Chapter 391: The Girl in the Dream Walks into Reality
In the pitch-black night, the dawn is the darkest moment of the day, a time when most people enjoy their dreams.
However, in a dark alley, a silhouette cautiously felt its way along the wall.
From time to time, her toes would kick a pebble or trip over something, producing a sound that disrupted the silence of the night.
The girl struggling to walk through the night was named Qiu Ruxin. Logically, she should be lying in her bed, having a pleasant dream at this hour, but that was merely a memory from some time ago.
That did not belong to the present her.
She had to remain on high alert, lest those who wished her harm discover her presence.
Even at this moment, she didn’t dare to act frivolously; the world had already changed, and society was gradually collapsing. Night remained the time when criminals thrived.
She needed to find a place to stay, one that would accept her, regardless of how dilapidated or simple it might be.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have much money, so staying in a hotel was out of the question. She could only risk her luck by searching for a refuge here, too afraid to wait until daylight to do so, because things might be even messier during the day.
Under the cover of darkness, Qiu Ruxin arrived at an abandoned factory. Theoretically, this should have been an ideal place to stay, but upon seeing it clearly, she hesitated.
It wasn’t because the place was eerie, dark, or terrifying; it was that this world was a hundred times more terrifying than any ghost!
Such an obvious abandoned factory had probably already been claimed by someone. If she recklessly entered, it would be like a sheep walking into a tiger’s den, a trip to the slaughterhouse.
Having confirmed this, she intended to leave, but just as she was about to turn away, a loud metallic creak echoed as a heavy iron gate began to slowly move…
No, it wasn’t moving… it was collapsing!
By the time Qiu Ruxin reacted, the heavy gate was already falling towards her.
“Ugh…”
The sudden weight of the iron gate knocked Qiu Ruxin down, and she let out a small groan.
Unlike most girls who would scream or immediately call for help, she knew that such actions would only hasten her demise or leave her in a worse situation.
Even so, the heavy gate crashing down created a loud noise that shattered the night’s silence.
“Not good… should have known…”
Qiu Ruxin couldn’t help but curse inwardly as she used her fragile arms to push against the gate crushing her. Without bothering to check for pain, she turned and ran; the pitch-black night was the best shelter for her at that moment.
Immediately, she heard a commotion within the abandoned factory, confirming her earlier guess: there were indeed people inside.
But it was clear they had no intention of letting her go, with hurried footsteps and curses echoing behind her. She quickly turned down several consecutive alleyways, trying to shake off those thugs. They had no idea she was a girl, at most thinking they were chasing after some reckless boy who had damaged their door, so as long as she created some distance, she could escape.
Just as she thought she found a quiet corner to rest, a figure suddenly sprang up behind her and grabbed her neck.
“Hey… a little girl is bringing herself into my bed!”
“Ugh! Ugh…”
Qiu Ruxin was suddenly choked, and the other hand covered her mouth, making her realize she had relaxed too soon!
Who would have thought there would be a beggar sleeping on the ground here?
In this urgent moment, driven by the instinct to survive, she fought desperately against the hand that was choking her, buying herself some time to avoid suffocation. She stomped her feet hard against the ground, producing several sharp sounds until the fourth stomp didn’t make a sound; instead, the beggar screamed in pain.
Her hard heel had landed on his toe; that force must have crushed it.
Even the arm that was choking her loosened slightly.
Taking that opportunity, she bit down hard on the hand that covered her mouth, bl**d oozing from between her teeth, showing how merciless her strength was.
The faint taste of rust filled her mouth, but she couldn’t care about that now; she had to escape quickly!
The beggar’s painful yelp might have attracted her previous pursuers, and what awaited her then would not be just one or two thugs, certainly not comparable to this beggar.
But just as she made her escape, a whistling sound cut through the air, racing toward her.
Even without thinking, she knew it was something being thrown. The next moment, before she could turn and dodge, her back erupted in excruciating pain as a solid metal rod struck her fiercely. Fortunately, it wasn’t the head of the rod that hit her; otherwise, it might have pierced her body and caused severe injury.
“You little b*stard… still daring to bite me! Let’s see if I won’t…” The beggar cursed as he hobbled after her.
With the impact, Qiu Ruxin felt her entire body grow weak, the ongoing pain stimulating her consciousness, making her body increasingly unresponsive. With a loud metallic clang, the metal rod fell by her feet. Sitting on the ground, Qiu Ruxin quickly grabbed the rod and stood up, prepared to confront him.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Qiu Ruxin purposely lowered her voice, laced with a hoarse tone and a hint of madness, as if she were a rabid dog.
But the beggar wouldn’t back down; throwing that stick just now had been instinctive behavior. Even facing a little girl, he bent down to pick up a brick without a hint of fear.
At this moment, it became clear to her that she had misjudged the situation; she hadn’t expected that the other side would be even crazier.
However, the sudden noise from a crowd nearby tightened the tension in Qiu Ruxin and the beggar.
“d*mn it… what bad luck!”
Although this beggar was insane, he wasn’t stupid; facing those still roaming outside, he certainly did not see them as friendly, so he took off running without looking back.
“Hey! Brothers, I really found her here!”
As the malicious voices approached, the footfalls in the dark steadily grew more oppressive. The sheer number of people made Qiu Ruxin realize that her night would likely not end well. At this moment, the iron rod in her hands gave her a false sense of security.
“Wow~ what a pleasant surprise, and it’s a girl!”
“Time to feast, brothers!”
A group of several men grinned wickedly, coming closer with malicious laughter, completely disregarding the iron rod in her hand.
After all, these guys had been chasing the one who had busted down their door, armed with whatever weapons they could find—iron rods, steel bars, and the like. They certainly wouldn’t be afraid of a little girl standing in their way!
“Don’t come any closer… if you take another step, I won’t hesitate to take one of you down.” The girl threatened.
However, the gang members didn’t believe her at all, continuing to advance until they forced Qiu Ruxin into a corner.
Suddenly, she swung the iron rod at the man in front of her, aiming for a direct hit.
He hadn’t expected the girl to be so decisive and fierce; at this distance, he couldn’t even react in time. He instinctively stretched out his hand to block but took a solid blow, regrettably landing on his arm instead. Had it struck his carotid artery or neck directly, it was questionable whether he would even remain standing.
With a cracking sound of breaking bone followed by a scream, the group was caught off guard.
“Ah! My hand… You! You’re a enhancer!” The thug whose forearm had been broken looked at her with a glimmer of fear, but the next moment, anger took over.
“k*ll her! She’s not even a proper enhancer, how dare you break my arm!”
Initially hesitant, the two men on either side of him had their resolve shaken upon hearing she was an enhancer, but after learning she wasn’t an elite one, they regained their courage, fearlessly shouting about her weakness in that instant.
At this moment, Qiu Ruxin’s heart sank; she realized she had no choices left. As for the claim that she was an enhancer, she didn’t deny it—she indeed used enhancing elixirs and similar things. However, as the others had said, she was not an elite enhancer. Coupled with being a girl, she couldn’t possibly contend against so many men.
If it were just that beggar from earlier, she might have felt she had a fighting chance. But now… she had no options left.
Faced with their taunts, humiliations, and taunts, a sliver of despair began to take root deep in her heart, mingled with a flicker of fear and helplessness in her angry eyes.
At that moment, she wished someone would come to her aid, but there was no one; even if there were, they would likely have ill intentions too.
As the group approached aggressively, Qiu Ruxin fought with all her might, but even with her strength slightly above that of an average person, she couldn’t compete against several thugs. Within moments, she was subdued.
“Stop! Let me handle this!”
The thug who had his forearm broken howled as he stood up, anger surging uncontrollably within him! He wanted revenge!
“You useless fool! You have a broken hand and still shout?” Seeing him wanting to k*ll the girl, a nearby thug shot him a glare. They didn’t want this guy to ruin their chance at capturing this plaything.
“Do you know who I’m with?”
“I don’t care who you’re with. With a broken hand, you’re useless! And it’s your right hand. I warn you not to interfere; this girl is not for you.”
“You! Just wait…” Realizing the situation, the broken-arm thug’s face became grim as he fled.
They were thugs; with one hand broken, no one would look after him. They wouldn’t even waste the opportunity to take advantage. As for medical treatment, haha… that required too much money, far more than a thug could afford. He could only pray that when his bone healed, his hand wouldn’t be permanently damaged, and that his enemies wouldn’t find him.
But none of that mattered to Qiu Ruxin at present. She simply hoped they would turn on each other, but it was apparent that things were not going as she wished.
“Let go! Let go of me!” Even at this moment, Qiu Ruxin still struggled against them, facing this wretched life; perhaps d*ath would be a better conclusion.
Yet before that, she still held onto a survival instinct that even she couldn’t fully understand.
Slap——!
A crisp sound echoed through the night.
Instantly, Qiu Ruxin felt her head spinning from the force of the slap, demonstrating just how powerful it had been.
“Still struggling? You wanted to bite me, right? Here’s a slap to see if you’re still energetic!” The thug sneered.
However, Qiu Ruxin could no longer hear what he said; her vision swam, and her ears rang with a buzzing sound.
She was unwilling to accept defeat, but at that moment… unless a miracle occurred… but how could that be?
But in the next moment, within her blurred line of sight, she seemed to see a golden butterfly flutter by, transforming into twinkling starlight. Everything happened so fast that she thought she was hallucinating.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, she had almost resigned herself to her fate, but the anticipated humiliations from the thugs did not materialize.
Struggling to open her eyes, she saw a shimmering pattern appear on the ground, formed from a strange circle of brightness. This abnormality immediately caused the thugs to hesitate.
After all, faced with the unknown, everyone instinctively felt fear.
No one dared risk their lives to confront the unknown, especially in such a treacherous world.
As the magical-looking array burst into brilliant light, a hand suddenly reached out from within the formation, and then a silhouette slowly ascended from the ground.
Confronted with a reality that exceeded their understanding and their fear of unknown powers, they chose to… flee.
“Ghost… it’s a monster!”
“Run! It’s a monster!”
In this way, the group fled faster than the earlier guy who had a broken arm.
In truth, these thugs knew very well that even if the figure wasn’t a ghost or a monster, it was still someone they couldn’t provoke, a being of which they would evade at all costs!
At this moment, Qiu Ruxin stared in shock at the figure, equally startled by the commotion. Someone… had suddenly appeared before her!
Qiu Ruxin wouldn’t naively believe that this person should treat her kindly.
Faced with such uncertainty, her despair deepened.
Yet even as she faced impending d*ath, she wanted to know who this mysterious figure was.
Taking advantage of the light from the ritual still lingering, Qiu Ruxin looked at the figure before her. For some reason, she found it… somewhat familiar, especially with that long silver hair and this familiar silhouette…
When the person turned to face her, the familiar face and those memorable bl**d-red eyes confirmed it… it was her!
The person who appeared in her dreams!
The person from her dreams… had appeared in reality?!
Despite how much she wanted to deny it, the fact remained; as the spell ceremony dissipated, everything around them turned pitch black.
But the next moment, a source of light illuminated the corner.
Qiu Ruxin looked in surprise at the white-haired girl before her. A peculiar light had appeared at her fingertips, transitioning from blinding brightness to a comfortable glow.
Just as Qiu Ruxin was about to ask something, she suddenly recalled her earlier dream, realizing that the girl… didn’t seem to understand her language either…
However, the next moment, a sweet voice echoed in her mind.
“I mean no harm. You look hurt; are you okay?”
Qiu Ruxin’s eyes widened in disbelief. Was this… a form of communication of consciousness?!
In mere moments, the girl had already given her so much astonishment, allowing the anxious heart she had been holding to loosen.
That’s right; at that moment, the girl who seemed to be a hero appearing dramatically was indeed me!
As for why I appeared in such a critical situation… I couldn’t say for sure—perhaps it was due to fortune.
I adjusted the alchemical glasses I had previously set aside and turned to examine this familiar girl.
This could be counted as an offline meeting, right?
The girl before me truly was… in a pitiful state.
