What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH343-345

Chapter 343| Chapter 344| Chapter 345

Chapter 343: No One is Innocent 

Pei Xiqing was completely consumed by the need to eliminate the crystal cores. Whenever she spotted one, she made sure to keep a safe distance from Duan Xiaolin. She would constantly keep an eye on him, terrified that he would try to seek out another core.

Even when repeating the same mistakes, a person should have a bottom line. But he didn’t seem to care at all. He justified it with his own twisted logic, telling her, “Whoever holds the crystal core is its master. It doesn’t matter whose memories those fragments contain; as long as you have the strength to take them, everything will be fine.”

“And what about the natural disasters?” Pei Xiqing shot back.

“There’s nothing to say about them. What’s coming will come eventually. Now that it’s here, there’s no point in hiding or running from it.”

Pei Xiqing felt utterly helpless. She knew exactly what kind of man he was. If he were the type to resign himself to fate and cower in the face of disaster, he wouldn’t be Duan Xiaolin.

They remained in the red zone for over half a month.

During that time, Ling Lang and his team returned from their hunts fully loaded almost every single day. They slaughtered the zombies and parasites without mercy. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before the infested area was completely wiped clean.

Ling Lang kicked a severed parasite head aside and smirked arrogantly. “No matter how many of them come, I’ll kill them all. Let’s see how these ugly bastards plan to ruin the world now.”

Nearby, Ji Yao rested her chin in her hand. “Wow, it really is true that every generation produces its own monsters.”

“The new waves of the Yangtze River always push the old waves forward. Eventually, you’ll all be washed up dead on the beach,” Qiu Chao chimed in. “Present company excluded, of course.”

“Oh, shut up.” Long Yan tossed him a bottle of water. “Qiu Chao, why don’t you go review the surveillance footage and combat logs from the past few days? Tell me exactly how many zombies and parasites you killed, and how many times you slacked off. Do you want me to highlight them for you?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Qiu Chao mumbled, taking a large gulp of water.

Long Yan nudged his arm, subtly nodding toward Pei Xiqing, who was standing nearby in dead silence. Lowering her voice, Long Yan asked, “Xiqing hasn’t been looking well lately. What’s going on with her? That modified phone you gave her—she’s supposed to be tracking something, right? She’s completely obsessed with it. She stays up all night just staring at the screen.”

“She’s looking for the final crystal cores,” Qiu Chao whispered back. “She wants to find them first to eliminate any potential risks to Brother Duan.”

“Crystal cores? Aren’t those supposed to be good? Why would she want to get rid of them?”

“I’m not entirely sure… but my guess is that those last few crystal cores are the very triggers for the natural disasters. If Brother Duan gets his hands on them, we’ll be in massive trouble. Predicting life or death will be the least of our worries.”

“What? Then why don’t we just kill all the zombies and parasites around here right now?”

Qiu Chao snorted. “She and Brother Duan came to this hellhole specifically for those last few cores. One of them wants to find them, and the other is desperately trying to prevent it. Do you really think they came all the way out here just to exterminate some ugly bugs?”

“Who wants to find them?”

“Brother Duan.”

“And Xiqing doesn’t?”

“She wants to find them before Brother Duan does, so she can hide or destroy them.” Qiu Chao clapped his hands together, then spread them apart in an exploding motion. “If she does that, everything will be fine.”

Long Yan frowned. “But I thought Xiqing’s body constantly needed crystal cores to survive?”

“Exactly,” Qiu Chao replied. “She’s already depleted most of her reserves. Right now, the only way to get more is to extract them from these parasites. The bigger the parasite, the higher the grade of the core inside it. It all depends on whether we can hunt down the exceptionally large ones hiding out here.”

Long Yan sighed heavily. “So, Brother Duan is relentlessly hunting for these crystal cores to ensure Xiqing stays healthy and keeps her abilities. He’s basically willing to sacrifice everything to provide for her. But Xiqing doesn’t want him taking that risk, so she’s choosing to give up her own life and powers to protect him instead.”

Qiu Chao looked troubled. “Yeah. It’s a dead end. There is no easy solution.”

…

Pei Xiqing had been staring at the radar screen for a solid week.

Every single day, from the moment she woke up until she finally collapsed from exhaustion, she kept her eyes glued to her phone. After doing this for so many days in a row, she felt like she was losing her mind. Her vision was completely blurred. When she finally couldn’t take it anymore and lay down in her sleeping bag to rest, she sensed someone approaching. They gently picked up the phone she had set aside.

Pei Xiqing subconsciously lifted her head.

Duan Xiaolin sat down beside her, gently brushing her hair away from her forehead. “Rest if you’re tired.”

“I’m not tired,” Pei Xiqing replied in a raspy whisper.

If she could just determine the location of the final crystal cores, she would finally be free of this anxiety. As long as she found them before he did and kept them safely hidden away, no one would be in danger.

But deep down, she knew her idea was painfully naive. The forcible extraction of the cores was intimately tied to him, and the looming natural disasters only had one target in mind. Finding the cores first might not even change the outcome in the end.

But she still had to try her best.

The man gently massaged her temples, and under his soothing touch, Pei Xiqing gradually drifted into a dazed sleep. Even then, her mind was entirely occupied by thoughts of the crystal cores, and her rest was fitful.

When she opened her eyes again, a fully formed, high-tier crystal core was floating quietly right in front of her.

Staring at it, Pei Xiqing’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

The moment she fully registered what she was seeing, the intricate patterns on the core’s surface began to shift. It pulsed with a pale red light. It felt like a death warrant. A suffocating pressure seized her by the throat.

Pei Xiqing didn’t dare look at it for another second. She scrambled up and bolted out of the aircraft.

In the clearing outside, Qiu Chao and Long Yan were sitting in folding chairs, tending to a campfire and cooking a meal.

“Where’s Brother Duan?” she demanded breathlessly.

Long Yan pointed behind her. Turning, she saw Duan Xiaolin and Ling Lang standing a short distance away.

As if sensing her panic, the man turned to look at her.

Suddenly, the blood in Pei Xiqing’s veins seemed to boil. Before she even realized what was happening, she violently coughed up a mouthful of dark blood.

Long Yan and Qiu Chao jumped up in shock, immediately rushing over to support her.

Qiu Chao frantically examined her pulse. “Damn it! You’re the first person I’ve ever met who literally vomited blood from sheer anger! Sister Xiqing, I know Brother Duan is being stubborn, but you don’t have to be this furious. Look at you—you’re hurting yourself!”

Duan Xiaolin’s expression darkened instantly. He strode over, scooped her up into his arms, and carried her back toward the cabin.

Pei Xiqing gripped his sleeve tightly, her knuckles white. “Something feels wrong. A natural disaster is coming. Brother Duan, we need to hurry.”

The man humored her on the surface as he carried her into the aircraft. “Don’t be angry.”

“No, I’m not angry. It’s just… this mysterious, dreadful feeling.” She squeezed his hand desperately. “We have to leave now. We can’t stay here.”

She turned her head to look around. When she had woken up a moment ago, the floating crystal core had been right there, but now it was gone. She quickly asked, “Did you bring back a crystal core? A red one?”

The man pursed his lips. “No.”

“Then my feeling is right.”

When she had seen that illusion of the crystal core earlier, she had sensed that a catastrophe was imminent. That core was entirely unnatural. It felt as though it carried the dying resentment of this world’s true protagonist. The very moment she laid eyes on it, a crushing pain had torn through her internal organs, so agonizing that she had actually coughed up blood.

Duan Xiaolin frowned deeply. “What exactly did you see?”

“I saw the final crystal core,” she replied with absolute certainty. “We need to scatter right now, not group up. If we stay together, it’ll be too easy for us to get wiped out all at once.” She looked at him resolutely. “You need to take the others and leave this place immediately.”

The moment the words left her mouth, a deafening crack of thunder shook the sky outside the window.

The earth beneath them began to violently quake and split apart. She dragged herself closer to the window. Her lips turned deathly pale as a massive fissure ripped open across the ground outside. “If we don’t run right now, it will be too late!”

“They won’t leave,” Duan Xiaolin said calmly from behind her. “Since they chose to follow us all the way out here, they’ve already prepared themselves to die in battle.”

“But they’re innocent,” she protested.

“No one here is innocent,” he replied with a dark, soft chuckle. “You should have known that a long time ago. Otherwise, you never would have allowed them to come.”

Pei Xiqing lowered her head, taking a shaky, deep breath.

It was precisely because she knew this that she couldn’t let it go. The team had followed her relentlessly. She had thought of countless ways to ditch them along the journey, but she had failed every single time. She assumed the sheer terror of this red zone would finally force them to give up and turn back. Instead, they had dug their heels in and nearly slaughtered every zombie and parasite in the area.

Pei Xiqing fell into a long, heavy silence.

After a long time, she finally spoke. “Brother Duan, you know exactly what we are about to face.”

“I know.” The man stepped closer, leaning down slightly. His eyes were warm, carrying a gentle smile. “Are you scared?”

“If I were afraid, I never would have followed you out of the base in the first place. I’d be sitting safely at home right now, holding Ruirui and living a comfortable life.”

“I honestly hoped you wouldn’t come,” he admitted softly. Every passing second he had waited outside the base that day, he had prayed she wouldn’t show up.

But she had appeared anyway. She had stumbled toward him, looking utterly clumsy, yet in doing so, she had breathed vibrant life into his bleak, resigned existence.

He extended a hand toward her. “Shall we face this together?”

Pei Xiqing let out an indignant scoff and slapped his hand away.

But in the very next second, she grabbed it and held on tightly.

Duan Xiaolin understood her inner turmoil. He understood her reluctance to drag others down, and he knew crystal clear that her initial urge to run wasn’t born of fear, but of a deep love for the people she wanted to protect.

He smiled softly. “Let’s go.”

When they stepped out of the aircraft’s hatch, they were met with absolute chaos.

The sky and the earth looked as though they had been shattered into countless jagged pieces. Lightning constantly tore through the dark clouds as relentless earthquakes rocked the ground. And from the freshly opened fissures and the surrounding valleys, horrifying, long-dormant parasites began to swarm out in droves.

While furiously fending off the onslaught of parasites, Ling Lang fell back a few steps and yelled into his comms headset, “How is Pei Xiqing doing?!”

Qiu Chao glanced back and saw her and Duan Xiaolin emerging from the ship. “She looks perfectly fine now!” he shouted back over the noise.

“Then why the hell did she suddenly vomit blood earlier?!”

“Maybe she was just really mad at Brother Duan!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

“I don’t know! Maybe they had a fight or something, but she seems okay now!”

“Let me know immediately if anything changes!” Ling Lang ordered.

“Don’t worry about us, just watch your back!” Qiu Chao warned. “I have no idea how many of these dormant parasites have been hibernating under these rocks! They weren’t showing any life signs on the radar before, so we don’t know how powerful they actually are. Do not underestimate them!”

Ling Lang leaned sideways, narrowly dodging a lunging parasite. He stepped in smoothly, his wrist flicking as his blade cleanly decapitated the monster.

However, he failed to notice a massive shadow lurking silently behind a nearby boulder. The moment he struck down his target, a colossal, jagged arm erupted from the earth beneath him, striking out like a whip.

Ling Lang’s reflexes flared. He threw himself back, barely avoiding the razor-sharp appendage, and instantly brought up his military-grade sword to block the follow-up strike.

But just as he parried the fatal blow, a dozen more horrifying arms burst from the ground around him, encircling him like an inescapable iron cage.

Ordinary weapons couldn’t even scratch the thick hides of these ancient beasts.

Cursing under his breath, Ling Lang grabbed a combat stimulant and injected a dose straight into his neck. A furious red flush began to spread across his skin as his muscles bulged with enhanced strength. Leveling his gun in one hand and brandishing his glowing sword in the other, he glared up at the towering behemoth. “Alright, you ugly bastard. I’m going to have some real fun with you today.”

On the other side of the battlefield, Ji Yao and the rest of the team had also realized that these newly awakened parasites were vastly different.

Using her bare hands, Ji Yao brutally tore off one of a parasite’s limbs, only to watch it regenerate almost instantly. She raised an eyebrow in amusement. With a devastating roundhouse kick, she completely obliterated the monster’s entire shoulder and arm in a shower of gore.

“Let’s see you regenerate from that.”

As she spoke, Long Yan’s frantic warning crackled through her earpiece. “These things just keep pouring out of the ground, and their regenerative abilities are off the charts! Their sizes and attack patterns have completely mutated. Everyone, stay sharp! We need to use specialized tactics to put them down for good!”

“Understood,” Ji Yao replied calmly.

Stomping her boot down hard onto the writhing parasite’s head to pin it, she slowly drew her military sword from its sheath. “Consider yourselves lucky. You get to witness my second ability before you die.”

Staring at the gleaming edge of her sword, she channeled her supernatural energy into the blade. Her entire body began to radiate a fierce, blinding golden light. But beneath the gold, a faint, icy blue aura crackled around her left hand.

She was a Dual Awakened—a psychic wielding two completely different superpowers.

If Pei Xiqing had been watching, she would have recognized instantly that Ji Yao’s abilities were strikingly similar to those of the late Pei Yanting.

In this apocalyptic world, there was never a shortage of powerhouses—especially this rare echelon of warriors who possessed dual abilities.

Ji Yao smiled down at the massive parasite roaring furiously beneath her boot. The wicked curve of her lips gave her an enchantingly dangerous look.

“You guys are really too loud.”

Everyone unleashed their superpowers to the fullest. During the earlier skirmishes, they had been holding back their strength when fighting the standard parasites, anticipating that something much worse was waiting for them.

It turned out their instincts were dead on. They fought fiercely across the crumbling terrain.

These ancient hosts were emerging in completely unpredictable patterns, and there were simply too many of them. Their sheer strength was a tier above anything the team had faced before.

For a brief moment, the battlefield was locked in a brutal stalemate.

Pei Xiqing leaped off the aircraft’s ramp and lunged straight for Qiu Chao, grabbing his shoulder. “Brother Qiu Chao! Let me bite you!”

Qiu Chao balked. “Ah? Are you serious right now?!”

“Dead serious!”

Without giving him a second to process, Pei Xiqing yanked up his sleeve and sank her teeth into his arm.

“Hey! Woah! You didn’t have to be so enthusiastic!” Qiu Chao yelped.

The initial bite didn’t actually hurt much at all. He was just about to tease her for having a weak jaw, but in the next second, his face contorted in sheer agony.

“Fuck!” Qiu Chao staggered back, clutching his arm desperately.

The veins on his forehead bulged and throbbed violently. Gasping for air, he groaned, “Your virus… this Substance X inside you… is it really this domineering?!”

Pei Xiqing wiped a trace of blood from the corner of her mouth. “I’m sorry, brother.”

Qiu Chao wanted to curse her out, but the vicious viral surge had already brought him to his knees.

The sheer, explosive power tearing through his system was absolutely terrifying. He suddenly remembered how Brother Duan had remained completely stoic after being bitten. He couldn’t even fathom the kind of monstrous willpower the man possessed.

Qiu Chao nearly collapsed and rolled on the ground, but out of sheer pride to not lose face in front of his teammates, he forced himself to stay upright.

The sensation was unimaginable—it felt as though every meridian in his body was being violently ripped open and forcibly cleared. It was as if the weight of ten thousand mountains was crushing his spine, ruthlessly tearing apart his flesh while simultaneously reconstructing his very soul.

After what felt like an eternity, Long Yan kicked a lunging parasite away and screamed over her shoulder, “Incoming! Qiu Chao, what the hell are you doing?! Why are you spacing out right now?! Damn it, move!”

Qiu Chao was drenched in cold sweat, his entire body convulsing violently. But just as the massive parasite lunged to devour him, his eyes snapped open.

His irises glowed with a terrifying, bloody scarlet light.

Chapter 344: I Will Always Remember 

Qiu Chao’s posture was slightly hunched, but a closer look revealed the thick, bulging veins standing out against his skin. There were other subtle, underlying changes occurring within him that were impossible to fully grasp in such a short time, yet these shifts were quietly and fundamentally altering his very nature.

Long Yan was currently struggling to hold back a dozen giant parasites, doing her absolute best to contain them, though she was constantly battered by their strange, invasive energy. Their shells seemed to have evolved into some kind of hyper-dense, reinforced material that was proving nearly impossible to break.

Just as she was beginning to search for a new tactic, Ling Lang appeared at her side. With a swift movement, he crushed the limb of a parasite. The appendage exploded in a spray of dark blood, yet the host showed no signs of stopping.

Long Yan blinked in surprise. “What’s going on? Did Qiu Chao take some kind of stimulant?”

Qiu Chao shook the hair out of his eyes, a grin spreading across his face. “I’ve evolved.”

“…You’re toxic, aren’t you?”

“If you don’t believe me, just watch.” He held up the mangled limb he’d torn off. “How many people do you know who can do that?”

Before she could answer, he vaulted over her and landed directly on the head of a massive parasite. He began ripping its limbs off with raw, unadulterated brute force. The creature couldn’t even put up a defense. Within seconds, a pile of severed limbs lay scattered around his feet.

Long Yan paused to assess the scene, dumbfounded. “No way… you really did dose yourself, didn’t you? Did you develop some secret potion? Are you hiding something good from the rest of us?”

“You don’t understand,” he insisted. “I’ve truly evolved.”

“Yeah, sure.” Long Yan pointed toward the hundreds of parasites swarming on their right. “I’ll leave that side to you. I’m going to go check on Xiqing.”

“Of course, no problem.” Qiu Chao clenched his fists, watching his supernatural energy ripple across his knuckles. He rolled his neck, glaring at the encroaching parasites. “I’ve got plenty of time today to teach you disobedient, ugly things a lesson for mutating behind our backs.”

Long Yan was worried he was just bluffing, but as she watched him fight, she realized with a start that he was handling the creatures with zero effort. She quickened her pace, scanning the battlefield until she found Pei Xiqing tucked away in a corner, frantically digging into the earth with a shovel.

“Xiqing! What are you doing here?”

Pei Xiqing looked up, her face etched with desperation. “I’m looking for the crystal core.”

“Don’t you want the crystal core?”

“I don’t want it, but I have to find it.”

“Why?”

“Because only that specific core can have that effect.”

“What are you talking about?” Long Yan didn’t understand, but seeing the parasites closing in and the cracks in the ground widening, she reached out to pull Pei Xiqing away. “Come with me first! I’ll take you to a safe spot. Don’t worry about the core, I’ll help you dig it out later. There’s still time.”

“It’s already too late.” Pei Xiqing stared upward, her voice hollow. “The ultimate target of this natural disaster is only one person, and the crystal core can only belong to one person.”

“What? What are you saying?”

Pei Xiqing couldn’t hear her. She refused to leave, asking instead, “Where’s Brother Duan?”

“He’s killing the parasites in the front line.”

Long Yan looked up and saw Duan Xiaolin. Even without using his supernatural abilities, his combat skills were peerless. The parasites that seemed indestructible to others were falling effortlessly under his blade.

“I’m going to go help him,” Long Yan said. “You stay careful here. If you see any parasites, run toward our lines.”

“Okay.”

Pei Xiqing returned to her task, shovel hitting the dirt over and over. It felt like the ground had no bottom, and whatever she was searching for remained elusive.

And all the while, the natural disaster drew closer. What they were fighting now were merely appetizers; a true natural disaster was a punishment no one could interfere with. If this was the unavoidable cost of seizing the protagonist’s luck, then she despised this ending. They weren’t just tools in a book meant to highlight someone else’s journey. Brother Duan wasn’t some generic villain destined to be written off at a specific time.

She kept digging until the shovel snapped in two.

Pei Xiqing froze.

Up ahead, Long Yan suddenly screamed, “Brother Duan! Be careful!”

Pei Xiqing looked up. Every parasite on the field had locked onto him, advancing with him as their sole target. Without relying on his powers, the man was ultimately overwhelmed by the sheer number of creatures.

Without warning, a sharp tentacle pierced through his chest.

Duan Xiaolin reacted instantly, severing the limb with his saber and turning sharply to dodge a follow-up strike from behind.

“I’m fine,” the man called out, wiping the blood from his chest with his free hand, his stride remarkably steady. “Worry about yourselves.”

Long Yan was too entangled to reach him. “Brother Duan! Come back to our line! We need to regroup!”

Ling Lang had also noticed the danger. He was surrounded by a sea of enemies, his face already streaked with blood. He stared coldly at the swarm. “You beasts love playing tricks, hiding and ambushing. If you have any guts, fight us head-on!”

Qiu Chao, who had been tossing parasites aside, caught sight of the radar readings and shouted, “Something is wrong!”

“What is it?”

“Besides Brother Duan, their target is the base!” he yelled into his headset. “My device is detecting that they’re starting to move toward the human settlement! We have to hold them! We can’t let them spread!”

“Why now?”

“Detectors show they’re heading toward the survivors. Even if they’re far away, if a single one gets through, the risk of parasitic infection is absolute.”

The gravity of the situation hit them all at once. If these powerful, mutated parasites reached the human base, the resulting tragedy would be catastrophic.

Duan Xiaolin’s calm voice cut through the chaos. “Long Yan, Leng Huayi, establish the first line of defense. Ling Lang, Hui Hua, and Ji Yao, take the second. The rest of us will flank from the sides. We cannot let a single parasite escape alive.”

“Understood!”

“Receiving!”

Ling Lang’s dual powers flared to life, casting a bright glow over the battlefield. “Don’t worry, Sister Long Yan. Even if the first line falls, we’ll make sure nothing gets past the second.”

Pei Xiqing was still trying to fix her shovel. Qiu Chao ran over to her. “Bite me again! Where’s my place in the second line?”

Pei Xiqing didn’t look up. “It’s useless to bite again, and…” She paused. “Among the current team, you’re the only one who can handle my bite. No one else is compatible.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I can’t explain it,” she said. “I can just feel it.”

“Oh… well, how long will this boost last?”

“It’s up to you. You can sustain it as long as you have the will.”

“Is it really that magical?”

Pei Xiqing finally stopped and looked at him. “Why are you here instead of at the front?”

“I’m the second line of defense, but we need time to rotate. I came to check on you.”

“Everyone will be okay.”

“As long as we have time to recover, we’ll be fine.”

“Good.”

“Why are you still digging?” Qiu Chao asked. “I’ll help you.”

Pei Xiqing shook her head. “Go help Ling Lang and the others. If I remember correctly, you brought a lot of medical supplies.”

“Right. But you’re here alone. What if a parasite gets past the line? You need protection…”

As if on cue, a parasite erupted from the ground nearby. The Qiong Snake in Pei Xiqing’s palm seemed to possess its own sensory radar, instantly lashing out and binding the creature. Strange green energy surged like a constricting serpent, and within five seconds, the parasite went limp and died.

Qiu Chao gave a thumbs up, visibly relieved. “I knew you were hiding something powerful, but I didn’t expect Brother Duan to give you the Qiong Snake.”

He ran back to the front to distribute medicine to the others. Pei Xiqing stayed focused on the ground.

The battle raged for another ten hours.

Finally, Pei Xiqing dug to the bottom of the pit, but it was empty. She stared into the void, her lips deathly pale. Had she been wrong?

The parasite tide temporarily receded, but the situation was dire. The first line of defense had held, but Long Yan and Leng Huayi were on the brink of collapse. Pei Xiqing knelt beside them, stunned by the sheer amount of energy they had expended.

“Sister Long Yan, are you okay?”

Long Yan opened her eyes weakly. “I’m fine. Leng Huayi blocked so many hits for me… he’s in a bad way.”

Leng Huayi sat up, but before he could speak, he coughed up blood. “The first line… didn’t bring you shame.”

Qiu Chao bumped his fist against his shoulder. “Good brother. You’re a credit to Franlon.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take the rest,” Ling Lang promised. “We’ll make sure they all die here.”

Pei Xiqing’s eyes reddened. “When will the next wave come?”

“Ten minutes.”

“Damn it,” Qiu Chao hissed. “They don’t even give us a break.”

Pei Xiqing turned toward the front line. “How is Brother Duan?”

“He’s fine. Minor injuries are nothing to him. He’s with Zhang Tian, directing the team.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

“No way,” Qiu Chao snapped.

“Why not?”

“You stay in the back.”

Long Yan grabbed her hand. “Xiqing, we aren’t in good shape. Stay here and take care of us.”

“I can help, but I can’t sit back and watch you die while I hide. I can’t do it.”

Long Yan sighed. “You really are impossible.”

Ling Lang blocked her path. “Don’t go. The front line is too dangerous for you.”

“I’m going.” Pei Xiqing stood up and winked at them. “My ability isn’t as fragile as you think.”

Before the ten minutes were up, the parasites swarmed out again. Qiu Chao cursed, “No martial ethics! It’s only been seven minutes!”

“Save your breath,” Ling Lang said, handing her a machine gun.

Pei Xiqing hugged the heavy weapon to her chest and followed them. Long Yan watched her go, sighing silently. “If only that girl would listen to Brother Duan.”

The swarm was massive—an exponential tide of monsters. Ling Lang looked over at her. “Are you scared?”

Pei Xiqing checked the safety on the gun. “How many rounds does this hold?”

“A thousand and fifty.”

“That’s a lot.” She aimed at the front line and opened fire. A swathe of parasites fell instantly. “That’s pretty amazing.”

“High technology for you.”

As a parasite burst from a nearby rock, the Qiong Snake shot out and dragged it down. Pei Xiqing swung around to cover Ling Lang’s back. “Ling Lang, you be careful, too.”

He smiled. “I’ll go ahead. You hold the line.”

“Good.”

Ling Lang took a few steps, then paused, looking back at her for several seconds before forcing a smile. “Hey… this is the first time we’ve done this together. It feels pretty good.”

Pei Xiqing gripped the gun. “Me too.”

Ling Lang curled his lips. He would remember this moment for a long, long time. Perhaps even when he was old and dying, he would still remember this scene.

Chapter 345: True Power 

Pei Xiqing could no longer keep track of how many parasites she had slaughtered or how many of their heads she had crushed beneath her boots. Like everyone else on the second line of defense, her mind was occupied by a single, desperate thought: We must not let a single parasite break through.

If they spread, it would be a devastating blow to the newly established Quanwu base.

Her hand, cramping around the grip of her gun, felt like lead. Her energy was nearly spent. The Qiong Snake—which felt more like a young, growing serpent than a weapon—curled around her wrist with its final burst of strength, flicking its tongue before growing faint and listless.

She reached out to touch its head, but as her fingers brushed the scales, the creature dissolved into mist. Only then did she realize the Qiong Snake wasn’t a physical entity, but a manifestation of her own will.

She managed a tired smile, but her grip on the gun failed. Strength deserted her body. As she began to pitch forward toward the hard earth, she was caught in a cold, steady embrace. A wall of warmth blocked the barrage of attacks coming from behind.

Pei Xiqing slowly raised her gaze.

“Brother Duan…”

“Rest,” the man whispered, his voice low. “You’ve done enough.”

She clung to his waist, burying her blood-streaked face against his chest. “Hold on.”

“I am holding on.”

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

Duan Xiaolin hoisted her into his arms, carrying her bridal-style as he pivoted and surged away from the chaos of the front lines. As they passed Ling Lang, he threw a command over his shoulder: “Everyone, retreat—now!”

Ling Lang glared at the endless stream of monsters, coughing up a mouthful of blood, but under Qiu Chao’s insistent urging, he finally relented and followed them back toward the aircraft.

Back at the temporary base near the aircraft, Pei Xiqing lay on Duan Xiaolin’s knees, her breathing shallow and her face the color of parchment. She wasn’t the only one in bad shape. Ling Lang and Qiu Chao were so covered in lacerations that it was impossible to even count the wounds.

Long Yan and Zhang Tian immediately rushed over, pressing gauze onto the worst of the bleeding.

“Surgery! There’s a shard embedded deep in my chest—it has to come out right now!” Ling Lang gasped.

Zhang Tian scrambled to hand over the surgical kit. A sharp object nearly twenty centimeters long had pierced Ling Lang’s chest. Long Yan began the extraction immediately. “It’s going to hurt. Just hold on.”

Ling Lang didn’t utter a sound, merely offering a stiff nod.

When Pei Xiqing drifted back to consciousness and saw the scene, she scrambled over to assist. It took hours of grueling, frantic effort before the team managed to stabilize their critical injuries.

Pei Xiqing turned her attention back to Duan Xiaolin, her eyes searching. “Brother Duan, if you’re hurt, just tell me. Don’t hide it…”

He took her hand, his eyes softening. “And you? Check your chest. Are you injured anywhere?”

Pei Xiqing glared at him. “It’s this late, and you still have the energy to joke around?” She looked down at herself. “I’m fine. No injuries.”

Qiu Chao’s voice came from the side, weak and dry. “If you could be injured, it would only mean the crystal cores in your body are useless and couldn’t even protect their master.”

Ji Yao pulled her hair back with a rubber band. “We need to discuss our next move. These parasites are stubborn and endless. Qiu Chao, we’re almost out of the supplies you brought. If they attack a few more times, we aren’t going to hold.”

“We need to find their weakness,” everyone agreed. “We can’t just keep grinding them down like this.”

“But what is their weakness?”

The group fell into a grim silence until Duan Xiaolin spoke. “They fear beings stronger than themselves.”

Pei Xiqing turned toward him. Duan Xiaolin shifted his fingers, sensing an unusual vibration not far away.

“Remember the Hydra from before?” he asked.

“I remember.”

He stared into the distance, where the ground was beginning to heave and shake. “It’s coming.”

Pei Xiqing was stunned. “Why here?”

The man let out a dark laugh. “There was always the possibility we’d actually die here.”

Pei Xiqing’s mind flashed back to the old man in the ghost village—the prophecy of a parasite that could not be killed because its life was bound to Duan Xiaolin’s. She grabbed his arm. “Then it must not die.”

“I know,” he replied.

Her unease deepened.

“It’s too much!” Qiu Chao shouted, pointing to a new arrival. “The leader of the parasites is here! Let’s see how long they can keep shrieking!”

The mutated Xiao Yi was racing toward them. Qiu Chao laughed as the creature collided with him. “Little Yi!”

The little creature had mutated after eating a parasite. They hadn’t seen it for days, but it had returned. Pei Xiqing rubbed its head lovingly, noticing how fat it had become. “Baby.”

The creature rubbed against her feet, purring.

“Things are changing! We have the help of the parasite now!” Everyone’s morale surged at the sight of Xiao Yi and the Hydra nearby. They braced themselves for the next wave, newly emboldened.

Pei Xiqing loosened Xiao Yi’s leash and looked at Duan Xiaolin. “Brother Duan, we’ll get through this safely.”

“We will,” he promised, gripping her hand tight.

But man proposes, God disposes.

This wave of parasites was more aggressive, their numbers five or six times higher than before. They were forced to retreat, forming a shrinking perimeter around the aircraft.

Xiao Yi and the Hydra surged to the front, biting through enemies, but they were far away and couldn’t stem the tide fast enough. Pei Xiqing reached for her supernatural power, but Duan Xiaolin caught her hand.

“Don’t use the snake yet,” he commanded.

“I know it’s weak, but the situation is urgent!”

“It’s not time for the true power of the Qiong Snake,” he said. “The power of the curse it carries is far greater than what you’ve shown. Save it for the end.”

Before she could question him, the serpent on his palm flashed a deep, brilliant green. She reached for him, but he intercepted her, transmitting the true technique of the Qiong Snake directly into her consciousness.

A sudden, bone-deep chill washed over her. It felt as if she had been plunged into a swamp where countless snakes writhed, each one tasting the air, ready to strike. Yet, behind that terrifying chill lay an unusual, overwhelming power—the ability to command the world and force it to bow.

She closed her eyes, surrendering to the sensation. When she opened them, Duan Xiaolin had released her. She felt drunk on the sudden influx of strength.

“I’ll lure them away,” he said. “The parasite and I will act as bait. You just wait for the right moment and spring the trap.”

Pei Xiqing lunged for him. “I’m going with you!”

The man’s lips curled, his expression softening as he stroked her hair. “Only I can finish this. Since they are targeting me, why not clean them up once and for all?”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Wait for me.”

Two simple words broke her resolve. She watched him, silent, until she finally whispered, “Come back alive.”

“I must.”

As soon as he vanished into the swarm, Pei Xiqing closed her eyes to commune with the serpent again. This time, without his guidance, the image of the creature was a ball of green mist, impenetrable and deep.

She picked up her gun and began stuffing bullets into the magazine with mechanical focus. She had started as an outsider to this world, but she had come too far to let its cruel rules take away the people she loved.

She rushed into the fray, but effort did not always guarantee a reward. While the parasites couldn’t hurt her, they were tearing through her friends.

Long Yan was slapped hard to the ground by a group of parasites. Pei Xiqing scrambled to her side. “Sister Long Yan!”

Long Yan shook her head, but as she tried to speak, blood erupted from her mouth. She tried again, only to cough up more. Pei Xiqing’s hands were slick with the warm, dark liquid.

“Hold on! I’ll get the medicine box!”

Long Yan shook her head, grabbing Pei Xiqing’s hand to hold her in place.

“Sister Long Yan, don’t talk! Just hold on!”

“My powers… are exhausted,” Long Yan wheezed. “This is the first time I’ve used them all up… but it’s a good experience. I don’t regret it. It let me see Huihua one last time.”

“Stop it! I’m going to save you!”

Long Yan smiled, pressing Pei Xiqing’s hand against her cheek. “No need. I know my own body. Even the strongest power couldn’t hold out here. You and Brother Duan have to end this natural disaster… and escape. Don’t worry about these things anymore. They aren’t your burden. If you want to blame someone, blame Xiao Yue… he was always so annoying.”

She kept spitting blood, her words frantic, as if she were racing against the inevitable. “Huihua… I’m sorry. If I had trusted him back then… we wouldn’t have wasted so many years. If he comes to Franlon, please apologize for me. I should have stood by him until the end.”

Pei Xiqing tried to lift her, only to see the horrific puncture wounds riddling her back.

“I know I’m going to die,” Long Yan whispered, her eyes closing. “Don’t feel guilty. Thank you… for letting me… Huihua is in your hands…”

Her hand slipped from Pei Xiqing’s. The next second, Huihua arrived, clutching her body.

“Long Yan!” he screamed, his eyes bloodshot. “Wake up! Who gave you permission to die? You haven’t explained everything yet!”

There was no response. Huihua was on the verge of total collapse.

Then, a sudden, brilliant burst of green light erupted from Long Yan’s body. Huihua looked up, stunned. Pei Xiqing was pouring every ounce of her energy into the Qiong Snake, forcing it to wrap around Long Yan’s form.

Sweat beaded on her forehead. “Sister Long Yan, Brother Huihua is here! You have to say it to his face! My words mean nothing!”

Her entire body strained as she funneled her vital signs into Long Yan. “If you want to resolve the misunderstanding, do it yourself! If you die, I won’t tell him a single word of what you just said.”

Perhaps it was a miracle, or perhaps it was the sheer force of her will. Long Yan’s heartbeat flickered, then strengthened.

Pei Xiqing didn’t even wipe the sweat from her eyes as she shoved all her remaining energy into the woman. “Brother Huihua, carry her! There’s life-saving potion near the aircraft! Hurry!”

Huihua hoisted Long Yan into his arms. “What about you?”

Pei Xiqing looked at the shifting earth, the gaping fissures, and the encroaching darkness. She slowly stood up, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth as she stepped toward the largest crack in the world.

“I will try to stop this,” she whispered.

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