Chapter 93: Golden Rank
Her silence stretched for a moment, heavy with meaning, before she finally spoke: "Is that so?"
The scream did not stop echoing, even as Shen Ming’s smooth words tried to dull its edge. Ling Yu had already begun walking before he could attempt to block her again, her feet carrying her toward the far eastern corner of the station. The old freight shed stood there, half-collapsed, its steel walls bent like the ribs of a carcass. The air smelled of rust and smoke, undercut by the sour stench of fear.
Shen Ming trailed behind her, his smile thin, voice lowered into an imitation of concern.
"Lady Ling... truly, there’s no need to involve yourself. It’s just one of those weaker mouths I mentioned earlier. Someone who couldn’t follow rules. Best to let them serve as an example."
Ling Yu’s eyes didn’t leave the shadows ahead. She had already triggered Appraisal the moment she entered this camp. Dozens of bronze skill books floated above heads, a few silvers here and there, some second-rate abilities that explained why Shen Ming’s men relied more on cruelty than talent. She catalogued them silently, eyes flicking over skill windows that flashed at the edge of her perception.
But then, at the center of the shed, her gaze froze.
A blinding golden light seared against the gloom, dazzling enough that she felt her heartbeat skip. Over one individual’s head hovered a Golden Skill Book, its shimmering aura impossible to mistake. Unlike those bronze or silver ones, this one was a world-class skill book.
The owner of the skill was the very one who had screamed.
A young man who had collapsed on the ground, his slender frame trembling beneath the weight of three thugs. His beauty was so striking that Ling Yu understood instantly why they had cornered him. Delicate, almost divine features framed by disheveled black hair; skin pale as porcelain, that was now smudged with blood. His eyes were wide, golden-brown like molten amber, and shone with a desperate brilliance even through his tears. He looked more like a fallen celestial being than a survivor of an apocalypse.
[Skill ’Appraisal has been activated.]
[Scanning the surrounding...]
[Skill has found a special potential!]
[Appraisal: Skillbook — Golden Rank]
[Hunter Rank: S-class (Natural)]
[Primary Skill: Healing / High-Grade Potion Crafting]
[System Note: Detected dual-specialization — rare! Synergy: World-Class.]
Ling Yu’s breath caught. Healing and potion-making together. In her last life, she had heard rumors of such individuals, or so-called miracle-workers, whose existence could turn tides in the apocalypse. They were hunted, exploited, and coveted by man. Though she had never seen one with her own eyes.
And now, here he was.
He was being pinned down under those three thugs’ feet, his nose bleeding and streaming down on the ground, his shirt ripped open as those men jeered.
"Hold him down, he’s too pretty to waste!" one thug snarled, gripping his arms.
"Master Ming will forgive us if we share a bit, right?" another laughed, already tugging at his belt as his boot pressed into the boy’s ribs.
The guy’s cry tore out again, raw and panicked:
"DON’T— don’t touch me! Get away!"
Ling Yu’s fingers curled into fists at her sides.
Fluffy let out an ear-piercing screech from her shoulder, wings flaring wide. Its golden eyes glowed faintly, and it hissed at the men below like a little beast ready to leap.
[Fluffy is enraged.]
[Fluffy demands immediate retaliation!]
[Warning!]
[If you do not intervene, the Witnessed Survivor’s mental state may collapse.]
She was already moving before Shen Ming could speak again.
Her boots hit the concrete floor of the shed with a resounding crack. Her shadow loomed across the thugs, who barely had time to turn before her fist slammed into the first one’s jaw.
CRACK!
Teeth flew. The man spun mid-air before collapsing against the wall, blood spraying from his mouth.
The second thug released the young man in shock, reaching for the jagged blade at his hip, only to find Ling Yu’s hand gripping his wrist. She twisted once, sharply. The sound of bones snapping echoed in the shed. His scream barely started before her knee drove into his stomach, folding him in half.
The third thug staggered back, eyes wide. "Wh-what the hell—"
Ling Yu didn’t let him finish. She pivoted, her palm striking upward. His head snapped back violently as his body lifted off the ground, crashing against a pile of crates with a hollow thud.
The silence that followed was deafening. Only the ragged breaths of the boy on the ground and the faint drip of blood from broken noses filled the air.
Ling Yu stood over the fallen thugs, her chest rising calmly, her gaze as cold as steel.
The young man, still trembling, looked up at her through his tears. Those golden-brown eyes widened, flickering with disbelief, as if he had just seen a deity descend.
Fluffy hopped down from her shoulder, puffed up like a warrior chick, and planted itself between the boy and the unconscious thugs. It chirped fiercely, glaring at the men as though daring them to rise again.
[Fluffy is protecting the Survivor.]
[Fluffy believes it has scared them into submission.]
Ling Yu almost smiled cruelly despite herself. "Good job."
Shen Ming finally appeared at the entrance of the shed, his footsteps unhurried. His expression was carefully schooled, but his narrowed eyes betrayed his irritation.
"Well, well..." he drawled, clapping his hands once. "Lady Ling, such decisiveness. I didn’t think you’d dirty your hands for a stranger." His gaze flicked briefly to the boy still huddled on the ground, then back to her.
Ling Yu didn’t answer him. Instead, she crouched beside the young man, gently touching his shoulder. "Can you stand?"
The boy flinched at her touch, still trembling violently. His shirt was torn, blood streaked his nose, and his lips were split, yet even in that state, his beauty glowed painfully bright. Slowly, shakily, he nodded.
"...I... I think so..." His voice was soft, melodic, carrying an androgynous tone that matched his ethereal appearance.