Tang Yunxuan’s Psychological Trauma

The dim shifting lights, the lively atmosphere, the distinctive décor, and the well-dressed bartender standing behind the counter.

For a brief moment, Ren Anhua felt as if she had returned to the modern world.

If one only looked at the surface, this place called the Hunter’s Bar was almost identical to a pre-apocalypse nightclub.

And in fact, it was identical.

Hunter’s Bar had every feature a modern bar once had — lights, music, people dancing who-knows-how, and men and women drinking hard in shadowy corners.

This was a place of post-apocalyptic luxury, and a playground for the gifted.

After the apocalypse, any place capable of offering the pleasures and atmosphere of the civilized age became precious. Yet, providing such a high-quality lifestyle in a world with almost no productivity placed a massive burden on society. As a result, only ability users could afford such entertainment.

Hunter’s Bar was one such place — remarkably, it possessed a functioning electrical supply in this ruined age.

Currently, humanity’s early-stage research into zombie crystal nuclei relied mainly on combustion — burning the nuclei to release their inner energy, converting it into usable heat for power generation.

This kind of burning required an extremely high ignition temperature, but once started, the crystal nucleus could sustain itself and ignite others. The resulting flame was incredibly hot and long-lasting — excellent for thermal power.

Since the invention of the steam engine, humanity’s history with heat energy had been a long tale of trying new ways to boil water — first with wood, then charcoal, then coal, oil, and natural gas. Even at the pinnacle of nuclear energy, it was still, essentially, just boiling water.

So, naturally, they used these things to fire boilers.

Su City’s crystal-nucleus thermal plant was among the earliest of its kind after the apocalypse — and as expected of an early experiment, it was immature and unstable.

At present, it supplied electricity to only a few buildings.

Hunter’s Bar, as a bar in the southern district, was unexpectedly fortunate to be included in the grid.

That was what created the vibrant scene before Ren Anhua’s eyes.

The twenty-first century’s human civilization had been built upon electricity.

With power restored, it almost felt as if civilization itself had returned.

The people here were greedily savoring that civilized air.

Even if, in Ren Anhua’s opinion, bars were hardly the pinnacle of culture, they were still a clear emblem of modern life.

And where there was alcohol, there was always information.

After securing a temporary place to stay, Ren Anhua came to this most crowded district.

She had come to Su City to find the RV Squad — but the city was enormous, and finding them wasn’t going to be easy.

In fact, it would probably be faster if the RV Squad found her first.

After all, that pink hair of hers was too conspicuous — a face that beautiful, paired with such distinctive features, made her someone impossible to forget after a single glance.

Unfortunately, Meng Fanhai was also in Su City.

To avoid that major headache, Ren Anhua chose to stay hidden.

When she entered the city, she wore a hood that concealed her striking cherry-colored hair and cast a shadow over her cross-shaped pupils.

She even registered under a hastily thought-up, terrible fake name — An Tiezhu.

Now she deeply regretted not preparing a more normal alias in advance.

To hide her identity, Ren Anhua had made no small sacrifices.

To outsiders, her only recognizable trait now might have been her refusal to wear pants.

Still, the RV Squad, who knew about the pink-haired girl in a swimsuit, wouldn’t necessarily see that as her defining feature.

Even with all her efforts to disguise herself, the moment Ren Anhua entered the bar, she still drew plenty of eyes.

Despite her petite frame, her body carried graceful curves, radiating a youthful vitality — and of course, many people’s attention lingered on her legs.

Feeling those stares, Ren Anhua grew a little irritated.

Of all the ways she hated to be treated, being seen as a gangster ranked first… and being treated like a girl came a close second.

Of course, she made an exception for beautiful girls.

Though she’d complain with her mouth, her body never seemed to mind being close to them.

Who didn’t like pretty girls, after all?

As long as they didn’t get handsy, Ren Anhua didn’t mind their company.

Once inside the bar, she found a quiet corner to hide in, ordered two random drinks, and sipped absently while listening to the people around her brag.

Her thinking was sharp and simple.

The RV Squad was flashy and strong — wherever they went, they’d be among the top local fighters.

People of that level easily became the topic of gossip among lesser ones.

All she needed was to analyze the content of their exaggerated stories and identify anyone resembling the RV Squad’s profile. That would give her a lead.

The only annoyance would be if someone decided to bother her — harassment and such things didn’t harm her physically, but they bruised her fragile masculine pride.

Unexpectedly, however, the first to suffer harassment wasn’t her — it was Tang Yunxuan.

Bars held a powerful allure for teenagers.

When he heard Ren Anhua was going, Tang Yunxuan had followed without hesitation — even though he was still wearing the women’s outfit Liu Shi had given him.

Maybe it was his naturally good looks, or perhaps Liu Shi’s styling skills, but under the dim amber lights, Tang Yunxuan looked exactly like an innocent seventeen-year-old schoolgirl.

His nervous, curious eyes, his flustered attempt at calm, the slight flush on his face after a bit of alcohol — altogether, the picture of a pure girl who had wandered into a dark bar by mistake.

And most importantly — he was an ordinary person.

While ability users couldn’t always identify each other’s exact ranks due to differing energy control, they could still sense if someone was gifted.

After awakening, every ability user gained something called “energy vision.”

By focusing on someone, they could detect the flow and “scent” of energy in that person.

For example, Ren Anhua’s aura carried the scent of “gentleness and healing,” while Chen Shu’s smelled of “coldness and cruelty.”

Each power gave off a unique scent — sometimes indescribable, but always suggestive of the user’s essence.

A scent like Ren Anhua’s usually meant a pure healer;

Chen Shu’s, a merciless killer.

While this couldn’t reveal the exact nature of someone’s power, it was more than enough to distinguish ability users from ordinary humans.

Who knew what that small hooded figure truly looked like under the shadows — maybe she was hiding a disfigured face?

Plenty of girls like that existed after the apocalypse; scars were common.

So between the mysterious, hooded girl and the clearly human, beautiful “schoolgirl,” the latter was obviously the easier one to approach.

In Su City, the words “ordinary human” meant fair game.

Tang Yunxuan was already being pestered by two men.

He looked panicked — after all, he was a straight guy.

Too nervous to think straight, he could only keep pushing away the hands reaching for him, which only made him look more pitiful… and somehow, even cuter.

He cast a pleading look at the one who had brought him here — Brother Anhua — only to find that Anhua seemed to be… laughing?

Rage flared in Tang Yunxuan’s heart.

He was about to be dragged off, and this person was laughing?

Heartless!

“B-big brother, there must be some misunderstanding — I’m straight!”

With no other option, Tang Yunxuan blurted it out himself.

It was his first time in a bar, and things had gone completely sideways.

He had no idea how to handle it.

Were all bar-goers this gay?

At seventeen, his voice had already changed — in fact, like many older boys, his voice carried a rich, magnetic timbre.

Unluckily for him, that only made things worse.

The moment he spoke, the two men froze — four hands stopping mid-air.

“Wait—he’s a guy?”

“A guy? Even better!”

Their reactions differed, but Ren Anhua knew it was time to step in.

If this continued, poor Tang Yunxuan might end up traumatized — and while she’d given him plenty of trauma herself, hers didn’t count. Other people’s did.

“Alright, whoever you are — that’s enough.”

Ren Anhua tapped the table.

Her clear voice drew the men’s attention to the small hooded girl who had yet to show her face.

Even with her eyes obscured, just the lower half of her face revealed a hint of delicate beauty.

What a stunner, both men thought at once.

Judging by her energy scent, she seemed to be a mild-tempered healer.

Who didn’t like a cute little healer?

Desire stirred in their hearts — maybe this hidden girl would be an even better catch.

But just as they were about to make a move, they saw her… sheathing her blade.

Sheathing?

When did she even draw it?

“Listen carefully,” Ren Anhua said evenly.

“I’m not the type to flirt around, act coy, let someone harass me with trash talk, and then get angry afterward. So I just cut your hands off instead — that way you’ll understand exactly what kind of person you’re dealing with. Now, take your hands and leave. Spend some crystal cores on a good healer. Stay here another minute, and I’ll take your heads next.”

Blood sprayed from their severed arms, and the delayed agony triggered screams.

They wanted to curse her, but then they saw — in the flickering light — those cold, cross-shaped pupils.

They understood immediately.

This was someone you didn’t mess with.

Never judge by appearances — that was a fundamental rule in the world of ability users.

Because you never knew what power might be hiding beneath a person’s surface.

Provoking one was the stupidest possible move — unless you knew them inside out, or were overwhelmingly stronger.

These two men were neither. So, they ran.

“Ugh, I told them to take their hands. Why don’t people ever listen?”

Ren Anhua frowned and kicked the four severed arms aside in disgust.

Brother Anhua was truly unreasonable…

Watching the scene, Tang Yunxuan’s psychological trauma deepened yet again.