Countless people in this world shared the same name. Could it really be a coincidence?

Zhao Yin decided to go see for himself.

In this apocalypse, he was alone. There weren't many people or things he cared about anymore.

But if there were still a few people who mattered to him-Song Xiaodao was one of them.

...

Inside a half-collapsed kitchen, Wang Quan sat on a three-legged chair after choking down some foul, rotten water. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Song Xiaodao across from him.

Even after more than a month without washing her face, anyone could tell she was a beauty in the making.

A dark thought stirred in his mind. His breathing grew heavy.

"Xiaodao, come over to Brother Wang. Let me show you my big treasure." His voice came out hoarse.

Song Xiaodao was young, but girls in the modern age were exposed to the internet early. She understood exactly what Wang Quan meant.

"Brother Wang, if you have something to say, say it now!"

Wang Quan's expression darkened instantly. His voice turned sharp: "I'll count to three. If you don't come over, don't blame me for being ruthless. One-!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

Song Xiaodao's body trembled. She shrank back against the wall. "Brother Wang, you promised my brother you'd take care of me. How can you go back on your word?"

"My word?"

Wang Quan let out a cold laugh. "This is the apocalypse. Does that shit even matter anymore? If I hadn't tricked him, would he have gone off to die willingly?"

He stood and walked toward her-then stumbled, his foot catching on a chunk of cement.

He pitched forward!

The girl who had been cowering suddenly sprang up. She grabbed a rock and smashed it down on Wang Quan's skull.

Thud!

Pain exploded through his head. Wang Quan shook off the dizziness and glared at her with venom in his eyes. "You dare hit me?"

"Brother Wang... I-I didn't mean to!"

She'd wanted to knock him out, but she was too weak. The rock trembled in her grip. Her whole body shook.

Smack!

Wang Quan backhanded her across the face. Her cheek swelled instantly, and her vision blurred.

"Die, you little bitch!"

He went berserk, slapping her again and again.

Smack... smack...

"Without me, you and your brother would've been dead long ago! And you dare fucking resist?!"

Blood trickled from the corner of Song Xiaodao's mouth. But she stopped begging. She just stared at him-numb, hollow.

"The fuck are you looking at? You think I won't gouge your eyes out?"

Her gaze made his skin crawl. A wave of humiliation washed over him.

A little girl's stare-and it made him feel afraid. Like a vengeful ghost had locked onto him.

Fury surged through him. He raised his hand, fingers reaching for her eyes. "I'll fucking blind you-"

A massive hand-broad as a palm-leaf fan-clamped down on his outstretched arm.

In that instant, Song Xiaodao felt the light above her vanish, as if something enormous had blotted out the sky.

A suffocating pressure flooded the ruined room. The air itself seemed to freeze.

Wang Quan turned his head stiffly-and his entire body began to shake.

A monstrous beast stood right beside him.

Golden eyes. Cold. Indifferent.

Staring down at him from above.

ROAR!

Little Monkey unleashed a thunderous bellow. At point-blank range, the shockwave sent Wang Quan's hair whipping back. The muscles of his face rippled and distorted.

Song Xiaodao's ears rang.

"Don't-don't kill me-!" Wang Quan's bladder gave out. He tried desperately to yank his arm free.

CRACK!

Little Monkey squeezed-just slightly.

The bones in Wang Quan's forearm shattered like dry twigs.

"AAAAHHH-!" A blood-curdling scream tore from his throat.

Then Little Monkey hurled him aside. Wang Quan's body flew five or six meters before slamming into the wall. Blood poured from his split scalp.

"Easy," Zhao Yin said. "Don't kill him all at once."

Little Monkey stepped aside. Zhao Yin emerged from behind its towering frame and walked toward Song Xiaodao, studying her closely.

"Your name is Song Xiaodao?" he asked.

Her face was swollen like a steamed bun-almost unrecognizable.

Song Xiaodao looked up at him, terror plain in her eyes.

Then recognition dawned.

She'd seen this man twice before. Once when he passed by the shopping mall.

The second time-when she watched him torture another man to death from a distance.

Now, standing before her, Zhao Yin radiated power, mystery, cruelty, and ruthlessness.

"Answer me. You mute?" Zhao Yin asked impatiently.

"Uncle... I-my name is Song Xiaodao." The words finally came out.

"Uncle?"

Zhao Yin paused, touching the stubble on his face-a month's worth of growth.

Did he really look that old?

Then again, given the girl's age, calling him 'mister' wasn't exactly wrong.

"Get up. Let me look at you." His tone was blunt.

"Uncle, what are you going to do... please-!" Song Xiaodao scrambled backward in fear.

Zhao Yin reached out impatiently, grabbed her ponytail, and hauled her thin frame up from the ground.

"Let go of me!" Panicking, Song Xiaodao bit down hard on his wrist.

Sharp pain shot through him. Zhao Yin's brow furrowed deeper, but he didn't release her.

He wasn't about to waste time explaining. He turned her around and lifted the hem of her shirt just enough to see her slender waist-and the pink, butterfly-shaped birthmark there.

"It really is you, dammit."

He let go, muttering curses under his breath.

She was that Song Xiaodao.

In his previous life, he'd never asked about her background. By the time they met, she was already an adult.

He'd overlooked something crucial: he'd been reborn seven years in the past.

The current Song Xiaodao was only twelve years old.

The scrawny little girl standing before him now made Zhao Yin feel suddenly... irritated.

What was he supposed to do-raise her like a daughter?

Song Xiaodao stared at him blankly, utterly confused by his behavior. "Uncle... do you... know me?"

Snort!

Little Monkey let out a huff and shoved its massive head toward Song Xiaodao.

"Ahhh! Help-!" She bolted.

Zhao Yin grabbed her ponytail and yanked her back. He smacked Little Monkey on the snout. "Don't scare her!"

The beast quickly withdrew its head and stood obediently behind Zhao Yin like a scolded child.

Song Xiaodao stared at the man and the monster, trembling from head to toe. "M-Uncle... what exactly do you want?"

Zhao Yin's brow creased. "To save you."

Song Xiaodao froze. Her brain couldn't process it.

Zhao Yin glanced down at her clothes-tattered rags caked with grime, like she'd been rolled in mud.

He pulled a white t-shirt from his Spatial Ring and tossed it to her. "Put this on."

Song Xiaodao was still in a daze, completely lost as to what this terrifying man was trying to do.

She lowered her head, took the shirt, turned around, and changed into it.

She was barely 1.6 meters tall. Zhao Yin's t-shirt hung on her like a dress-and somehow, it didn't look half bad.

Zhao Yin turned toward Wang Quan, still writhing and moaning on the ground.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" he asked.

Song Xiaodao was stunned for a long moment before realizing the question was directed at her.

"N-no... never." The memory of Zhao Yin torturing Lin Tianfeng flashed through her mind, and she shuddered again.

"This man treated you like that. Have you thought about what you want to do to him?"

Song Xiaodao bit her lip. "Uncle... can you kill him for me?"

CLANG!

Zhao Yin drew the Tang Dao and hurled it.

The blade buried itself in the ground at Song Xiaodao's feet, the handle still quivering.

"Do you not have hands?" Zhao Yin's voice was cold. "Or do you not have a blade?"