Chapter 542: See How You Die This Time
Chapter 542: See How You Die This Time
These soldiers had survived years of the apocalypse. None of them were weaklings. From the early days, they had roamed to Tiesi Village, followed Tang Jianjun from Tiesi to Xiangcheng, and later followed Fatty north to this place. They were true gold forged in fire, each one having awakened different abilities.
So dealing with a dozen or so ability users was nothing.
The reason Fatty hadn’t moved against Liu Dong and his people before was simply because he had no proper excuse. Yet Liu Dong actually thought he was some kind of backbone in this team full of burdens? Stupidly, he had gone over to An Ran and Zhan Lian to make a fuss.
Before Zhan Lian could even ask An Ran about Xu Li’er, a sharp, drawn-out scream rose from the snow, piercing the night.
Standing by the RV, An Ran turned her head.
In the snowy darkness, she saw several meddlesome women dragging the screaming Xu Li’er toward her. Tonight’s events had already drawn plenty of attention; curious eyes peeked out from every window of the surrounding vehicles.
An Ran stepped to the far side of the RV, deliberately blocking the crowd’s view, and waited as Xu Li’er was hauled before her.
The women, eager to curry favor, shoved Xu Li’er down hard into the snow and cursed: “Bitch, just wait and see how you die this time!”
“You’re already shameless enough bullying us, but now you dare to slander An Ran—you’re truly vile!”
“Disgusting! A slut like you dares to speak ill of An Ran?”
These women had always clashed with Xu Li’er, but because she had slept with Fatty, they hadn’t dared confront her directly. Even when she sneered at them, showed open contempt, and seized part of their allotted supplies, they held back.
But now Xu Li’er has provoked An Ran. Even Fatty treated An Ran with respect. For Xu Li’er to cross that line meant her protection was gone—this was the perfect chance to crush her.
An Ran stood in the snow with her hands in her pockets, silent, as Xu Li’er scrambled to her feet. Her hair was a tangled mess, her expression twisted with resentment.
Her lipstick and foundation still clung to her face, but the scuffle had smudged the bright red at the corner of her lips, making her look wild and broken.
She shoved aside the women restraining her, stared venomously at An Ran, and sneered, “Does it feel good to be criticized?”
An Ran raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.
Zhao Ru pushed open the curtain in the RV window, and Little Mint stepped forward, her gaze cold on Xu Li’er.
The noisy women fell silent.
Snowflakes as large as goose feathers drifted in the wind. Xu Li’er’s tears froze as they rolled down her cheeks, glittering like ice. She choked, “I’m a victim too. I’m just a victim, An Ran. If it were you in that situation, wouldn’t you also have abandoned Wang Wei and run off alone?”
She was speaking of that time back in Xiangcheng—when the mutant vines exploded. Wang Wei had shielded her, but she had shoved him aside and fled by herself.
That was probably the first reason An Ran never accepted her again.
But Xu Li’er didn’t see herself as guilty. To her, her reaction had been natural. Any ordinary woman, faced with danger, would have done the same.