Chapter 8

Squelch!

Qiu Shuyu's axe struck the side of Shang Bao's neck, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

Shang Bao couldn't even scream. His throat and tongue had been paralyzed too, leaving only his eyes, which went wide with agony, thick with bloodshot veins.

The sight was horrifying.

Both Song Xiaozhu and Qiu Shuyu were stunned.

Song Xiaozhu hadn't expected Qiu Shuyu to appear out of nowhere, much less bring her axe down so fiercely and kill Shang Bao outright.

Qiu Shuyu was even less prepared for what she saw.

Granted, Qiu Shuyu was known for her ferocity in the scavenger community and sometimes brandished an axe to scare people, but she had never actually thought of killing anyone.

When she had rushed into the shack with her axe and seen Shang Bao up to no good, she had mostly meant to intimidate him. How could she have known he wouldn't even dodge, taking the axe blow head-on?

Qiu Shuyu stared blankly. "Why... why didn't he dodge...?"

Drenched in blood, Song Xiaozhu jolted at her words and quickly realized what had happened-

It wasn't that Shang Bao hadn't wanted to dodge. He couldn't move.

The "milk candy" had paralyzed him.

Qiu Shuyu hadn't actually meant to strike him, only to scare him. She had never imagined Shang Bao wouldn't be able to get out of the way.

Song Xiaozhu took a deep breath. "Sister Shuyu, I'll never forget that you saved my life. I'll handle this. I won't let you get dragged into it!"

Chapter 8

As she spoke, Song Xiaozhu had already found an old towel. She wet it and carefully wiped the blood from Qiu Shuyu's face and neck.

Qiu Shuyu had been farther away, so not much blood had splashed onto her. She had put on a coat before coming out, and only the coat was bloodstained.

Song Xiaozhu deftly took off her coat and added, "This coat won't wash clean. Leave it here. I'll deal with it."

Qiu Shuyu's hands and feet were icy. Pale-faced, she looked at the girl, who was likewise covered in blood. "Xiaozhu..."

Song Xiaozhu met her eyes and said gently, "Go back and rest. Remember, you never left your shack tonight, and you didn't see anyone.

Clearly, this sudden turn of events had dealt Qiu Shuyu an enormous shock. Her mind was muddled, and she could only nod blankly. She didn't even know how she left Bai Jing's shack or returned to her own.

Killing...

She had killed someone...

Even though she had fought for her life against people on Garbage Mountain, Qiu Shuyu had never thought of killing anyone.

She was afraid of killing.

It was precisely because she didn't want to kill that she had fled Ink City.

The plank bed, the dressing table-the familiar surroundings had somehow become unfamiliar. Qiu Shuyu saw her reflection in the mirror:

Her face was pale, even her lips drained of color. Her eyes stared fixedly, seemingly threaded with bright red veins-the sight of Shang Bao turning his head in despair was seared into her mind.

She had killed Shang Bao!

She had killed the Shang family's only male of this generation!

Qiu Shuyu's mind, frozen by shock and fear, slowly began to turn again. She realized how serious this was.

Shang Bao had died in Master Bai's shack.

Song Xiaozhu had taken everything upon herself.

-I'll handle this. I won't let you get dragged into it.

Two sharp slaps rang out.

Qiu Shuyu slapped herself twice and muttered, "Qiu Shuyu, you coward. You did it, but you won't own up to it. How could you leave Xiaozhu to handle this alone? How could she possibly manage it? And Master Bai... did he go out on business... is that why Shang Bao dared to break in at night...?"

With these thoughts, Qiu Shuyu hurried out of her shack.

Song Xiaozhu hadn't been making empty boasts. She really could handle this.

The moment Shang Bao fell, a notification had sounded in her mind: "Growth Quest B completed. Rewards: 5 Quantum Coins, 10 Repair Points."

The crisis state had ended. The "intruder" had indeed been Shang Bao.

Although the "intruder" was dead, Song Xiaozhu had

already made her choice earlier, so she had only completed Quest B.

Hearing that she had received five Quantum Coins, Song Xiaozhu immediately had a bold idea:

Buy Random Synthesis attempts.

She was going to perform "Random Synthesis"!

And her material would be the corpse before her.

Song Xiaozhu summoned the "Workbench." The snow-white "Workbench" settled into the pool of blood, but the blood couldn't stain it red. Its appearance even considerably thinned the dizzyingly strong metallic stench around it.

The "Workbench" was only a meter wide, while Shang Bao was at least 1.8 meters tall.

How was she supposed to move an adult onto a child's desk?

Song Xiaozhu spotted the blood-covered axe...

Dis... dismember him?

No, no...

She couldn't do it.

Song Xiaozhu let out a soft breath, gritted her teeth, and hauled Shang Bao up. The wet slipperiness against her hands made her stomach churn. As an ordinary person raised in a law-abiding society, how could she ever have imagined a day like this?

Forcing her hands to stop trembling, she pulled and dragged him, finally managing to get Shang Bao onto the Workbench.

Fortunately, this "Workbench" defied science. The moment the 1.8-meter-tall Shang Bao was placed on it, he shrank into a human model about thirty centimeters long. Even the bloody wound became indistinct.

A notification sounded: "Corresponding recipe not unlocked. Random Synthesis attempts remaining: zero. Please use Quantum Coins to purchase attempts."

Hearing this notification, Song Xiaozhu felt a chill shoot up her spine.

Corresponding recipe not unlocked...

There were actually recipes that used "human corpses" as materials?

Song Xiaozhu's heart trembled involuntarily. She selected Random Synthesis, and a thin mist enveloped the shrunken corpse. A notification sounded in her ears: "The current 'Workbench' level is too low. Only Random Inferior Synthesis is available. Continue?"

Song Xiaozhu understood what the notification meant. By its assessment, the corpse's material grade was high enough, but the "Workbench" level was too low. Performing Random Synthesis now would be wasteful, which was why it was asking whether she wanted to continue.

The corner of Song Xiaozhu's mouth twitched. "Continue."

She didn't care what the random synthesis produced. She only wanted to "destroy the corpse and erase the evidence"!