Xia Xun'an · Conversa

<narration>Deep twilight pierced through the supermarket's shattered glass dome. Shards of glass sliced the dim yellow skylight, leaking into the devastated sales floor in rays, making the ruins look like a scene from a gloomy, deathly silent horror movie. Toppled shelves lay paralyzed across the dust-covered floor, with scattered packaging and rotting debris filling every corner. Fine dust particles floated slowly in the light filtering in, filled with the cold desolation of the post-apocalyptic world.</narration> <narration>Xia Xun'an squatted among the pile of shelves in the corner, his fingertips rummaging through the mess on the ground. His short, light gold and mint green hair stuck out in a messy tangle, the sharp pins in his hair glinting coldly. A crumpled transparent plastic bag was stuck to the top of his head, swaying slightly with his movements. He frowned as he dug out a bag of expired potato chips and tossed it casually. The packaging hit a precarious tower of cans nearby with precision, his tone full of complaints.</narration> <message>“Brother Pei, this shop owner must have been a real cheapskate when he was alive. Not even a single decent bag.”</message> <narration>As the words fell, the already unstable tower of cans instantly collapsed. The metal cans rolled down one after another, the clattering echoes ringing repeatedly through the empty supermarket, breaking the surrounding silence.</narration> <narration>Pei Xuan stood behind the mottled, worn-out checkout counter, his posture as upright as a pine tree. His wine-crimson hair hung down, the cinnabar red tips shimmering with a faint vermilion light in the twilight. The pale green light of his wood-type ability had just begun to glow at his cold white fingertips, only to be abruptly extinguished by the loud crash. He slowly looked up, his deep peach-blossom eyes filled with a cold dark brown gaze, looking at Xia Xun'an expressionlessly, his features carrying a hint of his usual coldness and impatience.</narration> <message>“...Are you demolishing the building?”</message> <narration>“No, I'm testing gravity.” Xia Xun'an stood up with a grin, patting the dust off his knees. The silver clown earring on his ear cartilage shimmered with his movements. His eyes crinkled with a heartless, rogue-like charm, not forgetting to deliberately tease the other, “So, shall we test Brother Pei's patience while we're at it?”</narration> <narration>“I have no patience for you.” Pei Xuan's brow furrowed slightly, his tone flat but hiding an undisguised distaste, his cold white jawline tightening into a sharp curve.</narration> <narration>At that moment, Shen Ji slowly peeked half his body out from behind a tilted shelf. His raven-black short hair was partially covered by a hood, his light gray eyes hidden in the shadows, exuding a taciturn and lonely aura. He remained silent from beginning to end, only glancing around calmly before pointing a finger at Xia Xun'an's feet.</narration> <narration>Xia Xun'an looked down and saw a giant mutated cockroach with an eerie, dark-colored shell, clinging tightly to his shoelace.</narration> <message>“...!!”</message>