Aiya's face turned pale as the four men walked straight toward her.
"Hey, little cutie. What's a freshman like you doing here all alone?"
Fan Hu tried to sound concerned, but his eyes were filled with unmistakable lust.
His three lackeys stared openly at Aiya, their earlier talk of "leveling up by killing" already thrown to the back of their minds.
Aiya felt awful.
She'd lost too much blood—too weak to fight back.
But for the sake of her dignity, she forced herself to stay calm, pretending to be sinister.
She raised the plastic water bottle filled with blood-colored bugs and flashed a wicked grin. "Don't come any closer. You know what I'm holding?"
A water bottle?
Fan Hu was about to laugh it off when he noticed something strange.
The "blood" inside the bottle... was moving.
He squinted, realizing that the viscous red liquid inside wasn't blood—it was alive.
A wave of unease crept in.
Still, retreating now? That would destroy his reputation.
Trying to act tough, he scoffed, "You think a bottle of blood can scare me? I've seen plenty of blood before, girl."
Aiya saw the hesitation and pressed harder.
"This isn't just blood. It's my talent—blood parasites. One more step and I'll have them suck you dry, down to the bones."
She sounded confident.
Fan Hu wasn't sure anymore.
Walk away and lose face? Stay and risk... whatever the hell was in that bottle?
Up close, this girl was even more gorgeous than she'd looked from afar.
He began fantasizing about keeping her to himself—forever.
He changed tactics, softening his tone. "Come on now, sweetie. No need for all this hostility. It's the end of the world out here. A girl like you... wouldn't you be safer teaming up with us? We can protect you. Help you level up…"
His goons started chiming in too, all wearing the same disgusting grins.
Aiya's expression darkened.
She twisted open the bottle cap. The parasites inside surged toward the opening.
Coldly, she snapped, "I already have a teammate. He'll be back any second now. And when he does, you four are toast."
Fan Hu flinched.
But then he noticed something—the bugs inside the bottle were... slow.
Way slower than dimensional bugs.
Even if they were dangerous, couldn't he just... dodge them?
His men noticed too.
"Pfft! Teammate? What teammate? We're out here trying to level up, girl. Maybe he'll show up just in time to die with you!"
Their mocking laughter echoed.
Fan Hu couldn't hold back anymore. He lunged at Aiya!
Terrified, Aiya hurled the bottle at him.
But Fan Hu, whose stats had spiked thanks to the rain, easily dodged it.
He laughed madly as he closed the distance. "You're mine, girl!"
"Help! Kai, you bastard! Get your ass back here!!" Aiya screamed, stumbling as she tried to stand, only to fall again. She was panicking, completely helpless.
None of them noticed—
The bottle didn't hit the ground.
It hovered midair—suspended by a nearly invisible strand of wire.
Kai had arrived.
Silently.
Furiously.
With a flick of his wrist, four threads shot out like lightning, wrapping around the four men in a flash—binding them like cocoons.
He didn't go for the kill.
Yet.
The four thugs hung in place like trapped insects.
Kai emerged, calm and deadly, then casually tossed six crystal cores to Aiya.
She quickly absorbed them—gaining 6 EXP and finally hitting Level 1.
The four men's eyes burned with envy.
They'd just watched a girl get boosted six EXP in an instant—and there was nothing they could do about it.
Kai ignored them.
Still holding the bottle of blood parasites, he looked down at Aiya. "Where's the cap?"
Instead of answering, Aiya threw herself at him and shouted through tears, "You bastard! You absolute bastard! How could you leave me here alone?!"
Kai was dumbfounded.
Huh? I just saved your life, and I even gave you free EXP! How am I the bastard here?!
This woman's gratitude sure had a strange way of showing itself.
Aiya sniffled and wiped her tears—and snot—on Kai's shirt, just to get back at him.
Only after that did she hand him the bottle cap.
Thankfully, the three bottles of blood bugs were mostly intact, and now that Aiya had leveled up, her strength had returned.
Kai looked at the four bound thugs and turned to her.
"You want to take care of them yourself? Or should I do it?"
Aiya hesitated.
She'd never killed anyone before.
But this wasn't the old world anymore.
In this world, survival came first.
In this dark forest of suspicion and slaughter, even the kindest soul had to be ready to fight back.
And those four? They weren't just strangers. They were predators.
She steadied her trembling right hand, still scarred from Kai's earlier blood draw.
And slowly reached out.
"I'll do it."
Her voice wavered, but her eyes were determined.
Kai handed her the blade.
Then watched as the young girl with the innocent face approached the four terrified men, ready to end them herself.
They screamed and begged for mercy.
But Aiya didn't waver.
She remembered begging too.
And they hadn't shown any mercy.
Kai watched in silence.
Now he understood how, in his past life, this girl had survived long enough to master her Blood Parasite Technique.
She had brains. She had guts. And when it mattered—she didn't hesitate.
Sure, now she called him "that bastard Kai" instead of "Kai-senpai."
But that was just her way of adapting.
And in this world?
Adaptation meant survival.