What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH214-216

Chapter 214| Chapter 215| Chapter 216

Chapter 214: The Real Doomsday

The Hydra rolled all nine pairs of its eyes before slowly shaking its heads.

Pei Xiqing had originally assumed the parasite was merely a mass of supernatural energy. It seemed her imagination was still a bit skewed.

She pressed on, “So, the sheer power of the Qiong Snake ability… is it actually a direct link between you and Duan Xiaolin?”

It nodded.

Pei Xiqing finally confirmed her suspicions.

“You actually appeared five years ago. Then, for some reason, Duan Xiaolin negotiated terms with you. You willingly hid underground alongside that tentacle monster for five long years.”

Though clearly reluctant to admit it, the Hydra nodded again.

Seeing this, Pei Xiqing finally understood the whole picture. No wonder Duan Xiaolin allowed such a massive threat to exist. The Qiong Snake was deeply connected to this parasite—not directly, but rather as a reflection of its power. That explained why the Qiong Snake stood absolute among all supernatural abilities since the apocalypse began. Backed by this entity, his power was on an entirely different level.

She continued her speculation. “Five years ago, you didn’t attack humanity directly. Instead, you hid down here… biding your time and gathering strength. The recent outbreak of parasites on the surface—that’s the result of your five years of dormancy, isn’t it?”

The Hydra stared at her, its initial disdain gradually melting into an eerie calm. It neither confirmed nor denied her claim.

Pei Xiqing boldly pressed forward. “When the zombie crisis first erupted five years ago, you appeared as well. But you were weak back then. Coincidentally, Brother Duan detected you and intended to eliminate you. Using your unique parasitic nature, you struck a deal with him: mutual non-interference.”

The Hydra slowly raised its heads, neither nodding nor shaking.

The cell fell dead silent. The only sound in the containment bay was Xiaobai nervously swallowing his saliva.

In the laboratory upstairs, Qiu Chao printed out the compiled medical data while keeping an eye on the cell’s security feed. He flipped through the documents, handed them to the man beside him, and teased, “Brother Duan, five years ago, she was probably just trying to figure out how to survive day by day. She shouldn’t know anything about what happened back then. How is it that after chatting with a monster for a few minutes, she’s managed to piece together most of the truth? Are you sure you didn’t leak the script to her in advance?”

Duan Xiaolin took the dossier, scanning it carefully. “I didn’t want her to know,” he replied calmly. “The more she learns, the harder it will be for her to take action against that parasite when the time comes.”

He would have vastly preferred if Pei Xiqing never guessed the truth, nor uncovered the deep-rooted bond between him and the monster. Once a bond like that was formed, one had to pay double the price to sever it.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now. She’s already deduced most of it. The more you try to keep her in the dark, the more she’ll want to dig. She would have found out eventually.”

In truth, when the initial zombie outbreak occurred, the parasites had emerged right alongside them. Only the dead and a select few within Franlun knew this secret, having witnessed it firsthand. Back then, the parasite’s combat power had been pitifully weak—like an ant that could be effortlessly crushed underfoot. Duan Xiaolin had originally intended to wipe them all out. However, simply clearing them wouldn’t save the cities already overrun by the undead.

The creature downstairs was the progenitor, the original snake parasite. Five years ago, it only had three heads. Duan Xiaolin had severed two of them. Crawling on the ground, the dying creature had used its parasitic nature to latch onto his abilities, pushing his already formidable power to an unprecedented peak. This was why his ability was named “Qiong Snake”—half of its essence was inherently tied to the parasite.

By constantly devouring the residual abilities of the dead day after day, the parasite had strengthened the Qiong Snake. As a result, Duan Xiaolin’s power was now inextricably linked to the beast in the cell. If it died, the Qiong Snake would vanish entirely. His body had already failed to bear the toll once, causing his powers to disappear. His recent recovery had been a miracle brought about by Pei Xiqing, but if he lost his abilities a second time, it would mean certain death.

Yet, the current proliferation of parasites ravaging the outside world was directly tied to this nine-headed monster. As long as the mother lived, the parasite swarm could never be truly eradicated. It was a brutal dilemma.

Qiu Chao let out a heavy sigh. He lowered his voice, “Now that she knows the truth about the parasite, I’m afraid she won’t be able to just stand by. It was fine before; the dormant virus in her system allowed her to detect zombies and parasites without suffering any substantial harm. But lately, for some unknown reason, that special immunity has been steadily diminishing.”

“We are actively monitoring the shifting data, but some variables are becoming uncontrollable. If she crosses that threshold, the accumulated virus within her body will lose its balance and detonate instantly. The consequences will be catastrophic.”

Whether it was the rapidly fading corpse spots on her skin or her dropping sensitivity to the infected, it all pointed to the same grim conclusion. The charts he had just handed to Duan Xiaolin proved it. The curve clearly showed her anti-virus and neutralizing cells dropping in a sharp arc.

In another three or four months, her unique immunity would vanish completely. The next time she was attacked by a zombie or a parasite, she wouldn’t remain indifferent. She wouldn’t even have the chance to revert to a normal human; she would be instantly consumed by the virus.

Duan Xiaolin had already harbored his own grim suspicions ever since he noticed the Qiong Snake totem fading from her back. Now, seeing the hard data, his expression turned deadly serious. “Is there any way to stabilize her condition?”

Qiu Chao tapped his chin with his pen, his fingers brushing against his mask. “Last time, you had me extract that high-level crystal core from Liu Dongshu’s chest. I might be able to synthesize a stabilizer from it, though I can’t guarantee the exact efficacy. I can only promise to try, but the success rate for stabilization should be somewhere between fifty to a hundred percent.”

“It all comes back to the crystal cores,” Duan Xiaolin murmured, lowering his eyes.

These artifacts were intimately connected to a dead man. If Xiao Yue were still alive, these treasures would have undoubtedly recognized him as their master. What a pity. Their original owner had long since been erased from the board.

He let out a cold sneer. “If those cores can stabilize her condition, then employ every resource you have to make it work.”

Qiu Chao hesitated, looking a bit troubled. “Central Headquarters has already caught wind of the crystal core phenomenon. The Marshal has personally taken command of the situation. He is absolutely determined to retrieve every scattered core from the wasteland and bring them into the capital for weaponized research.”

“Perfect timing, then,” Duan Xiaolin replied smoothly. “I need to return to the capital for a while anyway. Leave the acquisition of the crystal cores to me.”

The apocalyptic world was teeming with unseen crises; a total collapse could be triggered at any moment. The past five years had merely been a fragile, deceptive period of peace.

The true doomsday had yet to arrive.

No matter what happened in the impending chaos, he had to ensure that Pei Xiqing remained absolutely untouchable.

Chapter 215: Why Don’t You Look at Me

Pei Xiqing led Xiaobai out of the cell, where the man was already waiting in the corridor.

She walked over and laced her fingers through his, tilting her head up slightly. “Where did Brother Qiu Chao go? Did he leave already?”

“He’s gone,” Duan Xiaolin explained. “He still has autopsies and operational duties to oversee for Franlun back at headquarters.”

“He works so hard. I feel bad making him travel all the way out here. What were the test results?”

“Inconclusive.”

“I see.”

Pei Xiqing subconsciously rubbed her arm. “Brother Duan, when exactly are you leaving for headquarters? Let me know so I can help pack your things.”

“Today.”

“…Alright.” She hadn’t expected the timeline to be so aggressive, nor did she know what had prompted him to accelerate his departure. She could only assume a critical failure had occurred at headquarters that demanded his immediate intervention.

On the drive back to the village, their route inevitably cut through the desolate wasteland and the ruined shells of cities overrun by the undead.

Xiaobai was sprawled out comfortably across the back seat, while she sat in the passenger side. She rolled the window down slightly to let the cool breeze ruffle her long hair. “Brother Duan,” she asked, “how many people actually make up the upper echelon of Franlun?”

Her question stemmed from her long-held, distant admiration for the legendary enforcement division. She had never imagined she would end up so deeply entangled in Franlun’s inner workings. Yet, apart from Shadow and Qiu Chao, she had never actually met any other members.

Or perhaps she had, but simply hadn’t realized it. For instance, she suspected Franlun employed more than one “Shadow.” There were likely multiple operatives wearing that signature mask, all operating under the same tactical codename.

She knew Brother Duan and Qiu Chao were among the high command, but as for the rest of the leadership, she remained entirely in the dark.

“There are six senior executives in total,” Duan Xiaolin replied. He held the steering wheel with one hand and casually laid on the horn as a cluster of zombies suddenly stumbled into the road, blocking their path.

The walkers’ brains had long since rotted away; they possessed no instinct to avoid speeding vehicles. The exact second they caught the scent of living humans, their eyes burned red, and they launched themselves toward the car. In the blink of an eye, the road ahead was completely jammed.

Pei Xiqing kept her window down, her eyes locking onto a young walker standing right beside her door. It stared back at her, mechanically scratching its head as it clumsily tried to reach inside to touch her. It displayed absolutely no aggressive intent. Just as she was about to try and observe it more closely, the decayed hand reaching through the window frame was violently seized by the man sitting next to her.

Before she could even blink, a brutal, sickening snap echoed through the cabin as the man effortlessly shattered the zombie’s arm.

The walker let out a guttural roar of agony. The surrounding horde instantly rioted, swarming the armored vehicle in a frenzy of snapping jaws and clawing hands.

The power window slowly hummed shut.

A relentless barrage of heavy thuds echoed through the cabin as countless distorted, terrifying faces pressed against the reinforced glass, desperately trying to shatter the barriers and flood inside.

Pei Xiqing had interacted with walkers before. Generally, they didn’t actively attack her. Even if one did manage to bite her, she wouldn’t feel any pain.

She tilted her head, confused. “Brother Duan, was there something mathematically anomalous about that specific zombie?”

The man refused to let her touch it, nor would he tolerate any walker touching her skin.

“It’s filthy. Do not touch them,” Duan Xiaolin stated, his tone dropping into a glacial chill. He callously tossed the severed, broken limb straight out the crack of the window before it fully sealed.

When the warmth bled out of his expression, he appeared entirely cold and heartless. Even the cadence of his voice had shifted, mirroring the terrifying authority of the Chief Judge standing over the water dungeon.

“…Understood.” Pei Xiqing was slightly taken aback, but she nodded slowly. “I’ll be more careful next time.”

The man didn’t hit the brakes. He slammed his foot on the accelerator, mercilessly crushing the walkers blocking the hood beneath the heavy tires. The gruesome spectacle of the undead being violently ground into the asphalt trailed endlessly behind them. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she could see the mangled walkers—many missing their lower halves or limbs—mechanically dragging themselves upright into grotesque, unnatural postures.

They were exactly the same as the zombies from five years ago, offering the same visceral, nightmarish horror.

She pulled a clean tissue from the console and carefully wiped the foul blood from the man’s palm. “Drive carefully.”

They had departed in the middle of the night, and with the delay caused by the horde, it was nearly dawn by the time they finally pulled back into the hidden valley.

Pei Xiqing had already fallen fast asleep in the passenger seat. She had been energetic during the first half of the drive, chatting with him about everything under the sun, but exhaustion had claimed her in the final hours.

Duan Xiaolin parked the vehicle and ordered Xiaobai out to patrol the yard. He then walked around to the passenger side, gently lifting the sleeping woman into his arms.

He carried her upstairs and laid her gently onto the center of the large bed. Moving with meticulous care, he removed her outer coat and shoes before pulling the duvet up over her shoulders. A slender, pale arm slipped out from beneath the covers.

He caught her wrist, gently cradling her hand in his palm, his thumb idly stroking her skin for a long moment. His dark eyes fell onto the necrotic corpse spots blooming along her inner forearm, noting how the discoloration was steadily fading, becoming less and less pronounced.

They had plowed through roughly a hundred active walkers on the road tonight. Under normal biological parameters, exposure to a horde of that density would have triggered a severe viral response, causing thick patches of corpse spots to break out across her arms and neck. Yet, the only visible reaction tonight was a faint, palm-sized discoloration isolated to her forearm.

He had once believed that absolutely nothing could ever truly stand between him and Pei Xiqing. The dormant pathogen she carried was meaningless to him. He had even briefly considered engineering a method to purge the virus entirely and revert her to a normal human baseline, solely so she wouldn’t have to carry the burden of hiding her anomaly from the world. But now, more than anyone else in this ruined world, he desperately hoped her unique viral immunity would last forever.

Pei Xiqing was in such a deep sleep that she hadn’t even registered the engine cutting off. She sluggishly fluttered her eyelids, her mind clouded with exhaustion. The lights in the bedroom were off, but the scent and temperature of the air carried an unmistakable familiarity. They were back in their sanctuary in the village.

Her vision was blurred with sleep, but she could clearly make out the broad, familiar silhouette sitting on the edge of the mattress.

She sleepily reached up, looping her arms securely around the man’s neck. “Brother Duan,” she mumbled, “you must be exhausted after driving all night. Come to bed and sleep with me.”

With barely a tug, she pulled the man down onto the mattress.

Duan Xiaolin wrapped his arm around her waist, smoothly rolling onto his back and settling her comfortably against his chest. His muscles felt rigid beneath her, preventing her from finding a truly comfortable angle to settle back into sleep.

She shifted slightly. “Where’s Xiaobai? Did he come inside?”

“He’s playing out in the yard,” the man replied, his voice a low rumble against her ear. “But you… the very first thing you do when you open your eyes is look for the dog?” He pressed closer, his tone dropping. “Why don’t you look at me instead?”

“…Alright.” Pei Xiqing’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly, the sleep haze finally beginning to wash away. “You’re right here in front of me, and he isn’t. Of course I was going to ask about him.”

She casually shrugged off her constricting long-sleeved shirt, pressing her body flush against his, completely eliminating the space between them. In the quiet dark, they could clearly feel the steady rhythm of each other’s breathing and the heavy thump of their heartbeats.

The man’s warm breath ghosted across her ear. By simply lifting her chin a fraction of an inch, Pei Xiqing seamlessly closed the gap.

Neither of them made an attempt to suppress the pull, nor did she shy away. Following the sheer gravity of her own desire, she leaned in and gently pressed her lips against the corner of his mouth.

In the pitch-black room, the damp, heavy sound of their kiss was unmistakable.

Pei Xiqing’s initial touch had been sleep-hazed and vague, but she quickly shifted her weight, practically pinning the man against the mattress as the kiss deepened until she was breathless.

Her shoulders began to tremble slightly as the heat between them flared. The man’s voice, rough and exceptionally alluring in the dark, vibrated against her skin. “It will be dawn soon.”

“You need to rest when the sun comes up,” she whispered.

“Did you forget that I’m leaving today?”

…

Pei Xiqing’s entire body went completely rigid for two agonizing seconds. Slowly, she lifted her head from the crook of his neck.

Her long, tangled hair cascaded down, a few silky strands brushing against the man’s cheek. He reached up, his slender fingers teasingly hooking a lock of her hair as he studied her flushed face.

A dark amusement danced in his eyes. “Can’t bear to let me leave? Or do you genuinely still have the energy for this?”

Pei Xiqing’s legs reflexively turned to water, and a phantom ache flared in her lower back. She could feel her entire body trembling under his intense gaze.

She stared down at him for a long, heavy moment before finally breaking the silence. “I want to go to headquarters with you.”

Chapter 216: Please Come to Me

“Are you going to miss me?”

Duan Xiaolin listened to her, resting his head on one arm. Even in the dim light, he could catch every subtle shift in her expression. Seeing her brows furrow slightly, he reached out to smooth them, his voice deep and steady. “If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I can just come back here often.”

“I don’t want you rushing back and forth. The journey is long and exhausting.” She felt completely drained after just one night on the road. If the situation at headquarters wasn’t resolved quickly, he would have to keep making that grueling commute for the foreseeable future. Just thinking about it made her ache with exhaustion.

“It’s not a hardship,” he replied smoothly. “For me, there is no such thing.”

Pei Xiqing gently stroked his face in the dark. Her night vision wasn’t as sharp as his, so she used her fingertips to trace his features, wanting to clearly feel his expression.

“The Chief Judge of Franlun likes to shoulder everything on his own. He carries the responsibilities and the countless expectations of the entire base,” she said softly. “But that was in the past. From now on, I want to face everything with you, whether it’s good or bad.”

Duan Xiaolin’s hand rested firmly on her lower back. He lifted her slightly, and although she was positioned on top of him, he was the one holding all the control. “You’re forcing yourself into a difficult situation just to appease me,” he murmured.

Pei Xiqing quickly shook her head. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not wronging myself. I’ve finally thought it through. Headquarters isn’t anything to be afraid of—it’s just a human settlement. I didn’t want to go before mostly because of the virus inside me. I was terrified that my presence would become a liability for you, trapping you in a dilemma between me and the high command… and honestly, I just really didn’t want to deal with other people.”

The apocalypse was inherently cruel, and a new wave of turmoil could erupt at any moment. Even with her prior knowledge of the novel’s plot, she couldn’t accurately predict what the next ten years would hold. The biggest twist was that the original protagonist was already dead. The world’s trajectory had spiraled completely out of control. Because of that, she cherished the present more than ever.

The arm around her waist suddenly tightened, pulling her firmly against his chest. The sheer strength of his embrace left her with nowhere to hide.

Pei Xiqing lowered her gaze. “What’s wrong?”

Duan Xiaolin cupped the back of her head, pressing her lips to his. He bit her lip with a rare, sudden harshness—a blatant, possessive punishment before the kiss deepened. “I won’t let you worry about those things,” he murmured against her mouth. “And I will prove to you that your choice was the right one.”

Pei Xiqing deliberately played dumb. “What choice? Why don’t I remember making one?”

The curtains weren’t fully drawn, and the sky outside was gradually beginning to brighten. The faint morning light spilled through the glass, finally allowing her to see his face clearly. As expected, he looked as calm and composed as ever, save for a single, slightly raised eyebrow.

“Wasn’t it you who invited me to come sleep with you?” he asked smoothly.

Pei Xiqing blinked innocently. “Well, if you don’t want to, does that mean I should invite someone else?”

The man’s eyes darkened, his voice dropping to a slow, dangerous drawl. “You could try. But you wouldn’t live to try it a second time.”

“Can Brother Duan truly protect me?” she teased, deliberately putting on a pitiful face while her eyes sparkled with cunning. “If my virus is discovered at headquarters, I might be locked up as a test subject. What will I do then? When we see each other, will we have to talk through the glass of a laboratory containment cell?”

Duan Xiaolin stared at her in silence for a moment before replying seriously. “If you’ve decided to go, you will never have to worry about such things. Whatever lifestyle you enjoyed before, you can continue it there. You won’t have to change a single thing about yourself.”

“Can I go sightseeing and take photos there too?”

“You can,” he said. “There are a few scenic spots in the inner sectors that are still in acceptable condition.”

“Then it must be pretty nice.” She idly played with the frames of his glasses. “Are you really sure my presence won’t hold you back?”

“Since you’re so worried that I’d be caught in a dilemma between you and the high command, you might as well come and see the truth with your own eyes.” He knew that words alone wouldn’t be enough to completely erase her anxieties. She needed to witness his authority firsthand.

“Brother Duan.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m not questioning your abilities. I was just trying to consider things from your perspective.”

“From my perspective,” he stated flatly, “there is no need to show a shred of mercy to outsiders.”

“I understand,” Pei Xiqing nodded.

“However…” His grip on her waist suddenly tightened, locking her in place so she couldn’t move an inch. “You just said you wanted to invite someone else. Who exactly were you planning to look for?”

Pei Xiqing shuddered under his intense gaze. She quickly pulled off his glasses and leaned down to kiss him, eagerly appeasing him. “No one. You’ve been my only target from the very beginning.”

When she first crossed over into this apocalyptic world, she was destined to be nothing more than a lonely ghost wandering the wasteland. She never expected to cross paths with the ultimate villain. And since she had, she was fully committed to claiming him as hers.

Later that morning, Pei Xiqing and Duan Xiaolin began packing their belongings.

When they broke the news to the few remaining villagers, everyone was deeply reluctant to see them go. Having heard the rumors, Ma Mengxiang rushed over to their yard. Still clutching a wood-chopping axe in her hand, she stood in the doorway and blurted out, “Miss Pei! You’re leaving?!”

“Yes, we are.”

“It’s all happening so fast,” Ma Mengxiang murmured, lowering her head in dismay. “Once you leave, there will barely be anyone left in the village. I suppose everyone’s fate is already set. Every meeting eventually ends in parting. Just like the others who left, there comes a day when those destined to leave will go, and the community will scatter. No one can stay here forever.”

She let out a heavy sigh. Looking out over the dilapidated homesteads and the gray, silent mountains, she sat down dejectedly on the porch steps.

Inside the house, Pei Xiqing was in the middle of packing when Xiaobai playfully snatched a custom-made dog vest from her hands and bolted. “Brother Duan!” she called up the stairs. “He stole his clothes again! Please catch him and put them on him later!”

The roads through the wasteland were riddled with hidden dangers. Xiaobai had a habit of diving into dense, thorny bushes and rummaging through piles of infected corpses. Without protective gear, his skin could easily get cut or exposed to toxins. Besides, the weather had turned sharply colder, and the massive pup needed an extra layer to stay warm on the journey.

Hearing the commotion from the doorway, Ma Mengxiang perked up. “Do you need any help with that? I know how to sew. My hands aren’t as delicate as my cousin’s, but I can patch up heavy fabrics just fine.”

“No, that’s alright, but thank you, Mengxiang,” Pei Xiqing replied softly. Noticing the girl’s lingering melancholy, she set her packing aside. She poured a fresh glass of warm water, walked out to the porch, and sat down on the steps beside her.

Pei Xiqing handed her the glass. “I know this feels incredibly abrupt. When the others left for the base, you explicitly chose to stay here with me. Now that I’m turning around and leaving, I realize it makes me look unreliable and untrustworthy. I’m truly sorry for the sudden change, but my reasons are complicated, and I really don’t have a choice.” She paused, looking at Ma Mengxiang seriously. “So, I want to ask you one last time… If I can absolutely guarantee your safety, would you be willing to come to the base with us?”

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