The world fell apart too fast. As the storm of destruction rushed toward them, Han Yanyan didn't have time to see the man's face clearly. She only remembered his eyes.
He watched everything collapse, his gaze never landing on Han Yanyan. To him, the pitiful Han Yanyan was no different from Miss Cao, who had already turned to dust, or the screaming and fleeing bodyguards. She probably had no more significance than the brick turning to powder on the wall, or the glass bottle on the ground.
His eyes showed only indifference—indifference to this world.
It was as if he didn't belong here.
That indifference terrified Han Yanyan. And then, the storm hit, and she shattered into nothing but powder.
Suddenly, she opened her eyes. All around her was a pure white space. Han Yanyan's legs buckled, and she fell to her knees, gasping for air. Experiencing destruction firsthand was utterly different from watching special effects in movies. Her heart was still pounding unpleasantly.
The electronic voice raged, "Not even ten minutes! Less than ten minutes!"
As she struggled to catch her breath, Han Yanyan wondered, what ten minutes?
"The worst builder under my command can at least last ten minutes! You're such a disappointment!" The electronic voice seemed particularly angry about this "ten minutes." "You've got such potential! Why did you perform so poorly? Didn't you say this was your best trick? How could your best fail?"
Even though her heart still felt uneasy, her typically calm mind managed to capture the information within the electronic voice's words.
She propped herself up on the floor and lifted her head. "When did I ever say that to you?" Her dark eyes quietly observed the pure white space ahead.
The electronic voice seemed stuck for a moment, paused for a second, then irritably said, "Mark her!"
Again with the "mark." But before Han Yanyan could think about the meaning of this word, the electronic voice suddenly lost all traces of humanity and emotion, and coldly and mechanically said, "Mark."
Han Yanyan blinked and looked down, realizing she was standing in the white space. She distinctly remembered being knocked to the ground, gasping for air just moments ago. She touched her chest. Her heartbeat was stable and slow, and the uneasy feeling of fear was gone.
Her mind felt blank, a sensation much like waking up and being unsure of where she was.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?
"Remember, I'm giving you one more chance! If you fail this time, I'm no charity. I'll return your body to you, and you'll be on your own." The electronic voice spoke coldly.
Though its tone was cold and intimidating, it was in stark contrast to the mechanical "mark" from before, filled with emotion, seeming more like a living person. What exactly was it? An artificial intelligence? Or was there a person behind the microphone...?
"Alright, this time get serious. Don't give me any more tricks. Trick me again, and it's like suicide for you—understand?" the electronic voice said angrily. "Show your strength! This time you must make the target in this world fall in love with you! Go!"
With that "go," her vision suddenly lost light. For the second time, Han Yanyan was somewhat accustomed. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found herself in an alleyway. Ordinary buildings flanked her, but for some reason, there was a sense of desolation and decay.
While surveying, the pre-given information about this world in Han Yanyan's mind activated. She realized the source of that feeling of decay—it was a post-apocalyptic world.
She searched through the information about her identity in this world and was quite speechless. The information on this world's Han Yanyan was so sparse, it was almost summed up in four words: Alone in the world.
In the last world, Han Yanyan had at least background information like her birth, school, and even details like renting a place. This world's Han Yanyan was essentially a blank slate.
Han Yanyan couldn't help but frown slightly, but moments later, her brows smoothed out as she understood.
An identity with no constraints wasn't necessarily bad. In the last world, she had to align her every move with the behavior pattern of that "Han Yanyan." In this world, she had no such burden. Since there's no identity to bind her, it means she can act freely.
Once Han Yanyan worked this out, she felt much lighter. She familiarized herself with the abilities of this "Han Yanyan," then stepped forward.
As she stepped out of the alley into the street, this place, once like a movie backdrop, suddenly came to life. Night had fallen, and streetlights illuminated the scene. In a post-apocalypse, for the city to still have streetlights showed that life here was stable, with some semblance of normal living and production.
Han Yanyan knew this city was Nanling City, located in nation S. It's a city with a long history, once the ancient capital of four dynasties. After the apocalypse, the well-preserved ancient city wall became a refuge for survivors.
Electricity generation, limited agricultural planting, and small workshop-like industries barely met basic survival needs, struggling on. Under the balance of various forces, it maintained basic social structures. But an apocalypse was still an apocalypse, and the scarce resources were insufficient to support all survivors' needs, leaving those who did live in both hardship and pain.
Except for the strong ones.
Stepping out of the alley was stepping into the street. On the dim street, there were quite a few people.
Most were there to trade. Glittering diamond bracelets lay on torn cloth; once expensive jewelry now could at most exchange for half a packet of instant noodles, and that was only with luck, encountering a wealthy patron with a beauty in tow. In contrast, kitchen knives and watermelon knives attracted crowds haggling over them. A decent kitchen knife's price, in the middle of several people competing, rose to half a box of instant noodles.
Life was tough; diamonds and gold had become useless things, while food had become hard currency.
Under the dim lights, some women loitered around the street corners, most of them looking quite good. When a man fancied one, he would negotiate. Half a bun, a packet of biscuits could secure the company of a woman back to his place. Some, less particular, went directly behind a dark tree. After a while, the woman emerged, adjusting her skirt, taking a packet of biscuits from the man and quickly tucking it into her neckline, covering her chest and running away.
As Han Yanyan watched these women, she was unaware that others were also looking at her.
Under the dim lights, a girl in a white cotton dress appeared on the street, displaying clean and graceful features, her long black hair smoothly cascading over her shoulders and back, exuding an unusual cleanliness in a chaotic world. A pretty girl maintaining such an appearance in the apocalypse meant she was either strong herself or had a strong man behind her. Those watching in the shadows didn't dare to make any reckless moves.
But after observing for a while, they realized this girl was wandering alone, looking somewhat bewildered. Her expression was a classic example of a newcomer, unaware and ignorant of the world. Realizing there had been a recent influx of survivors, people speculated she was likely a newcomer to the city.
After a while of watching, they confirmed she was indeed alone. She did not seem like a strong person either. Women in the apocalypse lived hard lives; those who were strong flaunted their strength to reduce unnecessary trouble.
This girl seemed tender and alluring, a tempting sight. If she had backing, she wouldn't be out alone like this in a lawless world, where pretty women disappearing was all too common.
Finally, someone couldn't hold back any longer and went to test the waters.
"Hey, you there, what's your price?" A man approached with a gleeful grin.
The girl in the white dress turned to glance at him. Her black-and-white eyes, a fair face free of the despair and exhaustion common among women in the apocalypse, and without fear or panic. Having seen too many women with withering and fading appearances, this vibrant, lively girl was tempting to the point of being irresistible.
The man felt saliva forming in his mouth, and blood rushing downward. He swallowed and offered a price, "Two buns?"
This was quite a generous price. He usually offered half a packet of instant noodles, but seeing how clean and pretty she was, he made an exception.
Han Yanyan shook her head, "I'm not for sale." Saying this, she turned to leave.
Oh, acting high and mighty.
Such women were common in the early years, but gradually disappeared. Those who maintained such pride without developing any special abilities didn't last long. By now, they were a rare sight, making her all the more interesting.
"Don't go." The man quickly stepped forward, blocking Han Yanyan's path, grinning and said, "Is it too little? I'll throw in a packet of instant noodles."
Han Yanyan's expression turned cold, "Move aside."
The man chuckled, "No."
With that, he reached out to grab Han Yanyan.
Han Yanyan flung her arm, shaking off his hand, and a clear stream of water appeared, wrapping around her arm to cleanse where he had touched, then evaporated into the air.
"Oh, water ability?" The man laughed. No wonder she wasn't willing to sell—so she was an ability user too.
But water abilities were generally considered weak, with little offensive power. Even though they were ability users, they typically only handled logistics or odd jobs in a team, for ease of access to water. The man was not intimidated at all. His eyes darted around, confirming no one appeared to be with the girl, which emboldened him.
"Perfect, I'm a fire ability user; we're a match. Hey, are you new? Do you have somewhere to stay? How about coming with me? I've got a big place all to myself..."
As he spoke, the man reached for her like a dog. Now feeling he had gauged Han Yanyan's capability, he was no longer cautious and immediately grabbed hold of her arm.
His grip was strong, not letting go once grasped. Though he wore a smile, his eyes betrayed the thrill of capturing prey.
Han Yanyan's expression shifted, and she used her second ability. Ice suddenly encased her forearm where he held her. Yelping at the sudden cold, he let go, and Han Yanyan seized the moment to kick him in the groin, using his pained scream as a chance to run.
Unfortunately, although Han Yanyan was alone, the man was not. While he forcibly hit on her, his friends stood nearby watching the show. When chaos erupted, they closed in, blocking her escape.
Han Yanyan clenched her fists, eyeing the four men closing in, brainstorming a strategy.
She had both water and ice abilities, and it was the first time using them, not yet skillful, clearly feeling that her usage was quite "forceful" despite having a lot of power still within her. She realized these abilities might not work well in actual combat.
The situation was precarious. Alone and vulnerable, a young pretty girl would certainly face a terrible outcome at the hands of these men. She came to this world to win over a certain man; she couldn’t falter before even meeting her target!