After the Apocalypse, Four Dominant Men Want to Claim Me

Chapter 1: Awakening of Abilities  Ji Nuan curled up behind a shelf in an abandoned supermarket, biting the back of her hand to keep herself from crying out. The growls outside grew louder, and the stench of decay seeped through the cracks in the shelves. She counted the remaining supplies in her backpack: half a bottle of water, two packs of compressed biscuits, and—she felt her waist, where her gun was—only three bullets left. "Dammit..." she silently cursed. She had only gone out to find medicine, but had ended up in the middle of a migrating zombie horde. Now the sun was nearly setting, and she was trapped in this damned supermarket. A grayish-blue hand suddenly stretched over from the other side of the shelf. Ji Nuan quickly recoiled, her head hitting the wall. The pain made her vision go black, but she didn't dare make a sound. The hand scratched the air, its decayed fingers making a painful scraping sound. More footsteps. Not just one. Ji Nuan held her breath, her fingers trembling as they reached for the gun. Just then, the sound of something heavy hitting the ground came from the other side of the shelf, followed by the splashing of liquid. A dark figure swiftly leaped over the shelf and landed in front of her, his military boots silently stepping on the debris. "Don't make a sound," the man's deep voice was rough, like sandpaper rubbing against stone. Ji Nuan looked up, meeting a pair of eagle-like eyes. The man was dressed in a black tactical outfit, and the insignia on his shoulder indicated he was from a special operations unit of the military—"Black Hawk." She had heard of this unit, known for handling the most dangerous tasks and leaving no survivors. The zombies outside suddenly became agitated. The man furrowed his brows and covered Ji Nuan’s mouth with his hand, pressing her against the wall. His palm was rough and warm, carrying the scent of gunpowder and blood. Ji Nuan could feel the taut muscles of his body pressed against her back, his heartbeat racing as if about to burst from his chest. "Team leader Lu, the east side is cleared," a report came through his earpiece. The man—Lu Ting—responded briefly but kept his eyes fixed on Ji Nuan's neck. There was a fresh scratch there, blood slowly oozing out. "You’re injured," he said, his voice suddenly becoming dangerous. Ji Nuan realized then how eerily quiet the supermarket had become. Where were the zombies? She struggled to see outside but was firmly held in place by Lu Ting. "Don't move," his breath brushed against her ear. "My team will handle it." But Ji Nuan had already seen. Three zombie corpses lay nearby, each with a bullet hole in their heads. Further away, over a dozen fully armed soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield, their movements swift and efficient, decapitating zombies as if harvesting wheat. "Civilians shouldn’t be in this area," Lu Ting released her but blocked all possible escape routes with his body. "How have you survived this long?" Ji Nuan swallowed. What could she say? That she survived by stealing abandoned military supplies and hiding in drainage pipes for three months? That every time she ventured out for supplies, it felt like gambling with her life? "Just lucky," she finally said. Lu Ting narrowed his eyes. He reached out and touched the wound on her neck, Ji Nuan gasped— not from pain, but because his fingertips suddenly glowed faintly with blue light, and the burning sensation at her wound instantly disappeared. "You..." She widened her eyes. Lu Ting's expression sharpened. "Interesting," he murmured. "Looks like I’ve found a treasure." Just then, the supermarket’s glass windows shattered. A white figure sailed in through the opening and landed gracefully on a row of shelves. The newcomer wore a dirty white lab coat, and his eyes gleamed with madness behind gold-rimmed glasses. "Captain Lu, it’s bad manners to run off," he tilted his head and smiled, his voice sickeningly sweet. "We agreed to share intel." Lu Ting instantly shielded Ji Nuan behind him. "Bai Ye, this is none of your business." The man—Bai Ye—laughed, sounding like an owl who had found its prey. He squatted on the edge of the shelf, casually playing with a syringe in his fingers. "Oh? Then what’s with the healing mark on her neck? Don’t tell me your abilities have evolved." Ji Nuan felt a wave of dizziness. Healing mark? Abilities? She instinctively touched her neck, where the wound had completely vanished, leaving no scar behind. "Come with me," Lu Ting suddenly grabbed her wrist. "Bai Ye is not someone you can handle." Bai Ye’s laughter grew louder. "As if you’re a good guy," he lightly jumped down, his lab coat spreading like bat wings. "Little cutie, do you know how the military treats special ability users? They lock them up and use them as a healing tool, draining every last bit of value." Ji Nuan’s gaze shifted between the two men. Lu Ting’s hand gripped her like a vise, while Bai Ye stared at her with an eerie intensity, occasionally licking his lips. "I’ll choose neither," she suddenly said, then swiftly kneed Lu Ting in the groin. Lu Ting groaned, releasing her grip. Ji Nuan bolted toward the emergency exit, but crashed into a wall of flesh. A pair of hands, clad in leather gloves, firmly grasped her shoulders, and the smell of tobacco and whiskey hit her face. "Look who it is." A lazy voice came from above her. "Shen Mo, looks like we arrived just in time." Ji Nuan looked up and met a pair of smiling peach blossom eyes. The man was dressed in a black leather jacket, a snake tattoo running from his neck down to his collar. Behind him stood a dozen armed men, each wearing a red armband—"Red Snake Gang," the largest gang in the north of the city. "Shen Mo," Lu Ting’s voice was as cold as ice. "This is not your territory." Shen Mo shrugged, his fingers casually tracing circles on Ji Nuan’s shoulder. "It is now." He lowered his head and sniffed Ji Nuan’s hair, then froze. "Wait… this smell..." Bai Ye, who had somehow appeared on Ji Nuan’s other side, almost pressed his nose to her neck. "Ah... I knew it. Not just healing abilities." He took a deep, satisfied breath. "Pheromones... a perfect evolutionary specimen..." Ji Nuan shuddered. She tried to break free, but found all exits blocked—Shen Mo in front, Bai Ye on the left, Lu Ting on the right, and behind her... From the shadows behind her, a tall figure slowly emerged. His skin was an unnatural grayish-blue, but his eyes were pure gold. As he moved, the other zombies retreated like the tide, making way for him. "Give her to me," the Zombie King said, his voice rasping like sandpaper on glass. "She belongs to the night." Ji Nuan’s legs began to shake. She had never seen a zombie that could speak, let alone control others. What was even more terrifying was that when those golden eyes locked onto hers, she felt an odd pull. "Dream on." Lu Ting drew his gun. "Don’t be so rude." Shen Mo smiled, but secretly pulled Ji Nuan closer to himself. Bai Ye had already pulled out a device and eagerly began scanning Ji Nuan. "So fascinating... Three types of abilities... healing, pheromones, and..." The Zombie King suddenly let out a high-pitched shriek. The zombies outside immediately responded in chorus, the entire street’s zombies converging on the supermarket. Ji Nuan felt dizzy. Her skin began to heat up, and a strange fragrance spread from her pores. The four men’s gazes instantly grew fiery, and even the Zombie King’s golden pupils narrowed into slits. "Looks like it's a stress reaction from her first awakening," Bai Ye’s voice turned hoarse. "She’ll keep releasing pheromones until... she’s satisfied." Shen Mo’s Adam’s apple bobbed. "Or until she’s satisfied." Lu Ting’s gun slightly lowered. "We need to get her to the safe house." The Zombie King lunged forward. In the chaos, Ji Nuan was shoved and pushed. Gunshots and growls filled the air. Her consciousness began to blur, and a strange desire surged from deep inside her. Just before she fell into darkness, she saw the four men fighting each other to claim her, and her fingertips glowing faintly with golden light. She suddenly realized—she might just be the true hunter in this apocalypse game.