Chapter 273: My Name is Shuhua

My name is Shu Hua.

I'm so scared.

I don't know why I ended up here, but this place terrifies me. The sky is constantly red, and the air smells so foul it makes me want to vomit.

The kind people died in the first few days, and those who survived are terrifying.

I finally found an expired can of food, but those people came at me with knives to snatch it away.

I'm starving, but I can't fight them off...

Will I starve to death... or get beaten to death?

I hugged the can and hid in a corner, my whole body shaking. What on earth is going on here? The brothers and sisters who came with me all died within just three days...

I miss them so much...

I wonder how Qin Dingdong is doing?

She said she was going out to find food, but she hasn't come back in three days...

"Hey! I see you!"

Hearing that made me jump. I looked around, but those people hadn't spotted me at all—they were just trying to trick me.

A man shouted from a distance, "I advise you not to make us angry! Kid, how far do you think you can run?"

I didn't want to cry, but my tears kept falling.

I have to escape... I can't stay here anymore...

But how can I shake them off?

As I turned my head, I suddenly noticed an iron door behind me.

After thinking for a moment, I gently threw the can in the other direction, then opened the iron door and slipped inside.

They want the can—if I give it to them, I'll be safe.

I picked up a stick from the ground and wedged it against the iron door, then moved deeper inside.

The inside of the door was pitch black, and it smelled even worse than outside... What am I supposed to do now?

"Is... is anyone there...?" I carefully took a few steps forward, and the next second, I heard my own echo.

It seems this room isn't very big.

I'm so frightened... I need to find somewhere to hide.

But it's so empty in here—how can I hide?

As I fumbled around the room, I suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.

They're coming!

I got scared and ran a couple of steps, but tripped over something. It felt soft and sticky under my feet.

"Hey! Are you in there?!"

There was a banging on the iron door.

"You'd better come out right now!"

The door kept getting hammered, each loud bang hitting me like a blow, making my body tremble uncontrollably...

"The... the can... it's all yours!" I tried to sound brave, but my voice cracked as soon as I spoke. Still, I forced myself to say, "I don't have the can anymore! I... I... won't eat it... You can have it..."

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting..." The man outside kept shaking the door. "Damn it, we're four grown men! Four grown men sharing one can?!"

"Then... then what do you want?!" I regretted asking as soon as the words left my mouth.

My scalp started tingling, the fear spreading through every part of my body until I could barely stand.

So, I'm not going to starve or get beaten to death... I'm going to be eaten by these people.

I was crying so hard I could barely breathe; I had no idea what to do.

As my blurry eyes adjusted to the darkness, I vaguely made out a dark shape in the center of the room.

Is that... a person?

I mustered my courage and stood up. I had no other options—if there's someone else in here... maybe they can save me?

I groped my way over and prodded it with my foot. The body was hard, like a dummy.

"H-hello?" I bravely asked, slowly getting closer, but I caught a stronger stench.

He seems dead, and he's been dead for a while.

I touched his clothes; he was wearing a tattered suit. Why did he die here?

"Damn it... this door's blocked..." The muffled voice came from outside again. "Move aside, I'll smash it open."

It's over—I'm probably done for.

My whole body felt ice-cold, and my hands were shaking. In the chaos, I felt something fuzzy.

It was a mask.

"Ah!" I cried out in surprise.

I've seen this kind of mask before—these are what the Cai Pan wear!

This is my only chance—if I put on this mask, I can pretend to be a Cai Pan!

In this dark room, this mask might give me a one percent chance of survival...

I grabbed the mask and pulled it off. In the dim light, I could see the person's face was completely rotted, with blackened skin stuck to the mask. As I lifted it, some sticky red strands pulled away from his face, leaving it horribly red.

I didn't have time to think about it—I just held my breath against the stench and put it on my head.

Bang!

A huge crash echoed as the iron door was forced open, and the dim red light from outside spilled in. That's when I realized this was a tiny, abandoned warehouse.

I stood frozen against the wall, not daring to say a word.

I had planned to bluff and introduce myself to scare them off, but I didn't even know what animal was on this mask.

"Rat...?" The leader said, looking at me uncertainly.

"Rat? Yes... rat..." I nodded vigorously. "I advise you to leave quickly... I-I'm a 'Shu Ren'..."

"Shu Ren?" The leader paused, then burst out laughing. "Ha ha ha ha!"

I knew even that one percent chance was gone.

They weren't afraid of me at all.

"Still calling yourself 'Shu Ren'... pathetic attempt." The leader slowly approached me.

"You... please let me go..." My legs gave way, and I nearly collapsed. "Please... I'm just an ordinary student..."

"No, no, no." The leader shook his head. "After today, you won't be ordinary anymore. We'll turn you into a 'woman' first, then use you to fill our bellies. You'll be our savior."

"What..."

Hearing that, I finally crumpled to the ground.

In front of me were four tall men with sticks and knives, blocking the only exit to the warehouse. What could I possibly do?

"Bro, should we kill her first or have some fun?"

"Kill her first, otherwise she'll keep struggling." The leader advanced with his knife.

As he came closer, my mind went blank. I started thinking about my grandma.

I haven't gone back to cook for her yet...

Just as the knife was about to fall, another person suddenly appeared in the room.

He was holding a bloody head—the leader's.

How is this possible...?

In a few swift moves, this naked man was holding four heads, and the bright red blood splattered all over my mask.

Then, the four headless bodies slowly collapsed.

The naked man tossed the heads aside and helped me up.

I stared at him, speechless at his strange appearance.

He pressed his face close to my body and sniffed gently, then said softly, "Little sister, you're a 'Ren Shu', not a 'Shu Ren'. Getting that wrong could be trouble."