Volume 1, Chapter 25: The Financial Sanctuary Level

Meanwhile, in Room 1802 of Building 18, Morning Light Apartments.

The luxurious decor was currently suffocated by an atmosphere of oppressive violence. Hu Biao sat on the sofa with a deathly pale complexion, toying with a sharp dagger, his eyes sinister and terrifying. Before him, several lackeys held their breath, heads bowed like quails.

"Useless! A bunch of losers!" Hu Biao slammed the dagger into the expensive mahogany coffee table with a dull thud.

"You couldn't even keep an eye on a woman! You let her slip out from the eighteenth floor?! Are you all eating shit?!"

"B-Brother Biao, please calm down," one lackey stammered. "The... the young woman was too strange! Our men kept watch on the hallway and the elevator the whole time; we definitely didn't see her leave..."

"Didn't see her? If you didn't see her, how did she disappear? Did she fly away?!" Hu Biao roared, spraying spit onto the lackey's face.

He stood up abruptly and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, his gaze fiercely fixed on the walled villa complex in the eastern suburbs.

"Cloud Villa..." Hu Biao spat out the words through gritted teeth. "Damn it! She must have run over there!"

He had heard the intense gunfire and explosions from that direction earlier that day—sounds far more powerful and sustained than those from the government forces the previous afternoon. It left him both wary and furious.

"A bunch of people in camouflage... with heavy firepower..." Hu Biao cursed under his breath, his eyes filled with bitterness and greed. He dreamt of getting his hands on guns. With guns, he could truly rule this area. But right now, he only had a few machetes and steel pipes; he didn't even have a decent handgun. This left him instinctively fearful when facing the mysterious force entrenched in the villa area.

"Fuck!" With nowhere to vent his mounting rage, the veins on Hu Biao's forehead throbbed. He spun around and roared at his trembling lackeys, "What are you idiots still staring at? Get me two women! Now! Immediately! Right now!"

"Yes... yes! Brother Biao!" The lackeys rushed out of the room as if granted a reprieve.

Minutes later, two young women were roughly shoved into the room. Their faces were streaked with tears and terror; one of them had her clothes torn, revealing a fair shoulder. They trembled uncontrollably as they looked at the menacing Hu Biao.

"Brother Biao... please, let us go..." one woman pleaded through her tears. "We have elderly parents and children at home to take care of..."

"Bullshit!" Hu Biao interrupted with a cruel grin, grabbing her by the hair. "I'm the one in charge now! I'll do whatever I want with whoever I want!"

He shoved the woman toward the bedroom and pointed at the other. "You, get in there!"

The two women struggled and screamed in despair, but were pinned down by Hu Biao's lackeys and dragged into the bedroom. The door slammed shut with a heavy bang. Soon, the room was filled with the women's shrill, agonized cries and pleas, accompanied by Hu Biao's bestial, excited panting and satisfied roars.

In the living room, the lackeys looked at one another. Listening to the sounds from within, their expressions held a mix of numbness and an imperceptible trace of fear. With the target, Mu Qing, gone, Hu Biao's violence was now being fully vented on those weaker than him. In the direction of the eastern suburbs, the faint sounds of gunfire and shelling continued, as if providing a cold, grim soundtrack to the atrocities occurring in this corner of the apocalypse.

***

Elsewhere, at the Twin Towers of the East Suburb Financial Center.

The hundreds-of-meters-high glass curtain walls, which once symbolized wealth and power before the apocalypse, now stood like cold, steel tombstones. The "Sky Garden" refuge level at the top of the tower, once a luxurious spot for elites to overlook the city, had devolved into a living hell. The vast space was packed with thousands of shaken survivors, the air thick with a suffocating stench—the smell of sweat, urine, vomit, and the heavy tang of blood. The dim, eerie green light from emergency power sources barely outlined the moving heads and desperate faces in the darkness.

In a corner, two young women huddled close together, out of place amidst the filth and chaos. Their expensive, custom-made clothing was stained, yet they could not hide their striking beauty and refined temperament. One of them, Mo Youxue, was the apple of the eye of Mo Tianxing, the wealthiest man in East Sea. She possessed a face as exquisite as finely crafted porcelain, though it was currently etched with exhaustion and unease, her long eyelashes trembling slightly in the dim light. Her best friend beside her, An Ruoran, was equally beautiful with an impressive figure. There was a hint of willfulness in her features, but now she was mostly consumed by fear, gripping Mo Youxue's arm tightly.

"Xue'er, I... I'm so scared..." An Ruoran whispered with a sob, her body trembling. "The people here... they're all so terrifying..."

Mo Youxue forced herself to stay calm, patting the back of her hand. "Don't be afraid, Ruoran, just hold on a little longer. Dad said someone would come to save us today." Her voice was soft but carried an unquestionable certainty, a quiet confidence cultivated from her upbringing in a privileged environment.

However, such confidence could not ward off all malice in this cruel apocalypse.

A burly man with stubble, sunken eyes, and reeking of alcohol and sweat, staggered out from the darkness. His greedy gaze swept over Mo Youxue and An Ruoran, finally settling on Mo Youxue's stunning face. His eyes burned with raw, bestial desire and a madness akin to a post-apocalyptic frenzy.

"Heh heh... two little beauties... hiding here?" The man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth, and closed in step by step. "In this hellhole, we're all going to die sooner or later... before that happens, why not let me have some fun... I guarantee you'll get a taste of heaven..." His words were crude and lewd, accompanied by heavy, ragged breathing.

The surrounding survivors watched with numb expressions; some turned away, while others looked on with a sick sense of anticipation. The desperate environment had long since eroded the moral boundaries of most people; such acts of bullying and venting animalistic urges had occurred more than once in the dark corners of the refuge level. No one cared, and no one dared to intervene.

An Ruoran screamed in terror, clutching Mo Youxue tightly. "Get away! Don't come any closer!"

Mo Youxue's face turned ash-white. Fighting back her fear, she shielded An Ruoran behind her and snapped, "What do you think you're doing! Get lost!"

"What am I doing? Heh heh..." The man sneered, reaching a large hand directly toward Mo Youxue's shoulder. "Of course, I'm doing..."

Just as his filthy hand was about to touch Mo Youxue, a figure darted out from the side like a cheetah, moving with lightning speed!

"Bam!" A precise and ruthless side-kick slammed into the man's knee joint!

"Ah!" The man shrieked, his balance failing as he pitched forward!

The newcomer did not hesitate, following up with a swift elbow strike to the back of the man's neck!

"Ugh!" With a muffled grunt, the man's vision went black, and his massive frame collapsed to the floor like a sack of potatoes. He twitched twice and then went still. The entire process was clean, efficient, and over in a flash.