36: I will only be satisfied if you die.

She was trapped in this tent.

And...

She didn't have much time left.

As Tu Nan pushed Gray away, thinking about her next move, a slight tearing sound came from a corner of the tent.

Who? What's going on?

Tu Nan stopped, pressing against Gray, trying to pretend she was still being harassed by Gray, but her eyes gleamed in the darkness.

But her Physique was too poor, and she couldn't see clearly in the dark, only vaguely spotting someone crawling in from under the torn tent.

The newcomer, however, saw the situation inside clearly.

He strode over, silently grabbed Gray from Tu Nan, threw him aside, then straddled Gray and started punching him...

This familiar pattern of movement.

"Gaia...?"

Tu Nan tentatively spoke.

"Mm."

Gaia paused slightly, only squeezing out a muffled response from his throat.

He was very annoyed.

He hadn't expected Tu Nan to be defiled after only half a day out.

"Stop, stop. I drugged him unconscious, don't wake him up again."

Hearing it was Gaia, Tu Nan finally breathed a sigh of relief. She quickly spoke to stop Gaia's overly boisterous actions.

Gaia's fist stopped mid-air.

Calming down a bit, he also realized something was off.

Gray used to be the strongest in the settlement; even if he was now bloated and out of shape, he wouldn't just take a beating without fighting back.

"You... drugged him unconscious?"

Gaia was incredulous.

"A small item I ordered from Old Hei, look."

Tu Nan extended her wrist for him to see.

A slender, snake-shaped bracelet coiled around her wrist. After pressing the hidden switch and clenching her fist, the snake's head could eject needles, each capable of knocking out a thug.

It was the equipment Li helped her order back in Sand City.

So, it was indeed she... who drugged Gray unconscious.

Gaia realized that Tu Nan's impression in his mind had been constantly refreshed these past few days.

Simply put, Tu Nan had always been underestimated.

Indeed. Tu Nan had such a piece of equipment, and he had even watched it being custom-made.

But... this was Gray, not some petty thug. If Gray didn't have some vigilance, how could he have survived until now?

"You're really something..."

He said in a whisper, looking around, picking up Tu Nan's cloak and dagger, and pulling Tu Nan, he intended to leave through the tear.

But Tu Nan stood firm, holding him back, refusing to go.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and go, we're going to Sand City."

Tu Nan shook her head.

She squatted down and checked Gray's breath.

"Can you do me one more favor?" she asked Gaia.

"What?"

Gaia was dying of impatience. What kind of time was this to be dawdling? He really didn't understand Tu Nan's way of thinking.

"Help me kill him."

Tu Nan said firmly, in a low voice.

Gray's breathing deepened; he wasn't deeply unconscious. Tu Nan even felt his fingers twitching slightly.

Indeed, that dosage was enough to knock out a thug, but Gray, after Gaia's beating, was about to wake up prematurely.

Or rather... had he already woken up?

Gaia didn't understand and was greatly shocked. He suspected Tu Nan was just provoked by this incident and wanted to vent her anger.

He suppressed his anxiety and patiently advised, "Let's go quickly. I see you're not really hurt, so let's just let him go."

"Why kill him?" In his heart, he even felt Tu Nan was somewhat... vicious?

Tu Nan was expressionless.

She could guess Gaia's thoughts. But, no, she wasn't doing it to vent her anger at all.

"If you don't do it, then I will."

She fumbled for Gray's weapons, which she had spotted earlier by the edge of the tent. There was a knife and something that looked like a firearm.

"I'm afraid he'll jump up if I only half-cut him, that's why I asked for your help."

"Since you refuse, I'll do it myself."

She found the small firearm, tucked it into her bosom, then dragged the knife back, panting as she pondered where to strike.

Gaia, on the side, was confused, wondering if he should just knock Tu Nan out and drag her away.

"Are you trying to just take me away?"

Tu Nan seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, directly discerning Gaia's thoughts.

She said coldly, "If you're not going to help, at least don't hold me back."

"I'm telling you, if we don't kill Gray, once he wakes up, he will definitely hunt us down relentlessly."

Tu Nan struggled just to drag the knife. It was clear she couldn't kill Gray with one blow by herself, let alone without making a sound.

It would be safer to let Gaia do it.

She had to explain everything clearly.

"The conflict between Kun Bu and Gray has already surfaced. Gray, at this moment, cannot be provoked, or he will be admitting that he is a Wolf King whose strength has waned."

"If we don't kill him, once he wakes up, he'll kill us to establish his authority! And it will be a brutal slaughter."

"Only then can he deter Kun Bu and keep the entire team in line."

"We are only two people, we can't escape."

"But if we kill him..."

Tu Nan slowly stood up and handed the knife to Gaia.

"Dead men pose no threat. Kun Bu will conveniently consolidate his power and most likely won't care about our whereabouts."

"Only then will we have a glimmer of hope."

"Even so, you still won't act?"

Tu Nan waited for Gaia's choice; she believed that anyone who could survive in the desert couldn't fail to make the right decision.

Gaia didn't disappoint her.

He said nothing more, stepped forward, took the knife from Tu Nan's hand, and with a swift motion, pulled Tu Nan into his embrace, pressing her face into his thick chest.

"Close your eyes," he said in a deep voice.

Tu Nan could feel the power contained in his muscles; his arm lifted and then swiftly swung down.

Gray let out a final roar.

Unfortunately, before the sound could fully escape, his vocal cords were severed.

More precisely, his neck was severed.

Tu Nan heard the sound of blood splattering on the tent.

"Go."

The two crawled out through the tent's tear.

Gaia transformed into his Beast Form, and as soon as Tu Nan sat on his back, he immediately bolted.

His eyes were more determined than ever, as if he had just completed an unknown evolution.

There was no moon, but the desert was full of stars.

This was not a good time to escape, but they had no other choice.

Gaia's paw pads touched the sand with incredible lightness. He circled around tent after tent, careful not to make a sound.

Their luck was good; they didn't encounter any extra guards.

Only when passing a tent, Tu Nan heard someone ask: "Why is there a smell of blood?"

"No... your nose is too sensitive, you're just prone to suspicion."

"There really is! Come on, accompany me to check."

The conversation was left behind them.

The camp with the faint lights grew smaller and smaller behind them, and just as it was about to disappear from sight, a clamor of human voices suddenly erupted.

Gray's body must have been discovered!

"Where are we going?"

Tu Nan asked Gaia, her voice almost scattered by the wind, vaguely reaching Gaia's ears.

"Sand City!"

"No, we can't go to Sand City!" Tu Nan tugged at his ear.

"Change direction, anywhere is fine, let's go hide first!"

"You won't survive long in the desert!"

"We still can't go to Sand City! If Kun Bu wants to chase us, he'll head in the direction of Sand City too!"

"Or even if he just sends a few people, it'll be troublesome." Tu Nan was persistent, insisting that Gaia change direction.

"The people you know in Sand City, someone in the base must know about them, right!" she screamed.

Gaia didn't answer; he just silently changed his running direction.

The two ran deeper into the desert, neither knowing what they would encounter.

But she had survived again.

Tu Nan laughed freely into the wind, like a mad cat that had just escaped the jaws of fate.

If she was destined to have no future, then she would bring everyone down with her.

She fought desperately to live, to gamble for that one true future.

She licked her lips, her eyes frighteningly bright.

"System... what do you say, isn't that right?"