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

Chapter 322: After the Plot Freezes

The apocalyptic natural disasters had not subsided or weakened with the passage of time. Instead, they had grown increasingly rampant, worsening day by day. Casualties across the wasteland had reached a horrifying new high.

In just a few short months, these relentless disasters had systematically dismantled almost all remaining human bases and completely devastated the planet’s original ecological environment.

The apocalypse stripped away the hopes of countless survivors, and to make matters worse, a new, highly tricky variant of the mutant virus had begun infecting the remaining populace. The entire world seemed to have plunged into an utterly desperate, inescapable nightmare.

If it weren’t for the few surviving underground bunkers and the desperate, constant reconstruction efforts, humanity wouldn’t have stood a single chance of survival.

Time flies quickly, especially when you’re sealed inside a subterranean base. Unable to see the sky or track the sun, the days blur together. Before Pei Xiqing knew it, more than a month had passed.

Curled up in her recliner and tightly wrapped in a thick blanket, Pei Xiqing hadn’t been sleeping well. She woke up constantly, disturbed by the erratic, heavy rumbling of the earth above her.

Over the past month, the underground base had experienced localized tremors every five days, up from once every ten days at the beginning. Recently, the intensity of the natural disasters on the surface had likely spiked, violently shifting the tectonic plates and causing constant crustal movement, which in turn severely shook the underground facility.

Selecting a site and constructing a massive underground base required a profound understanding of geology and engineering. The fact that the Sixth Base had been built here and hadn’t collapsed after a month of relentless apocalyptic tremors was a testament to the surrounding terrain and the structural integrity of the original design.

Pei Xiqing swayed in her recliner, her stomach churning uncomfortably as the base groaned around her.

After enduring the nausea for as long as she could, she finally couldn’t hold it back anymore. Dragging the nearby trash can over, she began to dry heave.

The morning sickness had started the previous week, and it hit her so hard that she was constantly dizzy and could barely stomach a single bite of plain porridge. It had persisted relentlessly ever since. She vomited constantly, often retching until there was nothing left but stomach acid.

She was already feeling weak, and the continuous shaking of the base only exacerbated her severe vertigo. It was becoming unbearable.

She was retching painfully into the bin when Duan Xiaolin rushed into the room. He immediately went to her, gently rubbing her back to help relieve the pain.

After heaving for several agonizing minutes, Pei Xiqing finally slumped back, completely empty.

Duan Xiaolin quickly brought her a glass of warm water.

Pei Xiqing leaned weakly against his chest, her face pale and exhausted. After taking a few small, careful sips of the warm water, she finally began to recover some color.

“How are things out there?” she rasped.

“Everything is normal. There’s no serious structural damage,” he assured her.

“That means the base can still withstand the earthquakes caused by these disasters.”

“I’ll go make you some soup. Get some sleep first, and you can drink it when you wake up.”

“Okay… just make sure it isn’t too greasy,” she mumbled.

Duan Xiaolin lifted her effortlessly and carried her to the bed.

As she closed her eyes, she could almost hear the faint, muffled roar of thunder, lightning, and torrential rain pounding the surface far above them.

The situation up there had to be unimaginably dangerous. When the full wrath of an apocalyptic natural disaster struck, ordinary humans were incredibly insignificant. Their efforts to survive were pitifully weak in the face of such absolute destruction.

Pei Xiqing closed her eyes and let exhaustion pull her into a deep sleep.

In her slumber, she dreamt. She dreamt of the final, “frozen” outcome of this world.

In her dream, she saw the original plot play out exactly as it was meant to. Through the unremitting efforts of the protagonist’s group, the zombies were completely eradicated. The mutant viruses and deadly parasites were wiped from the face of the earth, and no one ever suffered from catastrophic, violent temperament changes again. The surviving humans rebuilt society, living happily and peacefully.

Xiao Yue and Pei Yanting stood side-by-side, looking down at the beautiful, restored world they had fought so hard to save.

But… that perfect scene didn’t last long.

After all the stories had concluded and the plot had “frozen” into its happy ending, the natural disasters arrived.

It caught almost everyone completely off guard.

The once peaceful, beautiful, rebuilt world was reduced to a hellscape overnight, shrouded by natural disasters of boundless, terrifying power.

Xiao Yue and Pei Yanting had never anticipated such a catastrophic event. Their story should have come to a perfect close long ago, right after they got together and established their utopian headquarters. But one day, the very rules of the world changed, and an impossibly exaggerated series of cataclysms struck the earth.

Desperate and anxious, Xiao Yue and Pei Yanting decided to join forces with the Jiaojiao syndicate one last time to resist the apocalypse.

The result was a total failure.

Xiao Yue, Pei Yanting, and nearly every member of the Jiaojiao syndicate were slaughtered by the horrific natural disasters.

A beautiful story that should have ended in triumph was instead brutally annihilated.

This wasn’t just a sign of trouble. In typical stories and novels, everything continues peacefully after the plot concludes, frozen in a happy “happily ever after” with no more horrific surprises.

When Pei Xiqing finally woke up, her mind was reeling from the vivid, terrifying scenes in her dream.

According to the original plot’s logic, would Xiao Yue and Pei Yanting have eventually died in these natural disasters anyway?

She rubbed her temples, a deep frown creasing her forehead.

Something was incredibly wrong.

According to the original novel, the story should have ended with a flawless happy ending, and nothing terrible should have happened afterward. So why did her dream depict the world violently self-destructing after the story’s conclusion, introducing massive plot points that were completely inconsistent with the original narrative?

A world-ending natural disaster occurring immediately after the finale.

This implied that the “happy ending” of the original plot was nothing more than a temporary pause.

The designated journey of the protagonist group had come to an end. But life itself never truly ends. As long as life continues, the world will continue to develop, evolve, and sometimes, destroy itself.

It was another four or five hours before Pei Xiqing fully roused herself.

Duan Xiaolin had been sitting quietly in a chair beside the bed. Hearing her stir, he set aside the documents in his hand and walked over. “How do you feel?”

“A little better,” Pei Xiqing admitted.

“Do you want to get up?”

“Yeah, I’d like some of that soup now.”

“I’ll go get it.”

Pei Xiqing nodded, pushing back the quilt and slowly getting out of bed.

Thanks to the daily tonics, her body wasn’t actually that weak; she had even managed to gain a few pounds. But the violent shaking of the base simply overwhelmed her equilibrium. The tremors triggered massive migraines and made her entire body feel like it was violently sloshing back and forth in water.

Thankfully, the tremors had finally stopped. She had no idea exactly when the shaking had ceased, but the most agonizing part was finally over.

Sitting at the small table, Pei Xiqing took the bowl of soup the man handed her and took a small sip.

The taste was fantastic. It was exactly the kind of light, savory broth she loved.

However, beneath the soft aroma, there was a faint scent that seemed a little… unusual.

She took another sip, but the strange, underlying taste lingered.

Enduring the odd sensation, she managed a few more sips before looking up at the man. “Why aren’t you drinking any? Let’s eat together. You made such a massive pot, there’s no way I can finish it all by myself.”

Duan Xiaolin sat down beside her, gently pushing the pot closer to her. “You need to drink more. I specifically brewed rare medicinal herbs into this batch for you. It would be a complete waste of resources if I drank it.”

“It’s fine, the herbs can help strengthen your body too,” Pei Xiqing insisted, pouring him a bowl and pushing it toward him.

As she did, she realized Duan Xiaolin was staring at her intently.

She took another slow sip of soup. “Why… why are you suddenly looking at me like that? Do you have something to ask?”

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Pei Xiqing felt a sudden spike of anxiety, but she could only bite the bullet and answer honestly. “Yes… I had a dream while I was sleeping just now…”

“What did you dream about?” he asked softly.

“Did you hear me sleep-talking?” she asked defensively. “Whatever I said in my sleep was just nonsense… It doesn’t mean anything, so don’t take it to heart.”

She looked at him nervously. She had no idea what she might have unconsciously blurted out while she was dreaming. What if she had spilled everything about the original plot of the novel? That would be incredibly difficult to explain.

“You didn’t say anything,” he reassured her. “I just noticed that your brows were tightly furrowed the entire time you were sleeping. You never relaxed.”

“Oh…” Pei Xiqing lowered her head, relieved. “Maybe my body is just exhausted, and it gave me a nightmare.”

“What was the nightmare about?”

“I dreamt that after the apocalypse started, everyone died. No one was spared. Everyone was wiped out by the punishment of the natural disasters. The entire world became completely desolate and dilapidated, and all traces of humanity were erased.”

It was the terrifying truth of her vision. At the end of her dream, everyone was dead. Including the protagonists. The world had turned completely dark, drained of all color and life. The environment had become so unimaginably toxic and harsh that no living creature could survive. Humanity was simply erased.

Initially, Pei Xiqing hadn’t thought the natural disasters were the primary threat. No matter how terrifying extreme weather was, it couldn’t possibly be as horrifying as a mutant virus that turned people into flesh-eating monsters. Most people’s attention had been entirely focused on fighting the zombie parasites and stopping the virus’s spread. When the natural disasters first began, almost everyone assumed it was just a temporary bout of extreme weather that would pass.

But her dream had shown her the truth: even if Xiao Yue and Pei Yanting had survived and united the world, they would have been utterly helpless against the true wrath of the planet.

Pei Xiqing looked at Duan Xiaolin, her eyes burning with sudden determination. “Brother Duan, I don’t think we can just sit here and wait for death to claim us anymore.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?” The man raised his eyes, his expression calm. “What are you proposing?”

Pei Xiqing set her soup spoon down. “I think we have to actively find a way to fight back against the natural disasters. If we just let this continue, I’m terrified that none of us will survive.”

“Tell me your thoughts in detail.”

While she couldn’t map out a perfect, step-by-step strategy right this second, she already had a solid, overarching concept.

“There are only five primary types of natural disasters currently ravaging the world: torrential rain, extreme thunderstorms, apocalyptic blizzards, magnetic anomalies, and tectonic earthquakes.”

She held up her fingers, counting them off. “We have to find specialized ways to counter each one. Even if it seems impossible, we have to try. I truly believe there is hope if we fight back.”

“For example, let’s take the magnetic fields and deadly electric currents,” she said, speaking faster as her enthusiasm grew. “We can mobilize high-level lightning-ability users to absorb and ground the wild electric currents first. Once the electricity is drained, we send in engineering professionals to dismantle or redirect the magnetic anomalies. If we do that systematically, it will be incredibly difficult for massive, lethal thunderstorm fields like the one we survived to form again.”

As she spoke, another idea sparked in her mind. Her eyes lit up, and she continued without missing a beat. “And for the earthquakes! Can we design massive, subterranean shock-absorbing belts? There are specific architectural designs and materials that can absorb seismic waves. If we mandate that all new bases are built according to strict shock-absorbing standards, future infrastructures won’t suffer these devastating collapses! Let me think of something else…”

She talked incessantly, her mind racing as she fired off one theoretical solution after another.

Duan Xiaolin reached out and gently caught her animated, gesturing hand. “You’re absolutely right. We will do exactly as you say.”

Pei Xiqing blinked, momentarily stunned by his immediate support. “Really? Do you truly think these ideas are possible?”

“Certainly.”

“I’m being completely serious, Brother Duan.”

“I am entirely serious as well.”

Overjoyed, Pei Xiqing shifted over and sat comfortably on his lap. Picking up her spoon, she lovingly fed him a sip of the hot soup.

The man obediently opened his mouth and swallowed.

“Is it delicious?” she asked, smiling brightly.

“It’s delicious.”

“Then you need to drink more and nourish your body too!” she insisted, bringing another spoonful to his lips to stop any protests. “Shh! Don’t try to tell me you’re perfectly healthy, and don’t try to hide your exhaustion from me. I know that men’s physical strength begins to decline once they reach a certain age. I’m taking my tonics, so you must nourish yourself well, too. Don’t let me get back to full strength only for your body to collapse from overwork!”

She fed him mouthful after mouthful. Duan Xiaolin drank cooperatively, and with every sip she fed him, the fond smile on his lips deepened.

Soon, Pei Xiqing had fed him most of the bowl in her hand.

Duan Xiaolin gently caught her wrist, stopping her from pouring another spoonful. “I’ve been nourished enough. The rest is for you to recover your strength.”

“No,” Pei Xiqing argued stubbornly. “You’ve been working far too hard lately. You need to rest and nourish yourself, otherwise, I’m afraid you’re going to burn out.”

Duan Xiaolin raised an eyebrow, an amused glint in his eye. “I know you can taste the bitter medicinal herbs in this broth and you don’t want to drink it, but there’s no need to use such a flimsy excuse to avoid it.”

“Who said I don’t like it?! I love everything you cook for me!”

“Then drink the rest of it. It won’t do you any harm.”

“I really think you should drink more of it,” Pei Xiqing countered smoothly. “It certainly won’t be harmful to a healthy, normal male body.”

Duan Xiaolin calmly took the bowl from her hands, picked up the spoon, and smoothly turned the tables, bringing a spoonful to her lips.

Pei Xiqing kept her mouth stubbornly shut. After a long, tense standoff, she finally cracked. “Did you… did you put some weird meat in here?”

“Yes.”

“Is it… is it from a parasite?!” she asked, looking thoroughly disgusted.

The silence in Duan Xiaolin’s eyes confirmed her worst fears.

“It’s from a heavily mutated plant-based parasite,” he explained calmly. “It’s biologically similar to the one you ingested during your fake pregnancy incident.”

“You scared me to death!” Pei Xiqing let out a massive sigh of relief. Plant-based was fine; it wasn’t the flesh-eating zombie kind.

“Can you drink it now?”

“Of course.”

Relieved, Pei Xiqing took the bowl back and began drinking the nutrient-rich broth in large gulps.

After she managed to force down two more full bowls and the pot was nearly empty, Duan Xiaolin suddenly spoke up again. “However, there was one other highly experimental medicinal ingredient included.”

“…What?” Pei Xiqing froze, a terrible premonition washing over her.

“The eyeballs of a high-grade parasite,” he said matter-of-factly. “The eyeball contains the absolute densest concentration of the parasite’s essence. Qiu Chao conducted extensive research and found that it holds immense medicinal and restorative value.”

Pei Xiqing clapped a hand over her mouth, her stomach violently rebelling. She looked like she was going to throw up everything she had just eaten.

Duan Xiaolin quickly pulled her into a tight hug, immediately dropping the deadpan act. “I was wrong! I’m sorry, I was just joking! I won’t ever say that again.”

“Is this your idea of a joke?!” she glared at him furiously, her nausea slowly subsiding into anger. “How could you be so mean! I hate you!”

“I really was just joking,” he chuckled, gently rubbing her back. “I saw how depressed and terrified you were when you woke up from that nightmare, so I wanted to tease you a bit to distract you.”

Pei Xiqing fell silent for a few seconds. Her anger melted away, and she hugged him back tightly. “I really did have an awful dream… even though you weren’t in it.”

“But we are going to try our absolute best to change that outcome,” she whispered fiercely into his shoulder. “And if we can’t change it… no matter what the future holds, I’ll face it together with you.”

Duan Xiaolin smiled, a profound warmth filling his chest. He tightened his arms around her. “Okay. Together.”

After a long moment of comfortable silence, he tilted his head slightly, his voice dropping to a soft, dangerous whisper. “You know, right before he died, Xiao Yue said something incredibly interesting to me.”

“…What did he say?” she asked nervously.

“He claimed that everything in the future was entirely predetermined—that the fate of the world had been planned out long ago. He said that if I did anything to go against the mandated ‘will’ of this world, I would be brutally punished and forever separated from the person I love…”

Pei Xiqing immediately slapped her hand over his mouth.

“What the hell?! What a load of absolute garbage! That idiot Xiao Yue was just spouting bitter nonsense!” she snapped angrily. “Don’t you dare listen to a single word he said! He’s a dead man, and his pathetic dying curses are nothing more than a bad joke!”

Chapter 323: Not the Same Kind

Duan Xiaolin saw that she was becoming incredibly emotional and gently rubbed her arm. “I know.”

“Don’t believe a word he said.”

“I don’t.”

Pei Xiqing felt a throbbing pain in her temples.

Xiao Yue was dead; she felt absolutely no pity for him. But the fact that he had dared to spout those venomous, cursed words right before his death was truly disgusting.

Her face looked a little pale. It wasn’t just anger; Xiao Yue was the central protagonist of the world’s underlying plot. In stories like this, a dying curse from the “chosen one” was often the most potent and vile twist in the entire book.

Duan Xiaolin gently pinched her cheek, turning her face toward him. “Don’t worry.”

“I can’t help it,” she muttered.

“It’s been a long time since he died,” he explained calmly. “His words don’t pose any threat.”

“You should have told me about this earlier.” Pei Xiqing balled her hands into fists. “If I had known he was going to be so stubborn and spew all that cursed nonsense at you, I would have punched him in the face twice and sent him straight to hell myself.”

The man touched her cheek lovingly. “Xiao Yue died a very miserable death. You don’t need to worry about him.”

“How bad was it?” she asked, genuinely curious to know just how tragic the fall of the world’s “genius” had been.

Duan Xiaolin briefly recounted the events leading up to Xiao Yue’s demise.

Hearing that he had died in utter misery—forced to watch the woman he loved die under a parasite’s control, dying himself with agonizing unwillingness—Pei Xiqing finally felt a wave of relief.

“He deserved it.”

“So stop imagining the worst,” Duan Xiaolin murmured.

Pei Xiqing nodded. “I know. I just felt a little sick to my stomach thinking about it.”

“If he knew that the high-grade crystal cores containing his dying memories eventually ended up inside you, what do you think his reaction would be?” Duan Xiaolin smiled comfortingly, scooping her up and carrying her into the bedroom.

Pei Xiqing almost laughed out loud at the thought.

He’d probably be so angry he’d try to come back to life just to scream at us.

While the conversation brought temporary closure, the dying curse still left a lingering knot in Pei Xiqing’s heart. She knew Xiao Yue’s true identity within the fabric of this world better than anyone else. Because of that, she knew there would be far more complications to consider moving forward.

However, for the next several days, nothing unusual happened.

She didn’t slack off because of Xiao Yue’s curse. Instead, she spent her time carefully filling in the gaps of the original plot she might have overlooked.

The terrifying nightmare of the world’s ultimate destruction never recurred. She didn’t dream of anyone dying again; her sleep was filled only with a vast expanse of emptiness, leaving her with no idea where to even begin searching for answers.

The underground base had only enjoyed two days of relative peace before the violent tremors began again.

Pei Xiqing was in the bathroom, vomiting wretchedly into the sink, when she heard Ma Mengxiang’s frantic voice echoing down the hall.

“There’s news! There’s news!”

Pei Xiqing wiped her mouth, stepping out. “What’s wrong?”

Ma Mengxiang handed her a tissue. “Oh, I didn’t expect you to still be so nauseous. How about I make you some pickled radish juice to settle your stomach?”

“Do you have any plum juice?”

“What’s that? I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s a kind of sour fruit called black plum…”

“I haven’t heard of those, but if you want something sour, I definitely have a way to make it.”

Pei Xiqing grabbed her arm. “Wait a minute, focus. What did you say about news?”

Ma Mengxiang immediately lit up with excitement. “Someone from the central headquarters sent a message! They said the new base has finally been built! And I also heard from my cousin! She said she’s with the elites from the old headquarters, and she’s about to give birth!”

“How did you get in touch with them?” Pei Xiqing asked sharply.

“Through the intelligence receivers! We have a few old military comms systems here in the base. The operators learned how to decrypt the signals and receive broadcast instructions. After receiving the message from headquarters, they immediately ran over to tell the base leaders. Now, practically everyone knows!”

“And they explicitly stated the message was from headquarters?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

Pei Xiqing, however, felt a deep, sinking premonition. She insisted on getting to the bottom of it. “Could you please help me find the comms operator who received the message? I need to ask him some specific details and see exactly what the original decrypted document looks like.”

“Uh… okay, sure. The operator is probably in a great mood right now anyway. Everyone’s super happy because the new headquarters being established means humanity still has a major stronghold in this apocalyptic world. As long as headquarters is still standing, we won’t all die. And the message even invited all of us to evacuate and move there!”

“Everyone?” Pei Xiqing asked suddenly. “Do they know our exact coordinates?”

“I’m not entirely sure about that,” Ma Mengxiang admitted. “I didn’t ask the base leaders for all the details, but Sister Tian should know.”

“I’ll go ask her.”

Two hours later, Zhang Tian replied over the local comms. “We don’t know if they have our coordinates yet. The base leaders were actually just about to broadcast our location to them, but Brother Duan arrived at the comms center and forcefully suppressed the transmission. He said it was highly likely the other party was trying to trick us into revealing our position. We’re currently holding an emergency meeting to discuss the authenticity of the broadcast.”

“Don’t act rashly,” Pei Xiqing warned through the receiver. “Brother Duan is right. Everyone needs to remain highly vigilant and not be easily fooled. I’ll head over there shortly.”

“Be careful. I’ll send a squad to escort you.”

“No need, Mengxiang is right here with me.”

“Yeah, I’ll escort her there safely,” Ma Mengxiang chimed in. “You just focus on the meeting.”

“Understood.”

The communication ended.

Pei Xiqing quickly tidied herself up and pulled on a thick coat. Soon, she and Ma Mengxiang were heading toward the administrative sector.

Along the way, Ma Mengxiang kept muttering to herself, trying to figure out what local ingredients she could use to replicate the taste of sour plums. After brainstorming for a long time, she decided she would gather several kinds of tart mountain fruits and experiment until she perfected the sour plum juice Pei Xiqing was craving.

When they finally reached the base’s secure conference room, Ma Mengxiang dropped Pei Xiqing off and hurried back toward the kitchens.

Unexpectedly, as she turned a corner, she bumped right into Shadow walking toward her.

She subconsciously threw her hand out, blocking his path. “Hello.”

Shadow showed absolutely no intention of stopping. He completely ignored her, smoothly sidestepping her to continue forward.

Puzzled and a little hurt, Ma Mengxiang chased after him. “Hey! Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”

He had clearly had a lot he wanted to say to her a few days ago in the kitchen!

She was genuinely annoyed. Recently, they hadn’t spoken much. He just patrolled the base like a ghost, and she had been so frustrated she hadn’t even wanted to call him “Brother Yingzi” anymore. It was because he was always so fickle. He clearly had things he wanted to say, but he never said them out loud, choosing to bury them in his heart instead.

She reached out again, grabbing his sleeve. “Stop! I have something I need to tell you.”

The man didn’t stop at all. He smoothly pulled his arm free and continued walking past her.

Furious, Ma Mengxiang stomped her foot. “Brother Yingzi!”

The man finally stopped.

Ma Mengxiang shouted at his back, her voice trembling slightly. “I’ve been perfectly fine being alone since I was a child! I can do everything by myself. I’ve long been accustomed to living a hard, solitary life. But please… don’t suddenly appear in my world, help me time and time again, promise you’ll take me to see an unpolluted sky in the future… only to suddenly draw a line between us and pretend we don’t even know each other!”

Shadow remained perfectly still.

Ma Mengxiang’s temper flared. “You bastard! You absolute bastard! You big asshole! I am never going to like you again!”

Having screamed her piece, she spun around and ran away, tears pricking her eyes.

She was so blinded by anger that she accidentally barreled straight into someone coming around the opposite corner.

The person was built like a brick wall; she rebounded hard and almost fell flat on her back. Fortunately, the man reached out and grabbed her arm, steadying her.

Ma Mengxiang looked up and unexpectedly met a pair of deeply familiar eyes hidden behind a tactical mask.

She opened her mouth, stunned into silence for a few seconds. “You…”

“What are you doing running around here?” Shadow asked, his voice steady and familiar.

Ma Mengxiang jerked upright, looking frantically over her shoulder at the other Shadow standing down the hall. She was utterly paralyzed.

They were wearing the exact same tactical gear. Even the masks on their faces were identical. Except for a slight difference in their eyes, they looked exactly like the same person.

A crushing wave of mortifying embarrassment washed over Ma Mengxiang. Her face flushed a brilliant, violently red, and for a long moment, she couldn’t utter a single coherent word.

“I… I… I… I was just passing by!” she finally shrieked.

Shoving the real Shadow away, she practically evaporated, sprinting down the hall faster than she ever had in her life.

The other figure calmly walked over. “What was that about?”

Shadow subconsciously touched his mask, staring blankly down the empty hallway. “…”

“I was just on my way to report the perimeter progress to Brother Duan,” the operative explained. “She suddenly jumped in front of me, blocked my path, and screamed a bunch of things I didn’t really understand.”

Shadow thought about it for a long moment before patting his subordinate on the shoulder. “You’ll understand when you’re older.”

“Oh. Well, I’m going to go report now.”

“Dismissed.”

Shadow stood alone in the corridor, staring in the direction Ma Mengxiang had fled. After a long, agonizing silence, he muttered dully to himself, “When you said you would never like me again… does that mean you actually liked me before?”

Upstairs in the conference room, Pei Xiqing sat quietly, listening to the intense debate.

The base communications officer was replaying the decrypted broadcast for the leadership.

“The transmission protocols, the encryption codes, and the inter-base identification ciphers all match headquarters’ old standards,” the officer reported. “I can be ninety percent certain that the sender of this message is a highly trained professional who intimately understands headquarters’ internal coding systems.”

“Which means there is still a ten percent margin of uncertainty,” Duan Xiaolin pointed out coldly.

“…Yes, sir.”

“Are you willing to gamble the lives of everyone in this base on a ninety percent probability, or do you want to be absolutely sure?”

“We… we certainly want to be absolutely sure,” the base leader stammered. “But time waits for no one! Headquarters sent us a fully rendered 3D blueprint of the new base, along with a video log of the reconstruction progress and their exact GPS coordinates. We’ve cross-referenced the terrain data, and most of it matches up perfectly. So, we’re considering dispatching a small vanguard team to scout the coordinates first. We’ll verify the situation on the ground, and then decide how to proceed with a mass evacuation.”

“Acceptable,” Duan Xiaolin agreed.

“Then we’ll make the arrangements immediately.”

Pei Xiqing, sitting next to Duan Xiaolin, suddenly spoke up. “Can you establish a direct, two-way connection with the people at this ‘headquarters’ right now?”

“We can certainly try,” the comms officer replied hesitantly. “But I’m not sure if they’ll be able to receive it. The electromagnetic interference from the natural disasters makes the signal incredibly unstable. We had to wait nearly three months just to catch this automated search ping, which is what allowed us to briefly download the broadcast.”

“Try to request a live connection anyway,” Pei Xiqing instructed.

“Understood.”

The base leaders gathered tightly around the comms console, staring intently at the flickering display screen.

Lines of decryption code scrolled rapidly across the monitor as the system began broadcasting a handshake signal through the interference.

Time ticked by agonizingly slowly. Sweat began to bead on the comms officer’s forehead as he continuously adjusted the frequencies.

Still, there was no response.

They waited in tense silence for nearly two hours.

Pei Xiqing couldn’t stand comfortably for that long; her pregnancy was advancing, and her lower back ached constantly. Duan Xiaolin pulled out a chair for her, positioning her close to the console so she could monitor the screen.

The comms officer wiped his brow, visibly stressed by the heavy silence in the room.

“Wait a moment,” Pei Xiqing suddenly called out, her eyes locking onto a faint fluctuation on the monitor. “The signal is connecting.”

“…” The officer paused for two seconds, staring at the screen before his eyes widened. “Yes! The handshake is complete! We have a live connection! Quick, route the audio!”

A few minutes later, the static cleared, and a crisp, professional voice echoed through the room’s speakers.

“This is the T-10 signal tower of the newly established Central Headquarters. We are actively searching for apocalyptic survivors. Please respond if you copy. Please respond if you copy.”

The base leader grabbed the mic. “Received. This is the Sixth Survivor Base.”

“Sixth Base, acknowledged. We transmitted a broadcast to you a while ago. Do you have any questions regarding the evacuation protocols?”

Pei Xiqing leaned forward, taking the headset from the leader. “Who is currently in charge of the new headquarters?” she asked sharply.

“Marshal Fu Yan is personally overseeing operations,” the voice replied smoothly.

“Connect me to the Franlun division immediately.”

“Stand by.”

A few seconds later, a calm, authoritative male voice came through the line. “This is Franlun. What do you need to report?”

“Are you the senior Franlun officer currently stationed at the new headquarters?” Pei Xiqing demanded.

“Yes. I am supervising operations here under the direct orders of Chief Judge Duan.”

Pei Xiqing’s eyes narrowed. “I need you to transmit a highly classified topographical map of our current sector. We also require immediate military reinforcements, heavy equipment, and air support. We have a massive civilian population, so we will need at least several heavy-lift transport aircraft for evacuation.”

“Understood. I will arrange the logistics as requested. Do you have any further questions or requirements?”

“No, that will be all.”

“We will continue to scan for other survivor enclaves. We eagerly await your return to headquarters.”

With a sharp click, the connection terminated.

The conference room erupted. The base leaders’ faces were flushed with sheer excitement and overwhelming relief.

“This is incredible! Finally! We can finally evacuate to the new headquarters and reunite with the main forces!”

“The conditions there have to be infinitely better! We can finally get out of this suffocating underground bunker!”

“Maybe with headquarters’ advanced technology, it won’t be long before we can see the sun again!”

“Yes! Exactly! Quick, broadcast a base-wide alert! Tell everyone to pack up their belongings immediately and prepare for the transport aircraft!”

“Hurry, go notify Captain Xia!”

“Wait,” Pei Xiqing’s voice cut through the celebration like a knife.

She slowly took off the headset and set it on the table. There was absolutely no joy on her face. Instead, her expression was deathly solemn.

The base leaders froze, looking at her nervously. “Miss Pei? What’s wrong?”

“It’s fake,” she said flatly. “All of it. This so-called ‘newly established base’ is nothing but a trap.”

She spoke with absolute, unwavering certainty.

“Why… why would you say that?” the base leader stammered, bewildered. “Miss Pei, did you mishear something? We all listened to your conversation just now! The other party answered your questions perfectly. The protocols, the tone, the command structure—there was absolutely no problem with any of it!”

“The biggest problem,” she replied coldly, “is that there was no problem.”

“What do you mean?”

Pei Xiqing stood up. “First of all, Marshal Fu Yan’s primary obsession has always been searching for his missing daughter. He would never sit idly in a secure base for months on end playing administrator. There is absolutely no reason for him to personally command the logistics of a new headquarters; he simply doesn’t have the patience or the capability for it.”

She took a breath, her voice dropping to a chilling register. “Secondly, there are no Franlun personnel stationed at the new headquarters.”

She looked around the room, meeting their terrified eyes. “Not a single one.”

The steady, imposing man beside her finally spoke. “She is correct. There are no Franlun operatives at that location.”

Pei Xiqing looked at Duan Xiaolin. Unsurprisingly, she saw a terrifying, murderous coldness swirling in his dark eyes.

“You… how could you possibly know that for certain?!” the base leader demanded, panic creeping into his voice.

“Because Brother Duan is the Chief Judge of Franlun,” Pei Xiqing stated bluntly. “No one knows the deployments of Franlun better than he does.”

Duan Xiaolin gave a single, curt nod. “Yes.”

“What?!”

“Oh my God!”

“I… I understand! We were almost tricked into walking right into a slaughterhouse!” A leader wiped sweat from his brow, trembling. “But… but we’re all just desperate survivors trying to make it through the apocalypse. Why would anyone go to such elaborate lengths to lie to us? What possible benefit could there be in tricking a bunch of refugees?!”

“If the people on the other end of that comms line were truly human, perhaps there wouldn’t be much benefit,” Pei Xiqing hypothesized grimly. “But… what if the entities we were just communicating with… aren’t human?”

She slowly raised her head, looking at the horrified faces around the room.

The terrifying implications hidden behind her words settled over the conference room like a suffocating shroud.

Chapter 324: Still Got the Energy?

Everyone in the base had been basking in the joy of the news from headquarters, never expecting that their relief would be shattered in less than an hour.

Ma Mengxiang hurried over, grabbing Zhang Tian just as she was coming downstairs. “What’s going on? Can’t anyone go back to headquarters? The news is all wrong! What happened?”

Zhang Tian briefly explained the grim discovery made in the conference room. Ma Mengxiang was left speechless, her mouth hanging open in shock.

“Oh my god… are these parasites insane? To do something so cruel and twisted…” She couldn’t even imagine the misery that would have ensued if everyone had packed their bags and rushed over, only to realize they were walking straight into a slaughterhouse.

Most of them would never have survived to see what lay on the other side.

“You need to tell the villagers immediately,” Zhang Tian urged. “They trust you. You should be the one to handle the situation and help calm them down. We’ll have to stay here for a while longer; that ‘headquarters’ is clearly not to be trusted.”

Ma Mengxiang nodded. “I understand. Leave it to me. Not everyone in the village was eager to leave anyway; many of them are actually relieved to stay here. If we had told them we were moving to a headquarters that turned out to be a trap, they wouldn’t have slept a wink for weeks.”

“I knew I could count on you,” Zhang Tian said, turning away to coordinate with the others.

Ma Mengxiang prepared to head out, but her movements faltered when she saw Duan Xiaolin and Pei Xiqing walking down from upstairs. They were trailed by two figures wearing identical tactical gear and masks. Ma Mengxiang felt a reflexive urge to bolt.

Pei Xiqing spotted her immediately. “Mengxiang, why are you just standing there?”

Ma Mengxiang paused awkwardly. “Oh… I was waiting for you! Sister Xiqing, I was just about to go explain the situation to the villagers and tell them not to get their hopes up about the move.”

“I see…”

“Right! Well, I have work to do, so I’ll get going!”

Pei Xiqing caught her hand. “Wait, it’s not completely hopeless. We don’t have to rely on that headquarters for our only chance at survival.”

“Hmm? What do you mean? Is there another way out?”

“The base isn’t uninhabitable; it’s actually quite safe. Furthermore, Franlun is pouring every resource into base reconstruction. We’ll see results soon enough. Don’t lose heart.”

Ma Mengxiang nodded vigorously. “It doesn’t matter where we live, no one is picky. But hearing you say that makes me feel much better. I’ll tell everyone, and they’ll definitely be relieved!”

“Go on, then.”

After Ma Mengxiang left, the shadow behind them stepped forward. “Brother Duan, I’m heading out too.”

The man nodded, and Shadow departed. The other masked figure lingered a moment longer to update them on what had happened outside. Pei Xiqing couldn’t help but let a mischievous smile curve her lips.

“Let them be,” she whispered to Duan Xiaolin.

He raised a hand to dismiss the other operative, then suddenly pulled Pei Xiqing into his arms.

She stood perfectly still, asking, “What’s the matter? Someone in Franlun has finally come to their senses—shouldn’t you be happy? I think it won’t be long before we’re attending some weddings.”

The man carried her toward the bedroom. He pinched her waist as they walked. Even though she was bundled in layers of clothes, she felt remarkably light in his arms. Her body was soft, but her hands and feet remained cold.

“We haven’t even had the chance to drink our own wedding wine yet,” he murmured.

Pei Xiqing blushed. “Someone has entrusted me with a very important gift, haven’t they? As for wedding banquets, I think we should save our resources during these tough times. There will be plenty of time for that later; there’s no need to rush.”

“So, you really do want to marry me?”

She leaned into his ear, whispering, “I’m willing, Brother Duan.”

Duan Xiaolin stroked her lower back, his palm burning with a heat that made her gasp. “Don’t… that’s annoying!”

“Annoying?” he chuckled.

“You’re the only one I like,” she teased, pinching his face and stroking his stubble. “I like you the most.”

The water in the bathtub slowly cooled, but Pei Xiqing’s entire body was flushed a deep, rosy pink. Her lowered eyes were clouded and red-rimmed. Her body trembled slightly, especially whenever the man’s hands roamed over her skin.

She closed her eyes, the intersection of physical pain and intense desire making her breathing slow and ragged. Desire, she realized, was a greedy, addictive thing.

When the man finally pulled her from the cooling water, she was utterly spent. He always had countless ways to keep her from reaching the end too quickly. Even when the lights were out, she used her last bit of strength to hook her arms around his neck, refusing to let go.

Duan Xiaolin laughed softly in the darkness, his voice low, sexy, and raspy. “Still got the energy?”

Pei Xiqing closed her eyes, her mind a complete blank. She couldn’t have uttered a single word if she tried. Before long, they both drifted into a deep, heavy sleep.

Far away at the new base, Ling Lang, Qiu Chao, and the others were holding an emergency meeting regarding the instructions sent from headquarters.

With Duan Xiaolin absent, Qiu Chao had taken charge of managing Franlun, while Ling Lang was responsible for supervising the base’s security.

Ji Yao sat with her legs crossed, leaning lazily against her chair as she touched up her nails. Her fingertips were a brilliant, alluring rose-red. “How could those old fossils at headquarters repair their base faster than us? I thought the whole thing sounded unreliable the moment the news came in.”

Sanshe agreed. “Exactly.”

“With those old guys in charge, it’s a miracle the base hasn’t crumbled into a shell by now.”

“They’re all just parasites.”

“It’s tragic,” Sanshe added. “There are so many people at headquarters, and most of them are already under parasite control. Even the command signals they send are compromised. I can’t imagine how terrible the situation is over there.”

“Do you want to take action?” Leng Huayi asked.

“Take action? Sure, if you want,” Ji Yao rolled her eyes. “This would be a perfect opportunity for me to see exactly what an ‘apocalyptic saint’ looks like.”

Leng Huayi wiped sweat from his forehead. “I’m honestly speechless at your comments… I was just asking casually, no need to get so anxious.”

“Who’s anxious?” Ji Yao blew on her nails. “Whatever happens, it’s their own fault. What does it have to do with us? Let’s focus on repairing our own base before worrying about others. Don’t forget how lucky we were to land safely when we were in the air.”

“I understand,” Leng Huayi nodded. If it hadn’t been for Sister-in-law and Brother Duan, most of them would have been sucked into the thunderstorm’s magnetic field.

“Then why are you still standing there?” Ji Yao kicked his chair. “Time to contribute. Leng Huayi, don’t let me down.”

“Whatever task you give me, rest assured, I will complete it on time.”

He turned to Ling Lang. “Hey, Langzi, didn’t you go to the Sixth Base a few days ago? You saw Sister-in-law and Brother Duan, right? How are they doing over there?”

Ling Lang smiled. “They’re fine.”

“Man, the look on your face—if I didn’t know better, I’d think I owed you eight hundred thousand yuan.”

“Don’t you?”

Ji Yao interjected, “You mentioned there was something interesting happening at the base. Are you going to tell us, or what?”

Qiu Chao leaned forward. “Hurry up and spill it!”

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