7 p.m., one fractured night. Wuhan Province 3-MSZ Human Settlement.
A heavy crash shattered the silence of the dim, suffocating unit. The air was thick with the stench of cheap liquor, stale cigarette butts, and the unmistakable tang of blood.
The room itself felt like a tomb—dead, rank, and void of warmth.
Then came a scream. Shrill and piercing—like a wild animal being cornered.
A woman, thin as bone, crawled backward in terror. Her pale complexion was covered with unsightly purple bruises and bites. An irrefutable proof of an horrendous act that couldn't be hidden under the flimsy cover of her threadbare garment that made her look like a rag doll.
Bai Mingyue felt sick and terrible. Her limbs shook uncontrollably as she retreated into the darkest corner. But even then her eyes were wide, reflecting both fear and despair.
"Bitch! You stupid, useless bitch! What gods did I offend to end up with a wife like you?!"
The man's roar was guttural. He stomped forward and grabbed her by the jaw, dragging her out before flinging her against the wall like garbage.
Bang!
"Argh!" Bai Mingyue cried out.
Pain shot through her spine. Her head slammed against the concrete wall and stars burst behind her eyes. Blood trickled from her temple, warm and sticky, trailing down the side of her face.
Her thighs ached and her vision blurred. Yet the man—her husband in name—showed no hint of concern.
Instead, he slapped her again. Hard. Like she was a thing, not a person.
"You had one job! Open your damn legs and keep those Big Brothers entertained! Then maybe we could trade for food and water! But what did you do, huh? Ruined their fun and pissed them off! Are you trying to get us both killed?!"
The man, furious, throw several more sharp kicks to vent his anger.
Those men. They were the ones who controlled the shelter they were in. The rations. The medicine. Name it. Everything inside this camp were within their authority.
In these end times, they were the big wigs and held what little remained of humanity's lifeline including the two of them.
"You think you're still some pampered heiress? Playing hard to get? Trying to act clean now, are you? Let me ask you—do you want to be tossed out to the zombies? You want me to die with you by dragging me with your stupidity? If you're that eager to go to hell, I'll kill you myself!"
His voice was like a knife sawing through her ears.
Tears streamed down Mingyue's cheeks—silent, salty rivers cutting through the grime and blood. She couldn't even make out his words anymore. But his mouth kept moving, spewing venom with every breath. The stench of him was worse than rot. Worse than death.
Was this really the man who once cradled her head when she had nightmares? The man who warmed her cold hands on snowy nights?
No.
That man was long gone—if he had ever existed at all.
Maybe desperation peels away the masks people wear. Or maybe it simply awakens the beasts they always were underneath.
Mingyue raised her bloodied face and met his eyes. Those same eyes that once looked at her with warmth now burned with disgust.
'So, this was his true face.'
All it took was three months of hardship to wipe away four years of so-called love.
And for what?
A pack of instant noodles?!
A cold self-deprecating smile enveloped her lips.
In the end, she was nothing more than trade goods to him. Something to barter away for another breath of life.
Her heart twisted in bitterness. Her whole body trembled with rage.
Was she supposed to go down like this? Die under this man's fists? Be thrown to those monsters again?
No way.
If she was going to die, she would drag this bastard with her!
With that thought, her eyes flashed and her fingers slowly reached behind her. Then soon enough they touched a jagged piece of broken glass.
Cold, sharp and promising of vengeance.
She clutched it tightly and let the pain surge through her fading consciousness.
"Jing Fang," she whispered hoarsely, her chapped lips trembling. "I gave you everything I had. But to you, I'm worth no more than a three yuan noodles."
She was filled with hate and unfairness yet he only coldly snorted.
"So what if you are? That's enough to keep me alive another day. Why? Do you think you're still in your privilege life? You're not some rich young miss anymore, Bai Mingyue. You're now nothing but a parasite. An extra mouth to feed. You think I'd waste food waiting for you to rot like some moldy cracker? I'd rather cut you up and take profit—"
He never finished.
In one swift, desperate motion, she lunged.
The glass flashed once, then disappeared into his throat.
"You—"
Blood gushed like a broken faucet, leaking with a downpour of metallic red.
"—keuk!"
Jing Fang's eyes widened in shock, mouth gaping silently in incredulity. His hand momentarily moved and clutched at his neck, gasping, choking—unable to speak.
Very soon, his knees gave out. His body swayed sideways, falling down, and hit the ground with a thud.
He was dead before he could even say her name again with revilement.
Mingyue stayed there, panting and palpitating like crazy while her hands were soaked red. Her arms trembled. Yet, she never seemed to let go. The glass shard still clutched in her fingers and dug into her own flesh and bones.
But she didn't care any of this anymore. Tears fell freely, mixing with blood on her cheeks.
She laughed. But it was a laugh that carried no joy—only despair and madness.
She had killed a person and it was no other than her husband!
No.
That wasn't a person, but a hateful demon. She had slain a monster in a man's skin!
"Hahaha… hahaha… hah…"
Her voice broke, then faded as her knees buckled. Her body slumped, heavy with exhaustion and pain.
"So we'll meet in hell after all..."
Darkness took her and she finally gave in.
---
"Spread your legs wider."
Mingyue's eyes flew open and stirred as a stern and commanding voice, clearly that of a male, cut through her daze.
When she finally opened her eyes, that very man's faint figure was crouching at her... thigh level?!
What on earth?!
More importantly, what did he just say?
Mingyue's body reacted before her brain could process. Her limbs went rigid, and all the blood drained from her face.
The nightmare from before—those filthy hands, their mocking laughter that touched every fiber of her body—flashed back in vivid horror.
Mingyue bit her lips and fearfully shut her eyes.
"No—! Get off me! Don't touch me! Don't come near me!" she screamed, thrashing with wild terror. "Please! Please, no more! Let me go!"
Tears gushed like a broken dam. Clearly, still suffering from her past life's trauma. She curled in on herself, with one arm shielding her body and the other swinging wildly. Until it successfully connected with a soft flesh, crisply.
SLAP!