060 Faith Shattered, Shen Ruyan in Despair!

"Why? Because I have a knife in my hand, that's why!" The bald man waved his machete with an air of utter certainty. In the apocalypse, whoever has the strongest fist becomes the leader. No matter how clever the female CEO before him was, she was ultimately just a woman.

"Fine, I'll leave." Shen Ruyan's face turned deathly pale; she could not comprehend how the very people she had painstakingly rescued could treat her this way. For Shen Ruyan, who had fought her way to the top to become a formidable woman, this was the first taste of defeat she had ever experienced.

Meanwhile, Xue Feng watched the scene unfold with some interest. In the apocalypse, human nature inevitably begins to unravel. Shen Ruyan had been these people's savior, and now they were expelling her. How absurd! After this, Shen Ruyan's understanding of the world would surely change. This was no longer an age where numbers equaled strength. If Shen Ruyan were a superhuman, perhaps she could control the situation.

"You, kid. What's your choice? Stay or get out? If you stay, I'll reward you with a woman." The bald man turned to Xue Feng, speaking in a calm voice. He had already begun plotting how to use Xue Feng to obtain supplies—let this fool act as bait and die for them.

"I'm not interested in staying here," Xue Feng replied, shaking his head.

"Very well. Since neither of you wants to stay, leave within ten minutes!" The bald man snarled, "Otherwise, I'll throw you down to feed the zombies!"

He hadn't expected that neither of the two before him would submit. Then, he watched as Shen Ruyan and Xue Feng walked away without so much as a backward glance. Enraged, the bald man spat on the ground.

"Damn it, they dare turn down my generosity!" he cursed.

"Brother Long, that kid just left with Shen Ruyan—what if he ends up getting lucky with her?" someone beside him could not help but say. Shen Ruyan's seductive beauty had long made these men crave her. The thought of Xue Feng possibly claiming her set them all on edge.

The bald man squinted and slowly shook his head. "That guy is different! I just offered him a woman, and his expression didn't even change." Based on Xue Feng's reaction, the bald man concluded he was no simpleton, likely someone experienced and not easily driven by lust.

"So we're just letting Shen Ruyan go?" another man said regretfully. Shen Ruyan was the most beautiful among the women.

"Let's follow them and see what they're up to," the bald man suggested, a sinister smile curling on his lips. "If they don't leave the mall within ten minutes, we'll rush them and give Madam Shen a proper welcome. And if they find a safe way out, they're scouting the path for us, right?"

The others immediately showered him with sycophantic praise—calling him clever, saying there would be plenty to eat with him as their leader. Yet among the women and elderly, someone sighed quietly. With such poor leadership, they were nowhere near Shen Ruyan's level. But now, with relations broken, their only option was to side with the bald man; powerless, they could not hope to resist the group of men.

"Brother Long, why don't we have some fun first? I can't hold back anymore!" one man impatiently grabbed a young woman, his hands roaming inside her clothing. Her face went ashen, but she accepted her fate.

Seeing this, the bald man strode over and—crack!—with a swift blow, severed the man's neck. Blood gushed, splattering over the young woman, who fainted immediately, drenched in crimson.

"Do you understand the rules? Here, only my word counts!" the bald man roared. "The women are assigned by me! Anyone who acts on his own—this is what happens!"

He cursed inwardly. Aside from Shen Ruyan, this young woman was the prettiest, and he'd coveted her for a long time. He hadn't expected someone else to eye his prey—so who else but that man should die? This was the perfect chance to assert his dominance. The others fell silent, cowed by the bald man's brutality, suppressing their impatient desires.

"Come on, let's get down to business," he ordered, striding after Shen Ruyan, the others following.

Meanwhile, Shen Ruyan and Xue Feng heard the dying man's agonized scream.

"Did you come in through the window? Now, you should go alone—don't carry me as dead weight," Shen Ruyan sighed, her eyes devoid of light. Since founding this shelter, she had never seen anyone die. Now, with the bald man in charge, someone had been murdered. Shen Ruyan foresaw a future cloaked in terror and darkness. Nor did she expect Xue Feng to lead her out; with so many zombies outside, taking her along would only increase the danger. She and Xue Feng had only just met, so she could not hope a stranger would risk his life for her. Shen Ruyan had lost all faith in humanity.

"What will you do? That group means no good—if you don't leave in ten minutes, your fate will be miserable," Xue Feng glanced back. The bald man and his crew were now following, though at a distance, slowly closing in.

"I..." Shen Ruyan did not finish, standing by the railing. They were on the fifth floor. With a single leap, she could end it all, but she was unwilling.

"This is a shopping mall, so the basement should be a large supermarket stocked with supplies," Xue Feng remarked. This was typical for such a mall.

"It's a large supermarket, but there are too many zombies inside," Shen Ruyan forced a bitter smile. She knew well that the basement supermarket held much-needed resources—and a sizable warehouse. If they could access those supplies, their group of over fifty could survive for at least half a year. Over the past few days, Shen Ruyan had tried every way to deal with the zombies in the supermarket, but the bald man and his followers refused to face them head-on. No matter how hard she racked her brain, she found no solution.

"You know the way—take me there," Xue Feng smiled. This would help confirm his second piece of intelligence.

"There is a route, but there are at least a hundred zombies there. Once the fire door between the stairwell and the supermarket is opened, the zombies will flood in, and the shelter will be finished," Shen Ruyan quickly shook her head.