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

Chapter 274: Are You Trying to Coax a Child?

“Ask away,” he said.

“Guess what I found outside the village when I left last time?”

“What?” he asked, feigning ignorance.

Pei Xiqing didn’t beat around the bush. “I saw the water dungeon.”

“Did you really?” he asked, acting surprised.

“Are you going to keep pretending?” Seeing that the man remained completely unfazed, she grabbed his arm and gave him a light push. “Confess!”

He let out a soft chuckle, his effortless charm almost feeling unfair. “You already know everything, so what secrets do I even have left to confess? What else can I say? My darling is incredibly smart; she can guess it all.”

“You knew the water dungeon was there all along, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” Not only did he know, but he had also been there; that was exactly where Xiao Yue had died.

“So, during our time in the village, you were farming during the day and running the water dungeon at night. I have to say, you certainly have a lot of energy.”

She had always wondered how he could receive news about the headquarters faster than anyone else, despite living in such a remote village. It turned out that while he was playing the role of a simple farmer, his underground prison was only a ten-minute walk away. He hadn’t neglected either of his roles.

He scooped up another spoonful of soup and brought it to her lips. “Eat some more.”

Pei Xiqing obediently opened her mouth and swallowed, but she still couldn’t hold back her next question. “That village… it wasn’t just naturally preserved, was it?”

Meeting her slightly pitiful gaze, the man hesitated for a moment before answering, “Yes and no. Some external factors are beyond our control, but what you felt while we were there—that was real.”

Pei Xiqing had already guessed as much, but hearing him admit it aloud still left her feeling a bit uneasy.

“Eat a little more,” Duan Xiaolin said, feeding her another bite.

Pei Xiqing’s eyes widened slightly. “Are you trying to coax a child right now?”

“I’m just trying to appease you.”

Pei Xiqing almost choked on her food.

Then, remembering something important, she covered her mouth and asked softly, “Is Ling Lang still out there? We need to tell him to come back as soon as possible.”

“I’ve already informed him, but he isn’t willing to return just yet.”

“Why not?”

“A man determined to build his military merits won’t easily turn back until he achieves his goal.”

Pei Xiqing nodded, half-understanding his stubbornness. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the man immediately stuffed another spoonful of food into it. She could only shoot him a resentful glare.

He’s feeding me way too much! I’m not a hamster!

As Pei Xiqing chewed her food slowly, her gaze wandered across the restaurant.

Her eyes landed on a group of seven or eight children squatting in a dim corner of the dining hall, staring intently in her direction. The children were covered in dust and grime, their frames thin and severely malnourished. They huddled together without a single adult in sight, holding no food of their own. They were just staring longingly at the leftovers left behind on the tables.

When a group of diners at a nearby table stood up to leave, the children finally mustered the courage to scurry over, hoping to scavenge the leftover bones and half-eaten plates.

Naturally, the restaurant staff wouldn’t allow these filthy refugees to lick the plates clean. A waiter casually tossed a few bare bones their way before a cleaning robot quickly wiped the table spotless.

After waiting around for half the day, all they had managed to secure were a few scraps. The group of children looked like they were on the verge of tears.

Duan Xiaolin had briefly stepped out to the smoking area. Sitting alone at the table, Pei Xiqing gently waved to the children hiding in the corner.

Seeing her gesture toward them, the kids froze in stunned disbelief. It was only after Pei Xiqing called a waiter over and had him relay the message that they finally, cautiously shuffled toward her table.

The group was led by a boy in his early teens. Though painfully thin, his expression was resolute. He bravely stepped forward to face Pei Xiqing.

“What… what do you want?” he asked, mustering every ounce of his courage to question her.

Pei Xiqing looked at him and offered a gentle smile. “Where did you kids come from?”

“What’s it to you?” the boy replied defensively. The children were on high alert; they simply couldn’t believe that this pretty, wealthy-looking woman actually cared about them. They assumed it was a trick so she could complain to the authorities and get them in trouble.

“I want to treat you to dinner,” she said simply.

“What? You… you’re not kidding?”

“No, I’m not,” Pei Xiqing said sincerely, pushing the menu toward him. “Here. You can order whatever you want. I promise I’ll pay for it.”

The lead boy hesitated for a long time before finally taking the menu, looking half-hopeful and half-suspicious.

His grime-covered hand immediately left several dark smudges across the pristine cover. Fearing he would be scolded, he frantically tried to wipe it clean using the hem of his equally dirty shirt. But the more he wiped, the worse the smudges became, obscuring the text completely.

In truth, he didn’t know how to read the complex dishes anyway. But not wanting to lose face in front of her, he puffed out his chest and pretended to study it.

Pei Xiqing pretended not to notice his struggle and smoothly intervened. “The dishes I just had were actually quite good. Why don’t I just order the same things for you? Let’s bring out… one, two, three… eight portions. Just right for the eight of you.”

The waiter nodded promptly. “Of course, Miss Pei. We’ll prepare them right away.”

Before long, plates of steaming hot food were served. It was indeed the same meal Pei Xiqing had enjoyed. Even if it wasn’t a massive banquet, the portions were more than enough for them. To these starving children, this food was an unimaginable luxury.

The teen boy tried to maintain his composure, but the younger children behind him couldn’t resist the mouthwatering aroma. They immediately started stuffing the food into their mouths. The boy hesitated for a moment, initially trying to use his spoon properly. But after a few bites, instinct took over, and he abandoned the cutlery, grabbing the food with his bare hands and shoving it into his mouth.

Between bites, he mumbled to Pei Xiqing, “Thank you… but we don’t have anything to repay you with. You can’t ask us for money later, and we won’t steal things for you either! We can only help you do manual labor, nothing else… if we get caught doing bad things, we’ll be kicked out of headquarters!”

Pei Xiqing looked at him in surprise. “Did someone try to make you steal things before?”

“Yes! So many adults here are so mean!” one of the younger kids chimed in. “They start by offering us a little food, but the next second, they demand money, or tell us to steal things for them. They make us do all sorts of awful work!”

“I won’t do any of that,” Pei Xiqing promised softly. “You can eat without worrying.”

The children stared at her for a moment, sensing her sincerity, before happily returning to their feast.

As they ate, Pei Xiqing learned that they had fled from Base Six.

“It’s gone now. Completely washed away by the flood,” the older boy explained quietly. “The main gates were struck by lightning and shattered. There were so many mutated monsters outside… it was terrifying.”

“Waaaaah… Mom and Dad…” a younger girl suddenly wailed. “They’re gone… they disappeared when the thunder came…”

In less than ten minutes, she had grown quite close to the group. The children naturally gravitated toward her warmth, huddling around her chair.

Pei Xiqing pulled the crying little girl into her arms, gently wiping away her tears and snot. “Don’t cry,” she hushed softly, “it’s okay, don’t cry.”

“Big sister, are we going to die?” a boy asked, his voice trembling.

Right at that moment, another massive clap of thunder boomed outside the restaurant, shaking the glass windows.

The children shrieked in terror, instinctively scrambling under the table to hide.

Pei Xiqing quickly covered the ears of the little girl in her lap, gently patting her back to comfort her. “No, no, you aren’t going to die…”

“But we’ve heard the adults saying that everyone is going to die!” a kid sobbed from under the table. “They said the military officers here don’t care about us at all…”

Pei Xiqing let out a soft, heartbroken sigh. “No… even if everyone else ignores your existence, there will still be one organization in this world that won’t abandon you.”

Chapter 275: So Stretchy

The little girl wasn’t heavy, but Pei Xiqing’s back still began to ache after holding her for a while. She had been tormented quite thoroughly by Duan Xiaolin the night before, and the lingering soreness couldn’t be instantly cured by just a hot bath and a massage.

Her lower back had been acting up intermittently since she left the house. While she didn’t feel much discomfort doing normal tasks, the moment she exerted even a little extra force, it felt as though not just her back, but her entire body was on the verge of giving out.

Fortunately, Duan Xiaolin returned shortly after.

The little girl was absolutely terrified the moment she saw him. She quickly scrambled off Pei Xiqing’s lap, no longer daring to lean against her chest and cry. With just a single glance at Duan Xiaolin’s cold demeanor, she shrank back in fear.

The man didn’t smell strongly of smoke, so he probably hadn’t actually lit a cigarette while in the designated smoking area. Taking his seat, he asked in a low voice, “What did you order?”

“I just ordered some food for the kids,” Pei Xiqing replied.

“The children from Base Six.” He stated it calmly, evidently already aware of their origins.

“Sister Zhang Tian is there too,” Pei Xiqing said softly, “along with most of the villagers. I wonder how they managed after reaching the base, especially when it was destroyed.”

It was inevitable that the villagers had eventually chosen to leave their settlement. No one would willingly sit around waiting for death to claim them. However, they couldn’t have been at Base Six for long before the apocalyptic conditions rapidly deteriorated.

“Every base has an emergency shelter, much like the underwater facility here at headquarters,” Duan Xiaolin explained. “In the event of a catastrophic emergency, they can evacuate into it for temporary safety.”

“Would all of them be in there?”

“Yes. Shelters are generally equipped with adequate living conditions and a stockpile of essential supplies. They can accommodate thousands of people. Hiding inside for two, three, or even six months shouldn’t be a problem.”

“That’s good to hear,” she breathed a sigh of relief.

Duan Xiaolin looked at her. “What else would you like to eat?”

“I’ve had enough.” She shook her head. “I can’t eat another bite; my stomach is completely full.”

He reached over to gently wipe a drop of juice from the corner of her lips, his dark eyes darkening slightly with an unspoken emotion. Pei Xiqing remained entirely oblivious, preoccupied with her conversation with the children.

Just as the kids had finally started to lower their guard, and before Pei Xiqing could exchange more than a few words with them, a violent kick slammed against the restaurant’s front doors.

The impact was loud, but the howling wind outside partially masked the jarring noise. Because the restaurant was heavily soundproofed, most patrons didn’t immediately notice the commotion outside. But the kicks grew louder and more frantic, shattering the peaceful atmosphere with harsh, abrupt thuds that echoed one after another.

Suddenly, the heavy doors were forcefully shoved open, slamming violently against the inner walls. The deafening crash successfully dragged everyone’s attention to the entrance.

The glass shattered upon impact, sending sharp shards spraying over the refugees squatting nearby.

A man stormed through the doorway and immediately began lashing out, viciously kicking the greeting waiter and the homeless refugees huddled near the entrance. Several people were sent flying back several meters from the sheer force of his blows.

Having endured countless hardships just to survive and reach this place, the refugees had neither the strength nor the courage to confront the privileged elites of headquarters. Even as they were kicked to the ground, coughing up blood, they didn’t dare utter a single word of protest.

Lin Ziyan aggressively stomped on the fallen waiter’s chest, grinding his heel down repeatedly. His expression contorted into a ferocious sneer. “Are you fucking looking for death?! I’ve been banging on this door for over ten minutes, and not a single one of you bastards came to open it! Are you all deaf?!”

“I am so sorry, Commander Lin!” the manager cried out, rushing forward in a panic. “The thunder and rain outside were so loud, we honestly didn’t hear anyone out there! We’re incredibly sorry! We’ll compensate you for the inconvenience!”

“You think compensation makes up for my time?! Damn it, you bunch of idiots!” Lin Ziyan kicked the manager aside, his face still twisted in rage. “Clear this place out. I don’t want to see a single person in here, or none of you will make it out alive!”

“But… Commander Lin, we currently have quite a few esteemed guests dining in the private rooms on the second floor,” the manager pleaded desperately. “How about we arrange our quietest, most luxurious private room for you upstairs—”

“Are you incapable of understanding human speech? I said clear the area! Do you understand?”

“But Commander Lin, the guests today…”

“Throw them all out! Along with these filthy beggars!” He narrowed his eyes dangerously. “Or are you all tired of living and determined to cross me?”

“This… this…”

“What the hell are you standing around for? Hurry up! You have a death wish if you dare disobey Brother Lin!” Several of Lin Ziyan’s subordinates stormed inside, immediately barking orders and yelling at the frightened patrons.

At the same time, a curvaceous woman sauntered slowly through the entrance, holding an elegant umbrella. Her looks were well above average, and her gorgeous, meticulously crafted clothes made her a striking beauty.

However, as she walked up to Lin Ziyan, her pretty face twisted in disgust. Instead of offering any kind words, she pinched a silk handkerchief over her nose and mouth. “The corners where they’re squatting smell absolutely revolting. It reeks of urine. I don’t even want to know how many days they’ve gone without showering. I feel like throwing up…”

Lin Ziyan wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. “Throw all these refugees out into the storm, and get someone to scrub down every spot they touched,” he ordered.

His subordinates immediately moved to execute his commands. Crushed under the overwhelming pressure, the restaurant staff had no choice but to begin clearing the dining hall.

The manager walked from table to table, profusely apologizing to the seated guests while constantly wiping the cold sweat from his brow. Lin Ziyan was someone they absolutely could not afford to offend. His father was a direct subordinate of a Marshal, and his family formed part of the elite backbone of the central headquarters. Offending them meant being thrown out into the apocalyptic wasteland the very next second, guaranteeing a gruesome death.

“I am incredibly sorry,” a waiter said as he approached Pei Xiqing and Duan Xiaolin’s table. “Someone has unexpectedly booked the entire establishment at the last minute. How about we comp your meal today? We are truly sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll also provide you with a bag of our restaurant’s premium specialty tea to take home. If there is anything else you’d like, we will try our best to accommodate and compensate you, so long as it’s within our budget.”

The staff’s attitude was impeccable, and their handling of the crisis was as appropriate as it could be under the circumstances.

Pei Xiqing had already been preparing to leave anyway, and upon hearing the polite apology, she had no intention of making things difficult for the poor waiter. She nodded and stood up. “There’s no need for any compensation; we’ll just leave. But… who exactly was that person who just barged in?”

She had been seated quite a distance from the entrance, and over the din, she had only managed to catch snippets of the aggressive shouting. A decorative privacy screen also blocked her line of sight, making it impossible to get a clear look at the arrogant intruder.

However, she could easily infer how terrifying the man was just by looking at the waiter’s pale, embarrassed expression.

The waiter leaned in closer, whispering in a trembling voice, “The people we can’t afford to offend are all high-ranking officials here at headquarters. If any of us dare cross them, we won’t survive another day in this city.”

Chapter 276: She’s Already Married

Pei Xiqing looked at him in surprise.

The waiter standing in front of her didn’t seem as mechanically automated as the rest of the staff; his face actually held a faint semblance of human emotion, though it was mostly deep resignation.

“So you’re just going to clear the area and kick everyone out into the storm?” she asked.

“Yes. Our staff was too slow to open the door and offended the officer. There’s really nothing we can do about it now. We appreciate your understanding.”

Pei Xiqing nodded thoughtfully.

She had no interest in the petty power struggles happening at headquarters. Whether real or imagined, all of this would eventually disappear anyway. The invisible oppression of class and power that had plagued the apocalypse for years would soon become a thing of the past, and everyone would be forced into the exact same desperate situation.

Still, anyone who could act so domineeringly here was probably not someone easy to deal with.

“Let’s just go,” she said quietly.

Duan Xiaolin grabbed her coat from the back of the chair, draped it over her shoulders, and wrapped a protective arm around her as they walked toward the exit.

Before they could even take a few steps, the refugees who had been sheltering inside were roughly dragged away and hurled out the shattered glass doors. The children she had just fed were violently driven out into the storm, slipping and falling into the freezing mud.

Pei Xiqing paused. Through the howling wind, she could hear the desperate cries of the people outside.

“Please, sir, let us back in!”

The temperature outside was plummeting. The refugees wore nothing but thin rags, and they began violently shivering the second they hit the frigid air.

Worse still, lethal lightning was continuously striking the streets. Some people hadn’t even taken two steps outside before they were struck, collapsing half-dead onto the flooded pavement. To kick them out into this storm was tantamount to a death sentence.

“Sir! Please, we beg you, let us in! We promise we won’t disturb you!”

“Sir! Help—Ahhhhh! Someone just got struck by lightning!”

“You bastards! Why are you doing this?!”

The children were shoved ruthlessly into the rising floodwaters. Their intermittent cries for help were incredibly pitiful.

Frowning deeply, Pei Xiqing pushed past the half-shattered doors.

Shadow was already standing just outside the entrance. Clad in a heavy black raincoat, he stood completely unfazed in the wind and rain, watching the chaos with a blank expression.

It wasn’t until he saw Pei Xiqing frantically gesturing toward him that he finally moved. He swiftly intercepted a superhuman guard who was just about to kick one of the fallen children.

“Hey, what’s the big deal, man?” Shadow asked coldly. “Are you really going to beat a kid?”

“Mind your own business!” the guard snapped.

Shadow sneered. “And what if I make it my business?”

Holding up her umbrella, Pei Xiqing hurried over to help the children to their feet. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice call out her name from behind.

“Pei Xiqing???”

She looked up.

Ma Mengjia was standing just inside the ruined restaurant doors, softly leaning against the man in the crisp military uniform. She was staring at Pei Xiqing in utter astonishment.

Pei Xiqing slowly stood up straight. “What are you doing here?”

Ma Mengjia covered her lips in exaggerated surprise. “I was just about to ask you the same thing! But, oh right, this is a restaurant. You must be here to eat. Silly me—ever since I got pregnant and started carrying this child, my brain just hasn’t been processing things properly.”

Pei Xiqing hugged the trembling child beside her, gently ushering the kids toward Shadow’s protective bulk. Turning back to Ma Mengjia, she asked neutrally, “How have you been feeling lately?”

Ma Mengjia subconsciously touched her slightly swollen belly. “I’m doing fine… Have you and Brother Duan been together recently?”

Her eyes quickly scanned the area around Pei Xiqing. She soon spotted Duan Xiaolin squatting next to Shadow, gently using a towel to dry the rain off one of the children. Seeing him again after so long, a faint flush still crept onto Ma Mengjia’s cheeks.

A soft smile played on her lips. “So Brother Duan is here too. You two must have come out for dinner together…”

Before Pei Xiqing could reply, she felt a heavy, piercing gaze lock onto her—one that made her skin crawl.

She looked toward the source and met a pair of eyes brimming with predatory interest. Lin Ziyan pulled his arm away from Ma Mengjia, openly staring at Pei Xiqing’s face for several long seconds. He finally smiled.

“Mengjia, is this a friend of yours? Why haven’t I ever heard you mention her before?”

He took a step forward. He was still smiling, but there was a dark, lecherous undertone to his expression that made Pei Xiqing physically uncomfortable. He leaned in slightly. “Miss, you don’t look like a local. I’ve lived at headquarters for a very long time, and I’ve certainly never seen a woman as beautiful as you around here.”

Pei Xiqing let out a dry chuckle, her voice devoid of warmth. “I am indeed not from headquarters. That explains why I’ve never met someone as… interesting as you.”

“Oh? You find me interesting?” Lin Ziyan’s smile widened. “Why don’t we find an opportunity to sit down and have a proper chat, then? You can tell me exactly what it is you find so interesting.”

Sensing the immediate threat, Ma Mengjia hurriedly squeezed herself between the two of them. Gently pushing Lin Ziyan back, she quickly interjected, “Back in our old village, everyone just called her Miss Pei. You visited that village once before, remember?”

Lin Ziyan paused, looking mildly surprised. “Miss Pei? I vaguely remember a Miss Pei, but the details are fuzzy.”

He had suffered terribly in that desolate, backwards village when he was stationed with his unit. His father had claimed the brutal deployment was all part of his “training and character development.” Screw character development. Even now, just thinking about that wretched village filled him with intense annoyance and disgust.

“Speaking of which,” Ma Mengjia continued brightly, “Miss Pei has actually been married for a long time! Look… her husband is right over there.”

Lin Ziyan followed her pointing finger. Through the rain, he saw a tall, broad-shouldered man holding a black umbrella. The canopy obscured the upper half of his face. His head was lowered as he quietly used a handkerchief to dry the hair of the shivering children huddled around him.

Lin Ziyan squinted. There was something vaguely familiar about the man’s imposing silhouette, but between the poor lighting, the heavy storm, and the obscured angle, he couldn’t quite place his identity.

“See?” Ma Mengjia reiterated quickly. “She is already married.”

She made sure to heavily emphasize those last two words, subtly shifting her body to block Lin Ziyan’s view of Pei Xiqing. Lin Ziyan was a man with both handsome looks and incredibly high social status. Ma Mengjia had worked far too hard to secure her current position by his side, and she absolutely refused to let everything fall apart just because she ran into Pei Xiqing. If she had known Pei Xiqing was dining at this restaurant tonight, she never would have stepped foot inside.

Lin Ziyan merely stroked his chin and sneered. He casually shoved Ma Mengjia aside.

So what if she was married? In this brutal apocalyptic world, was there anything he wanted that he couldn’t easily obtain?

Pei Xiqing had sensed his vile intentions from the very first glance and had absolutely no desire to entertain them. Braving the rain, she jogged over to Duan Xiaolin’s side.

“I’ll do it,” she said softly.

She took the towel from his hands, scooping up the soaking wet little girl and gently placing her into the warmth of their car.

Lin Ziyan let out a cold snort. He gestured for one of his subordinates to hold an umbrella over his head and swaggered out into the storm.

In the dead of night, the street was cloaked in gloom. The only illumination came from the violent flashes of lightning overhead, casting eerie, bone-chilling shadows across the flooded pavement.

Approaching the tall man from behind, Lin Ziyan wore a wicked, arrogant grin. “Hey. You guys are all from that village, right? I didn’t expect your wife to have a connection with my girlfriend.”

Without waiting for the man to turn around or answer, Lin Ziyan pressed on smoothly. “Since my girlfriend has finally run into an old friend, and her pregnancy has been a bit unstable lately… why don’t you have your wife come stay with us to take care of her for a few days?”

He chuckled darkly. “I guarantee this arrangement won’t harm you in the slightest. Hell, most people in this city would beg for an opportunity like this. As for your compensation, just name your price. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

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