What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH66

Chapter 66: Just a Girlfriend

Pei Xiqing had barely finished cursing when she felt the thin chain slip around her ankle.

It did not hurt, but the metal felt sickeningly cold against her skin. To make matters worse, two tiny silver bells had been attached to the links at some point. The moment she moved even a millimeter, they let out a sharp, delicate chime.

Nervous, she reached down to wrench it off.

But the clasp was completely locked. The entire chain was only about twenty to thirty centimeters long, looking simple enough, but she quickly realized it was far more complex than it seemed. After fumbling with it for several minutes, she accomplished nothing except making the bells ring louder and louder.

She looked up and collided directly with the man’s deep, dangerous gaze.

She bit her lower lip, not daring to utter another complaint. She was terrified of pushing him too far and facing even worse consequences.

He tilted his head slightly. “Want to continue?”

Pei Xiqing felt sore all over, and her backside was still throbbing from the swat he had given her. She didn’t even dare to sit down properly on the edge of the desk. She frantically shook her head. “No more…”

Duan Xiaolin looked entirely unsatisfied. “It seems some people still haven’t fully learned their lesson.”

“I have, I really understand now,” she murmured, quickly reaching out to catch his hand. She lacked the physical strength to pull away, but she could at least hold him back. Looking up at him pitifully, she whispered, “Trust me.”

Duan Xiaolin paused. His dark, jade-like eyes slowly scanned her face before he finally relented. “Fine. I believe you.”

“But—”

Before he could add a condition, Pei Xiqing blinked frantically, leaned forward, and pressed her lips against his.

She effectively cut off whatever he was about to say. Duan Xiaolin slid his hands around her waist from behind, a faint smile touching his lips as he deepened the kiss.

Pei Xiqing had not slept well for three consecutive nights. Her mind remained trapped in those lingering nightmares, and the horrific images of the original host’s tragic end seemed to haunt her brain, impossible to shake off.

Because she couldn’t settle down at night, she kept subbing into Duan Xiaolin’s side, curling into his arms for comfort. Almost every time she woke up from a dream, he was right there holding her.

Still, even in her hazy state, she could feel him quietly leaving the bed to handle base affairs the moment she fell into a deeper sleep.

When she finally woke up at noon one day, Xiaobai was the only one waiting by her side.

The reanimated Husky wagged his tail excitedly, lunging forward to lick her face. But before his tongue could touch her cheek, she let out a sudden, sharp sneeze that scared him right back onto his haunches.

Pei Xiqing rubbed the dog’s head, sniffing. “It’s probably just a flare-up of my rhinitis. I’m going to go clean up.”

Xiaobai followed her in happy circles.

She filled his bowl with food, letting him eat in peace, while she walked out to the balcony to gather a set of dry clothes before heading into the bathroom to take a hot shower.

It felt like she hadn’t stepped past the front gates of the villa in days. She remembered Ling Lang’s strict warning to stay inside during this period. She and Xiaobai had simply stayed in the private yard, which was comfortable enough, especially for the hound. For the past two days, Ling Lang had been dragging him out for intense drills before dawn, leaving the dog completely exhausted by afternoon.

But since yesterday, she had been feeling a bit sluggish and damp, a clear sign that her monthly cycle was about to initialize.

Pei Xiqing rubbed her temples, letting the warm water wash over her. Her undergarments felt sticky and uncomfortable. Back on the trail, Sister Long Yan had always been by her side during these days. Even out in the wild frontier, she could manage her cycle flawlessly with Long Yan’s help. But since they had returned to the stronghold, she hadn’t seen the vanguard’s doctor in days.

Long Yan was likely buried in lab work, meaning she had to figure out a solution on her own.

Truthfully, she wasn’t the type of person who liked to venture out into crowded public spaces under these conditions anyway. Back in her past life, whenever her schedule was clear of acting roles, she could easily stay holed up in her apartment for a solid month without setting foot outside. Going out meant being hunted and photographed by relentless paparazzi, followed by all sorts of ridiculous tabloid rumors.

She was naturally cautious and preferred the safety of her own space whenever possible.

Duan Xiaolin never restricted her movements either; she was free to go wherever she pleased, provided she briefed him on her trajectory beforehand.

All in all, she had been cooped up inside for nearly a week.

As a result, stepping out into the base now felt entirely jarring. Standing on the chaotic main street with Xiaobai’s lead in her hand, she felt completely helpless and bewildered by the view.

Half of the regular street vendors had completely vanished, and dozens of military vehicles were parked haphazardly across the asphalt, completely blocking the pedestrian sidewalks. Some heavy transports had even plowed directly into the residential blocks flanking the road, crashing through structural walls and turning several houses into rubble.

A few homeless elderly citizens and children huddled in scattered groups near the debris, waiting blankly.

Even worse, the volume of infected zombies trapped in the iron cages along the street had multiplied by at least five times since her last walk. Throughout the sector, the terrifying shrieks of the mutants mixed with the desperate crying of frightened children, creating a thoroughly miserable, desolate landscape.

Aside from that grim sight, the passing soldiers and laborers seemed to be operating as usual.

Pei Xiqing forced herself to keep moving, turning a blind eye to the chaos around her, trying to pretend the systemic mess was just an illusion. But the undeniable sense of weirdness and structural decay made her wonder if she had navigated into the wrong sector entirely.

Is this truly the same hyper-organized Base Three I walked through last week?

Pulling the wide brim of her hat lower to completely mask her face, she walked Xiaobai for about half an hour. Once the hound’s frantic energy had finally drained away, she led him into a nearby general store to purchase a stock of sanitary napkins and a few fresh sets of underwear.

She hadn’t expected the women inside this apocalypse to rely on the exact same hygiene products she had used in her previous world. But looking closer at the packaging on the shelf, she noticed the expiration date on the labels was set for a day or two from now…

The sight made her wonder if the packets she was holding had been manufactured years ago and hoarded until now. For a society with such advanced cybernetic weapons, it was bizarre that these basic everyday necessities hadn’t received a single upgrade.

Finding nothing else worth analyzing on the road, and harboring zero desire to meddle in base politics, Pei Xiqing turned Xiaobai back toward the residential loop.

The sun was still high, and spotting a lone vegetable vendor anchoring a corner stall, she decided to harvest a few fresh greens to cook down for dinner.

After selecting a few bundles at random, a sudden memory surfaced in her mind. She looked at the vendor. “Excuse me, do you know what happened to the old lady who usually sets up her basket right next to your stall?”

It was the same merchant who had cleared her navigation path and shown her the direction to the execution ground last week. They had purchased a massive load of greens from her back then, and the flavor had been incredibly crisp and comforting. She had actually been looking forward to that exact taste.

The last time she had walked this block at this exact hour, the old woman hadn’t cleared her station yet. Had she managed to sell out her inventory early today to go home and cook?

The moment the question left her lips, the vendor’s expression shifted instantly.

He frantically stuffed her vegetables into a bag, his hands shaking slightly. “That will be half a low-grade crystal core… Look, girl, do yourself a favor and don’t ask about variables that don’t concern your board. The walls in this sector have ears twenty-four hours a day.”

Pei Xiqing frowned slightly. “Is the security parameters truly that extreme right now?”

“Absolutely,” the vendor whispered, scanning the street nervously. “The high-tier enforcement squads and officers have been tearing through every floor catching spies for days. A few shifts ago, they initiated a massive structural purge across the entire inner ring. You have no conception of how bloody the scene looked…” The man cut his own vocal transmission midway through the sentence, refusing to release more data.

Pei Xiqing transferred the low-grade crystal core into his palm. Seeing that his processors were completely locked down by fear, she turned her boots to leave, but the merchant let out a quiet cough, calling her back. “Wait, girl. What precise connection do you share with old Grandma Wang?”

“Nothing serious,” she replied evenly. “I simply purchased a batch of her uncultivated greens last week, and my system preferred the flavor profile.”

“Girl, your most optimal play is to retreat to your quarters immediately. The base parameters turn highly volatile during the night cycle. In fact, the entire stronghold is sliding into a massive structural turmoil this week. Women shouldn’t be wandering the streets right now.”

“Thank you for the data transfer.”

“Grandma Wang’s biological son ran into a critical disciplinary violation a few shifts back,” the merchant muttered, leaning over the counter. “I calculate her family cell is currently burning through their remaining assets trying to secure a legal override. But if you ask my opinion, that ungrateful son and his wife deserve to be purged by the execution squads. Still, a civilian cell has zero leverage. The vast majority of women anchoring their timelines inside this fortress rely entirely on a male asset to secure their rations—specifically men who manage to enlist in the core army lines. It’s an absolute fact inside these walls: if one male asset climbs the ranks, the entire family cell extracts the wealth.”

Pei Xiqing’s eyes narrowed. “What specific violation did he commit?”

“It traces back to that massive purge from a few days ago,” the vendor noted, his eyes suddenly narrowing as he ran a suspicious audit across her features. “Hold on… your uniform doesn’t match the local labor sectors. You weren’t dispatched by the high command to gather civilian intelligence, were you? You lack the worn, exhausted look of the regular women who work for the officers inside the inner ring every day. Yet you’re casually handing over crystal cores to harvest raw vegetables from my stall.”

How could a woman trapped beneath the crushing weight of the base’s patriarchal hierarchy possess such delicate, unblemished skin and perfectly sculpted features? When she had transferred the crystal core a moment ago, he had noted clearly that her slender fingers lacked a single callous from manual labor.

Pei Xiqing offered a soft, perfectly composed smile to stabilize his suspicion. “I am simply the girlfriend of an officer,” she stated smoothly. “He treats my timeline with immense respect, and I preserve the exact same balance for his position. I simply prefer to cook down a fresh ration pot for his station whenever his administrative schedule blocks him from the mess halls.”

The vendor let out a low whistle, his eyes widening. “Is that the ground truth? Which specific officer commands your registry?”

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