…And she had taken away something very precious from the young man…
Thinking of this made Quinn's chest ache with sympathy.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on it. Quinn gathered her thoughts and continued reading more about this world.
This world was incredibly huge—about the size of ten thousand Earths.
Humans mainly gathered in one area, spreading outward from the central city called Taiji City. Surrounding it were the Two Yi Cities, the Four Symbols Cities, and the Eight Trigrams Cities.
The "Two Yi Cities" wasn't one city but a name for two cities, Changyin City and Changyang City, which lay to the east and west of Taiji City. Similarly, the "Four Symbols Cities" and "Eight Trigrams Cities" were groups of four and eight cities further out.
"Whoever named these cities must've really liked Taoist culture," Quinn thought.
For convenience, the residents divided the regions based on their distance from Taiji City. Taiji City was Zone 1, the Two Yi Cities were Zone 2, and so on.
But none of these cities included the place where Quinn lived: the Lower District. The Lower Districts didn't even have proper names; instead, they were numbered from 1 to 64 and were collectively called the Outer Zones. Zones 1 through 4 were referred to as the Inner Zones.
The Outer Zones were located beyond the Fourth Zone and were separated from it by a huge, sky-high wall. People from the Outer Zones had no permission to enter the Inner Zones.
It was incredibly difficult for anyone in the Outer Zones to gain access to the Inner Zones. It required a large amount of contribution points. That's why there was a common saying: "Once someone lives in the Lower District, their family will live there forever."
Even though they were called zones, each one was massive. The Inner Zones together covered an area the size of thirty Earths, and the Outer Zones were even bigger. In a broader sense, the Outer Zones were considered limitless, but usually, people referred to the areas surrounding Zone Four as the Outer Zone.
As for why humans all lived in one place…
Just as Quinn was about to read further, a faint moaning sound interrupted her. The boy was waking up. Quinn turned off her wristband. She had already read enough for now; the rest could wait.
She set the wristband aside, got up, and went to the bathroom to fetch a basin of hot water. The towel was a bit dirty, but it was the only one available.
Returning to the room, Quinn soaked the towel, placed it by the basin, and sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for the boy to wake up.
…
In his sleep, Hazen felt like his eyelids weighed a thousand pounds, but the pain in his body and the hunger in his stomach forced him to slowly open his eyes. The first thing he saw was a stained, grimy ceiling.
So dirty… He had never been in such a filthy place before.
Still dazed, Hazen didn't realize where he was. But when he moved his eyes and saw Quinn sitting by the bed, he instantly screamed and scrambled to get away.
It hurt… everything hurt so much, especially down there—he couldn't feel anything. Hazen had never experienced this kind of pain before. Tears spilled down his face, but fear of Quinn made him keep moving, backing himself into a corner and curling up, trembling.
So scary… it hurts… someone help me… Mom, Dad… help…
Quinn watched as the boy shrank into himself like a frightened rabbit. She reached out, trying to comfort him.
But the moment she got close, he reacted even more strongly.
"Go away! Help! Help! Don't hit me, please, someone help me…" His voice was hoarse and rough. He had screamed too much last night—his voice was nearly gone.
Seeing how agitated he was, Quinn feared he might pass out. She had no choice but to speak firmly, "Be quiet."
The moment she said that, Hazen immediately covered his mouth with his hand, not daring to speak. His swollen eyes kept streaming tears.
Eighteen-year-old Hazen had been completely broken by what happened last night. His pride, his strength, his dignity—everything had been crushed and ground to dust.
All that remained was fear. Quinn, at six feet tall and weighing three hundred pounds, was like a towering mountain to the delicate young master, blocking out all his light.
He regretted it so much… so much. Even if he had frozen to death outside last night, he should never have come to her. Because of that decision, she—the dirty, fat, and ugly woman—had stolen his most precious thing on the very day he turned eighteen. She had forced herself on him and became his first woman.
Thinking about this made Hazen cry even harder. He now realized she didn't even like him. She liked Ling Xiyu—the real young master. He wanted to hate her, but he didn't dare. He was afraid Quinn would beat him.
Last night, before Quinn entered the original owner's body, Hazen had been beaten badly. He was slapped again and again, punched and kicked so hard that his whole face was swollen like a bun, and blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth. In the end, he didn't even dare to fight back anymore. He had no strength left. The boy, who was once as pure as a lotus, had been dragged into the mud.
To be exact, most of the injuries on Hazen's body were caused by the original owner. Only the marks from the final bullying and the traces of intimacy came from Quinn. But for Hazen, that might have been the most painful part.
Quinn looked at the frightened and messy boy in front of her and sighed softly. "Don't move. Let me wipe your face."
The boy really didn't move. His whole body stiffened as he let Quinn wipe his delicate face with a towel that used to not even be good enough for wiping his feet.
Quinn used the gentlest touch possible to wipe the blood and tears from the boy's face.
Then she washed the towel again in the water basin and asked, "Do you want me to help you clean the rest, or will you do it yourself?"
Even though her voice was very soft, to Hazen, it sounded like a devil whispering. All he could feel was fear. He just wanted to run away...
"I... I'll do it myself..." he replied in a very soft voice, like a mosquito.
His voice was so quiet that Quinn almost didn't hear it.
She didn't say anything more, just handed him the towel and turned around to stand with her back to him, thinking about what she needed to do next.
The boy had a lot of injuries, but she had already searched the house and found no medicine. So she had to go out and earn some money to buy medicine.
Yes, money. Quinn didn't have any. She had learned that the points in her personal info worked like money and could be used to buy things—but she only had 3 points. That was only enough for three of the cheapest nutrition packs.
Also, rent was due soon. She had seen that in the original owner's transfer records...
While she was thinking, the sound of a towel dropping into the water broke her thoughts.
She turned around and saw the towel floating in the water basin. Hazen had curled up again in the corner with the blanket wrapped tightly around himself.
Quinn: ...
Just then, Hazen's stomach growled loudly. He jumped in fear, quickly covering his belly as if he was afraid the noise would anger Quinn and cause another beating.
He hadn't eaten anything since being thrown out of his birthday banquet. After walking through the cold wind to get here, he had been dragged into the house and beaten. He was exhausted and weak, and now he was starving.
Quinn finally realized they hadn't eaten. She pulled two of the cheapest nutrition packs from under the small table and handed one to the boy.
"This is all we've got. Just make do."
Hazen looked at the nutrition pack and swallowed hard. In the past, he never touched nutrition packs. His meals were always cooked with the freshest ingredients, and only the finest parts were served. The rest was thrown away.
But now he had no choice. He was starving but too afraid of Quinn to reach out.
Quinn sighed and slowly grabbed his wrist. Before he could scream, she said, "Be quiet." Then she pushed the pack into his hand and stepped back.
Hazen frowned and stuck out his tongue, but hunger forced him to take a second sip, then a third.
Even drinking a nutrition pack, the boy moved so gracefully. It showed how well he had been raised. Quinn couldn't take her eyes off him, especially when his little tongue flicked out. It stirred something in her.
She quickly snapped out of it and frowned. She had always been calm and focused. In her last life, she grew up in an apocalypse. As a child, she fought to survive, and as an adult, she fought to grow stronger. She had never wasted time thinking about romance or lust. Last night had been her first time.
It shouldn't have happened. She wasn't someone who gave in to desire. And yet, she had completely indulged last night.
She finally understood. In a female-dominated world, women were often beasts—creatures who thought with their bodies.
Her expression turned cold, and she pushed down the heat in her chest. She opened her own nutrition pack and finished it in a few gulps.
After eating, Quinn planned to go out and figure out how to make some money. She took a kitchen knife and slipped it into her bag.
Hazen was still drinking his pack. When he saw Quinn preparing to leave, his eyes lit up. As soon as she was gone, he would run. He had to escape this nightmare.