Chapter 57: A Group of Scoundrels

The dim and dusky sunset at the edge of the sky stretched the shadows of the nearby buildings thin and long. Gusts of breeze swept across the ground, whipping up scattered paper and garbage, blowing them into the air to form tiny, swirling vortexes one after another.

Except for the howling of the wind, there was not a single other sound, save for the occasional sluggish, wandering figures of zombies that could be discerned among the distorted shadows cast on the ground.

Because they had been delayed quite a bit by rescuing people earlier, it was already close to dusk by the time they hurried back to the gas station.

At this moment, a faint light shone from the convenience store inside the gas station, casting an exceptionally tall shadow against the windows.

It seemed they really hadn't left. Were they waiting for her? Looking at that warm glow, Lin Qingqing felt a faint sense of anticipation.

"Sister Lin, something seems wrong with the situation inside." Seeing Lin Qingqing walking straight toward the entrance, Wen Ling hurriedly grabbed the hem of her clothes.

"What is it?" Seeing Wen Ling's nervous expression, Lin Qingqing stopped in her tracks.

"Inside... there are zombies, and people are killing," Wen Ling said, horror written all over her face.

Just as her voice fell, a scream suddenly came from inside the gas station.

"Oh no, that's Zhao Na's voice! They're in danger!"

Too anxious to ask further questions, Lin Qingqing immediately brandished her ice blade and charged forward.

The scream had come from the convenience store at the very back. At this moment, the front glass doors of the convenience store were barricaded from the inside with tables and chairs, and a young man was standing right at the entrance—he was undoubtedly one of Old Nine's four subordinates.

The man was startled when he saw Lin Qingqing, but then, as if realizing something, he drew a dagger and lunged at her without a single word.

"Hmph! These people really are up to no good!"

With the doors locked and someone keeping watch outside, they were definitely not up to anything proper inside!

Recalling Zhao Na's scream from earlier, Lin Qingqing's heart tightened, and a bad premonition arose within her.

Since she could now be certain that the perpetrators were indeed Old Nine's gang, Lin Qingqing hesitated no longer. Twirling the ice blade in her wrist, a flash of cold light swept past, and the dagger lunged by the young man, along with his fingers, was sliced clean off.

Instructing Lei Min, who was following behind, to tie the man up, Lin Qingqing turned around and kicked the front door.

The glass door of the convenience store shattered in response, and the tremendous noise immediately startled the people inside.

"Who's there? Who's outside? Heizi?"

Old Nine's voice carried a mix of suspicion, alarm, and anger at being disturbed. It seemed all of these people were gathered right here. Kicking away the tables blocking the door, Lin Qingqing rushed straight toward the innermost section.

The interior of the convenience store was dimly lit, with only two candles placed on a slightly elevated shelf.

The mottled bloodstains appearing on the floor made her heart skip a beat, and even the veins on her hand gripping the ice blade bulged uncontrollably.

Glancing around, Aunt Zhang was slumped in a corner, holding someone in her arms. That person's body was shaking violently, as if enduring immense agony.

A tall, burly man stood before her, holding a skinny boy by the throat with blood-stained hands, hoisting him high into the air.

The boy's face had already turned purplish-blue from the chokehold, yet he still remembered to swing a hand wreathed in tiny flames toward the man's face.

Underfoot, Zhao Na was pinned to the ground by her hair, screaming incessantly.

"Let him go! He's still just a child, you beasts!"

"Miss Lin? Run! Why did you come back? These people are demons... mmm—!"

Before she could finish, her cheek was pinched shut.

Another young man was pressing Zhao Na down. Without sparing a moment to check her condition, Lin Qingqing directly slashed her blade toward the arm Old Nine was using to choke Yue Xuanxuan.

Not expecting this woman to attack with a blade without a word of warning, Old Nine had no choice but to drop Yue Xuanxuan and dodge to the side.

"Miss Lin, you've finally arrived! If you hadn't come back, the brothers were already worrying about where to look for you!"

Old Nine wore a greedy expression, his eyes sweeping back and forth over the woman's body and the ice blade in her hand.

"It seems you really like my knife?" Lin Qingqing cast a disdainful glance at him.

As her voice fell, the ice blade whipped upward fiercely, the sharp edge carrying biting cold air straight toward Old Nine's face.

Although this man had never revealed any supernatural abilities, Lin Qingqing did not dare to lower her guard.

"For a woman, always waving weapons around isn't a good look. How about big brother teaches you today how to be a real woman?"

"Bah!"

Lin Qingqing spat in contempt, sidestepping to dodge the hand Old Nine reached out to grab her wrist.

This Old Nine was clearly someone exceptionally skilled in combat, possessing extensive experience. Yet, when facing the attacks of the ice blade, he merely evaded blindly and never once counterattacked head-on.

Lin Qingqing could tell the opponent had reservations; it seemed they wanted to capture her alive.

"Be a good girl, put down the weapon, and hand the knife to big brother. Big brother will definitely treat you well!" Old Nine teased while dodging.

Ignoring the vulgarities in his words, Lin Qingqing wore a peculiar expression: "You want this knife of mine?"

"Of course! Big brother loves collecting all sorts of cold weapons. This is the first time I've seen such a gorgeous blade, and I have no idea what material it's made of."

Old Nine licked his lips. "How about a knife in exchange for your life?"

"Since you like it so much, how about trading it for your life?"

"Hmph, stinking bitch, refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit! Let's see whether your mouth is harder or my fists are!"

Seeing that Lin Qingqing refused to appreciate his gesture, Old Nine's expression turned gloomy. Abandoning his evasive stance, he took a step forward. Accompanied by the cracking sound of floor tiles, a fierce punch laden with a whistling wind aimed straight for Lin Qingqing's face.

The speed of the punch was too fast. Unable to dodge in time, Lin Qingqing could only block horizontally with her blade.

With a crisp "crack," Old Nine's punch smashed against the ice blade, and a fine fissure instantly split across the blade's surface.

"Not very sturdy, are you?" Old Nine frowned.

"Hmph—as expected, a Strength-type superpower user!" Lin Qingqing sneered coldly.

Learning that the opponent possessed strength-type abilities, Lin Qingqing naturally refused to clash with Old Nine head-on again.

Using the recoil from the impact to step back two paces, two ice blades rapidly materialized before her. Then, amidst Old Nine's shock, the ice blades swept across the air in twin arcs, instantly slashing past his neck.

"You... what kind of person are you?"

Old Nine clutched his bleeding neck, his voice tinged with terror. If not for his formidable intuition and extraordinary physical reflexes, he would have long since been decapitated.

"The same kind of person as you!" Lin Qingqing waved her hand, and another two ice blades appeared.

"No, that's impossible... How can you and I be the same?"

"Haven't you ever heard that supernatural users are categorized into different types? That kid Yue Xuanxuan is an Energy-type user!"

"He... he is too?"

"That's right. She's fire-type, and I'm ice-type!"

"Then if I eat... eat him, will I also have... fire?"

At this mention, a flash of frantic madness crossed Old Nine's eyes.

Yet the very next second, that fierce glint was shattered by two chilling ice blades.

"Eat? You actually eat people?"

A piercing chill suddenly emanated from Lin Qingqing. She stared fixedly at Old Nine's corpse, then swept her blade down to sever his head.

"Ah—ah—!"

As blood spurted forth, Zhao Na screamed in terror once again from the side.

The other young man who had been holding her down was also stunned into numbness by the sight. Unconsciously loosening his grip, he buried his head in his hands and cowered on the ground.

"Don't, don't kill me! I didn't do anything, it was them, it was all them!"

"Let me ask you, did you guys survive by eating people?"

"No! Not me, only Old Nine and Brother Long ate! Heizi and I never took a single bite!"

"You're lying! If you didn't eat, how else could you have survived until now?"

"It's true, really! There were plenty of snacks inside the bar, we didn't need to eat human flesh! Old Nine and Brother Long wanted to acquire other people's abilities. They believed that eating capable people would allow them to gain their abilities, which is why they did it! The rest of us honestly never touched a single bite!"

Seeing the blood-stained ice blade drawing closer and closer to him, the young man wept bitterly and spilled everything he knew without hesitation.

"Then... what about Yu Man?"

"Man... Sister Man? She, she..."

"Speak!"

The ice blade pierced through the young man's arm. Letting out a miserable shriek, he stammered, "I, I don't know, I never saw her eat people... but she, she also has pow... powers."

Hearing this, Lin Qingqing quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Although she was unclear why these people believed eating humans would grant supernatural abilities, she desperately hoped not to hear any news of Yu Man resorting to cannibalism.