Fleeing the Female Lead

Xie Yi hadn't expected her to move so fast; she froze for a second before swinging her baton at someone.

These neighborhood residents weren't much of a threat, honestly—just ordinary folk. But most were strong adults, and their numbers gave them an edge. The fight kept swinging back and forth.

When they saw Song Weishi kill, they didn't panic. Instead, they quickly organized a counterattack.

Song Weishi had no real technique—her kills were mostly surprise. In the blink of an eye, the group of over a dozen was down to seven or eight, most taken down by Xie Yi. But Xie Yi only left them gravely injured, not dead.

Song Weishi was different. When she struck, it was death—no injury, only death.

She took a few hits herself, and now her arms were too sore to lift, aching badly.

In the chaos, she lured several of them to the other side of the supermarket. The footsteps behind her were messy, and in the dark, all she could hear was her own ragged breathing, while from Xie Yi's direction came a constant stream of screams.

It hit her: this was the chance. Maybe now was the perfect time to slip away?

Before leaving, she had stuffed a lot of supplies into Xie Yi's basket, and she was already wearing all the warm clothes she had.

Everything was set. If she didn't leave now, it would only be harder to bring up splitting up later.

Xie Yi's protagonist halo was seriously crowding out Song Weishi's survival space. Following her could bring plenty of opportunities, but it also meant dying fast.

The hits she'd taken were already unbearable—her shoulder stung. If her arm could still move, she'd have thought it was broken.

In this weather, an injury like that was deadly. Song Weishi didn't want to die yet—at least not now that she'd just made things right with the System. She wanted to survive in this world a little longer.

After running through all the information in her head, she quickened her pace. There was still a sliver of daylight outside; she'd definitely find a place to rest nearby.

She knew the way in from when they'd entered the supermarket. The employee exit led to the seafood section. To make a quick escape, she switched on her flashlight.

The frozen display case glowed white through the frosted glass, the seafood inside looking good. Song Weishi strode over, lifted the whole ice-covered counter into her space, then pulled it back out to block the employee exit. She dashed for the front.

As she passed, she swept the shelves clean, like a plague of locusts.

With the experience she'd just gained, she decided to keep a heavy object in the still-empty part of her space. That way, if she got into a fight, she could just drop it on someone—flatten them without lifting a finger.

She slipped all the way to the supermarket entrance. The screams still echoed behind her. Once she confirmed Xie Yi was fine, she headed downstairs.

She silently apologized, but her feet moved even faster.

The sky outside was gray, already dusk.

Song Weishi scanned the surrounding buildings and locked onto a distant office tower. It was big, looked like a government office, but the floors were low, mostly buried under the snow.

She slid quickly and, by the time darkness fell, felt her way into the building.

She broke a window to get in, her boots crunching on the floor. She crept around, observing. Most of the doors were locked, and with the power out, the automatic doors wouldn't open. She took the fire stairs and went down to find the main government service hall.

Some counters had “Temporarily Closed” signs. This kind of building usually had no underground parking, so Song Weishi found a spot to settle down.

At night, these service halls usually only had security guards patrolling, no one working late. The day's business was done, and anything unresolved could wait till tomorrow. This deserted office was perfect for her.

In the conference room, there was a large round table. She used a fire axe to chop up the nearby chairs, then placed a mattress against the wall and started a fire.

By the time she was done, it was already eight. Song Weishi sat by the fire, eating instant noodles. She'd picked up plenty of cleaning supplies at the supermarket, so she could even wash the pot afterward.

After eating, she lay down on the bed and opened the Daily Shop, but it was still blank.

Just then, the System spoke up: "Host, I thought you couldn't afford the beginner's perk. After you buy it, the shop takes ten days to refresh."

Song Weishi nodded: "Alright, that makes sense. Such items are hard to come by."

She opened her cart to see what was on offer today.

The supermarket had been thoughtful with the labels. Usually, the top of the cart was empty, but today there was a description: FRESH.

Today's refresh:

[Premium] 8424 Watermelon 5kg ×1

Red Beauty Strawberries 3kg ×1

[Premium] Cherries 10kg ×1

Song Weishi felt faint with joy. What was this—a reward for escaping the female lead?

No-wash cherries—she started gobbling them down. Eating fruit by the fire felt so good.

Frozen fruit was fine, but fresh fruit was truly satisfying.

The System could now chat with her occasionally, though it spent most of its time dormant.

"If I stay away from the female lead, will things get easier?"

The System popped up a kaomoji: °ω°

"Theoretically, yes. She's a lone-wolf type. Staying away from her means staying away from danger."

Song Weishi lay on her side. Whether it was psychological or not, she did feel a lot better: "So the farther, the better? Let's get moving tomorrow. I wonder if she'll stop somewhere."

The System said: "Probably not. Her pace is twice yours, so you don't have to worry."

With that, the System, being considerate, popped up today's Points.

Counting all the kills, it was 550 Energy Points total. A bumper harvest.

Song Weishi suddenly felt the pain from those hits fade. She had gotten out with only close calls—a clean escape.

While the two of them were happily counting Points, the fight in the supermarket also ended.

Xie Yi carefully checked each person to make sure there were no survivors, then staggered around the store calling Song Weishi's name.

During the fight, she hadn't heard anything from Song Weishi's side. Song Weishi wasn't much of a fighter; before, she had always hidden to avoid slowing Xie Yi down, then came out after the fighting was over. She thought today would be no different.

Xie Yi tied her long hair into a bun and called Song Weishi's name again and again. But, strangely, no one answered.

It was terrifyingly quiet. Xie Yi's indifferent gaze flickered, and she felt a knot of tension in her chest.

She quickly flipped over each person on the ground—none of them was Song Weishi.

Xie Yi moved quickly, searching the entire place, but there was no sign of her. It dawned on her that the girl had simply vanished.