What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH124-126

Chapter 124| Chapter 125 | Chapter 126

Chapter 124: Easy Target

Mrs. Wang paused for a moment, keeping the bright smile plastered on her face. “You’re an interesting one, girl. It’s been a decade since the apocalypse began, and the base is fully equipped now. We used to run a business inside, but the people there rarely went out to eat or drink, let alone visit a small restaurant like ours. So, I talked it over with my husband, and we decided to open a place out here in the wild. It’s just like those safe houses you see around, meant to take care of passing ability users.”

“The base even gave us a commendation fund and fully supported us in doing this!”

Mrs. Wang pulled her inside the restaurant, pressing a hand warmly onto her shoulder. “Come, sit here, girl. I’ll grab you a menu.”

As soon as Pei Xiqing walked in, she inevitably drew the attention of everyone in the room. Even with a mask on, she couldn’t avoid the heavy, lingering stares. Pei Xiqing was used to it, though. Taking the menu, she looked it over calmly.

To her surprise, the dishes offered were completely normal apocalyptic fare. The open kitchen allowed her to see everything being prepared fresh, and there didn’t seem to be any major issues with the ingredients. There was even a cow carcass hanging next to the chopping board—whenever someone ordered beef, the chef sliced it right off the bone.

Pei Xiqing used to eat beef frequently back at the base. Xiaoyu had liked it, and Duan Xiaolin always brought back large cuts. But right now, she didn’t have much of an appetite for meat.

She ordered two vegetarian dishes and a bowl of porridge.

The proprietress still tried to upsell her. “Girl, if you don’t want beef, we also have lamb, pork, and chicken! We have whatever you’re craving!”

“No thanks,” Pei Xiqing declined.

Mrs. Wang laughed loudly. “Oh, eating so little! No wonder you have such a great figure!”

Pei Xiqing: …

As soon as those words left the woman’s mouth, the gazes that had briefly drifted away instantly snapped back to her.

She sat in a relatively secluded corner. The restaurant was quite small, barely holding four tables. She occupied one side, while two tables to her left were taken by the group of ability users who had just arrived.

Those men kept turning their eyes toward her. Pei Xiqing had tried her best to dress in loose, low-key clothing, but some physical traits couldn’t be completely hidden. She wasn’t stick-thin like Pei Yanting; her well-proportioned figure made her feminine identity obvious at a glance.

There were at least ten ability users in the room. For her, however, they were a piece of cake. She could ignore thousands of eyes staring at her, let alone just a handful.

Pei Xiqing calmly took off her mask and took a sip of hot tea. As expected, someone couldn’t wait to approach her.

“Hey beauty, which team are you from…?”

Before the man could finish his sentence, the phantom of a horned snake materialized in her palm. Its color was a dark, toxic green, coiling like a jungle python ready to strike.

Pei Xiqing slowly looked up. “What did you say?”

The man stared at the eerie energy swirling in her palm, glanced at her face, and quickly noticed the high-tier saber strapped to her backpack. He hurriedly took two steps back. “No… nothing. Never mind.”

Pei Xiqing closed her hand, extinguishing the energy, and went back to drinking her tea.

Because of that little display, the people around her no longer dared to act rashly. They only cast cautious, wary glances her way. Finally, the room quieted down.

Her food arrived shortly after. Immune to the zombie virus, she certainly wasn’t afraid of them poisoning her food—especially since she had watched the entire cooking process from the open kitchen without noticing anything suspicious.

She took a couple of bites. The taste was decidedly average. Still, for an ability user struggling through the apocalyptic wilderness, a hot meal like this was exactly what they needed to restore their strength. She took two more bites and stopped eating.

The small restaurant was bustling; business seemed genuinely good. It was only then that Pei Xiqing truly realized just how many people were surviving out in the wild. For every person living comfortably inside a base, there were just as many struggling to survive outside its walls.

However, the atmosphere here felt a bit shady, and the identities of the patrons were murky. Some well-equipped individuals who looked like base operatives were sitting together with rugged members of wild scavenger teams, whispering conspiratorially.

Periodically, one party would place an item on a plate and hand it to the proprietress, who would then secretly pass it to the other party. Although this method of transaction was incredibly obvious, everyone in the room seemed to be in on the secret, so it only served to deceive clueless outsiders.

Pei Xiqing saw right through it but said nothing. She sipped her tea in silence, perking up her ears to eavesdrop on their conversations.

They weren’t far away, but their voices were kept low, so she only caught fragmented phrases.

“Base Six.”

“Ten high-level crystal cores.”

“High-quality goods.”

Her keen hearing instantly locked onto two specific words: “Black market.”

Pei Xiqing’s eyelashes fluttered subconsciously. The black market… was operating out of Base Six? That didn’t make sense. Base Three had just been destroyed, and Base Six was allegedly being built to take its place…

Was there a connection between the destruction of Base Three and the sudden, rapid rise of Base Six?

She couldn’t help but recall the horrifying video Pei Yanting had shown her. What role did Brother Duan play in all of this?

While her mind raced, Mrs. Wang wandered over. The proprietress couldn’t help but study Pei Xiqing for a few moments before smiling and refilling her cup with hot tea. “This tea is quite good. Girl, you really are incredibly pretty.”

Pei Xiqing looked at her, remaining silent. The woman was slightly plump with sharp, almond-shaped eyes that gleamed with a shrewd intelligence.

Mrs. Wang chuckled softly. “You don’t see many people with such delicate skin out in the wasteland anymore. But you’d better be careful. Someone looking like you makes for a very easy target out here.”

“A target for what?”

“Haha…” The woman lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “The black market. You probably overheard it just now. It’s not a good place to end up, especially for a young girl like you.”

“Is this restaurant an information hub? Or a trading front for the black market?” Pei Xiqing asked evenly. “If the black market is connected to this place, there’s something I’d like to know.”

The proprietress raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Neither of them was bothering to speak in riddles anymore. But Mrs. Wang clearly hadn’t expected the girl to be so blunt. It seemed this little wanderer wasn’t just some clueless, delicate flower after all; she knew a thing or two.

“What do you want to know?” the woman asked.

Pei Xiqing leaned in slightly. “I want to know—”

“How do I get to the black market?”

Chapter 125: Deep in Memory

Half an hour later, when almost everyone had cleared out, Pei Xiqing slowly emerged from the restaurant.

Mrs. Wang hurried after her, calling out, “Girl, you need to think this through.”

Pei Xiqing paused and nodded.

“If you follow that group, you’ll find out how to reach the black market,” Mrs. Wang continued. “However, you’ll have to figure out the specific methods and routes on your own. I really don’t recommend it. A young woman going to a place like that… you basically won’t come back. Listen to your sister-in-law’s advice. Don’t take the risk.”

The woman grabbed her hand, eager to say more, but Pei Xiqing calmly pulled away.

Mrs. Wang smiled weakly. “Just listen to me. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“I never said I was definitely going,” Pei Xiqing replied. “I just wanted to know how to get there. Why are you in such a hurry to stop me?”

Anyone who could open a restaurant out in the apocalyptic wilderness and get this close to rogue ability users and scavenger teams was certainly not a simple character. She definitely had an ulterior motive.

That group of people inside wasn’t necessarily all from the base. Even if they were, they were clearly in active collusion with the black market. Back at Base Three, people like them were exactly the type of targets Franlun aggressively hunted down.

“If I can talk even one person out of it, that’s one life saved,” Mrs. Wang insisted.

“Thanks,” Pei Xiqing said flatly.

Seeing her about to walk away, the proprietress suddenly moved to block her path. “Girl, I just gave you some incredibly important information. You owe me a reward.”

Pei Xiqing looked at her. “What kind of reward do you want?”

“Tell me, where did you get that military weapon on your back, and which base are you from?” Mrs. Wang’s gaze turned sharp and assessing once more. “Also… are you an inspector sent by Franlun?”

“I just picked this saber up off the street. As for a base, I don’t belong to one, nor do I plan on joining any.” Catching onto the sudden shift in tension, Pei Xiqing feigned ignorance. “Franlun? What is that?”

The proprietress took a step closer, her eyes narrowing. “You don’t know?”

“Do I need to?”

Mrs. Wang crossed her arms. “If you’re not from Franlun, why are you carrying a Franlun weapon?”

Pei Xiqing raised an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The proprietress’s friendly smile vanished, replaced by something cold and calculating. “Miss, I strongly advise you not to get involved with the people of Franlun, and certainly don’t do any dirty work for them. If you’re pretending to be a clueless traveler just to snoop around for information… well, whether you’re from Franlun or not, if you don’t hand over that weapon and pay the price, you won’t be leaving here today.”

“You mean this saber?”

“It’s standard Franlun military issue. Isn’t that clear enough?”

“Is there a conflict between your establishment and Franlun?” Pei Xiqing astutely pointed out.

“That is none of your business.”

“Franlun… let me guess, they’re the original owners of this sword?” Pei Xiqing mused. “Why are you so afraid of them? Didn’t you say the base commended and funded this restaurant? If your operations are completely legal and sanctioned, why are you so worried about Franlun snooping around? You’re being awfully paranoid.”

“You don’t need to try and trick me,” Mrs. Wang sneered, clapping her hands.

Two massive, heavily muscled ability users immediately stepped out from the kitchen behind her.

“Miss, you brought a Franlun weapon into my shop. Don’t blame us for getting hands-on. For the sake of caution, we cannot allow a single trace of our transactions or any information about this restaurant to leak back to Franlun.”

She glared at Pei Xiqing’s backpack. “You are carrying Franlun gear. No matter how you try to spin it, you’re connected to them. I refuse to believe it’s that easy to just ‘pick up’ Franlun equipment off the street. That specific saber is exclusively used by their elite operatives. If you aren’t an insider, you wouldn’t even have the right to touch it.”

“So what?” Pei Xiqing challenged.

“Leave your things here. We also need to run a test to confirm exactly what your connection to Franlun is.”

“A test?”

“We have a machine capable of reading your memories. It will tell us exactly how much you know about Franlun.”

Pei Xiqing almost laughed out loud when she glanced over and saw the clunky contraption sitting on one of the tables.

How interesting.

To think such a sci-fi device actually existed in this apocalyptic world. Could it really read a normal person’s memories? If the subject consciously resisted the intrusion, could the machine force its way into their thoughts? Would it cause a severe backlash?

She genuinely wanted to try it out.

The machine was particularly flashy, sparking and humming loudly like an old-fashioned generator.

“Can I take a picture of it?” she asked brightly.

Mrs. Wang paused, completely thrown off by the question. “…What?”

“Take a picture,” Pei Xiqing repeated cheerfully. She strolled right back into the restaurant, pulled out her phone, and snapped a quick selfie with the bizarre device. Then, she took detailed photos of the machine from the front and sides.

From a distance, it looked like a standard generator, but up close, she could see various ports and a set of surveillance detectors attached to a metal headpiece, clearly meant to be worn over the skull.

“How do I use it?” she asked with genuine enthusiasm.

The two hulking enforcers had been fully prepared for a violent struggle. Usually, they had to physically drag kicking, screaming victims over to be tested. They had never expected someone to actively volunteer, let alone act like an excited tourist at a museum.

For a moment, everyone in the room was stunned speechless.

Mrs. Wang was the first to recover. She stepped forward, her expression tight. “Put this detector helmet on. It will read your memories.”

“What happens if my consciousness actively resists the scan?” Pei Xiqing asked curiously.

“Your brain waves will overload the system, you’ll bleed from all your orifices, and you will die,” Mrs. Wang stated coldly.

…So heartless, Pei Xiqing complained silently.

She raised her hand and gave the machine’s metal casing a solid tap. It was surprisingly sturdy.

The two enforcers jumped forward, panicking. “Hey… what the hell are you doing?! That equipment is priceless!”

Pei Xiqing innocently retracted her hand. “Sorry. It reminded me of one of those boxy TVs from the 1980s. Tapping it was just a conditioned reflex.”

Mrs. Wang walked over, glaring intensely. “Miss, are you going to confess everything on your own, or do you want us to strap you to the machine?”

“Oh, I definitely want to try the machine.”

Pei Xiqing grabbed the heavy, head-mounted detector and casually slipped it over her head.

The exact moment she did, the Qiong Snake materialized from her body. The spectral serpent coiled around her like a protective mascot, its dark green energy flaring defensively.

Pei Xiqing gently patted the invisible energy. “No, baby, don’t destroy it yet. I really want to give this a try.”

The Qiong Snake settled around her shoulders, gently resting its ethereal head atop hers, and hissed menacingly at the room. The absolute suppression of its top-tier supernatural energy flooded the small space.

The two enforcers, who had been acting so brave and intimidating just moments ago, instantly turned deathly pale. They scrambled backward, desperate to put distance between themselves and the terrifying entity.

The bizarre, overwhelming energy radiating from her body crackled with a snake-like, electrical hiss. It was terrifyingly clear that if Pei Xiqing gave a single command, not only would the priceless machine be reduced to ash, but the entire restaurant would be vaporized along with it.

Mrs. Wang stumbled back two steps, her eyes wide with terror. “That ability… I’ve never seen a superpower like that before!”

Ignoring their panic, Pei Xiqing sat comfortably in the chair, adjusted the detector helmet, and signaled for them to start the machine.

She offered absolutely no mental resistance. Within seconds, her memories were extracted and projected onto the machine’s display screen for everyone to see.

First, it pulled memories from her previous life. The screen flashed with scattered scenes of her daily filming activities on various movie sets. Then, it showed the terrifying, dizzying moment she fell from the stunt wires.

The scene shifted abruptly, jumping into the original host’s memories. Flashes of internet celebrity drama, chaotic live broadcasts, petty arguments, and clumsy attempts at seduction played out. It was a stark, jarring contrast to the hardworking, enthusiastic grind of her actual past life. Anyone watching would assume she was severely schizophrenic.

Then, the machine dug into her recent memories of life at Base Three.

A heavy steel chain, as thick as a finger, suddenly appeared on the screen. The perspective slowly panned down, showing the cold metal links wrapping gently around her pale wrist. Panning back up, the visuals blurred into complete darkness, but the audio remained crystal clear—a low, deeply magnetic, and intensely sensual laugh echoed from the machine’s speakers.

A sudden, intense tingling sensation flushed over Pei Xiqing’s entire body. Embarrassed and deeply flustered, she immediately ripped the detector helmet off her head, severing the connection.

Chapter 126: Interesting

The Qiong Snake instantly lashed out, reducing the memory-reading instrument to a pile of fine ashes.

Mrs. Wang shrieked, “What is the meaning of this?!”

Because of the terrifying, snake-like supernatural energy coiling around Pei Xiqing’s body, the enforcers had kept a cautious distance. They hadn’t even had time to react before the priceless machine was vaporized.

Pei Xiqing pulled the disconnected transmission belt back. “I’m sorry.”

The Qiong Snake’s reaction had been a bit too ruthless!

But then again, the memories that were about to play next were truly not meant for public viewing. Even she hadn’t realized that those specific, intimate moments had lingered in her mind with such striking clarity…

Mrs. Wang was completely thrown off. This girl possessed a terrifyingly powerful ability and carried a standard-issue Franlun saber on her back. Yet, she kept casually insisting she had no idea what Franlun was. She wasn’t afraid of the interrogation machine, nor was she intimidated by the enforcers’ superpowers. She had even dared to walk into this shady establishment entirely alone.

Suddenly, the hostile vigilance on Mrs. Wang’s face vanished. It was replaced by a fawning, flattering smile faster than flipping the page of a book. “It’s fine, it’s absolutely fine! It’s just a broken machine, no big deal at all. We have plenty of equipment like this lying around. If you like it, you can just take the spare parts!”

“No need,” Pei Xiqing replied.

“Girl,” Mrs. Wang called out tentatively, “I’ve never seen a superpower quite like that before. Do you mind telling me what classification it is?”

“That’s not very convenient to share.” Pei Xiqing set the disconnected helmet down. “I really am sorry about the machine, though. I didn’t expect it to be so fragile. I can compensate you…”

“No, no! Why would you need to compensate me?” Mrs. Wang waved her hands frantically. “Consider it a gift from your sister-in-law! If you liked testing it, it was worth it!”

Pei Xiqing smiled faintly.

Mrs. Wang’s attitude was shifting too rapidly. She must have deduced that Pei Xiqing wasn’t someone to trifle with.

Standing up, Pei Xiqing said, “In that case, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Come back if you ever get the chance! Just tell your sister-in-law what you want to eat next time!”

Pei Xiqing simply smiled and didn’t reply. Adjusting her backpack and pulling her jacket tightly around herself, she walked out into the night alone.

The two burly enforcers beside Mrs. Wang looked thoroughly puzzled. “Sister-in-law, why did you let her go so easily? Do you want us to follow her and quietly take her out?”

Mrs. Wang snorted coldly. “That girl has a highly suspicious background, and her ability is far too bizarre. We need to ask our contacts about this specific energy signature before we make a move. She might actually have powerful backing, so we absolutely cannot act rashly. With an ability like that, if either of you had dared to attack her just now, we would be the ones lying dead on the floor.”

“What should we do, then? What if she really is an inspector from Franlun?”

“Yeah, if Franlun finds out about this place, we’re completely doomed. Even if we pool all our forces together, we’re no match for their strike teams.”

“What are you so afraid of?” Mrs. Wang sneered, crossing her arms. “Haven’t you heard that the big boss of Franlun recently ran into some serious internal problems? Hmph. I’m betting he’s way too busy putting out fires at the capital to care about what happens out here. Franlun’s focus is entirely locked on headquarters right now; their reach doesn’t extend this far into the wasteland anymore.”

If something major happened within Franlun’s leadership, very few ordinary survivors would ever know about it. But Mrs. Wang was different. She had the backing of the Black Market syndicate.

No matter how classified the intel was, you could always buy it on the black market. This specific rumor regarding the Chief Judge had come directly from a high-ranking official. As long as that terrifying man was too preoccupied to manage the outer territories, they had no reason to panic.

Unexpectedly, barely a minute after she spoke those confident words, her comms device beeped with an urgent, top-priority message from the Black Market.

Reading the decrypted text, Mrs. Wang’s vision went completely dark.

Trembling violently, she pointed a shaking finger in the direction Pei Xiqing had left. “Catch her! Go catch her right now! Do not let her leak a single word of what she saw here! The Lord of Franlun is coming here personally to inspect this sector in three days!”

Meanwhile, Pei Xiqing had grown quite fond of her little lakeside house.

On her way back, she noticed that she was being tailed. However, the surrounding area was swarming with wandering zombie hordes and mutated vipers. She simply ducked into the densest clusters of the infected, easily using them as cover to shake off her pursuers. After all, no sane human would willingly dive into a zombie horde just to track a target.

After washing up, she sat cross-legged on her makeshift bed in the dark, using a small flashlight to carefully examine a map she had acquired.

Although Mrs. Wang had suggested she could find the black market by tailing the suspicious patrons from the restaurant, Pei Xiqing knew those seasoned mercenaries weren’t pushovers. She had absolutely no experience in tracking or stealth reconnaissance; if she tried to tail them, she would likely end up getting caught.

Since following them directly was far too risky, she had simply commanded the invisible Qiong Snake to pickpocket them while they were distracted by their food and drinks. The result was the battered old map currently in her hands.

The thick parchment carried a faint, fishy stench, but the handwriting and topographical markings on it were clear and easy to read.

She traced her finger along the marked waypoints, but a frown quickly formed on her face. Something wasn’t right. She was actually quite familiar with the general geography of these sectors, yet several major landmarks on the map were marked completely incorrectly. The route was an absolute, nonsensical mess.

Could this thing be a fake?

Pei Xiqing studied the parchment for a long time but couldn’t decipher any hidden meaning. Refusing to give up, she lay back on the bed, holding the map up to the flashlight and scrutinizing the lines once more. However, her exhaustion quickly caught up with her. She didn’t last long before her eyelids grew heavy. Tossing the map aside, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

What she didn’t know was that less than an hour after she had left the restaurant, a heavy SUV roared down the road and slammed on its brakes right outside the front door.

Mrs. Wang was still nervously waiting for news from her enforcers. She paced back and forth across the dining room, praying in her heart that her men had successfully captured the girl.

But when she abruptly turned around, she didn’t see her men. Instead, she saw a striking young man with stark white hair, dressed in casual sportswear. He was leaning against the doorframe, staring at her with a sharp, nonchalant gaze.

The newcomer didn’t appear to be carrying any heavy weapons or tactical gear, but there was a distinct, gun-shaped bulge resting at his lower back. More alarmingly, his posture and lean, muscular build screamed elite military training.

He casually pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing his long legs. “So, this is the ‘Last Restaurant’?” he mused. He chuckled darkly, locking eyes with Mrs. Wang. “Interesting.”

Mrs. Wang’s heart leaped into her throat. “Hello there. Yes, this is indeed a restaurant, but we’re already closed for the night. Could you perhaps find somewhere else to eat?”

“Are there really any other restaurants operating out here in the apocalyptic wilderness?” the young man asked smoothly.

“Well, this…”

“I heard this place was open twenty-four hours. Why is it suddenly closed the moment I arrive?”

“To be completely honest with you, we’re completely out of fresh ingredients, and the head chef has already gone home…”

The young man clearly wasn’t buying it. “The open kitchen right behind you is fully stocked. I can see it from here. The proprietress finally gets a paying customer, and this is how she treats him? Or… perhaps this isn’t actually a restaurant at all, but rather…”

Before he could even finish his sentence, the heavy meat hook in the kitchen snapped.

The “cow” carcass hanging from the ceiling crashed heavily to the floor. As the bloody mass hit the tiles, it split open, sending chunks of human tissue and dark blood splattering across the ground.

—It wasn’t a cow. It was a butchered human corpse.

The young man violently kicked the table aside and lunged at the proprietress in a blur of motion. A tactical dagger practically materialized in his hand, slicing through the air straight toward Mrs. Wang’s throat.

But a fraction of an inch from her skin, the blade stopped abruptly.

He whipped his head around, his eyes locking onto a specific table in the corner. Resting there was the discarded face mask Pei Xiqing had left behind.

His pupils contracted violently, his entire body trembling with sudden shock. He grabbed Mrs. Wang by the throat. “Have you seen her?! Was she here?!”

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