In barely ten minutes, the battle was over.
Zhang Cheng and his seven or eight subordinates were brought under control.
Looking at the others who had betrayed him, he roared in impotent rage, "Wasn't I good enough to you? Why did you betray me!"
The group of ability users who had rallied behind Chu Liuyue consisted of both men and women. One of the women couldn't help but speak up, "Good? What do you mean by good?"
"Every time we go out on scavenging missions, we're the ones risking our necks."
"And you? You do absolutely nothing, yet you get to lie back in the base and enjoy the best food and the best conditions."
Another man added with bitter resentment, "Did you think we joined you willingly?"
"If you hadn't controlled our families... My sister was so young. I begged you, I begged you not to touch her, boss."
"But when I came back from my mission, she had committed suicide."
"You told me she was scratched by a zombie and had to be disposed of. Did you really think I'd believe that?!"
There was no need to incite a rebellion at all.
Zhang Cheng's actions had already provoked widespread anger and resentment. The moment someone sparked a glimmer of hope, those people naturally chose to join in.
"Sister Yue, how should we deal with this man?" Li Xichen's eyes were icy cold.
Chu Liuyue smiled.
"Since his victims are here, let's hand Zhang Cheng over to them."
"They can deal with him however they see fit."
Li Xichen nodded. "Alright."
Next, it was Gu Man's turn.
She couldn't even fathom how Zhang Cheng, who had been cursing arrogantly just ten minutes ago, was now utterly defeated.
She couldn't believe it.
So the gap in strength between ability users could be this massive.
Her legs went weak, and she stumbled two steps backward.
Chu Liuyue stepped forward in her small black leather boots, advancing step by step.
"Gu Man, are you afraid?" She curled her lips into a smile.
Gu Man's face was pale. In the distance, Zhang Cheng's miserable shrieks could still be heard.
Her body trembled.
Feigning composure, she said, "Afraid? I'm not afraid."
Then she hastily added, "Chu Yue, you can't hurt me."
"My dad might be dead, but my uncle is a high-ranking official at the Kyoto Survivor Base. If you hurt me..."
"My uncle will never let you off!"
"The whole country has fallen, and the only hope left is in Kyoto. If you want to live, let me go."
Gu Man was still stubbornly putting up a tough front.
Chu Liuyue, however, let out a low chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?" Gu Man glared with wide eyes.
In reality, her hand was secretly groping for the dagger hidden at her waist.
She stared fixedly at Chu Liuyue.
Watching the other woman draw closer, step by step.
Just a little closer.
Just a little closer, and she could take her down with her.
But as luck would have it, Chu Liuyue's footsteps halted.
"Did you think I would let you leave here alive?" Her tone darkened.
Gu Man panicked.
Her gaze darted past Chu Liuyue to the men standing behind her.
She yelled at Zhou Yu'an, "Zhou Yu'an! Are you dead? Are you just going to watch this crazy woman kill me?"
Zhou Yu'an took a step forward.
A glimmer of hope flashed in Gu Man's eyes.
But in the next second, she heard him say, "I forgot to tell you."
"There is no marriage alliance."
"My dad is dead, and this marriage was his decision. So, I have nothing to do with you anymore."
"You brought this upon yourself."
"Don't blame anyone else."
Gu Man's face turned ashen.
She looked at Yan Qingdu with pleading eyes.
Her voice was tinged with a pitiful vulnerability.
"Senior Yan, Senior Yan, we worked together in the Student Council for so long."
"And you know that I've always secretly liked you."
"Are you really going to watch me get killed by this crazy woman, Chu Yue?"
Yan Qingdu's footsteps also shifted.
Chu Liuyue didn't even turn her head; she remained perfectly calm, a faint smile playing on her lips.
It wasn't until Yan Qingdu stopped beside her that she asked, "You want to do it?"
"Yeah." Yan Qingdu nodded. "I'll do it."
"But do you want to make a few cuts first to vent your anger?" His tone was nonchalant, and his posture was lazy, with both hands tucked into his pockets.
Gu Man looked at Chu Liuyue, then at Yan Qingdu.
Her body trembled.
She couldn't help but take another step back.
"What... what do you guys mean?"
"Senior Yan, are you crazy? You want to kill me?"
Gu Man, who had been forcing herself to stay calm, finally broke down. She was so terrified that her face turned deathly pale, and even her hand reaching for the dagger paused.
Yan Qingdu lifted his leg and, with swift precision, kicked it away.
Clang—
The metal hit the ground with a crisp sound.
Gu Man instinctively crouched down to pick up the dagger, but in the next second, the metal blade floated in mid-air as if gripped by an invisible giant hand.
Following the trajectory, she saw Chu Liuyue looking back at her with a beaming smile.
"Y-Your ability..." Gu Man's face showed sheer disbelief as she continued, "How is this possible! How could it be? You actually awakened an offensive ability."
She muttered softly to herself, "The red potion, the red potion. If only I had drunk it."
"The ability would have been mine."
Chu Liuyue suddenly spoke.
"Gu Man."
"You're always like this."
"Anything good, anything beneficial, has to be yours."
"Anything that threatens you, or even things that don't belong to you, you will try every possible way to torture or destroy."
"What gives you the right?"
Gu Man opened her mouth and instinctively retorted, "Because I am a superior person, of course! And you're just a lowly, ugly woman!"
"A superior person?"
Chu Liuyue raised an eyebrow.
The smile on her lips carried a hint of mockery.
"But it's the apocalypse now."
"Can your family background still support your wicked deeds?"
"Gu Man, your father is dead, your uncle is far away in Kyoto, and even your man is being beaten half to death by other ability users."
"You have no abilities. You're just an ordinary person."
"Are you still a superior person?"
As her words fell, the dagger held in the void slashed down.
The first cut.
It landed on her arm.
"Ah—" Gu Man let out an agonizing howl. "My arm, my arm hurts so much!"
Chu Liuyue's eyes were cold, her tone eerily calm.
"You ran away very fast."
"How did you escape?"
"On the stairs, you pushed your assistant and driver down, didn't you?"
The second cut.
It landed on her ankle.
Gu Man could no longer stand high and mighty; her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground.
Chu Liuyue curled her lips.
"Your feet are so lofty, they can't be stained by dirt."
"How many girls' faces have you stepped on with them?"
"Simply because they also liked the Student Council President, Yan Qingdu? Even though Yan Qingdu is nothing more than a casual acquaintance to you?"
Gu Man grimaced in pain.
She howled, "Kill me if you have the guts!"
"What's the point of dawdling around here?"
"Chu Yue, you ugly monster! Who knows how many times you've been under the knife to look the way you do now!"
After saying that, she couldn't help but burst into maniacal laughter.
"Yes, you reminded me." Chu Liuyue's lips curved into the faintest of arcs.
She gently raised her hand.
In the empty air.
The dagger plunged down once more.
This time, it landed right on Gu Man's face.
"The ugly monster."
"Is you."
