Chapter 28: Kitty~

The auctioneer raised the scissors.

He aimed at Nurse An’s collar.

Nurse An stood under the spotlight, gritting her teeth.

She didn’t scream or wail—only silent tears slid down her face.

Until today, before facing the thugs and watching her so-called fiancé flee in panic, she still clung to the innocent dreams of a young girl.

—Even if the world had ended, as long as her beloved was still by her side, as long as they could walk forward together, the future would still be filled with sunshine and flowers.

That was what she believed.

So she wasn’t afraid.

In her eyes, it was just moving to another place, switching to a different job—everything would turn out fine.

He would protect her.

He would keep his promise.

The so-called apocalypse was just a dramatic test.

After enduring hardship together, their love would only grow stronger.

If they could survive even the end of the world, what else could possibly break their bond?

It would be the strongest love in existence.

They would carry that love with them, forever and ever…

And she would become the happiest woman in the world.

“But why did you run away?” Nurse An murmured.

Her eyes were blank, lifeless, staring ahead in a daze.

The image of the man’s back as he fled—without hesitation—replayed endlessly in her mind.

That back showed no reluctance, only decisiveness and finality.

Nurse An could understand.

Faced with overwhelming danger, running away was the only thing he could do.

But why…

—Why haven’t you answered a single one of my calls?

Why are you avoiding me?

All I wanted to do was tell you that I don’t blame you. I know you were powerless.

I just wanted to say one last thing to you, before I lost every shred of human dignity.

Let you see me, as a person, one last time.

Remember what I looked like at the end.

So why won’t you pick up?

You know I’m drowning in despair.

You know I need you now more than ever—just a glimpse of your face on a call would’ve been enough.

Why?

Is this how we become strangers?

Not even strangers.

And all those vows?

You said we’d live to see the future together, witness the rebuilding of our home.

We’d have a lovely daughter, and tell her our tales of adventure—our love, stronger than gold.

So it was all a lie, wasn’t it?

“Creak—”

It was the sound of scissors brushing fabric.

Nurse An knew her dignity would be stripped away in seconds.

All her privacy would be exposed under the spotlight.

And yet, she felt no fear.

Only numbness, and a heart gone cold.

“Creak—”

The sound continued.

It was the sound of fabric being fully cut open.

But it wasn’t her clothes.

……

A blade pierced through the back of the auctioneer’s head and emerged from his left eye.

Blood sprayed across Nurse An’s face.

She stiffly turned around.

And saw Wu Xiaomi yanking the knife out of the auctioneer’s skull, smiling warmly.

“Here.”

She cut the ropes binding Nurse An’s wrists and ankles, and handed her a sword.

“Untie the others too… then let’s kill some bugs.”

Whether sellers or buyers—

They were all bugs.

None of them deserved to live.

[Sequence 79 – Spirit-Hunting Instinct]

Aside from the special Sequence 117, this was the only sequence Wu Xiaomi had mastered.

Her perception and agility were multiplied in this state.

Another gust of wind came from behind.

“Trying to bash me again…”

She lunged forward, dodging the blunt weapon.

“One more hit and I’d really be stupid!”

With a backward slash, she sliced open the thug’s throat.

Scarlet blood sprayed high into the air and splattered on the ground.

From where the blood landed, small white flowers quickly bloomed, roots spreading out, rapidly absorbing the blood.

There was no time to wonder how it worked.

Relying on her Spirit-Hunting instincts, she began weaving through the crowd.

Blood sprayed in arcs.

Sequence 79 was hard to use against the Beast-Faced Clan, but against humans, it was overwhelmingly powerful.

The instinct boosted her speed immensely.

To most untrained Raiders, they simply couldn’t keep up with Wu Xiaomi—some couldn’t even catch her afterimage.

Sequence dominance!

In this moment, Wu Xiaomi finally understood why Nanalia had hyped up Sequence 79, saying she dreamed of awakening it.

When fighting fragile humans, speed and reflexes were everything!

“Meow… Roar—”

Unfortunately, the Syndicate’s auction wasn’t so simple.

A massive shadow streaked by. Sharp claws slashed Wu Xiaomi’s shoulder, leaving a bloody gash.

Blood seeped out.

Wu Xiaomi looked at the giant cat in front of her.

As expected… something’s off.

There’s no way this world still has ordinary house cats.

Cats hadn’t been transferred during the disaster.

If a cat was here, there was only one explanation.

A spirit pet.

A contracted creature like a magic puppet—likely obtained in the last raid.

“Tch. Not obedient.”

This wasn’t a cat anymore.

A two-meter-long body, as big as a tiger.

A single sliding kick from her wouldn’t even be enough to wedge between its teeth.

“Feline contract creatures, aside from insect-types, are the kings of land combat in their weight class.”

Xiao Luobo had just woken up—she’d been knocked out earlier by a forehead flick from a masked man.

She muttered, “Suggest you run. No way you’re winning this one.”

“I can’t run.”

If these buyers and sellers weren’t wiped out, there’d be more victims soon.

Bastards like this—only total annihilation will do!

Wu Xiaomi looked at the spotless floor.

The blood had already vanished, replaced by clusters of small white flowers.

“Just what is the mechanism behind ‘Bloom’? Is it a forced biological transformation?”

“It breaks down spirit sources. Life is built on spirit source. Sequence 117 Bloom can deconstruct spirit sources… but with your current power, don’t even think about force-deconstructing a living person.”

“Then why was I able to do it last time…?”

“That was the residual power of the Sequence Seed. You had just absorbed it, and the natural spirit source inside gave you a boost. Even then, you nearly drained yourself dry—if your spirit source had run out, you’d be dead now.”

Troublesome.

This wasn’t something she was good at dealing with.

“If you don’t want to die, then be a good girl and surrender,” said the masked man, standing behind the black cat. “You’re not getting away.”

“I… don’t intend to run.” Wu Xiaomi pressed a hand over the wound on her shoulder. “The ones who should be afraid… are you.”

Why should these parasites get to bask in the sunlight like they own it?

Anger.

That was the only emotion Wu Xiaomi felt after everything she’d been through.

But she wasn’t the type to scream her rage—she buried it deep inside, poured it onto the edge of her blade.

“I’d rather not mess up your face. You’re worth quite a bit—scars would lower your value.” The masked man shook his head. “Behave, and with looks like yours, your owner will surely treat you well. No need to worry about suffering.”

Such lofty words only made her burn hotter with fury.

But the cat was a real problem. 

If she didn’t take care of it, she wouldn’t be able to help anyone else.

By now, the chaos had subsided. 

The buyers had all taken their seats again, calmly watching Wu Xiaomi.

Once again, they’d become spectators.

Safely enjoying the show.

Wu Xiaomi looked around the empty room and suddenly had a flash of insight.

“This place counts as a house, right?”

Hmm?

“As long as it’s a house, it should have point exchange functionality.”

“So what?” sneered the masked man. “You trying to learn a new sequence last-minute? Useless. The store only offers sequences ranked 80 to 100, and they’re ridiculously expensive… even with ten thousand points, there’s no way you can cram hard enough to beat this cat.”

“No, sequences? Way too expensive. I’m going to redeem some firepower.”

“Firepower?”

This time, not just the masked man, but the whole exchange hall burst into laughter.

“Everybody knows the shop doesn’t offer modern firearms. Even if you craft one yourself with exchanged materials, they’ll confiscate it… Poor kid, you didn’t know that?”

“Not that kind of firepower.”

Wu Xiaomi tapped the air in front of her.

First, she opened the menu.

Selected the housing exchange page.

[Please design a house.]

She designed a small steel-structured tent and hit redeeming.

The tent instantly deployed over the group of girls.

Then, without waiting for anyone to react, she scrolled quickly down to the food section.

Found flour and selected the amount—[Fifty tons, no packaging].

Clicked redeem.

Only now did the masked man realize what might be happening.

His eyes widened in horror. “Kill her! Kill her! Now!”

Too late.

The sky tore open, and fifty tons of flour rained down.

With a whoosh, a dense white mist engulfed the entire exchange.

And of course, the hall had no windows and only a single entrance.

Even if they understood what the girl was trying to do, it was already too late to escape.

[Redeem—Cheap plastic butane lighter]

[Redeem—Hand crossbow]

She grabbed the lighter and hurled it hard at the giant cat’s mouth.

Before the cat could react, Wu Xiaomi raised the crossbow.

The bolt shot out after the lighter—chasing it through the air.

Right as the lighter reached the cat’s mouth.

“?”

The bolt struck the lighter dead-on. 

The cheap plastic shell shattered instantly.

A high concentration of butane gushed out.

And turned into a roaring flame.

“Meow…?”

“Boom——!!!”

Serves you right, for ignoring me earlier.

Cats that don’t let you pet them are the worst!