At a moment like this, it seemed only natural for Su Xing, who was taller and slightly more muscular than Wen Ruyao, to step forward and shield her as a companion.
Besides, Wen Ruyao was the female lead; nothing could be allowed to happen to her.
More importantly… shouldn’t her Bootlick Value increase a bit by now?
Just as expected, the familiar mechanical voice rang in her ear the very next second. Combined with the double reward from the “Bootlicker’s Sacrifice” triggered by feeding Wen Ruyao her blood earlier, she had now gained a total of two points.
Glancing at Zheng Xingjun’s wildly bulging muscles, piled up like small hills, Su Xing anxiously weighed the gap between herself and her opponent. Gritting her teeth, she allocated the points to Strength once more.
By now, her Strength stat was almost maxed out at ten points. But even at full capacity, she wasn’t fully confident of victory. After all, a mutated human like Zheng Xingjun no longer had an advantage in strength alone.
She could only place her hope in Wen Ruyao’s abilities.
Su Xing was strung tight with nerves when the stiff muscles in her waist suddenly relaxed. Wen Ruyao, standing behind her, very naturally slid a hand past her side, tilted her chin up slightly, and leaned close to her ear to whisper, “It’s fine.”
“…”
The warm breath between those lips and teeth burrowed into her ear. A fleeting, tingling itch made Su Xing instinctively tilt her head, the shell of her ear reddening almost imperceptibly.
Plain-Face, who had been watching the commotion with a leisurely, amused look from start to finish, saw Zheng Xingjun approaching Su Xing and the others with ill intent. He raised an eyebrow and started to walk over as well. But Zheng Xingjun suddenly stopped mid-stride, abruptly lifting his head to stare straight up through the mall’s central atrium at the glass dome far above.
In the span of a few short breaths, countless shards suddenly plummeted from above. Before anyone could react, a deafening crash echoed. A black shadow burst through the shattered dome and dove straight down, slamming heavily onto the empty floor tiles at the very center of the first floor.
The immense impact instantly pulverized the surrounding floor tiles into dust. No one knew what kind of creature this sudden intruder was, and its appearance triggered another wave of panic inside the mall.
“Killed so many of my brothers and thought you could just run away like that?”
As the dust and smoke cleared, everyone could see a humanoid figure standing amidst the broken bricks. It was the hoodlum leader who had clashed with Zheng Xingjun outside earlier—the man in black.
“I was wondering what kind of thing it was, turns out it’s just a cockroach I failed to squash earlier. Hmph! I wasn’t running—you’ve come to deliver yourself to death!”
Zheng Xingjun’s face twisted with savagery. Before he even finished speaking, his arm suddenly elongated, his fist shooting toward the black-clothed man like a bullet.
The man in black surveyed his surroundings. With agile grace, he leaped backwards, his astonishing jumping power carrying him directly onto the circular corridor of the second floor. He didn’t immediately counterattack. Instead, he first carefully examined the mall’s environment, his slanted eyes narrowing into a grin. “Quite a few people here. Lively place. Looks like there’s plenty of supplies too. Not a bad spot at all.”
“Then you can just fcking die right here!” Zheng Xingjun’s two fists slammed down, punching two massive holes straight through the corridor’s guardrail.
Crushed stone and mud collapsed downwards. The mall’s interior structure simply couldn’t withstand the all-out brawl between these two “monsters.” Worse still, the enclosed indoor space made the black-clothed man’s sonic attacks even more lethal.
A dull, throbbing pain hammered inside their skulls, far more intense than when they were outside. The invisible attack even forced Zheng Xingjun to his knees, clutching his ears. Ordinary people were in even worse shape, rolling on the ground in agony.
“Lower your head a bit. It gets uncomfortable for me if I have to hold my hands up too high.”
The pain vanished. The cool, clear voice by her ear instantly pulled Su Xing’s gaze back from the distant chaos, landing on Wen Ruyao, who stood before her, hands reaching up to cover her ears.
When had Wen Ruyao pulled her to hide behind this pillar? If she remembered correctly, it was just before that black-clothed man smashed through the dome and jumped inside, wasn’t it?
“You…” Su Xing parted her lips, looking at the cold, unruffled face before her with some confusion.
“It seems Group Leader Su doesn’t really need my help.” Seeing her motionless, Wen Ruyao slightly raised the end of a brow and made as if to pull her hands back.
Given their height difference, such an action was indeed strenuous for Wen Ruyao.
Feeling that the “protective talisman” on her ears was about to be withdrawn, Su Xing didn’t think twice. She immediately pressed Wen Ruyao’s hands firmly against her own ears. That sound just now had nearly split her brain open—any fool knew what choice to make here.
“I didn’t say I didn’t need it. I’ll just… consider it compensation for feeding you my blood earlier.” After saying this, Su Xing obediently lowered her head a bit more.
“…” Wen Ruyao pursed her lips and looked at her. But her hands applied some force, clamping Su Xing’s head and pushing it down even further, bringing her closer. “My hands are getting tired from holding them up.”
Caught off guard, Su Xing stumbled forward, nearly crashing into Wen Ruyao’s face. Her eyes widened. Meeting that pair of clear, shallow eyes, she abruptly averted her gaze.
Too close…
Out of the blue, Su Xing remembered that Wen Ruyao had mentioned she liked women. But then… she stole a glance at the other woman’s ice-cold face. Could it be that she was the only one feeling awkward here?
And why did she feel like Wen Ruyao was a little angry? Was she still brooding over being called heartless?
Heh, truly a petty person.
Her gaze drifting, Su Xing brought the topic back on track. “Can you foresee that man’s arrival? Is that your ability after mutating?”
Actually, judging from the mutated humans they’d encountered so far, Zheng Xingjun clearly had a localized mutation in the organ tissues of his upper arms, with little change to the rest of his body. That man in black obviously had his mutation in his vocal cords. Plain-Face’s ability was rather peculiar—it seemed to involve his skeleton. By that logic, could Wen Ruyao’s be in her brain?
“It’s not that exaggerated. I simply sensed his presence up above,” Wen Ruyao stated flatly. Then, she suddenly released her hands.
Her ears chilled. Su Xing reflexively reached up to cover them, but the anticipated pain didn’t come.
The surroundings had quieted down sometime before. The fierce battle in the center of the first floor had ceased—it seemed a victor had emerged.
The black-clothed man sat with his legs spread wide over the edge of the mall’s central decorative fountain pool, while Zheng Xingjun lay curled up on the floor tiles before him, clutching his head in agony.
“B-Boss! I finally found you, Boss!”
A voice suddenly burst out from a corner.
Scarface, who hadn’t been seen for so long that Su Xing had almost forgotten he existed, suddenly scrambled out, crawling and rolling to prostrate himself at the black-clothed man’s feet, shouting excitedly.
The black-clothed man swiveled his eyes toward him. “And what hole did you crawl out of?”
Scarface froze, then hastily said, “It’s me, Wang Xiong! Don’t you remember me, Boss? I-I used to help you scout goods!”
“Oh…” The man scrutinized him for a moment, seeming to recall. “I have a faint impression. You’re the one who delivered those tender young girls, right? They were… well-trained. I remember now.”
“Hehe, you remember me! That’s wonderful!” Wang Xiong’s ugly face scrunched up like a chrysanthemum. He immediately kowtowed, banging his head loudly on the ground. “From now on, I, Wang Xiong, am your dog! A dog that will slave like an ox and a horse for you!”
“Hm? Who said I needed a dog? Much less a useless one like you.” The man narrowed his eyes, glancing darkly at Scarface before looking toward Zheng Xingjun. “You’re here. Could it be you’re one of his underlings?”
“No, no, no! I would never betray you! I was captured and brought here by him!” Scarface scrambled to his feet and viciously kicked the unconscious Zheng Xingjun several times. Seeing the man still watching him with a sinister, probing gaze, cold sweat poured down his back. His eyes darted around in fear. Just then, his peripheral vision caught Plain-Face walking step by step toward them. His face lit up with joy. He hurriedly said, “Boss, I have a really powerful underling! I guarantee he can help you deal with the monsters outside! He—”
“Him?” The black-clothed man looked at the lean man Scarface pulled over. He remembered this person—he’d been standing next to Zheng Xingjun the whole time without lifting a finger. But when he’d launched his own attack, this man didn’t seem affected by his sound.
The black-clothed man arched his thick brows, carefully sizing up Plain-Face. His gaze fell on the bone wings on his back. He chuckled. “Birdman? Can you fly? I’ve never flown in the sky before. Take me for a spin, and I’ll take you on as a little brother.”
“Absolutely, absolutely!” Scarface nodded and bowed obsequiously to the man before turning to Plain-Face. “You hurry up and—”
“He is your boss?” Plain-Face cut in abruptly.
“Of course! He—”
“Was everything you just said true?”
Scarface paused briefly, then said, “The boss himself said he’d take you on as a little brother. Of course it’s true! You—”
“HAHAHAHA!”
Plain-Face suddenly burst into manic laughter.
Interrupted yet again, Scarface saw the bizarre expression on Plain-Face’s face and was so frightened he stood aside, afraid to utter another word.
“Finally… found you. I never thought you’d deliver yourself right to my doorstep.”
The black-clothed man, who had been somewhat wary, saw the man just a step away from him suddenly change expression. An oppressive sense of danger bore down on him. A powerful unease surged in his heart. He’d just stood up, his mouth opening—before realizing it could no longer open.
He stared fixedly at the lean man before him. His gaze slowly shifted downwards. Yet his body was clearly still sitting on the edge of the fountain pool, unmoving. The next moment, from a bizarre perspective, he saw his own feet.
With a soft thud, the black-clothed man’s head hit the ground and rolled, stopping beside Plain-Face’s shoe. His headless body toppled backwards, crashing into the pool behind him.
The air seemed to solidify. The entire mall was silent for several long seconds, broken only by Scarface’s horrified scream.
“You… you killed him?!”
Even though he was standing right next to him, he hadn’t seen how he did it! In fact… he hadn’t even seen him raise a hand!
It wasn’t just Scarface. Su Xing and Wen Ruyao, who had been closely watching from afar, hadn’t seen his movements clearly either. They only caught a flash of white shadow at Plain-Face’s shoulder, and then the black-clothed man’s head, along with a section of his neck, was cleanly severed.
The lean figure stood by the dried-up fountain pool, his shoulders occasionally shaking, teetering unsteadily, emitting a low, chilling “kekeke” laugh.
Scarface, standing beside him, was already pale with terror. Trembling, he took a step back, then turned and fled toward the rear.
“None of you are escaping.”
The ghostly, low voice behind him made Scarface even more terrified. He ran forward with all his might in a frenzy. But as he ran, he saw his own legs flying ahead of him, detached. A sudden, violent pain wracked his lower body. His torso crashed to the ground. Looking down, he saw that his legs had been severed clean from the base of his thighs.
“You… deserve a much more miserable death.”
Lying in a pool of blood, Scarface watched the man approaching step by step like a vengeful demon. His heart and gall were shattered with fear. “D-Don’t come any closer! Why… you are…”
In this moment between life and death, Scarface stared at Plain-Face. A few long-forgotten memories suddenly flashed through his mind. In shock, he cried, “You couldn’t be—”
“You remembered?” Plain-Face sneered. A sharp bone sword pierced out from his right wrist.
“Wait! Your sister… I-I already went to prison for that! I was punished by the law! Please, spare me!”
Scarface, propped up only by his two remaining arms, was still making a last-ditch struggle. The next second, he felt a pain even more intense than before. He stared in disbelief at the bloody hole in his lower body.
“Punishment? That’s nothing but a protective talisman for maggots like you.”
“AHHH—”
A piercing scream echoed through the empty mall. First his arms were severed, then his eyes, and finally the tongue in his mouth. Scarface passed out from sheer agony.
A thick, cloying scent of blood permeated the air. The scene was excessively brutal, the mall filled with screams and the sounds of cutting. Beyond that, the glass doors at the exit, crawling with giant mosquitoes, were shaking more and more violently. It looked like they wouldn’t hold much longer before shattering.
“Ha… hahahaha…”
After an indeterminate amount of time, Plain-Face finally stopped the movements of his hands. An eerie chuckle came from his throat. His voice had always been androgynous, but now it sounded completely like a woman’s clear, bright tone. Then, he slowly peeled the skin from his face…
Voluptuous, wavy long curls cascaded down. That plain, unremarkable man’s face fell away, revealing a… stunningly beautiful and alluring woman!
The woman suddenly turned her head. The moment Su Xing saw her profile clearly, she froze. Although she’d only met her once, that face from the other day was truly unforgettable. Wasn’t this… the face of the female doctor she’d encountered in the subway?!
Su Xing’s eyes widened in shock. She hurriedly looked at Wen Ruyao, only to see her with deeply furrowed brows, wearing an expression of equal confusion and deep thought.
“This old lady can finally… freely control her body now.”
The woman let out a long sigh, twisting her limbs with audible cracking sounds. She glanced down at the blood-soaked bone blade on her wrist, pulled it out with a yank, and tossed it aside with disgust.
Shan Mingxin turned around, her eyes instantly locking onto the pillar where Su Xing and the others were hiding. A smirk spread across her red lips. Swaying her hips, she walked straight over. “I must say, you two little mice sure love to hide and skulk around. I accidentally wasted too much time just now defiling that disgusting man’s corpse, and you didn’t even make a sound to snap me out of it.”
In moments, the woman was standing before them. Pointing a hand on her hip at the increasingly agitated mosquito swarm outside, she said, “Hurry up, let’s go out and swat some mosquitoes, and find a car while we’re at it. You promised you’d drive me to find the Level 3 laboratory. Don’t you dare forget.”
![[GL Apocalypse] The Boss is a Beautiful Bottom Protagonist](https://i2.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/appp.png?resize=151,215 "[GL Apocalypse] The Boss is a Beautiful Bottom Protagonist")
