Chapter 216
Inside a small shelter on the outskirts of the city, the manganese crystal insulation module was about to run out of energy, and the temperature inside had dropped to -5°C. The cold air seeped in through the cracks in the module, and the refugees, wrapped in thin thermal clothing, huddled together, shivering.
In the corner, two elderly people were desperately protecting the last few barrels of fuel (energy fuel powered by demon cores, exchanged from Su Jing's Mall). This was the last hope to keep the insulation equipment running and the bottom line for the survival of dozens of people in the entire cold-proof point.
With a loud crash, the makeshift wooden door of the shelter was smashed open, sending splinters of wood and ice flying everywhere. Five tall figures burst in, wearing cheap, looted winter clothes (not made of manganese crystal, but thicker than the clothes of the refugees), clutching brittle steel pipes and machetes, their faces contorted with savage smiles. They were the notorious bandit gang that had been entrenched on the outskirts of the city.
"No one is allowed to move! Hand over all the fuel and winter clothing!"
The leader of the thugs, Scarface, held a steel pipe high and roared at the refugees, his voice trembling shrilly in the cold air.
His gaze swept over the fuel barrels in the corner, his eyes filled with greed—in the polar night, fuel was more precious than food; with fuel, one could maintain warmth and exchange it for more supplies.
The refugees were so frightened that they retreated in all directions. Some tried to hide deep inside the shed, but a bandit grabbed them by the collar and slammed them hard onto the ice.
With a "crack," the man's arm slammed heavily onto the ice, instantly fracturing its bone. No blood flowed from the broken end; only ice crystals formed. He was in so much pain that he curled up on the ground, unable to even scream.
"Old man, hand over the fuel!" Two thugs walked towards the old man who was protecting the fuel canister. One of them, a tall and thin man, kicked the old man in the chest. The old man groaned and fell to the ground, but still clung tightly to the handle of the fuel canister.
"We only have this much fuel left. If we hand it over, we'll all freeze to death!" another old man roared, trying to stand up to stop them, but the tall, thin man smashed a steel pipe into his shoulder. The old man's shoulder collapsed instantly, and his body slumped down next to the fuel tank, motionless.
"Mind your own business!" Scarface spat, gesturing for his men to move the fuel barrels.
The refugees watched this scene, angry but unable to speak out. Some were filled with despair, while others watched numbly. In the face of the polar night at -65°C and the brutality of the bandits, resistance seemed to lead only to certain death.
In the crowd, a woman named Chen Lan held her three-year-old son, Xiao Bao, tightly in her arms. Xiao Bao's face was blue from the cold, and his lips were purple. He had lost the strength to cry and was just instinctively clutching his mother's clothes.
Chen Lan's heart sank as she watched the fuel barrels being lifted by the bandits—without fuel, the insulation equipment would stop working completely, and the temperature inside the shed would quickly drop to -65°C. Neither she nor Xiao Bao would survive more than half an hour.
"Wait!" Chen Lan suddenly shouted, pulling a small package from her bosom. Inside was half a barrel of spare fuel that she had exchanged with her last Tier 1 demon core (originally intended for Xiao Bao in an emergency). "I still have fuel here. You can have it all. Please don't take the public fuel. And please, leave a warm coat for the child!"
Her voice was choked with sobs, and her knees buckled, almost causing her to kneel down.
Scarface turned to look at Chen Lan, his gaze sweeping over the child and bundle in her arms, a sinister smile creeping across his lips: "You're smart enough to give me the fuel!"
Chen Lan handed over the package with trembling hands, her eyes filled with pleading: "Please, leave the child a piece of clothing to keep him warm, he's almost frozen!"
A short, stout thug took the fuel but showed no intention of letting go. Instead, he reached out to pull at Chen Lan's thin thermal clothing: "Want clothes? Change them yourself!"
His hands were rough and cold. He grabbed Chen Lan's collar and pulled it down. The fabric of the thermal underwear was fragile and was torn open instantly. Cold air seeped into the clothes through the tear, and Chen Lan couldn't help but shiver. She held Xiao Bao tightly in her arms.
"Let me go! I've already given you fuel!"
Chen Lan struggled desperately, but the short, fat thug held her shoulders firmly, rendering her immobile. Scarface walked over, sizing up Chen Lan with a lewd look in his eyes: "Half a barrel of fuel and you want to change clothes? Not enough! Either hand over another demon core, or let us brothers have some fun, otherwise forget about clothes, you and your mother will freeze to death here today!"
Xiao Bao burst into tears, his cries weak yet piercing. Chen Lan looked at the trembling child in her arms, then at the apathetic refugees around her, and cried out in despair, "Someone, please save us! I beg you!"
But no one dared to stand up. Those who had tried to resist earlier were already lying on the ground, their fate unknown. The remaining people only wanted to save their own lives.
"Shouting won't do any good!" The short, fat bandit grinned maliciously, reaching out to grab Xiao Bao, trying to snatch him from Chen Lan's arms. "This little brat has delicate skin; maybe we can trade him for something good!"
Seeing this, Chen Lan unleashed astonishing strength and bit down hard on the short, fat bandit's hand, her teeth embedding deeply into his skin.
"Ah—you crazy woman!" The short, fat bandit yelled in pain, raising his hand to slap Chen Lan across the face. The crisp sound echoed in the shed, Chen Lan's cheek instantly swelled up, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. The blood fell onto the ice and instantly froze into red ice beads.
She didn't let go, still holding Xiaobao tightly, her eyes filled with despair and anger: "I'll fight you to the death!"
She lunged at Scarface, but he kicked her in the stomach, sending her crashing onto the ice.
Xiao Bao rolled out of her arms and landed on the cold ground, letting out a weak cry. Chen Lan struggled to get up, but Scarface stepped on her back, rendering her unable to move.
"You don't know what's good for you!" Scarface's foot pressed down hard, and Chen Lan's ribs made a "crackling" sound, as if they were about to break.
The short, fat bandit picked up Xiao Bao from the ground, grabbed him by the collar with one hand, and Xiao Bao trembled with fear, his face turning pale.
"Hand over all the remaining fuel, or I'll throw this brat out!"
The short, fat bandit roared at Chen Lan, making a move to throw Xiao Bao out of the shed—outside the shed was a polar night with a temperature of -65°C, and the child would freeze to death in less than a minute if thrown out.
Looking at Xiaobao's desperate eyes, Chen Lan felt as if her heart was being torn apart. Tears welled up in her eyes but froze on her cheeks in an instant: "No! I'll give it all! I'll give it all!"
She struggled to pull a small bag she kept close to her body from her bosom. Inside was a small piece of mutated beast meat that she had hidden away (a resource that could be exchanged for half a first-tier demon core). "This is my last thing. Please spare the child!"
Scarface took the bag, weighed it in his hand, and his face showed dissatisfaction: "Is this all? Not enough!"
He turned to the other refugees and said, "You all need to hand over all the supplies you've hidden, or you'll end up like this mother and daughter!"
The bandits immediately scattered and began to rob the refugees of their supplies. Some people's hidden potatoes were taken away, and some people's inner clothing was torn off. Those who resisted were either beaten or thrown out of the shed. Soon, there was no more movement.
Taking advantage of the moment, Chen Lan scrambled to her feet, grabbed Xiao Bao, and held him tightly in her arms. Xiao Bao's body was already cold and his breathing was weak. She kept warming the child with her own body heat, tears silently streaming down her face.
The shed was in complete chaos, filled with cries, beatings, and the thugs' wild laughter. The fuel barrels were carried away by the thugs, and the insulation equipment lost its power source. The indicator lights flashed a few times and then went out completely.
The temperature inside the shed began to drop at a visible rate, the cold grew stronger, and the refugees' bodies began to stiffen. Some were so cold that they could not speak and could only groan weakly.
Scarface watched all this with no pity on his face, only a cruel smile: "Without fuel, you'll all freeze to death! This supply is enough for us to live happily for several days!"
Just as the bandits were about to step out of the shed, a cold gaze fell from the rooftop—Su Jing had already activated her perfect invisibility ability, hovering in mid-air, taking in everything.
She had only come to inspect the defensive cracks at the shelter, but she never expected to witness such brutal atrocities. She was never a saint; she might have turned a blind eye to the scramble among the refugees, but the bandits' slaughter of the elderly and weak, their bullying of women and children, and their disruption of the order of life had crossed her line.
Deep purple lightning crackled at Su Jing's fingertips, her third-tier lightning-based power poised to unleash. She didn't attack immediately, but watched as the thugs carried fuel barrels out of the shed and towards their makeshift vehicle parked nearby—
She wanted to wipe out this gang of thugs, not only to punish their evil deeds, but also to recover the stolen fuel and supplies and maintain the rule of equivalent exchange.
The thugs loaded the fuel barrels onto the vehicle, and Scarface laughed triumphantly: "Let's go! Let's go back and warm up, then we'll come back to rob the next spot tomorrow!"
They were completely unaware that a silver-gray figure was silently following them in the darkness behind them, nor did they realize that death was imminent.
Inside the shed, the temperature at the shelter, now without fuel, had plummeted to -20°C. The refugees' bodies grew increasingly stiff. Chen Lan held Xiao Bao tightly, feeling the child's faint breaths, and looked desperately into the darkness outside the shed.
Unbeknownst to her, the bandits' doomsday was approaching, and an even greater crisis was quietly brewing—
The blood of the bandits and the miserable state of the refugees in the shed had attracted the Ice Fang Beasts that were foraging in the polar night. Their figures flickered in the darkness as they rapidly approached the shelter. The smell of blood and despair in the air became their best guide.
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