The Exchange Sword in hand, a slacker's polite exchange...

"I think it's time for us to part."

The old man came up to Liu He, holding the jar they cherished. The corrupted, the anomalies, and the Blood Knight had once frightened and unnerved them, but now they had both regained their peace. The furrows on their faces relaxed, revealing the gentleness and kindness of their old age.

Because they had made their decision.

The decision to leave.

The couple rested their hands on each other's

hands and looked at Liu He together. "Thank you for escorting us all this way, Mr. Liu. We're truly ashamed. You ended up somewhere so dangerous because of us two old folks."

Liu He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. Finally, he said in a muffled voice, "This was my own choice."

The old man smiled at him, looking straight through to the kindness hidden beneath this young man's cold exterior.

Liu He said, "I said I'd take you home."

The old man gently shook his head. "We'll walk the rest of the way ourselves."

"You, you young people have your own paths to follow," the old woman said gently.

It wasn't that they didn't want to go together. They couldn't.

They couldn't drag the young people along to their deaths.

Liu He knew what the old couple meant. Everyone knew. They all understood perfectly.

"We'll head off while it's still early." The old man glanced outside. "If we leave now, we can get home sooner."

They might never make it home, either.

But they had returned to their hometown, after all, so there wasn't quite so much to regret.

Liu He spoke again. "I said I'd escort you."

He stood in the old couple's way.

Ji Jia joined the conversation too, taking Liu He's side and saying there was no hurry, that they could think of another way. Their fellow humans' kindness moved the old couple deeply, and made them even more determined to leave. Neither side would give in.

The nurse watched the scene. No one was paying attention to her now, so she wore an openly entertained expression, enjoying the show.

Something suddenly tightened around her finger. She looked down and saw that the sick child, unconscious with a high fever, had grabbed her. The child was so small she could only hold one finger, but the heat coming through was impossible to ignore, much hotter than before. To keep up her act, she had held this child so long that she had become familiar with her temperature.

What a troublesome little thing.

She poked the child's cheek with her finger. The feverish little girl's lashes trembled as she opened her eyes. The child's eyes were as pure as freshly melted spring snow, and the nurse saw herself reflected in them.

Looking at a monster with such a pitiful gaze-has the fever fried your brain?

The nurse's lips curled maliciously. Taking advantage of the child's haziness, she let her true nature show. Yet the child threw her arms around her, hugging her tightly, relying on her with her whole heart.

The nurse: "..."

The amusement and malice at the corners of her mouth faded a little.

Boring.

"Found it!"

Wang Zhiqiang shouted, holding up a medicine bottle. Ye Jiang paused, then slowly wriggled backward out of the cabinet.

"There really was medicine! What kind of ridiculous luck is this?"

Wang Zhiqiang was inexplicably excited, perhaps because he had taken part. Only when he saw the big shot walking toward him, her expressionless face jolting him, did he come to his senses and hastily rein in his emotions. He said sheepishly, "B-big shot, I found the medicine."

Ye Jiang took the medicine and compared it. This was the right one. No mistake.

She shook the bottle, listening to the sound inside.

Wang Zhiqiang watched her, waiting for something. After a while, when it didn't come, he felt a little disappointed. Only when bitterness welled up did he realize he was actually waiting for praise. His mouth twitched violently, and he immediately slapped his own malfunctioning head. Ye Jiang looked at him. Wang Zhiqiang turned his head aside and said, "Should we look for some other medicine?"

We're here already.

Recalling the little girl's painful convulsions, Ye Jiang said, "No."

This answer was within Wang Zhiqiang's expectations. Medicine was precious, but the big shot hadn't experienced the suffering in the city yet. Right now, she would definitely prioritize saving the little girl.

There was actually nothing funny about this. Rather, it inspired envy-envy of that little girl.

I'm thinking strange things again!

Wang Zhiqiang shook his head, shaking the rubbish out of his brain.

Ye Jiang didn't stay at the factory to search for medicine, but she did return to the security checkpoint for the food left behind. Everything was still there. With the Blood Knight here, no one had the leisure to come out scavenging for supplies. The Blood Knight wasn't nearby. Ye Jiang packed the canned food and bottled water from the car into a travel bag that had already been in Ji Jia's car. Then she went to Liu He's car and took all his personal supplies too. After counting all the food and drinks, Ye Jiang pushed the travel bag and medicine bottle toward Wang Zhiqiang. He accepted them, resigned to being the porter.

But then-

"Take these back."

"..."

Wang Zhiqiang froze. It took him a long while to find his voice. "Huh?"

Ye Jiang looked at his ears. This wasn't the first time she had suspected there was something wrong with his hearing.

Wang Zhiqiang's hearing was perfectly fine. He was just surprised. Shocked!

He tried to confirm it. "By myself?"

Ye Jiang said, "Yes. I have something else to do. I'll be back soon."

Wang Zhiqiang: "..."

I'm a petty thief with a record. How naive does someone have to be to trust me alone with important supplies?

Wang Zhiqiang touched his face, wondering whether he looked particularly honest.

He didn't find any honesty or integrity by touching it, only a handful of dry skin-even though he was an ability user, he had spent too long exposed to the sun.

The sun blazed fiercely, and Wang Zhiqiang's heart burned hot too. He declared firmly, "Big shot, I'll definitely get the supplies and medicine back. Right away!"

Ye Jiang said, "Give me a guarantee."

"I guarantee it!" Promises meant nothing to a despicable little man.

"What if you don't?"

"If I don't, may my ability be crippled and may I become an ordinary person!" The more Wang Zhiqiang spoke, the more smoothly the words flowed. The big shot was badass, but she was too naive. Utterly naive!

Ye Jiang stared at him. A trace of blood-red slowly surfaced in her dark eyes, surrounding her black pupils. For a moment, her eyes developed double pupils. Wang Zhiqiang didn't notice. He was absorbed in his own calculations. A moment later, Ye Jiang's eyes returned to black.

She blinked. For some reason, at that moment, she felt particularly reassured about this petty thief.

Though she had never possessed a complicated brain, her skull wasn't completely empty either. Yet she simply trusted this man. Perhaps it was because his guarantee had been particularly sincere? So she said, "You can go."

The petty thief left immediately, looking especially sunny and cheerful as he went. Ye Jiang watched him for a while, then turned back to fetch her apples. The apples had shriveled. She used [Sewing Box] to make them plump again, picked them up along with the shopping bag, and took one out to eat as she walked. The sunlight was fierce, but it still seemed bearable.

Scrape-

The familiar metallic sound came from two streets away. She headed toward the Blood Knight of her own accord.

Meanwhile, Wang Zhiqiang hurried out of the sun zone with the travel bag on his shoulder. The bag weighed against him, heavy with happiness.

Naive. Far too naive. How could I possibly take a whole bag of food back?

He liked naivety.

The big shot's companions were in the building ahead. He could already see it in the distance. He turned and darted off in another direction.

"Ha!"

"Hahaha!"

He laughed with abandon. The image of the little girl struggling flashed through his mind, and he forcibly suppressed it.

Canned food. Canned beef. I haven't eaten meat in so long!

His stomach growled.

He stopped, about to open a can to celebrate, when severe pain suddenly shot through his finger. It began in his finger, then spread to his limbs, to every part of his body. Something seemed to be forcibly torn from his soul, turning his eyes bloodshot in an instant.

"Aah!"

He screamed. Through his blood-red vision, he saw that the Blood Moon mark on his finger was...

Disappearing.

...What?

-"If I don't, may my ability be crippled and may I become an ordinary person!"

His own voice exploded through his mind like thunder.

The guarantee.

The ability.

Wang Zhiqiang's eyes widened.

When he tentatively walked back, toward where the big shot's companions were, the pain in his body noticeably eased, and the Blood Moon mark on his finger stopped disintegrating.

H-how is that possible?

How could anyone alter abilities? Th-that's practically the same as the Blood Moon itself. That's the domain of gods!

Horror filled him. His hand shook, and the travel bag fell from his shoulder. Coming to his senses, he scrambled onto the ground to retrieve it in a panic.

Utterly shaken, he picked up the travel bag and headed in the direction he should have gone.

The Blood Moon mark had stopped disappearing. His ability was still there, but...

Something felt wrong.

He summoned his ability system and discovered that his ability had dropped from E-rank to F-rank.

Wang Zhiqiang: !!!

Chapter 41: The Exchange Sword in hand, a slacker's polite exchange...

Ye Jiang walked down the street. The fierce sunlight rapidly stripped moisture from her skin, producing a needlelike stinging sensation, but that was all. No other consequences had appeared yet. She had not

developed dry, peeling skin like Wang Zhiqiang. Her skin remained pale and bloodless.

Crunch-she bit into the apple, and sweet juice filled her mouth.

Because she held an apple she loved, she wasn't impatient. She walked forward unhurriedly, stepping through the shadows of the buildings.

Someone swept past overhead, casting a shadow on the street that quickly vanished. She looked up, but the person had already passed.

Then another figure swiftly swept past. This time, Ye Jiang saw her. It was a woman, who noticed her too. As the woman looked down, their eyes met, and in that instant, both their minds stirred.

Why would someone wander around the sun zone with no regard for their life? Does she want to be a moth flying into a flame? the woman thought.