Volume 1, Chapter 22: It is because you are useless that I was taken away by someone else!

Lin Feng asked the women who added him or messaged him privately to send full-body selfies. Unfortunately, not a single one met his system's standards. Even more absurdly, two of them turned out to be men using female accounts. The most perverted one even sent a selfie, saying that if he didn't mind, he could bring his own lubricant. Lin Feng immediately blocked and muted that deviant. He felt fortunate that the guy hadn't sent any naked photos, as that would have been truly eye-searing.

After dinner, Li Bing felt both her body and mind had been cleansed. Having experienced the torture of starvation, she cherished the days when she could eat her fill and no longer wanted to leave this home. Lin Feng went to the balcony and found that Wang Tao had passed out. Only half a day had passed, yet the wounds on his body were already festering and oozing, emitting a foul, fishy stench. Some of the wounds had even sprouted mold. Before the apocalypse, it would have taken at least three days for wounds to deteriorate to this extent. Ever since the white mist erupted, not only had animals and plants mutated wildly, but even microbes and bacteria were evolving. If humans could not find a path to grow stronger, they would likely fall to the bottom of the food chain.

Zhang Xueqi approached cautiously, looking at Wang Tao, who hung on the balcony. His current appearance made her heart race with fear. "Is he about to die?"

"With wounds like these, without anti-inflammatories or sterilization, he's a dead man walking—and that's assuming anti-inflammatories even work anymore." Nowadays, even a small scratch could lead to a fatal infection. Zhang Xueqi fearfully hugged Lin Feng’s arm, as that was the only way she felt safe. It was only then that she realized that in just two days, she had developed a deep dependency on this demon.

Li Bing stood nearby, feeling conflicted. She watched her fiancé, who hung on the balcony like a dead fish, while she stood obediently behind his killer. Yet, it was Lin Feng who provided her with a sense of security and life-saving food. Li Bing bit her now-rosy lips, her eyes filled with resolve. *I am just a weak woman who wants to survive in the apocalypse. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being a failure! It’s all because you were useless that I was snatched away by someone else!*

During his intense activities in the living room earlier, Lin Feng had kept an eye on the balcony. He hadn't approached it all afternoon, fearing an attack from mutated animals. However, Wang Tao had been tied there for half a day, and nothing had been attracted to him.

Was it because they were too high up, out of reach for giant snakes and other mutated beasts? Wang Tao had screamed earlier, and people on the opposite floor had noticed. It was impossible that those mutated creatures hadn't heard, especially with the scent of blood in the air. Just as Lin Feng was about to leave, his peripheral vision caught a flash of strange, vibrant green.

He stopped abruptly, his gaze locked onto Wang Tao's ankles. A verdant vine was quietly coiling around them, like a viper flicking its tongue. The tip of the vine had pierced deep into Wang Tao's thigh, like a greedy straw, silently sucking away at something. Lin Feng frowned. He quickly put on his motorcycle gloves, grabbed the vine with both hands, and pulled with all his might.

*Rrrrip!* A sickening tearing sound echoed. A vine covered in crimson flesh was ripped straight out of Wang Tao's thigh. The previously plump thigh instantly collapsed, leaving only a layer of loose, sagging skin; the flesh and bone had long since been devoured.

Lin Feng’s pupils constricted, a chill running through him. He never expected this seemingly delicate plant to be so vicious. Holding his breath, he lowered his gaze, and the sight before him made his heart tighten. The entire wall was covered in dense, thick vines. He recognized them—they were ivy. On many parts of the wall, there were even green-white flowers blooming. It was like a massive green spiderweb, firmly occupying every inch of space. What was eerie was that this ivy had cleverly avoided the windows, as if it possessed a certain intelligence, silently waiting for prey to walk into its trap.

Even with Lin Feng’s [Destiny] ability, he hadn't detected the subtle movements of these vines. It was only when he focused his mind that he realized they were spreading upward at an incredibly slow pace, like lurking hunters closing in step by step. What shocked Lin Feng even more was that a large orange cat, the size of an adult tiger, was currently tightly wrapped in a mass of vines. Its eye sockets were already empty, and nothing remained but a layer of shriveled fur; it had clearly been completely consumed by the ivy. No wonder no mutated animals had approached Wang Tao while he was tied there—either they feared this ivy, or they had already become its meal.

Zhang Xueqi and Li Bing witnessed this scene, their faces turning deathly pale, their eyes filled with horror. They had never imagined that this seemingly ordinary ivy could be so deadly. In Lin Feng’s perception, these vines radiated intense hostility. Even though their life force seemed weak, he knew it was a carefully crafted camouflage. What made him even more vigilant was that there were faint signs of life inside Wang Tao.

Clearly, this wasn't because Wang Tao was "pregnant," but because the vines had left seeds inside his body. Lin Feng quickly took a bottle of mineral water from his super warehouse, unscrewed the cap, and didn't hesitate to splash it onto Wang Tao's face.

*Splash!* The icy water shocked Wang Tao awake. He weakly parted his cracked lips, his voice so raspy it was almost inaudible. "Water... I need water..."

"Does your right leg hurt?"

"Right leg?" Wang Tao’s gaze remained fixed on the mineral water, as if it were his only hope. "No... it doesn't hurt at all... Did you bandage it for me? Give me water... please... let me have a sip..."

Lin Feng’s expression darkened. Wang Tao didn't feel a thing in his right leg, which meant the ivy had a numbing effect. This organism was far more dangerous than he had imagined. He sneered, opened the small door of the security window, and threw the mineral water straight down.

"No! Let me have a sip!" Wang Tao’s voice was filled with sobs, his eyes brimming with despair.

Lin Feng remained unmoved. He took out a roll of duct tape and handed it to Li Bing. "Plug his mouth. He's too noisy."

"Alright, Brother Feng." Li Bing obediently took the tape and walked over to Wang Tao, her eyes cold as if she were looking at a stranger.

Wang Tao widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief. "Baby, what... what are you doing?"

Li Bing expressionlessly tore off a strip of tape and quickly sealed Wang Tao's mouth. To ensure it wouldn't come off, she added a few more layers before speaking indifferently, "Who told you to be such a failure? Do you have any idea how hard it is for a woman to survive in this apocalypse? I think you can understand me, right..."

*Understand my ass!* Wang Tao roared in his heart, his eyes filled with rage and resentment. He tried to struggle, only to find his body limp and weak; he didn't even have the strength to lift a hand.