Qingran kept moving through the roofs.
Tangchen's words echoed faintly in her head, but she refused to dwell on them. Lingquan hadn't denied the accusation about her savior complex, and that unsettled her, but thinking too hard about it would only slow her down.
What mattered was Anya and Yichen.
The deeper she went, the worse things looked. Buildings sagged and leaned, many reduced to rubble. The streets were scattered with burnt-out cars, broken glass, and bodies that had been left behind.
Smoke hung heavy in the air, mixed with the metallic scent of blood.
She saw groups of people scavenging like rats. Others, already too far gone, had turned into something more savage, cannibals roaming in packs, fighting each other over scraps of flesh. From above the rooftops, Qingran watched them pull victims down and tear into them with their teeth and nails.
Her stomach tightened at the grotesque sight, but she pushed it down and kept moving.
