Following behind was a silver van.
Sue Nie glanced at it through the rearview mirror, a faint smile playing on her lips, then she stepped on the accelerator, speeding ahead.
The van suddenly accelerated, its engine emitting a buzzing roar, particularly noticeable in the quiet of the night.
Sue Nie drove swiftly, and before long, she reached the outskirts of the city, where she finally stopped the car.
Getting out of the vehicle, Sue Nie leaned against it, waiting for the van to approach.
After the van came to a stop, several people got out in succession.
These individuals were all wrapped up tightly, their faces masked, only their eyes visible.
The lead man took a couple of steps forward, eyeing Sue Nie up and down.
Due to the layer of fabric, his voice sounded somewhat muffled.
"Little girl, you've got quite the courage!"
Not running home when they realized they were being followed, but instead actively heading to this desolate wilderness.
Sue Nie leaned against the car, giving the man only a glance, without offering any response.
Perhaps feeling ignored by Sue Nie, the man became noticeably displeased, his tone turning harsher.
"Here's your chance, take us to your house, hand over your money, food, and even the gasoline, and of course, your car. Be sensible, and we might let you off the hook!"
"Tiger Brother, she's just a delicate little girl, living alone is so dangerous. Why not follow us in the future? We gentlemen can also protect and take care of her!"
"Yeah, yeah! Not only can we protect her, but we can also pamper her!"
At these words, several men chuckled simultaneously.
Listening to their words, Sue Nie straightened up slowly, picking up the Tang sword resting on the hood of the car.
This Tang sword was 107 centimeters long in total, with a blade length of 70 centimeters, a width of 32 centimeters, a thickness of 0.6 centimeters, and weighed four and a half pounds.
The ebony scabbard was adorned with a silver peony, giving it a deep and majestic appearance.
Just by looking at the scabbard, one could tell it was a fine sword.
Sue Nie was drawn to this sword not only because of its appealing appearance but also because of its quality.
Drawing the sword, Sue Nie pointed it at the several men opposite her. "Enough nonsense, are you coming at me one by one or all together?"
Seeing Sue Nie's action and hearing her words, the man referred to as Tiger Brother burst into laughter.
"Have you watched too many TV dramas, thinking you're a heroine with a broken sword? Since you're so clueless, let us enlighten you today, showing you that brandishing a broken sword won't make you a hero! Brothers, get her!"
With a wave of Tiger Brother's hand, several people charged at Sue Nie directly.
Watching the approaching figures, Sue Nie neither dodged nor evaded, but met them head-on.
Sue Nie had been practicing martial arts for years, and with her background of struggling to survive in the apocalypse for a decade, facing life and death countless times, her moves were fierce and precise, targeting vital points without any superfluous movements.
Tiger Brother and his men were just small-time thugs, without any specialized martial arts training, so they were no match for Sue Nie.
Although the Tang sword in Sue Nie's hand was long, it was also extremely flexible, striking accurately at Tiger Brother and his men.
Despite being wrapped tightly, these men were essentially covered in thin layers of fabric, easily cut open by Sue Nie's sword, with blood flowing instantly.
Just two minutes into the fight, Tiger Brother realized that they were no match for Sue Nie and immediately changed his attitude.
"We were wrong! We were wrong! Spare us, and we'll leave immediately, never to appear in front of you again."
Ignoring Tiger Brother's words, Sue Nie gave him no chance to speak again, ending his life with a single stroke.
Tiger Brother lay on the ground, his eyes wide with fear and disbelief.
He never expected that in this peaceful era, a seemingly frail girl would be so ruthless.
Sue Nie picked up the Tang sword and approached the van, making sure no one was inside before opening the door.
Seeing a dashcam inside, she directly removed the memory card and tossed it into the space, then violently dismantled the camera, throwing it aside.
There was a foul smell inside the van, which Sue Nie wrinkled her nose at in disdain.
As for the contents inside, Sue Nie had no interest in searching.
She had plenty of supplies.
Sue Nie turned away from the van, took out a piece of cloth from the space, wiped the blood off the Tang sword, then sheathed it and drove away from the scene.
From start to finish, Sue Nie displayed no excessive emotions.
To her, killing these people was no different from slaughtering a chicken.
Whether these people followed her by chance or had been tailing her for a while, she couldn't let them leave alive.
If she showed even the slightest mercy today, these people would cause trouble for her in the future.
Better to eliminate future troubles now.
Having lived in the apocalypse for ten years, Sue Nie was long past being soft-hearted.
As she neared the residential area, Sue Nie found a place without streetlights to park and turned off the lights. She then took out some clothes from the space, changed out of her blood-stained attire, and put the used clothes into a trash bag, which she also stored in the space.
With power outages everywhere and surveillance cameras rendered useless, the location where Sue Nie committed the deed was far from the city outskirts, secluded and deserted.
Without surveillance, Sue Nie was confident she hadn't left any traces.
Combined with the current situation, she wasn't worried about being found out.
However, she couldn't just discard the bloodied clothes anywhere.
Storing them in the space gave her peace of mind.
Back in the underground garage of the residential area, Sue Nie carried the supplies she had taken from the space and headed for the stairwell.
There were mosquitoes in the hallway too, but not as many as outside.
Sue Nie walked slowly, arriving at the eighteenth floor after about ten minutes.
Before Sue Nie could even open her door, the door beside her suddenly opened, and a girl stuck her head out. "Did you go to buy supplies? Was the queue long? Next time you go, can you help me get some? I'll pay you."
"No." Sue Nie refused directly.
"Why not?" The girl seemed annoyed but quickly changed her tone. "Then, can you take me with you next time you go? I know you have a car."
This time, Sue Nie didn't refuse outright. "Sure, round trip, four hundred for the gas."
Upon hearing this, the girl immediately protested, "Why do you charge for gas? Don't you use gas when you drive there by yourself? What's wrong with taking me along? We've been neighbors for over a year, and you won't even help me with this small favor. Why are you so heartless?"