What?! I Became the Zombie Beauty in the Villain’s Arms – CH56

Chapter 56: Willing to Give Up

Pei Xiqing’s sensory processors couldn’t verify if it was a hallucination triggered by her intense survival anxiety, but the ambient air inside the dreadnought’s core sector suddenly felt charged with a chaotic, vibrating commotion.

Retracing her navigation vector toward the main transit hub, she marched straight down the high-clearance titanium corridor—a sector strictly restricted to personnel authorized to ride the primary capsule—yet not a single sentry or administrative officer stepped forward to halt her line.

However, her radar flagged an anomaly: every single asset brushing past her coordinates shot her a sequence of scrutinizing, profoundly suspicious, or outright hostile glances.

Yet, their boots remained planted, refusing to execute a physical block.

Perhaps my paranoia is simply overriding my logical calculations?

Pei Xiqing firmly gripped Xiaobai’s high-tensile lead, preparing to clear the final security perimeter and exit the superstructure. But the exact second her boots approached the primary glass threshold, the elite sentries anchoring the gate suddenly snapped into a high-alert defensive posture, their elemental fields flaring.

The colossal blast doors of the dreadnought were systematically sealed shut. Within seconds, a massive tactical squad composed of dozens of high-tier ability users violently breached the outer cordon, flooding into the ground-floor plaza to initialize a sector-wide biometric screening protocol.

Her stride stalled instantly.

She executed a rapid, silent reverse-pivot, violently dragging her weight back into the shadows.

The execution squad fanned out across the terminal, aggressively stopping every single transit passenger to run a forced diagnostic check, their expressions ruthless as they left absolutely zero blind spots in their sweep.

Tracking their search vector rapidly closing on her coordinates, Pei Xiqing yanked Xiaobai’s lead, dragging the confused, pivoting hound completely out of the main hall and shoving his frame directly into an adjacent emergency stairwell.

The massive, spiraling concrete stairwell was entirely desolate; ninety-nine percent of the high-command demographics utilized the automated elevator shafts.

Pei Xiqing frantically reached into her windbreaker pocket, extracting her tactical field hat and pulling the brim low across her brow, completely masking her facial geometry.

She began a cautious, agonizingly tense ascent through the concrete spine of the dreadnought, systematically bypassing the security camera arrays mounted at every landing.

The architectural scale of this titan was so incomprehensibly massive that she had absolutely zero data regarding her exact spatial coordinates. The only absolute protocol was remaining entirely disconnected from the elevator grids.

Her analytical mind concluded that the corridors were inevitably saturated with high-definition optical surveillance, and that execution squad of elite ability mutants would bridge the gap to her location within minutes.

A singular, overriding doctrine seized her processor—I cannot be captured.

If they locked her down, her timeline was permanently finished.

She and Xiaobai would be systematically stripped of their humanity, reclassified as mutant assets, and violently chained inside titanium cages. They would be imprisoned within this exact fortress, and the grotesque fate of the monetized monsters displayed on the commercial boulevard would become her permanent reality.

Driven by sheer adrenaline, she forcefully accelerated her climb up the massive concrete steps. The structural height of the dreadnought was staggering; she had lost all tracking data regarding how many vertical tiers she had breached. Toward the end of the sprint, her civilian stamina bars hit absolute zero, and it was Xiaobai’s massive, reanimated kinetic power pulling the lead forward that dragged her frame up the final flights.

Pei Xiqing’s lung capacity was entirely spent.

The spiraling concrete corridor seemed utterly endless, offering absolutely zero visual confirmation of a summit.

The sheer vertical scale of the climb felt so astronomically distant it bred a suffocating wave of despair.

Completely exhausted, she collapsed heavily against the steel railing, her chest heaving as she gasped for oxygen. Xiaobai’s olfactory sensors suddenly flagged an anomaly in the air above them; he whined, aggressively biting the nylon lead to physically yank her forward.

Pei Xiqing lacked the remaining muscle integrity to execute another step.

Her cardiovascular system felt as though her heart was going to violently rupture through her ribs. If she forced her cells to continue the ascent, she ran a high probability calculation of triggering a lethal, shock-induced cardiac failure right on the concrete.

She had no diagnostic data to confirm which administrative tier she had breached.

But the exact second she tilted her head up to analyze the next landing, a towering figure stepped out of the shadows. Ling Lang was casually leaning against the concrete wall, his eyes lowered in deep concentration as his long, heavily scarred fingers methodically assembled the components of a heavy tactical sidearm with terrifying, fluid speed.

Since her last visual audit of his line back on the trail, he had stripped off his standard heavy combat armor, his frame now wrapped in a clean, minimalist tactical training suit that perfectly highlighted his lean, lethal musculature.

His striking white hair was pushed back beneath the rim of a black baseball cap, with only a few sharp strands falling across his brow.

His radar had clearly intercepted her acoustic footprint long before she reached the landing. He smoothly racked the slide of the assembled weapon, casually slotting the steel frame into the holster on his combat boot, a lazy, mocking smirk pulling at his lips.

He let out a sharp, low whistle. “Are your sub-routines currently operating as a high-tier espionage asset?”

Pei Xiqing jumped in shock. “! What tactical objective anchors your coordinates here?!”

Ling Lang pushed off the wall, standing at his full height as he casually rolled his shoulders to stretch his dense muscles. “I navigated to this sector to execute a sequence of administrative tasks. A demographic of ancient, decaying bureaucrats operating in the high council enjoys running hostile vocal protocols against my station. I simply position my hardware in this corridor; the second my visual sensors lock onto an asset that annoys my baseline, I lock my targeting laser directly onto their skull.”

“But can your processing units decode a fascinating anomaly for me?” he continued, his white lashes narrowing into sharp slits. “My timeline just dropped into this quadrant, and my sensors immediately intercept an asset radiating an immense, suffocating aura of guilt. What precise variables are running on your board? Did your cells plunder a classified artifact, or did you violently offend a sovereign director?”

As the words left his lips, the lazy amusement vanished, his gaze turning entirely lethal and protective. “There isn’t a single entity inside this fortress who commands the clearance to deploy an aggressive protocol against your line.”

“…Negative.”

“Tsk…” Ling Lang tilted his head, his eyes boring into hers. “Are your vocal receptors broadcasting absolute ground truth?”

“Negative.”

“Optimal. My initial calculation assumed a few blind, low-tier assets inside the walls were deploying hostile tactics against your perimeter out of sheer boredom, forcing your timeline to retreat to a desolate sector to run a crying sequence.”

“Negative,” Pei Xiqing whispered, her breathing still ragged. “Your vocal transcripts genuinely triggered a panic spike in my system. You are casually calibrating a lethal weapon inside a high-command corridor. Do your parameters genuinely calculate that you are going to launch a kinetic assault against the directors later?”

“Affirmative,” Ling Lang offered a careless shrug. “But let’s analyze your biology. You are the sole entity radiating guilt in this stairwell. Only an asset actively attempting to conceal a corrupted data file would harbor that level of psychological terror.”

Pei Xiqing swallowed hard, attempting to shift the dialogue. “Has your timeline been anchored in this quadrant for the entire shift?”

“My squad just returned from a high-intensity mutant purge in the wild zones, but the frontier activity has been remarkably static lately.” He stared down at Pei Xiqing, his tone dropping into a deliberate, dark threat. “Whenever the tactical board remains static for an extended window, a massive, catastrophic conspiracy is usually incubating beneath the surface. My predictive models indicate a colossal structural crisis is going to detonate inside this base very soon. Does your intellect validate that calculation?”

Pei Xiqing paused, her pulse skipping a beat. “What specific variables are you referencing?”

“The data is highly classified. It tracks directly to a sequence of illegal transactions occurring within the subterranean black-market auctions, rendering the political landscape exceptionally volatile. Regardless… if your timeline possesses the capability to permanently anchor your coordinates inside your domestic quarters during this window, execute that protocol. Otherwise, your cells might be permanently deleted without your processors ever comprehending what anomaly struck you. As for running the canine’s kinetic drills… you can absolutely delegate that task to a secondary asset.”

“Does the fortress infrastructure command a designated Didi Pet-Transit service?”

“What?”

Pei Xiqing let out a dry sigh. “My calculations indicate absolutely zero human assets would volunteer to manage Xiaobai’s tracking line. He carries the exact same zombie pathogen as my own biology; a massive demographic of civilians would be terrified of his proximity.”

“…” Ling Lang maintained a cold silence for several seconds, before a sudden, sharp laugh broke across his features. “Does my biological profile fail to register as human?”

Pei Xiqing blinked in surprise. “Does your operational schedule genuinely contain the spare bandwidth to run a canine? The Vanguard Captain’s shift log must be operating at maximum capacity.”

“My timeline lacks the spare window, but executing a kinetic drill for a mutant hound runs an identical algorithm to running field exercises for my vanguard recruits. If my boots drag his frame on a high-velocity sprint exceeding ten kilometers, his compliance parameters will permanently stabilize.”

Pei Xiqing pressed her lips into a tight line. “Your calculation is structurally sound.”

Running a canine’s baseline was purely a matter of kinetic exhaustion.

Once the animal’s physical battery hit absolute zero, its processor would instantly initiate a deep rest cycle.

Ling Lang crossed his massive arms over his chest rigging, his tone returning to absolute seriousness. “I am issuing a formal directive: restrict your external transit sequences for the next few shifts. The political entities governing this board are entirely unstable. If a sudden crisis violently breaches the perimeter, my operational load will prevent my unit from extracting your frame.”

“Understood, acknowledged.”

For an inexplicable reason, Pei Xiqing’s mind violently recalled the holographic surveillance feed she had intercepted inside the capsule.

The image of the rogue criminal pinned to the execution cross, his chest violently pierced by heavy iron chains, and the terrifying, freezing calm of the administrator standing opposite his bleeding frame—the sheer memory sent a violent, icy shudder straight down her spine.

“Does your command log contain verified witnesses or physical data establishing your alibi?” she asked suddenly, her voice tight. “During your deployment out of the gates.”

“Affirmative. My coordinates were synchronized with Fu Feng and Nie Bin for the entire duration of the purge. Why is your system running that specific query?”

“The data is irrelevant.”

As long as his timeline maintained verified witnesses, his board remained secure. If a massive structural crisis genuinely detonated within the fortress, Ling Lang’s registry would be shielded from administrative accountability.

Pei Xiqing’s internal processors were still drowning in a massive wave of guilt when facing his profile.

Just minutes ago, when she had forcefully hijacked the capsule’s master control panel, she had instinctively input her villa’s biometric sequence to clear the firewall. Only after the code unlocked the global surveillance network did her memory logs remind her that Ling Lang’s private authorization chip utilized that exact same numerical string.

She braced her boots to resume the agonizing climb up the concrete steps, but Ling Lang tracked her vector with slow, deliberate steps. “Why did your system suddenly broadcast that specific tactical inquiry? Your behavioral metrics were entirely different during our last visual audit.”

Noticing her physical stamina was completely shot, her knees visibly trembling as she forced herself toward the next tier, his white brow pulled into a sharp frown. He stepped forward, his large hand firmly locking around her bicep to halt her ascent. “What are your target coordinates?”

Pei Xiqing gasped. “The optimization window is closing; I lack the bandwidth to explain the data. Your most efficient tactical play is to permanently sever your proximity to my line.”

“What anomaly breached your grid?” Ling Lang’s grip remained absolute, completely refusing to release her arm. “What specific crisis detonated? Transmit the data; my division will execute a solution.”

“The sky is literally collapsing.”

Ling Lang let out a harsh, mocking laugh. “How is the atmospheric canopy collapsing? The structural integrity of your ‘sky’ seems exceptionally fragile.”

Pei Xiqing executed a violent struggle to break his hold. “I possess zero temporal clearance to decode the file. Either your frame accompanies my vector upward to locate a secure cloaking sector, or you maintain a permanent distance from my shadow!”

Ling Lang’s eyes narrowed. “Do your processors even comprehend what administrative tier we are currently occupying?”

“Zero data.”

“My sovereign command office spans the 28th and 30th floors of this dreadnought. Do your parameters require me to escort your coordinates into that grid to initiate a temporary cloaking sequence?” Registering the absolute, unvarnished panic bleeding from her eyes, Ling Lang completely dropped his interrogation protocols. Releasing her arm, he stated firmly, “If your timeline requires my shadow, form up on my vector immediately.”

Pei Xiqing’s eyes widened to sharp circles. “Negative, my line cannot penetrate Brother Duan’s command sector.”

But running a rapid parallel simulation…

The most lethal, hyper-visible coordinate on the board often served as the ultimate secure blind spot.

She gritted her teeth, forcefully yanking Xiaobai’s lead as she fell into alignment behind his boots.

Her absolute priority was shedding the elite execution squad currently sweeping the lower tiers.

Tracking behind Ling Lang, the biometric security corridors automatically cleared their path, and the upper levels of the dreadnought were entirely desolate of personnel.

The exact second the heavy pneumatic blast door of the office hissed open, Pei Xiqing violently dragged Xiaobai past the threshold, urgently commanding Ling Lang to clear the lane.

The interior architecture of the command suite was heavily saturated with hyper-advanced cybernetic aesthetics. The walls were lined with banks of complex electronic server arrays and holographic terminals. The environment was cavernous and entirely silent. The moment her boots hit the floorboards, she immediately began dragging the hound across the sector, desperately scanning the layout for a viable physical blind spot to conceal her frame.

Ling Lang casually hopped backward, sitting squarely on the edge of a massive titanium command desk. Letting his long legs dangle freely, he watched her frantically rip open the storage compartments of the office with deep amusement.

“That specific biometric vault belongs to my brother’s station. The interior holds Class-A sovereign intelligence dossiers.”

“That titanium crate is my personal munitions reserve. If your fingers input the incorrect sequence, the thermal detonators will instantly vaporize the grid.”

“That console is the primary atmospheric control matrix for the entire base. If your system runs an experimental input on those keys, your facial ID will be broadcasted to the global wanted registry in exactly two seconds.”

…

Pei Xiqing’s emotional processors completely fractured.

She snapped her head around, unleashing a flat, venomous glare straight at his grinning face.

“If your board genuinely refuses to offer a tactical solution, vacate the sector immediately. Otherwise, my presence is going to inflict a massive administrative penalty against your line.”

Ling Lang raised his eyes, a sharp, dark smirk playing on his lips. “So your system genuinely executed a high-clearance espionage theft, and your primary calculation is a terror of dragging my timeline down with you?”

“Affirmative. My registry is on the brink of being flagged as a supreme sovereign criminal across the entire fortress.”

“Fascinating. Then my internal processors are eagerly anticipating the final calculation… I want to audit whether my brother’s emotional matrix will genuinely authorize an execution order to drop your frame into the flooded vaults of the water dungeon.”

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