Although the cold and elegant lady had her back turned, she could still see some reflections in the mirror she was looking at...
"If you want to peek at me, I don't mind. Actually, I don't mind if you come over and look openly."
Meng Xingyao calmly said as she wrapped bandages around the shocking knife wound on her abdomen, her tone teasing and provocative.
Uesugi Chigenki was clearly stunned, somewhat annoyed, "We're both girls, what's there to look at!"
"Oh really?" Meng Xingyao smiled and turned around directly, her finger tracing along her sharp abs. The multiple shocking wounds on her body gave her figure a more broken feeling. With a playful smile, she said, "We're both girls, but I think mine looks better than yours."
Uesugi Chigenki stared blankly at Meng Xingyao's fair and beautiful body, a perfect physique that could only come from years of training.
"Pervert!" Uesugi Chigenki's ears turned red as she stamped her foot in anger.
"You're the pervert," Meng Xingyao walked up to her without caring, revealing a sly smile, "You were the one peeping at me first, I'm just being kind."
Meng Xingyao put on her clothes and picked up the straight sword from the table. She swept her black hair back, exuding the aura of a cold and elegant lady.
Just as Uesugi Chigenki was stunned by this aura, that straight sword was placed on her shoulder. Meng Xingyao lifted her chin, smiling, "Name, purpose, why are you in Huaxia?"
Uesugi Chigenki hadn't reacted to this sudden turn, "Just a moment ago I only thought you were a pervert."
Meng Xingyao frowned, "And now?"
"Even more of a pervert." Uesugi Chigenki said with resentment in her eyes.
Meng Xingyao felt she was being a bit mean - she had pretty much guessed what the other person would say next after their first sentence.
But she just couldn't help being mean and had to do it anyway.
Meng Xingyao hesitated as a red glow rose on the horizon outside the window, signaling that the blood moon was about to return.
Even with a sword at her neck, Uesugi Chigenki showed no panic. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, examining Meng Xingyao with calm eyes that held a hint of ferocity, completely unafraid.
Meng Xingyao knew she could kill her, but it would take some time.
"Never mind if you won't talk. You can leave."
Meng Xingyao smoothly sheathed her sword, took some beef jerky from the kitchen and started walking while chewing. Seeing Uesugi Chigenki still standing there in her shrine maiden outfit, she generously pulled open her hand and placed two pieces of beef jerky in it, then swiftly jumped out the window.
Wasn't she going to kill me? Why did she let me go? And even gave me food?
Uesugi Chigenki looked puzzled at the beef jerky in her hand. As she stared at it, her stomach started growling - she remembered that she hadn't eaten much these past few days while fleeing with her sister.
No, finding her sister should be the priority right now!
She hesitated no longer, took a bite of the beef jerky, and jumped out the window.
Su Ze had just entered the range where the intercom could connect when he heard continuous blowing sounds coming through it. He didn't know how long this silly girl had been blowing into it. He didn't respond but went straight to open the front door.
The frequency of the blowing sounds was about every five or six seconds - seems this silly girl wasn't completely foolish, she knew to pause and rest instead of blowing continuously until she ran out of breath.
With a bang, the bedroom door opened, revealing a red-haired little shrine maiden completely wrapped in blankets, curled up in a corner blowing into the intercom.
Uesugi Akizuki saw the familiar figure enter and immediately threw off the blanket and rushed forward, but instead of hugging him, she grabbed Su Ze's hand.
Tears sparkled in her eyes.
"Are you hungry?"
Su Ze patted her head, and after she nodded, he went to cook.
Watching the girl wolfing down food at the table, and looking at the crimson blood moon gradually rising on the horizon with red clouds spreading across half the sky, Su Ze lit a cigarette on the balcony, feeling gloomy.
The empty streets bathed in red light were filled with desolation. The corpses of monsters slain yesterday had been urgently disposed of by residents who came out during the day. Under government direction, they had transported the bodies far away.
All that remained on the streets now were bloodstains that hadn't been cleaned up yet, giving off a foul smell.
In the distance, someone was jumping across buildings, running towards this location - it was Shen Qingsheng.
"Brother Ze, I'm ready," Shen Qingsheng said, standing on the railing.
"Mm." Su Ze threw away his cigarette butt and looked at Uesugi Akizuki who was gulping down milk. He went over to wipe some rice from the corner of her mouth, "Go to bed after you finish eating, and no staying up late tonight, understand?"
Uesugi Akizuki's amber eyes met his, staring for a long while before she finally nodded silently. After Su Ze urged her, she slowly walked back to her room.
Su Ze tightly closed the curtains in the room to prevent moonlight from shining in.
The blood moon's light was harmful to the human body, and those who guarded the city's lights under the blood moon had to endure this damage as they pressed forward.
Under the blood-red moonlight, Su Ze stood smoking on top of a building, dressed all in black, his clothes fluttering in the bitter wind.
In the distant street, a spatial rift opened directly, and a huge monster crawled out. The first thing that entered its sight wasn't the buildings of this new world, but a pair of molten gold eyes that seemed to burn like candlelight.
The owner of those eyes carried a black case on his back:
"Huaxia's borders will always allow the descendants of Yan and Huang to run free, but there's no room for your kind."
The black case thundered as it was planted on the ground, suddenly releasing an overwhelming pressure that caused ripples in space.
"Before you lies Huaxia. Monsters at the threshold, stay back and live, advance and die!"
Where the blood-colored moonlight shone, spatial rifts were everywhere, with countless monsters from other worlds running rampant under the blood moon.
Intense battles broke out across Huaxia. In areas without supernatural or powered individuals to intercept, countless ordinary soldiers resisted with gunfire, using their bodies to build walls of steel against the spatial rifts spreading everywhere.
"Why! Why did it have to be the blood moon!"
Uesugi Chigenki wore a cloak to avoid exposure to the blood light, her figure darting through various areas of intense fighting in Dust City.
Countless monsters were attracted to her, surging towards her like a tide. Even though she was extremely agile, she struggled to resist their attacks. A monster with giant hands slapped her to the ground, creating a cracked crater.
She was forced to stand up and fight back, but among the waves of monsters, there were always a few particularly strong ones that drove her into desperate situations.
A straight sword fell diagonally from the sky, suddenly cutting through the monster tide! It stabbed into the ground, and the sword was pulled out by a black shadow that suddenly appeared. Working in concert with another straight sword in the other hand, dozens of arc-shaped sword lights were instantly slashed out, like interconnected iron rings, spreading through the monster tide!
All the monsters in this block were slain!
The black shadow shook his wrist under the blood-colored moonlight, shaking the blood off his blade as he walked towards Uesugi Chigenki, "Who are you? I haven't received any notice about reinforcements from other Huaxia organizations in my district."
"Then who are you?"
Uesugi Chigenki didn't dare raise her head to expose herself to the moonlight, not even her eyes.
The man lifted his head, his handsome and cold face exposed under the blood light, his black long coat fluttering in the fierce wind.
"Huaxia Ghost Officer, Shi Liang."
Ghost Officer!
Uesugi Chigenki was stunned - how unlucky was she to run into one of the internationally infamous Ghost Officers?
Uesugi Chigenki knew that given their identities, there was no possibility of sitting down to talk. These crazy Huaxia Ghost Officers would kill you without hesitation if they suspected you meant harm to Huaxia!
Uesugi Chigenki suddenly retreated a step, throwing off her black cloak. Her fair body was completely exposed to the blood light as the cloak flew towards Shi Liang like a large net.
Shi Liang raised his hand and slashed, cutting the cloak in two. At that moment, through the cloak, he saw the girl's eyes suddenly turn crimson! A pair of sharp horns grew from her head! Chaotic ghost energy burst out.
"Demon race?"
Shi Liang looked at Uesugi Chigenki, who hadn't changed much except for the horns on her head and crimson pupils, and immediately guessed her identity, "No wonder you were hiding your body, so you're from the demon race."
He suddenly burst forward, his blade pressure surging like a tidal wave towards Uesugi Chigenki. The latter barely managed to deflect Shi Liang's attacks using chaotic ghost energy, ducking under one strike as his pale hand, wreathed in black ghostly aura, pushed toward Shi Liang's chest.
However, Shi Liang was prepared, blocking the attack with his second straight blade.
Boom!
The push sent Shi Liang flying back dozens of meters.
Uesugi Chigenki pressed his advantage and pursued, but even in his ghost-transformed state, he couldn't match Shi Liang equally. Instead, he was repeatedly forced into a disadvantageous position, with wounds rapidly accumulating on his body.
Finally, he had to suppress the murderous intent within him that had grown extremely agitated under the blood moon, retreat from Shi Liang, and flee into the distance.
Shi Liang, preoccupied with blocking other ghosts, had no way to pursue.
Uesugi Akizuki stared blankly at the ceiling, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion, but sleep eluded her no matter how much she tried to close her eyes.
She sat up, her head dizzy and uncomfortable. She hadn't slept yesterday, and unlike Su Ze, she didn't possess a superhuman body - she was still just an ordinary person.
After sitting for a long while, her gaze fell on the walkie-talkie on the table.
Su Ze, worried about her safety, had left the walkie-talkie behind but had forbidden her from contacting him unless there was an emergency.
After hesitating for a fraction of a second, she picked up the walkie-talkie.
Su Ze watched as Shen Qingsheng efficiently slaughtered the remaining dozen or so ghosts below, while hundreds of his clones blocked every spatial crack. He finally found a moment to light a cigarette.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Wind sounds came through the walkie-talkie.
Uesugi Akizuki quickly put the walkie-talkie back on the table after blowing into it, then hurriedly lay down pretending to sleep, like a child trying to hide their mischief.
"Little children who stay up late will get eaten by the big bad wolf," Su Ze's magnetic, gentle voice came from outside the door.
Uesugi Akizuki brightened with joy - had Su Ze never left? Had he been in the living room all along?
After hesitating for a moment, she suddenly got up to turn the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge.
This was locked by Su Ze before he left, to prevent Uesugi Akizuki from running out.
Outside the door stood Su Ze's clone, covered in wounds and drenched in blood.
"Go back to sleep," Su Ze said.
Uesugi Akizuki stared at the door that wouldn't open, her eyes dimming slightly, then obediently returned to bed.
The next moment, she heard a delightful sound - Su Ze was humming outside her door. His voice was so gentle that a sense of security quickly enveloped Uesugi Akizuki, and her heavy eyelids began to droop.
But she wasn't satisfied with the current situation. She wanted more - ideally, she wanted to hold hands with Su Ze while sleeping, though that wasn't possible right now.
She tiptoed out of bed, carefully avoiding making any noise, walked to the door, and crouched down against the wall, quietly listening to the comforting and gentle singing.
She knew she couldn't hold hands with Su Ze while sleeping right now, but given the current situation, she would take as much as she could get - staying as close as possible to the source of the sound, letting the gentle singing and abundant sense of security fill her panicked and fearful heart.
Without realizing it, she fell asleep with her head buried in her knees, curled up in the corner with bare feet on the cold floor, her wine-red hair cascading down - a sight both pitiful and beautiful.
Su Ze knew the girl had fallen asleep, but his singing didn't stop.
On the battlefield of the Seventh District.
The crimson blood moon hung high - it was now 1 AM, with five or six hours remaining until dawn.
Shen Qingsheng, clutching his abdomen covered in countless wounds, leaned on his blade as he faced a ghost wielding sharp giant scissors. Though ugly in appearance, this ghost possessed strength equivalent to the early stage of the Candle Realm.
He roared and charged forward.
Su Ze's main body constantly switched between his clones. The ghosts thought they had wounded him, but their weapons passed through his body, only to be slain by Su Ze who mysteriously appeared behind them.
Despite the two's tremendous strength, casualties in the Seventh District they were defending were unavoidable.
This was the latter half of the second night of the blood moon. So far, five residents had died and six were injured.
This was all because of a ghost wielding a giant axe who had split a house in half, causing cracks to spread through the ground and leading to the collapse of another building.
Su Ze rescued the survivors and moved them to other houses before rushing back into the ghost tide.