What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH96

Chapter 96: Who Is the Zombie?

Suddenly, the sound of the heavy laboratory door swinging open echoed behind her.

Xia Jingyu instinctively nodded in acknowledgment.

She turned around and found herself locking eyes with Qiu Chao, who had just stepped back into the room.

The man stared at her through the eye holes of his stark white mask. He seemed momentarily surprised to find her there. Without a word, he strode across the floor, smoothly snatched the notepad from her hands, and within a blink of an eye, a flash of fire erupted from his palm. The sensitive document was incinerated to ash in a fraction of a second, the gray flakes scattering into the sterile air.

Xia Jingyu glared up at him. “Qiu Chao, whose medical records were those? Who is the zombie that actually managed to infiltrate this base?”

“They belong to a test subject. Do you really need to ask me something so obvious?”

“Are you seriously claiming that’s the diagnostic file of an experimental corpse?” she challenged, her voice cold. “That was clearly the active medical log of a living, breathing person. Don’t insult my intelligence—I know your exact habits when it comes to recording medical data.”

If it had genuinely been the file of a disposable test subject, he would have never recorded the data with such meticulous, painstaking detail. To him, experimental subjects were just meat—corpses devoid of any real research value.

Qiu Chao let out a low chuckle, the sound muffled and slightly distorted by his featureless mask. “Does General Xia truly believe she understands my methods that well? You aren’t an operative of Franlun. What gives you the authority to dictate whether a file belongs to a living asset or a corpse?”

“Who are you protecting?” Xia Jingyu demanded, driving straight to the core of the issue. “Smuggling a zombie into the inner ring of a stronghold is an absolute capital offense. If your goal is to drag the entirety of Franlun down with you to the execution block, by all means, keep playing games.”

“How could I not recognize your deductive skills?” Qiu Chao nonchalantly brushed the residual ash from his sleeve, his tone perfectly calm. “General Xia’s unit is scheduled to deploy from the base soon. How do you possibly have the free time to wander into my sector?”

Xia Jingyu pursed her lips into a tight line. “I came to find you to pick up my medication.”

“The pharmaceuticals aren’t stored here. This is a private, secure laboratory.” His eyes narrowed into sharp slits behind his mask. “How exactly did you bypass the lock?”

Xia Jingyu didn’t flinch. “You left the door unsecured.”

“I find it highly probable that General Xia simply cracked the biometric passcode.”

Every door in the central command tower utilized an automated lockdown sequence the second personnel cleared the threshold.

An “unsecured door” was a structural impossibility.

Qiu Chao’s voice dropped, taking on a sharper, interrogative edge. “I intercepted a security report stating an operative attempted to breach Brother Duan’s private office a few nights ago. That was you running the play, wasn’t it?”

Xia Jingyu remained silent.

“If you refuse to deny it, my analytics accept that as a confession.”

“My father ordered me to run a sweep of his office to extract a specific file,” she stated defensively.

“What data string requires a clandestine extraction?”

“Even if I released the parameters to your desk, I doubt your processors would comprehend the politics.”

Qiu Chao let out a dry chuckle, shrugging with careless indifference. “My interest in capital politics is a flat zero anyway.”

“Where is my medication?”

“Lie down on the examination cot. I need to run a secondary diagnostic on your vitals.”

Xia Jingyu complied. She lay back on the crisp white sheets, shedding her heavy combat coat until she was clad only in a tactical vest. A horrific, jagged scar snaked its way up her bare arm, the mangled tissue extending all the way toward her heart.

She let out two harsh coughs, turning her face away from him. Even in her weakened state, she didn’t abandon her interrogation. “Is the target asset a girl? I strongly advise you to calculate your next move carefully. If this containment breach is exposed to the central committee, you know exactly what the fallout will look like.”

Qiu Chao ignored the threat, focusing entirely on examining her scarred tissue.

He pulled a fresh medical pad from his pocket and began hurriedly scribbling a prescription code.

When he didn’t offer a response, the temperature in Xia Jingyu’s eyes plummeted. “Who in this wasteland is actually worthy of your protection? Are you genuinely willing to sacrifice your supreme rank within Franlun just to shield her timeline?”

Qiu Chao casually rubbed his temples with a gloved hand. “I’m not the asset protecting her file. An entity commanding significantly more leverage than either you or me has already claimed that responsibility.”

“Who the hell is it?”

“Do you truly desire the data?”

“I will absolutely never permit an active mutant to occupy this base.”

Qiu Chao twirled the pen smoothly between his fingers. “Then my vocal track will remain sealed. Take your time running the calculations. I highly recommend auditing every single high-tier executive in the fortress.”

“My schedule isn’t as leisurely as yours.” She checked her tactical watch. “The vanguard column is preparing to mobilize.”

“Have a safe deployment.” Qiu Chao tossed the encrypted prescription slip onto the metal table without bothering to look up. “When your boots hit headquarters, pass a message to your father for me. Tell him that the next time his desk requires secure intelligence, he should submit a formal request directly to Franlun. We will ensure the data is delivered.”

Xia Jingyu stood up, pulling her combat coat back on. “My father specifically ordered your unit to report back to capital headquarters. What tactical objective are you pursuing by hiding out in this sector?”

“A local anomaly required my attention.”

“For that unidentified zombie woman?”

“…” Qiu Chao deliberately waved the encrypted medical file he had just authored. “Negative. I remained stationed here to advance my glorious scientific research.”

“You…!” Xia Jingyu gritted her teeth. “Identify the asset immediately. If you refuse, I will personally tear this base apart until the command structure is in chaos. You will never secure the peace required to finalize your research.”

Qiu Chao crossed his legs, thoroughly unbothered. “Run whatever plays you see fit.”

Xia Jingyu glared at him through the eye holes of his mask, letting out a freezing scoff. “The vanguard’s deployment window has just been indefinitely delayed. I will isolate that asset’s signature. I absolutely refuse to stand by and watch your timeline sink deeper into a capital offense.”

Qiu Chao watched in silence as she stormed out of the laboratory.

Once the heavy steel door locked shut, he methodically went to work, incinerating every single microscopic clue or data fragment in the room that possessed a link to Pei Xiqing.

After Pei Xiqing had finished her physical diagnostic, she retreated to Duan Xiaolin’s office to rest for a while, sipping a cup of warm tea before following the administrator out of the central command tower.

It was a rare rotation where his schedule allowed for a few hours of downtime. On the drive back to the residential ring, they stopped by the bustling market in Xi’an City, purchasing a massive haul of fresh vegetables and premium cuts of meat. As evening fell over the fortress, they returned to the villa and prepared a rich dinner together.

Xiaobai lay lazily at Pei Xiqing’s feet beneath the dining table as she and Duan Xiaolin sat side by side.

After consuming a few heavy bites of the incredibly tender, juicy steak, her stomach already felt pleasantly full.

Duan Xiaolin calmly ladled half a bowl of rich broth and set it near her plate. “Pace your intake.”

Finally able to focus on something other than her hunger, she swallowed her food and asked, “Did Qiu Chao release any secure data to your desk this afternoon?”

“The final diagnostic knot will be unraveled by tomorrow’s shift.”

“I can’t shake the feeling that his operative history is incredibly dense. He’s hiding a massive file.”

“Before he secured his rank, he survived out in the dead zones. He was actually consumed by a mutant horde at one point. His timeline was entirely isolated within a massive cluster of the infected.”

“And then? How did his system survive the breach?”

“The biological divide between a human and a mutant is absolute. During that crisis, he managed to successfully spoof the olfactory sensors of the zombie horde just once—but that singular tactical success provided the foundational data required to engineer the first neutralizing serums.”

“Every single operative in Franlun sounds absolutely terrifying.” If the opportunity ever arose, she genuinely wanted to cross paths with the rest of the Franlun roster. They had to be a syndicate of absolute, ruthless geniuses.

After clearing her plate, Pei Xiqing was just preparing to leash Xiaobai for a post-dinner walk when a dark figure abruptly materialized directly in front of her.

Even though her optical sensors had processed plenty of high-tier combat maneuvers, the sheer, ghost-like velocity of the sudden appearance sent a severe jolt of shock through her system.

Ying’s stark white mask caught the pale moonlight bleeding into the foyer. Seeing her jump, he offered a slight, respectful nod.

Pei Xiqing quickly returned the gesture, steadying her heartbeat. “Brother Ying, you’ve arrived. Have you processed your dinner rations yet?”

Ying shook his head. “Negative. I need to route a high-priority file to Brother Duan.”

“He’s currently stationed in the kitchen grid.”

“Understood.”

The shadow operative strode silently past her, moving deeper into the villa.

Pei Xiqing couldn’t help but track his silhouette.

The data must be incredibly sensitive, she calculated. Otherwise, Ying would have never breached the perimeter during Duan Xiaolin’s designated rest cycle.

Holding Xiaobai’s leash, she waited quietly by the blast door. A few minutes later, Duan Xiaolin and Ying emerged from the interior hallway.

The administrator was smoothly sliding his arms into a heavy tactical coat. He issued a low command over his shoulder to the shadow operative trailing him. “Initialize the strike protocol in exactly one hour. Ensure zero alarms are tripped. Do not alert the enemy syndicate.”

“Confirmed. All tactical assets are pre-positioned,” Ying replied. “However, our surveillance nodes indicate a mole embedded within the black-market exchange has already begun leaking our deployment vectors.”

“Deactivate your anxiety loop. Simply track the data trail back to the source.”

“Yes, sir.”

Duan Xiaolin paused his march right as he reached Pei Xiqing.

He methodically buttoned the collar of his coat, lowering his dark eyes to meet hers as he spoke in a soft murmur. “My unit is executing a secure operation tonight. If you feel the need to clear the villa, I will assign Ying to anchor your flank.”

Pei Xiqing nodded, understanding the implicit warning. “That won’t be necessary. I can simply run the hound inside the secure courtyard for a while.”

“I will return to these coordinates shortly.”

“Mm-hmm.”

She stood by the threshold, watching the tall man stride out into the night.

At the exact same moment, Ying seamlessly detached from Duan Xiaolin’s shadow, dropping back to secure the perimeter.

But the instant Pei Xiqing turned her head to look back toward the roofline, she spotted a man wearing an identical white mask standing perfectly still atop the eaves, perfectly mirroring the shadow operative she had just spoken to.

She blinked rapidly, assuming her optical sensors had glitched.

Isn’t Brother Ying currently anchoring Duan Xiaolin’s flank?

Why is his signature still registering here?

The masked figure seamlessly dropped from the roof, materializing near the gate. He stood in absolute silence, projecting zero hostile intent.

Pei Xiqing’s processing units finally clicked.

It was highly probable that the operative codenamed “Ying” wasn’t a singular asset, but a specialized class of shadows utilized by Franlun.

Deciding not to press the issue, she remained inside the courtyard.

Base Three had been locked in a state of administrative turmoil for several shifts now. Execution squads had been sweeping the sectors, making mass arrests. The subterranean dungeons were operating at maximum capacity, and a series of brutal, high-profile trials were currently clearing the public execution grounds.

She had assumed the purge was nearing its final phase, but it appeared the true climax was only just beginning.

Pei Xiqing spent an hour pacing the enclosed yard with Xiaobai, finally allowing the heavy hound to burn off his excess kinetic energy. Just as she was preparing to cycle back inside the house, the faint, chaotic noise of a massive commotion drifted over the residential walls. It sounded like heavily armed squads were executing synchronized breaches across multiple adjacent villas.

The surrounding sectors were filled with a chaotic din, yet the perimeter directly bordering her villa remained deathly quiet, heavily insulated by unseen guards.

Through the crisp night air, she could barely make out the terrified, miserable shrieks of several women and the violent, enraged roars of men being subdued by kinetic force. Other than those brief spikes of audio, the operation was executed with terrifying, ruthless efficiency.

They must be liquidating the high-tier assets connected to the underground black market, she deduced.

The elite families anchoring this luxury courtyard always projected a warm, polite facade whenever they opened their doors to the public. But once the heavy locks engaged and the curtains were drawn… who could truly verify whether the entities living inside were human or monsters?

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