When Julie saw the blood, she felt a familiar excitement she hadn't felt in a long time.
At the start of the apocalypse, when she first began killing people and zombies, she couldn't sleep for whole nights and had constant nightmares.
But after a week, she got used to it. She even started to enjoy the emotions and feelings that came with it.
It had been a long time since she killed anyone. Now, when she looked at Liu Hongjuan, it was like a predator eyeing its prey, ready to pounce and tear her apart at any moment.
Liu Hongjuan was truly scared this time. Her hands shaking, she pulled out a rough, simple pouch from inside her clothes, ready to take out some silver coins.
Before she could even take it out, Julie snatched the pouch away. Although this woman had only borrowed five taels of silver from the original owner, the clothes, food, and jewelry the original owner had bought were also tricked away by this woman.
Did she think all those things came from thin air?
Julie opened the pouch and took a quick look. Together, the broken silver and copper coins inside added up to not even two taels of silver.
Julie pressed on Liu Hongjuan's wounded thigh, watching the blood still gush out. Her face was cold as she said, "Do you think it's better to give me all the money now, or wait until your left thigh bleeds dry, and then I'll cut your right thigh, your wrists, your neck, and your ankles, until no blood can come out? You'll just rot into a stinking corpse and be thrown into the wild to feed the beasts. Which way sounds better to you?"
Such a small amount of money was a waste of her time.
Of course, Julie still took the money and put it into her sleeve. This was just the interest. The principal amount still had to be paid back.
How could it be right to not collect interest after being owed for so long?
Liu Hongjuan's face turned pale from the pain, and she burst into tears. "I gave you everything I have!"
Julie looked at her. "It's not enough."
Liu Hongjuan had lost too much blood by now. She looked weak and miserable. She wanted to argue or beg but didn't even have the strength.
Julie simply knocked her out with a sharp hand strike. Then she threw Liu Hongjuan over her shoulder.
She told the three brothers, "I'm going to her house to collect the rest of the debt. I'll be back soon." Without another word, she carried Liu Hongjuan away, leaving a trail of blood behind.
It was already night, and because Julie lived in a remote place, she took a shortcut to Liu Hongjuan's house.
Liu Hongjuan's house wasn't very big, but compared to Julie's old, broken, thatched hut, it was a big improvement.
Liu Hongjuan's three husbands turned dark-faced when they saw their wife injured so badly and being carried back by Julie — a woman who had a terrible reputation and no proper job.
This was the same woman who was always bothering their wife and ruining her reputation in the village.
One of the husbands, a young man around twenty with a handsome face and tears in his eyes, questioned Julie angrily, "Who did this? Which bastard did it? Say something! Are you mute?"
Another man, crying loudly, tried to grab Julie's hand to stop her from leaving. Their wife was so badly hurt, and they didn't know who had done it.
Since Julie was the one who brought her back, she couldn't just leave — she should at least pay the medical fee before going. After all, she and their wife were as close as sisters. Surely she wouldn't mind helping with the cost. That way, they could save some money.
Another man, also crying, wanted to run out to find a doctor and bring the village head to investigate who did this cruel thing.
None of them suspected Julie. After all, they didn't know that the soul inside her body had changed — she was no longer the person they used to know.
Julie wouldn't let the man run out.
She chopped at his neck with a sharp hand strike. One by one, the three men fell unconscious. Julie was careful with her strength. They would stay knocked out for several hours but wouldn't die.
She had just arrived in this world and wanted to live a good life here, grow old peacefully. She wasn't planning to start killing right away.
But if someone insisted on looking for death, she wouldn't mind granting their wish and destroying the evidence afterward.
Julie had stored a lot of powders during the apocalypse. One of the strongest kinds could make people forget everything that happened in the past six hours.
She had half a box of this powder. Just a tiny bit was enough to work.
She opened the mouths of the four unconscious people and forced the powder in, making sure they swallowed it by watching their throats move.
Only then did Julie start moving around inside the house.
She quickly searched every room, including the kitchen and storage room. In the end, she found fifteen taels of silver and a few hundred copper coins, which she stored in her space.
Now, she thought, the debt owed to the original owner was fully repaid.
But since Liu Hongjuan came to her house today, acting all strange and trying to stir up trouble, that was her own fault.
Julie was never someone to suffer losses. During the apocalypse, she always robbed others — no one dared bully her.
In any world, only the strong survive. She wasn't picky about food — she would eat anything except feces. But one thing she would never do was suffer a loss.
She looked around the house again but didn't find anything else she liked.
Finally, in the kitchen, she found twenty pounds of broken rice, five pounds of old flour, twenty pounds of corn husk, about a dozen eggs, two handfuls of rapeseed greens, and a half-pound piece of pork belly.
Satisfied, she packed everything into a basket. She carried the food on her shoulder, planning to bring it back so the men at home could cook it for her.
During the apocalypse, she often ate whatever she could find. As long as it filled her stomach, she wasn't picky. But if the food tasted good, she would eat even more.
When she walked into the yard, she saw they had loofahs and green onions growing. She picked all the ripe ones and put them into her space.
She told herself she was helping them — they wouldn't be able to eat it all anyway. No need to waste it.
Then she saw they had two chickens. Julie was merciful enough to leave the rooster behind, so it could help make more eggs.
If she took them all, there would be nothing left next time.
She twisted the hen's neck and ended its life quickly.
It would make a great chicken soup.
Holding her "battle trophies," Julie walked away, satisfied.
Before she left, she kindly applied medicine to Liu Hongjuan's thigh wound. She wouldn't die.
Julie planned to "borrow" more supplies from their home later when she needed to.
As she neared her own house, she saw Bailee standing at the door, looking around anxiously. His face showed real worry. Was he worried about her?
Julie smiled playfully.
She knew that among the three brothers, Haven wanted to poison her, Lorrie hated her enough to throw rocks at her head, but only Bailee hadn't shown any killing intent yet. She wasn't sure if he was just hiding it very well or was actually a simple, kind person.
Julie handed the basket of vegetables and the dead chicken to Bailee. "Cook. I'm hungry."
Then she carried the food she had gathered into the kitchen, thinking to herself that men were really weak.
Haven and Lorrie both stared blankly at the food Julie carried. Where did all this come from?
Bailee, however, quickly calmed down and carried the basket of vegetables and chicken into the kitchen.