TVHCM 17

Chapter 17 — Making a Move

Red flames roared upward, quickly swallowing the three vehicles that had surrounded them.

Ji-ge clutched his arm and rolled on the ground in agony. From fingertips to elbow, his arm was completely charred black. Snot and tears smeared across his face in a chaotic mess—gone was the arrogance he had shown when unleashing his ability earlier.

Beside him, the man who had once demanded the jeep was suffering the same fate as his “big brother.” Both of his arms hung limp at his sides, torn and crippled by Xiao Jin. The pain was so intense he couldn’t even scream anymore.

Just moments ago, Ji-ge had been the center of attention, surrounded by admiration.

Now, his so-called underlings had scattered as far away from him as possible. All of them stared in horror at the burning cars and the two writhing men on the ground, their faces pale with fear.

So this… was an ability user.

Before, the “ability users” they had seen were like Ji-ge—strengthening a single arm, relying on brute force in close combat. Powerful, yes, but still within the realm of street fighting.

But this man…

With a single wave of his hand, he summoned a sea of fire.

Flames clung like a malignant parasite, impossible to extinguish. He didn’t even need to move—just standing there calmly was enough to casually destroy Ji-ge’s arm, the very symbol of his strength.

So this was what a real ability user looked like.

Fear spread further through the crowd. Mo Chu even saw someone wet themselves on the spot. A young boy among them cried so hard his face was a mess of tears and mucus, pitiful beyond measure.

But Mo Chu didn’t feel even a shred of sympathy.

These people moved with practiced ease. It was obvious this wasn’t their first time doing something like this. If anything, she should feel sympathy for those they had already harmed.

She had long since become familiar with the cruelty between people in the apocalypse—but she hadn’t expected that, barely half a month in, some people would already be so eager to inherit this “evil”… and even take pride in it.

Mo Chu jumped down from the roof of the vehicle. A dagger spun lazily between her fingers as she walked past Ji-ge and his loyal “brother,” heading toward the group.

As she passed Ji-ge, the man—whose arm had been destroyed—suddenly lifted his head. His eyes were filled with bone-deep hatred.

Mo Chu didn’t care much about a defeated loser who couldn’t stir up any trouble.

But Li Chen couldn’t ignore it.

He followed behind her. When he passed Ji-ge, he leaned slightly down and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.

“If you look at her like that again,” he said calmly, “I’ll burn your eyes out too.”

His tone was flat—no rage, no excitement. It sounded more like a simple statement of fact.

Ji-ge’s eyes widened instantly in terror. He looked at Li Chen as if he were a ghost crawling out of hell.

Li Chen straightened up again, his expression returning to calm. The faint darkness in his eyes was carefully concealed, leaving only the appearance of a strikingly handsome young man.

Meanwhile, Mo Chu had already approached the group.

Their reactions were completely different from before. The admiration they once had for her beauty had turned into pure terror. They looked at her not like a woman anymore—but like a reaper.

They clearly wanted to run, yet under her gaze, none of them dared move. Their expressions were comically stiff.

Mo Chu considered herself a principled person. She only dealt with the instigator. These people, now that Ji-ge was gone, were nothing but scattered ants.

Still, apparently they didn’t think the same.

The moment she stepped closer, one of them screamed in panic, rolled his eyes back, and fainted on the spot.

Mo Chu: “…”

Really? That scared?

She walked over and kicked the unconscious man lightly. He didn’t even pretend—he really was out cold.

Mo Chu fell silent for a moment.

Then she pointed at the unconscious one, and at Ji-ge and his crippled subordinate.

“Take these three,” she said flatly. “Take them as far away as possible. Don’t let me see you again.”

The group exchanged uneasy looks.

Seeing no movement, Li Chen spoke from behind her.

“Didn’t you hear her?”

They all flinched at once.

Immediately, they scrambled into action. Some dragged the unconscious man, others tremblingly moved toward Ji-ge.

One man bent down, trying to carry Ji-ge on his back.

Li Chen glanced at him. “No need to carry him. Too slow. Drag him.”

The entire group froze.

Ji-ge shot Li Chen a venomous glare—but the moment their eyes met, his expression stiffened again in fear.

Li Chen repeated calmly, “Drag him.”

The man gritted his teeth, grabbed Ji-ge’s shoulder, and started pulling him across the ground.

Ji-ge’s face twisted in pain. This dragging hurt even more than when his arm had been burned.

Soon another man was forced to help. Between the two of them, they finally managed to drag him forward.

“Good,” Li Chen said lightly. “That works.”

They forced out a smile that looked more like a cry.

“Alright. Go.”

And so Mo Chu watched as the three men were dragged away like dead dogs.

One of them had already passed out from pain. Ji-ge was still conscious—but judging by his expression, he probably wished he wasn’t.

Li Chen stood there watching until they disappeared from sight.

Mo Chu turned to look at him.

He appeared perfectly calm, as if nothing had happened.

Thinking of his earlier methods, she silently sighed.

As expected of the man who would one day brutally torture Chu Ming for three days and three nights—when he wanted to break someone, he had far too many ways to do it.

As she was thinking this, Li Chen suddenly turned back and met her eyes.

After a moment, he asked softly, “Do you think… I was too cruel?”

Cruel?

Mo Chu blinked, genuinely confused.

Why would he ask that?

This counted as cruel?

Before she could respond, Li Chen’s expression dimmed slightly—as if misunderstanding her silence.

Then Mo Chu suddenly laughed.

Li Chen looked up in surprise.

She was smiling, dimples faintly appearing at the corners of her lips. She shook her head.

“I think it’s kind of funny, actually,” she said. “Your method… well, it’s pretty satisfying to watch.”

Li Chen stared at her, momentarily unable to process her words—then he smiled too, almost reflexively.

Mo Chu then asked, “Do you think I was cruel when I let Xiao Jin bite his arm off like that?”

Li Chen answered without hesitation.

“He deserved it.”

Mo Chu laughed again, reached up on her tiptoes, and patted his shoulder.

“See? That settles it. Stop overthinking. Let’s keep going.”

“Mm.”

Li Chen nodded.

She doesn’t think I’m cruel.

Good.

They set off again.

This time, the journey was smooth.

But less than an hour later, they were forced to stop again.

Ahead of them, a bridge had collapsed. A river over ten meters wide blocked the road. Unless they could fly—and bring the car with them—they couldn’t cross.

After a brief look, they got back into the car and took a side road off the highway. The further they went, the worse the terrain became. Eventually, even the road disappeared, replaced by a rough dirt path.

After another half hour of bumping along like this, Mo Chu finally gave up.

They parked by a small river to rest.

It was already close to nightfall.

Another car was already there, surrounded by five or six young men and women. Some were gathering firewood, others unpacking food from the trunk.

When Mo Chu and Li Chen’s car approached, the man taking food from the trunk immediately slammed it shut. The group turned tense, eyes full of guarded hostility.

Mo Chu understood. She gestured for Li Chen to drive farther away.

They moved about three hundred meters down the riverbank before stopping again.

From a distance, the two groups faced each other.

Mo Chu felt this was a reasonable distance—close enough not to interfere, far enough to show no hostility, and still able to help if danger appeared.

But the other group clearly didn’t agree.

After a brief argument among themselves, they actually got back into their car and moved even farther away before stopping again.

Only then did they resume their camp.

Mo Chu didn’t comment.

She quickly gathered firewood and lit a fire.

Meanwhile, Li Chen glanced at her, then silently took Xiao Jin and walked down to the river.

Mo Chu didn’t know what they were doing.

A while later, they returned.

Li Chen was holding two fat fish. Xiao Jin had one clamped in his mouth.

Mo Chu’s eyes lit up instantly.

Fish… all kinds of cooking methods flashed through her mind.

Reality, however, was cruel.

They had nothing.

Mo Chu looked at Li Chen helplessly. “How are we supposed to cook this?”

“Fish soup,” he said.

“…How?”

No pot. No bowls. Nothing.

Li Chen said nothing. He walked to a tree, pulled out a battered metal bucket, and used Mo Chu’s dagger to cut off most of it, leaving only the base and part of the wall.

A makeshift pot.

Then he summoned flames, circling the bucket. Dirt and grime peeled away.

He carried it to the river and rinsed it clean.

“Pot’s ready,” he said.

Mo Chu: “…”

Which one of us survived six years in the apocalypse?

So they made fish soup.

There were no seasonings. Mo Chu only had some white liquor to remove the fishy smell.

Still, after so long without a proper hot meal, when the water began to boil and the aroma slowly rose…

Mo Chu’s appetite was instantly awakened.

And at that moment—

A clear gulping sound came from nearby.

“Slurp.”