"Get lost! All of you get the hell out, all of you get-urgh... URGH!"
"Are you done?"
An iron pair of pliers forced its way into Zhao Yin's mouth and wrenched his tongue out.
Snip.
Zhang Dongliang, his adopted son, sliced it clean off. Zhao Yin couldn't speak another word. His bloodshot eyes, however, didn't spare a single glance at the man torturing him. Instead, they remained fixed on the three women across from him.
Those three women-the same "stupid women" he'd always cursed at.
He'd barely ever looked them in the eye. Yet here they were, at the very end, risking everything to save a dead man walking.
All three were watching him now, tears streaming down their faces.
Behind them stood the teleportation portal Zhao Yin had prepared as a contingency.
One step through, and they'd live. But none of them moved.
"Brother Yin, where would we even go?" A bitter smile crossed Ning Yue's face.
Gone was her usual cold arrogance. In its place, a rare trace of tenderness.
"If not for Brother Yin's protection, I, Jiang Xin'er, would've been reduced to some Esper's plaything long ago. If Brother Yin can't leave, then Xin'er won't either!" Jiang Xin'er's smile was just as bleak.
"Brother Yin, I'll die with you."
The youngest-looking girl-Xiaodao-spoke through her tears, her voice eerily calm.
Zhao Yin was bound hand and foot, an anti-magic collar clamped around his neck. Tongueless. His white shirt soaked crimson.
He never imagined Paradise Base would fall so quickly.
He never imagined his most trusted adopted son, Zhang Dongliang, would betray him-get him drunk, tie him up, and hand him over to the enemy.
He never imagined that when the dust settled, everyone in the base would either be dead, turned traitor, or fled.
And that these three women would be the ones who stayed behind to save him.
Seven years into the apocalypse, Zhao Yin had had countless women. These three were just a few among many.
If he hadn't been pushed to the brink, he might never have learned who around him was truly human.
And how many were dogs.
But it was too late now.
Three women without a single ability between them couldn't save him.
"Tonight, no one leaves."
A tall, handsome man stepped forward from the crowd.
"Zhao Yin, I didn't expect you to hand the Heavenly Sun Thunder over to these three. To save you, they blew up nearly ten thousand of my men. That debt falls on your head."
Zhao Yin finally turned his gaze toward the speaker.
Lin Tianfeng.
His former best friend.
The current Lord of Contracts.
One of the most powerful beings in the apocalypse.
They'd met at the very beginning of the end times. Back then, Lin Tianfeng couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. Zhao Yin saved his life, and Lin Tianfeng swore brotherhood to him.
They'd walked through fire together, countless times.
But unlike Zhao Yin-who'd only awakened a B-rank ability and survived on cunning alone-Lin Tianfeng had awakened an SSS-rank ability.
Soul of Contract.
Two years ago, they'd had a falling out over something trivial. But Zhao Yin knew the truth: even without that incident, Lin Tianfeng had already been planning to push him aside.
As Lin Tianfeng grew stronger, Zhao Yin could no longer keep pace.
To outsiders, it was an embarrassment-the mighty Lord of Contracts calling some B-rank nobody "Big Brother."
So two years ago, Zhao Yin took a group of followers and left the base they'd built together. He struck out on his own.
He thought they'd go their separate ways. Live and let live.
He never imagined Lin Tianfeng had already turned his adopted son against him. That he'd come to wipe him out completely.
"Zhao Yin, the Lord of Contracts has always been benevolent and righteous. I've just acknowledged him as my adoptive father!" Zhang Dongliang announced.
The pliers in his hand still gripped half of Zhao Yin's tongue, blood dripping from it.
Zhao Yin laughed bitterly, staring at the adopted son who once groveled at his feet, and the "brother" he'd personally raised to power.
Benevolent and righteous? In this godforsaken apocalypse?
Lin Tianfeng's reputation for virtue was something Zhao Yin had crafted for him. Every scheme, every power play that built Lin Tianfeng's empire-Zhao Yin's handiwork.
Without him, that pig-brained fool would've died before he ever grew into his power.
In those early years after the world ended, it was Zhao Yin who protected the so-called Lord of Contracts.
But in the end, what good was a brilliant mind against a fully matured SSS-rank Esper?
It was a joke.
No scheme, no tactic could touch Lin Tianfeng now.
Zhang Dongliang approached Lin Tianfeng, holding up Zhao Yin's severed tongue like a trophy. "Adoptive Father, you promised to spare Zhao Yin's life if he surrendered the base. But he cost you so many men, so I took the liberty of cutting out his tongue!"
"You needed me to personally deal with three powerless women. What use is an adopted son like you?" Lin Tianfeng's voice was flat. Dismissive.
Zhang Dongliang's face went pale. He opened his mouth to explain-
Shunk.
A blade punched through his back and burst from his chest.
His eyes bulged. He looked down in disbelief at the steel protruding from his heart.
He'd thought betraying Zhao Yin-the man who'd raised him, who'd given him everything-would buy him a better life.
He never imagined this would be his reward.
"Lin Tian-" He tried to speak, to demand answers.
The blade ripped free. Blood erupted from his mouth. His body crumpled.
By the time he hit the ground, he was already more dead than alive.
Zhao Yin felt no satisfaction.
When the rabbit dies, the hound gets cooked.
Zhang Dongliang's fate. His own fate.
The Lord of Contracts now held absolute power over life and death. One flicker of displeasure, and a subordinate drew steel. Submit and prosper. Resist and die.
Who would dare say no?
In that moment, Zhao Yin had never wanted anything more desperately-a stronger ability. His own power.
Even just A-rank. Would he have fallen this far with A-rank?
Lin Tianfeng raised his hand.
A monstrous beast plummeted from the sky.
The Flying White Tiger-a top-tier mutant beast Zhao Yin had once schemed and plotted to capture, all so Lin Tianfeng could contract it.
It landed before the teleportation portal, cutting off the three women's escape. In one effortless motion, it snatched them up and deposited them at Lin Tianfeng's feet.
This creature-now grown powerful enough to make the entire apocalyptic world tremble-dropped the women and crawled to Lin Tianfeng's side like a loyal dog.
"You call me ungrateful, Zhao Yin? Then let me show you what loyalty to you is worth." Lin Tianfeng smiled. Cold. Indifferent.
As if this were nothing more than a trivial game.
Zhao Yin's eyes nearly split from rage. His mouth could only produce guttural sounds. He couldn't move a single finger.
He could only watch as Lin Tianfeng gave a casual wave.
Several men stepped forward.
Blades drawn. Blades swung.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Three heads rolled across the ground.
These women-chosen by Zhao Yin from among millions, beauties who would've turned heads before the apocalypse-were now three headless corpses.
From start to finish, they hadn't made a sound. So calm. So composed.
Ning Yue's head rolled to a stop before Zhao Yin. Her eyes were still open, still looking at him.
Gentle, even now.
Zhao Yin went rigid. In that moment, he became a statue kneeling in place.
"HAHAHAHA!" Lin Tianfeng's men roared with laughter.
The sound echoed all around, as if they'd just finished an amusing game.
Zhao Yin-whose heart had always been iron and stone-felt it tear apart. Amid the towering hatred, he experienced his first regret since the world ended.
Ning Yue, Xin'er, Xiaodao... rest easy. If I could do it all over again, I swear I'd treat you right.
Lin Tianfeng, if I could do it all over again, I'd tear you apart with my bare hands. No-I'd grind your bones to dust and scatter your ashes to the wind.
If I could do it all over again, I'd seize a stronger ability from the very first moment.
If only...
But there were no "if onlys."
"Big Brother Zhao," Lin Tianfeng said coolly, "you're the one who taught me to cut the weeds and dig up the roots. So don't blame me. If you must blame someone, blame yourself for knowing too much of my dark history. I'm going to be remembered by history. How could I leave you alive in this world?"
CRUNCH.
The Flying White Tiger stepped forward and crushed Zhao Yin's skull with a single swipe of its paw.
---
"Don't move."
Zhao Yin's consciousness drifted back. A lazy female voice purred in his ear, playful and drowsy: "Don't move, you little troublemaker. Let big sister sleep a bit longer."
Something heavy pressed against his chest, making it hard to breathe.
He reached up instinctively-and his hand met warm, soft flesh.
His eyes snapped open.
A woman was draped across him.
Her face was unfamiliar, yet somehow... vaguely familiar.
Mid-twenties. Fair skin. Long, wavy hair spilled across his chest, carrying the scent of perfume.
White sheets. A vanity table nearby, an open box of condoms sitting on top.
Tissues scattered across the floor.
In a flash, Zhao Yin remembered.
ns216.73.216.243da2
and then Add to home screen.