Then his lips curled into a mocking grin as he looked at Zhang Xiao. "And don’t act like you’re some kind of saint here. You think I don’t know about you? Your little crush on Dr. Yan? It’s obvious to everyone in the ward. You’ve been staring at her for how long now?" He chuckled, shaking his head. "You know how many guys are after her? Handsome ones, rich ones, people way above us. Do you think she would ever even look at someone like you properly? Would she ever give you a chance? Be honest with yourself."

Zhang Xiao’s expression stiffened slightly, his brows furrowing as those words hit him. Xian Moi saw that reaction and immediately pressed further, his voice becoming even more tempting and poisonous. "But now... now it’s different. Look around you. The world is already finished. This might be your only chance. After I’m done, you can have your turn too. Think about it... isn’t that better than dying without ever getting close to her?" He laughed loudly, the sound echoing unpleasantly in the small room.

The words that came out of his mouth were so shameless and disgusting that even the air in the room seemed to turn heavier. Li Sun didn’t say anything this time, but his expression had already changed, no longer as firm as before. And Zhang Xiao... his face showed a clear struggle at first. There was still that initial sense of righteousness, that instinct to protect, maybe even the faint hope that doing the right thing would earn him something. But those thoughts didn’t last long.

Because deep down, he knew Xian Moi was right.

This wasn’t some story where being a good person would suddenly make everything work out. Yan Cijin was someone completely out of his league. He had always known that. Her looks, her presence, the way people treated her, everything about her placed her far above someone like him. The men around her were always better, richer, more confident. Compared to them, he was nothing. Average in every sense. And in normal times, he would never even dare to think about something like this.

But now... things were different.

The world had already fallen apart.

No rules.

No consequences.

Just survival.

His gaze slowly shifted toward Yan Cijin, who was still standing there quietly, her expression calm, almost too calm. She didn’t cry, didn’t shout, didn’t beg. She just stood there, looking at them without any obvious reaction. That made Zhang Xiao feel a little uneasy for a moment, but then he quickly convinced himself that it must be fear. She must be too scared to even react properly. That had to be it.

A thought formed in his mind, slowly but surely.

This was his chance.

A chance he would never get again.

His breathing became slightly heavier as that thought took root, pushing away whatever hesitation he still had. What was wrong with it? He was just... taking what he wanted before everything ended. Anyone else in his position would probably do the same.

He took a small step forward.

Yan Cijin watched all of this quietly, her eyes calm, almost indifferent, as if she was watching something boring rather than something dangerous. But deep inside, her thoughts were already settled.

So this was their choice.

Yan Cijin already knew exactly how things were about to unfold from this point onward. There was no suspense for her, no uncertainty, because she had lived through this moment more than once, had seen the same kind of people make the same kind of choices every single time. People like Zhang Xiao, Li Sun, Xian Moi... they were never really good to begin with. They only looked normal because the world forced them to behave. Laws, rules, consequences... those were the things that kept them in check. But once all of that disappeared, once the world collapsed and there was no one left to punish them, their real nature came out without hesitation. And honestly, that disgusted her more than the zombies outside. At least the zombies were mindless, they killed because they had no control. But these men... they chose this. They knew what they were doing, and they still did it anyway.

Her thoughts turned cold as she watched them walk closer, their expressions becoming more shameless with every step. She couldn’t help but think about the bigger picture too. If this was happening here, in just one small room, then what about the rest of the world? How many women right now were facing the same situation, or worse? How many people were being hurt not by monsters, but by other humans? The apocalypse didn’t just bring out the zombies, it brought out the worst parts of humanity too. And in a world like this, where strength was everything, the weak would always be the first to suffer.

But at the same time, that also made one thing very clear.

If you wanted to survive, if you wanted to protect the people you cared about, then there was only one way.

Get stronger.

And not just stronger, but ruthless enough to kill anything that stood in your way without hesitation.

Her eyes remained calm as she looked at them, but there was already a quiet decision settled deep inside her.

Zhang Xiao, Li Sun, and Xian Moi slowly walked toward her, their steps deliberate, almost exaggerated, like they were enjoying this moment. Their expressions carried that same disgusting mix of excitement and arrogance, as if they had already won, as if she had no way out. They were clearly expecting something from her. Fear. Panic. Maybe even begging. They wanted to see her break, wanted to enjoy that process before doing whatever they planned to do next.

Xian Moi was the first to speak again, his grin wide and ugly as ever. "Hahaha... don’t blame us, Dr. Yan. We’re just men after all. It’s not like we can control ourselves in a situation like this. If you really want to blame someone, blame those damned monsters outside, hahaha..." His laugh echoed in the room, sounding more disturbing than anything outside.

Li Sun quickly followed, his eyes shining with a strange excitement. "Yeah... yeah... finally getting a chance like this... to taste the goddess... honestly, even if I die after this, I think I can accept it. Hahaha..." His voice trembled slightly, but not from fear, more like anticipation.

Zhang Xiao didn’t say anything this time, but the way he looked at her was enough. There was no hesitation left in his eyes, no sense of right or wrong anymore. Just desire. Raw and ugly. The kind of look that no human should ever direct at another.

Yan Cijin didn’t move.

She just stood there quietly, watching them come closer, letting them enjoy this false sense of victory for a few more seconds. In her mind, she had already decided how this would end. Let them feel powerful. Let them think they had control. Because the higher they felt right now, the harder they would fall in the next moment.

Just as they were about to get even closer.....

Bang. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The door of the cabin suddenly burst open with a loud sound, the force of it slamming against the wall and echoing through the room, instantly breaking the tension.

All of them froze.

At the entrance stood Bai Li, holding a kukri in her hand, her figure calm but sharp, her presence completely different from the situation inside the room.

After climbing through the window, Bai Li landed lightly inside the hallway, her movements quiet and controlled as she adjusted her footing without making much noise. The corridor was dim, the lights flickering slightly, and the air carried that same heavy, rotten smell she had already gotten used to outside. Without wasting any time, she moved forward, the kukri still in her hand, her eyes scanning every corner carefully. A few zombies wandered aimlessly in the hallway, their movements slow and uncoordinated, but they didn’t pose much of a problem to her anymore. She cut through them one by one without much effort, her movements clean and efficient, not even giving them a chance to react properly before they dropped to the ground. It was almost routine at this point, like she had already adapted to this kind of fighting far too quickly.

Just as she was about to continue forward and move deeper into the building, a faint sound reached her ears. Voices. Human voices. She paused for a moment, her brows slightly furrowing as she turned her head toward the direction of the sound. It was coming from a room not too far ahead. At first, she didn’t think much of it. People surviving inside rooms wasn’t anything unusual. In fact, it was expected. For a second, she even considered ignoring it and continuing on her way. After all, she wasn’t here to save people.

But then—

She heard it.

A voice.

And the moment it reached her ears, something inside her reacted instantly.

Her steps stopped completely.

Her grip on the kukri tightened slightly.

She didn’t even need to think about it.

She knew.

It was her.

That voice... it was etched too deep in her memory for her to mistake it.

Before she could even process it fully, more voices followed, male voices, loud, careless, and filled with something that immediately made her expression turn colder. She stayed still for a moment, listening, her eyes narrowing slightly as the words became clearer. And the more she heard, the darker her expression became.

Disgust.

Anger.

They weren’t even trying to hide it.

What they were saying... what they were planning to do...

A sharp surge of anger rose up inside her chest, so sudden and intense that she didn’t even bother holding it back. Her patience ran out almost instantly. There was no point listening anymore. No point waiting.

Before the voices inside could even finish their sentence.....

Bang.

Her foot slammed against the door, kicking it open with force as it swung inward violently.

She stepped in immediately, kukri in hand, her eyes cold as she looked at the three men inside. One of them, wearing a white coat and glasses, had a neat, slicked back hairstyle, looking like a proper doctor on the surface, calm and refined. But the other two looked completely different, one with short spiky hair, the other with dyed red hair, both wearing hospital gowns, giving off the feeling of street thugs rather than patients.

Bai Li didn’t say anything at first.

Bai Li stood at the doorway for a moment, her grip on the kukri steady, her breathing calm despite the situation in front of her, but her eyes had already shifted past the three men and landed directly on Yan Cijin. The moment their eyes met, something inside her paused for just a second, like her thoughts had suddenly slowed down. "It’s really her..." she thought quietly to herself. There was no mistake. Even though this was only their second proper encounter, even though they barely knew each other, she recognized her instantly. The same woman she had seen before, the same calm and composed presence, the same person she had subconsciously paid attention to ever since moving here.

But that recognition didn’t bring her relief.

Instead, something heavy settled in her chest.

Because the moment she saw the situation clearly, saw how those three men were closing in on her, saw the look in their eyes, a strange sense of guilt rose up from somewhere deep inside her. It wasn’t logical, and she knew that very well. From the beginning, she had done everything right. She had prepared, gathered supplies, strengthened herself, focused on survival. She knew the apocalypse was coming, and she knew there was no saving everyone. That was just the reality of this world. If she had gone around warning people, no one would have believed her. They would have laughed, called her crazy, or worse, reported her. Even if someone believed her, what could they have done in such a short time? Nothing would have changed.

She understood all of that.

She accepted all of that.

And yet...

Looking at Yan Cijin standing there, about to be cornered by those three, her mind couldn’t stay completely calm anymore. Her logic told her she had done nothing wrong, that this was simply how the world worked now. Only the strong, the smart, or the lucky would survive. That was the rule. That was the truth. But her heart didn’t agree so easily. The thought of what might have happened if she hadn’t come here... what those three would have done... it was something she didn’t even want to imagine.

A faint tension built up in her chest, quickly turning into something sharper.

Anger.

Not just toward those men, but also toward herself.

"...Tch..."

Her grip on the kukri tightened slightly.

She didn’t know why it affected her this much, why out of all the people she had ignored or passed by since the apocalypse began, this one woman made her feel like this. Maybe it was because she knew her, even if just a little. Maybe it was something else entirely. She didn’t bother trying to figure it out right now.

All she knew was one thing.

Those three... shouldn’t be breathing right now.

Her eyes turned colder as she looked at them for a brief second before shifting back to Yan Cijin again. There was still that same calm expression on her face, almost like she hadn’t been afraid at all, but Bai Li didn’t miss the situation she had walked into. Without thinking too much about it, she spoke, her voice low but steady.

.

.

.

To be continued.