But she ignored it all.
Because in her mind, Shen Ming's obsession was not a threat. It was a tool.
'So long as he keeps feeding us, why should I care about his heart's festering? Let him obsess and dig his own grave. When the time comes, it will be his undoing, not mine.'
And with that, Ling Yu accepted another bottle of purified water with a smile so faint it might not have existed at all.
★★★
The city's skeleton groaned beneath the sun's pale eye as Shen Ming's group entered the designated scavenging area.
It was too quiet.
The cracked streets stretched long and empty, dust whispering faintly in the wind. Windows gaped open like hollow sockets, no shadows flitting within, no rustle of rats or scurry of birds. Even the ever-present distant howls that had haunted their journey were muted here, swallowed by the silence.
The ordinary members of the group, their arms weighed down by salvaged rations and scavenged scraps, were smiling with relief.
"Lucky! This area's clean."
