Apocalypse: Resources consumed by women will be returned ten thousandfold.

--Translated by likesnovel--

Song Yuanfan was sent flying without even managing a scream.

His body slammed hard into the wall before slowly sliding down a few seconds later.

The moment he hit the floor, he had already stopped breathing.

Jiang Fan spoke calmly,

"Your hands are filthy, yet you still dare grab people whenever you want."

"That's incredibly rude."

Song Siyin still hadn't realized that Song Yuanfan was dead.

Pointing at Jiang Fan, she screamed furiously,

"Jiang Fan!"

"That's your brother-in-law!"

"How could you attack him?!"

"You've gone too far!"

Suddenly—

Jiang Fan reached out and grabbed her wrist.

*Crack!*

The sound of breaking bones echoed through the room.

Song Siyin's hand twisted into an unnatural angle.

The back of her hand was practically pressed against her forearm.

"AAAAHHHHHH!"

The intense pain nearly made her pass out.

Jiang Fan smiled faintly.

"I don't like people pointing at me."

While his attention was focused on Song Siyin, the other 2 male survivors quietly stood up.

They slowly approached from behind.

But after taking only 2 steps—

A flash of white light streaked across their vision.

The world instantly went dark.

*Slash!*

*Slash!*

Jiang Fan flicked the blood from his dagger before casually returning it to his storage space.

Only then did the 2 men collapse to the ground.

Blood immediately spread across the floor.

Song Siyin's eyes widened.

Terror filled her face.

She looked like a duck being strangled silent.

At last, she realized something.

The Jiang Fan standing before her...

Was no longer the same man she once knew.

"N-No..."

"Please don't kill me..."

"I was wrong..."

"Please... don't kill me..."

"*Sob... sob...*"

She broke down crying in despair.

Jiang Fan gently patted her cheek and smiled warmly.

"Don't overthink it."

"I don't kill women."

Song Siyin's face turned pale.

Yet she couldn't help feeling relieved.

But in the very next second—

*Stab!*

A dagger pierced straight through her chest without mercy.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Y-You..."

"You just said... you wouldn't kill..."

She could clearly feel her life slipping away.

Jiang Fan blinked innocently.

"Hm?"

"Did I say that?"

"I forgot."

"Sorry."

Liar.

An overwhelming hatred filled Song Siyin's eyes.

Then the final light of life faded completely.

...

Jiang Fan stared coldly at her corpse.

He waited for a moment.

But no notification came from the system.

A slight frown appeared on his face.

"Even though Song Siyin is dead..."

"The return rate didn't decrease?"

A spark flashed across his eyes.

That was excellent news.

A dangerous smile slowly appeared on his lips.

If that was the case...

There were many more options available to him.

For example—

Someone dangerous like Zhang Zilin.

He could use her to increase his return rate first...

Then get rid of her afterward.

"She got off too easily."

Jiang Fan gave Song Siyin's body one last glance.

Then he picked up the lantern and walked into the darkness.

...

He continued searching the 3rd floor.

Most of the stores had already been completely looted by survivors.

Even the mattress store was no exception.

It had been turned into a shelter for one of the survivor groups.

The entire place reeked of urine and feces.

The conditions were so filthy they were almost unbearable.

Jiang Fan only glanced inside once.

Then immediately turned away in disgust.

After that, he activated his Spirit Form ability.

His body slowly sank into the floor.

Then he headed back toward the Financial Center.

...

After Jiang Fan left, the hidden survivors exchanged nervous looks.

"That guy... really left?"

"He just walked out carrying a light!"

"And that monster cat didn't attack him!"

"Could the cat be gone?"

"I haven't heard any screams for a while."

"Maybe it's no longer outside!"

"If he can get out..."

"Then maybe we can get out too!"

Many people began wavering.

In the end, 2 men gritted their teeth and decided to make a run for it.

A few minutes later—

Terrified screams erupted from the building entrance.

"AAAAHHHH!"

"HELP!"

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

The screams lasted only a few moments.

Then everything fell silent.

The remaining survivors turned pale.

Their bodies trembled with fear.

The monster cat was still there.

Then how did that man get out?

No one had an answer.

...

Not long afterward,

Jiang Fan returned to the Financial Center once again...

After running around all night, it still wasn't even 5:00 AM.

Jiang Fan decided not to return to his apartment just yet.

Instead, he planned to investigate the other 2 towers of the Financial Center.

His perception range was currently 100 meters.

Although he could vaguely observe parts of Towers A and B from a distance, it still wasn't enough to cover everything.

It was better to see things for himself.

Who knew? He might even discover another interesting beauty.

...

First, Jiang Fan stopped by the swimming pool below.

The mutant frog was still lying motionless inside the pool, just as before.

Within his perception field, it resembled a blazing torch shining brightly in the darkness.

Suddenly, Jiang Fan froze.

"Hm? What's that?"

He noticed numerous tiny points of light moving around the mutant frog.

Each one was about the size of a palm.

They had round heads, tails, and already possessed 2 hind legs.

Judging by their appearance...

"They're tadpoles?!"

Jiang Fan was genuinely shocked.

The mutant frog had actually laid eggs.

Moreover, these tadpoles were growing at an astonishing rate.

Just 2 days ago, when he had passed by this area, there hadn't been a single tadpole.

Yet now, they had already developed hind legs.

At this pace, they would probably become full-grown frogs within a few days.

These tadpoles were obviously much larger than normal.

There was a high probability that they had inherited the mutant frog's enhanced physical traits.

But what about its special abilities?

Would they inherit those as well?

Jiang Fan's expression became serious.

A single mutant frog was already dangerous enough.

If there were an entire swarm...

The Financial Center would become uninhabitable.

Unfortunately, he had no solution for the problem at the moment.

So he temporarily put it aside and headed toward Tower B.

...

Jiang Fan entered the basement of Tower B.

After finding an empty room, he used his phasing ability to move upward floor by floor.

He finally stopped on the 5th floor.

From there, he began observing the survivors throughout the building.

The situation in Tower B was very similar to Tower C.

Below the 21st floor, there were almost no residents left.

Most survivors were concentrated on the 32nd and 33rd floors.

All apartment doors on those 2 floors were left wide open.

No one slept in the hallways.

Everyone stayed inside the apartments.

Each room was packed with nearly 10 people.

Many of them even had their hands and feet tied with ropes.

Jiang Fan observed for a while.

However, he didn't find any particularly interesting women.

So he shifted his attention to Tower A.

...

Just like before, he started from the 5th floor of Tower A to survey the entire building.

However, the situation here was completely different from Towers B and C.

People lived on every floor starting from the 22nd floor and above.

Since no one could unlock the security doors, everyone had been forced to gather inside occupied apartments.

Vacant units remained empty.

Meanwhile, occupied apartments generally housed around 5 to 6 people each.

"Looks like someone's organizing things."

Jiang Fan immediately understood.

There had to be someone coordinating and managing the residents behind the scenes.

Furthermore, this arrangement clearly involved a fair amount of coercion.

Under normal circumstances, very few people would willingly allow strangers to move into their homes.

"Interesting..."

Jiang Fan stepped out of an empty apartment and slowly climbed the stairs.

At the stairwell leading to the 21st floor, furniture and various objects had been piled together.

It was obviously being used as a defensive barricade against mutant creatures.

When he reached the 25th floor—

A nearby apartment door suddenly opened.

A young woman stepped outside.

The moment Jiang Fan saw her, his gaze was instantly drawn toward her.

She wasn't the breathtaking type of beauty like Tang Xuerou or the others.

Objectively speaking, she could only be described as attractive.

Her figure was well-proportioned.

Neither thin nor overweight.

Her curves weren't particularly outstanding.

Her legs weren't perfect either.

In fact, they were slightly soft and full.

Yet every movement she made carried a natural feminine charm.

It felt as though femininity itself had been molded into human form.

**Bai Xinjie**

Age: **23**

**Appearance: 9/10** (Exceptional feminine charm)

**Virtue Score: 10** (Unmarried)

Overall Score: **9**

Jiang Fan's eyes immediately lit up.

"Oh?"

Bai Xinjie jumped in surprise.

She hadn't expected anyone to be outside at this hour.

Jiang Fan openly looked her up and down.

He had absolutely no intention of hiding his gaze.

Bai Xinjie's eyes were incredibly gentle.

Yet deep within them lingered a sense of fear and inferiority that seemed ingrained in her very nature.

It was the kind of expression that instinctively awakened a desire to protect her.

Under Jiang Fan's direct stare, Bai Xinjie began to feel nervous.

Her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.

For a moment, she didn't know whether she should retreat back into the apartment...

Or continue with whatever she had originally come out to do.

Meanwhile, Jiang Fan simply stood there silently, watching her.

As a result, the 2 of them remained frozen in place.

Neither spoke a single word...