This Slap Is Just a Warning

Song Weishi instinctively raised her hand and whipped her leather shoe at the man—pure reflex. She couldn't care less if anyone saw her now.

The shoe connected with satisfying force, sending the man staggering, dazed. The others lunged but caught nothing but air as Song Weishi slammed the door shut.

A dull thud cut off the barrage of clubs and sticks outside.

The woman was still seated, leaning back in her chair, hands folded on her knees, watching her with a faint smile.

"See? You really can't get out."

Song Weishi slumped in defeat. The door behind her rattled under the pounding of fists and feet, but it was solid—nothing like the flimsy glass doors outside—and held firm against the repeated kicks and blows.

No wonder she'd chosen to hide here. Once Song Weishi got past her initial fright, she slowly began to relax.

The sky outside darkened quickly. The two of them sat in silence for a while, and before long, Song Weishi was shivering from the cold.

Without moving around, her thin jacket was nowhere near enough to keep her warm.

She regretted not just putting on the down jacket when she'd had the chance.

But she couldn't reveal herself now. Someone was sitting right across from her, and neither of them had spoken a word since they'd taken their seats.

The people outside still hadn't left. Song Weishi felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. At this rate, she'd freeze to death.

There was still a faint light in the room, enough for them to make out each other's outlines and movements in the dark.

The woman was wearing even less than she was. Wasn't she cold at all?

Song Weishi's teeth chattered uncontrollably. Every breath was an ordeal; the cold air stabbed into her lungs like knives, and her nose had long since gone numb.

The people outside weren't faring any better—they kept stomping their feet to stay warm.

Finally reaching her limit, Song Weishi steeled herself and got ready to bolt out the door.

The group outside seemed to be keeping close watch on the sounds from within. Taking advantage of the darkness, Song Weishi pulled out her dagger and carefully placed her hand on the door handle.

The moment the door cracked open, light from outside spilled in.

Song Weishi immediately saw the men scramble up from the floor. One of them was holding a burning stick, the flames bringing a flicker of warmth and illumination.

She was frozen stiff and desperate to run. But the instant she stepped out, they rushed her, clubs raining down like a hailstorm.

Song Weishi's movements were sluggish from the cold, yet she dodged most of the blows. Still, one landed, and she drove her dagger deep into a man's stomach.

A club nearly sent her to the ground. She staggered, gripping the doorframe to keep herself upright, when a series of footsteps and pained cries erupted behind her.

She turned to see the woman from the room kick two of the men flying. In one fluid move, she grabbed Song Weishi and yanked her back inside. The clubs that struck the woman's body didn't seem to bother her in the slightest—she didn't even blink.

Song Weishi stood there, stunned, having just escaped death by the skin of her teeth. This person had now saved her twice. She'd suspected the woman wasn't someone to mess with, but she'd thought that once she left the hotel, there wouldn't be any good people left.

"Thank you."

Song Weishi looked at her gratefully, even though she couldn't make out her face in the dark.

"If you're cold, you can pull a down jacket out of that space of yours—or wherever it is."

The woman's words came out of nowhere, and Song Weishi felt every hair on her body stand on end.

"What?"

"I saw you take things out down there, from up above."

Song Weishi: ...

She felt utterly exposed. Her scalp prickled. Her biggest secret had been discovered so easily, and the woman didn't even seem surprised.

A moment later, a charcoal brazier was burning in the room, and Song Weishi sat docilely across from the woman, warming her hands by the fire.

Xie Yi pulled off her black gloves and held her hands over the flames, quietly eating the large duck leg Song Weishi had handed her.

Song Weishi kept pulling things out of her space. After a long, exhausting day, she finally had a moment to rest properly. She chugged two sips of banana milk to calm her nerves and struck up a conversation with Xie Yi.

Xie Yi was a programmer. When the cold snap first hit, she'd still been upstairs working overtime. The company had great benefits—triple overtime pay, free late-night snacks, and taxi reimbursement—so almost no one was in a hurry to leave.

Long hours were just part of the job at a big tech firm. The cold wave came without warning. At first, everyone assumed it was just bizarre weather. It wasn't until the power went out that they realized something was seriously wrong.

Snow had already buried the roads outside, and the chance to head home was long gone. Xie Yi was in better shape than most people, having worked out regularly, and she was far more resistant to the cold than the average person.

Her fellow coders huddled together for warmth, burning office furniture. They might have held out waiting for rescue, but the people from the rooftop gym had gone mad, sweeping floor by floor through the building. Anyone who obeyed was conscripted into their ranks; anyone who resisted was thrown out the window—death by freezing, or death by the fall.

The people from her company hadn't been spared either. Xie Yi had slipped down to the front desk to search for supplies and found this solidly built room. That was how she'd escaped.

Even though her body was unusually resistant to the cold, going out in this weather could still kill her. With so many hostiles outside and no clear advantage, she'd holed up in here, biding her time until she had a winning move.

Song Weishi felt a chill run down her spine after hearing that. So it was the same everywhere. The people in the hotel had been despicable, and the ones elsewhere were just as bad.

What was wrong with this world? Decent people were scarce. The folks who usually looked so polished on the surface—when push came to shove, their cruelty just amplified without limit.

Xie Yi devoured the bread Song Weishi gave her. She must have been starving for a while. Though her table manners were proper, the speed was astonishing.

She only stopped after polishing off several slices of bread, two duck legs, and two bottles of water.

She was a formidable fighter. Xie Yi mentioned she'd had training in martial arts—there were all sorts of summer camps and military-style boot camps in this world, and she'd even gone abroad to train.

No wonder she'd carried Song Weishi so effortlessly. Song Weishi rubbed her arms, which were starting to ache as they warmed up, and believed every word she said.

Song Weishi got the sense that this woman posed no real threat. Even with her superior strength, she hadn't tried to take Song Weishi's space by force. And she didn't seem fazed by Song Weishi's peculiar abilities—as Xie Yi put it, after seeing snow in June, she'd believe almost anything, no matter how extraordinary.

Song Weishi twisted her fingers together, thinking. From what she'd seen today, her own fighting skills could only intimidate ordinary people. Against anyone truly dangerous, she was helpless. If she had someone like Xie Yi by her side as a safety net, she could protect herself until she grew stronger. That was absolutely necessary.

She didn't want to separate from the group anyway. But of course, whoever she brought along had to be trustworthy. She tested the waters. "So... how about you come with me? You're tough—you protect me, and I'll provide food and clothes. Deal?"

A light flickered in the woman's eyes, and her cool gaze warmed with a hint of a smile.

Song Weishi shrank back a little, then added a threat: "Of course, don't get any ideas about me. You saw what I can do. I can burn it all down with you if I have to."

Xie Yi nodded and rubbed her hands, which were flushed warm from the fire.

"Fine. Can I get an extra bread?"

"Deal."