Zheng Yingxiong gave Tiantian a very peculiar feeling.
He was just like her—it seemed neither of them had ever wanted to live.
Now, both of them wanted the other to leave while they themselves died.
If things continued like this, who could survive?
“If we’re going to live, let’s live together…” Tiantian let out a bitter laugh before turning to Lao Liu and saying, “Big bro, I told you I’m willing to do anything. But I don’t want this kid to see what I become, so can he wait here while I go inside with you?”
“No,” Lao Liu said decisively. “If he runs off to call your companions… I’d be the one in the most danger.”
“Our… companions?”
Tiantian realized then that the man must have assumed she and Zheng Yingxiong were teammates who had escaped from the same room. No wonder he hadn’t allowed anyone to leave alone from the start.
“Old Fang, bring Xiao Cheng out and deal with this kid. Drain his blood,” Lao Liu called over his shoulder. “We’ll have something to eat for the next few days.”
“Drain his blood…”
Though Tiantian knew such things were the norm in the “Land of the End,” facing it firsthand was still hard to stomach.
If this child hadn’t run into her… would he have suffered such a cruel fate?
“Wait a minute…” Tiantian suppressed the panic rising in her chest and spoke to the towering man before her. “To be honest, this place is already littered with corpses, right? If you really need food, there are bodies all around, some already drained of blood… Why do you have to target a child? You don’t have to kill anyone…”
“Seems you really haven’t eaten human flesh before…?” Lao Liu narrowed his yellowed eyes. “Then how the hell have you survived here?”
“I…” Tiantian naturally didn’t want to share her experiences, but she still couldn’t accept that cannibalism was the norm.
“Nothing grows in this damn place—not even crops,” Lao Liu said with a frown. “If you want to survive, you have to eat people. We’ve tried all kinds of corpses… Generally, men are better than the elderly, women are better than men, but kids are the best. They have less muscle, more fat—when you roast them, they sizzle with oil and don’t burn easily. Plus, their organs are clean and edible too.”
“This is insane…” Tiantian clenched her teeth. “So neither of us is getting out of here…”
“Originally, you could have,” Lao Liu chuckled. “But seeing as you’ve got both food and water on you… I figure you must be part of some group, right? Otherwise, I can’t imagine a delicate woman and a ten-year-old kid gathering these things on their own. So now, neither of you can leave. If you do, you’ll just put us in danger.”
Tiantian had never imagined that Zheng Yingxiong’s backpack would become the spark that led to their deaths.
“So you’re just going to kill us?” Tiantian asked.
“No, I’m going to *make the most of you*,” Lao Liu grinned. “Here, a pretty woman has her uses, and a kid has his. You’ll understand soon enough.”
“I don’t need to wait to understand…” Tiantian replied with a hollow expression. “I’ve seen more filth in this world than anyone…”
“Oh?” Lao Liu clearly didn’t believe her. “A soft-skinned little girl like you, acting all profound?”
“Let me put it this way.” Tiantian’s gaze suddenly turned icy, her entire aura shifting. “I know I’m not getting out of here, but you still have a choice. If you want to have your fun later, do as I say—let the child go. Otherwise, I swear I’ll make sure you die at your happiest moment…”
Though her words were submissive, the intensity in Tiantian’s presence unsettled Lao Liu.
He even began to suspect she might be a “Resonator” with some eerie ability. After all, she had remained eerily calm from the start—nothing like an ordinary girl.
Lao Liu stayed silent, scrutinizing Tiantian’s eyes.
Normally, to tell if someone was lying, all you had to do was watch for cracks in their gaze.
And Lao Liu caught the faintest flicker of panic deep in Tiantian’s eyes.
No matter how composed her words were, her expression betrayed her.
She had no real trump card—her only weapon was the hollow threat she’d just made.
By then, Old Fang and Xiao Cheng had moved behind Lao Liu, both wearing unreadable expressions.
“She’s lying,” Lao Liu smirked. “Kill the kid. Tie up the woman.”
Tiantian’s eyes widened in horror as Old Fang stepped forward with a manic grin, looming over Zheng Yingxiong.
The wound on the boy’s forehead left him dazed and barely able to move.
“Please…” Tiantian grabbed at Old Fang frantically. “You can kill me, but not him—”
“Get off!” Old Fang kicked her away. “You’ll get yours soon enough!”
Tiantian collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably. What kind of world was this?
What was the difference between the real world and the “Land of the End”?
It seemed the same everywhere—the strong preyed on the weak. That was the only law of the world.
“Making the most” of women and children—how absurd.
Why did everyone who was kind to her have to die?
Old Fang gripped Zheng Yingxiong’s throat, hoisting him up as the boy weakly flailed with his limp newspaper sword.
He swung it like a real blade—slashing horizontally, chopping downward, then thrusting forward.
But newspaper, printed cheaply with mechanical wood pulp, could barely kill an ant, let alone a man.
“Uncle Fang!!” Xiao Cheng suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Old Fang’s arm. “Enough! Why do we have to hurt a child?!”
Lao Liu sneered and pressed a knife against Xiao Cheng’s side. “Xiao Cheng, you got a death wish? Remember why you’ve lived this long.”
“I…” Unarmed, Xiao Cheng froze under the blade, his face twisting with helpless frustration.
Watching Zheng Yingxiong’s face turn redder by the second, Tiantian felt something strange come over her.
She could accept anyone else dying—but not someone who had been kind to her.
Because in this world, those who treated her well were rarer than anything.
With Yunyao missing and now this boy about to die senselessly, a deep despair settled over her heart.
She didn’t want to escape this place—but it seemed she couldn’t live here either.
Was destruction the only answer?
**DONG!**
The moment the bell tolled, Old Fang’s body seized as if struck by something unnatural.
Yet Zheng Yingxiong, face still flushed and eyes shut tight, kept swinging his flimsy sword.
One strike. Two. Three.
Old Fang’s clothes split open, flesh tearing, blood spraying.
Within seconds, his strength failed him. His grip loosened, and he collapsed backward, lifeless.
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