Lao San would never believe that someone so weak and powerless could actually pull off anything.

He himself wouldn’t last a second against a pollutant stronger than C-class, let alone the scrawny guy in front of him.

The youth’s white shirt was a mess, his fluffy black hair was disheveled, and there were smudges on his face. But his expression? Completely calm. Like he knew exactly what he was doing.

This little thing knows how to fight? Yeah, right.

And yet, for some reason, when Lao San met those deep, dark green eyes, so still they looked bottomless, he felt weirdly calm.

It's not like there were any other options left.

“What’s your plan?”

Ruan Xing glanced at the tall man and smiled. “Throw him out to buy some time.”

Lao San laughed furiously. “He’s my teammate. Who the hell do you think you are to decide that he should die just like that?”

Ruan Xing tilted his head. “He’s already bleeding out. He won’t make it. Unless you’ve got some miracle plan to get him back to the city alive?”

Lao San froze.

Ruan Xing continued, “Instead of wasting time using me as bait, why not use what you already have? Even if he somehow survives, how many resources will you have to use just to keep him alive?”

“You’re fighting tooth and nail just to make a living. Wouldn’t it be smarter to enjoy your loot alone instead of spending a fortune to treat him?”

Ruan Xing smiled. “Besides, his connections are your connections, right? If I make it out of here, I will be of greater value to you.”

Every word hit Lao San right where it hurt.

The buzzing sound around them got louder. His companion's face kept flashing in his mind.

Lao Da (老大 Lǎo Dà = Old Big or Big Brother) had no family, so there was no need for compensation. Lao Er only had an old father. Who was gonna take care of some old man? If he died, then he died.

And this guy in front of him? Couldn’t even fight back. He could be tied up and sold in the city. And with the loot in the car, he (Lao San) could finally live a good life. No more living on edge, wondering when he’d end up dead.

Hell, maybe he could even start a small business and leave this nightmare behind for good.

It was a lucrative deal!

Lao San’s eyes turned red.

He looked down at the tall man with eyes wide open but was too weak to say anything. His face twisted between laughter and tears before he clenched his jaw, flexed his arms, and shoved the guy toward the window.

“Boss, help me!”

The Ant-Man immediately honed in on the fresh meal. It stopped making those sound waves, stopped attacking them, and instead opened its mandibles, sending out thin, wriggling feelers to dig in.

The tall man barely managed to turn his head, looking first at Lao San and then at Ruan Xing. His gaze burned with pure hatred.

Lao San raised his gun.

Bang! Bang!

Bullets struck the Ant-Man right in its weak joints.

Finally over.

He was finally going to live the good life.

Lao San smiled.

But his dream of a better future shattered when the twitching body of his big brother, still being chewed apart, snapped him back to reality.

His smile froze. Then it twisted into horror.

His whole body trembled. And that’s when it finally hit him—

That was their leader. The guy who had fought alongside him and risked his life to protect him so many times.

And yet, he couldn’t even make a single sacrifice in return?

Lao Da wasn’t even dead yet, but he’d thrown him out, and watched with his own eyes as he got eaten alive.

Had he really done something that insane with his own hands?!

The burly man spun around and pointed the gun straight at Ruan Xing. His veins bulged as his face twisted in rage.

“What the hell did you do to me?!”

There was no way he’d do something like that! Impossible!

Ruan Xing blinked, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Lao San’s eyes bulged, his teeth clenched so tight they might crack.

“It was you! You killed Lao Da!”

Ruan Xing’s lips curled into the faintest smirk.

[Spirit Speaker]

Able to communicate with intelligent beings and, to some extent, influence their thoughts. The effectiveness depends on the situation and the difference in soul level between the user and the target.

Just now, when Ruan Xing made his suggestion, Lao San had been in extreme fear and wavering between choices. His mind was unstable, which was exactly the right moment to strike.

“But you’re the one who made the decision and pushed him out.” Ruan Xing spoke innocently.

“You’re an Awakened, aren’t you?! You must be a psychic-type Awakened! You used your ability just now! Otherwise, there’s no way I would’ve pushed Lao Da!”

Lao San’s emotions exploded, and the gun in his hand roared with a deafening shot.

Ruan Xing’s face turned pale.

He had still underestimated the power of this weapon. Even though he dodged immediately, the bullet still grazed his shoulder. Red spread out and slowly trailed down his arm.

The hand that had been shaking in front of the monster earlier was now completely steady.

It was hard to believe that humans could be so ruthless when confronting their own kind.

“You killed Lao Da. I’m going to avenge him.”

Lao San had found the perfect excuse for his actions and raised his gun again. This time, he aimed straight at Ruan Xing’s head.

His expression was fierce. Whatever guilt he had felt before was now entirely pushed onto Ruan Xing. He didn’t realize that if the thought hadn’t already existed in his heart, not even a Spirit Speaker could influenced him.

Ruan Xing took a few steps back and calmly said, “Xiao Ying, peck his eyes.”

The sound of wings flapping rang out behind him. The heavily injured red-bellied eagle obeyed its enemy's command without hesitation, and its sharp talons shot straight toward Lao San’s eyes.

“Xiao Ying!”

Lao San’s eyes widened in disbelief. His once loyal companion was following someone else’s orders!

Was this guy an animal-type Awakened?!

Xiao Ying wasn’t fast, but it was relentless. It had a determination that wouldn’t stop until it completed its task.

Despite its severe injuries and weakened attack power, it still caused Lao San’s mind and body to suffer a huge impact.

Ruan Xing seized the chance and jumped out the window.

This place wasn’t safe. As he ran along the roadside, he spotted a vehicle with shattered windows and dashed toward it.

From the corner, the crow cawed twice in surprise at the noise. When it saw who had arrived, it immediately cursed.

“You ungrateful bastard! You actually have the nerve to come back!”

“Shut up. Tell me how to start this thing if you don’t want to die.”

The crow was stunned. “Are you seriously asking a bird to teach you how to drive?”

“Unless you’d rather we all die together.” Ruan Xing leaned over and grabbed the cage, placing it in the passenger seat. “Hurry up.”

Seeing that Ruan Xing was serious, the crow’s eyes flickered as it turned its head. “Fine, start the ignition first.”

“Is that monster dead?” the crow asked while Ruan Xing was figuring out the car’s controls.

Ruan Xing gave a short hum in response.

“Then what’s the rush?” The crow let out two caws. “We could just find a house nearby and stay the night. A lot of pollutants are more active at night, and there’s plenty of polluted wildlife around—like wild chickens, stray dogs, wolves, that kind of stuff.”

The crow sneaked a glance at Ruan Xing’s injured shoulder. “No need to be in such a hurry. You should at least bandage yourself first.”

Ruan Xing shook his head. “I have a feeling that more monsters will show up.”

“Gah?” The crow let out a long cry.

“When I first arrived, I didn’t sense any immediate danger. But as soon as the car got close, the danger became obvious.”

Before the vehicle even started, the high beams flickered twice before going out.

The crow swallowed hard.

“You’re saying… we led that monster here?”

Ruan Xing nodded. “There’s something on the ants… some kind of—”

He thought for a moment, trying to find the right word for this world. “—some kind of pheromone. When they go out to forage, they leave a trail of it behind so their kind can find the right location. Those two killed a lot of ants earlier, so the scent must have rubbed off on them.”

“That’s how that flying ant found them?” The crow gasped. “Wait, doesn’t that mean you might have it too?!”

Ruan Xing replied calmly, “Not sure. I didn’t come into direct contact with them.”

The crow hesitated. “What about the corpses? Would they still have it?”

The sound of the engine starting up rang out, but then it sputtered and died with a "poof."

A light summer night breeze drifted in, and the man and bird inside the car fell silent.

“I’m going to kill you!”

Lao San’s twisted voice roared as he charged forward. He was holding Xiao Ying's lifeless body in his arms. Its limp neck had been broken by his own hands.

He raised his gun and fired wildly, hitting a tire. A loud bang followed, and the car tilted slightly to one side.

The crow screeched, “Ahhh! You *#$%@& idiot!”

Ruan Xing reached for the door handle and was about to make a run for it. But then his ears twitched, and he stopped.

The crow hesitated. “So… you’re taking me with you this time?”

Ruan Xing didn’t respond. Instead, he stretched his hand out the window, squinting as he looked up.

[Food… food… food…]

A deafening buzzing sound approached from the distance. This time, it wasn’t just one or two. It was at least a dozen.

Lao San, charging toward them from afar, hadn’t noticed the sound at all.

Seeing that the man who had tried to escape just a moment ago was now sitting back in the car, Lao San let out a deranged laugh.

“So what if you’re an Awakened? You know you can’t run, so you’re just waiting for death now?”

It was such a shame that not only did he personally kill his boss, but he was also forced to snap Xiao Ying’s neck. With such hatred in his heart, he no longer planned to let the youth leave alive. He has to torture him to death.

Just then, he heard the buzzing overhead. When he rolled his eyes upward to look, he immediately understood why the young man had hidden in the car earlier.

There was no way he could handle this in his current state!

Blood streamed from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. The fierce expression on his face hadn't even had time to fade before it froze permanently. In the next second, the monsters swarmed him and devoured him whole.

The crow watched through the window, sucking in a sharp breath. It whispered, “No way…”

As the monsters drew closer, the deafening buzzing filled the air. Ruan Xing's consciousness seemed to plunge into a swirling sea of oil, dazzling with chaotic colors. His head spun as he felt nausea rising.

The sound waves affected the mind, disturbing the psyche and, in turn, impacting the body.

Lao San had a strong mind and a well-built body, so he suffered minimal damage from the attack. The tall man, on the other hand, wasn’t Awakened. He had no heightened mental threshold, nor was his body as resilient as Lao San’s. The damage he took was nearly absolute.

Ruan Xing had an exceptionally strong soul. However, because his soul didn’t fully align with his body, the attack was excruciating for him.

To his surprise, the crow beside him was completely unaffected.

“Is this their prayer before a meal?” The crow gulped.

Even in this situation, it could still joke around. That meant it really was doing fine.

One of the creatures landed and folded its wings.

There was no light outside, only a faint glow from the moon, barely enough to make out the shadows nearby.

The creatures wore various clothing. Some had aprons tied around their waists, others wore undergarments, and some wore nothing at all, their bodies protected only by black carapaces.

“Bzzz!” A violent pulse spread through the air. Perhaps a test before they began their feast.

[Food… food…]

Some of them had intelligence, but not much.

Ruan Xing found a gun inside the car.

The crow shouted, “Unlatch the safety!”

He braced the weapon against the window and fired at the monsters. This action caused a massive recoil that tore at the wound on his shoulder, making the injury worse.

Perhaps it was the thunderous gunfire or the scent of fresh blood that caused the monsters to become even more frenzied. They raised their enormous pincers and attacked the vehicle with relentless force, quickly turning it into a wreck.

Ruan Xing refused to sit and wait for death. He looked through the narrow gap in the window and activated his ability.

[Go back!]

Few of the monsters stopped moving.

Their dim-witted heads tilted one way and then the other as if they were trying to process what was happening.

Their antennae twitched as they released invisible signals.

Eventually, they stopped moving altogether, and their hesitation and reluctance were almost visible through their actions.

However, another wave of monsters had already started to close in.

An ant-man wearing an apron ripped open the battered car door. Its massive pincers glinted faintly under the dim light.

[Food… food… enemy!]

It caught the scent of the corpses inside the car, and the discovery sent it into a frenzy.

It lunged straight at Ruan Xing with terrifying speed, making it impossible for him to dodge.

His emerald pupils darkened into an almost black shade, resembling the depths of a frozen lake. His voice was as cold as ice.

[Get lost!]

A thin stream of red trickled from his nose and slid down his sharp chin before dripping onto the car seat.

The apron-wearing monster paused for a brief moment before lifting its massive head once again with unwavering determination.

Ruan Xing could almost feel its twisted excitement as it anticipated the taste of fresh blood.

He had been using his ability almost nonstop, but the number of creatures he could influence had dwindled.

He leaned back and raised his arms in a defensive stance, yet he still could not break free from its locked-on attack.

As those deadly appendages stabbed toward him, he did not close his eyes. Instead, he stared directly at the monster, his ghostly green gaze shining with an icy light.

In the creature’s massive compound eyes, he saw his own face reflected back at him.

He was unwilling to accept this fate.

The stench of blood surged forward.

Just as the steel pincers were about to pierce his face, they suddenly stopped.

Something warm splattered across his cheek, followed by a heavy weight landing on his lap.

He lowered his gaze.

The ant-man’s severed head was still twitching.

A transparent liquid oozed from the jagged cut, blending with streaks of red and yellow. The intricate patterns within its flesh remained visible. Its muscles trembled as if they still held life, spasming and writhing like a parasite burrowing through raw meat.

A beam of light cut through the darkness as it illuminated the scene of a figure that stood against the glow, causing his face to be obscured.

“There’s a survivor here.” The figure's voice was calm.