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

Chapter 337: I Need You Very Much

Pei Xiqing practically threw herself against his chest, hugging him tightly as she leaned back to wrap the fresh bandage around his torso several times.

She couldn’t hold back her frustration. “I don’t want to be the Zombie King, and I don’t want to be the boss of the parasites! I just want you to stop getting hurt!”

If it were possible, she would gladly take the man’s place, letting the zombies and parasites attack her instead. However, for some inexplicable reason, neither the zombies nor the newly mutated parasites ever attacked her—especially not with Xiao Bai constantly by her side. Almost every infected creature they encountered actively took a wide detour the moment they saw her.

Instead, Brother Duan seemed to be the sole, furious target of every single monster in the wasteland.

In their mindless, frenzied eyes, he was the only thing that existed.

She had tried standing protectively in front of him several times during ambushes, but he always forcefully pushed her out of the way. And whenever he did, a parasite would inevitably use the opening to launch a cunning, vicious attack from behind.

She couldn’t cover every angle, and the moment she neglected a blind spot, the monsters seized the opportunity to strike.

She absolutely hated those parasites.

Even though they never dared to attack her directly, every time their claws or fangs tore into Duan Xiaolin’s flesh, it felt like a knife twisting directly into her own heart.

Seeing the fresh, bloody lacerations across his chest, she couldn’t help but sniffle, her voice thick with depression. “Why? Why do they only attack you? Do they think you’re an easy target or something? The next time I take Xiao Bai out, I swear I’m going to slaughter every single one I see. I won’t let a single one of them go.”

The man gently touched the top of her head. The warmth and softness of his palm contrasted sharply with his terrifying reputation.

His entire heart melted at her fierce, protective little temper.

“It’s nothing serious, just a minor flesh wound,” he murmured soothingly. “Perhaps my specific blood type is just a rare delicacy in their eyes.”

“Why don’t you just tell them your flesh is like the mythical Tang Monk’s, and consuming you grants immortality?” she muttered sarcastically.

Duan Xiaolin smiled. “That’s a sound theory.”

“Bah.”

“Don’t be angry.”

Pei Xiqing bit her lip. “I’m angry at them, not you.”

Duan Xiaolin pulled her securely into his arms. “Let’s leave tonight.”

He kept one hand resting on the book he had been reading, resting his chin comfortably against her neck. “It’s best if we leave early.”

Pei Xiqing frowned. “But your injuries haven’t healed much at all.”

“I don’t have much time left,” he said quietly.

“What?” Pei Xiqing froze.

“It’s nothing.” He raised the corner of his lips slightly, his dark eyes brimming with an unreadable, profound tenderness. “If I stay here much longer, I’m afraid our presence will inadvertently draw danger to Huihua and his men.”

Pei Xiqing shifted, straddling his lap so she could look him directly in the eyes. Her palm rested lightly just above his bandaged wound. “What did you mean when you said we don’t have time? Don’t try to fool me. Answer me right now. What did you mean?”

The man couldn’t help but laugh softly. He caught her hand, gently intertwining their fingers. “I meant that there’s no time to waste lingering here.”

He explained smoothly, “The next cyclical wave of apocalyptic natural disasters will arrive soon. Based on my calculations, if we continue to stay here, this entire mountain range will likely be buried by the shifting tectonic plates.”

Pei Xiqing stared at him for a long, heavy moment.

She searched his eyes for at least ten minutes, desperate to find a flicker of deception or hidden anxiety.

Unfortunately, there was nothing.

He was perfectly calm and composed. It seemed absolutely nothing in this world could genuinely rattle him or make him look troubled.

Pei Xiqing reached up, lightly pinching his neck before leaning her forehead against his. “I don’t have much time either.”

Duan Xiaolin’s arms tightened around her waist. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

“I’m serious.”

She suddenly leaned in and bit down on his neck.

When Duan Xiaolin frowned, sensing something was genuinely wrong with her tone, she burst out laughing.

“I lied to you! You always like to lie to me, so I decided I have to lie to you too. If you dare try to lie to me again, I won’t let you get away with it so easily next time!”

Duan Xiaolin had a reprimand on the tip of his tongue, but seeing her scramble playfully off his lap and run toward the other side of the cave, his expression darkened for a fleeting, imperceptible moment.

At around eight o’clock that evening, Pei Xiqing and Duan Xiaolin packed up their meager belongings and prepared to leave the sanctuary.

They had been imposing on Huihua and his team for three days now, and Duan Xiaolin was right: it truly wasn’t advisable for them to linger and risk drawing the parasite swarms to the hidden camp.

But just as Pei Xiqing pulled open the heavy wooden door they had constructed for the cave entrance, she found Huihua standing directly outside, holding a massive slab of freshly roasted meat.

When Huihua saw the packed bags and the weapons strapped to their waists, his face instantly flushed with anger. “Brother Duan! What the hell is going on here? Do you even consider me a brother?!”

He stepped forward, using his massive, two-meter frame to completely block the entrance, making it impossible for them to leave.

“If we’re brothers, you stay right here! If I hadn’t come over to deliver dinner, were you two really planning to just sneak away in the middle of the night?!”

Pei Xiqing sighed, stepping forward gently. “Brother Huihua, please. We truly have to leave. We can’t stay here any longer. Brother Duan and I deeply appreciate your kindness and your hospitality, but we really—”

“I don’t care!” Huihua interrupted, his raspy voice thick with stubborn emotion. “I don’t want to hear your excuses, and I don’t want you to leave! If you insist on walking out that door, I will immediately go back, pack my own gear, and follow you! Wherever you go, I go! As long as Brother Duan’s injuries haven’t healed and your mission isn’t finished, I absolutely refuse to abandon you in the wasteland!”

“This…” Pei Xiqing trailed off, looking back at Duan Xiaolin helplessly.

The man chuckled softly, reaching up to adjust the frame of his silver glasses. “Huihua, Xiqing and I are the only ones who can resolve this matter. It concerns the very origin of these natural disasters.”

Huihua yelled stubbornly, “I’m not afraid of dying! If you hadn’t risked everything to help me back then, Brother Duan, I wouldn’t even be alive today! I owe you my life!”

“And what about Long Yan?” Duan Xiaolin asked calmly, a faint, knowing smile playing on his lips. “If you follow us on this suicide mission, I absolutely cannot guarantee your safety. So, tell me: are you really prepared to let Long Yan—a woman who has already waited ten agonizing years for you—wait for the rest of her life?”

Huihua froze.

The massive man seemed to instantly turn to stone.

He didn’t even blink, caught in an agonizing, paralyzing internal conflict. On one hand, his fierce loyalty and respect for Brother Duan demanded he follow him into hell. On the other hand, the crushing, unresolved guilt he felt toward Long Yan anchored him in place.

Hearing this, the puzzle pieces finally clicked together in Pei Xiqing’s mind. Huihua and Long Yan had been romantically entangled for years before a massive falling out had driven them apart.

No wonder Long Yan had reacted so intensely when Pei Xiqing first showed up at headquarters carrying custom weapons forged by Huihua!

It took Huihua a long, agonizing moment to finally speak. “I…”

Duan Xiaolin stepped forward and clapped a hand firmly onto the giant’s shoulder. “Go back to the new headquarters. The Franlun base is critically short on skilled manpower right now. No matter how much hatred and resentment you still harbor toward the old establishment, it has been ten years. The apocalypse has wiped the slate clean. It’s time to let that anger dissipate. Let the past remain in the past.”

Huihua lowered his massive head, his voice rough with old grief. “It was all that damned establishment’s fault. They officially accused me of embezzling military-grade weapons meant for the front lines. The entire command structure blamed me, treating me like a traitor! But you were the only one who knew the truth, Brother Duan. You were the only one who knew exactly where those weapons went and who actually took them! In those early days, a single crate of heavy weapons was worth more than a hundred human lives! Damn it all, I didn’t steal them! But even she refused to trust me! So why should I ever go back?!”

“Some things can only be properly explained face-to-face,” Duan Xiaolin advised smoothly.

Huihua looked up, a desperate, vulnerable hope in his eyes. “Is she… is she really still waiting for me?”

Pei Xiqing couldn’t help but step forward. “Yes. Sister Long Yan is still waiting for you. Brother Huihua, please, go back to her soon. The new base truly needs someone with your talents.”

Huihua stood there in the freezing wind, letting out a long, shuddering sigh.

Duan Xiaolin took Pei Xiqing’s hand, gently pulling her past the giant and out into the snow.

After taking a few steps, Pei Xiqing couldn’t help but look back. Seeing Huihua still standing frozen outside the cave, she turned to Duan Xiaolin and asked quietly, “Brother Duan, what exactly happened back then?”

“Just as you heard,” he explained softly as they walked to their vehicle. “Huihua did not embezzle the weapons. Those specific armaments were destined for the front lines during the initial zombie outbreak; they were critical to our survival. But they simply vanished overnight.”

“Do you know who actually took them? Whose pockets did they end up in?”

The man was silent for two seconds. “They ended up in the hands of the Long family.”

Pei Xiqing was shocked. “Huh?!”

She stared at him, incredulous. “Are you saying… Brother Huihua deliberately diverted the military weapons to Long Yan’s family to protect them?!”

“He didn’t give the weapons to them voluntarily. A high-ranking member of the Long family used Long Yan’s name and authorization codes to ‘borrow’ the shipment from the armory… and then conveniently never returned them.”

Pei Xiqing sighed heavily. “No wonder Brother Huihua wanted to leave the central base and remain completely independent. No wonder he demands exorbitant prices even when doing business for the military, and refuses to give them any discounts or ‘face.’ He was betrayed.”

“It was a chaotic, desperate time. It was incredibly difficult to judge who was truly right and who was wrong back then. But if they can finally meet face-to-face, perhaps some of those old, festering misunderstandings can finally be resolved.”

“Yes, there’s definitely still a chance,” Pei Xiqing agreed, squeezing his hand tightly. “As long as they can clear the air, they still have a future together.”

They reached their heavily modified off-road vehicle and climbed inside.

After driving through the blizzard for about ten minutes, Xiao Bai—who had been stubbornly squatting on the roof of the vehicle—suddenly started barking and growling fiercely.

Pei Xiqing rolled down the window, sticking her head out into the freezing wind. “Xiao Bai, what’s wrong?!”

The massive, mutated beast was spinning in frantic circles on the reinforced roof, staring intently down the snow-covered road ahead.

Realizing Xiao Bai was detecting something approaching rapidly, she quickly turned to the driver’s seat. “Brother Duan, stop the car!”

The moment the vehicle skidded to a halt, Pei Xiqing threw open her door and stepped out into the snow. Squinting through the blinding blizzard, she saw a battered, dust-covered, practically totaled car careening wildly toward them through the storm.

Chapter 338: Interrupted and Thrown Back to Base

Pei Xiqing squinted through the blinding snow. As the battered, dust-covered vehicle drew closer, she finally recognized the driver.

It was Huihua.

He slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt beside theirs. Without a single word of greeting, he began tossing heavy bundles of cured meat and strapped weapons directly onto the roof of their off-road vehicle.

Pei Xiqing stepped forward, bewildered. “Brother Huihua, what are you doing?”

Huihua vaulted over the snowdrift, yanked open their back door, and slid into the backseat. “I figured it out,” he declared gruffly. “I already let Long Yan down once in my life. I absolutely refuse to let you two down as well.”

Pei Xiqing exchanged a stunned look with Duan Xiaolin.

“Have you really thought this through?” she asked.

“Of course I’ve thought it through!”

However, the voice that answered didn’t belong to Huihua.

Pei Xiqing froze. She looked behind Huihua, expecting to see someone standing in the endless, swirling snow. Instead, she looked up.

Standing boldly on the roof of the vehicle, completely unfazed by the howling blizzard, was Ling Lang. One foot rested casually on a heavy ammunition crate. He was fully armed, his tactical goggles shielding his face from the ice, but the eyes visible beneath the blue lenses burned with his signature, unyielding arrogance. He hadn’t changed a bit.

Suddenly, the doors of the battered vehicle swung open, revealing the rest of the stowaways. Long Yan, Qiu Chao, and several others were packed inside.

Qiu Chao poked his head out of the window, offering a cheeky wave. “Hi!”

Pei Xiqing’s mouth fell open in shock.

Ling Lang looked down at her from the roof, a smirk playing on his lips. “You and my brother are so disloyal,” he chided. “Why did you sneak off? Where do you think you’re going? You didn’t even bother to ask if we had made up our minds to join you first.”

Qiu Chao chuckled, leaning further out the window. “Exactly! I am so fed up with you two lovebirds trying to play the noble martyrs. Why are we playing hide-and-seek in the apocalypse? If you’re going to march into hell, we’re all marching together, right?”

He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Are all the Franlun operatives present and accounted for?!”

“Except for the Shadow Division and Brother Yingzi—who stayed behind to protect Ruirui and guard the new base—the rest of Franlun’s core is present! Call off the numbers!”

Ji Yao slowly rolled down her window in the back seat, rolling her eyes. “Who the hell cares about your stupid roll call?”

Qiu Chao sighed dramatically. “Sister, could you cooperate just a little bit?”

Sanshe’s deadpan voice drifted from the back. “…Childish.”

Leng Huayi eagerly raised his hand. “Here! Your best buddy is right here!”

“Good brother!” Qiu Chao cheered.

Leng Huayi grinned. “Damn right! Brother Qiu Chao, you better hook me up with some extra serum later for this!”

“You definitely won’t be left out.”

Ling Lang hopped lightly down from the roof, landing softly in the snow. “I’m not here as a Franlun operative,” he stated casually. “I’m here as my brother’s family.”

Zhang Tian then poked her head out from the very back seat, waving enthusiastically. “And me! Even though I’m not officially in Franlun, I’m Xiqing’s family, so I had to come too!”

Ling Lang walked over to Duan Xiaolin’s window. “Brother!”

Duan Xiaolin’s lips curled into a faint, helpless smile. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to sit still.”

“So what were you trying to pull? Who told you to abandon me?” Ling Lang scoffed. “Brother, I’ll follow you even if it kills me. If you don’t want me here, you’ll have to break my legs and throw me back to the base. And even then, I’ll just crawl right back out.”

The man shook his head, a look of profound indulgence in his dark eyes. “When did you start following us?”

“The moment you two didn’t board the transport spaceship,” Ling Lang laughed. “We mobilized immediately. I honestly didn’t expect to catch up with you so quickly. We just swung by that geothermal cave and happened to run into Huihua’s blacksmith brothers. That’s how we knew exactly where you were.”

It took Pei Xiqing a long time to recover from the sheer shock.

She blinked rapidly, her vision blurring as sudden, overwhelming tears pricked her eyes. For a moment, she was genuinely, deeply moved that they had all come for her.

She walked over and threw her arms around Zhang Tian.

“Thank you, Sister Tian.”

Zhang Tian patted her back warmly. “What’s the big deal? The new base is almost fully operational, and everyone is about to live a good, safe life. You two were the only ones missing. I was worried sick! They actually didn’t want to let me come at first, so I demanded to follow them secretly until they just gave up and took me along. So, your big sister came all this way to support you. Aren’t you touched?”

“I am! Is everyone okay? Mengxiang, and the people from the village?”

“They’re doing great. Everyone in the village knows you haven’t returned yet. They’re all working incredibly hard, learning how to farm in the greenhouses and raise the livestock. They’re just waiting for you to come back so they can cook you a massive feast.”

Pei Xiqing buried her face against Zhang Tian’s shoulder, lacking the courage to pull away and let them see her cry.

When she first transmigrated into this apocalyptic world, she had only wanted to live a quiet, muddled life, taking things day by day. She had felt so incredibly lonely and bored; aside from surviving zombies, there had been nothing meaningful to hold onto. She never expected that her life would become so deeply intertwined with such wonderful, fiercely loyal people.

Even Zhang Tian, who had just been a brief, superficial connection out in the wild back then—it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to call it a mere chance encounter. But here she was, risking her life in the freezing wasteland just for her.

After a long moment, she stepped back, wiping her eyes, before pulling Zhang Tian into another tight hug.

Leaning lazily against Duan Xiaolin’s car, Ling Lang watched the tearful reunion. “Pei Xiqing, aren’t you going to hug me too?”

He shot a provocative, sidelong glance at Duan Xiaolin. “It’s just a friendly hug, Brother.”

Qiu Chao immediately kicked Ling Lang in the shin.

“Get lost! We have a highly critical situation unfolding right now! Why are you stirring up trouble?” As he spoke, Qiu Chao winked wildly at Ling Lang, subtly gesturing with his head.

Ling Lang rubbed his shin, looking thoroughly confused. “???”

Qiu Chao aggressively jutted his chin toward the battered vehicle.

The main characters of this drama were still locked in a tense standoff inside the car. Was it really Ling Lang’s turn to steal the spotlight?

Long Yan had spotted Huihua the absolute second he appeared.

Ten years. They hadn’t seen each other in ten years. She had never felt time move so slowly, and yet so blindingly fast. In the blink of an eye, the passionate, immature youths they had once been had grown into weary, battle-scarred adults.

For a long moment, neither of them moved to get out of the car.

It was a complete, paralyzing stalemate. The air between them felt impossibly stiff, practically freezing solid in the tense silence.

Ling Lang rubbed the tip of his nose, whispering awkwardly to Qiu Chao. “Oh, right… I completely forgot about their history. What should we do?”

“Brother, why don’t you go say something to break the ice?” Ling Lang swiftly returned the kick Qiu Chao had just given him. “You’re the one who’s always so good at livening up the atmosphere! You go do it!”

Qiu Chao hissed, “Are you crazy?! Long Yan might actually crush me to death if I interrupt! I’m terrified of her!”

Ling Lang rolled his eyes. “How did a massive coward like you end up in the elite ranks of Franlun?”

“Oh, please! Franlun needs brilliant minds like mine! I’m the vice-captain! I’m sorry, are you just bitter because you haven’t been officially inducted yet?”

Ling Lang ignored him and looked over at the man sitting quietly in the driver’s seat of the off-road vehicle.

Duan Xiaolin rested his hand casually on the steering wheel, his fingertips tapping a slow, rhythmic beat against the leather. “Let it be,” he commanded softly.

Matters of the heart could never be forced. Deeply entrenched misunderstandings, nurtured over a decade of grief and anger, could never be resolved in a few short moments or with a few simple words.

Chapter 339: Maybe You Can

The transport vehicles had been crawling forward for more than two hours.

The road conditions were deteriorating rapidly.

At the beginning, they had just driven over packed snow, navigating through patches of withered, black woods that had barely survived the apocalypse. But as they pressed deeper into the mountains, the terrain became treacherous. The road was flanked by sheer cliffs, and there were several sections where the off-road vehicles simply couldn’t pass.

Fortunately, they had brought the heavy transport aircraft.

They used it to airlift the vehicles one by one across the impassable gaps.

During the long, grueling drive, the atmosphere in the two vehicles was completely different.

Duan Xiaolin drove the lead car, with Pei Xiqing, Ling Lang, Qiu Chao, and Zhang Tian as his passengers. The rest of the operatives were packed into the trailing vehicle.

In the second car, Leng Huayi couldn’t remember how many times he had cracked the window to get some fresh air.

Compared to the biting cold outside, he found the deathly, suffocating silence inside the car far more unbearable. The tension felt colder and more intimidating than the physical weather.

He shivered violently, unable to suppress a loud sneeze.

Ji Yao glared at him from the back seat. “Could you please close that broken window of yours? Do you have any idea how much freezing wind and snow you’re letting in?”

“Then why don’t you come sit up here with me?” Leng Huayi shot back.

“No,” Ji Yao refused without a second of hesitation.

“Then please stop complaining, okay? I’m having a hard time up here!” He leaned back toward Sanshe, seeking solidarity. “How many people truly understand my suffering and have to experience it firsthand?”

Sanshe shoved him away. “Don’t lean so close to me. Honestly, it’s a bit disgusting.”

“Third Brother!” Leng Huayi gasped, dramatically offended.

“It’s a fact.”

“Fine! Then I’ll rely on my beloved Sister Ji Yao!”

“Get lost,” Ji Yao snapped.

“Hey, come on, that’s no way to treat a fellow human being…”

Sanshe suddenly cleared his throat loudly.

Leng Huayi instantly fell silent.

Up in the driver’s seat, Long Yan stepped on the brakes. “The lead car stopped up ahead. They must have run into some trouble. Let’s get out and take a look.”

Without waiting for a response, she opened her door and stepped out into the snow.

Huihua immediately followed her out.

“Okay! I’ll be right there!” Leng Huayi shouted after them.

As soon as the doors closed, he practically threw himself into the back seat, winking conspiratorially at Sanshe.

He lowered his voice to a frantic whisper. “Those two haven’t seen each other in ten years! How come they haven’t said a single word to each other this entire drive?! Could it be because we’re in the car with them? Are we being massive third wheels?”

“I don’t know.”

“So, do you think they still have a chance? Brother Huihua used to be a legendary general for Franlun! If he officially came back, Franlun would have enough firepower to completely take over the new base! Absolutely no one would be able to stop us, not even those arrogant elites from the old headquarters!”

“You’re certainly very ambitious,” Ji Yao noted dryly.

“I prefer to call it ‘keeping a low profile.'” Leng Huayi grinned.

Ji Yao and Sanshe exchanged an exasperated glance. “Seeing as you’re so eager to gossip,” Ji Yao said, “you can keep this entire car to yourself when we set off again. Sanshe and I are going to move to the front car to seek refuge with Brother Duan.”

“Wait… stop! Can you really be so cruel?!” Leng Huayi wailed, his face falling into a mask of pure tragedy. “I tried my absolute best to liven up the atmosphere, but those two acted like bitter enemies who had just been forced into the same room! They didn’t say a single word to each other for hours! I don’t want to stay in this car by myself!”

Up ahead, Duan Xiaolin helped Pei Xiqing out of the lead vehicle. He pulled a thick woolen scarf from the back seat and meticulously wrapped it twice around her neck. “Be careful.”

Pei Xiqing’s boots finally touched the soft, thick snow covering the ground.

She looked ahead, her brow furrowing. “What is that thing?”

She pointed at a massive, unidentified object completely blocking the narrow mountain pass.

From the outside, it looked like a gigantic, square boulder, but it was entirely encased in thick, packed snow, making it impossible to see what was actually inside.

She took the umbrella Zhang Tian handed her, holding it up to shield herself from the falling snow. Noticing that the trailing car had also stopped and the others were walking over, she took a few steps forward. “There’s a situation up ahead.”

“What’s wrong?” Long Yan asked as she approached.

“There’s a really, really massive rock blocking the middle of the road. I have no idea how it got there.”

“Oh my god, that thing is huge!” Leng Huayi exclaimed, jogging up beside them.

“It’s probably a boulder that fell from the cliffs above during an avalanche,” Qiu Chao guessed, squinting at the obstruction. “But we need to analyze the specific situation carefully. Let me get my scanners and see what’s actually inside that thing.”

“It’s getting late,” Ji Yao pointed out, checking her watch. “We’ve been driving all night, and dawn is still a few hours away. We’ve been making good time, so let’s just take a break here. What do you think, Brother Duan?”

The man nodded in agreement.

“Perfect! We’ll set up a temporary camp right here!”

“Understood!”

“Copy that!”

While the others began pitching tents, Qiu Chao led a small team forward to scan the obstruction and eliminate any potential risks.

Pei Xiqing sat down next to Duan Xiaolin near one of the vehicles, chatting quietly with Zhang Tian. Duan Xiaolin handed her a heated can of field rations. She took two small bites, then handed the can back to him.

The man took it without a word, quickly finishing the rest of the meal. He pulled a heavy thermal blanket from the trunk and looked at her. “Do you want to rest outside in the tent, or would you prefer to sleep in the car?”

“I’ll stay outside. It’ll get too crowded and stuffy if we all try to sleep in the cars.”

After the group shared a simple, hot meal, they settled in for an hour of much-needed rest.

Wrapped in her heavy coat and the thermal blanket, Pei Xiqing curled comfortably into Duan Xiaolin’s arms inside their small tent.

Ji Yao, Ling Lang, and the others were resting in the adjacent tents.

A profound silence settled over the camp. The only sound was the soft, rhythmic rustle of snowflakes continuously falling, accumulating on the road, the car roofs, and the withered tree branches.

It was a hard-earned, desperately short-lived peace.

Pei Xiqing had initially wanted to stay awake to hear Qiu Chao’s scouting report, but she was so exhausted that she fell asleep in Duan Xiaolin’s arms before she could say more than a few words.

Hovering in that hazy space between sleep and wakefulness, she thought she heard people talking softly outside.

She couldn’t quite make out the voices. Forcing her heavy eyes open, she peered through the crack in the tent flap and saw Long Yan and Huihua walking slowly toward the camp from the dark woods nearby.

The expressions on their faces were hidden in the shadows, and their conversation was entirely muffled by the wind.

Pei Xiqing rubbed her eyes. A moment later, she heard Qiu Chao calling for everyone to wake up.

She tossed her thermal blanket into the trunk of the car and walked over to the gathering group. “Brother Qiu Chao, what’s going on?”

Qiu Chao held up his biometric scanner, his face grim. “There’s a parasite inside that thing.”

“Ah?”

“And not just one,” he corrected himself, tapping the screen. “There are multiple parasites encased in there. They must have been buried during a localized avalanche higher up the mountain. As the snow accumulated and the tectonic plates shifted, the entire mass rolled down here and blocked the pass.”

“If there are that many parasites clustered together, we should just use the aircraft to fly over them.”

“I just ran a topographical scan,” Qiu Chao sighed heavily. “There are dozens of these massive, snow-encased boulders blocking the road ahead. I can’t even count them all. If we try to use the aircraft to leapfrog over every single one, we’ll burn through our fuel reserves before we even clear the mountain.”

“It seems we have no choice but to confront them,” Ling Lang said, drawing his weapon. “Once we break that outer shell of snow, they’re going to wake up.”

“Yes. They will definitely wake up.”

Pei Xiqing stared at the massive snowball, a sudden realization dawning on her.

Qiu Chao lowered his scanner, studying her expression for a moment. “Have you figured something out?”

“What?”

“The natural disasters are getting closer and closer to us.”

“I know.”

Qiu Chao looked at her intently. “Did you realize that the natural disasters are actually following you and Brother Duan?”

“Yes,” Pei Xiqing met his gaze calmly. “How did you find out?”

Qiu Chao offered a mysterious, smug smile.

Pei Xiqing felt a sudden spike of inexplicable irritation. “Brother Qiu Chao, just tell me. Why are you trying to keep me in suspense?”

“I’m keeping you in suspense?!” Qiu Chao slapped his forehead dramatically. “Sister Xiqing, you’re the one who’s been hiding this from me! I had to run thousands—literally tens of thousands—of theoretical simulations before I finally figured it out! Do you have any idea how hard I had to work to reach this conclusion?!”

He looked so genuinely moved by his own sheer brilliance that he almost looked like he was going to cry.

Was it easy being a genius? Absolutely not.

Pei Xiqing rolled her eyes. “Why are you being so dramatic?”

Qiu Chao: “…”

He cleared his throat awkwardly. “The crystal cores.”

“What about them?”

“The crystal cores,” he repeated seriously. “I discovered the truth by analyzing the high-grade crystal cores.”

“I should have known.” Pei Xiqing leaned back against the hood of the car. “You planned out my entire fake pregnancy scenario back then, and you monitored my vitals when I absorbed all those cores recently. You must have noticed the anomaly.”

“Exactly. Xiao Yue’s memories and the world’s underlying ‘data’ were encoded within those original cores,” he explained. “By analyzing the residual energy signatures, I discovered the specific algorithmic patterns of these natural disasters. They aren’t random weather events. They are targeted.”

“Tell me the details.”

“Think about it,” Qiu Chao said. “After you and Brother Duan left the new base and traveled to this desolate region, the catastrophic weather around the base improved significantly. The snowfall decreased visibly, and the lethal magnetic thunderstorms that had been hovering near our perimeter finally dissipated.”

He crossed his arms. “At first, I was just speculating. But as our convoy drove closer to your coordinates, the snow grew heavier, and the seismic warnings became more violent. That’s when I realized the truth. These natural disasters aren’t insurmountable, random acts of nature. They have a specific, tracking target. And that target is… either you or Brother Duan.”

Pei Xiqing remained silent for a few seconds before a faint, humorless smile touched her lips.

“I can never hide anything from you, can I?” she murmured. “You’re right. The primary target of the world’s ‘correction’ mechanism… is Brother Duan.”

“How did you reach that conclusion so definitively?”

Pei Xiqing briefly explained how they had noticed the severity of the natural disasters weakening every time Brother Duan sustained physical injuries and was prevented from using his supernatural abilities.

Qiu Chao chewed thoughtfully on the end of his electronic stylus. After a long moment, he asked, “Are you absolutely sure about that?”

“Yes. Why?”

“It’s nothing. I just… I really didn’t expect the primary target of the world’s wrath to be Brother Duan.” He sighed heavily. “If that’s true, then Brother Duan is in massive trouble.”

“Which is why I’m going to do everything in my power to protect him,” Pei Xiqing stated fiercely. “By the way, can you synthesize a compound that would allow him to safely use his abilities for even a short period of time? It’s incredibly unfair that he possesses such overwhelming power but is completely forbidden from using it. If the world wants a fair fight, forcing him to fight blind is completely…”

“Brother Duan’s overwhelming ability is the exact reason he’s being targeted,” Qiu Chao interrupted softly. “Everyone else is allowed to use their powers… except him.”

The restriction wasn’t just related to the current natural disasters; it was deeply tied to the events that had occurred years ago.

The power Duan Xiaolin had obtained during the initial outbreak was simply too catastrophic. It shattered the intended balance of the world. Because of that, he had lost the ability to wield it safely for a very long time. And now, it seemed the world’s underlying rules were still actively punishing him for possessing it.

If you seek power that transcends the boundaries of reality, you must pay an agonizing price.

But this price was entirely too cruel.

“I can’t alter the rules of his supernatural backlash,” Qiu Chao said seriously. “But I can synthesize highly concentrated recovery serums. Keep them on you at all times. If Brother Duan sustains any severe physical trauma, inject him immediately. The serum will force his cells to regenerate, healing any mortal wound within thirty seconds.”

“Thank you.”

“I can’t do anything about the supernatural restrictions holding him back,” Qiu Chao added, looking at her intently. “But… maybe you can.”

“Me?”

Before she could ask what he meant, Ling Lang stepped up to the massive, snow-encased boulder blocking the road. With a fierce battle cry, he swung his heavy tactical axe, burying it deep into the frozen shell again and again.

The snowball was at least twenty meters high.

Dozens of parasites were packed tightly inside, huddled together in a state of frozen hibernation.

He didn’t stop swinging.

Deep, jagged cracks began to spread rapidly across the surface of the ice.

Sensing the breach, the monstrous entities trapped inside began to stir. They thrashed violently, exerting immense internal pressure until the entire structure violently exploded outward in a shower of ice and snow.

In an instant, nearly a hundred fully awakened parasites poured out of the wreckage, charging directly toward Duan Xiaolin’s position.

They weren’t attacking randomly. They had a singular, undeniable target.

Duan Xiaolin.

The man didn’t flinch. He calmly raised a hand, caught the lead parasite by its armored neck, effortlessly snapped it, and casually tossed the massive corpse aside. “Kill them all.”

Ling Lang and Huihua immediately stepped up to the front lines, forming a protective vanguard.

“Kill!”

The rest of the Franlun operatives surged forward, drawing their weapons to intercept the swarming beasts.

The violent commotion triggered a chain reaction. The dormant zombies buried in the snowdrifts along the cliffs suddenly woke up, clawing their way to the surface.

In the blink of an eye, the small convoy was completely surrounded by a massive horde of parasites and zombies.

Ling Lang grinned, his grip tightening around the hilt of his saber. “I’ve been bored out of my skull at the base lately! Finally, I get a chance to stretch my legs!”

Qiu Chao, possessing absolutely zero combat abilities, immediately scrambled backward toward the vehicles.

“Go get ’em, guys! I’ll be cheering you on from a very safe distance!”

Sanshe vaulted onto the roof of the armored transport, racking the bolt of a heavy machine gun. “Light them up!”

He swept the treeline, absolutely determined to shred anything that dared come close to hurting Brother Duan.

Pei Xiqing had initially drawn her blade to stand on the front lines, but Long Yan suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

Long Yan stepped in front of her, raising her own weapon. “Stay in the backline! Do not let any straggler zombies get close to Brother Duan, and prioritize your own safety above all else!”

Pei Xiqing opened her mouth to argue, but Long Yan squeezed her hand tightly. “Xiqing… thank you.”

Pei Xiqing swallowed her protests. “Be careful out there.”

Long Yan nodded once, then charged forward to join the brutal melee against the surging horde.

Zhang Tian mercilessly stomped a crawling zombie’s head into the snow. Wiping the gore from her boot, she looked around the battlefield in absolute awe. In less than a minute, the initial wave of nearly a hundred parasites and zombies had been completely eradicated.

“Is this the true power of Franlun?!” she gasped.

If her old scavenger squad had faced a horde like this, it would have taken them hours of desperate, bloody fighting to clear them out, and they likely would have suffered massive casualties.

“The legends are true,” she muttered in admiration. “These are all highly mutated parasites and advanced zombies… they’re completely different from the basic infected we used to fight on the front lines…”

And yet, Franlun was slaughtering them effortlessly.

She had just crushed the skull of a single zombie, and for the first time, she truly understood the terrifying, explosive power these elite operatives possessed.

Only individuals with overwhelmingly lethal supernatural abilities were qualified to wear the Franlun insignia.

Ling Lang stood atop a large boulder, casually flicking the black blood off his saber as he peered down the mountain pass. “Don’t celebrate yet. It’s still early. That was just the first obstruction. There’s plenty more where that came from.”

Everyone followed his gaze.

Stretching far down the treacherous mountain road, the path was completely blocked by countless, towering spheres of packed snow and ice.

It looked almost like a bizarre, cruel prank played by a giant, but the lethal reality of the obstacles was undeniable.

Qiu Chao popped his head out of the car window, shivering. “This ‘natural disaster’ really doesn’t pull any punches, does it?”

Ling Lang crossed his arms, his arrogant grin returning in full force. “I don’t care if it’s a natural disaster or a man-made one. I will slaughter every single thing this world throws at us.”

Pei Xiqing walked over and firmly grabbed Duan Xiaolin’s hand. She looked up at him, her eyes fierce and unyielding. “Brother Duan. Stay close to me, and do not let go of my hand.”

The man looked down at her, his expression softening instantly. He gently brushed his fingertips across her furrowed brow.

“I won’t.”

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