Volu II: The Year of Anti-Entropy
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"Ahh... that was delicious!" The girl sighed contentedly after swallowing the last bit of noodle from her bowl.
After a mont of hesitation, blushing slightly, she lifted the bowl and tried to sip the broth slowly, one mouthful at a ti, instead of slurping it all down at once – trying to blend in.
But her frugality stood out in this city of abundance. Though they didn't say anything, Hua could feel the other diners glancing at her with... surprise? No, that wasn't quite right – curiosity!
Yes, that was the word.
Like watching a monkey in a zoo trying to use utensils.
The looks weren't hostile, but they made her uncomfortable, especially for a girl like her, already sowhat withdrawn and sensitive due to her family's financial situation.
Well... it wasn't that her family was poor, but ever since her father had been injured in an attack by those zombie-like creatures, their savings had beco less and less rapidly due to his dical expenses.
The elderly shop owner approached her, smiling. "Would you like another bowl?"
Another bowl...?
Hua touched her flat stomach. Honestly, the serving size was generous, but for soone like her, who had practiced martial arts since childhood and could easily eat four bowls of rice in one sitting, it wasn't quite enough.
Hua pursed her lips, instinctively wanting to nod.
Then she saw the price list and snapped back to reality – she was in shanghai City! One of the most expensive cities in the world!
Even the cheapest bowl of plain noodles here cost almost double what it did back in her small hotown!
It was the end of the month, her living expenses were already tight, and she still had to pay for the subway back to school – I should have just stayed at school...
Forcing a smile, she declined the owner's offer and left the restaurant, walking into the bustling night, filled with neon lights and the clamor of voices.
"It's... less than ten kiloters to school. Should I just run back...? I could save so money." Hua had a sudden thought.
"Uh... no, I'll get hungry after exercising, and then I'll be in trouble..."
A poster on a nearby building caught her eye.
"The Thorned Crown, an opera written, directed, and starring the famous Eden, premiering tonight at the shanghai Grand Theater!"
Hua listened intently. Though the theater was still so distance away, she could already hear faint, lancholic singing.
"Is it a tragedy? Oh well... I can't afford a ticket anyway."
She was on the busiest street in shanghai City, a place where, as her textbook described, cars flowed like water and horses galloped like dragons.
And sothing her textbook didn't ntion – the neon lights that painted the night sky a dark purple.
Though not her first ti in the city, Hua still felt a sense of displacent amidst the bustling crowds.
She rembered her philosophy teacher saying it was a lack of belonging, a consequence of having no one to care for and no one who cared for her. Because she had so little, she was like a rootless tumbleweed, drifting aimlessly, belonging nowhere and to no one.
Hua shook her head, chiding herself for being overly sentintal.
She glanced at her watch. It was getting late. It was better to get back to school. Being locked out by the dorm supervisor would be... unpleasant.
She hurried towards the subway station.
After taking a few steps, she hesitated, then turned and ran down another street.
Save so money...
"I heard so people at school talking about those zombie-like creatures appearing in shanghai City... Uh... there's a less crowded area ahead. I should be careful." Hua reminded herself as she ran.
Unlike others who dismissed the creatures as urban legends, or even sought them out for thrills, Hua couldn't afford to be careless. Her father was a victim, his wounds proof of their existence – though she still didn't understand why the United Governnt refused to acknowledge the truth.
"Help! Soone, help!"
The cry for help was almost drowned out by the surrounding noise, barely audible. But Hua's hearing was sharp. She quickly pinpointed the source – the block she was about to pass!
And... did that voice sound familiar?
Hua stopped at the entrance to the block, catching her breath. She hadn't been keeping up with her morning training since arriving in shanghai, and her stamina had declined. Just two kiloters of running had left her feeling tired.
"Sothing's not right."
She had only heard that this block was sparsely populated – a miracle in a city as densely packed as shanghai.
But it wasn't just sparsely populated, it was eerily deserted!
Compared to the brightly lit streets outside, this place was shrouded in true darkness. Only a few lights were on in the windows of nearby buildings. The residents must have heard the cries for help, but for so reason, they chose to ignore them.
Most of the apartnts looked abandoned. Many balconies were open, and in the faint light, clothes hung on clotheslines, swaying gently in the breeze – at first glance, they looked like hanging figures, startling Hua.
The early sumr evening breeze swept through the street, like soone whimpering in the silent night.
"Help ! Please, soone save !"
This ti, Hua recognized the voice. She rembered two girls at school discussing those zombie-like creatures. This was one of them!
She had actually co here to explore!
Hua instinctively took a step back, fear gripping her. But she quickly suppressed the urge to run.
She didn't know where the courage ca from. She clenched her fists, feeling the calluses from years of martial arts training – these were not the hands of an ordinary girl.
The familiar texture seed to give her strength, and her body moved before her mind could catch up – she ran towards the source of the cries!
She sprinted down the deserted street, spotting a girl in a white shirt, a denim jacket tied around her waist like a skirt, running towards her, crying and screaming.
Seeing a figure ahead, the girl ran faster... But realizing it was another girl about her age, she seed to lose all hope.
Hua didn't notice any of this, her attention focused on the darkness behind the girl.
"Just like father described, their skin is deathly pale, but they're incredibly agile and ferocious!"
A Zombies, wielding a kitchen knife, was about to catch up to the fleeing girl. Hua sprinted forward, leaping into the air and rolling over the girl's head, then slamming her heel down onto the Zombie's head.
"Crack!"
The Zombie's face caved in, a sharp pain shooting through Hua's heel. But she quickly regained her footing, charging into the Zombie, elbowing its wrist to disarm it, then punching it in the chest.
"One-inch punch!"
The Zombie staggered back, trying to regain its balance, but Hua grabbed its tattered collar, pulling it back towards her, then delivering a knee strike to its stomach. She stepped forward, striking the Zombie's chin with the heel of her palm, a move resembling an uppercut.
"White-Robed Crossing the River!"
That was the na of the move.
She looked at her opponent expectantly...
"Uh... how is it still standing?"
Hua had grown stronger, and knowing it was a monster, she hadn't held back.
"Its skull and jaw are shattered, its right forearm is probably fractured, how can it still be standing?! Does it not feel pain?!"
Even more terrifying, more figures erged from the darkness, accompanied by growls and the grinding of teeth.
"Is this the kind of monster father faced?!"
Hua's fists, still clenched, trembled slightly.
A pair of trembling hands grabbed her wrist.
This snapped her back to reality – she couldn't defeat these monsters. She had to escape!
"Run!" she yelled, pulling the girl along.
"The entrance to the block isn't far. We just need..."
As Hua pulled the girl back the way they ca, they encountered another group of Zombies at a corner.
"!"
Before the Zombie could react, she kicked the lead one to the ground, but this revealed even more Zombies lurking in the alley...
Hua gritted her teeth. Retreating the way they ca was impossible. She had a sinking feeling that she might not make it out of this.
There was no ti for regret. She pulled the girl along, running blindly through the darkness. More and more Zombies converged from all directions, their escape routes dwindling...
"I... I can't... I can't run anymore..." The girl she'd saved gasped for breath, her steps faltering.
"Leave , run! I can't go on!"
Hua didn't answer. She stopped abruptly.
She stumbled, leaning against the girl for support.
"Hey! Why did you stop?!"
Hua winced, bending down to touch her heel. It felt fractured. Reaching this far had been her limit.
Besides...
Hua pointed ahead.
A tall wall blocked their path.
"Waaah! We're dood! I'm sorry, God, I shouldn't have co here looking for thrills! Aaaah!"
Hua bit her lip, calmly, despairingly pulling the girl back until their backs were against the cold wall.
The Zombies surrounded them, their sharp teeth bared, ready to feast.
"You could climb onto my shoulders and try to get over the wall." Hua wanted to say this, but the overwhelming despair silenced her.
Fear? Perhaps. But it was mostly an indescribable sense of... resignation.
Unlike the panicking girl beside her, Hua closed her eyes, accepting her fate.
"Just so low-level Zombies, Elysia. Take care of them."
A calm male voice ca from above.
The voice sounded relieved, as if sothing uncertain had finally happened – a sense of closure.
Hua looked up indifferently. A figure stood on the wall, his silver hair fluttering in the evening breeze, the moonlight behind him, outlining his solitary form.
Then, she looked back and saw a girl with pink hair, dressed in white, standing in front of her.
Strangely... she was holding a... bow?
Who used such a weapon these days?
"You're so demanding... Michael... I still want to see the play..." the pink-haired girl complained casually, as if the dozens of Zombies surrounding them were insignificant.
"Then hurry up and finish this. The play's only on its second act. We can make it back before the end."
The man's tone was equally nonchalant.
"Fine~" The girl, called Elysia, turned, smiling at the two trembling girls behind her. "You did well! Leave the rest to !"
Then, the girl drew the bowstring, her movents elegant yet swift, releasing a flurry of pink arrows.
Crystals burst from the bodies of the struck Zombie, like blooming flowers.
It was the first ti Hua had seen such brilliant, flawless crystals.
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