No worries, be more careful in your next life!

"No!"

Wang Xiaoxue froze at his refusal.

But then...

"You... you-you actually insulted me?!"

"We only wanted to borrow some supplies, and you actually insulted me?!"

Wang Xiaoxue raised her voice, drawing the attention of the surrounding crowd.

Fan Shang frowned at the sight.

Then he looked up at the still-shocked woman before him, his expression instantly turning hostile.

As before, he raised the bone cleaver in his hand and pointed it straight at her face.

The sharpened blade gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

"Get lost. I don't want to say it again!"

That was all Fan Shang said.

Wang Xiaoxue, who hadn't expected him to do that, recoiled several steps the moment she saw the blade.

But she quickly recovered.

Humiliated anger flashed across her face, and she immediately raised her voice.

"Pah! Who do you think you're scaring? Who do you think you're scaring with that knife?!"

"You think having a knife makes you something special? Come look, come look! Students, teachers, everyone come look! Someone's trying to murder me!"

At her words, everyone nearby immediately turned toward Wang Xiaoxue.

Seeing everyone's attention focused on her, she instantly grew even more aggressive.

She had nothing to fear now.

"It's this guy right here! We're classmates, after all. We only wanted to borrow some supplies. He has so much-what's wrong with lending us a little? It's not like we won't pay him back.

"We said we'd pay him back once we had supplies. But this guy doesn't care about his classmates at all. Fine, if he won't lend us anything, so be it."

"But you all saw that, right? I only said a couple more words, and he raised his knife to kill me! To kill me! Everyone, come look! Does he have any morals? Does the law mean nothing?!"

As she finished, the surrounding people began murmuring.

"Yeah, she's right. We're all students and fellow alumni of Orange City University. What's wrong with borrowing some supplies? We've all been dragged into this bizarre world and barely escaped from the university. This is exactly when we should be helping each other."

"Exactly. Everyone has hard times. What's wrong with helping a classmate who's short on supplies? And I know that guy, too. After one scavenging trip, some people saw he had plenty and went to borrow some. Guess what? He chased every one of them away."

"Hmph, I think that guy's just a creep. What's wrong with lending us some supplies? Us girls can't run as fast as guys, and gathering supplies is harder for us, too. I think he's deliberately discriminating against women."

"Hey, watch what you say. You can eat whatever you like, but you can't just say anything. We risked our lives gathering those supplies. That woman just opens her mouth and expects him to share with her? Why should he?!"

"Can you shut up, you fat pig? You stink. You're just as disgusting as that guy. Didn't she say she'd pay him back as soon as she had supplies...?"

The crowd clamored over one another. Some defended Fan Shang, but most of the voices sided with Wang Xiaoxue.

Hearing them, Wang Xiaoxue lifted her chin and puffed out her chest, her confidence growing considerably.

Fan Shang didn't particularly care about their words, but they still irritated him.

Especially with two flies buzzing right in front of him.

"I told you, I don't have much left myself. I'm not lending you anything."

Fan Shang repeated himself. Right now, he just wanted the two flies in front of him to get as far away as possible.

But now that Wang Xiaoxue held the moral high ground, how could she let it go? Was she supposed to leave and go hungry?

As she thought about it, her gaze was drawn to the black cat behind Fan Shang.

Greed flashed in her eyes, and saliva even began gathering in her mouth.

There was only one reason: she was craving meat.

People in the convoy had noticed Fan Shang's black cat long ago. When everyone else struggled to feed themselves, it was hard not to notice someone keeping a cat.

As a result, plenty of people had their eyes on the black cat.

But because Fan Shang never left the cat's side, none of them had managed to get their hands on it.

At that thought, Wang Xiaoxue suddenly had an idea, and her eyes lit up.

"You have no supplies? Ha, fine. But you still have that cat, don't you?"

"That's a big chunk of meat. If we slaughter it, pretty much everyone in the convoy can have some. It's fine if you don't have supplies. Just lend us the cat instead. Plenty of our classmates in the convoy haven't eaten in days. Everyone will thank you."

"What do you think, Fan Shang? Keeping that cat uses up your supplies anyway. If we take care of it for you, we'll help you save some supplies, won't we?"

Pfft-

For some reason, Fan Shang laughed when he heard that.

But unlike the faint smile on his lips, killing intent filled his eyes for the first time.

"Oh? Should I thank you, then?"

Honestly, Fan Shang had no idea how she could even say something like that. Who gave her the nerve?

"No need. We're classmates, after all. Helping each other is only natural. You don't have to thank me."

Wang Xiaoxue put on a magnanimous air.

Meanwhile, greed appeared on the faces of everyone who had heard her suggestion.

"That pretty girl, Wang Xiaoxue, is right. The cat's going to die sooner or later anyway. If we slaughter it, everyone in the convoy can get a piece. I haven't had meat in ages."

"Damn it, I spotted that black cat first. I just never managed to get my hands on it. Now I have to share it with you lot? Damn you, Fan Shang! Why couldn't you have died sooner?!"

"Tsk, cat meat? I've never tried it. What if it has rabies?"

"Rabies, my ass! Look at the situation we're in. It's the apocalypse! Even if it has rabies, you'll probably die before it catches up with you. What the hell are you worried about? Ah, wait, buddy. Right, right, it does have rabies. Don't eat your share-give it to me. I'll be grateful for the rest of my life."

"..."

Everyone talked over one another.

Some were delighted at the prospect of tasting cat meat, some cursed Fan Shang for not dying sooner, and others sighed that they should have killed the cat earlier.

After all, that would have left Fan Shang with more supplies to lend out.

All those supplies wasted feeding a cat-could that beast even appreciate them?

In short, everyone had something to say.

But they all agreed on one thing: they wanted cat meat. Not one of them cared what Fan Shang thought.

"Then it's settled. Fan Shang, give us your cat. Don't worry, we'll pay you back once we have supplies."

Wang Xiaoxue tossed her long, wavy hair as she spoke.

She silently congratulated herself on her cleverness. If it had only been her and her number-one simp, she would still have been a little afraid of Fan Shang. But adding "us" changed everything.

In Wang Xiaoxue's eyes, no matter how ruthless Fan Shang was, he wouldn't dare stand against so many people alone.

After all, he wasn't a sequence transcendent.

Still, the thought of her share of the cat meat shrinking so drastically left Wang Xiaoxue deeply unhappy.

If it weren't... for this damned creep.

At that thought, Wang Xiaoxue shot Fan Shang a venomous look.

As for Fan Shang, he didn't reply to any of her words. He merely swept an indifferent gaze over the crowd, silently running a finger along the spine of his bone cleaver.

It was as though he hadn't heard a thing.

His reaction gave Wang Xiaoxue an uneasy feeling.

But she quickly suppressed it and let out a cold snort.

"Hmph, what's this damned creep putting on airs for?!"

With that thought, Wang Xiaoxue turned to Liang You beside her.

"Liang You, what are you standing there for? Fan Shang didn't say anything, so he's agreed. Go grab that cat!"

"But..."

"But what? Are you going or not?!"

Liang You hesitated, but as he looked at the black cat before him, his craving for meat and food quickly overwhelmed everything else.

He immediately stepped forward, slowly reaching toward the black cat.

His movements were slow, as though he feared startling the cat.

"Here, kitty. Don't be scared. Come to me..."

As Liang You spoke, his hand drew closer and closer.

Little Black simply watched everything with mismatched eyes, showing no intention of running.

The cat merely continued licking its fur.

Wang Xiaoxue was pleasantly surprised. She could almost see Fan Shang helplessly watching as she slaughtered his cat, forced to swallow his frustration.

Just imagining the scene gave Wang Xiaoxue a secret thrill.

Meanwhile, Liang You's hand was already close.

Just a little closer, and he could snatch the black cat.

"Good kitty, don't be scared. Come to your big brother. Don't..."

Liang You spoke as he leaned closer, but just as he was about to enter striking range-

A sound suddenly rang out.

"Meow!"

It was the black cat.

Now!

Hearing that sound, Liang You reached for the black cat without the slightest hesitation.

But a streak of white light moved faster than him.

There was only a swish!

Four narrow objects fell to the ground.

A piercing scream rang out the next instant.

"Aaaaaah!"

Liang You, who had been about to touch the cat, now clutched his right hand. Four of its five fingers were gone, and blood kept pouring from the wounds.

Amid his screams, an icy voice filled with killing intent followed.

"Who gave you the nerve to touch my cat?"

Fan Shang's voice was quiet, but to Liang You, it sounded like the whisper of a demon from hell.

Hearing it, Liang You forgot his pain and wriggled backward, trying to get away.

He had never imagined it. He had never imagined that Fan Shang would actually attack him over a cat.

But he had no time to think about that now. He only wanted to run, because he could tell Fan Shang really intended to kill him.

"Fan Shang, I was wrong! Spare me! I won't do it again! I'll never try to grab your cat again..."

Liang You begged for mercy.

What he didn't know was that, of all the things he could have done, targeting Little Black was the one thing he should never have tried. If he had merely insulted Fan Shang a few times, Fan Shang might not even have cared.

But he had targeted the black cat, and that meant Fan Shang would kill him no matter what.

When he had first arrived in this world, supernatural horrors had roamed the university, with danger lurking everywhere. Ordinary people couldn't even see some of those horrors. If Little Black, the Black Cat, hadn't guided him and helped him avoid danger, Fan Shang would have died dozens of times over.

To Fan Shang, Little Black wasn't just a cat, but a companion he could trust absolutely.

Insulting him was fine. Targeting Little Black wasn't!

"No worries, be more careful in your next life!"