Lin Tianfeng recognized Zhao Yin's voice and went rigid.

He didn't dare turn around. "Brother, brother, I haven't offended you, have I? What's this about?"

"Kneel." Zhao Yin's voice was ice.

"Brother, we have no grudge between us. We're old acquaintances, why would you-"

Lin Tianfeng wanted to say more, but the bone cleaver pressed harder. The blade bit into his neck.

Pain flared. Lin Tianfeng yelped, "Don't-don't, I'll kneel! I'm kneeling!"

He shoved the woman off his back and dropped to his knees with a heavy thud. "Brother, is this good enough?"

In Zhao Yin's mind, the scene from his previous life replayed-those three foolish women, their heads hacked off by Lin Tianfeng's blade.

Ning Yue's head had rolled to Zhao Yin's feet. Her eyes were still open.

And Zhao Yin himself had died under the claws of the Flying White Tiger-the very beast he'd helped Lin Tianfeng contract.

Pfft! Pfft!

Two stabs from behind, punching through both of Lin Tianfeng's shoulder blades.

When the cleaver pulled free, blood gushed out and sprayed across Zhao Yin's face. Against his pale skin, it painted something feral.

"AHHH-Brother, fuck your mother, brother-" Lin Tianfeng screamed curses.

His arms hung useless. The agony twisted his face into something inhuman.

"Does it hurt?"

Zhao Yin circled around to face him, looking down with cold detachment. "Good. It's going to hurt a lot more."

"What the fuck do you want?! If you want the woman, take her! Why do this?! Fuck your mother!" Lin Tianfeng spat through gritted teeth.

"I only want your life."

Zhao Yin said it calmly.

Then-pfft-drove the blade up through Lin Tianfeng's chin.

A brutal twist. He carved out the tongue.

Lin Tianfeng's eyes bulged, face contorted in terror. He still didn't understand. Why? Why was this happening?

He tried to beg. His mouth opened, but only blood poured out. Not a single word.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He could only kowtow, slamming his forehead against the ground. Two, three times-his skin split open.

"Lin Tianfeng." Zhao Yin's voice was flat. "I swore I'd tear you into ten thousand pieces. Do you understand?"

Now Lin Tianfeng was like Zhao Yin had been in his past life-making animal sounds, eyes filled with desperate pleading.

Zhao Yin moved.

One slash blinded him.

Then another cut. And another.

He didn't stop until his stamina was half-spent, leaving him panting.

Only then did he realize-hacking someone into ten thousand pieces really wasn't easy.

The woman watched the whole thing. The man who'd killed her baby, butchered like livestock. Satisfaction spread across her face.

Zhao Yin glanced at her. "You want a turn?"

She met his eyes and couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her. Then she nodded. "Mm."

Zhao Yin cut her bindings loose. He flipped the cleaver around, offering her the handle. "Don't let him die before ten thousand cuts. Can you manage that?"

She nodded frantically, snatched the blade, and lunged-slashing straight at Lin Tianfeng's throat.

"STOP!"

Zhao Yin's shout came too late.

She'd already severed the carotid artery. Blood erupted like a broken faucet, drenching her from head to toe.

She froze, realizing her mistake, and turned back to stare at Zhao Yin in terror.

"Are you a fucking pig?!" Rage boiled over. He'd made it perfectly clear.

He kicked her to the ground, ripped the cleaver from her grip. "Stop the bleeding! Help him stop the bleeding, NOW!"

She scrambled to press down on the wound, but it was hopeless.

Blood jetted through her fingers. Lin Tianfeng convulsed, fading fast.

Zhao Yin's fury clouded his judgment. With what he had on hand, there was no way to stop this. He could only watch Lin Tianfeng die.

"Dumbass!" He wanted to gut her too.

But she just cowered there, shaking.

What was done was done. Zhao Yin handed the cleaver back to her. "Know how to chop dumpling filling?"

"Yes!" she blurted.

He nodded. "Chop him. Ten thousand cuts."

She took the blade. Madness crept across her filthy face. Then she threw herself at the corpse-hair wild, drenched in blood, looking more deranged than any lunatic.

Zhao Yin didn't bother watching anymore. He sat down on a slab of broken concrete, fished out half a pack of Huazi cigarettes, lit one, and stared ahead in silence.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

The wild-haired woman hacked away with everything she had.

...

"Urgh!"

Inside the shopping mall not far from the scene, Xiaodao doubled over and vomited.

Beside her, Song Xiaojian's face had gone chalk-white. Before the apocalypse, they'd been sheltered kids-flowers of the nation, protected by society. They'd never witnessed anything like this.

"Brother..." Xiaodao wiped her mouth, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. "How can anyone be that cruel? Did someone really just get killed? They're not... filming a movie, right?"

Song Xiaojian said nothing. He didn't know how to comfort her.

A long silence passed.

"Little sis." His voice dropped low. "This is the apocalypse now. If someday I get killed like that... you have to keep living. Be strong on your own."

"Brother, what are you saying?!" Xiaodao rushed forward and clamped her hands over his mouth, crying harder. "I don't want you to die! I want to stay with you forever!"

Song Xiaojian stroked her head and let out a heavy sigh.

She was still too young. She couldn't truly grasp what the apocalypse meant.

"Good thing we didn't let that scary guy come here," Xiaodao sniffled. "He's... he's terrifying."

"If you ever run into him," Song Xiaojian said carefully, "stay as far away as you can."

"Mm!" She nodded hard.

Then Song Xiaojian changed his tone. "No-wait. If you ever meet him... listen to whatever he says. Don't resist, no matter what he tells you to do. That's how you survive longer."

He could sense it. Zhao Yin was dangerous.

Calm. Numb. Killed without flinching.

And he'd had the guts to venture out for supplies the moment the meteor shower stopped. Someone like that would thrive in this new world-better than most.

Watching Zhao Yin kill had driven the lesson home. The apocalypse was brutal.

Song Xiaojian was only fifteen. He knew he couldn't protect Xiaodao forever.

If something happened to him, a twelve-year-old girl surviving alone... the odds were grim.

But under the protection of someone strong like Zhao Yin? Her chances would be far better.

"Brother, I don't want to listen to that bad guy."

"Hear me out. He's cruel, yes-but he didn't hurt that woman. Maybe he had his reasons for killing that man. What we saw might not be the whole truth. Maybe... he's not actually a bad person."

If the worst happens, obeying him is the smartest move.

If Zhao Yin isn't evil, then listening to him earns his favor. Makes it easier to gain his protection.

These thoughts, Song Xiaojian kept to himself.

"Okay, brother." Xiaodao's voice was reluctant, but she didn't argue. "You'll be fine. And I won't run into him."

Song Xiaojian sighed again. "We're almost out of food. If Brother Wang doesn't come back today, I'll have to go out and scavenge."

"Brother, it's dangerous out there!" Xiaodao's face went paper-white.

Song Xiaojian ruffled her hair gently. "Someone's already gone out, haven't they? Better to take a gamble than starve to death in here."