People need to be suddenly stimulated sometimes.
At least at this moment, Su Su broke out in a cold sweat, frantically pondering the differences between her past life and this one—
Wu Zhi definitely did not catch a snake in her past life.
Then why did he catch one in this life?
What exactly had changed? Was it because he had entered the forest? But why didn’t he enter it in the past life… That’s right! In her past life, Wu Zhi had tried to snatch the food from her hands at the service area. She refused to hand it over, and her fingernails left a deep scratch on his face.
After scratching Wu Zhi, she had felt uneasy and kept observing him afterward, noticing that he sat in front of the campfire with a sullen expression and did not go anywhere.
Then, when the ability users in the team went ahead to scout, he had strode over and dragged her into the forest…
Recalling this, Su Su felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.
In other words, her rebirth had triggered a butterfly effect, causing the snake that should have bitten Wu Zhi to now be held in his hands, about to become a pot of snake meat?
No! Not necessarily! Maybe it wasn’t this snake that killed him in the first place!
But no matter how much she tried to convince herself, Su Su could not calm down.
Wu Zhi’s death had originally been an accident. If any detail changed, he might not die! He might even take out his frustration on her!
“Should we gut it first? I’ve never killed a snake before. Who wants to do it?”
“I’ll do it!”
The black snake was limp, as if it had been severely injured. When lifted, it only struggled weakly.
Su Su stared fixedly at the snake.
She desperately wished for it not to die. This intense desire made her hunger-clouded mind grow dizzy. A surge of emotion exploded within her, transforming into a streak of white light that no one saw clearly, flashing past the crowd and landing precisely on the snake.
“Let’s chop off its head first?”
“Where’s my dagger?”
The ability user holding the snake was looking around for a dagger, completely unaware that the black snake in his hand had suddenly opened its eyes. Just a moment ago, it had been limp, but now its body was slowly wriggling. Taking advantage of the moment when the person loosened his grip, it slithered down in a flash and darted into the nearby grass.
“It ran! Catch it!”
Even the ability users with long-range attacks couldn’t react in time. Almost the instant the words were spoken, the grass shook a few times before falling completely silent.
The black snake had escaped without a trace.
Wu Zhi cursed angrily, “Fck! Do you even know how to kill a snake?!”
The person being scolded let out an embarrassed laugh. “I just didn’t react in time. With such a big wound at its seven-inch mark1The seven-inch mark refers to a specific point on a snake’s body, typically about one-seventh of its total length from the head. This area is often considered a weak spot for many snakes because it is near their heart and vital organs., who would’ve thought it still had the strength to run?”
Wu Zhi had to forcibly suppress his anger and began reconsidering his original goal.
…
Su Su had witnessed everything with her own eyes.
She stared blankly at her palm… She was the only one who had seen that white light just now. No one else had reacted at all.
The white light had entered the black snake’s body, and then it had opened its eyes, instantly going from near death to full of vitality.
A shocking thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Su Su turned her head and looked around. More or less, all of her companions had sustained some injuries during their escape. The woman sitting beside her had a small, shallow wound on her arm.
She tried her best to suppress her slightly trembling hands and fixed her gaze tightly on that small scratch, attempting to recreate what had just happened.
One second, two seconds, three seconds… more than ten seconds passed. Su Su’s eyes ached unbearably, yet the small wound remained unchanged, and that fleeting white light never appeared again.
Had she seen it wrong? Had she misunderstood?
Su Su stared blankly at her palm and suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh.
She was still daydreaming… In her past life, it had taken her four years to acquire the most useless “speed-type ability.” In a world where evolution had stagnated, even with that ability, she couldn’t outrun a Tier-2 zombie.
The immense joy had turned into immense disappointment. Before Su Su could snap out of it, the companion next to her suddenly nudged her.
“Wu Zhi… he seems to be walking toward you.”
Su Su abruptly lifted her head, only to see the tall and burly Wu Zhi pushing through the crowd, striding straight in her direction. His sharp, upturned eyes locked onto the weak girl hiding among the people, full of certainty that he would get what he wanted.
Su Su instinctively wanted to run, but her arm was quickly seized.
“Where are you going?”
“Your cousin just agreed. From now on, you’ll follow me.”
What?!
Su Su only felt absurdity, her cat-like eyes filled with disbelief.
“Let go of me! I have nothing to do with you!”
Her struggle was too intense, drawing everyone’s attention toward them.
Wu Zhi felt a little guilty, but even more than that, he was annoyed. Seeing that he was losing face, he half-coaxed, half-threatened, “Be good and listen to me. From now on, I’ll share half of the food I find with you.”
“Get lost!”
“Fck! Don’t be so shameless when I’m giving you a chance!”
“Without me, do you think you can survive in the apocalypse? Haven’t you suffered enough these past few days?”
He knew very well that Su Su had been starving for days. The food in her hands was pitifully little, and even if she managed to find supplies next time… he would just snatch them away again.
His strong grip was like a shackle, locking her in place.
Su Su was not a strong person. She trembled in fear, desperately trying to pull her arm free.
“Let go of me! Let go! Even if I die, it has nothing to do with you!”
The commotion grew louder and louder, making Wu Zhi feel even more uneasy. He instinctively glanced into the distance—toward where Lin Weiran was sitting.
She seemed puzzled and was standing up with concern, appearing ready to walk over.
If Lin Weiran came over and realized that her cousin was completely unwilling… Wu Zhi clenched his teeth. He yanked Su Su’s arm, easily pulling her in front of him, and half-coercing, half-dragging her toward the nearby forest.
“I have something to say to you in private!”
Those standing nearby could all see Wu Zhi’s aggression and intimidation, but no one dared to speak up for Su Su. They could only watch as she was dragged into the woods.
By the campfire.
An ability user watching the scene laughed and jeered, “Wu Zhi dragged that little beauty into the forest. Could it be that he wants to have a private, intimate conversation?”
“Maybe she already agreed, and he just can’t wait to steal a kiss!”
Hearing this, Lin Weiran stood up but then sat back down, ultimately saying nothing.
Si Zhe glanced indifferently at the commotion behind him, then pulled out a map. “Weiran, let’s go over tomorrow’s route.”
Lin Weiran’s attention was immediately diverted.
…
In the pitch-black forest.
Su Su was pinned against a tree, her mouth covered, struggling with all her limbs, yet she couldn’t push away the weight of Wu Zhi pressing down on her.
“Mm! Mm! Mm! Mm! Mm!”
Get lost! Don’t touch me!
Not a single word escaped her mouth. Desperate tears rolled down her cheeks and dripped onto the villain’s hand, yet they failed to evoke any sympathy or hesitation in him.
Originally, he had intended to talk things out properly, but his frustration at being rejected, combined with the way things had already escalated… Wu Zhi suddenly felt that this was the perfect opportunity.
“I know you don’t want to be with me, but this is the apocalypse—what other choice do you have?”
The villain was using one hand to undo his belt while the other hand remained firmly pressed over Su Su’s mouth.
“No worries, soon enough, you’ll willingly follow me.”
Once it was a done deal, what excuses would she have left?
This scene was both the same as her past life and different.
Su Su knew very well that this time, she might not be able to wait for that venomous snake that had once saved her. In her despair, she took advantage of the moment when Wu Zhi was pulling at his belt and fiercely bit down on the webbing between his thumb and index finger.
“Ah!”
Wu Zhi yelped in pain and flung his hand away. The girl he had been restraining slipped away like a loach.
The pain only made him let go for a few seconds. Once he regained his senses, he took large strides forward, quickly closing the distance. His hands were just about to grab Su Su’s hair…
At this critical moment, no one noticed the faint rustling sounds coming from the grass at their feet.
As if something was crawling inside.
“Ahhhh!!!”
A scream, far more agonizing than before, pierced through the sky, startling a flock of resting birds into flight.
“A snake! There’s a snake!”
Wu Zhi first felt something cold and slippery brush past his ankle, and the next moment, a sharp pain shot through his foot. He instantly forgot about Su Su, hastily rolling up his pant leg, and found a set of fresh bite marks on his ankle.
It’s over… Could it be a venomous snake?
His head jerked up, and he pointed at Su Su, who was hiding nearby. Through clenched teeth, he spat out his words.
“Come here! Suck the venom out for me!”
Under the moonlight, Su Su stared at him in horror.
In just over ten seconds, beads of sweat had already formed on Wu Zhi’s forehead, and even his voice had grown noticeably weaker.
Everything was unfolding exactly as it had in her past life!
If it was the same snake that had bitten him, then in ten more seconds, Wu Zhi’s lips would turn purple, and he would collapse to the ground, convulsing and unable to move…
She remained motionless for too long. Wu Zhi, enraged to the point of dizziness, wanted to lift his foot to drag her over but vaguely felt his steps becoming unsteady.
Could it be that the snake that bit him was highly venomous?
Wu Zhi had seen people in the countryside who had been bitten by venomous snakes and died that very night.
Plop!
Su Su watched as Wu Zhi fell to the ground. His once narrow eyes were now widened to their limit, fixed fiercely on her.
“Help me suck it out! Suck the venom out!”
The weak yet beautiful girl took slow steps backward, moving further and further away from the man who desperately needed help.
“I won’t help you.”
“If you die, it’s what you deserve.”
These words, falling into Wu Zhi’s ears at this moment, were like a vengeful ghost claiming his life.
His body grew colder and colder, his lips began to tremble, and though his dizzy mind still remembered that he had been poisoned by a snake, he also knew he might die here.
“Please… please save me… help me suck the venom out…”
Even a beast facing death could utter the word “please.”
Having lived a second time, Su Su felt an unspeakable pleasure. The suppression and despair she had accumulated since her rebirth dissipated by more than half.
Standing dozens of meters away, she quietly stared at Wu Zhi, at that hateful face, and softly said, “I won’t suck the venom out for you, and I won’t call for help either. Only if you die can I have peace.”
“You… ugh!”
A large mouthful of blackened blood spewed from his lips. Wu Zhi still wanted to say something, but only a hoarse “huh huh” sound escaped from his throat.
He clutched his neck in horror, his other hand instinctively slapping the ground.
He wanted to call for help, but no one would save him.
Wu Zhi died with his eyes wide open, exactly the same way he had in her past life.
Only then did Su Su realize she had been holding in a long breath.
But she did not feel the slightest relief.
“…You’re dead. But what about me?”
Where was her path to survival?
Sooner or later, the ability users in the team would discover Wu Zhi’s corpse. She still wouldn’t be able to escape their reproach and cold gazes. Only one-fifth of the journey south had been completed, and her suffering had only just begun.
Su Su remained standing in place, unmoving until her legs went numb, until…
From behind her neck came a chilling “hiss, hiss” sound.
She whipped around, locking eyes with a menacing snake head.
Smack!
Terrified, Su Su fell to the ground.
The black snake hanging from the tree branch stared down at her, its dark green vertical pupils shifting as she collapsed.
“It’s you!”
“Hiss hiss~”
The crimson tongue flickered twice as the black snake examined the fragile human before it.
For some reason, Su Su saw traces of human-like intelligence in its eyes.
And also… a hint of something lurking beneath the surface, as if at any moment, it could lunge at her, revealing its venomous fangs, ready to strike.