Chapter 175: Divide
Ruan Silian was indeed the most suitable candidate. She had no special abilities, which would make all those arrogant ability users lower their guard.
As for Wu Heng—beautiful as he was—what stood out more was the unmistakable sense of pressure produced by a high-tier ability user. Who would dare to harass or offend him?
Ruan Silian simply smiled at Wu Heng with almost indulgent fondness. Perhaps he was already the person who understood her best.
She untied her scarf and handed it to Dou Lu to hold. Then she reached out, picked up a glass of pink sparkling water, and splashed it over her chest. The chiffon blouse beneath her open outer coat was immediately soaked through, revealing faint, enticing curves beneath the damp fabric.
“Don’t look at indecency!” Lin Mengzhi immediately raised a hand to cover Wu Heng’s eyes—though he only managed to block one of them.
Xue Qi covered the other. “Captain, don’t be so p*rverted, or you’ll never find a wife.”
Wu Heng was far more composed. He removed Lin Mengzhi’s hand, stepped forward, and took hold of Ruan Silian’s wrist. He tied a vine around it like a bracelet.
“Be careful.”
After speaking, his tone paused slightly. His gaze carried an inhuman calm.
“I don’t care whether the people of Hanzhou live or die. But this is something the class monitor promised his older brother and the others he would do, so I’ll help him.”
“You don’t need to worry about accidents. If anything goes wrong, I’ll take all of you—including the class monitor—and leave Hanzhou immediately.”
The handsome man and beautiful woman stood tall together. Whether viewed from inside the room or outside, they formed a striking scene.
…
Pi Run had been absent-minded in front of Ning Bizhen and Shen Miao for quite a while. He was an old subordinate who had followed Ning Bizhen for years. Ning Bizhen treated him more politely than most, but he wasn’t someone lacking in self-awareness. He clearly understood that, in Ning Bizhen’s eyes, he was essentially no different from the others in Hanzhou. Because of this, he kept his posture even more humble than the people beside him.
“Your Majesty Ning,” Pi Run bent slightly at the waist. His obedient expression carried a hint of curiosity about the people inside the room. “Those few inside the house—are they the team people mentioned a few days ago, the one made up entirely of high-tier ability users?”
Ning Bizhen’s attention was on Shen Miao. He didn’t even seem to hear what Pi Run had said; in any case, he simply nodded—if something went wrong, he would just have the other party beheaded.
“So young, so beautiful,” Pi Run sighed. The two women beside him both shot him a glance and curled their lips in their own ways.
After expressing their usual disdain for Pi Run—who was among the worst of lech*rs—their attention was drawn to the same spot again.
At the main entrance, a woman in a white gauze dress and a lotus-pink long coat stumbled out, her expression slightly flustered. After searching unsuccessfully for several people, she had finally turned toward them.
The young woman standing to Pi Run’s left unconsciously loosened her grip on his arm and murmured, “So young, so beautiful.”
The people standing with her all turned to look in the direction she was staring.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ruan Silian ran lightly toward them.
She first greeted Ning Bizhen, then wished Shen Miao a happy birthday. Afterward, she glanced down at the damp front of her clothes and said somewhat embarrassedly, “I accidentally spilled some wine. Is there somewhere I can clean up?”
Ning Bizhen liked people with proper manners. Rarely, he gave her his full attention.
“The third floor of the middle building has restrooms and changing rooms.”
After thanking him, Ruan Silian left. The moment she stepped away, Pi Run took the opportunity to slip out of the garden as well.
Inside the house, half the people were pressed up against the window. Even X was leaning against it, peering outside.
“Ruan Silian predicted it perfectly!”
“Pi Run was a p*rvert to begin with,” Yang Ao said. “He’s got five wives, but the women he’s been involved with—fifty wouldn’t even cover it. If he weren’t an ability user, his body wouldn’t survive the way he keeps exhausting himself.”
“There are girls here—watch your mouth,” Yang Yu said, elbowing her younger brother.
Yang Ao looked a bit more spirited than when he had first reunited with everyone. He glanced at Dou Lu. “Sis, you have no idea how incredibly knowledgeable Dou Lu is.”
“… ”
Wu Heng finished the last piece of fruit in his hand.
“We can follow them now.”
“We have to hurry,” Dou Lu said anxiously. She was too worried to even respond to Yang Ao’s joke.
To avoid drawing attention, the group kept their formation loose and their pace unhurried. Along the way, they even absentmindedly greeted a few people they had never met before.
They were almost there—almost at the staircase. It was right in front of them now. Dou Lu was breathing heavily, her heart pounding so hard it felt as if it were shaking inside her skull.
“Ah!”
Wu Heng could only watch as Dou Lu, who had been walking awkwardly in front of him with stiff, synchronized steps, tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground.
A hand moved faster than Wu Heng. Someone helped Dou Lu up first.
“Are you alright?” It was Shen Miao, who had appeared inside the house at some point without anyone noticing.
“I’m fine, I’m fine! I just—”
“You scraped your hand?” Shen Miao turned her palm over to look at it. “I’ll have someone treat the wound.”
Every inch of Dou Lu’s body radiated resistance, but she didn’t dare struggle with him at a moment like this and risk causing trouble. Inside, she cursed silently. Before the castle’s physician led her away, she kept throwing meaningful looks at Wu Heng—
You must bring my A’Ruan back safely!
Charge! Charge! Charge!
Lin Mengzhi rushed forward headfirst, his eyes already unknowingly reddened by rising hunger.
“A few days ago, the district chief of Area B sent several vats of fruit wine, brewed from mutated wild grapes. Would you like to try some?”
Wu Heng hadn’t even had time to react when the people around him were already lured away by that single word—“try”—and began crowding around Shen Miao.
Even X, and the fish in the tank that Ying Liuquan was holding, excitedly chased after Shen Miao.
The only two unaffected were Yang Ao and Yang Yu. Both of them stared in shock.
“What do we do now?”
“You follow them. I can handle what’s upstairs by myself,” Wu Heng said, turning and striding quickly up the stairs.
—
Ruan Silian pushed open the door and stepped into the pitch-black changing room. She fumbled around for a moment before finally finding the light switch.
Since it was a room rarely used, the bulb gave off a very dim light. Even when turned on, it only illuminated a small patch directly beneath it.
Clutching her wrist, she stood still and watched the direction of the door.
Sure enough, two or three minutes later, there came a gentle knock.
Ruan Silian walked slowly to the door. Without the slightest hesitation, she twisted the handle. One hand clutched her collar as she leaned her upper body out, looking at the person outside with a puzzled expression.
Pi Run was momentarily dazzled by the youthful glow of her face. Regaining his composure, he maintained basic politeness.
“We met briefly downstairs just now. My name is Pi Run. I’m a metal-type ability user.”
“A metal-type ability user?” Ruan Silian’s eyes lit up with curiosity and admiration. She even unconsciously loosened her grip on the doorknob. Pi Run took the opportunity to push the door open as if casually and stepped inside, continuing his introduction.
“Yes. I’m currently S-rank. There aren’t many people in the entire base with a higher ability level than mine.”
Ruan Silian glanced at the empty stairwell. Gritting her teeth, she closed the door and turned around to continue dealing with Pi Run.
“Then you’re really amazing.”
“Not bad, I suppose.” Pi Run pretended to examine the room, touching this and that. “What about you?”
“I’m just an ordinary human with no abilities,” Ruan Silian said softly.
“No abilities? That’s really too—” Pi Run almost blurted out what he truly thought. Beautiful women were best off without abilities. Their beauty alone could make people lose their minds—if they also had the strength to beat someone to death, that would be even more troublesome. But seeing the young girl before him looking visibly dejected at the mention of abilities, he obviously couldn’t say that aloud.
“A woman without abilities has an especially hard time surviving in this apocalypse,” Pi Run said, putting on a sympathetic expression as he leaned against a table. “So over the past half year or so, I’ve helped rescue quite a few women who were in difficult situations.”
“You’re a good person,” Ruan Silian said gently with a smile.
Pi Run felt the moment was right. More importantly, she hadn’t shown any disgust or distance toward him. Besides, not to mention his strength—his appearance was still at least above average. Very few people could remain unmoved by him.
Having made up his mind, Pi Run’s gaze stuck to the damp area on Ruan Silian’s chest. He lifted a finger and pointed at it.
“Your clothes are wet. I can use my ability to dry them quickly. Would you like me to help?”
Ruan Silian frowned slightly. Things were progressing much faster than she had expected, but she quickly understood why—once people gained abilities, most of them also gained an overblown sense of confidence. Pi Run was clearly one of those people, the type who believed that with just a crook of his finger, women would rush toward him.
Yet the doorway behind her remained completely silent.
“That’s impressive, but there are dry towels over there. I can just wipe it off. Using your ability for such a small thing would be a waste,” Ruan Silian said with a smile, walking toward the coat rack by the door.
Pi Run took the chance to follow right behind her.
“Anyway, we spend our days idling around in the base. It’s not like abilities are needed every day. If I can help someone, I’m more than happy to.”
His aggressiveness had clearly increased compared to before. Not only could she sense it—whatever was inside her stomach sensed it too. Her throat went dry, but she forced herself to stay calm. Taking down a towel, she turned back with a gentle smile.
“Really, it’s not necessary. Thank you.”
Really ungrateful.
Those two words seemed to grow large and float through Pi Run’s mind. He had been flattered for far too long; any refusal—no matter how polite—was something he couldn’t tolerate.
Ruan Silian suddenly felt the man in front of her tear off his mask of pretended kindness in an instant. The next moment, pain shot across her scalp—he had grabbed her hair viciously.
But none of the teammates who were supposed to follow her upstairs had arrived.
“You damn woman! You flirt with me and then pull this act?” Pi Run cursed angrily. With his other hand, he even reached to unzip his pants, the familiarity of the motion almost unbelievable.
At that moment, the physical difference between an ability user and an ordinary human became painfully clear. This was the first time Ruan Silian had been seized alone by an ability user, completely unable to resist. And something inside her abdomen was moving and striking against her insides—the pain in her stomach was far worse than the sting on her scalp.
Looking at the fragile, helpless girl in front of him, tears all over her face, Pi Run felt the blood in his body rush to one place. He grinned wickedly, his voice turning softer—yet even more terrifying.
“Easy there, little sister. Don’t cry, don’t cry. It’ll be over soon. Just a little pain at first—just a little—and after that you’ll feel amazing.”
Those words didn’t disgust Ruan Silian in the slightest. The vine around her wrist loosened and slipped naturally into her hand. She continued pleading aloud, “Mr. Pi, I’m sorry, please…”
A dark green blade, about two inches long, plunged into the side of Pi Run’s neck—its tip emerging from the other side.
“You damn… woman…” Pi Run began to gather strength in his hand. The immense power of his metal ability was enough to smash Ruan Silian to pieces. He swung his fist and drove it toward her stomach with brutal force.
But the attack failed.
Between his fist and her abdomen, a vague black arc of light suddenly appeared, blocking the heavy blow outright.
The human pupils in Ruan Silian’s eyes had vanished. In their place were slender, vertical snake-like pupils—but they appeared only briefly before returning to normal.
He could still speak, and golden energy was already gathering in his palm again. To him, crushing her would be as easy as crushing an ant—an ability user only truly died if their heart was destroyed and their core taken.
Her teammates hadn’t come. But what her teammates could do, she could do as well.
Shk—
She pulled the dagger out. Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering across most of her face. Her eyelids didn’t even tremble.
She stabbed fiercely at Pi Run’s heart more than a dozen times. She wasn’t an ability user, and piercing the body of a metal-type ability user took a great deal of force. Her strikes weren’t precise—but in the end, it was enough.
He died.
Pi Run’s filthy hand was still clutching a fistful of her hair. Ruan Silian tried to pry his fingers open but failed. Lowering her head, she simply cut off the chunk of hair he was gripping.
The man collapsed to the ground.
A pool of blood spread beneath his body.
Ruan Silian leaned against the coat rack and slowly crouched down. She reached out and touched the man’s face—it was still warm. The eyes above his cheeks were still wide open. She withdrew her hand and placed it on her stomach.
From within the wall, a strand of hair drifted out first. Then Wu Heng poked his head through. The young man scanned the room, and only then noticed Ruan Silian crouching on the ground in a disheveled state—and the human corpse at her feet, surrounded by a river of blood.
Wu Heng clearly froze for a moment.
“You killed him?”
Ruan Silian held her stomach and sat down on the floor. She held out the dagger in her hand.
“Thanks to the weapon you gave me.”
For once, Wu Heng showed a look of approval toward someone—but it lasted only a brief moment. He sealed the room, locking away the smell of blood, and then said:
“Then I’ll trouble you to divide it evenly according to the number of people.”