“Let me have a good, satisfying time. You're lucky; try to be reborn into a good family in your next life!”
As the man's lewd voice rang out, Lu Jinnian snapped her eyes open.
Under the moonlight, a man was smiling deviously, beginning to unbutton his clothes.
The surroundings were filled with trees; it looked like they were in the wild.
Without having time to think about why she was here, Lu Jinnian directly raised her hand, intending to knock down this ignorant, stinking man with a single punch.
Indeed, not only was this man's appearance lewd, but he also emitted a sour, stinking odor, as if he hadn't bathed in years.
Before she could even knock him down or prepare to vomit, her punch—which seemed fierce but was actually weightless—landed...
Instead of the man flying back as she imagined, her floating hand hadn't even touched him before it was grabbed.
Her body had no strength at all...
She had struck nothing but air.
Lu Jinnian was shocked. She was a strength-type Level 9 ability expert; how could she have no strength?
She felt a complete lack of energy, and her stomach was burning with a searing sensation; she was extremely hungry...
Hungry?
In the three years of the apocalypse, she had never been hungry. Even if others starved to death, she would never starve.
How long had it been since she had tasted hunger? It felt terrible.
There was no time to think now. The person opposite her grabbed her hand and said viciously, "You little slut, you still want to resist?"
He only had one set of clothes, which he had stripped off quickly and thrown away long ago.
With the situation being so urgent, how could Lu Jinnian allow such a person to insult her?
She directly pulled a long blade out of her spatial dimension and swung it toward him.
The man hadn't expected her to have a weapon; even in his final moments, he couldn't figure out what was happening.
Lu Jinnian kicked the man away, then clutched her stomach and stowed the blade back into her space.
Because the smell of blood was less nauseating than the man's odor, she crawled a distance away with difficulty, retched for a long time, and then rested.
The current situation was complicated; she still hadn't figured out exactly what was going on.
Clearly...
She was already dead...
Lu Jinnian's last memory was of a zombie self-detonating, and she hadn't had time to retreat into her space.
She let out a breath, wondering if the explosion had been so violent that she had been blown to another location.
But that wasn't right...
Lu Jinnian looked up at the sky. There were actually stars and a moon? The surrounding trees were also normal?
This was too wrong!
Since the arrival of the apocalypse, the dark clouds in the sky had never dispersed. She hadn't seen the stars or the moon in three years.
Was this a hidden paradise?
She pursed her lips, only to find they felt unexpectedly dry and parched.
Furthermore, her stomach ached from hunger, and the sour, stinking smell on her body wouldn't dissipate. Only now did she notice that it wasn't just others who smelled; she did too.
It would be better to find a place to hide, wash up, and eat something first.
Just as she was preparing to stand up, she suddenly heard someone calling her name.
"Lu Jinnian..."
She looked over; several clusters of torches were approaching this way.
Torches?
Soon, the newcomers found her.
The people before her were all dressed in ancient clothing, and not only were their clothes patched, but they were also tattered.
Who were these people?
Lu Jinnian suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head; she clutched her head and could no longer stand.
"What's wrong?"
"Why did you run over here? Hurry, go back."
As they spoke, seeing her in distress, several people scrambled to support her and carry her away.
Behind them, a few others were saying, "Why haven't we seen Li San?"
"Don't know. Forget him; it's best if this person stays away from us."
Because it was very late, no one noticed the headless person nearby.
Lu Jinnian spent a dazed night, dreaming of a young girl's tragic life...
Before she could reminisce too much, she was pushed awake.
She opened her eyes and looked at the little girl in front of her. This person could no longer be described as skin and bones; she looked like a walking skeleton.
"Big Sister, everyone is leaving, we have to leave quickly too." Lu Jinxin looked at her, her eyes devoid of any light, like a dried-up well.
She was only a nine-year-old child!
During this period of fleeing the famine, the three children hadn't uttered a single word of complaint. Even the seven-year-old Lu Jinqiu had endured by gritting her teeth.
Lu Jinnian didn't say much; she nodded, stood up, and then looked at the two little ones behind Lu Jinxin.
One was twelve-year-old Lu Jincheng, and the other was seven-year-old Lu Jinqiu.
The two children were similarly skin and bones; looking at them was frightening.
She didn't even need to look at herself; she was the same.
As she walked, the wind blew right through her clothes. The blazing sun made her feel dazed and extremely uncomfortable.
She could clearly see that these three children were exceptionally sensible; it was truly pitiful.
However, there were too many people in this refugee column right now; she chose to be like everyone else and just endure the hunger for now.
"Where is Li San?"
"Don't worry about him. It's better if he doesn't come back. Let's hurry."
"Yes, Village Chief, if we don't leave soon, the sun will get too high."
People were talking ahead, seemingly because someone had failed to appear.
Everyone was urging the group to move. The Village Chief thought for a moment and then signaled for them to head off first.
Lu Jinnian remembered the person from last night and the original owner's memories, and she understood what was happening.
Her gaze turned cold. People like that had no reason to live.
As she walked with the crowd, her thoughts began to drift.
Currently, they were on a path of fleeing famine, in a place ruled by the Great Zhou Dynasty.
They were originally from the south, but when natural disasters struck, Xiahe Village—which had originally lived near a river—had suffered from continuous drought for the past two years.
The original owner's father was a teacher, but due to health reasons, he fell seriously ill, so they moved to the countryside.
The main reason was that they had run out of money for his medical treatment, so they came to the countryside, only for him to pass away in less than six months.
And the original owner's mother had also starved to death while trying to save food for the children during these two years.
With no other choice, they could only join the others in fleeing the famine, hoping there might be a way out.
"Big Sister, I'm thirsty." The seven-year-old Lu Jincheng could no longer hold on. He had been thirsty since he woke up this morning but had endured it.
Seeing that it was almost noon, he could no longer resist saying it.
They were carrying several gourds, but only one had water, and even then, it was only a tiny bit at the bottom; the siblings were too reluctant to drink it.
Lu Jinnian turned to look at this thin, weak younger brother and said softly, "Endure a little longer. Once we rest, Big Sister will take you to find some water to drink."
There were too many people here currently; she couldn't just take things out at will.
In the three years of the apocalypse, she had seen too many instances of people killing for treasures.
Fortunately, she was meticulous and had never told anyone about these things.
Even before she died, no one knew her secret.
Lu Jinnian said those words, but the other siblings had no hope left for a water source.
The group had searched for water for a long time yesterday afternoon but found nothing.
The small amount of water they had stored earlier was completely gone. It wasn't just them; it was the same for everyone else.
Lu Jincheng followed obediently behind, but they had long since lost the strength to walk; following the main group was merely an instinct for survival.
Under these circumstances, if they didn't find a suitable place to settle soon, the entire refugee column would likely die of hunger, thirst, or exhaustion...
New book released, Happy New Year to everyone!
Completed works can be found in the author's profile.
(End of Chapter)