In a dim, damp underground warehouse, eight or nine cowering, raggedly dressed young women were curled up in a corner of the room, heads bowed, their entire bodies trembling uncontrollably.
No one made even the slightest sound.
On the floor nearby lay another girl, barely breathing. A mess of tangled hair covered more than half of her face, and she was so filthy that her true features were indiscernible.
The air was thick with a stench so foul it was nauseating.
After a long moment, a finger on the lying girl's hand twitched slightly—once, then again.
Feng Moxi felt sore and weak all over, her mind a complete daze. But the piercing pain was so real. 'Am I still being torn apart by Mutant Beasts?'
It was a pain she never wanted to experience again.
She slowly opened her eyes. Hazy light filtered in from a small, ten-inch-square window above her head.
The surroundings were permeated by a dark, unsettling aura. 'This is the Apocalypse, all right.'
Feng Moxi tried to sit up but found she couldn't summon an ounce of strength. The pain wracking her body and the icy chill of the floor beneath her, however, felt incredibly real.
'Was I saved?'
A bitter smile touched Feng Moxi's lips. 'In the Apocalypse, who would care if someone else lived or died? My own cousin threw me into a horde of monsters. I watched as my own flesh was ripped away, piece by piece.'
'Stuffed into the mouths of beasts. The heart-rending agony, the indifference of the people on the city wall—all of it was seared into my mind.'
'How foolish I was. I thought that with my beauty and the protection of my powerful cousin, I was thriving in the Apocalypse. But it was all just an illusion.'
'I never realized my cousin hated me so much.'
'Hated me enough to have me killed. Was it just because I glanced at that aloof man a few too many times? Or was it because I never killed a single monster, even though I had awakened a power mutation?'
At this thought, Feng Moxi's eyes darkened, a savage light flickering within them. 'Back then, I only held back because I didn't want to die such a gruesome death.'
Feng Moxi struggled to move her finger joints. That sharp, stabbing pain shot through her heart once more.
"It's been a whole week. Damn it, the outside is crawling with monsters. I think our Netherworld is a lost cause," a low, hoarse male voice drifted in from the window.
'...A week? What does he mean, a week? Has it already been a week since the city fell? From the sound of it, they're trapped in some hidden place…'
'Could it be...?'
"Don't even think about it. It's the same everywhere now. This morning, the boss took a few dozen guys out to scout. Only three of them came back. Three!" As he spoke, the man's voice began to tremble.
"Pah..."
The first voice spat loudly. "Fuck it. What kind of world is this? I went through all that trouble to snatch these chicks, and before I can even have my fun, this shit happens."
"I say they're just a waste of food."
"Hmph. We can't let 'em go to waste."
Then, both men let out low, lewd chuckles, the fear that had just been making their hearts pound apparently forgotten.
Feng Moxi's gaze cleared. A dark, blood-red glint flashed through her fierce eyes, and a cold, brutal restlessness surged in her heart.
She had, after all, lived through the Apocalypse. No matter how she'd pretended to be weak in her past life, surviving four years of the end times only to die so miserably had changed her.
She clenched her fingers, trying to suppress her violent emotions. With great effort, she lifted her head and looked toward the small window. Next to it was a tightly sealed, rusted iron door with a dilapidated wooden ladder leading down from it.
The room was dark and cramped, filled with a gloomy air.
Her gaze finally landed on the group of girls huddled in the corner, and her eyes flickered.
'Is it really only one week into the Apocalypse?'
After a long moment of contemplation, Feng Moxi shakily raised her hands again. They were a pair of slender hands, so grimy their color was hidden, and they looked impossibly delicate. 'These... these are definitely not the weathered hands I once had.'
'Nor are they the soft, chubby hands I had before the Apocalypse.'
'Don't tell me my life is not only restarting, but I've been reborn into someone else's body, just to experience this aimless darkness all over again?'
'No, I don't want this!'
In agony, Feng Moxi clutched her head, her fingers tangling her hair into an even greater mess.
"Y-you're awake?" A voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz sounded by her ear.
A round-faced girl with delicate features was watching her cautiously, her face full of concern.
But the sudden sound made her temper flare again. Her cold, savage gaze swept over the girl, who immediately shrank back and pressed herself against the others, not daring to make another sound.
A moment later, a corner of Feng Moxi's mouth twitched, and she gave the girl a small nod.
Just then, the small, dim window was suddenly pulled open a crack, and a pile of steamed buns was tossed in through the gap, scattering across the floor.
Then, with a SLAM, the window was shut again.
The girls huddled in the corner, their eyes gleaming, swarmed forward. They snatched the moldy steamed buns from the floor and scurried back to the corner, devouring them ravenously.
Many of them, throats parched, began to choke and cough hoarsely, but they didn't slow their eating in the slightest.
The delicate-featured girl also grabbed a steamed bun and retreated to the corner. She glanced at Feng Moxi, lying limply on the ground, then after a moment's thought, she snatched up the last bun from the floor.
She slowly moved over to Feng Moxi and whispered, "Eat... eat something. Don't be so stubborn. This is the Apocalypse." As she spoke, her eyes filled with terror, and her voice choked with emotion.
She must have remembered something terrible, for her expression turned mournful.
Feng Moxi stared in surprise at the yellowish, mold-covered steamed bun offered to her.
GRUMBLE GRUMBLE. Her stomach rumbled uncontrollably.
A sharp pain then twisted in her stomach, and a wave of ravenous hunger washed over her, so intense it made her nauseous.
'How long had it been since she'd last seen grain? Three years into the Apocalypse, the land had become too contaminated to cultivate, and grains had all but disappeared. The few remaining supplies dug up from deep underground were all moldy and bitter.'
'The only exceptions were the small amounts produced in the high-level labs at the bases.'
'Ordinary people never even got to see it. All they ate was the flesh of Mutant Beasts, which, after a while, became bland and tasteless.'
'This steamed bun is a little moldy, but it's still edible.'
The delicate-featured girl composed herself. Seeing Feng Moxi still dazed, she shook her head, gently pressed the steamed bun into her hand, and retreated to the wall. Cradling her own food protectively, she began to take small, careful bites.