The apocalypse is coming, but thankfully I have a harem of paper dolls.

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"Ugh—!" Caught off guard, Luo Jiajun's body jolted upwards as if struck hard on the spine by an invisible bolt of lightning! The extreme, unimaginable stimulation, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly overwhelmed all his rational defenses.

Before he could even react, a torrent of scalding life force erupted uncontrollably and violently, surging into the greedy, warm abyss that had created this "surprise attack."

The knocking sounded again, this time more urgent than before.

"Master?" You're busy, I'm not here...

From outside the door came 2B's distinctive, calm yet crystal-clear synthesized voice.

Luo Jiajun was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. His body still felt the aftershocks of the extreme outburst he had just experienced.

He tried to calm his breathing, one hand still pressed against Bayonetta's head—at this moment, the witch slowly raised her head, her lips glistening with moisture and a triumphant, lazy smile, her tongue still licking her swollen lips, her eyes looking at Luo Jiajun provocatively.

"What is it?" Luo Jiajun asked through the door, his voice slightly hoarse and filled with suppressed irritation.

“There’s something going on outside.” 2b’s voice was completely calm, as if the brief commotion inside the door had nothing to do with her. “There are some strangers outside the house seeking help. They all look… disheveled.”

Stranger? Need help?

Luo Jiajun's brows furrowed even more.

In this perilous post-apocalyptic ruin, the sudden appearance of a strange survivor often means trouble. He quickly suppressed the lingering effects of the previous "surprise attack" and switched his mind to a state of alertness.

"Understood." Luo Jiajun replied to 2b in a deep voice, "Go back and keep an eye on them, I'll be right there."

"Yes, Master." 2B's footsteps then faded away outside the door.

Luo Jiajun then turned his gaze to Bayonetta, who was still lying on him with a mischievous smile in her eyes.

Bayonetta sat up lazily, stretching languidly, instantly revealing her curves. She casually wiped a bit of saliva from the corner of her lips with her finger, her eyes behind her glasses regaining their usual languidness and control, as if the mischievous "Peashooter" from just moments before was not her at all.

"It seems our 'morning exercise' will have to end early, my dear...master~" Her voice was tinged with a lazy huskiness and a hint of amusement.

Luo Jiajun took a deep breath, suppressing the lingering tremor within him, threw off the covers, got up, and quickly picked up the clothes scattered on the floor.

The lingering stench of last night and this morning hadn't completely dissipated in the air, but a new tension, a sense of impending doom, had already begun to creep in. The few unfamiliar survivors who had suddenly appeared outside were like a stone thrown into calm water, foreshadowing a day destined to be anything but peaceful.

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After quickly getting dressed, Luo Jiajun stepped out of the house. Just then, a refreshing morning breeze blew through the thick fog and swept away the last trace of drowsiness in Luo Jiajun's eyes.

Just a few steps from the doorway, a burly woman with dark skin, nearly two meters tall, and full of muscles, and two other men with dark circles under their eyes and as thin as bamboo poles were kneeling on the ground, being pointed at with knives by Anne-Louze.

The burly woman kneeling on the ground had obvious abrasions and signs of a struggle. Luo Jiajun raised an eyebrow, already having a general idea of ​​what had happened, but still asked Annerose, "What's going on?"

Anne-Loz stared coldly at the three people kneeling before her, her voice filled with murderous intent as she said, "When 2B came back to the room to call you earlier, they tried to attack me... Ha, they really overestimated themselves."

“That’s normal. How would they know you’d be this good? Look at your fair skin, like a pampered little princess. It’s quite a contrast to them.” Luo Jiajun said half-jokingly, while shifting his attention from Anne-Loz’s face to the burly woman kneeling beside him.

Of the three strange survivors who suddenly appeared, the other two men were so thin they looked like they had been drained of their life force, while the muscular woman was clearly not someone to be trifled with.

When Luo Jiajun complimented her fair skin, Annie Rose's arrogant nature kicked in. She immediately crossed her arms and headed back into the house, saying to Luo Jiajun in an annoyed tone, "Hmph! I've left the person here for you. Do with her as you please. I couldn't sleep well last night because I kept hearing male dogs and female cats arguing. I'm going back to my room to rest."

"..." Luo Jiajun fell into a brief silence.

He suspected Anne-Lorze was being sarcastic, because Bayonetta had indeed been screaming particularly loudly last night, and given that both of them were superhuman, they had been engaged in several rounds of intense activity. Even if the others were resting in their rooms upstairs, they could still have been disturbed.

At this moment, as Anne-Lauz left, the burly woman among the three kneeling women boldly raised her head and looked at Luo Jiajun. A fleeting glint of greed flashed in her eyes as she gazed at Luo Jiajun's handsome and masculine face, but she quickly composed herself and whispered to him:

"Handsome, it seems you're the one in charge here, right? Regarding what happened earlier, I was thinking there might be some misunderstanding... I..."

"Alright, alright, don't say anything yet."

Luo Jiajun waved his hand impatiently, interrupting the burly woman's speech.

Then he walked to the thin man to the left of the muscular woman, slowly squatted down, and put one hand on his shoulder.

"Next, I have some questions. You can answer them when I ask them, or shut your mouths." With these cold words, Luo Jiajun's hand, which was on the thin man's shoulder, suddenly crackled with arcs of electricity. These arcs of electricity did not hit the thin man's face, which was so close to his, but they still made the latter shudder and his whole body begin to tremble.

The burly woman standing nearby was filled with even more fear upon seeing this.

"First question." Luo Jiajun ignored their fear, his gaze sharp as a knife, piercing the thin man he was holding down. "Where did you come from?"

The thin man being questioned stammered, his teeth chattering, "Qi...Qi County...we escaped from the neighboring Qi County."

"escape?"

Luo Jiajun keenly caught the word, his brows furrowing even more. "Why did you say 'escape'? What danger did you encounter in Qi County?"

"It's so cold...it's freezing!"

Extreme fear appeared on the thin man's face, as if he were recalling some terrible scene.

"In Qixian County, the authorities had built a large camp in the county town, with walls and troops guarding it. Before the fog arrived, everyone could barely hold on. But not long after the fog came, the climate in a large area north of the camp suddenly became bizarre! Cold winds blew day and night! The wind hurt your bones when it blew against your skin! Several people had already frozen to death in the camp! The tents couldn't keep out the cold at all, and even the houses were covered in ice..."

"So you fled to Kun County to escape that inexplicable extreme weather?" Luo Jiajun turned his head, his gaze sharp, and stared directly at the burly woman kneeling beside him.

This woman was clearly the leader of the three, and should know more information.

The burly woman felt Luo Jiajun's gaze, her body stiffened, and she quickly nodded, her voice filled with lingering fear:

"Yes...yes! That place is uninhabitable! The camp's management has tried various methods; they sent out the camp's strongest 'evolver' to brave the deadly icy winds and explore northwards, trying to find out what's going on..."

"And the result?" Luo Jiajun pressed.

"result……"

The burly woman took a deep breath, her voice trembling, "The news they brought back says that the terrifying icy wind and the chilling air that can freeze people to death originated in the city not far north of the camp! It's a dragon that's coiled up there! An ice dragon! Just by lying there sleeping, the monster's breath can turn the entire northern city into an ice cellar! The evolved humans they sent didn't dare to get close at all."

Great Ice Dragon Poletz!

—After hearing the description from the robust woman, the name exploded in Luo Jiajun's mind like a thunderclap!

This is one of the three legendary beings, comparable to, or even more dangerous than, the Storm Bear Volir, as previously learned from the orcs! Volir needs to actively attack to unleash the power of the storm, but this Polez, the very existence of which naturally emanates a chilling aura enough to destroy a large human settlement! Its terrifying nature is evident!

The thought flashed through Luo Jiajun's mind, but on the surface, his expression only became more serious. He seized on another key point in the burly woman's words and continued to ask, "What about the 'evolvers' you mentioned earlier? Are there many of these so-called evolved beings at the Qixian camp?"

The burly woman shook her head, a look of confusion on her face:

"The specifics... we small fry don't know much. All we know is that shortly after the fog descended, a highly elite special forces unit sent down from above arrived at the camp. Two people in that unit were particularly powerful, capable of stimulating and taming mutated plants, as well as other superpowers. The people in the camp called them 'Evolvers.' Later... later, several women joined the camp, and they were clearly not ordinary people either!"

She paused, as if recalling something, her tone tinged with uncertainty and awe:

"One woman in particular stood out! She was frighteningly tall, probably three meters! Her skin was so white... so pale it was almost bloodless, she looked like a vampire! And... and her fingers... could grow as long as knives! Just looking at her sent chills down your spine!"

Archina!

Luo Jiajun's heart skipped a beat! This description was undoubtedly of Achina Dimitrescu!

Suppressing his excitement, Luo Jiajun quickly pressed on, "What was the situation at the Qixian official camp before you left? Had it collapsed?"

His biggest worry was that something might happen to Archina and the others.

The burly woman's face showed bitterness and despair: "Although it's not completely falling apart yet... it's almost there! The authorities sent out that special forces unit, including the 'evolvers,' to deal with that ice dragon! They said they wanted to wipe them out completely, but they never came back! There's not a single word from them! We... we people, we only... we only ran away before the camp completely fell into chaos because we had no hope left!"

Luo Jiajun's heart leaped into his throat: "Where's that woman? That three-meter-tall woman, and those other women you mentioned who joined later? Did they also go with the special forces to hunt down the Ice Dragon?" (The rest of the text appears to be nonsensical and unrelated to the initial question.)

"No!" The burly woman answered with certainty this time, shaking her head. "Shortly after the special forces set off, I think I heard someone say that they saw the other three leave the camp as well, but they were heading south, which means they were heading towards Kun County, just like the three of us!"

"call……"

Upon hearing this, Luo Jiajun's tense nerves finally relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

As long as Archina and her companions weren't foolish enough to confront the legendary ice dragon head-on, and instead chose a relatively wise evacuation route, there's still hope! They're likely on their way to Kun County, but the dense fog has cut them off from contact.

With this in mind, Luo Jiajun straightened up, his gaze passing over the three kneeling figures on the ground and landing on the endless, swirling fog to the north.

Qixian, Ice Dragon Poles, Archina, Zyra, Mai Shiranui, Zhou Meiling...

The new goal is now clear.

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Upon learning that Achina and her companions had not been coerced by the authorities into rashly challenging the Great Ice Dragon Polez, Luo Jiajun's tense nerves relaxed slightly.

At this moment, his gaze swept over the three people kneeling in front of him, especially the burly woman who was leading them. When she saw that his expression seemed to have softened, a glimmer of hope immediately ignited in her eyes, and her lips moved, clearly wanting to beg for her life again.

However, in this brief moment of silence...

"Roar--!"

From the depths of the thick fog, a rough and violent lion's roar suddenly erupted!

The sound was as heavy as a drumbeat, piercing through the misty fog, carrying a chilling and menacing aura. It sounded very close, as if it were hovering just a few dozen meters away.

The roar, like a cold steel needle, instantly pierced the nerves of the three kneeling men. The two already trembling, thin men turned deathly pale, their bodies shaking violently, their teeth chattering, as if they had been thrown naked into an icy abyss.

Although the robust woman tried to remain calm, the bulging veins on her neck and her suddenly contracted pupils betrayed the turmoil within her.

Luo Jiajun merely turned his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the direction from which the roar came, on the area completely swallowed by the thick white fog.

His face was expressionless, showing neither fear nor curiosity, as if it were nothing more than the ordinary sound of wind blowing through dry branches. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and returned it to the three trembling survivors, his tone flat, revealing neither joy nor anger:

"Since you've been honest enough to answer my questions, I can let bygones be bygones for the unpleasantness we had earlier."

He paused, his voice carrying an undeniable coldness, "Now, before I change my mind, get out of here."

Before he could even turn around and walk back into the house, a thin man kneeling on the ground jerked to his feet as if whipped by an invisible force. His voice shrill and distorted, "Brother! Big brother! Please! Help us! It's too dangerous in this fog! Have mercy..."

"Snapped--!"

Before the man could finish speaking, Luo Jiajun delivered a crisp, resounding slap, abruptly interrupting his incoherent pleas.

Luo Jiajun's movements were as fast as a ghost; his arm was simply raised and swung casually, with a small range of motion, yet the power was overwhelming.

The thin man felt an irresistible force slap him hard across the cheek, his head snapping to one side, and he staggered several steps. Blood mixed with several broken teeth spurted from his twisted mouth and nostrils, drawing several glaring scarlet arcs in the air before splashing onto the cold, damp ground.

He covered his face, letting out muffled, painful sobs, completely stunned.

A chilling, almost tangible killing intent, like an invisible icicle, shot out from Luo Jiajun's eyes and locked onto the three of them.

The air seemed to freeze, and the temperature plummeted. The burly woman shuddered, her scalp tingling; the shadow of death had never been so clear. She abruptly lowered her head, unable to meet Luo Jiajun's eyes, suppressing her fear with all her might, her voice dry and hoarse as she spoke hastily:

"Let's go! Let's go right now!"

She practically scrambled to her feet, grabbed her stunned companion, and glared fiercely at the other, equally terrified, thin man. The three of them tumbled and crawled, not daring to look back, like frightened rabbits, plunging into the thick fog in a panic, their figures instantly swallowed up.

Luo Jiajun stood still, not immediately going inside. He listened as the hurried footsteps quickly faded into the deathly silence of the mist before slowly turning his head, his gaze landing on the expressionless 2B beside him:

"Guess how long they can survive in the fog?"

2b faced the direction where the three had disappeared, his voice cold and flat, as if stating a predetermined objective fact: "It depends on their luck, but in any case, the probability of survival is extremely low."

This unexpected little episode seemed to have come to an end. But Luo Jiajun didn't move; he remained standing at the doorway, his gaze piercing through the swirling mist, as if waiting for something.

A moment later, in the fog ahead, that chilling, heavy lion's roar once again shattered the surrounding silence.

This time, the roar contained something more—a short, shrill scream, the cry of a dying human! Immediately following were several dull thuds, the thud of flesh being torn apart, and several desperate, incoherent screams.

Soon, all sound disappeared, leaving only a suffocating silence.

Luo Jiajun shook his head slightly, his face showing no surprise or pity, only an almost cold understanding: "It seems their luck wasn't very good. All three of them have probably already confessed."

That's why he was too lazy to clean up the mess himself. From the moment the first lion's roar rang out at such close range, he knew he didn't need to exert himself. This deathly mist, overrun by monsters, was itself the most effective and insidious "cleaner."

However, monsters are monsters after all. They follow the most primal instinct to kill, and there is no tacit understanding or alliance between them and Luo Jiajun. Just as Luo Jiajun finished his exclamation, the thick fog ahead began to churn violently, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand.

A massive, imposing, and oppressive silhouette gradually came into focus amidst the swirling mist.

It was a male lion! But its size far exceeded that of any known lion of its kind, more than twice the size of an average African male lion! Thick, dark red blood was dripping from the corner of its mouth. Tiny, indistinguishable bits of flesh and hair clung to its bloodstained lips and sharp teeth.

Perhaps it was the lingering smell of blood in the air that stimulated it, or perhaps its keen hearing caught Luo Jiajun's casual whispers. In any case, after easily tearing apart its three unfortunate prey, the beast didn't linger. Following the new scent, it pounced on its next target without stopping.

Unfortunately, this time, it chose the wrong target.

Luo Jiajun didn't even glance at the behemoth that could terrify any ordinary survivor. He treated it as if it were a harmless stray cat that had wandered into his yard, his tone flat and emotionless as he ordered 2B beside him, "Take care of it."

After saying that, Luo Jiajun turned around and went back into the house, not worried at all.

Because he had already looked at the game map, there was no skull icon representing the boss nearby, and the black-maned lion's head did not have a boss-specific information bar.

Monsters that don't reach the boss level pose no threat to someone with 2B's combat power.

--------

time flies.

Three days later, Luo Jiajun and his group had completely left the urban area of ​​Kuncheng and arrived at the Jinjiang Bridge, the border between Kun County and Qi County.

Because Kun County and Qi County are separated by a river called "Jinjiang", the Jinjiang Bridge has become the only way to connect the two counties.

Knowing that Achina and her group were heading south from Qi County back to Kun County, Luo Jiajun decided not to rush into Qi County, lest he miss them. It was better to wait at the Jinjiang Bridge, a necessary stop on their route. Another reason that prompted Luo Jiajun to come here was—according to the game map, there were [high-value items] at the Jinjiang Bridge!

However, when Luo Jiajun and the others arrived in front of the bridge, they found that the situation was much more complicated than they had imagined.