Over the rooftop
Just as she leapt over the rooftop and before she even landed on the terrace, two frightened voices reached Miss Rabbit's ears.
"Cluck cluck cluck!"
"Who… who are you?!"
Unexpectedly, there were evolvers here too. After landing, Miss Rabbit glanced toward the corner where the voices came from. Despite significant changes from their original forms, it was still apparent they had evolved from chickens—one male, one female, the latter looking younger.
They had built a nest in the corner, with some food nearby—scraps from human stores, meager in quantity. There was a half-eaten, moldy piece of bread that had been left open for days, yet they seemed reluctant to discard it.
Miss Rabbit withdrew her gaze and continued studying her map. She had no intention of harming them, nor did she acknowledge their presence. With her silence, the two chicken evolvers dared not speak or even breathe loudly, and an uneasy silence fell over the rooftop.
After a while, Miss Rabbit scanned the surrounding buildings from her vantage point. Scratching her mouth thoughtfully, she muttered, "Seems like I'm lost."
The older male chicken, protecting the younger female, cautiously spoke, "Did you… did you jump up from… down there?" The scene he had witnessed earlier was overwhelmingly shocking—he could hardly believe that any creature could leap to such a height. Yet the way she appeared left no doubt that she had indeed jumped up.
Despite his fear, seeing that she had no intention of harming them, he couldn't help but ask. Unfortunately, his question went completely ignored.
Miss Rabbit nonchalantly pulled a carrot from her pocket and began eating. Though lost, she was not worried, as the view from the rooftop was expansive. As she munched on the carrot, she casually looked around. Soon, she spotted the hotel where she resided.
But that wasn't enough; she needed to determine her current location relative to the surrounding streets and buildings. Once she pinpointed her location on the map, along with the hotel's position, she could figure out the direction to the agricultural wholesale market.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, as she gazed in one direction, her previously indifferent expression turned intrigued.
She decided to go check it out. However, before leaving the rooftop, Miss Rabbit turned back to glance at the moldy bread and the trembling chicken evolvers, saying, "Maybe you think eating moldy food is normal because that's how you lived as animals, but hiding here all the time, you'll eventually die."
"Reversion is ongoing. Either awaken your bloodline faster than others or wait to be eaten."
Miss Rabbit's voice echoed faintly as she leaped off the rooftop.
Kilometers Away
Far from the city center, in the suburbs, lay a small hill called Ying Mountain. Standing only about 200 meters tall, it stretched widely and had been developed into a minor tourist attraction by the local government. Though labeled a tourist spot, it was relatively unknown, frequented mostly by locals for weekend hikes and picnics.
With humanity wiped out for over a year, the area was neglected, and plants had evolved. Trees that were once a few meters tall had grown to twenty meters or more, some taking on strange new forms. Some vegetation even burst through the ground, uprooting and toppling man-made structures. Consequently, Ying Mountain now bore a more primitive, untouched look.
In the woods midway up the mountain, a large tree, about three people wide and over thirty meters tall, suddenly fell, crushing a swath of shorter trees around it. Accompanying the fall were waves of cheers.
The cheers were loud and continuous:
"Second leader! Second leader!!"
"Roar roar roar!"
"So… powerful!"
"As expected… of the second leader!"
"Woof woof!"
"Awooo!"
In the woods, a large group of evolvers had gathered—over a hundred, at a rough count. At the center of this crowd, like stars around the moon, were four particularly notable beings.
Most striking was a giant rat, around twelve or thirteen meters tall, dozing off. Near the rat stood a large black dog walking upright, wearing a black hat, with a purple-black parrot perched on its shoulder, yawning anthropomorphically. The last was a lone wolf standing on the giant rat's head, seemingly the leader. Small in size, even smaller than a poodle, the wolf had black and white zebra-like stripes and an intensely fierce gaze that hinted at endless madness—clearly not someone to be trifled with.
The surrounding evolvers cheered for the upright black dog, their "second leader." Acting like a boastful child, the dog stretched out its right paw proudly, then stepped forward and slashed at a cat evolver sitting ahead.
To the cat's horror, the dog's paw didn't touch it, yet an invisible force accompanied the paw's movement, instantly disemboweling the cat.
Blood spurted, triggering a frenzy among the evolvers—a savage feast.
The black dog licked the warm blood off its paw, laughing heartily, "This is the gift from heaven! My right paw is covered with an invisible blade, longer and sharper than my paw itself. Nothing can resist it! Hahaha, there's nothing I can't cut through in this world!"
"Roar!"
"Second leader!"
"Kill… kill that human!"
"Yeah! Kill her!"
"No, eat… eat her!"
The cheers grew deafening, and the black dog laughed wildly, "Of course, I'm the chosen one! Anyone who dares oppose us is dead!"
The atmosphere reached a fever pitch when a sweet voice suddenly spoke, "Human? Can you tell me about it?"
The sudden voice was not loud, even soft and sweet, yet it reached everyone's ears, inappropriately breaking the fervent atmosphere.
All eyes turned to the speaker at once.
A white long-eared rabbit, dressed in human clothing, stood calmly on a tree branch. It was unclear when she had arrived.
"Woof! A rabbit?"
"Who… who is she?"
"Does anyone… know her?"
"She looks… tasty!"
"Awoooo!"
After a moment of silence, chaotic voices spread through the crowd. Despite the world being turned upside down, the remnants of the old order still influenced the evolvers' thoughts. A small, seemingly weak rabbit was not taken seriously by many, just like the cat before—its death was inconsequential.
As the atmosphere was about to turn frenzied again, the leader, the black-and-white lone wolf, suddenly spoke, "Fools! She is one of us, a chosen one!"
The term "chosen one" seemed to represent an irrefutable power, one of the few remaining orders in this new world. Upon hearing this, the previously clamorous evolvers fell silent.
"A chosen one? What is that?" Miss Rabbit asked curiously.
"Hahaha!" The black dog, the second leader, laughed, "It's a gift from heaven to the chosen! More than half a year ago, a magical stone fell from the sky. You must have gotten a fragment of it, right?"
"You call that… a gift?" Miss Rabbit asked, with a faint, inexplicable smile, "I didn't get any."
"You don't need to worry about us doing anything to you," the black dog, assuming her denial was out of caution, continued, "Those who have evolved to our level and can speak human language fluently must be chosen! Rest assured, the four of us are like you—we are chosen ones! We are companions!"
"Companions?"
"Yes! Companions!"
"…" Miss Rabbit looked down at him indifferently, and said, "Ridiculous. What did you say?"
The black dog was stunned, seemingly unable to believe his ears. Miss Rabbit remained expressionless and said, "Know your place, kid."
Her sweet and soft voice was like a cold hand, gripping the black dog's throat tightly, causing his face to flush red, "What did you say?!"
This time, it was not a question but an angry roar.
At this moment, the lone wolf stared straight at Miss Rabbit, eyes full of ferocity, "How dare you!"
"Kill her, kill her." The purple-black parrot on the black dog's shoulder yawned and said carelessly, "Fools who can't see the difference in strength are just burdens as companions. It's better to let her become our evolutionary nourishment!"
These words caused instant shock, followed by chaos and a frenzy far exceeding before. All the evolvers became excited, their eyes filled with greed and desire as they looked at Miss Rabbit.
From the four leaders, they had experienced how powerful the chosen ones were, but now they had the chance to eat one!
"The leader… is right!"
"Eat… eat her!"
"Long live the leader! Long live the leader!"
"Woof woof woof!"
"Roar! Kill her!"
Amidst the frenzy, the lone wolf grinned at Miss Rabbit, revealing raw killing intent. "A chosen rabbit? Looks delicious!"
Miss Rabbit sighed softly, "I wanted to ask a few things first."
With that, she leaped lightly and landed in the center of the field.
As soon as she landed, the second leader, the black dog, roared and charged at her with killing intent. His straightforward attack, bolstered by his terrifying speed and power, displayed an extraordinary might. An ordinary evolver would have been crushed instantly.
Skill was unnecessary—pure power was sufficient.
The black dog leaped high, raising his right paw to slash down at Miss Rabbit as he descended.
At the same time, Miss Rabbit felt a slight pressure and glanced at the lone wolf's position.
In the air, the black dog had anticipated this, grinning triumphantly. His cooperation with the lone wolf had never failed: "Haha! You can't move, can you? Die!"
As his paw descended, Miss Rabbit suddenly raised her left hand and grabbed at him. The black dog was first shocked, then sneered.
Blocking his right paw with her hand? How foolish!
His invisible blade, accompanied by killing intent, slashed down!
However, the expected scene of severed limbs and flying blood did not occur. The invisible blade, which had always been unstoppable, was effortlessly caught by her bare hand!
Then, Miss Rabbit lightly squeezed her left hand, and with a "crack," something invisible was crushed!
"Well, come to think of it…" In the blink of an eye, from the black dog's charge to now, only a breath had passed. As she spoke, Miss Rabbit swung her left fist and struck the stunned black dog, sending him crashing into the ground. His body twisted into an impossible shape, clearly dead.
"Accidentally killed him…"
Miss Rabbit raised her right leg and stepped forward, softly saying, "Shake."
Immediately, a violent wave of power radiated from her, wreaking havoc around her.
The ground cracked!
"Boom! Boom!"
The sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed continuously!
In the blink of an eye, the self-proclaimed chosen ones, the black dog second leader, and over a hundred evolvers were utterly annihilated!
On the giant rat's head, the lone wolf staggered, his legs split open, bleeding profusely.
The previously nonchalant purple-black parrot flapped its wings in terror, screaming at the still prone giant rat, "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Stupid rat, get up!!!"
"Stop shouting." Miss Rabbit took out a carrot from her pocket and took a bite before continuing, "He's already dead."