Chapter 2: Sudden Malice.

Bang！！！

A gunshot exploded through the air.

The chaotic scene fell into instant silence. No one dared make another reckless move—this sound also signaled that the second round of supplies was about to be dropped.

Seeing the crowd finally behave, the two soldiers exchanged a glance, then each shouldered a box packed full of supplies. From the way their shoulders tensed and their steps grew heavy, these boxes were clearly much heavier than the iron barrels of steamed buns from the previous round.

Soon, the supplies were hurled straight into the crowd. Someone burst out with an excited shout first:

“It’s compressed biscuits! Hurry up and grab them—”

Watching the crowd boil over once again, Lin Yuxi’s heart leaped into her throat. Her gaze locked tightly onto the ground beneath the mass of people. In the eyes of these refugees, compressed biscuits were second only to canned meat in value.

Clearly, this round of fighting was far more frenzied than before. The biscuits were clutched so tightly that they didn’t scatter to the edges like the steamed buns had.

Several people who had been standing outside the circle with Lin Yuxi could no longer hold back and squeezed into the human pile. Lin Yuxi grew even more anxious, watching helplessly as several pieces of compressed biscuit rolled to the feet of the crowd—yet she couldn’t reach them no matter what.

What should she do? Squeeze in and pick them up? But that would be too dangerous… And the thought of being trampled under a group of sweaty, smelly big men made her feel sick just imagining it.

Ever since turning into a girl, Lin Yuxi had developed a strong mental cleanliness obsession. She could force down mud-stained steamed buns, but anything that had been bitten or licked by others made her stomach churn at the mere thought.

But those were compressed biscuits! Among the distributed supplies, they were the most precious things besides canned goods.

Just as Lin Yuxi was caught in her internal struggle, a piece of compressed biscuit suddenly caught the corner of her eye—it had landed right at the edge of the crowd ahead. If she squatted down and reached out, she could hook it.

Lin Yuxi didn’t think twice. She lunged forward and reached out. The moment her fingertips pinched the hard shell of the biscuit, a surge of wild joy flooded her heart. But before she could pull it out, a large foot stomped viciously onto the back of her hand.

Heart-piercing pain exploded instantly.

“Hiss—!”

This person did it on purpose! Lin Yuxi gritted her teeth and looked up, meeting a pair of eyes full of malice.

Faced with her deliberately fierce glare, the burly man’s eyes grew even more mocking. Rage surged through Lin Yuxi; she glared back without backing down.

The big man clearly hadn’t expected this dirty-faced little bitch to refuse to beg for mercy after being hit—and to even dare glare at him. Anger flared in his chest.

“Ah—!”

The pressure under his foot suddenly intensified. Lin Yuxi screamed in pain, tears bursting out uncontrollably. The big man looked down at her pale face and tear-streaked eyes, then grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellowed teeth. His smile grew even more ferocious.

Fuck your mother!

Lin Yuxi cursed fiercely in her heart. Her other hand reached back and found a palm-sized rock nearby. She gripped it tightly, ready to smash it down on the offending foot.

砰！！！

Another gunshot rang out suddenly. Lin Yuxi’s movement froze stiffly in mid-air, and the big man’s attention was also drawn away by the sound.

Seizing the moment, Lin Yuxi decisively let go of the rock. Enduring the agonizing pain, she yanked her hand—and the biscuit—out in one swift motion.

Looking at the back of her hand, now bruised purple and red with broken skin oozing beads of blood, waves of burning pain hit her. Lin Yuxi’s tears fell even harder. A wave of grievance surged in her chest.

What did I ever do to you? Wuu… I just wanted to pick up some food to survive… What did I ever do to you? Why treat me like this? I just want to live too… Why… wuu…

She brought her injured hand close to her mouth and gently blew on it, murmuring her grievances. She was already living miserably enough—why did she have to suffer like this too?

The people around her ignored the scene completely. Even if they glanced over, no one stopped their frantic grabbing. In this refugee district, no one’s life was worth anything, and no one cared about anyone else’s pain. In everyone’s eyes, there was only the supplies that could keep them alive.

“Look! Hurry, look! It’s canned food!”

“It’s meat! I haven’t tasted meat in so long—!”

“Take less from inside! Leave a few bites for me!”

“Leave some? Leave your mother’s leg! You grabbed more—why would you share any with me?”

“Fine! Not leaving any, huh? Then don’t blame me for robbing you!”

“I’d like to see who dares rob me! I’ll fight him to the death—!”

The soldiers hurled box after box of small cans into the crowd. The tin cans clattered and rang as they hit the ground. The scene completely lost control. People rushed forward with bloodshot eyes, like starving beasts gone mad.

Someone finally grabbed two cans and was about to tuck them into his chest when the person behind him yanked his collar hard. Those outside the circle who hadn’t grabbed anything squeezed in madly, snatching from anyone they could. Those who had grabbed tried to rush out but were blocked layer by layer. Torn ragged clothes, the sound of fabric ripping, curses, and the dull thuds of fists hitting flesh all blended into one chaotic mess.

Some people, cornered with no way out, simply pulled open a can’s tab right there and poured the meat paste into their mouths. Those nearby immediately reached in to scoop it out, shoving whatever they got into their own mouths.

Those who still couldn’t grab anything turned completely red-eyed. They reached straight into others’ mouths, forcing them to spit out what they’d eaten—if I can’t eat it, neither can you!

Those who were gouged until they gagged vomited on the spot. The murky vomit mixed with dust spread across the cracked ground. Someone, eyes blazing with frenzy, actually scooped up the filth from the ground and smashed it viciously into another person’s face. In an instant, a sour, rotten, fishy stench filled the crowd, so pungent it made people want to retch.

Lin Yuxi had long since covered her injured hand and retreated far away. Nearby stood several bags of tattered mud sacks, rustling in the wind. She stared at the hellish scene before her, yet a faint hope still lingered in her heart—maybe she could still pick up something others had dropped.

Several hours later, the frenzied crowd finally began to disperse. Those who had grabbed enough supplies ran desperately toward their shelters, terrified of being ambushed on the way. Gravel flew under their frantic footsteps.

Some had grabbed things but exhausted all their strength, collapsing weakly to the ground. In the end, sharp-eyed people spotted them and robbed them of everything, leaving them lying there helplessly groaning, with spots of blood staining the yellow earth beneath them.

Others had barely managed to grab a can only to have it snatched away the moment they turned around by someone hiding in the shadows.

“Mantis stalks the cicada, oriole behind! Hand it over—!”

“Ah—! You fucking animal!”

Lin Yuxi watched those scattered figures still tearing at each other and another thought rose in her mind—could she rush in and steal while they were both injured and exhausted?

But she couldn’t find any opening. Even when those people were fighting until their heads were bleeding, their eyes remained glued to the cans in their arms, leaving no gap whatsoever.

Just as Lin Yuxi was despairing, thinking she was destined to have no share of the meat cans today, her peripheral vision suddenly caught two people still locked in a standoff in the distance.

A middle-aged man with a buzz cut and wearing a tank top was locked in a fierce struggle with a burly man. The middle-aged man was clearly no match for this sudden interloper. He was already exhausted, yet he still clung desperately to the coarse cloth bag that had been torn open in several places, revealing the cans inside.

The big man gripped the bag tightly with one hand while raining punches down on the middle-aged man with the other, roaring:

“Let go, you fucker!”

“Let go!”

“Let go—!”

The middle-aged man clenched his teeth and refused to release the bag no matter what. The big man was completely enraged. He suddenly leaped up and slammed a heavy punch straight into the man’s forehead.

The middle-aged man let out a muffled groan. Finally unable to hold on, he toppled straight backward, crashing onto the gravel-covered ground. His hands slowly loosened. His chest heaved violently as he gasped for air in large gulps.

Seeing this, the big man grinned triumphantly and bent down to pick up the cloth bag.

At that moment, a delicate shout carrying a faint sob suddenly exploded:

“Fuck your mother!!”

The big man whipped his head around. He saw the girl whose hand he had maliciously stomped—now holding a large, basin-sized, sharp-edged flat rock high above her head with both hands. Her eyes were red as she charged madly toward his heel—

“Aaaaah—!”