Still hoarding supplies in the apocalypse? I'll just go on a killing spree and looting!

The gray fog swallowed the entire highway.

Visibility was less than five meters. The fog slowly rolled along the asphalt road, and occasionally a scream or a roar could be heard from the depths.

A strange beast crouched in the middle of the road.

It had just dragged a body out of the overturned car, its hook tearing open the abdomen and burying its head in it to bite.

The scales gleamed with a damp, cold light in the dim glow of the gray mist, and the gills opened and closed with each chewing motion, emitting the gurgling sounds of a wild beast feeding.

Suddenly it stopped.

His head snapped up, his dark green eyes piercing through the churning gray fog.

At the end of the street, something was approaching from the depths of the gray fog—it was light!

Two blinding beams of white light pierced through the gray fog, followed by the deep roar of a diesel engine.

The gray fog was torn apart, and a riot control armored vehicle rushed out of the fog wall.

The beast dropped its corpse and warily watched the steel monster that had suddenly charged out.

It did not retreat.

The scales on its back bristled, its entire body lowered, and its hooks dug deep into the asphalt, letting out a roar at the armored vehicle.

It was as if it was responding to its roar.

The car window rolled down.

The dark muzzle of a gun emerged from the gap and was aimed at its head.

Flames erupted from the muzzle of the gun, the first bullet struck its left shoulder, scales shattered, and dark green blood mist splattered.

The second, the third, the fourth—the bullets were so densely packed that the explosions were indistinguishable as a single, continuous, dull tearing sound.

It wanted to run away.

The hook carved several deep trenches in the asphalt road, but the bullets chased after it, each one hitting the moment it turned, pinning it to its retreating path.

The blast-resistant armored vehicle did not slow down.

The moment the safety bar struck the beast, there was a muffled thud.

Immediately following was a mournful cry.

The beast's body was dragged under the car, crushed by the chassis and tires.

The sound of bones shattering was drowned out by the roar of the diesel engine, leaving only a very short wail before falling completely silent.

The gray fog was stirred up by the airflow, leaving a bloody mess of wreckage on the road surface where the armored vehicle had been driven over.

Immediately afterwards, a second beam of light shot through the fog wall.

An off-road SUV followed closely behind, its tires jolting as it ran over the wreckage, splashing dark green liquid from its undercarriage.

The headlights cut two beams of light through the gray fog, following the taillights of the armored vehicle as they disappeared into the depths of the fog.

The gray fog receded.

All that remained on the road were a few skid marks, a pool of dark green blood, and the half-eaten corpse.

"Squeak!"

After a sharp screech of brakes.

The armored vehicle stopped, and the SUV following closely behind also stopped.

"Lin You, what's wrong?"

Mu Xue's voice came through the radio she had smuggled from the police station.

Modern radio has lost its ability to communicate over long distances, but it is still useful at very short distances.

Lin You rubbed her face, exhaled, and said, "I'm going to see someone. You wait for me here."

After a brief silence, Mu Xue said, "I don't want to stay here alone. I'll go with you."

Lin You neither responded nor refused.

He pushed open the car door, jumped out, and looked up at the house in front of him.

The sound of Mu Xue's footsteps came from behind.

Lin You rubbed her face again, a rare look of hesitation on her face.

"Lin You, what's wrong?" Mu Xue couldn't help but ask, seeing Lin You's hesitation. This was the first time she had ever seen Lin You so hesitant.

This made her nervous, and she unconsciously gripped the shotgun tighter and pulled the bolt.

The sound of a bullet being chambered brought Lin You back to her senses.

He waved his hand and said, "Don't be nervous, there's no danger." After pausing, he started walking towards the small building.

He pulled out a finger bone dagger and used it to forcefully unlock the door.

After pushing open the door, Lin You hesitated again, unsure whether she should go in.

While I was hesitating, a short figure appeared at the top of the stairs.

That thin, short figure just stood there.

He was wearing a yellow duck-shaped hat and loose pajamas, just looking at the two people who had suddenly barged into his house.

Although those two people didn't come in.

"Who are you?" the child asked in a very calm tone.

Lin You forced a smile, but the expression was very awkward, as if she wanted to cry but was also laughing.

"An'an... it's me, I've come to find you."

Looking at the unfamiliar woman, An'an hesitated and asked, "Have we met before?"

Lin You nodded emphatically and said with a smile, "Yes, we've met before. I'm your good friend Lin You."

"But I don't know you. My grandma said not to talk to strangers."

Mu Xue looked around the room and asked, "Where's your grandma?"

"She's asleep, and I don't want to wake her."

Lin You lowered her head slightly and said in a somewhat dry voice, "Your grandmother asked me to take care of you."

"You...have you met my grandmother?"

"Um."

"Where is she? Nobody wants to tell me. They just say my grandma is tired and needs to rest, and she'll come back to find me when she's rested."

Mu Xue was a little confused about what the two were talking about. One said her grandmother was asleep, and the other said her grandmother had sent her.

What is it that I don't know about?

Just as Mu Xue frowned in thought.

Lin You had already entered the room and smiled at An'an, who was standing at the top of the stairs, saying, "Your grandma is doing well now. She's in a very good place. It's just that it's quite far away, and it will take a long time to get there."

An An tilted her head and looked at Lin You in front of her, then hesitantly reached out and touched Lin You's bald head.

This scene startled Mu Xue.

She knew exactly how formidable Lin You was; perhaps "ruthless and violent" would be a more accurate description.

Now there's a little kid who's actually touching the head of this humanoid monster.

This is like swatting lice off a tiger's head.

This was something she never dared to imagine, but little An'an said something that shocked Mu Xue.

Do you have superpowers too?

Mu Xue looked at the little kid An An in horror. Could it be that the other party also had special abilities?

Lin You did something that was different from her usual behavior.

She actually nodded, and even smiled as she said, "Yes, I'm a superpowered person too."

As she spoke, Lin You casually picked up an umbrella hanging at the top of the stairs.

The umbrella began to disintegrate in Lin You's hand, and soon specks of light dissipated, then turned into wisps of light and disappeared into Lin You's hand.

An'an stared wide-eyed at everything that was happening before her eyes.

"I also have superpowers, but I can't use them," An An said dejectedly.

Lin You nodded seriously, then pointed to her bald head and said, "We all have superpowers."

An An dejectedly took off her duck-shaped hat, revealing a bald head underneath.

"But I'm still young. Grandma said I'll be able to use my superpowers when I'm older."

Lin You nodded eagerly, "Yes, An'an will have her own superpowers when she grows up a little more. Now let's leave here."

"Leave here? But I need to wait for Grandma to come home. She'll worry if she can't see me."

"I'm just taking An'an to find her grandma."

"real?"

"Really, your grandma asked me to take care of you. She'll come to find you when she feels better. I promise."

"But I..." An'an said, glancing up at the building with a hesitant look in her eyes.

Lin You immediately raised her hand and said, "Superpowered people don't lie to other superpowered people. I promise!"

An'an wavered and finally nodded, saying, "Okay, but I want to leave a note so Grandma won't worry if she comes back and can't find me."

Lin You picked up An An and walked up the stairs to the second floor.

Standing at the door, Mu Xue looked at Lin You's back and kept thinking: Lin You just said "I'm going to see someone", but she didn't say it was a child.

How exactly did that grandmother "tell" Lin You? Was it a dream from the dead, or... did Lin You bury it herself?

The room on the second floor was filled with traces of the two people's life.

There were two gray-blue cloth shoes by the door, and on the top shelf of the shoe rack was a pair of reading glasses. The temples of the glasses were badly worn, and in some places the shiny metal layer had been lost.

Next to it was a half-folded copy of the Evening Post, revealing various job postings in very small print.

An'an lay on the small stool, writing words earnestly.

The handwriting is very childish, but An'an wrote it very carefully.

Soon, An'an put down her pen, looked at the note in her hand, and a smile appeared on her lips.

It was as if his beautiful hopes were carried on this thin piece of paper.

An'an placed the small stool in front of the refrigerator, stood on it, and pasted her crookedly written words onto the refrigerator.

"Grandma, I'm coming to find you. If you come back and don't see me, don't worry, this is Lin You. My friend, I miss you too, Grandma."

Lin You looked up and saw many sticky notes on the refrigerator.

Good morning, Grandma's little sunshine.

There's a cake in the fridge, your favorite kind.

"Grow up slowly, my baby."

"Warning: Please report if you steal ice cream, otherwise Grandma will worry that you have a stomachache and might give you a kiss."

"My darling, may you be full of energy today too."

There are so many of these sticky notes that they almost cover the entire refrigerator.

Some of them are so old that they have changed color slightly, while others are so new that they look like they were just put on recently.

An'an stuck the note on the refrigerator, jumped off the stool, and looked up at the colorful words her grandmother had written on it.

She muttered to herself, "Grandma said that if she became a star, she would write sticky notes in the sky. But... the sky is too high up, the refrigerator can't reach it."

Looking at her crooked handwriting, An'an giggled again.

Then he said to the silent Lin You, "Let's go find Grandma. I want to give her a big surprise."

Lin You nodded and reached out to pick up An An.

An An was still so light; her thin body was hidden under her loose pajamas, and it felt bony to the touch.

Lin You carried An An to the front door.

An'an looked at Mu Xue, who was standing at the door, too afraid to come in, and asked, "Is she also a superhuman?"

Lin You tightened her grip on An An and shook her head, saying, "No, only bald people in this world have superpowers."

"oh?."

Mu Xue paused for a moment before nodding thoughtfully.

Lin You looked at An An in her arms and said seriously, "Don't mention our superpowers to others in the future. This is our secret."

An'an looked up, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Lin You and said, "Is it a secret? Grandma said the same thing."

As they were talking, Lin You got back into the car, started the engine, and sped off towards the Orchid Mountain Scenic Area.