Chapter 4: Lord’s Reign in Autumn 2.

Of course, later on I began having supplies continuously thrown out to them, raising those people outside like pigs. After all, if they really starved to death outside the city walls, an epidemic could break out, and cleaning it up would only be more troublesome.

As time passed, more and more people came seeking refuge. As long as they handed over enough supplies or could prove their value, I didn’t mind giving them a place to settle.

If they came empty-handed, that was fine too. They could trade their lives to become soldiers of the territory. For me? No, more accurately, they sold their lives just to survive.

The population grew day by day, and my power rose accordingly. The territory entered a period of rapid development. Now, the army under my command has expanded to ten thousand strong.

To me, such days were actually no different from before. It was just that my forces were larger, and I no longer needed to hide my actions or avoid others.

Ever since I temporarily signed a peace treaty with other powers and jointly wiped out over ninety percent of the mutated monsters, most of the worries weighing on my mind had been resolved.

Suddenly finding myself with free time, I belatedly realized that I seemed to have never truly enjoyed life, never enjoyed everything that someone in my position should rightfully possess. I had never had personal attendants serving me closely, never tasted all kinds of delicacies, never owned luxurious clothes and beautiful ornaments, never idly admired the scenic views of pavilions and towers under moonlight. I had never leisurely sipped a cup of tea under warm sunlight, nor listened to a carefree zither melody beneath the clear glow of the moon. The luxury and comfort that others would fight tooth and nail to grasp felt so foreign to me. I maintained order over an entire territory and held the power of life and death, yet I had forgotten that I, too, could have moments to shed my armor and relax.

I had grown up under strict teaching and training since childhood. After finally taking over the organization and stabilizing my position, a viral crisis suddenly erupted.

Only now had I finally gained a chance to breathe. I no longer needed to exhaust myself worrying about material shortages, no longer needed to constantly guard against the covetous eyes of other forces, and no longer needed to keep my nerves taut, alert to every hidden danger around me.

Jun Linqiu pressed the pen in her hand heavily onto the tabletop, then leaned back into the sofa. She closed her eyes and remained silent for a few seconds before slowly opening them again.

“Perhaps it’s not too late to start enjoying things now.”

It’s just… where should I begin? To talk about enjoyment, first I need a few obedient people to serve me. If I tell them to go east, they must not go west. There must not be the slightest defiance. If they really don’t know what’s good for them, I can simply kill them. Looking across the entire territory, I can’t think of anyone who would dare go against my wishes.

Furthermore, I still need to find a companion. Someone who can warm the bed, sleep with me, and make me feel at ease… But after thinking it over, no man seems worthy of such a role.

In my eyes, no male creature is worthy of me. That kind of being only fills me with disgust. I have seen too many filthy men. Their heads are full of schemes and lies. They are arrogant and always delusionally think they can conquer everything…

What about women then? They are women too—what is there to like? I don’t have that kind of preference. I really can’t understand the reason for liking the same sex.

What remains is simply eating, drinking, and having fun. Under the current circumstances, “eating” and “drinking” can barely be managed. As for “fun,” there’s no need to hope for it.

The territory has long since stopped lacking food. In addition to various canned goods and flour-based foods, the cultivated fields and farm breeding have gradually developed. My subordinates can even recreate most of the dishes from before.

Thinking of this, Jun Linqiu reached out and picked up the communication phone on the corner of the table.

……

On the other side.

Lin Yuxi had just returned to her crude dwelling. She clutched the can of meat tightly, swallowed hard, and wrestled internally over whether she should open it and eat.

“Maybe I should just open it? It’s been so long since I’ve tasted meat. The red chunks of meat soaking in the juice inside must be so fragrant.”

She muttered to herself while reaching out to hook the pull tab on the can and applying slight force.

“But… if I eat this can, who knows how long it will be until the next supply drop. Whether I can grab any is uncertain.”

Her thoughts shifted, and Lin Yuxi loosened her grip again. Using her thumb, she slowly pressed the already lifted pull tab back down and smoothed it flat. Yet her eyes remained glued straight to the can, unable to move away.

“But if I don’t eat meat for a long time, my body definitely won’t hold up, right? If my body collapses, I might not even be able to release my ability. If I can’t make ice, I won’t be able to trade for food. Thinking like that, for the sake of long-term survival, it’s better to eat it.”

Lin Yuxi bit her lower lip and raised her hand again, her fingertips reaching toward the pull tab.

But the moment her fingertips were about to touch it, she forcefully suppressed the desire in her heart.

“No! I can’t indulge myself. If I eat this soft, fragrant meat, going back to gnawing on those hard, dry, tasteless steamed buns will definitely be hard to swallow. Better to save it. I’ll eat it only when I really can’t hold on anymore or when I manage to grab another can of meat.”

She carefully hid the can under her pillow, determined to keep this “life-saving ration” until the very last moment.

Setting the can aside, Lin Yuxi pulled out the freshly grabbed steamed bun from her cloak, along with the two bottles of water she had been carrying close to her body. She placed the water to the side, picked up the steamed bun, and took a big, fierce bite.

“Ah—mm!”

The freshly distributed steamed bun was still soft. As she chewed, a faint sweetness spread in her mouth. A trace of satisfaction welled up in Lin Yuxi’s heart. She couldn’t help thinking: Actually, life right now isn’t too bad. At least there are steamed buns to fill the stomach so I won’t go hungry, and occasionally I can even grab some meat.

“Ah-woo!” After swallowing the soft, fragrant steamed bun, she took another bite. Her chewing slowed down, and her thoughts drifted back to the past.

When she first arrived here seeking refuge, the territory hadn’t yet started the practice of throwing out food. At that time, the people outside the city were all skin and bones from hunger. Horrifying cases of cannibalism were common. Some even set up large pots. The scene could truly be described as a living hell. The moment she reached the outside of the city, she was targeted by many starving people.

Sensing their malicious gazes, she could only suppress her nausea and fear and flee with all her might. Fortunately, those people had become sallow and emaciated from prolonged starvation. Their physical condition was poor, so they couldn’t catch up to her.

In the end, she fled in panic into the wilderness, only to run into something else that wanted to eat her—this time, a mutated monster. The monster chased her relentlessly, as if tireless. She exhausted her last bit of strength, but ultimately her body gave out. She collapsed to the ground, able only to watch helplessly as death approached. At that time, her body shook like a sieve, and her eyes held nothing but endless fear and despair.

The monster, which had clearly mutated from a female, moved close to her, opened its mouth full of fangs, and bit her hard. Perhaps it wasn’t very hungry, or perhaps it found her taste unappealing. After looking her over a few times, the monster swayed and turned to leave.

Afterward, she passed out and remained unconscious for a long time.

When she woke up, she was shocked to discover that she had turned into a white-haired girl, and she could even condense ice blocks out of thin air in her palm.

She tried many times, only to find that this ability seemed rather useless—it could only create a small piece of ice in her palm. It had no offensive power and couldn’t really be considered self-defense.

The feeling of surviving a disaster at that time made her very grateful. She hadn’t turned into a monster or been eaten. Instead, she had awakened an ability. Although it had no attack power and she had become a girl, at least she was still alive.

Later, she secretly sneaked back near the territory to scout and found that the place had already changed completely. The people who had been starving madly were gone. In their place were wave after wave of new refugees.

These people were also sallow and thin from hunger, kneeling outside the city with hollow eyes, as if praying for the territory to bestow some food.

Lin Yuxi originally thought it would be useless. After all, the previous group had starved to the point of cannibalism, yet the people inside the territory had never shown any mercy.

At that time, in order to survive, she had even suppressed the fear of possibly being dissected for research and made up her mind—she would reveal her origins to the territory’s people. She would tell them she had originally been a man, had been bitten by a monster, and then turned into this appearance while unexpectedly awakening an ability. If they didn’t believe her, she could demonstrate it on the spot.

She only wanted to trade this secret for a chance to possibly survive. But just as she gritted her teeth and prepared to risk everything, someone on the territory’s city wall suddenly threw food outward. The amount was enough for everyone outside the city to eat their fill.

From then on, the territory began irregularly dropping food outward. Although the intervals between distributions were sometimes short and sometimes long—even very long at times—and the amount of food wasn’t much, at least the people outside the city now had hope of surviving and no longer had to live under the shadow of starvation.

It was only after this that she accidentally discovered that the people inside the territory were not short of clean water at all. She felt very fortunate that she had not had the chance to expose her identity as a mutated person to those inside.

So at this moment, Lin Yuxi truly felt grateful and satisfied. Although this kind of life couldn’t even compare to one percent of her previous life, being alive was already a great blessing.

Days passed one by one. A rumor gradually spread within the territory: some people who were infected by the abnormal virus did not turn into monsters. Instead, they became exceptionally powerful. It was said that the person later pledged loyalty to the lord.

Only then did she learn that such mutated individuals were rare and powerful. She herself was also a mutated person, but weak and rare. For someone like her, the only value was probably being dissected for research. Fortunately, she had not exposed herself.

She blended in here and became one of the refugees, relying on the food the territory occasionally dropped to live a hard but not overly difficult life.

Later on, Lin Yuxi met Lan Mo, who had just arrived seeking refuge. Lan Mo said she had escaped all the way here by hiding and dodging while relying on two packs of biscuits. She also said that along the way, she hadn’t encountered many monsters. It seemed there were far fewer monsters in other places compared to here.

Lin Yuxi told Lan Mo everything about her experiences here and invited her to live together so they could look after each other and survive together.

But Lan Mo politely declined her kindness, saying it would be taking advantage of her. Lan Mo also wanted to rely on her own strength to live on this land.

Little Mo really is a gentle, soft, and glutinous person on the outside, yet she carries firmness in her heart…