So familiar...

Reinvigoration was the first thing Gu Yue felt as she opened her irises. The first thing greeting her was darkness. Darkness, except for the small candle beside her kept her warm and lit up the small corner she was occupying.

Her body felt amazing now. The aching and burning feeling that was once torturing her legs was now gone. Her Soul Power and stamina also felt like the best they've ever been since Gu Yue arrived at the backrooms, ensuring that she was now back to full power.

Gu Yue barely managed to stop a cruel smile from emerging on her face.

Those smiling dickheads better be prepared for the fight of their lives. Because the Silver Dragon King is going to massacre their entire species. And unlike her other half, she held no thoughts of giving mercy to those monsters that came so close to taking her life.

She was going to see how much they liked it when she forces them to run away with broken legs and exhausted to all hell. Then, after catching up, she would rip those legs off and-

Gu Yue cut herself off at that point. Forcing herself to throw those sadistic thoughts of genocide to the back of her mind, Gu Yue went back to observing her surroundings.

Next to the candle, there was a bottle (Almond Water most likely), and...

"Pie...?" Gu Yue silently muttered to herself in confusion, staring at the regular-looking pie with strawberries on top. Long Bing said that food aside from rations was extremely rare in the backrooms. So how did a whole slice of pie wrapped in plastic manage to get here?

"I managed to steal it from those Partygoers while you had your beauty sleep."

A voice spoke up from behind, instantly making Gu Yue turn around in alarm. It didn't take her long to realize it was the man who brought her here, but that didn't calm her down in the least.

She couldn't calm down. Tang Wulin wasn't here to make her feel safe enough to lower her guard.

"Relax..." The stranger said with baggy eyes, his back lying to the wall, shoulders slumped. It was quite obvious he stayed awake while Gu Yue was asleep. "With the massive cultivation difference between us, it would be a miracle if I could even land a scratch on you."

Gu Yue didn't respond to him, instead continuing to do her favorite tactic to every person she met. Stay far away and glare at them.

"Really...?" He said after noticing her fierce stare, a low chuckle escaping his mouth seconds later. "You're reminding me of my wife when we were young." He continued with a dreamy expression, still completely failing in getting a response from Gu Yue.

She didn't what his plan was, but it was obvious he was trying to get her to relax her guard. But there was no way she was doing that.

"Although you seem to be just a little more stubborn..." His tired, black eyes looked right at Gu Yue's glaring purple ones, speaking softly with a smile that oddly resembled Tang Wulin's.

"Come on... I promise that's okay to eat. Not to mention you're probably going to need the extra energy for later." He said reassuringly, lazily pointing his finger at the pie and Almond Water next to her.

Gu Yue turned her attention to the food for all but one second before instantly turning back to the man.

"Your promises mean nothing to me-" His earlier words suddenly rang through her head, and she glared at him harder. "-And even if it did, which it doesn't, how am I supposed to believe something that came from those entities are safe to consume?"

"The pie and water came from another survivor that I, unfortunately, wasn't quick enough to save. I just managed to grab his bag before the Partygoers could. It contained two sets of pies and bottles, one set resting in my stomach." He explained, face becoming more somber as he talked about another worthless human he couldn't save.

"But I left that set for you." He continued on, motioning once more to the food at Gu Yue's side. "So just trust me this one time and help yourself, okay kid?"

Gu Yue just stared at him in utter silence, her hand slowly reaching the bottle of Almond Water. She grabbed it, opening the cap and bringing it to her face. However, instead of gulping down its contents, Gu Yue threw her nose in the bottle, smelling carefully for any signs of poison in this water.

Completely ignoring the stranger's sigh, Gu Yue drew the bottle away from her face, not having smelt anything wrong with the water. But still. She turned to the pie next, grabbing it and ripping the plastic open.

The delicious smell of the pie was enticing, but Gu Yue wasn't about to put her mouth one more inch closer to the food until she was sure it was safe. Trusting her smell to search for any clues of poisoning, Gu Yue was surprised to see there was no sign of any temperament with the food.

It literally just looked and smelt like regular edible food. And Gu Yue didn't like that.

"Why...?" Gu Yue slowly asked the man across her, eyes conflicted. When all she got was a confused hum in response, she continued. "Why would you give this to me? Aren't these supposed to be really rare?"

"I'm giving it to you because you need to have something on your stomach. Is that really a question that needs to be asked?" He responded with confusion, further putting Gu Yue into even more conflict.

"Because it doesn't make sense... You're supposed to be selfish, rude, disrespectful, and Godamn murderers. Not this. If you- no, if all of you just acted like that, my mission would be so much easier..." Gu Yue's low, but audible rambling brought more confusion, and now some worry in the stranger's eyes.

Next, Gu Yue saw him stand up from his position, slowly walking toward her. Her eyes immediately widened, all seven elements forming around her body.

Even without her saying anything, the man took the hint pretty quickly, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Look, I don't know why you're even thinking that. But it's something that's just plain wrong. No one is 'supposed' to 'be' like the things you said. And if they do, then I refuse to acknowledge them as humans." He finished his words, another smile etching on his face.

Why the hell did it look sort of familiar?

"I'm of the opinion that, since we were given life, we should also give back to as many people as we can."

Why the hell does that sound like something Tang Wulin would say?

Better question. Why the hell are there nice humans in the first place...? Gu Yue's head just couldn't comprehend it. Where were these guys when her people were getting slaughtered left and right?

The man started to walk toward her again, his steps growing more confident and quicker as he realized Gu Yue wasn't threatening to blast him anymore. Walking until he was right in front of her, he bent down, reaching for the food next to Gu Yue.

"So just sit down-" He said, catching Gu Yue trying to get up. "-forget about all your worries for just one minute-" Grabbing her shoulders to sit her back down, he told her to relax. "-and just eat." He finished, grabbing the pie from the already broken plastic and bringing it up to Gu Yue's mouth.

"Can you do that for me, kid?" The man asked with a small smile, getting Gu Yue's embarrassment to flare up, temporarily forgetting about his earlier words.

Her hand moved, quickly snatching away the pie from his hands. She wasn't about to be spoonfed like a baby, especially from someone who wasn't even Tang Wulin. Who does this guy think he is anyway? Her father?

"I'm 18. Not a kid." Gu Yue simply replied before taking the smallest of bites of the pie. After finally realizing the food wasn't going to murder her alive, she took another, much bigger bite.

It tasted so frustratingly good.

"18 is even younger than my son. You're still a kid to me." The black-haired man spoke with a smile and a chuckle, seemingly satisfied. He raised his hand and tried to pat Gu Yue on the head, but she easily moved her head to the side, taking another bite in the process.

None of that.

However, he didn't seem that bothered, the smile never wavering from his face. Maybe she should try punching that smile off his face...

"So, Ms. big, tough girl, may I have the pleasure of knowing the name you go by?" He asked in a mock-polite tone, lightheartedly teasing Gu Yue. The only thing it succeeded in was getting her eyebrow to twitch in annoyance.

It felt so familiar, almost like someone else acted like this to her.

"Gu Yue." Was her only response before taking another massive bite of the pie, finishing up the whole slice. Without another moment, she reached for the bottle of Almond Water, opening the cap and drinking the contents this time, instead of just smelling it like a caveman.

"Well then, Gu Yue. My name is Tang Ziran. Pleasure to meet you."

A.N: If you know it, you know it. ;)