Chapter 1: Chaotic Times of Trading Sons for Food
The Apocalypse, Year 666.
Before the zombies besieged the cities, the four major bases clashed over resources again, engaging in combat with Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Space, and Wood Series Abilities as intense as planets colliding with Earth.
Bai Ren and his sworn enemy both perished in the chaos.
Ironically, after enduring 666 years of the Apocalypse, humans were not devoured by zombies but died from killing each other.
Bai Ren closed her eyes reluctantly.
After an unknown time, a piercing cry reached her ears, "Don't eat my brother! Please, let him go!"
In the midst of this desperate, piercing scream, Bai Ren suddenly opened her eyes.
Her gaze was met with flames.
She wanted to move but found herself restrained and unable to free her hands.
Not far away, there was a grill ablaze with roaring fire, with steam billowing from the pot on it, indicating the water would soon boil.
Around the grill, a group of people dressed in rags like zombies gathered in front of the pot, one of them holding up a child.
The child, about four or five years old, was incessantly crying and struggling, shouting, "Big sister, save me, big sister, save me."
On the other side, a girl about seven or eight years old was also being dragged away, not allowed to come forward.
It was the girl's cries that had woken Bai Ren, and she was still shouting, "Big sister, please save my little brother! Big sister, please save him!"
"Shut up!" the person restraining the girl impatiently slapped her across the face.
The immense force swelled her face instantly, and seeing stars, she could no longer speak.
At that moment, the iron pot on the grill finally began to bubble with the sound of boiling water.
"The water's boiling, hurry and throw the two-legged sheep in," one of the strong men urged, swallowing saliva.
His urging tightened the throats of several men beside him.
Behind them, about a dozen women were staring intently at the boy, their eyes seeing him as a fat sheep, not a child.
Bai Ren frowned. She knew all too well what was happening. The bases explicitly prohibited cannibalism, yet here in this remote area, people were still resorting to eating children!
She gritted her teeth and tried to activate her Special Ability, but nothing happened around her.
Bai Ren looked up in astonishment, tried to activate her Special Ability again, but still, all was silent.
Where was her Special Ability?
Her Twelfth-rank top-tier wood-series ability, her reliance, had vanished?
As Bai Ren was still shocked about where her ability had gone, the boiling water on the other side splashed out.
Just as the man was about to throw the child into the scalding pot, the terror in the child's eyes quickly turned to ice.
Bai Ren could no longer hold back.
She pulled her wrists forcefully downwards, breaking free as the man restraining her had not been too cautious, especially with the prospect of having soup to drink soon, which made him even more careless.
The strong guy hadn't time to chase her when Bai Ren made two steps into three and leaped forward, snatching the child into her arms just before he was thrown into the pot. The child's belt got dipped into the scalding pot and when it was flung out, it landed on Bai Ren's hand, instantly turning it red.
Bai Ren winced unconsciously. If the child had fallen into the pot, he would probably have been cooked thoroughly in an instant.
The man who tried to throw the child was not expecting her to suddenly rush forward and immediately reached to grab him.
Bai Ren, quick as a flash, kicked the boiling water towards the man.
The man, unprepared for the girl's sudden ferocity, dodged by relying on his survival instincts honed over many years, but he still got splash burns, blistering his skin in an instant.
Fury rising, the man pulled out the scythe tucked at his waist and raised it high.