Chapter 93: A Showdown Between Two Lunatics

Evelyn Ford had once been a very well-mannered child.

But life had honed her into a barbarian. Especially after meeting Eighteen, Evelyn found herself getting angry more and more each day, constantly breaking the previous day’s record.

Ultimately, what truly infuriated her was the fact that she wasn’t as capable as Eighteen.

After he had netted about thirty fish, Evelyn told him to stop.

"That’s enough. Let’s go home."

He dashed ahead, carrying two buckets of fish, while Evelyn followed behind with the net.

"You’re so slow."

Evelyn sneered. "And? You got a problem with that?"

"Let me carry you."

"What are you trying to bargain for now? Pig’s feet or beef stew?"

He thought for a moment. "I want both."

"Get lost."

Evelyn took a deep breath and suddenly broke into a run. He froze for a second before quickly giving chase.

"I can carry you."

"Rejected."

"You’re so slow."

"Piss off."

"You’re wearing too many layers. You’re as clumsy as that black bear I saw before."

Evelyn whipped out a brick and hurled it at the back of his head.

He’d gotten a lot more talkative these past few days, and a lot more annoying.

Today’s assassination attempt was a failure. Evelyn was not pleased.

This many fish would probably last them a long time. Evelyn decided to keep ten and salt the rest.

As usual, Eighteen was responsible for gutting and cleaning the fish while Evelyn did the cooking.

Mina and Lola weren’t very afraid of Eighteen anymore. They even started circling around him.

To mess with him, Evelyn would intentionally make uneven portions whenever she cooked. For example, she’d make three pig’s feet, giving him one and keeping two for herself. This, quite obviously, displeased him. The moment he showed any sign of anger, Evelyn would be ready to launch her brick. She missed every time, but her patience was infinite. She was confident that one day, she’d make his well-rounded head "blossom."

"I want half."

Evelyn took a bite and looked at him defiantly. "I made it, so I’m the only one who gets to eat more."

"I do the hunting. I should get to eat more, too."

Evelyn shook her head. "Nope. This is my house. I make the rules."

’Step one of dog training: teach him to obey.’

Just as she expected, he was starting to bare his teeth. Evelyn’s hand was already on her brick. ’Today, I’ll teach him a bloody lesson.’

However, he submitted.

"Fine."

Evelyn couldn’t believe it. ’Is training a dog this easy?’

’There’s no challenge in this at all.’

But she celebrated too soon. This time, he threw her onto the roof and took away the ladder.

Just then, Evelyn saw several green gleams flash in the distance. She pulled out her night-vision goggles, put them on, and saw them: wolves.

The wolf pack was here. Evelyn quickly ducked down to hide.

Eighteen had seen the pack too. He looked incredibly excited, like a rabid dog, and charged straight at the wolves.

This was the first time Evelyn had witnessed his ferocity up close. Facing more than ten wolves, he was completely unarmed. His red eye looked as if it were about to drip blood.

Evelyn didn’t know how long the battle lasted. By the time he returned, his clothes were so soaked they could be wrung out with blood.

He leaped onto the roof and looked at Evelyn with a calm gaze.

"I’m hungry."

Evelyn... ’I must have owed him in a past life.’

"I’ll make food."

He grabbed the back of Evelyn’s collar and simply lifted her down. This time, Evelyn had lost. She, too, had learned to obey.

Obedience to absolute power.

Evelyn stood in the kitchen, watching Eighteen outside through the window. He had dragged the wolf carcasses back and was now processing them, skillfully skinning and butchering them with a knife. Against the vast white snow, his cold, detached features looked exceptionally fierce. Evelyn was a little surprised. ’A person like him only eats cooked food?’

’For some reason, I really want to know what his blood tastes like. Is it sweet? Bitter? Or metallic?’

"You were watching me." He came to the window, his eyes meeting Evelyn’s. With the glass between them, some of her hostility seemed to fade.

"They’ll be back for revenge."

"Then I’ll kill them all," he said, turning to walk away and resume skinning the wolves.

Evelyn’s hand trembled. Looking at the meat in the pot, she decided not to add any poison.

"Put the meat away," he said, then left.

’When spring comes, I’ll leave. I’ll leave this lunatic here to starve.’

The wolf meat actually tasted alright. She kept some of it, and Evelyn stored the rest in her space.

This was Eighteen’s payment for room and board.

For the next few days, their interactions became much more civil. They went from being at each other’s throats, desperate to kill one another, to a silent, non-communicative truce.

Evelyn, for her part, quite enjoyed the current state of affairs. She would read books or watch TV in her bedroom, while Eighteen was in the small living room, doing who-knows-what.

In mid-January, Evelyn’s period arrived right on schedule. The painkillers weren’t enough to stop the discomfort, and she was in no condition to cook. She came out of her room to find Eighteen looking at a book she had left in the living room.

"You’re on your own for meals for the next few days. Don’t bother me unless it’s an emergency."

"You’re injured." He shot in front of Evelyn in an instant, not out of concern, but sizing her up with a puzzled expression.

"No, I’m not. I left the meat in the kitchen." Evelyn tried to shut her door, but he stopped her.

"You’re injured," he insisted, even sniffing the air. Evelyn nearly died of embarrassment.

"Do you want to get a brick to the head?"

The words hung in the air, and both of them froze. Evelyn hadn’t said that in days. Just like that, the polite facade between them was shattered.

He suddenly turned and went into the kitchen. Evelyn followed, curious. She watched as he took out a bowl, slit his own wrist with a knife, and let the blood flow into it. When the bowl was about half full, the wound healed itself.

"For you."

Evelyn was confused.

"Drink it."

Though shocked, Evelyn’s first reaction wasn’t refusal. Instead, she swallowed hard.

’What should I do? His blood smells so sweet, like it’s laced with a pheromone, constantly tempting me to drink it.’

’No wonder he was captured and killed in my last life. With an IQ like this, the guy wouldn’t survive a week in the human world.’

’Exposing your own weakness is a cardinal sin in the apocalypse.’

"I’m not drinking it."

"If you drink it, you’ll feel better. Then you can cook."

The tiny flicker of emotion Evelyn had just felt instantly vanished.

"I’m not drinking it."

"Drink."

’If I drink this stuff, the pain will go away?’

Evelyn didn’t want to argue with him. Just as she turned to go back to her room, he slammed her against the wall, pinched her jaw open, and poured the half-bowl of blood into her mouth.

Evelyn choked and gagged, but still ended up swallowing about half of it. The sweetness had been an illusion; his blood was acrid and metallic. She scrambled into the bathroom and began to vomit violently.

’What did I ever do to deserve this kind of torment?’

Evelyn started chugging water to rinse her mouth, but the thought of that bowl of scarlet blood now in her stomach made her feel ill.

"Better now?" he asked, standing a short distance away, his tone calm and his face expressionless.

Evelyn let out a yell, ran over, tackled him to the ground, and started shaking him by the neck.

"You lunatic! I’m going to kill you!"

Just then, a sharp, twisting pain shot through her stomach. The color drained from Evelyn’s face.

’This is the blood of a genetically edited human! Didn’t I just drink a bowlful of bioweapon?’

Evelyn’s desire to kill him intensified.