Night of the Apocalypse

Shen Qiu’s heart sank suddenly; this guy really had a gun but wasn’t using it. What a lunatic!

“My patience is limited. Don’t ruin my fun; get up here!”

Beluk licked his lips with his tongue, his expression growing more and more excited.

He loved to corner cunning prey, slowly torturing and breaking them down.

Shen Qiu’s face was tense as he stared at Beluk, cautiously making his way out of the river.

Just as Shen Qiu stepped onto the shore, the corner of Beluk’s mouth curled up, and he instantly pulled the trigger.

Bang!

Having been focused on Beluk, Shen Qiu quickly sensed the danger and raised his mechanical blade just in time.

Clang!

The bullet hit the mechanical blade, sending sparks flying, and Shen Qiu couldn’t help but take a step back.

Beluk seized this opportunity and launched a sweeping strike at Shen Qiu.

Shen Qiu instinctively felt extreme danger; his reflexes kicked in, and he swiftly leaned to the side. However, he didn’t completely dodge it; his left arm was grazed, leaving a shallow cut.

“Ha ha, amazing! Truly amazing! You can dodge this!”

Beluk grew even more excited, launching one fierce strike after another toward Shen Qiu.

Faced with the looming shadow of death, Shen Qiu continuously evaded, his rhythm becoming increasingly chaotic.

Crack!

Beluk’s sword struck the ground, shattering the rocky surface beneath.

Shen Qiu’s eyelids twitched; this guy’s power was becoming increasingly terrifying! Fortunately, he hadn’t tried to block forcefully, or else his arm would have surely broken under such force.

Shen Qiu hurriedly continued to retreat, the situation growing more precarious.

“Opening!”

Beluk seized the moment when Shen Qiu was flustered and retreating, quickly thrusting his sword toward Shen Qiu’s abdomen.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared at Beluk’s side with incredible speed.

The figure swiftly drew a sharp long sword, and instantly, the entire blade ignited with black flames.

“Black Flame Slash!”

Beluk’s smile froze in place as he hurriedly pulled back his titanium steel sword to block!

The two weapons collided!

Clang!

Black flames erupted in all directions.

In an instant, Beluk was actually pushed back.

Shen Qiu seized the opportunity, channeling violent lightning energy into his left hand and striking Beluk squarely on his body.

Boom!

Beluk let out a dull grunt, abruptly retreating to create distance, with a charred mark now on his chest.

Shen Qiu took a deep breath, his gaze shifting to the figure that had suddenly emerged.

There stood a girl wearing a red fox mask, with white hair and a white pleated skirt, wielding a long sword engulfed in black flames.

“A special-type Awakened!”

Beluk looked at the girl before him, speaking with evident difficulty.

“True to your reputation, General Beluk. Even with my full surprise attack, I didn’t succeed. But are you sure you want to continue fighting us? It’s two against one; our chances of winning are quite high, you know.”

The girl’s voice was incredibly gentle as she spoke.

“Hmph, we’ll see about that!”

Beluk turned and retreated. Even just facing Shen Qiu alone had already been challenging enough for him.

Now that another special Awakened had appeared, and one whose strength was not inferior to his own, he had no chance of winning.

Shen Qiu frowned as he watched Beluk withdraw and asked, “Are we not going to take this opportunity to kill him? It could be troublesome if he comes back later.”

“There’s no chance. General Beluk isn’t easy to kill. He’s the commander of the Blue Alliance’s Vulture Squad and also serves as an instructor; his strength is not to be underestimated. If that guy really fought us seriously, even with both of us together, we might not be guaranteed a win, plus his teammates are nearby. Continuing this fight would be extremely dangerous.”

The girl wearing the fox mask replied rationally, “No need to thank me; you are a member of the Red Alliance, and it is my duty to help.”

“Understood. Thank you for your assistance,” Shen Qiu said sincerely.

“You don’t need to thank me; it’s what I should do as a member of the Red Alliance,” the girl shook her head in response, her tone filled with sincerity.

Hearing the girl’s words, Shen Qiu showed a somewhat surprised expression. Is there really someone so warm-hearted in these times? He thought for a moment and wondered if she might be a government official. So, he said to her, “Since you’ve said that, I won’t be too polite. A great favor doesn’t need to be spoken of, so let’s part ways here. If there’s a chance, we’ll meet again!”

“Alright, let’s part ways here.”

The girl nodded.

Shen Qiu then turned and walked in the opposite direction from where Beluk had left.

He needed to find the overlapping area and escape this dangerous place before dawn.

However, after walking just a few steps, he turned back to look. To his surprise, the girl in the fox mask had followed him.

Shen Qiu was slightly taken aback. Hadn’t they just said their goodbyes?

Or perhaps she just happened to be going this way as well.

With that thought in mind, Shen Qiu continued to walk a few more steps, but he could still hear footsteps behind him.

So he turned around to look again.

He saw that the girl wearing the fox mask had stopped, her bright eyes gazing at Shen Qiu’s backpack, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Shen Qiu immediately realized that she must be wanting something to eat.

This girl was so strong, yet she hadn’t thought of taking by force when he had nothing to offer, nor had she tried to demand anything after what had just happened.

Instead, she was looking at him with such eagerness. He really didn’t know whether to say she had principles or was just foolish.
Thinking of this, Shen Qiu found her even more interesting. He took off his backpack and opened it.

He pulled out a pack of compressed biscuits and handed it to the girl in front of him, saying, “Is this what you want?”

“Are you giving this to me? Really?”
The girl’s tone was filled with excitement.

“Yes!”

Shen Qiu replied affirmatively.

“Thank you!”

The girl bowed to Shen Qiu in gratitude. She then hurriedly took the pack, opened the plastic wrapper, and slightly lifted her fox mask to reveal her rosy lips, taking small bites of the biscuits.

This scene made Shen Qiu think that she must be a young lady from a wealthy family, eating so elegantly.

However, the next second, Shen Qiu was petrified.

He watched as the girl, while nibbling, quickly stuffed a large piece of the compressed biscuit into her mouth in just a few bites.

Wuwu!

Without any surprise, the girl was immediately choked, her hands instinctively clutching her throat, looking like she was about to pass out.

Shen Qiu was also dumbfounded, his mouth twitching violently. He quickly pulled out a sealed bottle of mineral water from his backpack, opened it, and handed it to the girl.

The girl took it and gulped down more than half the bottle, finally swallowing the biscuit that had been stuck in her throat. She then let out a long sigh of relief and said, “I’m saved!”

Shen Qiu rubbed his forehead, unsure of what to say. In the end, he simply said, “It’s good that you’re okay!”

“I’m sorry for not only eating your biscuits but also drinking your water! But don’t worry, I won’t take advantage of you. How about we team up? I’ll protect you.”

The girl said sincerely to Shen Qiu.

Hearing her words, Shen Qiu couldn’t help but recall how she had launched that fierce surprise attack against Beluk; she was exceptionally strong. He decisively agreed, “Okay!”

“Great! May I ask how to address you, sir?”
The girl politely inquired.

“My name is Shen Qiu, and you?”
Shen Qiu didn’t hide or deceive her. He was always clear about grievances—he returned kindness with kindness and malice with malice.

“My name is Yun Xiaoxi.”

Yun Xiaoxi quickly introduced herself.