Chapter 18 | The Apocalypse Landlady

Ah-Hao nodded vigorously. “Okay! One hour! I’ll definitely be back!”

“Second,” Su Wan’s gaze sharpened, “when you return, I need you to bring more people with you. The more the better, but at least two.”

Hearing this condition, Ah-Hao was momentarily stunned, but he immediately nodded in agreement. “I promise! The refugees in this ruin have no fixed home. If there is such a place that can withstand the Death Tide, they will definitely be willing to come!”

“Good.” Su Wan nodded and stepped aside from the doorway. “Go.”

As if granted a divine reprieve, Ah-Hao used all the strength in his arms to desperately drag himself outward.

Soon, his figure disappeared into the shadows of the ruins outside.

Su Wan turned and walked back to the entrance of Room 104, glancing inside.

A simple wooden bed and a rough but clean floor.

This place could block the Death Tide, which made it an unimaginable paradise for the people of this world.

Then, she walked toward Room 101—the newly renovated “Convenience Store.”

Through the glass door, four types of goods could be seen neatly arranged on the shelves: compressed biscuits, bread, ham sausages, and mineral water.

The price tags were clear—20 Star Coins, 10 Star Coins, 20 Star Coins, and 10 Star Coins.

These items, which were dirt cheap in her original world, were hard currency here that could be exchanged for gold and Crystal Cores. Soon, they might even become symbols of “survival” itself during the Death Tide.

Su Wan pulled open the convenience store door and walked in.

She took out several cases of compressed biscuits and mineral water from her system space to restock the shelves.

She also placed a small amount of medicine and warm clothing in the storage space reserved beneath the counter.

...

Amidst the icy ruins, Ah-Hao used every ounce of his strength just to crawl less than three hundred meters.

The friction against the rough ground and the low temperature caused his wounds to throb with excruciating pain. Every forward movement of his arms pulled at the necrotic muscles in his leg, making his vision swim with darkness.

But he didn't dare stop. Only one thought remained in his mind: find his sister, fast!

“Ah-Hao—!!”

A raspy yet piercing shout echoed from behind a pile of concrete debris just ahead.

Ah-Hao snapped his head up, his heart nearly stopping.

It was his sister!

Ah-Lan charged out from behind a broken wall like a taut arrow, her speed so great she left a blur under the dark-red sky.

Her face was a mix of ecstatic relief at finding him, lingering fear of loss, and... an erupting fury.

“Ah-Hao! Where did you run off to?!” Ah-Lan rushed to him in a few steps. She didn't immediately help him up but crouched down, grabbing his thin shoulders with both hands. She glared at him, her voice trembling with fear and anger.

“Why didn't you wait for me where I left you?! Do you know that when I went back and saw you were gone, I... I nearly went crazy!”

Her gaze was as sharp as a blade as she scanned Ah-Hao. When she saw that, although he was a mess, he didn't seem to have any new fatal injuries, her tense expression finally relaxed slightly.

“Sis! Listen to me!” Ignoring any explanation, Ah-Hao grabbed Ah-Lan’s cold wrist, his nails nearly digging into her skin.

He gasped for breath, speaking so fast it felt like he was hammering out every word. “That ‘Terminal Station’ is a real shelter!”

Ah-Lan’s pupils constricted. “You didn't listen to me; you actually went there! That Scar Wolf...”

“Scar Wolf is dead!” Ah-Hao interrupted her, a flash of terror in his eyes, followed by a near-fanatical urgency.

“The woman in that building killed him! She’s no ordinary person!”

“There’s something strange about that building. It can completely block Rot-Walkers. Scar Wolf tried to kill her, but when he was just a few steps away, he suddenly couldn't move, and then... then he was impaled by his own arrow!”

Ah-Lan sucked in a cold breath. She knew Scar Wolf’s strength; he was a ruthless character who dared to wander the depths of the ruins alone. To think he died in such a bizarre way?

“I used a Crystal Core to rent a room from that woman!” Ah-Hao continued rapidly.

“Right in that building. The rooms inside are clean and warm, with beds and doors! She said the building can completely withstand the Death Tide! It’s absolutely safe!”

He gripped Ah-Lan’s arm, his tone urgent. “Sis! You have to come with me! I already begged that woman. As long as you sign that contract and pay rent, you can live there too!”

“As long as we live in there, we never have to fear the Death Tide again! Truly! I saw the changes in that building with my own eyes. Words suddenly appeared on the walls, and trash vanished instantly...”

“That woman, she possesses power beyond our imagination!”

Ah-Lan’s head buzzed from the onslaught of information.

Her brother’s description was too bizarre, completely exceeding her understanding.

A strange ability to kill Scar Wolf instantly? Absolute resistance to the Death Tide?

“Sis, don't hesitate!” Ah-Hao urged. “We’re out of time! Look at the sky!”

Ah-Lan looked up. The dark-red sky seemed to be slowly rotating and sinking, and that sweet, sickly smell of rust was already thick enough to make her throat itch.

She was all too familiar with the omens of the Death Tide.

Ah-Lan chose to believe her brother's words, so she crouched down and hoisted Ah-Hao onto her back.

Ah-Hao said hurriedly, “Sis, that woman also said that when we go back, we should bring some...”

Before Ah-Hao could finish, he was interrupted by a coarse male voice.

“Yo, found him?” the man’s voice came from behind them.

Another sinister voice joined in. “Sounds pretty lively. What was that about ‘Terminal Station’? ‘Absolute safety’? Can block the Death Tide?”

Ah-Lan and Ah-Hao froze, whipping their heads around.

Two men wearing a mix of leather armor and tattered military uniforms appeared out of nowhere on a broken beam ten meters away.

Both held modified crossbows, the arrowheads glinting with a faint blue light—clearly coated in poison.

Their faces bore the greed and cruelty typical of hunters who frequently prowled the ruins.

These two were Black Rat and Viper, hunters Ah-Lan had hired with two precious Crystal Cores to help find her brother.

These two had a bad reputation among refugee hunters, but they were indeed capable and would do anything for money.

Clearly, they had just overheard most of the siblings' conversation.

Black Rat, a short, stout man with a centipede-like scar on his face, grinned, revealing yellow-black teeth.

“Sister Lan, that’s not very fair of you. Finding such a good place and only thinking of slipping away with your brother? Wouldn't that make our trip a waste of time?”

Viper, tall and thin with eyes as slimy as a venomous snake, gently stroked the trigger of his crossbow, his voice slow and deliberate.

“A shelter that can completely withstand the Death Tide... Hehehe, I’ve been crawling through these ruins for over a decade, and I’ve never heard of such a place.”