

[Ding! Gained 100 survival points.]

[Survival points: 1,840]

Cao Chong's body was tossed into the gray mist. All twenty survivors who had arrived the previous night looked grim.

Sun Hao asked the people nearby, trying to find out whether there had been a reason.

The only answer he got was that an awakened didn't need a reason to kill.

Could they really stay somewhere people were killed on a whim?

They had originally wanted to find an opportunity to approach the captain. Now, none of them dared.

Li Cheng looked at Sun Hao. "You're a smooth talker. Go ask."

"I'm not going!" Sun Hao shook his head repeatedly.

He had realized he wasn't a smooth talker at all. Every attempt just got him cursed out. These people all had filthy mouths.

Li Cheng glanced at Zhao Lin, who was sprawled on the ground, sleeping soundly, and was left speechless.

Then he looked in another direction.

"Hey, pull your weight. Aren't we all on the same team? How are we supposed to get by later if we don't secure at least some say in things?"

Their group of twenty was actually made up of two separate groups. He and several coworkers had teamed up to seek shelter in a cave on a remote mountain. Along the way, they had met another group heading there for the same reason.

That group even had a female celebrity with four bodyguards, two women and two men. He had seen what she looked like. She certainly had her charms, but she wasn't as pretty as she looked online. All that talk of breathtaking beauty was pure exaggeration.

He had seen women just as attractive in everyday life. They only lacked a little of her presence.

"My people are finding out what's going on," Xiao Shengge said coldly.

Those people refused to talk simply because there was nothing in it for them. Given something in return, they were still willing to share. She had traded the gold jewelry she was wearing for plenty of supplies last night, so things were manageable for now.

No one knew she still had quite a bit of gold in her bag-a full three kilograms. She had bought some when gold prices dropped and brought it all with her when she fled. She hadn't expected it to be useful here.

The people here only accepted gold. Cash, jewelry, and luxury watches were all worthless to them.

Gold must have had some use she didn't know about.

A moment later, a capable-looking woman returned and leaned down to whisper into Xiao Shengge's ear.

"Speak up so everyone can hear," Li Cheng said with a frown.

Xiao Shengge ignored him. As the woman whispered, her brows drew together.

These people had all crossed over at different times. The earliest group had arrived a year ago, and this place was full of unkillable horrors.

There was no going back to their former world. Following the convoy was their only way to survive.

Xiao Shengge wore a wasteland-style sun-protection jacket. Its broad hood, along with a pair of oversized black sunglasses, concealed her face completely.

The situation was dire. Thanks to her gold, she didn't need to worry about food or water for the moment. What she needed to worry about was her own safety.

The people she had paid to hire were already beginning to ignore her orders. More precisely, within a day or two at most, she would no longer be able to command them.

Her safety was an urgent concern. She couldn't protect her gold, nor could she protect herself.

"Jiang Ying, I want to talk to that captain," Xiao Shengge said.

Jiang Ying was the person she trusted most right now. They had grown up together, and once Xiao Shengge had gained a little popularity, she had brought Jiang Ying over to be her assistant. They had always been close.

"But they say he's hard to get along with. He's killed several people in the past few days." Apprehension showed on Jiang Ying's face.

"Then why would he trade supplies for our gold? Why not just take it?" Xiao Shengge asked.

Sometimes, appearances weren't enough to judge by.

"Then I'll go with you," Jiang Ying said.

"No, stay here." Xiao Shengge shouldered her bag and rose from the ground.

I need to set things up slowly. There's no rushing this. Step one: borrow someone else's power.

She walked toward Su Nian's vehicle, taking a 200-gram piece of gold from her bag as she went and slipping it into her pocket. She unzipped her jacket, lowered the oversized hood, then took off her sunglasses and put them in her bag.