Betrayal

To be honest, Mo Yu had no idea where to search for the two of them. But she had just caught a glimpse of the emergency escape map at the rest stop and learned of a large warehouse here, as well as an air-raid shelter built long ago. She could only choose between the two—if she picked correctly, her chances of survival would instantly double.

Mo Yu knew she could not hesitate now; every second was a fleeting heartbeat, every second their lives hung by a thread. After a moment's consideration, she decided to check the air-raid shelter.

The tunnel was deep, the darkness oppressive, pressing on her chest. The further she ventured, the more uneasy she felt—not knowing whether she feared witnessing something she wished she hadn’t, or losing control of events entirely, or both. This anxiety clung to her footsteps, thundering along with her racing heart.

The air-raid shelter had been constructed in the fifties or sixties, an era she’d read about in textbooks—a period of rapid change, its buildings sturdy and well-made. Even the distant howls of zombies echoed clearly within, a testament to the shelter’s remarkable acoustics.

The further she went, the more oppressive it became: the tang of rust, the echoes of wailing, and, above all, despair—layer upon layer of despair.

Mo Yu’s heart leapt into her throat. No, it can’t be, she thought desperately. It can’t be what I fear.

Without another thought, she rushed forward, oblivious to the shadow that crept behind her.

Suddenly, her neck was seized in a vice-like grip. In that instant of carelessness, panic flooded her senses, exploding in her mind. For reasons she couldn’t explain, memories from her previous life began to reel through her head—the things she most despised, so like the presence behind her now.

Unwittingly, she had mistaken her assailant for a zombie; in a split second, she was subdued, unable to move at all.

The prolonged suffocation left her mind hazy, dizziness mocking her helplessness. Though her consciousness was rapidly fading, she could still sense the hands behind her—trying to twist her neck and snap it. A sudden jolt of clarity rekindled her will. Mo Yu clawed desperately at those rough hands, but her strength was failing.

Her hands fell limply to her sides; she was like a trapped animal, moments from death.

Her attacker hesitated at her surrender, but only for a few seconds before resuming, relentless—better to kill a hundred by mistake than let one go free.

Realizing her ruse had failed and that another chance might never come, Mo Yu seized the opening—she drove her left heel backward with all her might.

A sharp cry of pain as her attacker’s foot was nearly broken; his grip slackened instinctively. In that instant, Mo Yu let her left shoulder drop, gripped his hands with both of hers, braced her right shoulder, and with all her strength, threw him over her shoulder. The force sent them both tumbling.

There was a dull thud as body met concrete. Gasping for breath, Mo Yu staggered upright, using the wall for support.

It was pitch-dark in the shelter, but a faint sliver of light filtered in—enough for Mo Yu to see her enemy clearly.

“Why?” Her voice was shrill, teetering on hysteria, tinged with heartbreak.

“Why? Why what? Why so many questions?” the man retorted, then laughed.

“Traitor!” Mo Yu spat through clenched teeth.

“Do you still think you’re some kind of lady? Disgusting. No wonder she despised you.” Li Yi hauled himself up from the ground, battered and humiliated. He wiped his mouth indifferently, his back aching but not seriously hurt.

“Who are you, really?” Mo Yu arched her brow, a mocking smile curling her lips.

“Miss Mo, you must be so important you forget your best friends. But you won’t need to remember me for long—I’ll send you on your way!” Li Yi lunged at her again.

Mo Yu understood everything now. She laughed coldly, but it was a laugh full of contempt and loathing. “Vermin are always hard to shake off. Don’t worry—once I’m done with you, I’ll send your beloved after you.”

The man faltered for a moment but did not stop.

Li Yi possessed speed abilities, priding himself on his prowess. He believed killing Mo Yu would be effortless, always assuming she was weak, surviving only by Mo Qingxuan’s protection—a parasitic flower. But he was wrong. His judgment stemmed from ignorance; he had never witnessed Mo Yu’s true strength.

Seeing Li Yi come at her with lethal intent, Mo Yu cursed him as a thankless wolf—and herself for being too soft-hearted. She resolved not to hold back any longer.

Li Yi’s much-vaunted speed was nothing compared to her power of invisibility; to her, he was a mere novice, barely worth notice.

With a failed leap, Li Yi found his target had vanished.

“Come out if you dare! Hiding, are you?” He spun around, eyes wild, but found nothing.

“Come out—so you can be killed?” A blade, cold as death, pressed to his throat.

“Coward!” Li Yi snarled.

“That’s right—I’m a coward! I saved you, fed you, treated you! Yes, I’m a coward! And today, I’ll be a villain too!” Mo Yu’s laughter was sharp as ice. “Not just a villain—a monster, if that’s what it takes!”

Li Yi flushed with rage but refused to concede. “It’s your fault for bullying her! You deserve to die!”

Mo Yu laughed, more bitterly than before. “I never realized you could twist truth so shamelessly. Save your words for your beloved—I promise, you’ll be reunited soon.”

She slid the blade across his throat; blood sprayed in the darkness.

“You’ll re—” regret this. Li Yi convulsed, dying like a fish on land.

“Regret? Regret what?” Mo Yu wiped the blood from her blade onto his body, then raced out of the shelter without a backward glance.

Elsewhere, in an off-road vehicle—

“Drop your gun, or I’ll kill him!” A razor-sharp blade pressed closer to the pale neck, a streak of blood blooming before Li Jun’s eyes.

“Let him go!” Li Jun’s eyes were bloodshot, fixed on the boy who’d been mute for nearly two months.

“Let him go? In your dreams! Unless you shoot yourself first! You killed my brother—I’ll kill yours!”

“Hmph!” Li Jun snorted. “If your brother hadn’t gone mad for food and tried to kill us, I wouldn’t have killed him!”

“If you’d just shared your good stuff with us, none of this would’ve happened!” the boy replied shamelessly, without a trace of embarrassment.

It was the first time Li Jun had encountered such brazen, shamelessness; his whole body shook with rage. He wanted to kill the boy himself, but feared for Mo Chi’s safety.

“Brother!” Mo Chi’s legs thrashed in the air, pain making him whimper.

“Let him go!” Li Jun ground out the words, jaw clenched so tight it hurt.

In Li Jun’s mind, Mo Chi was Mo Yu’s brother—and so his own. Memories of the quiet boy always sitting beside him made his helplessness all the more bitter.

“Toss the gun over!” The boy’s narrow eyes glinted with triumph—and unrestrained greed.

“Fine.” Slowly, Li Jun lowered his weapon, raising both hands in surrender but keeping his foot pressed firmly atop the gun. “Let him go first!” He didn’t trust the boy’s sincerity.

“Alright. I’ll count to three. One, two, three—let go together!”

Li Jun nodded his assent.

“One.”

The blade left Mo Chi’s neck, blood welling up. Mo Chi’s feet hit the floor, and Li Jun eased his foot off the gun.

“Two.”

Mo Chi staggered, his collar still gripped in the boy’s hand. Li Jun shifted as if to kick.

“Three!”

Mo Chi was shoved forward, the gun sliding past his feet.

A gunshot rang out—“Bang!”—the recoil slamming Mo Chi against the car wall.

“Mo Chi!” Li Jun saw the killing blow, but nothing else mattered now.

Mo Chi had killed someone—a fact Mo Yu could hardly believe.

She had only just returned to find the unfamiliar little girl clutching her doll in the freezing air, clearly something terrible had happened in the car. When Mo Yu tried to investigate, the girl attacked her outright.

But Mo Yu showed no mercy—knowing they were all in league, she hardened her heart and shot the girl through the head.

The doll, spattered with blood, lay forlorn on the ground.

She hadn’t expected the scene inside to be so tragic. Mo Yu glanced at Mo Chi from afar, then collapsed into unconsciousness.

This time, Li Jun was truly frantic with worry.