In the apocalypse, what will ultimately destroy humanity: the fiends descending from the sky, or the demonic seeds within people’s hearts?
– -《Apocalypse: The Demonic Seed Descends》
“How’s the undercarriage?” Suo Tiantan asked.
“No problem.” A man’s voice came from under the vehicle.
Suo Tiantan made a mark in the notebook in her hand: “Engine oil? How about the brake fluid?”
From behind the open hood, a greasy hand reached out, giving an OK sign.
“Brake system?”
A voice came from inside the haphazardly modified Jeep: “Still usable.”
After finishing her notes, Suo Tiantan bent down to manually check the tire pressure, carefully inspecting each tire’s condition.
Ten years had passed since the apocalypse broke out. The fact that their outpost could still rent vehicles was considered extremely lucky.
Thorough pre-departure checks were never enough. When being chased by fiends, a high-performance car could very well save the lives of an entire team.
Suo Tiantan stood up, closing her notebook.
Her face was weary, her hands greasy, and she was skin and bones. Prolonged hunger and exhaustion made her look more than ten years older than her actual age.
She was like most survivors in the apocalypse: numb, dull, her entire being gray and lifeless.
In these ten years, most survivors lived extremely hard lives, yet they yearned for life more than at any time in the past. To survive even one more day in this era of rampant fiends, everyone struggled with all their might to stay alive.
“We’ll rent this one, Uncle Cát.” Suo Tiantan respectfully lifted a bag of rations and said to the old man sitting by the yard, flipping through a newspaper.
Yes, newspapers. In this era, all modern forms of communication had lost their function, and newspapers had once again become one of the important means for people to gather information.
Uncle Cát, who was watching the cars, didn’t even look up. He rustled through another page of the newspaper, indicating that he understood.
On the front page of the newspaper were several eye-catching bold lines:
Utterly tragic! City A has fallen, the city of ten thousand people turned into a yellow sand grave overnight!
The footsteps of an Asura, humanity’s death knell!
The man more terrifying than any demon — Ye Feitian!
Suo Tiantan clicked her tongue inwardly. It’s that devil again. How many more people has he killed?
Fortunately, City A was very far from here.
“Alright, come out, let’s start the car and go.” She turned and tapped on the vehicle body, signaling her companions under the car that they could come out.
Her only reply was silence.
“A-Yu? Xiao Chen?” A sense of unease rose in Suo Tiantan’s heart.
A pool of fresh blood seeped out from under the vehicle.
Behind the shadow of the wheel, a pair of glowing crimson eyes appeared, emanating an eerie light.
Fiend!
Suo Tiantan’s pupils contracted. She immediately fired a shot and retreated several meters.
Her hands clenched, the surrounding air rapidly began to compress, forming two crescent-shaped wind blades.
A sound like a sigh echoed in the darkness.
The voice sounded as if it came from a sweet, gentle girl, carrying a strange vibrato, as if whispering into Suo Tiantan’s ear.
“Oh my, it’s been a long time since I’ve eaten young women’s flesh.”
In an instant, those blood-red eyes moved from under the car to right beside her.
The hairs on Suo Tiantan’s entire body stood on end.
An intense wave of fear washed over her.
I’m finished, she thought. It’s too strong.
Even living such a difficult life, I still truly yearn to survive.
This was the last thought that flashed through Sở Thiên Tầm's mind before she died.