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

Chapter 316: A Moment of Impulse

Ma Mengxiang and the others had indeed brought a massive amount of supplies, but realistically, if the food were evenly distributed to everyone in the base, it still wouldn’t be enough to sustain them for long. But the actual volume of food wasn’t the most important part. To the survivors living on the brink of collapse at the end of the world, what Ma Mengxiang and her group truly brought was hope.

Their presence and actions proved a vital truth: food can always be regenerated and grown again, but if the people are gone, everything else is meaningless.

This spark of hope was enough to reawaken the residents’ will to live. For ordinary people, seeing tangible proof that they could be self-sufficient brought far more comfort and peace of mind than relying on advanced, cold technology.

That evening, Ma Mengxiang organized a massive communal dinner for the entire base.

They brought out a generous portion of their fresh supplies and invited everyone to eat for free.

A colossal iron pot, taller than a grown man, was hauled into the center of the base. It was a tight fit; the residents had to scramble to clear enough room for it. The underground facility wasn’t very spacious to begin with, and as everyone squeezed tightly together, they barely managed to carve out a slightly wider aisle and set up a large, circular cooking station around the pot.

Wielding a spatula over a meter long, Ma Mengxiang stirred the massive stew vigorously. The intense heat radiating from the roaring fire had her sweating profusely, but she still shouted at the top of her lungs, “Brother Yingzi! Help me bring over that big basin of potatoes and purple radishes! Pour them in quickly, or the meat won’t be tender enough!”

Shadow’s voice called back from the crowd. “Coming through! Move aside, please.”

He effortlessly hoisted the massive iron basin of ingredients and carefully tipped the contents into the boiling pot.

Watching him work, Ma Mengxiang leaned closer and commented, “Brother Yingzi, have your arms gotten thicker? You’ve been helping everyone out with the heavy lifting every single day recently. It really looks like you’re getting stronger and stronger.”

“I’m always happy to help,” Shadow replied, his tone somewhat stiff.

“Then you need to eat more meat later.”

“…Understood.”

“Quick, help me grab those green onions over there! Hurry, the other side is almost ready to be served…”

“I’m coming. Step back, let me handle it so you don’t get splashed.”

“Okay, but you be careful too! Don’t burn yourself.”

Listening to the two of them bantering back and forth as if they were in their own little world, Pei Xiqing couldn’t help but look over her shoulder with an amused smile.

She was currently washing vegetables alongside Aunt Huang. Noticing her gaze, Aunt Huang smiled warmly. “Oh, speaking of which, Master Shadow has helped us out tremendously during this period. We had a lot of elderly folks left in the village, and many of them have trouble walking. If he hadn’t arrived just in time to carry them out, a lot of us would have drowned in the flash floods. Honestly, without his help, we never would have been able to grow so much food or make it here safely.”

“The old village was completely flooded, right?” Pei Xiqing asked. “Where did you all evacuate to?”

“We moved to the very top of the mountain. Master Shadow single-handedly dug out a massive drainage system for us. If he hadn’t done that, even the peak would have eventually flooded. We were incredibly lucky. Once the drainage trenches were cleared, we were relatively safe. But looking down… it was terrifying. Aside from our little peak, the entire world looked like an ocean. The water was pitch black, and we could see these massive, strange creatures swimming just beneath the surface. It was horrifying to watch.”

Even now, Aunt Huang’s face paled slightly at the memory.

“It’s over now,” Pei Xiqing said gently, comforting her.

“Yes, thank goodness,” Aunt Huang nodded, forcing a smile. “And things are only going to get better! We’ll make sure the harvests get more and more abundant, and we’ll always have enough food. If it’s not enough, we can always go back up the mountain and plant more. No matter what difficulties we encounter, as long as we work together, we’ll always find a way through.”

Pei Xiqing smiled and nodded, carefully washing the remaining vegetables.

The water provided by the base’s internal system was heavily filtered, but it was still harsh. If her hands soaked in it for too long, her skin would quickly start to peel. It made perfect sense why Duan Xiaolin had insisted on going out to find cleaner water for her.

Aunt Huang leaned in a little closer, lowering her voice. “That Master Shadow… he seems to be quite obedient to you, Miss Pei. If I may ask on Mengxiang’s behalf… what exactly is his background? Is he a high-ranking official at headquarters, or does he have some other special identity?”

Before Pei Xiqing could answer, Aunt Huang quickly added, “I’m sure you heard how they were talking just now. Mengxiang is a good girl, and she’s done so much for us. When everyone else wanted to abandon the village, she was the only young person who chose to stay behind to take care of us. And lately, Master Shadow has been spending all his free time with her. They’ve been getting so… close.”

“Aunt Huang, I understand what you’re asking.”

Aunt Huang looked at her expectantly.

Even Ma Mengxiang, who was supposedly busy cooking behind them, couldn’t help but prick up her ears, subtly inching closer to eavesdrop.

Noticing the hem of Ma Mengxiang’s skirt shifting in her peripheral vision, Pei Xiqing deliberately paused before answering. “Brother Yingzi isn’t under my direct jurisdiction, so I don’t have the authority to manage his personal affairs. He is heavily connected to headquarters, and he does hold an extremely important position there, but I can’t really give you the answers you’re looking for regarding his status.”

She let out a soft, exaggerated sigh, looking slightly troubled. “Brother Yingzi’s identity is highly classified. If there are any major changes to his life or status, he has to go through rigorous official procedures. Headquarters’ control over his specific division is incredibly strict.”

“Ah… I see…” Aunt Huang murmured in disappointment. “I thought since you knew him so well, you might be able to put in a good word. What a pity…”

Behind them, Ma Mengxiang’s shoulders visibly slumped, her lively expression turning thoroughly depressed. She was so distracted she entirely forgot to stir the massive pot.

Pei Xiqing let the silence drag out for a few seconds before casually changing her tone. “However… headquarters is in complete chaos right now, so they probably don’t have the manpower or energy to micromanage everything. Besides, Brother Yingzi isn’t entirely under headquarters’ control anyway. He reports directly to one specific boss. If someone were to just ask his boss for permission and gain his approval, all of those strict bureaucratic rules could easily be bypassed.”

“Wait, really? Who is his boss?” Ma Mengxiang couldn’t hold back anymore. She abandoned her spatula and rushed over, looking at Pei Xiqing nervously, absolutely desperate for an answer. “Miss Pei, do you know who he is? Have you met him? If you have, please tell me! I’ll go… I’ll go find him and try to talk to him myself! Everything is negotiable, right?”

Pei Xiqing casually scrubbed a radish. “I have met him.”

“Who is he?! Please, tell me quickly…”

“Like I said, many things involving headquarters are highly classified,” Pei Xiqing replied, maintaining a teasingly professional tone. “It involves confidential information, so it’s not my place to just hand out his name… But more importantly, before you go rushing off, you need to ask yourself: why exactly do you want to find Shadow’s boss?”

“I…” Ma Mengxiang froze, her face instantly turning bright red.

“If you want to request an audience with his superior, you must have a formal, legitimate reason,” Pei Xiqing pressed gently. “And if you do manage to meet him, what exactly are you going to say? What is it you want to negotiate? You have to think these things through carefully. You can’t just act on impulse and blurt out whatever comes to mind. His division operates under strict military regulations; you have to be absolutely sure of what you want.”

“I think… I mean, I want to…”

“Hmm?” Pei Xiqing stared at her intently, waiting for her to say it out loud.

Ma Mengxiang stumbled over her words for a long time, stammering helplessly before finally covering her burning face with her hands. She just couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Pei Xiqing smiled warmly. “It’s okay. You can come to me once you’ve fully thought it through. There’s no rush; we have plenty of time. Take it slow. Some things don’t need to be forced before they’re ready.”

Ma Mengxiang bit her lip, her fingers twisting nervously into her apron.

Suddenly, Pei Xiqing sniffed the air. “Why does it smell like something’s burning?”

Ma Mengxiang gasped. “My stew!”

She spun around in a panic, rushing back to desperately stir the food in the massive iron pot.

Pei Xiqing and Aunt Huang exchanged a knowing look.

Aunt Huang was an experienced woman; she immediately understood what Pei Xiqing had been doing. She grinned and gave Pei Xiqing a subtle, approving wink.

It took over two hours to fully prepare the communal dinner.

There were simply too many mouths to feed. Pei Xiqing was genuinely shocked by the sheer number of people who eventually turned up. She knew the base had taken in many homeless refugees who had been rejected by the larger factions, but she never imagined this many people were hiding in the underground bunker.

The narrow corridors were completely jam-packed. There were the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, as well as a large contingent of able-bodied men who served as the base’s security force.

Just from a glance, there had to be at least eight thousand people, if not a full ten thousand. It was incredible that a facility this size could accommodate such a massive population.

Everyone had come out for the free, hot meal. Thanks to Zhang Tian’s strict policing, the crowd was surprisingly orderly. The residents formed massive, winding lines, clutching their dented iron bowls tightly. Dozens of alleyways were completely blocked by the queues, making it nearly impossible to navigate the base. If you wanted to get anywhere, your only option was to slowly inch forward with the line.

Chapter 317: Whatever

Feeding such a massive crowd left Ma Mengxiang and the other cooks completely exhausted.

The older uncles and aunts didn’t dare to stop resting for even a moment, terrified that the people waiting at the back of the endless line wouldn’t get a hot meal. Standing directly in front of the roaring stove, Ma Mengxiang was sweating profusely, her clothes soaked completely through. Pei Xiqing, who was helping beside her, wasn’t faring much better. Sweat plastered the hair to her forehead, and with every movement, she could feel her damp clothes clinging uncomfortably to her back.

Zhang Tian pushed her way through the long lines, navigating the dense crowd with considerable difficulty. Seeing Pei Xiqing still serving food, she quickly stepped in to stop her.

“Xiqing! Step away from the pot! There are so many people crammed in here, why are you squeezing yourself into this mess? Let me take over. You need to go back to your room and rest.”

“It’s fine, really,” Pei Xiqing replied, continuing to ladle out portions.

“You’re pregnant!” Zhang Tian hissed worriedly. “You can’t afford to overexert yourself.”

“It’s okay. I’m just standing here serving, not running around,” Pei Xiqing reassured her. “Don’t worry, I know my own limits. Here, grab a bowl. I’ll serve you some of Mengxiang’s five-spice vegetable soup.”

Having no other choice, Zhang Tian grabbed a bowl and let Pei Xiqing fill it. She took a sip, and her eyes widened in pleasant surprise.

“Mmm… this is delicious! Fresh ingredients really make all the difference. This is ten times better than the best meal I’ve ever had at this base!”

“Then have some more,” Pei Xiqing smiled. “It must be tiring patrolling and standing guard all day.”

“You bet.” Zhang Tian quickly downed three large bowls of soup and wolfed down a few mouthfuls of solid food before grabbing a large serving spoon of her own. “Alright, I’ll help serve. I need to pack up about fifty portions to send upstairs anyway. A bunch of my brothers are still on guard duty and haven’t eaten yet.”

“Sounds good.”

With Zhang Tian’s help, the serving line moved much faster. By the time the rush finally died down, Pei Xiqing’s fingers were trembling from exhaustion. Thankfully, everyone had lined up orderly for their food and soup, so the cooks could finally take a well-deserved break.

Ma Mengxiang collapsed onto the ground, massaging her aching shoulders. “Oh my god… I didn’t expect there to be so many people hidden in this base. We almost ran out of food entirely! Luckily, I was smart enough to bring out the secret weapon I harvested earlier. Just ten of those mutant radishes can bulk up a massive pot of soup, and it actually tastes pretty good.”

Pei Xiqing sat beside her, sipping a bowl of the hot broth. She tilted her head and smiled. “I didn’t realize you had such a talent for farming.”

“Of course I do!” Ma Mengxiang boasted proudly. “My family has been farming for generations, so I know a little bit about everything. And the more I plant, the more I learn.”

Speaking of her family, Ma Mengxiang suddenly remembered something. “By the way, Miss Pei, I was too busy earlier and didn’t have time to ask… where is my cousin? Why haven’t I seen her around?”

Pei Xiqing paused mid-sip. “I’m actually not entirely sure about Ma Mengjia’s current situation. I only saw her briefly back at headquarters. She’s… pregnant.”

“What?!” Ma Mengxiang couldn’t contain herself. She shot up from the ground.

The villagers resting nearby looked over in confusion, but surprisingly, there wasn’t much shock on their faces. They all knew exactly what kind of person Ma Mengjia was. In fact, her ending up in such a situation was entirely within their expectations.

After a brief moment of stunned anger, Ma Mengxiang sank back down. “That’s just how she is. The main reason we didn’t want her leaving the village back then was because we were terrified she’d run off with some random guy. I didn’t expect it to actually happen… but I guess it played out exactly as we all feared.”

She looked up at Pei Xiqing. “Did she run off with someone from that superpower team that visited our village? I knew it! I didn’t quite believe the rumors at the time, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like it had to be one of those guys. Let me think, who was it…”

“A man surnamed Lin,” Pei Xiqing supplied. She then gave a brief overview of everything that had happened to Ma Mengjia after arriving at headquarters.

“Yes! I remember now, that was his last name!” Ma Mengxiang slapped her thigh in anger, gritting her teeth. “Damn it! That bastard coaxed my cousin into running away and got her pregnant. And not only did he get her pregnant, but he treated her so inhumanely! It’s simply…” Her face flushed red with fury as she spat, “He’s worse than a pig or a dog!”

The surrounding villagers also looked grim. Ma Mengjia was a child of their village, after all. Even though she wasn’t very popular most of the time, she was still one of their own, and they couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow for her plight.

“Do you have any idea where her boyfriend is now?” Ma Mengxiang asked.

Pei Xiqing shook her head.

Ma Mengxiang aggressively stuffed a piece of chicken into her mouth, chewing furiously. “I told her not to follow those men blindly. It’s like she has nothing but romance in her empty head! She acts like she can’t survive without a man, to the point where she was determined to sneak out and abandon us. Now that she’s reaped what she sowed, she only has herself to blame.”

She swallowed hard, her expression hardening. “I don’t care about her anymore. Even if she admitted her mistakes and tried to make amends, I’m terrified that if I went through the effort of finding her and bringing her back, she’d just turn around and run off with another man the very next second.”

“I was already fed up with her antics before,” Ma Mengxiang finalized. “So let her do whatever she wants!”

Pei Xiqing didn’t say anything. After all, it was a family matter. It wasn’t appropriate for her to enthusiastically agree or fan the flames. Ma Mengjia was incredibly annoying, yes. She had run away with the faction from headquarters and was likely suffering somewhere out in the wasteland right now. As for the fate of her unborn child… that was even harder to predict.

The communal stew tasted hearty, if a little bland. As Pei Xiqing quietly ate her portion, a figure settled into the space beside her.

She turned her head to see Duan Xiaolin sitting down. “Are you done with your work?”

She handed him a bowl of food.

Duan Xiaolin took it with a nod. “Just about. The base’s core foundation is actually quite solid. We just needed to reinforce a few key stress points, and it should hold up without any problems. As for installing the new protective wall, we’ll still have to wait a few more days.”

“That’s good,” she murmured. “I was just thinking about trying to bake some pastries this morning, but I never expected Mengxiang and the others to show up and bring us such a massive surprise instead.”

“I heard the commotion on my way back,” Duan Xiaolin said. He reached out and gently caught her hand. “Why are you shaking so much?”

Her fingertips were indeed trembling uncontrollably.

“There were just too many people to feed, and the workload was insane,” she admitted. “I had to step in and help, otherwise Mengxiang and the aunties would have been completely overwhelmed.”

“I’ll come and help next time,” he offered smoothly.

Pei Xiqing laughed, shaking her head. “Do you really want there to be a ‘next time’? Are you trying to tire Mengxiang and the others to death?”

The man chuckled softly, declaring that he would just be the head chef next time.

Pei Xiqing’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled. Then, leaning in closer, she lowered her voice to a whisper. “I have some good news and some bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

Chapter 318: I Like It Here

“Bad news first,” he said.

Pei Xiqing leaned closer to him and whispered, “The bad news is that you might be losing a highly capable assistant.”

The man raised an eyebrow slightly. “Really? Then what’s the good news?”

“The good news is that there will be another big, happy event at the base soon,” she replied. “No, to be precise, it’s a great event for Franlun.”

Duan Xiaolin wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his embrace. “How come I didn’t know about this?”

Pei Xiqing rested her head against his chest, a hint of playful teasing in her voice. “You don’t know? How could you possibly not know?” Without his explicit approval, she wouldn’t have been able to send Shadow to the village to help out. Now that Shadow had returned, he must have already given a full report on everything that had happened there.

“I really don’t know.” He showed a rare, helpless expression. “Care to give me a hint?”

Pei Xiqing sat up and stared at him for a few seconds. Seeing genuine confusion in his eyes, she couldn’t help but smile. “One of your men in Franlun is finally escaping the single life. Isn’t that a great thing?”

He understood instantly.

His tone carried a meaningful weight as he replied, “Franlun isn’t entirely the ruthless, cold-blooded organization people think it is. I’ve never required my subordinates to be overly strict with their personal emotions. In fact, Franlun’s stance on this kind of thing is quite positive.”

“That’s why I said it’s good news,” she said softly. “Most of the operatives in Franlun are still just ordinary people beneath it all. Once this disaster is finally over, they should be able to live their own lives, just like everyone else.”

“True.” Duan Xiaolin lowered his gaze, silently studying her face in the flickering firelight. “But how do you know about this so clearly? Shadow hasn’t mentioned a word of it to me since he got back.”

“So you really didn’t notice anything at all?”

He smiled faintly. “I don’t know the exact details.”

Pei Xiqing huffed lightly. “I know you’re definitely not completely ignorant about it.”

“Care to enlighten me, then?”

“Well… let’s just wait until they’ve figured things out and come to speak with you themselves. It’s not really my place to explain, and it wouldn’t make much sense coming from me anyway.” She decided to keep the secret safe, turning her attention back to sipping her hot soup. However, she couldn’t resist giving him a bit of advance warning. “If Mengxiang comes to see you, just listen to what she has to say first, and try not to be too cold to her. But, if she comes to you and Shadow hasn’t even shown his face yet, then he is the one with the problem. Remember to tell me right away so I can go demand an explanation from him.”

Earlier, Mengxiang had been an anxious, flustered mess, while Shadow had practically vanished into thin air during the second half of the cooking.

“Alright,” he agreed.

The two sat intimately close together. After the massive meal concluded, no one was in a rush to clean up. Instead, the residents gathered around, forming several concentric circles, to listen to the stories being told by the village elders. These grandfathers had lived through the peak of humanity’s prosperity and advanced technology before the apocalypse struck. Having survived five grueling years since the outbreak, they possessed a wealth of experience and stories far beyond what most people had.

Feeling full from the rich food, Pei Xiqing began to grow drowsy. She was on the verge of falling asleep right there in Duan Xiaolin’s arms when she heard someone mention the events leading up to the apocalypse. Startled, she lifted her head from his coat.

In the center of the crowd, an old man was speaking with great enthusiasm, courage, and eloquence. Blinking away her sleepiness, she listened intently, though she soon felt a bit confused.

“If this outbreak had happened just a few years earlier, these zombies wouldn’t have been a big deal at all!” the old man declared passionately. “We had the most advanced weapons and equipment in the world. We wouldn’t have been afraid of a few mutant monsters! Even if the parasites invaded, they wouldn’t have been able to get a single step close to our human camps!”

A younger voice called out from the crowd, “Then why were we completely unable to fight back five years ago?”

Another survivor chimed in, “Because the cities fell almost overnight. My dad dragged me out of bed before I was even fully awake. He said there were terrifying screams outside and the sound of people being eaten alive. Luckily, we had a hidden cellar to hide in. When we finally dared to come out a few days later, the streets were completely overrun with zombies and littered with chewed, torn flesh! I’ll never forget that scene. Even now, I still have nightmares about it.”

The old man sat on his small stool and sighed heavily. “The virus could have been controlled in the beginning. But I heard that someone… alas… someone selfishly abandoned the elderly, the weak, and the disabled in the city and fled, prematurely spreading the virus everywhere. Most people couldn’t escape the fallout. We are truly lucky just to be alive!”

Pei Xiqing quickly realized the old man was talking about the catastrophic incident caused by Xiao Yue’s uncle.

As the stories continued, an old woman spoke up intermittently, recounting her own experiences. Everyone listened patiently and respectfully. Hearing about the unimaginable hardships and the countless painful prices paid over the past five years left a heavy, somber weight on everyone’s hearts. Scattered sighs echoed through the dimly lit cavern. Many mourned the immense suffering brought by the natural disasters, unable to hold back quiet sobs as they thought of the family members they had lost.

Hoping to lift the mood, Ma Mengxiang raised her hand from the crowd. “Grandpa Ma! I want to hear more about what happened before the apocalypse! Let’s stop talking about all the sad things that happened after. Please, tell us what the world was like back then!”

The other villagers immediately chimed in, supporting her request. “Yes! Our village was isolated from the outside world for so many years, so we don’t know much about the past prosperity. Tell us about it!”

Stroking his beard, the old man laughed heartily. “Alright! Fortunately for you, I was quite the well-informed fellow in my youth. I spent a lot of time traveling through many major cities. Ask me anything you want to know, and I’ll answer!”

Ma Mengxiang shouted out playfully, “Then do you know what the average monthly salary was before the world ended?”

The old man scratched his head. “How would I know that… maybe it was… the equivalent of half a crystal core…”

“Where would anyone get crystal cores before the apocalypse?” someone laughed. “If old money could be exchanged for crystal cores, everyone would have been rich long ago!”

The old man looked a little embarrassed. “What kind of question is that anyway? How would I know the exact salary numbers? I was a cultured, worldly man! I never bothered concerning myself with such trivial commotions!”

“Aha! We finally found something you don’t know!” Ma Mengxiang teased.

“Hahahaha…”

The crowd erupted into genuine, roaring laughter, the gloom of the previous stories completely washed away.

Pei Xiqing couldn’t help but laugh along with them. She leaned over and whispered to the man beside her, “What was your monthly salary before the apocalypse?”

Duan Xiaolin thought for a moment. “Probably somewhere in the tens of thousands.”

Pei Xiqing’s eyes widened. “That much?”

“Is that a lot?” he asked calmly.

“Of course that’s a lot!”

“Are you really surprised?” he countered, raising an eyebrow. “If I recall correctly, you were making well over a hundred thousand a month.”

“…” Pei Xiqing let out a dry, awkward laugh. “Right. I almost forgot.”

The original owner of this body had been a highly successful internet celebrity. While her reputation in the eyes of her elite family hadn’t been great, she had certainly made a fortune. A few hundred thousand a month was just the baseline; with a surge of livestream tips, she could easily pull in over half a million. The income ceiling in that industry had been astronomically high. It was a far cry from Pei Xiqing’s own past life as a struggling bit-part actress, where she had barely scraped together a few bucks a day.

Her slightly evasive, nostalgic gaze caused Duan Xiaolin to take a second, closer look at her.

Unaware of his intense, calculating scrutiny, Pei Xiqing remained immersed in her own thoughts. Suddenly, someone in the center of the crowd started up an impromptu performance. Even though everyone was cramped tightly together, no one felt bored. Instead, they watched the entertainment with great interest, cheering and clapping enthusiastically.

Pei Xiqing tilted her head, resting it comfortably against Duan Xiaolin’s shoulder. She let out a soft, emotional sigh. “If only life could be like this forever… No one would have to constantly run for their lives, hiding from zombies and mutated parasites. No one would have to go to sleep worrying if they’d live to see tomorrow.”

Duan Xiaolin tightened his arm around her. “Do you like it here?”

“It’s not just about liking it,” she murmured softly. “As long as it’s a place where everyone can finally live a peaceful life… that’s enough for me.”

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