The three ability users who were making a commotion were all Tier 2. For the ordinary people in No. 44 Urban Village, they were an overwhelming force.
The granny sitting behind the counter remained silent for a long while before finally compromising, “Take it.”
“Hmph, at least you know what’s good for you!”
The leading man stuffed the Tier 2 crystal back into his pocket, then played a dazzling set of knife tricks with his sharp butterfly knife. The black blade had undergone special treatment, ensuring that it wouldn’t reflect white light even under the sun, preventing exposure during outdoor ambushes.
“Second, give me your dagger.”
The second man obediently handed over an ordinary dagger.
The butterfly knife collided with the dagger, and the latter was instantly chipped, leaving a noticeable notch.
“Boss, this knife is really something—cuts through iron like mud! Never thought we’d find a blacksmith with this kind of craftsmanship hiding in the urban village!”
Judging from the boss’s expression, he was beyond satisfied, but his words were mercilessly mocking: “A blacksmith? Just a useless old hag. The fact that I even bothered to come to this damned place to get a weapon made by her is already giving her face!”
“Boss is right!”
The three men laughed and chatted as they walked out, just as Su Su happened to enter.
“Stop.”
A crisp voice halted the three ability users. They looked over in surprise and found that the one who had spoken was a young woman.
Her face was pale, her frame slender—she looked like an easy target.
“Well, well, I didn’t expect such a pretty chick to be hiding in this urban village!” The boss’s attention quickly shifted from the butterfly knife in his hand to the beauty before him. His gaze was filled with blatant vulgarity. “Why’d you stop me? Could it be that you’ve taken a liking to me and want to follow me?”
Su Su calmly pointed at the butterfly knife in his hand. “You didn’t pay for your knife.”
The man let out another exaggerated “Well, well.”
It seemed he hadn’t expected this frail-looking woman to stand up for that old hag. “You wanna collect debt for that damn old woman? Fine, I’ll return the two crystals to her, and you come with me instead. How about that?”
“I’m not negotiating with you.” Su Su lowered her head and stroked the small black creature on her wrist. “I’m informing you—either leave the crystals, or leave the knife, or…”
Before she could finish speaking, the man, already impatient, reached out his hand and cursed, “Or I’ll just rob you right now! Let’s see if you still dare to stick up for others with that flimsy body of yours!”
“Hiss!”
A small jet of blue flames sprayed out, igniting the man’s palm instantly.
His screams rang out one after another.
Only then did Su Su have the time to finish her sentence: “Or leave your life behind.”
“Boss!” His two companions rushed over in a panic. “Are you okay?”
The man shook his burning hand violently, his expression twisted with rage. “Do I fucking look okay to you?! Idiots! Go get me some water!”
“Oh, oh, oh!”
The two men dashed out of the shop, then hurriedly returned with a bucket of water they had snatched from the neighboring shop. Just as they were about to pour it over their boss’s hand—
“Put it down!”
The man viciously shoved the two fools aside, his face contorted as he plunged his right hand into the bucket.
However, the scorching blue flames on his burnt flesh did not extinguish. Instead, they continued to blaze fiercely even underwater!
“Impossible! This is impossible!”
Su Su watched coldly. “Give it a few more minutes, and your right hand will turn into charcoal.”
The man stared at her in disbelief.
After a two-second pause, he finally realized—this woman wasn’t some lowly resident of the urban village! The snake she raised could spit fire! And her ability wasn’t weaker than his—in fact, she was at least a Tier 3 ability user!
In the apocalypse, those who recognized the situation were the ones who survived.
Enduring the pain, the man used his uninjured hand to retrieve two Grade 2 crystals from his pocket. “Here, here! Please, let me go! I was blind to not recognize someone as powerful as you. Just, please—make your snake take back its flames, alright?”
Su Su shifted her gaze toward the granny who had stepped out from behind the counter.
The man instantly got the message and handed the two Grade 2 crystals to his companion. “What are you waiting for? Give the crystals to Granny already! She shouldn’t have to come over and take them herself!”
His two companions immediately bowed and scraped as they placed the crystals on the counter.
“Now… now can you let me go?”
Su Su lowered her head. “Xiao Hei.”
Whoosh! The blue flames that had already burned his hand into a charred mess instantly disappeared!
Realizing he had provoked a ruthless figure, the man who had been acting tough moments ago completely lost his arrogance, bowing so low his waist was almost touching the ground. “We’ve handed over the crystals. We can leave now, right?”
Inside the base, open killings weren’t allowed.
Su Su cast him a glance. “Get lost.”
The three of them scrambled out, tripping over themselves in their hurry to escape.
The shop, open on all four sides, had drawn a large crowd from the very beginning of the commotion. Seeing that the new young woman in the village was this terrifyingly strong, everyone started calculating their own positions in their minds.
“Granny Niu! You’ve run into a real benefactor!”
“Those were three Tier 2 ability users! That girl is incredible!”
“Aiyah, a newly awakened ability user came to my shop the other day, and we didn’t even dare to take his crystals. This world is really getting too dangerous for old folks like us!”
“…”
Now coming back to her senses, Granny Niu furrowed her brows, decisively closing all the doors except for the front one, and shooing away the onlookers.
“Go! Hurry up and leave!”
“Stay any longer, and I’ll smash your heads in!”
Though Granny Niu was old, she was still a Tier 2 ability user. Against these ordinary people, she had more than enough authority to intimidate them.
The crowd quickly scattered.
At last, Granny Niu turned her gaze to the suddenly appearing young woman. However, her expression remained indifferent, showing no gratitude toward the person who had just helped her.
She pushed the two crystals on the counter forward. “You fought for them. They belong to you.”
Su Su was already used to her cold demeanor. Shaking her head, she said, “Keep them. That butterfly knife was masterfully crafted. Even charging three Grade 2 crystals would’ve been reasonable.”
Granny Niu remained silent for a moment, then lifted her head to stare directly at the unfamiliar woman.
However, the scorching blue flames on his burnt flesh did not extinguish. Instead, they continued to blaze fiercely even underwater!
“Impossible! This is impossible!”
Su Su watched coldly. “Give it a few more minutes, and your right hand will turn into charcoal.”
The man stared at her in disbelief.
After a two-second pause, he finally realized—this woman wasn’t some lowly resident of the urban village! The snake she raised could spit fire! And her ability wasn’t weaker than his—in fact, she was at least a Tier 3 ability user!
In the apocalypse, those who recognized the situation were the ones who survived.
Enduring the pain, the man used his uninjured hand to retrieve two Tier 2 crystals from his pocket. “Here, here! Please, let me go! I was blind to not recognize someone as powerful as you. Just, please—make your snake take back its flames, alright?”
Su Su shifted her gaze toward the granny who had stepped out from behind the counter.
The man instantly got the message and handed the two Tier 2 crystals to his companion. “What are you waiting for? Give the crystals to Granny already! She shouldn’t have to come over and take them herself!”
His two companions immediately bowed and scraped as they placed the crystals on the counter.
“Now… now can you let me go?”
Su Su lowered her head. “Xiao Hei.”
Whoosh! The blue flames that had already burned his hand into a charred mess instantly disappeared!
Realizing he had provoked a ruthless figure, the man who had been acting tough moments ago completely lost his arrogance, bowing so low his waist was almost touching the ground. “We’ve handed over the crystals. We can leave now, right?”
Inside the base, open killings weren’t allowed.
Su Su cast him a glance. “Get lost.”
The three of them scrambled out, tripping over themselves in their hurry to escape.
The shop, open on all four sides, had drawn a large crowd from the very beginning of the commotion. Seeing that the new young woman in the village was this terrifyingly strong, everyone started calculating their own positions in their minds.
“Granny Niu! You’ve run into a real benefactor!”
“Those were three Tier 2 ability users! That girl is incredible!”
“Aiyah, a newly awakened ability user came to my shop the other day, and we didn’t even dare to take his crystals. This world is really getting too dangerous for old folks like us!”
“…”
Now coming back to her senses, Granny Niu furrowed her brows, decisively closing all the doors except for the front one, and shooing away the onlookers.
“Go! Hurry up and leave!”
“Stay any longer, and I’ll smash your heads in!”
Though Granny Niu was old, she was still a Tier 2 ability user. Against these ordinary people, she had more than enough authority to intimidate them.
The crowd quickly scattered.
At last, Granny Niu turned her gaze to the suddenly appearing young woman. However, her expression remained indifferent, showing no gratitude toward the person who had just helped her.
She pushed the two crystals on the counter forward. “You fought for them. They belong to you.”
Su Su was already used to her cold demeanor. Shaking her head, she said, “Keep them. That butterfly knife was masterfully crafted. Even charging three Tier 2 crystals would’ve been reasonable.”
Granny Niu remained silent for a moment, then lifted her head to stare directly at the unfamiliar woman.
“You stood up for this old woman—what’s your intention?”
She asked directly, her tone even colder and harsher. To any onlooker, this old woman would seem thoroughly unlikable.
Su Su had already thought of her response.
She walked up to the counter, unzipped her backpack, and revealed an assortment of knives inside.
“I heard there’s a forging ability user in City Village No. 44 who’s very skilled at making weapons. I’ll provide the materials, and you help me craft a weapon best suited for me. The price is negotiable.” Always using a pig-slaughtering knife to hack at zombies wasn’t ideal.
Granny Niu pulled the backpack closer and took a careful look.
A jumbled assortment of daggers, kitchen knives, nail clippers… Who would have thought that a seemingly frail girl, who looked like she couldn’t even truss a chicken, would be carrying a bag full of sharp blades?
“One Grade 3 crystal.”
A Grade 3 crystal was equivalent to ten Grade 2 crystals. The key issue was that only Grade 3 crystals could be exchanged for Tier-2 ones, and very few people could successfully trade ten Grade 2 crystals for a single Grade 3 crystal. So, this exchange rate mostly existed only in theory.
If it had been anyone else, they would have surely been enraged by Granny Niu’s “outrageous demand.”
Yet, Su Su simply took out one Grade 3 crystal, along with an additional Grade 2 crystal, and generously pushed them onto the counter.
Granny Niu said calmly, “You can pay a deposit first.”
“I prefer to pay in full.”
After saying that, Su Su chuckled to herself.
Who would have thought that in her past life, she had risked her life outside the base just for a mere Tier-1 crystal? Yet now, she could speak such bold words.
“Then this Grade 2 crystal…”
“It’s rent,” Su Su stated matter-of-factly. “I just arrived at the Southern Base and haven’t found a place to stay. Granny, you still have a vacant room, don’t you?”
An ability user, instead of going to the northern district where ability users gathered, wanted to rent a place in the run-down city village of the southern district?
That was far too unusual.
Granny Niu studied Su Su for a long time.
“The southern district has the highest population. Where would I find an empty room?” she replied coolly. “The ten-square-meter single rooms upstairs are already crammed with three people. They’ve been fully rented out for a long time.”
Su Su bit her lip and took out another Grade 2 crystal. “How about now?”
Seeing her determination, Granny Niu remained silent for a moment before finally saying, “You’re offering enough crystals, so you can stay on the second floor with me. Four bedrooms, a living room, a balcony. Move in as you are. There’s a bathroom and a kitchen. The base supplies electricity for one hour every night at 8 p.m., and water usage is limited. Any excess must be covered with an additional three times the standard food ration.”
“Alright, I’m heading up now!”
Su Su happily accepted the key and turned to climb the side staircase.
Granny Niu watched her back for a long while before finally withdrawing her gaze. She gathered up the scattered knives and began contemplating what kind of weapon to craft for her.
Upstairs.
Stepping once again into this all-too-familiar space, Su Su took a deep breath.
She chose the room she had lived in during her past life.
“Xiao Hei, take out the quilt first.”
Since entering the room, the black serpent had already returned to a length of about two to three meters. It slithered to the doorway, its vertical pupils scanning the bed and sofa inside, before deliberately spitting out a bedding set.
Su Su had long been accustomed to sharing a bed with Xiao Hei, so she found nothing unusual about it.
While tidying and arranging the room, she earnestly instructed a certain cold-blooded creature, “That granny just now—don’t be put off by her bad attitude. She’s actually cold on the outside but warm on the inside. She saved me many times before. Now that we’re living together, you must not attack her, understand?”
“Hiss?”
The black serpent didn’t understand. When had that old woman ever saved her?
Su Su noticed Xiao Hei’s confusion but didn’t explain in detail.
In her past life, she had barely paid the entry fee to the base, so the staff had carelessly assigned her to City Village No. 44. Even with two scars on her body, there were still ill-intentioned people who set their sights on her, a young woman.
Let alone the fact that, at that time, she had already run out of food completely.
In the end, Su Su collapsed from hunger at the entrance of Granny Niu’s shop.
Before anyone else could take her away, that unsmiling old woman carried her back to her house.
During the two hardest years in the base, it was Granny Niu who gave her a miscellaneous job, letting her work as a helper in the forging workshop. Sometimes, she followed along to clear out the outskirts’ mixed-type zombies, barely managing to survive.
Unfortunately, just a few days before Su Su awakened her speed ability, Granny Niu went alone to the ability users’ apartment complex in the northern district to deliver weapons—
Twelve hours later, her corpse was carried back.
Her entire body was soaked in dried, dark-red blood. That deeply wrinkled face had already turned a pallid blue-white.
She had never smiled while alive, and even in death, her eyes refused to close.
Su Su pulled herself out of her memories, her eyes slightly reddened.
It wasn’t obvious, but the black serpent had already crawled onto the table, staring at her intently.
“Hiss~”
It didn’t necessarily need an explanation, but upon seeing her like this, it couldn’t help but want to lick away her tears.
A snake couldn’t taste the saltiness of tears.
But instinct told it—they were bitter.
Its crimson forked tongue brushed against the female’s eyelid, only for its thick body to be scooped up into Su Su’s embrace.
“I don’t care.” She had already figured out how to handle Xiao Hei and was being entirely unreasonable at the moment.
“You are absolutely not allowed to attack her!”
“Even if she chases you with a broom!”