"Motherfucker!"

Lin Tianfeng stared at the apocalyptic wasteland before him, then let out a crazed howl. He crouched down, clutching his head, and wept.

The past month had clearly not been kind to him. His frame was gaunt, his lips cracked and bleeding, and his filthy white T-shirt was splattered with dried blood from wounds he couldn't even identify anymore.

When he'd cried himself out, Lin Tianfeng rose and crept forward.

He wasn't brave enough to venture outside-he simply had no choice. If he didn't find food soon, starvation would kill him.

Zhao Yin tightened his grip on the bone cleaver and followed, his footsteps silent as a cat's.

Lin Tianfeng moved at a crawl. Three full hours of searching yielded nothing but black ash. Everything was ash. Where could there possibly be anything edible?

He suddenly raised his kitchen knife to his own throat. His expression was taut, his eyes bloodshot.

Watching from a distance, Zhao Yin finally understood-the great Contract Master had nearly killed himself in the early days of the apocalypse.

But Zhao Yin knew he wouldn't die.

Lin Tianfeng slowly lowered the blade. His expression hardened with renewed resolve, and he pressed on.

"Help... someone help me...!"

A voice drifted from a nearby mound of rubble, weak and pleading. "Is anyone out there? Please, can you help me?"

Lin Tianfeng's glazed eyes sharpened. He walked toward the sound.

It was a collapsed apartment building. The voice came from the lowest floor, where a pocket of debris had remained relatively intact.

The upper floors had caved in at an angle, creating an insulating barrier that had kept whoever was inside alive. But now they were trapped.

"Save you?" Lin Tianfeng's voice came out like sandpaper. "Got any food?"

"I've eaten everything already. But once I'm out, I'll treat you to a feast at Fulin Restaurant!" The woman's voice brimmed with desperate excitement. "Just move those concrete blocks-I can squeeze through!"

"A feast at Fulin Restaurant?"

A bitter smirk tugged at Lin Tianfeng's cracked lips.

She clearly had no idea the world had ended.

No food meant no reason to waste his strength. He turned to leave.

"Where are you going? Why won't you save me? Hey-hey!" Panic crept into her voice as his footsteps receded. "Please! At least save my baby!"

"You have a child?"

Lin Tianfeng stopped.

"How old?"

"Five months!" she answered quickly.

A smile spread across Lin Tianfeng's face.

"I'll save you."

Her voice was strong-she clearly hadn't starved much. Which meant...

He began hauling away chunks of concrete, piece by piece, until he'd cleared an opening.

Inside was a decent-sized space-a kitchen that had somehow survived the collapse.

A filthy woman sat on the floor, cradling an infant.

"Thank you so much, brother-"

Before she could finish, Lin Tianfeng scrambled inside and tore through the space like a man possessed.

The smashed refrigerator still held a few rotting vegetable leaves. He grabbed them and crammed them into his mouth without hesitation.

Empty snack wrappers and drained water bottles littered the floor-clearly how she'd survived. Lin Tianfeng unscrewed each bottle and tilted the last drops onto his tongue.

Then he picked up the wrappers and licked the crumbs clean.

It wasn't enough. It was nothing. When he was certain not a single scrap remained, his bloodshot eyes turned to the woman.

"Brother..." She sensed the shift in him and shrank back instinctively. The baby in her arms began to wail.

"Why didn't you save any for me?" His voice was a dry rasp.

"Brother, please-how was I supposed to know you'd be hungry too?" Her voice shook. "We can get out now. I'll buy you whatever you want."

"Buy me whatever I want?"

Lin Tianfeng let out a cold laugh.

"It's the end of the world. You're the only living person I've seen. Where exactly are you going to take me?"

"What... what do you mean?" The woman's face went pale.

Lin Tianfeng didn't answer. His gaze grew colder, then dropped to the infant in her arms.

"Where's the formula? Where did you hide it?"

He'd only changed his mind about saving her because she mentioned a child.

A mother who cared about her baby would save food for it-even if she went hungry herself.

"The formula was in the bedroom. It collapsed completely. The baby only survived because I-" Her voice caught as she met his stare. Her eyes flickered involuntarily to her own chest.

Lin Tianfeng's gaze followed.

Understanding dawned.

He swallowed hard and stepped toward her.

"Brother-you-HELP!"

Her screams filled the cramped space as Lin Tianfeng ripped the baby from her arms and tossed it aside like garbage. Then he seized her clothes and tore-

More than ten minutes later, Lin Tianfeng stood.

Sated. Refreshed. The hollow desperation in his eyes had been replaced by something almost human.

"My baby... my baby..."

The moment he released her, the woman crawled toward the discarded infant. Its tiny skull had struck a jutting piece of rebar.

It was already cold.

Zhao Yin crouched just outside the opening, listening to her anguished sobs.

His face betrayed nothing.

After the apocalypse, humanity had died. Most survivors had become animals. Countless women had suffered worse than her.

What did any of it have to do with him?

"Shut the fuck up!" Lin Tianfeng roared. "The kid dying now? That's mercy. You should be thanking me!"

The woman's body went rigid.

Slowly, she raised her head.

Something had changed in her. The timidity was gone. Her once-clear eyes had turned red, burning with a hatred so pure it was almost tangible.

She stared at Lin Tianfeng without blinking.

CRACK.

His palm connected with her face. "You want to die too? Looking at me like that?"

Her head snapped to the side. But she said nothing. Slowly, she lowered her gaze.

"From now on, you're my food supply." Lin Tianfeng's voice was matter-of-fact. "Don't worry-if I find something to eat, I won't let you starve."

He crouched and ripped the remaining clothes from her body.

Tore them into strips.

Knotted them into rope.

He bound her wrists behind her back, fashioned a second length into a leash around her neck, and dragged her out through the opening.

She didn't resist. Didn't make a sound. Just followed, numb and hollow.

Zhao Yin checked his watch. One in the afternoon.

Lin Tianfeng still hadn't found the Star Crystal.

Zhao Yin removed his gas mask. The lingering smoke had thinned considerably. He fished a pack of dry instant noodles from his backpack and washed them down with a bottle of Dongpeng energy drink.

He was finishing the last sip when his expression froze.

Lin Tianfeng had stopped. He was crouched over something, shoving aside a chunk of broken concrete.

From beneath it, he pulled a blood-red crystal.

Confusion flickered across Lin Tianfeng's face. He turned the crystal over in his hands, clearly sensing something extraordinary about it.

"Teacher Lin?"

A low voice came from behind him.

Lin Tianfeng spun around.

Zhao Yin approached-backpack slung over his shoulders, military jacket hanging open, bone cleaver dangling from one hand.

A warm smile spread across his face.

"It really is you, Teacher Lin."

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