Chapter 3 - 2: Closest Kin, Furthest Stranger

Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Closest Kin, Furthest Stranger

"Ah!"

"Murder!"

"Run! Someone’s been killed!"

After a few seconds of silence, shrill screams suddenly erupted inside the bus.

Pandemonium broke out.

The screech of brakes filled the air.

The bus stopped without pulling over to a station, and everyone on board shoved their way off.

In the chaos, no one noticed the strange changes happening to their own bodies. Many even began to stiffen up, their eyes filling with a dense web of blood vessels. The scene was utterly bizarre.

"Ugh... urk..."

The old pervert opened his mouth, but he had no strength to speak. A tiny amount of blood began to trickle out along the pen.

’The process for a living person to turn into a Mutant takes anywhere from one to twenty seconds.’

Xia Yu had to use this time to get her hands on a suitable Weapon. Otherwise, with her current physical condition, she’d be swarmed and killed by Mutants if she tried to fight bare-handed.

She shoved the violently convulsing pervert aside, her right foot landing precisely on the end of the pen sticking out of his temple.

PFFT.

With a familiar sound, the pen disappeared from view. The old pervert shuddered violently, then went completely still.

Xia Yu moved her right foot, planted it on the floor, and rushed toward the emergency hammer.

She left no bloody footprints on the floor.

She had controlled her strength with perfect precision in that last move. The sole of her shoe hadn’t touched the pervert’s temple, leaving a finger’s width of space, so her right shoe remained unstained by blood.

"This..."

Le Fan never imagined things would escalate to this point. He watched, wide-eyed, as Xia Yu grabbed the emergency hammer. He was utterly terrified, convinced she was a lunatic.

As if he’d seen a ghost, he opened a window and tried to escape.

"Close the window!"

Xia Yu snapped her head around and barked the order.

"Don’t do anything crazy! I’ll do whatever you say."

Feeling Xia Yu’s icy gaze on him, Le Fan shuddered in fear, quickly shut the window, and squatted down, covering his head.

At that same moment,

CRACK.

In the midst of the panicked crowd, a passenger unconsciously twisted his neck, producing a physiological pop. His mouth opened slightly, the corners tearing all the way to his earlobes. No blood flowed from the wounds, only the faint outline of desiccated tissue beneath the skin was visible.

He was at least two sizes smaller than he had been just minutes ago.

Skin and bones, as if a gust of wind could knock him over.

Only someone who understood Mutants would know that in this state, it could effortlessly lift a adult of 100 kg with one hand!

"ROAR."

It let out a hoarse, grating roar.

Its eyes were filled with a dense web of blood vessels, like a spiderweb. This was the only place blood existed in its entire body now.

’The first Mutant in the world has been born.’

’That honor should have belonged to the old man from earlier, but unfortunately, he provoked the god of death and was killed before his transformation was complete.’

Xia Yu’s expression hardened. She instantly mobilized all her strength, unleashing a Power far beyond her usual limits. Her body could barely handle it, and she felt a sharp pain.

This was a skill forged from countless slaughters, an experience that had saved her life many times.

WHOOSH.

The emergency hammer flew through the air and, with a CRACK, embedded itself in the Mutant’s temple.

There was no squelching sound of it piercing flesh, because Mutants have no flesh and blood—only the sound of cracking bone.

THUD.

It didn’t even struggle, collapsing to the ground, dead on the spot.

’I used too much force.’

Xia Yu was not satisfied with her last strike.

In the Apocalypse, if you couldn’t precisely control your strength and eliminate enemies in the most energy-efficient way... you would easily die of exhaustion once you were surrounded.

It was a cardinal sin!

She exhaled.

’After this is over, I have to spend time getting used to my current Power.’

She made a silent decision and scanned her surroundings.

"Ah."

"She killed someone again."

"She’s crazy! That woman is crazy! Run!"

The scene instantly terrified the people behind the Mutant, causing them to retreat. Some huddled in corners, others ran toward the front of the bus, and still others were tripped and fell to the floor.

The people in front of the Mutant looked at Xia Yu as if she were a demon from hell, struggling even more desperately to escape the bus. The pregnant woman’s husband was terrified. He had been standing behind his wife to protect her, but he yanked her backward and scrambled out himself.

The pregnant woman fell to the ground, a pain shooting through her stomach. The look she gave her husband was filled with disappointment and...

Hatred.

"Zhao Shuang, you bastard!"

Her aunt saw this and, while enduring the agony wracking her own body, started to help her niece up, cursing loudly.

The scene devolved into even greater chaos.

WHOOSH.

Xia Yu stepped forward, pulled out the hammer, and charged toward another passenger who had just finished transforming.

’The probability of humans turning into Mutants upon first contact with the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power is very high. Although the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power here isn’t that dense, based on my experience, there will be at least a handful of Mutants born.’

’Besides, Mutants are far stronger than nascent Spiritual Transformers. To survive, I have to reduce the number of Mutants as much as possible.’

’To ease the pressure in the fight to come.’

CRACK.

It all happened in a flash. She slammed the hammer down, and the familiar sound rang out.

A fatal blow.

Incredibly precise.

Without even pulling the hammer out, Xia Yu strode to the driver’s seat, long since abandoned, and closed the doors.

Those inside the bus were temporarily cut off from the outside world.

At that moment,

Only six people remained on the bus.

Xia Yu, Le Fan, the aunt and niece, and the pair of cousins.

"Don’t kill me, I’m begging you."

The pregnant woman clutched her stomach, kneeling on the floor in agony as she pleaded, "I have a baby in my belly, just five months along. Please, let us go."

The two cousins huddled together in a seat, trembling.

Le Fan clapped a hand over his mouth, not daring to make a sound.

"ROAR."

The pregnant woman’s aunt was also on her knees, but she couldn’t speak. She could only let out a guttural roar, her thick, fleshy neck twisting unconsciously. She opened her gaping maw and turned stiffly toward her own niece. The rich scent of flesh filled her with an exhilarating excitement, and the last shred of her humanity vanished completely.

Where was there even a trace of familial affection in her eyes now?

"Look out!"

The pink-haired girl suddenly shouted.

Xia Yu had already accelerated, her foot slamming into the Mutant’s head.

The heavy boot, combined with powerful kinetic energy, instantly snapped the Mutant’s head back. Its occiput pressed tightly against the back of its hoodless down jacket, and its cervical spine made a sickening noise.

Its feet seemed rooted to the spot. Its body only swayed slightly; it didn’t take a single step back.

"ROAR."

Its head snapped back to its original position.

By then, Xia Yu had already retrieved the emergency hammer. With no time to stand up and gather more strength, she decisively flicked her wrist, swinging the hammer upward in an ever-accelerating arc.

Just in time.

CRACK.

Before the Mutant could make its next move, the hammer struck it under the chin.

Piercing through.

It staggered.

Finally unable to keep its balance, it took a step back, seemingly stunned.

"ROAR."

Attacked repeatedly and prevented from feeding, this Mutant was furious. It was just about to counterattack,

When Xia Yu’s assault came again.

With another CRACK, the hammer shattered its forehead, sinking deep inside.

THUD.

The Mutant collapsed, dead.

"You... you killed my aunt..."

The pregnant woman fainted on the spot.

The pink-haired girl’s cousin—Ye Qing—had used the opportunity to find a box cutter. She was now gripping it tightly, pointing it at Xia Yu with a trembling hand.

’Not bad.’

’She didn’t faint. She even knows how to fight back.’

Seeing her reaction, a flicker of surprise crossed Xia Yu’s eyes. As she calmly turned to close a window, she said, "Take a look for yourself. See what kind of ’people’ I’m killing."

Huh?

Ye Qing froze. Her attention finally shifted to the corpses on the floor. When she saw their skin-and-bones appearance, she stumbled back a step in terror.

Just then, the pink-haired girl’s terrified voice cried out, "Cousin, look outside! Those people are... they’re eating..."