Xu Lina stomped the snow from her boots as she climbed back into the vehicle. The cold had already seeped into her bones, numbing her fingers and toes. Even her face was flushed a deep, stinging red.

Under the crimson glow of the Blood Moon, the flush on her cheeks was undeniable.

She had stood in that freezing hell for nearly thirty minutes just to catch Chen Ye. In these sub-zero temperatures, an ordinary person would be shivering uncontrollably after ten minutes.

She had lasted thirty.

It was a testament to the terrifying tenacity of her character.

As the doors hissed shut, a faint, triumphant smirk tugged at the corner of Xu Lina’s lips. She suppressed it instantly. There was no need to gloat; the change in the atmosphere inside the vehicle was palpable.

Before, the men on the bus looked at her with naked, predatory hunger. They wanted to strip her, consume her.

But now?

Their gazes were complicated. There was wariness, fear, and even a trace of hatred. The women looked on with a mix of envy and disdain.

Xu Lina didn’t care. In fact, she relished it.

From her seat, the view of Chen Ye’s three-wheeled cart was unobstructed. Anyone on the bus could have seen her speaking to him through the window.

That was the point. Xu Lina had positioned herself deliberately.

She knew the truth—nothing had happened. They were strangers with no relationship whatsoever.

But perception was reality. To everyone else in this convoy, she was now entangled with that monster, Chen Ye.

Any man who had previously entertained dark thoughts about her now had to weigh the consequences. They had to consider Chen Ye’s attitude.

Could they survive the wrath of a Sequence Beyonder? Unlikely.

And in their simple minds, no man could possibly resist Xu Lina’s charm.

Across the aisle, Xu Jiaojiao felt the phantom sting of a slap on her cheek. Seeing Xu Lina return, safe and smug, made her eyes bloodshot with rage.

She shot up from her seat and charged.

She needed retribution. If she didn’t settle this score for that slap, she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.

Xu Lina feigned ignorance as she settled into her seat, though her peripheral vision had locked onto the charging woman the moment she moved.

As Xu Jiaojiao lunged, her round face twisted in anger, Xu Lina took a calculated step back, adopting a defensive posture.

Then, she did something no one expected. She reached out and struck first.

Smack!

The crisp sound of flesh hitting flesh silenced the entire carriage.

It wasn’t just Xu Jiaojiao who was stunned that Xu Lina would dare to hit her again. Even the other survivors were frozen in shock.

“Xu Lina! I’ll fight you to the death!”

Rage filled Xu Jiaojiao’s eyes; she looked ready to tear Xu Lina apart with her bare hands.

“Sister Jiaojiao! Stop! Don’t be impulsive! We’re all on the same team!”

A young man threw himself between them, holding Xu Jiaojiao back.

It was Little Fu, the university student.

This righteous young man had become something of a celebrity in the Iron Lion convoy. He was highly regarded by both Old Li and Iron Lion himself.

Aside from the few Sequence Beyonders, Little Fu probably had started with more supplies than any other survivor. But the kid was cursed with an overflowing sense of justice. In just one day after returning to camp, he had distributed almost everything he owned.

If you looked pitiful, he opened his bag.

His reputation for saint-like kindness had spread through the convoy in less than forty-eight hours. Very few people didn’t owe him a favor.

That Old Man Zhang, who drove the Elderly Mobility Scooter, always demanded interest or collateral when people begged him for supplies.

But not Little Fu. As long as your acting skills were passable, you could get a handout from him. This gullibility was exactly why he had been recruited into the main team so quickly.

“Little Fu, get out of the way! I’m going to tear this slut apart!” Xu Jiaojiao shrieked, jumping and clawing at the air over his shoulder.

Xu Lina shrank back, a trace of perfectly timed panic washing over her face. The sight of her trembling fragility struck a chord with every male survivor watching.

“Jiaojiao, calm down. Let’s talk this out properly. We’re all in the same vehicle.”

“That’s right… Jiaojiao, isn’t this just a misunderstanding?”

“Don’t be scared, Lina. We’re here. Xu Jiaojiao won’t dare touch you.”

The men chimed in one after another, puffing out their chests.

Hearing this, Xu Jiaojiao felt like her brain was going to explode.

Clearly, I was the one who got hit without saying a word! Are you idiots blind? Why are you all trying to talk me down?

“You… you bunch of morons!” Xu Jiaojiao screamed. “You’re just defending her because she’s a slut! But guess what? She has a master now!”

“Keep those dirty thoughts in your pants hidden! Everyone knows you want to sleep with Xu Lina!”

“Hehe… don’t let her new man find out, or you’ll lose your lives!”

Xu Jiaojiao wasn’t stupid. She stopped arguing about the slap and went straight for the jugular, exposing the men’s petty, lustful thoughts.

The men’s faces turned ugly instantly.

Their eyes darted nervously between Xu Jiaojiao and Xu Lina.

Xu Lina seized the moment. A look of shame and indignation crossed her features, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears. She looked even more pitiable, more lovable.

She resembled a young wife who had suffered endless grievances in silence.

Even though she was the one who had thrown the slap, at this moment, the narrative shifted. She was the victim.

It was a masterclass in acting.

If she hadn’t become a big shot’s “Canary” before the apocalypse, she could have stormed the entertainment industry. She would have at least brought home an Oscar.

“Jiaojiao… you…” Xu Lina’s voice trembled. “How can you say such nasty things about everyone? How can you think of me like that?”

“Do you really not understand why I slapped you?”

Xu Lina didn’t take the bait. She didn’t explain her relationship with Chen Ye, nor did she deny it. Instead, she pivoted the conversation entirely.

This attitude of “I hit you for your own good” was a tactic far superior to Xu Jiaojiao’s shrewish screaming.

Xu Jiaojiao gritted her teeth, staring at Xu Lina with venomous hatred. “You hit me for my own good? Hahaha…”

“Xu Lina, do you think I’m as stupid as these idiots?”

Xu Lina didn’t take the hatred to heart. Internally, she scoffed.

Foolish.

This woman’s fighting ability was pathetic. If Xu Lina actually got serious, Xu Jiaojiao would be crushed in seconds.

Perhaps only a man like Chen Ye can stir up a tiny bit of my desire to fight, she mused.

However, with my skills… getting Chen Ye under my thumb?

Three days should be enough.

If it takes more than three days, I lose.

Gathering her thoughts, Xu Lina focused her attention on the woman before her to deliver the finishing blow.

Xu Jiaojiao kept screaming “stupid men” and “idiots,” causing the surrounding men to frown deeply. Their patience was wearing thin.

Even the university student, Little Fu, felt awkward holding her back.

“Jiaojiao,” Xu Lina said earnestly, her voice carrying through the silence. “I know you’ve always been dissatisfied with the convoy. You hate that some people get more supplies while others barely eat their fill.”

“You wanted to resist. You tried to win me over!”

“You said you wanted to do ‘big things.’ You wanted to be the Team Leader, and you promised to make me the Deputy Leader!”

The bus went deadly silent.

“Jiaojiao, it’s not like that! The combat team goes out to scavenge supplies themselves. So many companions died and didn’t come back. It’s only fair they take a bit more, eat a bit more!”

“They risk their lives for us.”

“We get food without doing anything. I already think that’s a blessing! I am grateful!”

“I slapped you to wake you up! It’s the apocalypse now. If you want a good life, fine, but you have to earn it through your own labor.”

“If you want status, fine! Learn from the Zhou sisters. They go out and scavenge. They can do it, why can’t you?”

“The convoy doesn’t have many people left. Please, stop trying to incite a rebellion!”

Xu Lina unhesitatingly dumped every one of Xu Jiaojiao’s private complaints into the open, framing them as a mutiny. She even dragged the hardworking Zhou sisters into the argument for moral contrast.

Xu Jiaojiao’s face slowly drained of color. Her body swayed.

When the others heard Xu Lina’s accusations and saw Xu Jiaojiao’s panicked expression, their eyes changed instantly.

Everyone received the same terrifying message.

Xu Jiaojiao actually wanted to launch a coup?

This time, whether male or female, every survivor looked at Xu Jiaojiao with horror.

Wariness. Disdain. Disgust.

Even the women who had previously sympathized with her abandoned her the moment the Zhou sisters were mentioned.

Having destroyed her opponent socially and politically, Xu Lina drifted lightly back to her seat as if nothing had happened.

“Hahahaha… interesting. Very interesting. I never thought there would be such a fascinating woman in this convoy.”

“Hahaha… I really wonder what kind of sparks will fly when this Xu Lina fully engages with Chen Ye!”

In his vehicle, Team Leader Chu took a satisfying sip of his bright tea soup. While his taste buds were soothed, his psychological craving for drama was being greatly fulfilled.

Everything that happened in the bus was broadcast clearly through his ‘Eavesdropping Radio’.

On the three-wheeled cart not far away, Chen Ye glanced in surprise at the bus in the distance.

He could hear the faint noise of an argument, but the specifics were lost to the wind.

He shook his head and refocused his attention on the object in his hand.

“System, appraise this Willow Branch. Let’s see what exactly this thing is.”