She crossed the slums and headed for the commercial district, just a wall away.

Then the guards at the entrance searched her.

Fortunately, Zhuohua's clothes fit close to her body, so the guards only gave her a cursory look before letting her pass. As she left, they warned her:

“Don't cause any trouble unless you never want to come back to the commercial district.”

Once she entered the commercial district, its prosperity—a world apart from the slums—made her eyes light up.

Smooth roads, tall, elegant streetlamps, neatly trimmed flowers along the roadside, and tempting little treats in shop windows.

It looked almost exactly like the world she'd known in her previous life. If anything, it was even cleaner.

Zhuohua looked this way and that, wanting to buy everything she saw. The only problem was that her pockets were empty. She couldn't afford a thing.

As she walked, her face drew people's attention.

After all, peace had lasted for sixty years. The people here were used to ordinary, peaceful things, so seeing Zhuohua's face only filled them with fear and disgust.

She kept walking, searching for help-wanted signs. Unfortunately, whenever people in the shops saw her face, they immediately kept their distance and said they needed “employees with work experience.”

Zhuohua felt a little discouraged, but she had no choice but to keep looking. The more she searched, the more she was rejected. One luxury boutique wouldn't even let her through the door; they simply shouted at her to get out.

“No ugly people in our store!”

“You've got a face like that and you still dare to come looking for a job? That's hilarious.”

“Don't be like that. She looks so miserable—like a dog.”

Zhuohua's anger drained away. It was embarrassing to admit, but their words had really gotten to her. She could only leave in humiliation.

The octopus cat had stayed quietly perched on her shoulder, and it followed Zhuohua out of the commercial district.

But when it heard the people in that shop whispering, it looked back at them.

As soon as Zhuohua got back to the basement, she collapsed onto the sofa. She'd already cleaned the grime off the floor, but she still didn't have the money to install a door.

Still, Zhuohua wasn't worried. No one came to the basement. Even the street punks knew that anyone living in a basement in a place like this was dirt poor.

Even so, Zhuohua unplugged the fridge and pushed it in front of the entrance, just in case she ran into another monster.

There was no food in the fridge, so leaving it plugged in would've been pointless anyway. After a whole exhausting day, her stomach kept rumbling.

The octopus cat curled up in Zhuohua's arms, its little head resting on her hollow stomach.

“Maomao, I'm so hungry. And I'm so tired... and a little upset, too. Just a little.”

Zhuohua hugged the little cat tighter and poured out her sadness.

She'd been hit and killed by a truck on her way home from work, then sent to a dangerous world full of threats. At night, gunshots rang out as people went on looting sprees. She'd been disfigured, left penniless, beaten up, and nearly eaten by a monster.

So much had happened in just two short days. Zhuohua seemed carefree, but she'd been on edge the whole time, desperately using jokes to hide her panic.

Maybe the soft, warm cat helped her relax. Maybe the hunger in her stomach was the last straw.

Zhuohua buried her face in Maomao's soft little chest, and the tears began to spill without end.

“Wuu... Maomao, I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten anything since this morning, and yesterday I only had a few slices of bread.

“And I got beaten up... Those people insulted me, too, and then there was that monster that wanted to eat me.

“Maomao, I just want to stay alive. Why is it so hard? Why is just living so exhausting?

“I wasn't happy in my previous life, and I'm not happy now, either.

“Whenever I start to feel a little happy, someone suddenly slaps me in the face, then blames me for it and dumps all the responsibility on me... even though I didn't do anything.

“Even if I'm just a mouse, I still want to have cake once in a while.

“All I want is to live a good life, eat something delicious every day, and be happy every day. That's all.”

When you're sad, you might be able to hold it in until it passes. But once you start crying, the tears won't stop.

The little cat's fur was soaked through, but Zhuohua couldn't control herself at all. It was as if her tear ducts had broken; the tears just kept flowing.

Maomao stuck out its little tongue and licked Zhuohua's hair over and over. At the same time, its pitch-black tentacles gently patted her back.

It was like a wife comforting her partner after a hard day—or a pet owner soothing a cat that had been mistreated.

Only when dusk fell and gloom and scattered red lights covered the world, with the immense Blood Tengu looming over the Earth, did Zhuohua's sobs finally quiet. Drowsy and dazed, she drifted off to sleep.

Maomao gave Zhuohua's face one last lick, then slipped out of her arms and jumped to the window.

Its body narrowed like water, and it slipped effortlessly through the tiny, prison-like iron window before making a light leap.

The instant it hit the ground, it turned into a shadow.

The commercial district was even livelier now than it had been during the day.

For the residents of Base 17, the night's just getting started.

The sweet smell from the bakery wafted out, drawing passersby in by the nose.

Beautiful clothes filled the shop windows. Women stopped to admire them now and then, only to leave disappointed by the steep prices.

At the luxury boutique Zhuohua had visited during the day, three salespeople were busy trying to sell designer handbags.

Most people who'd lived through the war didn't want to stockpile useless things. But the younger generation, who'd never seen its brutality, had grown quite interested in words like “affordable luxury” and “high society.”

Besides, luxury goods came with huge profit margins. Selling even one or two items now and then was enough to cover the whole store's expenses.

“Take a look at this piece of jewelry. It's delicate and elegant, and it'll complement your complexion beautifully.” One salesperson was giving it her all. If she sold this one, she'd earn her bonus for the month.

“This necklace doesn't look all that pretty,” the customer said hesitantly. “It's much too plain.”

“Isn't plain just what you need to bring out your beauty?” the salesperson said with a smile. “We saw this hideous freak during the day. She even wanted to work here. If she wore this, she'd make the necklace look breathtaking.”

Even after saying that, the salesperson wasn't satisfied. She turned to the other employees who were free and called out, “Don't you agree?”

“Yeah, that woman was so ugly, I nearly threw up just looking at her. At least she had a decent figure,” one male salesperson laughed. “I wouldn't sleep with her even if she paid me.”

“Heehee, good manners are the bare minimum for working here. She really had no idea,” a young woman beside him giggled, scrolling on her phone.

“Exactly.” The salesperson burst out laughing. “That's hilarious! Hahahahahaha!”

“All right, I'll take this piece. Please wrap it up.” The customer didn't want to drag things out any longer. The woman's laughter made her uncomfortable, and she silently decided never to come back to this store.

But the female salesperson kept laughing.

The expression on her face turned terrified, but her throat kept forcing out syllables:

“Hahahahahahaha help hahahahahahahahahaha!”

The other two employees realized something was wrong and hurried over to check on her. The customer backed away in fear, then quickly left.

“Hahahaha ahahahaha!” The terror on the female salesperson's face grew, and her body began to spasm uncontrollably.

“Sister Zhao, what's wrong?!” The other two stared at each other, completely at a loss.

The young woman hurriedly pulled out her phone. “Quick, call a doctor!”

But the next second, the woman's body began to move against her will. She smashed the glass panel of the fire-safety cabinet beside her with her fist.

The force split her hand open, and her face twisted with pain, but her body kept laughing uncontrollably.

She watched helplessly as she took out the fire axe.

A few seconds later, a piercing scream rang out. Hysterical laughter and blazing flames began to run rampant through the commercial district.

In the distance, the octopus cat lay atop a utility pole, quietly watching the farce.