What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH100-102

Chapter 100 | Chapter 101 | Chapter 102

Chapter 100: Not Mine 

Pei Xiqing’s face was flushed a brilliant red from the thick steam rolling through the bathroom. In the hazy air, even her skin burned with feverish heat. She lowered her eyes slightly as the man pressed her firmly against the cool, damp tiles from behind.

His grip was so powerful that her knees buckled more than once, but Duan Xiaolin effortlessly pulled her back up, holding her securely in his arms.

He gripped the nape of her neck, pulling her close for a deep, claiming kiss through the mist. There was no restraint in his movements—only an unyielding firmness that refused to let her pull away.

He left her no room to breathe.

His kisses and light bites trailed all over her, moving from the corner of her lips down to her collarbone and below. Not a single inch of her skin was spared.

It wasn’t her first time experiencing the absolute madness of this man. Beneath his calm, rational exterior lay an overwhelming, reckless desire to possess her completely.

The last time, drifting in and out of sleep, she thought she had heard him murmur something. It was supposed to be impossible for humans and zombies to coexist, yet he stubbornly insisted on it… She had wanted to ask him what he meant when he said, “I lied to you,” but in her current state, she could barely open her mouth to gasp for air, let alone speak.

Duan Xiaolin grew increasingly demanding, his large hands gripping her delicate waist as he relentlessly drove her to the edge.

Her voice broke into uncontrollably soft, tender whimpers as she called his name.

The man seemed to revel in the sound. He brushed his thumb against her swollen lips and murmured, “Hold on just a little longer.”

Steamy, ambiguous sounds echoed throughout the bathroom.

By the end of it, she had blacked out more than once, ultimately having to be carried out in his arms. She had no idea how long they had been in there, only vaguely remembering being washed several times until the scalding water had gradually cooled to a lukewarm temperature.

Curled up lazily on the living room sofa, Pei Xiqing stared at her phone. She wanted to go straight to sleep, but since she had napped so much during the day, she knew she’d just end up tossing and turning all night. Instead, she aimlessly scrolled through her screen to keep herself awake.

The original owner of her body had kept this cell phone on her ever since the apocalypse began five years ago, always finding scraps of electricity to keep it charged.

Often, only the ability users’ off-road vehicles had working power outlets. While a phone was essentially an expensive brick out in the wilderness, inside the base, there was still a localized intranet capable of handling simple text messages and calls.

Hugging a soft throw pillow, she listlessly swiped across the screen.

If only I were back in the modern world, she thought. At least she could read the daily news to kill time. She definitely didn’t want to watch any downloaded dramas—mostly because opening any random show meant she’d probably have to see her own face. In her past life, she had filmed and watched so many of those productions that she practically felt sick at the thought of them.

Right now, Pei Xiqing barely had the strength to lift her arms. Meanwhile, the man who had just finished hanging their wet laundry up to dry was currently busy in the kitchen, casually prepping a meal as if he hadn’t expended any energy at all. She rolled over on the cushions, bored, and went back to the phone.

She had already explored almost everything saved on the device. The messaging app was a bit different from the ones she was used to, but she figured it functioned a lot like WeChat did before the world ended.

After a casual scroll through the contacts, she noticed that most of the people listed were either former sponsors, internet celebrity clients, or wealthy patrons. There were very few actual friends.

She browsed for a while before swiping open a chat log near the bottom: the conversation history between the original host and her older sister, Pei Yanting.

The timeline had frozen five years ago. It seemed the two sisters hadn’t contacted each other at all since the outbreak.

The final exchange had taken place right before the zombie apocalypse erupted. Pei Yanting had asked if she wanted to come over and spend the New Year at her and her husband’s home. The original host had replied with utter indifference.

Pei Yanting: Are you sure you don’t want to come?

Host: Isn’t that your home? Where do I fit in?

Pei Yanting: You were the one who wanted to run away from home. Mom and Dad did nothing wrong. You’re just too immature and ignorant.

Host: Easy for you to say without any guilt when you’re the one benefiting from it all.

Pei Yanting: This was your own choice.

Host: So I’ll just go do my livestreams, and you can keep playing the perfect eldest daughter.

Pei Yanting: Mom and Dad said they gave you a chance, but you just weren’t cut out for studying.

The two sisters could count their conversations on one hand. On the surface, Pei Yanting’s messages seemed to show a sisterly concern, but reading through the complete log, Pei Xiqing only sensed a deep, mutual indifference and underlying hostility.

Shaking off the past, she snapped out of her daze. Smelling the rich aroma of food drifting into the living room, she called out toward the kitchen, “Brother Duan… don’t forget the dumplings! I want dumplings!”

“They’re already wrapped and cooking,” he replied.

“Love you!” Pei Xiqing melted back into the sofa, completely drained, content to just wait for him to serve the food.

Knowing she wouldn’t want to sit up straight on the hard dining chairs, Duan Xiaolin considerately brought the dishes over to the low coffee table by the sofa.

Pei Xiqing grabbed her chopsticks and greedily took her first bite, completely ignoring the scorching heat. Fanning her mouth as the hot juices burned her tongue, she tugged excitedly at his sleeve, barely able to form a coherent sentence. “…So good! Seriously!”

Duan Xiaolin let her pull him down onto the carpet beside her, his arm naturally wrapping around her waist. “Is it really?”

“Trust me.” Pei Xiqing finally swallowed the hot bite. “The filling I mixed is absolutely top-tier.” It was beef and celery—no wonder Xiaobai had been acting so greedy earlier.

Duan Xiaolin picked one up with his chopsticks and tasted it. “It is delicious.”

She managed to eat about half a bowl of rice before she was full, happily passing the rest over for him to finish.

Watching him eat with focused precision, Pei Xiqing rested her chin in her hand. Curled up lazily on the carpet, she asked, “Brother Duan, you didn’t get any rest at all last night, did you?”

“Pretty much.”

“That sounds exhausting.”

“It’s mostly handled now,” he said suddenly. “Tomorrow night, the vanguard team will finalize their preparations to depart the base. Long Yan will come pick you up soon. You’ll leave with her first.”

“That feels so sudden.”

“We’ve been planning the departure for a long time,” he explained. “It was just continuously delayed by the internal purges here.”

“Alright, then I’ll start packing my things tomorrow.”

Duan Xiaolin reached out and caught her restless hand, his tone turning serious. “Once we leave the base, do not easily trust anyone. Especially after you arrive at headquarters.”

Pei Xiqing froze. “Headquarters? I don’t think I ever said I wanted to go to… headquarters.” Her expression turned slightly awkward. “If your final destination is the capital headquarters, I might not want to go.”

The truth was, she simply hadn’t expected Duan Xiaolin to bring her all the way to the central capital. Even arriving at this peripheral base had left her feeling deeply uneasy and anxious. Headquarters would be infinitely more prosperous, strict, and heavily guarded. In a place like that, she would be a complete alien—fundamentally different from everyone else, down to her very blood and biology.

Calling herself an outsider would be a massive understatement. Sometimes, the zombie virus running through her veins stripped away her self-control entirely. At the end of the day, there was a vast, unbridgeable gap between her and normal humans. She could no longer pretend to be perfectly normal, nor could she truly ignore the reality of her condition.

She might be able to fool others, but she couldn’t deceive herself. If she stepped foot inside the supreme headquarters, her volatile identity would become an extreme risk—a ticking time bomb waiting to detonate in the most heavily fortified place on earth.

Duan Xiaolin just looked at her. He didn’t immediately question or refute her hesitations. Instead, he studied her quietly, easily reading the deep, internal resistance warring behind her eyes. “You don’t want to live at the headquarters that every other survivor in this wasteland dreams of reaching?”

“I have no desire to go.”

For a brief moment, the air between them seemed to twist and thicken. An eerie, heavy silence descended upon the room.

She raised her head. Despite the oppressive atmosphere, she remained stubborn, voicing the absolute truth in her heart. “That place might be your home, or his, or anyone else’s. But it is not mine.”

Chapter 101: The Pledge of Love 

Since arriving at Base Three, whatever small flicker of hope she still held for humanity had been steadily eroded by everything she had seen and heard.

This so-called safe haven had devolved into a living hell. She refused to blindly follow him to the capital headquarters, only to walk right into another nightmare.

The man remained silent for a long time. His cool fingertips gently brushed through her hair as he slowly said, “I don’t have a home. But compared to how things were before… as long as you are here, this place can be considered my home.”

“It’s a pity you aren’t just an ordinary person,” Pei Xiqing sighed softly. “If you were, we could just elope, hahahaha…”

She was just joking. It was a casual remark meant to lighten the heavy mood.

But the man’s eyes locked onto her through his silver-rimmed lenses almost instantly. His gaze was unhurried yet overwhelmingly oppressive, carrying a calm, unbothered weight.

“That isn’t impossible,” he stated.

Pei Xiqing blinked playfully. “If I kidnap the Chief Judge, I just hope the people at headquarters won’t hunt me down to the ends of the earth.”

His eyes remained indifferent, but his presence was absolute. “If you don’t go to headquarters, where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know.”

She genuinely didn’t have an answer. She figured she would just wander the wasteland, taking things one step at a time. There was no need to meticulously map out her entire life, considering most plans inevitably veered off course anyway.

“If you’re worried that headquarters will be exactly like this place,” the man began, “I won’t let what you’ve witnessed here happen there—”

“Brother Duan,” Pei Xiqing shook her head, cutting him off. “I don’t need your assurances or your promises. Words like that have an expiration date. They fade with time, and they change as relationships change. I’ve heard those kinds of vows countless times before, and I’m tired of them.”

Not just from Yuan Ke, but from practically every man she had encountered in her past life. In that regard, she and the original owner of this body shared one thing in common: neither of them had ever lacked men making empty promises and swearing eternal love.

Duan Xiaolin didn’t move.

He simply stared at her in absolute silence. A cold, venomous snake seemed to uncoil in the dark depths of his eyes. He had always been gentle and harmless around her, but in this fleeting moment, he looked chillingly strange.

Pei Xiqing held her tongue, silently meeting his gaze, though she couldn’t stop a faint tremor from running through her body.

“In your heart, am I the exact same kind of man as them?” His voice carried absolutely no weight, yet that airy, feather-light tone made it infinitely more terrifying. “So that’s how you view me. A man who makes empty verbal promises, someone whose heart will easily change and ultimately hurt you.”

He always managed to say the most terrifying things with a perfectly placid expression, as patient and lethal as a demon crawled out of hell. The gentler his tone became, the more Pei Xiqing could feel the terrifying, absolute stability of his emotional control.

She parted her lips. Her voice was slightly hoarse, but she forced the words out. “No. I just feel that place isn’t suitable for me. If I truly believed you were that kind of person, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you. I would have stayed far away and never let you get close.”

She looked earnestly into the man’s eyes. “Brother Duan, please don’t say things like that. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

Honestly, she should have been far more decisive back in the wilderness, before they had ever returned to the base. If she had just cut the knot back then, she wouldn’t be entangled with Duan Xiaolin now, and she wouldn’t have been swept up in the chaos of this fortress. But ultimately, she had willingly chosen to give him—and herself—a chance.

She still wanted to believe in love. She hadn’t completely despaired over the concept; in fact, she had pursued it much more actively and boldly than she ever thought she would.

She just hadn’t expected things to escalate to this point. And now, she couldn’t let go. Love was important, but her own self-awareness and survival were equally vital.

Pei Xiqing fell silent.

Duan Xiaolin lowered his gaze and reached out to hold her cold hand. But the exact moment his fingers brushed against hers, she flinched, shrinking back violently.

He frowned.

Feeling a sudden wave of grievance and guilt, Pei Xiqing murmured, “I was just distracted. I’m sorry…”

Duan Xiaolin looked at her deeply. Finally, the reluctance in his heart dissolved into helplessness under her gaze. “If you don’t want to go, then we won’t go.”

Pei Xiqing’s eyes immediately lit up. She threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, I knew Brother Duan was the best!”

Duan Xiaolin sighed—a rare sound from him—and caught her soft, boneless frame against his chest. “I never intended to let you go, anyway.”

“Were you just messing with me?” she demanded.

“Someone was definitely overreacting a minute ago. You almost got genuinely angry with me.”

“Can I go out and test my powers?” she asked eagerly. She wanted to find the strongest zombie out there to test her limits.

“Don’t go wandering around,” he warned, easily seeing right through her little schemes. “Unless it’s absolutely necessary, stay away from the infected. The zombie virus in your body is unstable, and the horde could turn on you at any moment.”

“Then where do you expect me to go?”

Nighttime.

Ten kilometers outside Base Three.

The wind howled fiercely, whipping yellow sand through the air. Pei Yanting, carrying a heavy tactical backpack, led the S1 Vanguard Team as they slowly trudged across the desolate ruins.

Trailing behind the S1 team was a ragged group of other ability users and rogue survivor squads they had picked up along the road.

Exhausted and panting heavily, one of the rogues complained, “Hey, Vice Captain, we’ve been marching for ten straight days. It’s time to let the brothers rest. You might be an iron woman, but we can’t take much more. We can’t compete with someone who supposedly has dual abilities.”

“Dual abilities? Who knows if that’s even true. Hmph, this bitch better not be lying to us, otherwise…” One of the rogue men collapsed onto the dirt, his cold, lecherous gaze sweeping over Pei Yanting’s emaciated frame. Beneath her heavy protective wrappings, she looked like nothing but skin and bones. He sneered, “I’ll personally teach her the consequences of deceiving me.”

She might be thin, but she was still a woman, and out here in the wasteland, that was a resource to be consumed. They were hardened scavengers. They had crossed paths with this woman on the road, and when she claimed she could lead them to a base fully stocked with medicine, they had followed.

But after ten grueling days of marching, they hadn’t seen even a shadow of a fortress. Dammit, they were starting to think this woman was a complete fraud.

Pei Yanting felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her. Seeing her loyal S1 teammates step forward, ready to brawl with the scavengers, she quickly held up a hand to stop them. Forcing down her irritation, she adjusted her black-framed glasses. From behind the dusty gray lenses, she whispered to her team, “Finding Xiao Yue is our absolute priority right now. Don’t worry about these thugs. Let them run their mouths. They can say whatever they want.”

“But Vice Captain, they’re clearly losing faith in you.”

“We just need them to act as bait to draw the attention of the base’s perimeter guards.” Pei Yanting pulled out a pair of binoculars and scanned the distant horizon. Through the haze, she could vaguely make out the faint, sweeping halos of searchlights atop a massive wall. “Base Three,” she murmured.

Trailing far behind them was a massive, churning ocean of zombies.

It was the price Base Three was going to pay for kidnapping Xiao Yue. It was also a personal gift she had prepared for the fortress after awakening her dual superpowers.

She wiped the grime from her face and crouched down to tie her combat boot.

As she moved, her cell phone slipped from her chest pocket and fell into the dirt.

Pei Yanting picked it up, her eyes falling on the chat box displayed on the cracked screen.

After hesitating for a few fleeting seconds, she blocked and deleted the contact.

Chapter 102: Doesn’t Count

Early in the morning, Pei Xiqing was kept awake by a persistent commotion outside. It sounded like people arguing aggressively, followed by the sharp clatter of things being thrown and smashing into a mess.

She finally opened her eyes a little after eight o’clock. As soon as she rolled over, she was pulled securely into a man’s warm embrace. Her eyes widened in surprise. Hugging his waist, she asked, “Why are you still in bed?”

Normally, she wouldn’t wake up until eight at the earliest, so she rarely saw him in the mornings. She knew he usually left for the command tower around seven. She hadn’t expected him to still be lingering beside her today.

Duan Xiaolin buried his fingers in her hair, gently pulling her closer as he whispered, “Sleep a little longer. It’s still early.”

“What’s all that noise outside?”

“I don’t know.”

“Hmm…”

“It should be fine.”

She was indeed still exhausted. After being tormented all day yesterday, Duan Xiaolin hadn’t exactly let her rest at night, either. Her eyelids felt incredibly heavy. However, the noise outside was too loud—so loud it echoed clearly through the windowpanes. A commotion of this scale had to mean something significant was happening.

Still, she chalked it up to the erratic behavior of the residents in the luxury compound. She figured it was just another bitter quarrel between a couple or a sudden feud between neighbors.

She closed her eyes for a while, but the noise never ceased. After about half an hour of tossing and turning, Pei Xiqing completely gave up on falling back asleep.

When she looked up, Duan Xiaolin was already buttoning his shirt, getting ready to rise.

She sat up, but the quilt slipped down, exposing a large expanse of skin covered in ambiguous, reddish marks. The sudden chill of the morning air made her instantly curl back up under the covers.

Duan Xiaolin stood by the bed, his dark eyes deep and intense. He leaned over. “Does your waist still hurt?”

Pei Xiqing hid beneath the blanket, her voice muffled. “Of course it hurts.”

“Want a massage?”

“No need!” She pulled the quilt tighter, rejecting the offer immediately. “You should hurry up and get ready. I can get up by myself later.”

She knew exactly what would happen if she let him give her a massage. He seemed much more relaxed today than usual, and she was terrified she’d end up pinned to the mattress again.

Duan Xiaolin chuckled softly and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead.

Pei Xiqing stayed in bed for a while longer. It took her an hour to finally get up, dress, and wash her face.

By then, Duan Xiaolin was fully dressed and ready to head out.

She glanced at the time. “So, if we’re leaving tonight, you just have to hand over your work later today, right?”

“Yes, but there are still a few loose ends to handle.”

“Go on, then.” She swiftly clipped her long hair back, revealing her smooth, fair face. Waving at him, she said, “I’ll start packing after breakfast. I’ll be mostly done by the time you get back.”

“Don’t rush,” Duan Xiaolin told her. “You can wait for me, and we’ll pack together.”

“I really don’t have much to pack, anyway.” Aside from the lightweight clothes he had originally given her, she only had a few spare outfits. When surviving in the wild, flashy clothes were useless; nothing was more practical than a solid thermal jacket.

With so few belongings, she probably couldn’t even fill a single suitcase. But there was Xiaobai to consider, so she had to make sure she packed enough food and supplies for the dog.

“By the way, Brother Duan,” she asked, “did Brother Qiu Chao give you those test results he mentioned?”

“He did.”

“And? Did he say how to trigger my ability?”

The man looked at her. “Is the Qiong Snake no longer enough for you?”

“No, it’s not that.” She looked up at him earnestly. “I want to try and restore your superpowers, but I haven’t figured out the method yet. Didn’t he have an answer?”

“No,” Duan Xiaolin replied calmly. “Your physical condition is highly unique. Aside from the Qiong Snake, do not reveal your other abilities to anyone for the time being. Keep it an absolute secret.”

“I know.”

Duan Xiaolin adjusted his watch, walked over, and gave her a parting kiss. “Follow Long Yan when she arrives. She’ll take you to a secure location.”

“Understood.”

He hadn’t specified exactly where he wanted her to go tonight. But if it wasn’t headquarters, she figured one place was as good as any other. It didn’t really matter.

After Duan Xiaolin left, she finished her breakfast and started packing.

Once her own clothes were sorted, she moved on to pack for Duan Xiaolin and Xiaobai.

Duan Xiaolin didn’t have many personal items either—mostly military uniforms and formal suits. Since returning to Base Three, he spent most of his time acting as the Chief Judge, wearing his uniform far more often than he ever did in the wild.

There was always a layer of heavy pressure and sternness between his brows now—the unmistakable aura of a man sitting at the pinnacle of power. Compared to their time in the wilderness, he seemed to have lost a fraction of his raw vitality. She genuinely didn’t know if power fueled a person’s passion or simply trapped them inside a gilded cage.

Pei Xiqing spent over an hour cleaning the house inside and out.

By the time she finished, her lower back was aching. She opened the front door, intending to sweep the fallen leaves off the porch, but nearly bumped right into Long Yan.

Pei Xiqing stared at her, wondering if she had mixed up the schedule. “Sister Long Yan? Didn’t you say you were coming this evening?”

Long Yan had just stepped out of her vehicle, holding a large duffel bag. “Oh, it’s fine. I just came over early to sit for a bit and see how your packing was going.”

“Come on in, then.”

“Sure.”

Before stepping inside, Long Yan cast a sharp glance back at her off-road vehicle and firmly locked the doors.

Pei Xiqing subconsciously followed her gaze. Through the windows, she could see that the back seat was completely loaded with weapons and heavy ammunition.

Long Yan spoke calmly, “Let’s go inside.”

Pei Xiqing held the door open, murmuring, “Should we keep an eye on the car? I’m worried someone might try to steal all that.”

“Unlikely. It’s just that the base is a bit chaotic right now.”

“Chaotic?”

Long Yan nodded. “Those supplies are highly valuable.”

Pei Xiqing was incredibly curious about the “chaos” outside, but Long Yan didn’t seem inclined to elaborate. Instead, the captain handed over the bulky bag she was carrying.

“What’s in here? Clothes?” Pei Xiqing squeezed the bag; it felt like soft, heavy fabric.

“Yeah, clothing and a change of undergarments. I have a bag for myself, and this one is for you.”

“Thank you, Sister Long Yan.”

“Surviving in the wild requires proper equipment. The gear inside was custom-made for you based on your height and weight. It’s a tactical combat uniform, similar to what my unit wears. It’s essential for temperature regulation and physical protection—infinitely better than just wearing a standard jacket.”

“Got it.”

The two of them sat in the living room, drinking tea and chatting for a while. During the conversation, Pei Xiqing noticed Long Yan repeatedly checking her watch.

Meanwhile, the commotion outside was growing louder and more intense. Pei Xiqing tried to go out and check several times, but Long Yan firmly stopped her.

Pei Xiqing’s intuition screamed that something major was going down in the base.

Long Yan’s hand rested casually near her holstered gun. She looked at Pei Xiqing, her expression deadly serious. “Xiqing, do you really know what kind of man Brother Duan is?”

“I think I understand him… a little.”

“Then do you know the real reason he came to Base Three?”

“…The reason?”

Long Yan smiled faintly. “I don’t know the exact nature of your relationship with Brother Duan, or how deep things have gotten between you two. But there’s something I need to tell you.”

After a heavy pause, Long Yan’s gaze turned cold and sharp. “Brother Duan is not a good person. And neither am I.”

Like this novel? Read Advance Chapters (PDF & EPUB Format)