Chapter 43: Preparing to Ascend the Throne?

He couldn’t breathe at all!

A flicker of terror passed through Xiao Huang Mao’s unfocused eyes as a weak plea for mercy escaped his cracking voice. "S-Sorry, I-I said the wrong thing..."

Xie Ning released her grip. Xiao Huang Mao gasped for air and broke into a fit of coughing.

"The Song Family Pavilion Survivors’ Association. Tell me everything you know. What’s the current situation in the Song Family Pavilion?"

Xiao Huang Mao’s eyes darted around. "I... I need to get my wound b-bandaged first."

’My shoulder is still gushing blood. This girl is ruthless, completely ignoring my bleeding shoulder.’

Xie Ning raised an eyebrow. The cold blade resting on Xiao Huang Mao’s neck slid slowly against his skin. "You have two choices. One, die. Two, tell me everything."

"S-So if I tell you everything, you’ll... you’ll let me go, right?"

"You’re in no position to be making deals with me. You’re nothing but a fish on the chopping block. You’d better understand your place."

Xie Ning narrowed her cold eyes, dragging the blade against his neck without a change in expression. "You can choose to say nothing."

The young girl tilted her head, her gaze indifferent as she stared at him. "And then you’ll be completely useless."

The emphasis she put on the words "completely useless" was terrifying.

A cruel, cold light glinted in the depths of her dark eyes, as if she might snap his neck in the next second.

Xiao Huang Mao was terrified out of his wits, his mouth hanging open. He was so scared he nearly pissed his pants.

"I-I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!" Xiao Huang Mao was so scared he actually started crying, tears and snot running down his face.

Xie Ning’s face was filled with disgust, her eyes showing undisguised contempt.

Seeing the murderous glint in her eyes, Xiao Huang Mao’s voice trembled. "W-We’re... we’re tourists who came to the farmhouse inn. We were staying at Number 98 in the Song Family Pavilion."

"My cousin, some relatives, friends, and I... we organized a group of fifteen to come to the Song Family Pavilion for a two-week vacation. Miss, we’re really not bad people, just ordinary tourists."

"Th-This morning, a lot of people suddenly came down with high fevers. Then we all got an emergency text message at the same time, and that’s when we found out it was because of some kind of virus outbreak."

"The high fever pushed everyone toward one of two extremes."

"My cousin, Wang Han, became incredibly strong after his fever." At this, Xiao Huang Mao seemed to have a realization and shot a trembling glance at Song Youzhi. "Just like this man here. Exceptionally strong."

"But the others who got fevers weren’t as lucky as my cousin. They turned into the monsters the text message warned about—corpses that crave flesh and blood."

"Those of us who didn’t mutate—the normal people—we followed my cousin Wang Han’s lead and eliminated those monster corpses. We planned to turn Number 98 into our temporary base."

"Miss, it had nothing to do with us! We were just doing what Wang Han told us to do."

"My cousin said the world has changed, and we have to be the first to seize the initiative."

"He said that to survive in this new world, we first have to clear all the remaining corpses from the village to secure a safe living space. Second, we have to catalogue all the food and supplies in the village for centralized distribution."

Xie Ning raised an eyebrow.

’Have to admit, Xiao Huang Mao’s cousin is pretty good at getting into character.’

’While everyone else was still completely clueless, he’d already found a way to get ahead. He’s preparing to ascend the throne and become the local emperor of the Song Family Pavilion.’