Chapter 78: He Is Too Noisy

If only he could have just one bowl—just a small bowl! Perhaps his abilities would loosen, allowing him to step into a long-awaited new realm. A covetous glint flashed in Dou Bin’s eyes; he gave the woman beside him a kick. “Go. Help Xiao Jian. At the very least, get us a bowl of soup. Or else…”

The woman trembled, lifting her head in confusion.

Her black hair was tangled, clearly unwashed and uncared for in days, clumped and streaked with a greasy sheen. Yet, in her features lingered the remnants of beauty—a delicate, oval face now masked in patches of obscure, pitch-dark grime.

Her clothes were in tatters, filthy yet unable to fully conceal the natural fairness and softness of her skin beneath. At his words, she numbly crawled toward Yu Yan.

“Miss… could you spare me a bowl of soup?”

Her voice was dry and hoarse, like sandpaper grinding raw jade. Her eyes flickered with fear and timidity, and her legs bore wounds—clearly, life since the arrival of this replica world had been unkind to her.

Yu Yan shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

Women like her were everywhere after the replica world descended. Some by choice, most forced, all reduced to playthings for men and subjected to ceaseless torment and humiliation. Yu Yan was no saint; she could not save them all.

Even if she gave this woman a bowl of soup, it would never reach her lips—she’d only be strengthening the men who abused her. Her fate would not improve, but grow even worse.

The woman seemed to understand, and did not press the matter. Two silent tears rolled down her face, washing away some of the filth, and she turned to crawl back.

Yu Yan’s pupils contracted. “Wait.”

Those brows, that hint of Yanjing, those features… A familiar face flashed through Yu Yan’s mind, though in memory the woman’s bearing was utterly different and her face subtly altered. “Do you know Jiang Shasha?”

“…You know my sister?”

For a moment, the woman’s dull eyes shone bright, only to dim again as some thought crossed her mind. “We got separated when the replica world came. If you see my sister, tell her her little sister is dead. I’m not worthy to be called her sister. Thank you.”

This time, she fled in near panic.

She had grown used to her own wretched, miserable state; but for it to be witnessed by someone her sister knew—this was a first. Her sister was so proud; if she found out, she would surely feel disgraced, to know her own flesh and blood had fallen so low.

The greatest shame was that she did not even have the courage to die. After enduring the bleakest, most helpless, and hopeless darkness, she still clung, shamefully, to life.

Perhaps it was time to end her dirty, rotten existence… In that moment, a death wish rose in her heart.

Yu Yan hesitated.

Jiang Shasha had been a famous woman in her previous life, forming the first all-female team of empowered survivors after the replica world’s arrival—strong, charismatic, and skilled at navigating treacherous waters. Yu Yan herself had never had the chance to associate with such a figure.

She never expected Jiang Shasha to have a sister, and one who had fared so poorly in the early days of the replica world.

If she did nothing, Jiang Shasha’s sister would soon die at the hands of these men. No wonder, in later years, Jiang Shasha loathed vile men with such intensity—any she encountered, she would subject to a thousand cuts, then feed their corpses to her pet "Greed Wolf," a large, black-bellied hunting dog.

To intervene, or not?

Yu Yan quickly decided.

Having failed to get the soup, the woman returned to her group, only to be beaten and kicked. Dou Bin did not strike her himself—he merely signaled, and two men approached with sinister grins. If not for Yu Yan and her daughter’s proximity, their lewd looks suggested they would have done worse.

Yu Yan stood up. “Duo Duo, close your eyes.”

She did not want her daughter’s gaze sullied.

“Oh!”

Yun Duo’er, cheeks flushed with indignation, had been itching to help. At her mother’s words, she plopped back onto the rock, obediently shutting her eyes. Yu Yan seized Kou Xiaojian, who was still pitifully eyeing the pot. Perhaps realizing Yu Yan would not yield, he had tried to plead with Yun Duo’er instead.

But Yun Duo’er, though softer-hearted than her mother, understood the basics. All around them stretched fields of wheat, green waves rolling. Whether hungry or thirsty, young wheat kernels would suffice for Kou Xiaojian’s needs. He had no reason to beg for their soup. His persistence only irked Yun Duo’er.

She almost wanted to have Little Gold toss him far away.

Sensing her mother dragging Kou Xiaojian off, Yun Duo’er stuck out her tongue, feeling relieved.

“What do you want?”

Yu Yan’s approach made the group tense, especially as she unceremoniously hurled Kou Xiaojian over. A flustered woman caught him and glared. “How can you be so cruel? He’s just a child!”

“All he wanted was a bowl of soup. If you won’t share, fine, but must you treat him like that?”

To carry him over was one thing, but to throw him down—had he landed hard, he would have scraped himself badly. The field’s edge was strewn with rocks, any of which could draw blood, and Kou Xiaojian’s skin was especially tender.

“He was too noisy, ruining my appetite,” Yu Yan replied coolly, then got to the point. “Give her to me, and I’ll leave.”

She could have used subtler means, such as trading a bowl of soup for the woman. The leader would hardly refuse such a deal. But for men who preyed on women, Yu Yan had no patience for pretense.

“And why should we?”

“Yeah, who do you think you are, talking to our boss like that?”

“Heh, what, you like our boss and want to—”

“Bang!”

The unfortunate blond had just started mouthing off when Yu Yan’s kick sent him flying. She used only a tenth of her strength, but for a fourth-tier spirit-veined enhancer, that was more than the blond could stand.

He had no powers, not even first-tier energy. At best, his body was slightly toughened by spiritual exposure. Yu Yan’s kick launched him over ten meters, slamming him against a boulder with a dull thud, then rolling him even farther.

“Pfft…” The blond spat a mouthful of blood, a bloody tooth tumbling down his shirt before he blacked out.

“I despise foul-mouthed men. Now, will you hand her over?”

Yu Yan’s gaze was icy; kicking a man senseless was to her as trivial as brushing dust from her collar. Dou Bin’s eyes darkened, hiding his anger. “Give her to her.”

“Boss?” Hei Zi was dumbfounded. Though the woman’s kick unsettled him, to hand over one of their precious few women—there were only three in their group, and one was protected by her husband, making her off-limits. That left only one more—how would that suffice?