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Anyone hanging around the tavern at this hour was bad news. They saw right through Shang Bao and knew he had his sights on the kid Master Bai had picked up.

After Shang Bao staggered drunkenly out of the tavern, they huddled together. "Shang Bao's got some nerve, going after someone Master Bai picked up."

Luo Tong scoffed. "You think he's really that stupid? All he has to do is scare the kid into keeping her mouth shut, and Master Bai probably won't have any way of finding out."

"True enough..."

Everyone in the tavern knew perfectly well what was going to happen. Yet they merely picked up their cups, drank their heavily watered-down liquor, and went back to discussing Liu Family Village.

Song Xiaozhu sat inside the shack, on full alert.

She gripped the skinning knife in her right hand and held an unwrapped milk candy in her left.

The exclamation mark in the upper right corner of her vision flashed silently, like muffled drumbeats pounding heavily against her heart.

Agonizing.

Utterly agonizing.

A sword hung over her head. She knew it would fall, but not when. The feeling was unbearable.

Who exactly was the "intruder"?

Was it Shang Bao, another scavenger, or one of the refugees outside?

Perhaps this "scavenger" wasn't even human?

Song Xiaozhu had already sorted through Li Siyuan's jumbled memories. This girl, who lived in a wasteland world, had led an even more sheltered life than she had in an age of peace and prosperity.

In Li Siyuan's memories, the Clouds stood high above everything, and the Holy City was prosperous and wealthy, its resources inexhaustible. Life was so happy that it was utterly boring.

In her memories, this world had no danger and no anomalies.

Song Xiaozhu didn't see it that way.

Never mind anything else-the complete absence of animals in the scavenger community alone warranted serious thought.

Then there was this "Damaged Synthesizer," clearly something out of the ordinary.

And she held this "anomaly."

Could this vast world really contain only this one "anomaly"?

Song Xiaozhu didn't believe it.

Thinking of the related works she had read, Song Xiaozhu could hardly help imagining things: with an extraterrestrial impact and the destruction of civilization, who knew what strange things the heavily contaminated plants and animals might mutate into?

Once her imagination went in that direction, Song Xiaozhu even felt that if the "intruder" was Shang Bao, that wouldn't be so bad.

Whatever else he was, he was human... Human scum was still human.

Song Xiaozhu's ears twitched. She heard footsteps drawing closer.

Here they come...

Who is it...

Song Xiaozhu's nerves were stretched to the limit, and the hand gripping the skinning knife trembled slightly. As a modern person who couldn't even bear to watch a chicken being slaughtered, she had never imagined she would face a day like this.

Kill someone?

Be killed?

Song Xiaozhu clenched her teeth.

Bang.

The man kicked down the rickety wooden door.

The heavy reek of liquor mixed with the stench of rot from the street and swept into the shack on the night wind.

Under the dim moonlight, the man's tall figure was intensely imposing.

Shang Bao.

Song Xiaozhu recognized him at a glance.

At this moment of crisis, she remained astonishingly calm and analyzed the situation-

Shang Bao knew Bai Jing wasn't home, so he kicked the door straight in;

He's been drinking. Did he hear the news at the tavern?

It looks like Bai Jing isn't in danger. He just went out to take care of something unexpected.

Song Xiaozhu felt a little more at ease and gained a grasp of the situation before her.

She only needed to use the "milk candy" to immobilize Shang Bao and truss him up. Once Bai Jing came back tomorrow, Shang Bao certainly wouldn't dare try anything.

As for the future...

One step at a time. Get through tonight first.

Song Xiaozhu didn't want to kill anyone. She had been born in a society governed by law and had her own bottom line.

As long as she could get out of the "crisis state," that would do. Although the Quantum Coins from Growth Quest B would be halved, the repair value would double, which wasn't necessarily a bad

thing.

Shang Bao had drunk a bellyful of liquor, and the cold wind had only made it go to his head even more. He stared at Song Xiaozhu, his desire growing. "Xiaozhu, come be with me. I promise I'll treat you well. What can that old man Bai Jing give you? Just give me a son, and I'll marry you... Yeah, I can marry you..."

As he spoke, he lunged drunkenly at her.

Shang Bao was quite thin, but he was tall-at least 180 centimeters. With a stretch of his arms, he could easily trap the small, skinny Song Xiaozhu.

The shack was cramped to begin with. Song Xiaozhu had nowhere to dodge.

But she hadn't intended to dodge.

Song Xiaozhu stared fixedly at Shang Bao. The instant he lunged, she shoved the "milk candy" she had prepared into his mouth.

Shang Bao visibly froze.

Suppressing her disgust, Song Xiaozhu smiled at him. "Brother Shang Bao, have some candy."

Her voice was clear and crisp, her smile sweet and docile. Shang Bao's already drunken mind instantly buzzed, burning even hotter. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed the "milk candy" in his mouth.

Song Xiaozhu watched him without blinking, observing his condition.

Shang Bao remained poised in mid-lunge. The instant the "milk candy" slid down his throat, he froze in place as though someone had pressed pause.

Shang Bao stared blankly, his lips moving before he blurted out, "What did you feed me?"

Song Xiaozhu stared at him, observing the progression of this "paralyzes the target's body" effect:

The "milk candy" took effect quickly. His limbs were paralyzed first, followed by his torso. His facial features seemed to be the slowest, especially his mouth.

"You actually dared to drug me," Shang Bao cursed. "...I'll fuck you to death, you fucking slut!"

The "milk candy's" paralysis lasted only three minutes. Song Xiaozhu had already swiftly grabbed a rope and was preparing to tie him up...

Just then, Qiu Shuyu's furious shout came from outside. "Well, well, Shang Bao! How dare you break into Master Bai's shack at night and bully Xiaozhu! I'll fucking hack you to death!" For some reason, when she saw Song Xiaozhu being bullied, the refreshing, whole-body comfort she had felt earlier as the cool water slid down her throat turned into indescribable rage.