Every word of Ren Yuanhao’s fell upon the system girl’s heart like a heavy bomb.
The system was stunned for a long time before it slowly spoke.
"Kid, you don't look half bad when you're serious. Fine, this old lady will go along with you this time!"
Ren Yuanhao’s lips curled slightly, like a lion breaking free, galloping at full speed.
Yellow sand swirled, a lone cold moon hung high, and a purgatory-like slaughter was unfolding in the poplar forest south of the Sand City.
The female thief held a short dagger, her clothes tattered, her beautiful figure hinted at.
Behind her were over a dozen people covered in festering sores.
"Miss, forget about us, just go!"
"Miss, that person is a devil. The Jackal Sky God will take his life sooner or later. You don't need to worry about us, please!"
The female thief staggered, her short knife held sideways, covered in bloodstains. It seemed that merely supporting herself had exhausted her strength.
The bandages on her body were soaked with blood. For some reason, that was the only thing that brought her warmth now.
Because that man had vowed to help her.
His tone was as casual and natural as saying, 'Let’s go, I’ll take you for a drink.'
Yet, she had clearly used that man and stolen from him, twice.
One of her hands pressed against her blood-stained bandages, and she said as if cutting ice, "You are my last family in this world. Without you, I have no home. A woman without a home is a wanderer everywhere."
From under the cracked poplar trees not far away, came a round of applause.
"Well said! Look at the sores on your family members, why don't you hurry and inject them with the Mandala Gene? This thing can cure all diseases and push human potential to the extreme! Letting you approach divinity infinitely!"
Under the flickering, uncertain dim light, a man with bulging muscles could be vaguely seen under the poplar trees. A group of the female thief’s relatives had already fallen before him. Some had skin covered in green veins, their bulging muscles like small mountains, their entire bodies tensed like a bow, and red foam constantly gushed from their mouths.
These were people who had not yet completed the Mandala Gene and died due to rejection. Most of them had distended abdomens, like pregnant women. However, the female thief knew that this was because their bodies were overly tensed before death, causing blood to burst from their blood vessels and their internal organs to swell.
"No, you never told me that the success rate of the Mandala Gene would be so low, and you didn't tell me you would devour those who had already successfully transformed!"
The female thief’s eyes widened in fury, her eyes filled with turbid tears, but she knew her tears were useless. She only wanted to protect the last few relatives behind her, and she was prepared to fight to the death. Even if she couldn't achieve her goal in the end, she had decided not to abandon them.
After all, compared to these closest people, the world meant nothing.
"Oh? Are you a newbie esper? Don't you know the laws of espers? I devour them completely according to the laws."
The man suddenly stood up, the immense power filling him giving him extreme satisfaction.
"Look, there are still more than ten doses of the Mandala Gene left. Didn't you painstakingly steal this? Wouldn't it be a shame not to use them!"
The man grabbed the Mandala Gene and turned into a black whirlwind, kicking up a storm of sand. The female thief forcefully activated her ability, her blood shadow splitting into two figures again. Her short dagger then swept upwards. The man completely ignored it, his black figure seeming to merge with the whirlwind. The blade struck his body, as if a stone sinking into the sea!
The man then swept away four more people. The physical condition of these four was already extremely poor. If not for their occasional pained groans, they would have been mistaken for dead.
"Stop!"
The female thief activated her Blood Shadow Leap, but she hadn't moved far before she coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"Don't waste your energy. You're just a woman, not a god. You can't save them. Instead of letting them die in vain, why not let them die meaningfully!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the man instantly plunged four doses of the Mandala Gene into their bodies!
"No~"
The female thief forcefully circulated her true qi, and the blood shadow erupted again, rapidly flashing to the man's front. She raised a storm of sand, and her two blades stabbed forward. The blades seemed to pierce through the air, directly exiting from his back.
"Sorry, as long as I maintain my 'Immortal Wind Body,' physical attacks will have no effect on me." As the man spoke, he raised his hand and waved. The female thief was struck on the shoulder as if by invisible gas, and she fell like a kite with a broken string.
"Miss~"
The female thief lay on the gradually cooling yellow sand, blood slowly trickling down her arm. Twisted red lines, like some mysterious totem, appeared on her delicate skin. She twisted her head with all her might but could only watch helplessly as several of her relatives were devoured by the Mandala Gene.
"No~" The female thief let out a tearing roar, "I am also an esper. If you promise to spare my family, I, I will let you do as you please!"
As soon as she said this, all the men and women tormented by illness burst into cries.
"Miss, you, you have already sacrificed enough for us~"
"Yes, yes, that demon wants to devour your abilities! Don't agree to him. Even if you agree, he will definitely continue to inject us with the Mandala Gene after devouring the eldest miss!"
"Right, don't agree to him, and don't bother with us old, weak, and sick. We are not worth it~"
The female thief’s hands pressed into the cold sand, her silvery hair slowly spreading out, as beautiful as falling cherry blossoms.
"No, if we cannot live together, then let us die together!"
The female thief braced her slender calves and forced herself to stand up from the sand. Her silver hair, framing her bloodshot, pale face, gave her a resolute and awe-inspiring beauty!
However, some people were always lost in the mire of power, status, and strength, forgetting the scenery along the way, and even forgetting their original intentions.
"Very good, I will grant your wish!"
The man turned into a swift wind, raising the sand. The strong wind brushed past the female thief’s beautiful cheeks. The moonlight was sparse, the starry river hidden, and the surrounding poplars rustled. Unknown wildflowers danced in the air.
Strong wind, wildflowers, silver hair like snow, a lone cold moon – the female thief suddenly relaxed. Perhaps in her heart, dying in this scene of converging wind, flowers, and moon was already her best ending.
However, she suddenly felt drops of blood-tears falling from her eyes. Her mind was filled with the expectation of someone's arrival.
"Why would he come? Men are all pigs. Besides, I didn't leave any clues. How could it be possible~ What am I expecting?"
But at this moment, a black lightning bolt shot from the sky, a long saber glinting, and true qi surged forth!