Before she could process what was happening, the figure lifted her off the ground effortlessly and threw her down with brutal force. Her back hit the hard floor, and pain exploded across her body.
"Ahhh!" she groaned, clutching her side as the shard slipped from her fingers. Her murmurs turned into cries of pain. Dazed, she struggled to lift her head and glared up at her attacker.
To her surprise, it wasn't a mindless, rotting corpse. It was a man.
He stood tall like a towering figure above her. He was clad in a full set of protective gear—a thick jacket, a reinforced vest, and sturdy boots that looked out of place in the ruined city. His sharp gaze locked onto her, and Liora felt her breath hitch.
Behind him, two more figures emerged. One was another man, slightly shorter but equally intimidating, with a rifle slung over his shoulder. The other was a woman, her long hair tied back under a helmet. She held a handgun, scanning the area with sharp movements.
Liora groaned again, clutching her side as her mind scrambled for answers. Who were these people? And what did they want?
"You! Are you human?" Liora asked them with a baffled expression on her face. Even she felt stupid after asking this question. Surely they were humans, but they looked more like aliens to her.
She had never seen such strange outfits in her world, and what was with the strange weapons they carried? Don't ask her how she knew they were weapons; it was her gut feeling which was screaming that these items are dangerous.
"Do we look like zombies to you, miss?" the man with the rifle said. He came towards her and extended his hand.
Liora blinked at him. Her gaze shifted from his face to his outstretched hand and back to his face. A question mark seemed to hover over her expression as if she couldn't understand his intentions.
"Your hand..." the man said again, bringing his hand closer to her.
Liora slowly gave him her hand, and the man lifted her without any effort.
"Ahh!" Liora groaned once again as she moved her body.
"Xu Kai, when will you learn to be gentle with a lady?" The man with the rifle scolded the taller man who had thrown her earlier.
Liora's gaze followed his words, landing on the one he called Xu Kai. She was struck silent for a moment. How could such a handsome man exist? She had never seen such beauty in her entire life. His looks were enough to put even the most graceful women to shame.
The man, Xu Kai, probably felt the intense gaze on him and looked at the stunned face of Liora, and the sneer in his heart deepened.
He hated it when people stared at him . They looked at him as if he were a lollipop everyone wanted to devour.
"If you have saved the damsel in distress, can we go? We have other important stuff to do," Xu Kai said with irritation.
"Wait a minute!" the man with the rifle shouted, turned towards Liora, and put on his most beautiful smile.
"Please! Don't mind this rude man! I am really sorry for this inconvenience," he said with full sincerity.
"Huh," Liora muttered, nodding slightly. "It's alright, Mr...." She trailed off, realizing she didn't know his name.
And neither had she asked him. She was too happy to see real humans and not some strange creatures. She really thought her mind had stopped working after looking at the male Adonis in front of her. If she were still a princess, she would have made him her concubine.
"Huh!" Liora covered her face in shame as r-rated thoughts start appearing in her mind.
Yang Ming looked at the dazed girl in front of him and waved his hand.
Liora instantly snapped out of her daydreaming. Her face flushed with embarrassment; daydreaming was one thing, but being caught daydreaming was another level of embarrassment for her.
"Hi! I am Liora," she said to mask her embarrassment.
Yang Ming raised his eyebrows at her strange name but did not comment on it. Instead, he replied, "I am Yang Ming, and he is Xu Kai." He pointed to him and then added, "The girl behind is Lin Xue."
Xu Kai suddenly came to them, started dragging Yang Ming, and threw a bottle towards her, which she instantly caught.
"It will heal your body," Xu Kai said and grabbed Yang Ming by the collar. "We are going to be late. Do you think we have so much time to waste?"
"Haha!" Yang Ming forced a laugh and shrank his body under the tight grip of Xu Kai.
"Let's go!" Xu Kai shouted and walked further into the ruins.
"Bye, Liora! If fate allows us, we will meet again!" Yang Ming shouted and hurriedly followed behind Xu Kai. The girl, Lin Xue, also followed them without glancing at Liora.
From start to end, she had not uttered a single word, ignoring Liora like she didn't even exist. But Liora had caught her checking the dead body of the zombie.
Liora looked at the glass capsule in her hand. It was filled with crystal blue liquid. As she was wondering about it, the system notification rang at the same time.
[System detected a rare item: a Level 3 Strength Potion.]
Liora's eyes widened as she looked at the glass capsule, her eyes brightening like she had won the lottery. Ahh! She was right—it was really a lottery ticket, but for her survival in this strange world.
Her voice came out in a stutter as she asked the system, "How much will it increase my strength?" She could not wait to find out more about this. She had a feeling this would not disappoint her, and she was right when she looked at the system's response.
[The Level 3 Strength Potion will increase your strength by 300%.]
Liora shrieked with happiness as she clutched it. Suddenly, the pain from her earlier fall didn't seem so bad. If she could get more of this, she would be ready to fall hundreds of times.
The man from before was definitely a big shot. It was a pity they were no longer here. If she knew he was a big shot, she would have stuck to him like glue.
Liora kissed the potion hard and asked the system, "Can I drink it now?" She was so happy that she forgot she was actually angry with the system.
With that one word from the system, Liora immediately opened the bottle and gulped it down in one go, drinking it like she had just touched the elixir of immortality.