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(Xyrean Province- Outskirts)

(Unnamed Private Road)

"Stay back or I\'ll shoot," Qin Lan coldly spoke as she raised up her handgun and pointed it straight at the farmer.

The man froze in place for a moment but inside his eyes one could see the embers of madness slowly flickering.

"Do you still not understand?" the farmer whispered in a soft tone as he held up his hands.

"We… are the blessed. Where do you think your gifts came from? It was God… the Almighty one who chose to give his flock… the strength…"

"The strength… to purge this world… the strength to spread his name far and wide… your gift… it is so… beautiful..."

The farmer\'s unkempt and scraggly beard swayed slightly from side to side as he continued to deliver his twisted sermon.

"I\'m sorry but we will have to refuse… we do not wish to meet this \'Father Han\' character," Qin Lan firmly replied.

A disappointed expression flashed across the farmer\'s face, but he simply turned around and walked away.

Qin Lan kept her finger on the trigger of the gun, but all the farmer did was pick up his fallen pitchfork and head back to the old building in the distance.

The entire encounter had been rather unsettling and the look in the farmer\'s eyes had sent a chill down Qin Lan\'s spine.

"What? What was that?" Liu Tao hesitantly asked as she nervously played with a strand of her hair.

"He\'s just some crazy person… let\'s just get out of here," Qin Lan responded with what she hoped was a confident smile to reassure the frightened teenagers.

She returned to the van and turned the key in the ignition port.

The van stuttered to life and Qin Lan placed her foot on the acceleration pedal.

The farmhouse slowly faded away in the distance, but Qin Lan could not shake the feeling that someone was still watching them.

She turned around and saw the farmer standing in front of the building. It was too far away to properly make out the expression on his face but…

Qin Lan could have sworn that he was smiling.

"Creepy bastard…" Qin Lan muttered quietly under her breath as she stepped harder on the pedal and the van rushed forward.

Xyrean Province was quite beautiful as it consisted of wide-open plains where thousands of crops had been planted.

Qin Lan saw vast golden fields of wheat, bright red tomatoes hanging lazily from vines and numerous herds of cattle.

The teenagers in the van had thrown the strange encounter to the back of their minds and were now chatting amongst themselves.

Part of Qin Lan wanted to join in, but she was still feeling a bit depressed over her brother\'s death and Eve\'s disappearance.

Eve…

Fuck… she was a mutant zombie the entire time…

The signs were there! Damn it!

Qin Lan could not help but feel a bit frustrated as her fingers curled up tightly into a fist.

If she had only been a bit more observant… maybe her brother would still be alive.

This was the second time.

In her first life she had failed to protect her brother from the monster who possessed him and now she had failed another brother.

Qin Lan\'s thoughts wandered to dark places as her eyebrows slowly furrowed.

She would have continued to wallow in self-hatred if not for the large animal that suddenly appeared from behind an overturned car.

"Look out!" Liu Yifei yelled as she pointed in a certain direction. Qin Lan followed her finger and a shocked expression flashed across her face.

Qin Lan slammed her foot on the brakes and narrowly avoided the large furry mass that would have hit the van.

"Stay in the van… I\'ll deal with that… thing…" Qin Lan growled as she gripped the two knives under her seat.

She opened the door and walked outside.

There was an enormous wolf-like monster staring at her hungrily with salvia flowing out of its open mouth.

It was over seven feet tall with a heavy muscular frame that more resembled that of a tiger than that of a typical canis lupus.

Its fur was a dark brown colour with patches of white splattered across its underbelly that gave it a rather mismatched appearance.

Rows upon rows of jagged teeth filled its enormous maw as the beast displayed its terrifying appearance in all its glory.

Qin Lan felt her blood begin to rush as she held one dagger in each palm and crouched down in a defensive stance.

A mutated animal… a rare occurrence so early in the apocalypse but this was an opportunity in disguise.

In the original Qin Lan\'s memories, the crystals extracted from mutated creatures whether they be zombies, plants or animals provided more energy.

Man, and beast stared at each other with neither daring to make the first move.

Qin Lan knew that she could have used her gun… but something in her was thirsting for a proper battle.

A dance of blades where only one would survive…

The victor… and the slain.

Grrr!

The wolf-like monster finally lost its patience and rushed at Qin Lan with powerful steps that made the ground tremble.

Qin Lan dove to the side just as the beast\'s paw swiped where her head had been just moments prior.

She could feel the cool breeze brush against her skin and felt the warm rays of sunlight bathe her body.

She had never felt so alive.

All the thoughts of her brother\'s death… all the pain that she felt when Eve ran away… they all disappeared…

Qin Lan felt the world slow down to a crawl.

This wasn\'t an ability but rather the decades of combat experience imprinted in her mind from some unknown source.

Her body moved automatically to avoid the teeth and claws of the wolf-like monster as she slid down on the ground and sliced open its soft underbelly.

Qin Lan rolled away ungracefully as the beast tried to stomp down on her slender body.

Dust and dirt stained her clothes but the bright glint in her eyes would leave anyone spellbound.

The monster hollered in pain as its blood and guts began to spill out from the open wound that Qin Lan had left in its belly.

The heavy metallic scent of blood filled the air and Qin Lan slowly approached the wounded animal.

She knew that now was the most dangerous moment.

There was nothing more deadly than a cornered beast.

A mouse will attack a lion if it knows that its life was about to end.

The beast whimpered in pain and stared at Qin Lan with hatred in its yellow eyes. Qin Lan raised up her dagger to deliver the finishing blow but suddenly jumped away.

A large earth spike jutted from the ground and penetrated the monster\'s throat.

Qin Lan scowled as she saw a woman confidentially walk towards her while being accompanied by a group of three men.

The three men wore simple outfits like unwashed white shirts and dirty pants while the woman was dressed in black robes.

"Do not be afraid… you are saved," the woman gently whispered as she clasped her hands together in prayer.

"My name is Sister Guan… and I am one of the blessed…"