Zhang Youji

Lilian Mo whipped around and pushed Lin Jiaojiao behind her. She saw that the child was now running towards them.

Mu Qingqing also noticed this as well. "Momo, this child is heading our way..."

"Big sister Mo, maybe we should help the child... It's only a child."

That was exactly the problem. Desperation during the apocalypse was a bad thing. Many people had crossed the lines due to desperation and Lilian Mo was very familiar with these kinds of situations.

'It's only a child...' She thought but she also knows how scary children can be during the apocalypse and this kind of naïve thought had caused many people's deaths.

Despite the hot weather, there was still a faint amount of wind blowing and as the child was running, their hood fell back, revealing a round face and a pair of eyes darker than black.

The sunlight made the inky black hair stand out and a few strands of short hair swayed against the faint breeze.

Lilian Mo stood still like a statue as her eyes dilated, knowing who this child was.

A faint memory appeared in her mind about a tall woman speaking to a little boy.

▪▪▪

"Good boy, Youji. You did great." Sister Xi praised as she ruffled the mop of messy black hair of a little boy whose face held no emotion, making people think he was a doll or a puppet whose only purpose was to do their master's bidding.

His incredibly pale features made him stand out and so did his excellent looks.

The boy lowered his gaze for a moment but Lilian Mo felt utterly lost in them as if she was looking at the black abyss. The boy was very quiet and his hand clutched onto the hem of Sister Xi's shirt with obvious dependency.

"Little Mo, why do you look nervous? Come here and let Youji hold your hand."

▪▪▪

Zhang Youji.

This was the name of the child that was running towards them. Mu Qingqing had stepped forward and blocked Lilian Mo's figure.

"Hm... I don't know what a child would want but don't worry Momo! I'll definitely protect you." Although Mu Qingqing was saying that, she was not too worried. It was only a child. What could a young kid do?

"Little girl, stop..." Lilian Mo persuaded as she pulled Mu Qingqing out of the way.

The child stopped one meter before them and was clearly panting from running too much. Lilian Mo stared at this very familiar face with a bit of pain in her chest.

Zhang Youji, a very important pawn in Sister Xi's little army. Lilian Mo had been scared of this child in her past life since this child had been utterly corrupted by Sister Xi and many other people in the apocalypse.

From what she knew, Zhang Youji at the age of eight lost his mother. That mother was killed by a skilled ability user but not before Zhang Youji was forced to become bait to lure other people, regardless if they were ability users or not.

This child in front of her would go out every few days to lure humans to his house using a crystal core and would pretend to ask them for help. Of course, not every encounter was successful and he sometimes ends up getting beaten or robbed of the crystal core, receiving even more beatings from his mother when he gets home empty-handed.

But once he has successfully lured them to his house, his mother would be there, awaiting the people Zhang Youji had lured.

And those people in turn wouldn't know what hit them until they were killed and eaten by the half-mutant that was Zhang Youji's mother.

Lilian Mo shivered to herself.

Zhang Youji was still here and he looked to be about eight... Judging from the crystal core he was holding; it would seem that he has been luring people just like what happened in her past life.

Based on what she knew in her past life, Zhang Youji was forced to do this kind of odd job by his half-mutant mother and this lasted for a year and a half before a lightning ability user came and killed Zhang Youji's half-mutant mother, freeing him from his misery.

That ability user was no other than Sister Xi. Sister Xi did not kill Zhang Youji because she found out a very important thing.

Zhang Youji is a mind reader.

A very powerful mental ability user that could read other people's thoughts and memories upon contact. He could even project them towards someone else which was helpful in information sharing.

And to Sister Xi who liked to collect useful people, the young Zhang Youji was the perfect pawn to help her achieve her goals. She used this child to steal information and break people's minds, reducing them into disposable pawns.

Lilian Mo inhaled deeply. The boys had now noticed that the girls had stopped and turned to look at them. Their eyes lit up with understanding when they saw the child that had followed them.

"Little sister Mo, what are you going to do?" Mu Qianmo asked with a frown. His eyes looked at her with meaning. They had agreed not to get involved and although it was cruel of them to turn away from this situation, it was best to walk away, lest they get into trouble.

Lilian Mo was very quiet as she closed her eyes, asking herself what to do in this situation.

In her memory, Zhang Youji was a child who held no emotion and was similar to a puppet. He followed Sister Xi around like an obedient dog and did many more atrocious things that were even worse than luring people to death.

The child infront of her was still young. She could step forward and change his future...

However, what did she even know about raising a child? If she took him in, she would have to ask for the others' opinions. Lu Jingren was one thing, he did not like accepting new members which were why they were a group of three before they united with her and the others.

Lilian Mo bit her bottom lip while stressing.

It would be an easy choice for someone else but it was different for Lilian Mo.

It was because she killed this child in her previous life. His skills were useful but his offensive ability was next to nothing which was why he always tagged along with Sister Xi. And that devious woman would never allow her pawn to be harmed by others.

It was a stroke of luck for Lilian Mo to be able to kill him when Sister Xi was out on a mission.

Did she regret it? No.

But she did cry herself to sleep and drowned herself in guilt and sorrow. She had killed many, defeated so many but never a child.

It was her first time murdering a child and it would also be her last.

Her hands twitched.

Just when she thought that she would have to stand for a few more hours before she could decide, a figure from her group stepped forward towards the child.

It was Lu Jingren.

▪▪▪