What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH19

Chapter 19: What a Coward

Duan Xiaolin was silent for a long moment. “It depends on the situation.”

“It depends? Right. That’s assuming she actually makes it back to the base alive in the first place.”

They were still a significant distance from the central base, and surviving the journey was never guaranteed.

Her zombie symptoms were completely erratic—sometimes improving, sometimes worsening. Even if she miraculously made it to the gates, she would instantly be flagged and captured as a monster by the automated defense grid. It was better to just observe her mutation process on the road.

Ling Lang couldn’t help but shoot a sidelong glance at Duan Xiaolin.

And as for Franlun… Whatever. He figured that if Pei Xiqing remained this unbelievably naive and foolish, his brother would inevitably step forward to protect her.

A short while later, Pei Xiqing stepped out of the medical tent, her face flushed red from the thorough biometric examination.

Long Yan followed her out, casually draping an arm around her shoulders. “How is it that the viral webbing on your skin is actually fading again? If you roll your sleeves down, you look completely human. The only thing left is the actual bite mark on your arm, and even that looks like it’s trying to heal.”

“But when I had a flare-up last night, my entire body turned grey-green again, and it felt like my blood was boiling,” Pei Xiqing sighed. “Sister Long Yan, you saw the scratches on my back just now. Were they bad?”

“It’s just a few deep claw marks. You must have done that to yourself during a fever dream,” Long Yan said sympathetically. “They look pretty nasty, but given your current insane regeneration rate, I’d say they’ll heal completely in three days.”

Long Yan’s expression turned serious. “But you really have to control yourself. The next time you have a flare-up, do not scratch. If you lose control, you could literally tear your own skin off. Large-scale tissue damage is going to be incredibly difficult to recover from, and honestly, it’s going to ruin your flawless skin.”

Pei Xiqing let out a heavy sigh, her face full of genuine worry.

How is anyone supposed to resist that kind of apocalyptic itch? If the virus kept acting up, she was probably going to be the first person in history to literally scratch themselves to death.

“Relax. You’re incredibly lucky to even be in this state,” Long Yan reassured her. “Even if a high-tier ability user took a direct bite like that, they’d turn into a raving, bloodthirsty monster within an hour. But you’re still alive, completely conscious, and holding conversations. Try not to stress too much.”

“Okay. Thank you, Sister Long Yan.”

The two women walked through the camp together. Up ahead, several tall, heavily armed operatives were standing near the vehicles. Seeing them, Pei Xiqing froze, a spike of PTSD hitting her. She was terrified they were going to draw their weapons and chase her into the wasteland again.

Right now, unpredictable human survivors were far more terrifying to her than actual zombies.

Sensing her hesitation, Long Yan smiled warmly. “Don’t worry, those are the rest of our squad members. Come on, I’ll introduce you. They’re all great guys.”

“Oh… okay.”

Before Pei Xiqing could even step forward, the operatives spotted them and immediately jogged over. “Sister Long Yan! Is this…”

“Yep,” Long Yan smirked. “Everyone, meet Pei Xiqing. She is officially our squad’s new national treasure.”

Pei Xiqing offered a sheepish, nervous smile. “Hello.”

Fu Feng and Nie Bin’s eyes immediately lit up. “Whoa! What a gorgeous lady! Hello, hello!”

“I’m Fu Feng!”

“And I’m Nie Bin!”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Pei Xiqing,” she replied softly. “About last night… I’m so sorry for all the trouble. I’m sorry you had to spend the entire night running around the wasteland looking for me.”

“Are you kidding? That’s nothing! Don’t even worry about it,” Fu Feng waved a hand dismissively. “It’s entirely the fault of those idiotic scavengers. They didn’t know what the hell they were dealing with and chased you off. We spent the whole night wanting to execute them one by one, but you handled it.”

Despite his casual reassurance, Pei Xiqing knew the reality: a zombie was still a zombie.

In this world, everyone inherently hated the infected like rats in a sewer. She had fully prepared herself to be treated with disgust and hostility, but the squad’s casual, almost welcoming reaction genuinely surprised her.

In truth, operatives like Fu Feng and Nie Bin had lived through the absolute worst of the apocalypse. Between the brutal military selection process and years of endless, bloody battles on the frontline, they had seen it all. At this point, they didn’t care if someone was human, a ghost, or a half-mutant anomaly. Their mindset was simple: as long as you weren’t actively trying to get them killed or intentionally causing trouble, they could accept anything.

“Alright, boys, pack your gear. We’re rolling out in ten,” Long Yan ordered.

She turned back to Pei Xiqing. “Given your volatile condition, it’s definitely best we get you to the central base as quickly as possible. The medical division there has experimental suppressants that might stabilize the virus. Otherwise, I’m terrified that one day you’re going to have a flare-up and accidentally tear yourself into a half-human, half-ghost monstrosity.”

“But… if I go to the base, won’t the military just lock me up and use me as a test subject?” Pei Xiqing asked nervously.

“They would do that to an ordinary civilian, yes.”

“Huh?”

“But Brother Duan is here,” Long Yan said, casting a meaningful glance toward the G-Class. “When it comes to human experimentation and holding subjects, his word is absolute law. Ling Lang and I are planning to formally petition him on your behalf later. He’s fully aware of your unique situation, so he might grant you immunity. As long as he issues the order, absolutely no one in the base would be bold enough to lay a finger on you.”

Pei Xiqing blinked, momentarily stunned by the sheer extent of his influence. “…Okay.”

“How far are we from the central base, Sister Long Yan?”

Long Yan thought for a moment. “It’s hard to say. As the crow flies, it’s roughly a hundred kilometers. But the wasteland changes by the hour. Major highways are constantly blocked by debris, and massive mutant hordes migrate unpredictably. If we run into a major swarm, we’ll have to detour, which could cost us days. Realistically? Probably another seven or eight days.”

“I see.”

“Don’t worry,” Long Yan smiled confidently. “We’re the best at navigating the wild.”

Having virtually nothing to pack, Pei Xiqing began walking toward the vehicles. As she passed the center of the camp, she glanced toward the scavenger trucks and met a pair of deeply worried eyes.

Pei Xiqing lightly tugged Long Yan’s sleeve. “Sister Long Yan, what about… them?”

Long Yan glanced at the scavengers. “Oh, them. The wasteland is crawling with rogues exactly like that. Ling Lang said we aren’t executing them, but we aren’t babysitting them either. We’re just leaving them here.”

In the apocalypse, leaving a powerless squad in the wild was essentially a death sentence. While the scavengers hadn’t actively managed to harm Pei Xiqing, everyone knew exactly what kind of ruthless predators they truly were.

There was no telling how much life-saving food, water, and ammunition they had violently stolen from innocent, weaker survivors. Pei Xiqing had briefly seen the massive haul of supplies in their trucks the night before; it was glaringly obvious most of it didn’t belong to them. As for whether they had simply scavenged it or slaughtered people for it… only they and God knew the truth.

Whether they died on the road or miraculously made it to the central base was entirely up to their own luck now.

“I’m going to go say goodbye,” Pei Xiqing murmured.

“Go ahead. Just make it quick; the convoy is leaving soon,” Long Yan said.

“Okay.”

The scavengers had been corralled into their own transport trucks by the elite squad. Because Ling Lang and the operatives hadn’t formally left the camp yet, none of the scavengers dared to step outside.

As Pei Xiqing approached the lead truck, she saw Zhao Shunyan still lying completely unconscious, his head resting in Zhang Tian’s lap. Zhang Tian looked incredibly grim.

“Xiqing…” Zhang Tian whispered, looking up. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I made it back safely.”

“I’m just glad you’re back.”

“Sister Tian,” Pei Xiqing said softly, meeting her eyes. “You have to make it to the base alive.”

Zhang Tian was stunned for a moment before a sharp, nonchalant smile crossed her face. “That’s the easy part. I will survive and reach the base. If I get to see you again when I get there, that’ll be enough. You’re traveling with the elites, so you’ll definitely arrive before me. When I finally get there, I might need you to protect me.”

“If I have the power to do so by then, of course I will.”

“Good. Then I’m definitely going.” Zhang Tian suddenly shoved the unconscious Captain off her lap with a look of pure disgust. “You should get going. Don’t worry about us; this team has always been a mess.”

“Goodbye, Sister Tian.”

Zhang Tian watched Pei Xiqing walk away until she was out of sight. Then, she lowered her eyes, staring coldly at the useless, unconscious man lying in the dirt at her feet. A flash of genuine, murderous intent crossed her eyes.

“What a coward.”

Pei Xiqing climbed into the G-Class, realizing the seating arrangement had drastically changed. There were only three people in the vehicle now: herself, Ling Lang in the passenger seat, and Duan Xiaolin behind the wheel.

She rolled down her window and looked back. The two heavily armored military off-roaders were lined up behind them. Long Yan was leaning out the window of the lead vehicle, smiling and waving at her. She mouthed the words, Sit back and relax.

If this had been yesterday, Pei Xiqing would have been relatively comfortable with the dynamic in the G-Class. But after last night… after the intense, dangerously ambiguous conversation she had had with Duan Xiaolin in the dark hotel room, she had absolutely no idea how to face him.

Avoiding his reflection in the rearview mirror, Pei Xiqing sat stiffly in the back seat, zipped her heavy tactical coat all the way up to her chin, pulled the hood over her head, and squeezed her eyes shut, pretending to sleep.

As she hid in the back, Duan Xiaolin was finishing a secure comms transmission with the central base headquarters. He relayed a specific set of coordinates before ending the call.

He and Ling Lang both climbed into the front seats. “We’re diverting to these coordinates first to verify the intel,” Duan Xiaolin ordered. “If the report is accurate, not a single living thing in that sector is to be left alive.”

Ling Lang tapped his Bluetooth earpiece, his expression turning unusually tense. “Understood. But… what if there are still uninfected civilians trapped in the zone? Should we call in a specialized extraction team to pull them out? It’s a logistical nightmare, but it’s not entirely impossible… though the probability of anyone surviving in there is basically zero.”

Duan Xiaolin closed his door. He casually adjusted the rearview mirror, his freezing gaze locking directly onto Pei Xiqing’s “sleeping” form in the back seat. After a moment of heavy silence, he suddenly spoke. “Roll your window up.”

Pei Xiqing’s eyelashes fluttered open. She looked up innocently. “Oh.”

The freezing desert wind was howling outside, but she actually liked the crisp air. It was blowing so hard she could barely keep her eyes open.

She obediently pressed the button, rolling the thick armored glass shut.

The moment the window sealed, the man’s low, glacial voice echoed through the quiet cabin. “If there are any survivors left in that zone, they would have been infected by the virus long ago without even realizing it. And as long as they are zombies, the operatives of Franlun will absolutely not let them go. We will hunt them to the ends of the earth and personally execute any mutant that tries to exploit our mercy.”

A second ago, Pei Xiqing had been genuinely trying to take a nap. But the moment those words left his mouth, a violent chill shot down her spine.

She snapped her eyes open, subconsciously darting a panicked glance at the rearview mirror.

She immediately collided with Duan Xiaolin’s calm, terrifyingly serious gaze.

She parted her lips, but no sound came out. She just stared at him, mentally throwing up both middle fingers in his face.

If that’s your policy, then why don’t you just shoot me right now?!

Completely oblivious to the silent warfare happening in the mirror, Ling Lang rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You know, Franlun is getting more and more extreme lately. Their absolute authority is starting to feel a bit excessive. Brother, do you think they’re overstepping?”

“Does it matter? I take orders from the base command. Why should I care about Franlun’s internal politics?” Duan Xiaolin replied smoothly.

“Whether it’s a problem or not, I think you could probably handle it,” Ling Lang shrugged carelessly. “I mean, after all, you are Franlun’s…”

Duan Xiaolin shot him a sharp, warning glare.

Ling Lang instantly choked on his words, quickly pivoting. “…representative.”

Pei Xiqing blinked in surprise, leaning forward slightly. “Representative? Brother Duan is a representative for Franlun?”

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