Someone suddenly rushed out. Pei Chixuan instinctively raised his hand, orange-red flames flickering in his palm.
Having spent so much time with Qin Feng and Cao Yuan, Duan Yuanyuan knew this was a sign that an Ability User was about to attack. She hurriedly raised both hands and shouted, "I'm human! I'm human! Help!"
Pei Chixuan swung his hand and hurled the fireball at her.
The flames were blindingly bright.
Seeing the fireball about to smash down on her head, Duan Yuanyuan bitterly cursed the men's terrible idea and closed her eyes in despair.
Yet the scorching fireball flew over her head and struck the zombie behind her with perfect accuracy.
The zombie's terrifying howl vanished amid the blazing flames, its rotten body reduced to charred remains.
Duan Yuanyuan's legs gave out, and she collapsed to her knees. She watched the handsome, impeccably dressed man and woman approach her.
To be fair, although Qin Feng often beat and cursed her now, he had treated her fairly well in the beginning.
Otherwise, in times as difficult as these, she would not have been able to carry so many dresses and pieces of jewelry with her, or even keep several cosmetics in her bag and dress herself neatly every day.
Those things showed that she had lived better than most people in the apocalypse.
But when Duan Yuanyuan saw these two, she finally understood what it meant to be worlds apart.
After dealing with the zombie behind her, Pei Chixuan barked, "Stay where you are! Don't move! Raise your hands!"
Frightened by the man's sharp, powerful presence, Duan Yuanyuan's teeth chattered. She obediently did as told and raised both hands.
The weather was cold. Pei Chixuan wore a tactical jacket, while Cen Jiao wore a cheongsam and a Rabbit Fur Shawl. Both were neatly dressed and looked radiant.
To lower their guard, Qin Feng had stripped Duan Yuanyuan of her coat, leaving her in nothing but a Sling Dress.
That scant bit of fabric offered no protection from the cold. It only made her voluptuous figure fully visible whenever she made any large movements.
"Take off your clothes," Pei Chixuan ordered.
To avoid suspicion, Pei Chixuan turned aside after saying that and told Cen Jiao behind him, "Jiao Jiao, help me check whether she has any wounds."
Cen Jiao rolled her eyes at Pei Chixuan and replied reluctantly, "You said you couldn't bear to let me suffer even a little, yet you always make me do things for you."
"What else can I do?" Pei Chixuan liked that little temper of hers and smiled. "You'd be unhappy if I checked her myself."
"Hmph."
Cen Jiao gave a delicate snort. Only then did she cover her nose and mouth with a handkerchief and approach Duan Yuanyuan, who had gone limp on the ground earlier and was covered in dust.
Trembling, Duan Yuanyuan removed her Sling Dress as well and endured the scrutiny of the woman before her.
Cen Jiao casually swept her gaze over Duan Yuanyuan. When she saw the kiss marks and handprints on her chest and thighs, she frowned as though she had seen something filthy, then quickly looked away. "All right, put your clothes back on."
Duan Yuanyuan had never been ashamed of her sexy figure before.
On the contrary, her beauty and body had once been her best weapons in the apocalypse, allowing her to survive until now.
But now, squatting naked on the ground with her hands raised as if caught in a vice raid, Duan Yuanyuan met the gaze of the clean, beautiful woman before her. A trace of humiliation rose in her heart, and she lowered her head in shame.
Although neither of them said anything, Duan Yuanyuan knew that was the look people gave something cheap, dirty, and unpresentable.
Why?
She only wanted to survive.
Why did they have to look at her with such contempt and disdain?
Was it just because they had been born with everything while she had nothing, and could only use every means possible to obtain it? Because the way she survived was not as respectable as theirs?
Shivering, Duan Yuanyuan pulled the Sling Dress back on.
She was trembling nonstop from the cold, her arms crossed over her chest.
That motion inevitably pressed against her breasts, making the snowy-white cleavage exposed by the dress's thin straps especially eye-catching.
Cen Jiao saw the movement, and disgust flashed through her eyes.
She pulled a coat from her space and tossed it over Duan Yuanyuan as if bestowing charity, her tone unable to hide her contempt. "Put this on."
All of Cen Jiao's clothes were custom-made luxury brands that money could hardly buy.
Duan Yuanyuan had never worn such fine clothing even before the apocalypse. Her eyes filled with admiration and envy as she hurriedly wrapped herself in it. "Thank you," she said softly.
"Are you a survivor from this village? Are you an ordinary person or an Ability User?"
Pei Chixuan asked, "Are you the only person in the village? Are there any other survivors?"
Meeting Pei Chixuan's gaze, Duan Yuanyuan bit her lip. Tears shimmered in her beautiful eyes, making her look pitiful and helpless.
"I'm not from this village. My brother and I wandered here together."
Duan Yuanyuan smoothly recited the lie she had long prepared.
"My brother is an Ability User, and I'm an ordinary person. Today, my brother went out to look for food. I was alone in the house when zombies suddenly smashed through the door. I ran outside in a panic and met you. Thank you for saving me."
Survivor Base was currently in desperate need of Ability Users.
Pei Chixuan pressed, "What Ability does your brother have?"
Duan Yuanyuan replied, "Water Ability."
"Water Ability?"
Pei Chixuan considered it. "That works too. Its offensive power isn't strong, but it can purify water sources."
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Pei Chixuan, administrator of Chasing Moon Base. If you trust us, you can wait for your brother to return, then come back to Survivor Base with us after I complete my mission."
Pei Chixuan said, "I can recommend your brother to join an Ability User squad there. As long as you work, you can receive the corresponding amount of food every day and no longer have to worry about survival."
"Of course!" Duan Yuanyuan pretended to be thrilled. "When my brother returns, we'll go with you."
"By the way, would you like to come sit in the house my brother and I are staying in?"
Duan Yuanyuan led Pei Chixuan and Cen Jiao down the road she had come from.
Once the three of them disappeared around the corner, Jiang Zhaosu and Qi Xing poked their heads out from behind a wall near where the others had just been standing.
"Heh, that sounds nice. We charge into battle on the front lines killing zombies, while the leaders sit comfortably in their offices giving orders."
It was obvious Qi Xing had long harbored resentment over his former captain's job. The moment Pei Chixuan left, he could not help complaining.
"We risk our lives to complete missions, and they reward us with a few cans of expired food. Their dogs eat better than we do. Every time I see those fat, greasy-mouthed leaders in meetings, I want to slaughter them all and render them into lard."
Jiang Zhaosu enjoyed hearing him curse and chimed in, "I... eat..."
She had also hated her bosses when she worked. Her pay had been pitifully low, and even a tiny mistake could earn her a scolding that tore her down completely.
"Fine. We'll kill them all later and feed them to Fortune."
As he spoke, Qi Xing ran out from behind the wall with Jiang Zhaosu. Sneaking around like thieves, they slipped over to Pei Chixuan and Cen Jiao's military vehicle.
Now that he could finally inspect the fully reinforced military vehicle up close, Qi Xing sneered again.
"Heh. When we went out on missions, why were they never willing to give us a vehicle like this?"
Jiang Zhaosu kept watch beside him while Qi Xing quickly examined the military vehicle's lock. "The keyhole's a little complicated, but it's not a problem. I can open it."
"Go...?"
Jiang Zhaosu tilted her head and asked.
"Not yet. Let's see whether Qin Feng and the others can pull it off. Maybe there'll be something to gain."
Qi Xing pulled her along, and the human and zombie slipped back into the shadowy alley like two little mice.
Duan Yuanyuan led Pei Chixuan and Cen Jiao to the house where she was currently staying.
The single-story houses in the village were all simply furnished. The walls only had putty on them, the floors were bare cement without even tiles, and the bedding had not been aired out in a long time, leaving it damp.
Cen Jiao sneezed several times as soon as she entered. She quickly covered her nose with a handkerchief and asked, "What's that weird smell?"
Duan Yuanyuan stood helplessly to the side. "Probably the smell of dried vegetables..."
Other than Pickled Radish and dried cabbage, there was not much to eat in the village. They had eaten mostly those things for the past two days.
Cen Jiao, who had always been pampered, had never smelled anything so pungent. After less than two minutes, she rushed back out of the house. "It stinks too badly! I can't take it!"
Worried something might happen to her, Pei Chixuan hurried after her.
"Jiao Jiao! It's already dark, and it isn't safe here. Don't run off by yourself!"
"I don't want to stay here."
Cen Jiao pouted as Pei Chixuan grabbed her hand. "It's cold and smelly here. We might as well go back and sleep in the car."
"You complained that the car was too cramped after lying down for barely a moment," Pei Chixuan said helplessly.
"What do you mean by that?" Cen Jiao widened her Peach Blossom Eyes. "Pei Chixuan, do you think I'm a nuisance? Do you think I'm too demanding?"
"No..." Pei Chixuan broke out in a cold sweat. "Jiao Jiao, I didn't mean that..."
A layer of tears welled up in Cen Jiao's Peach Blossom Eyes. "Don't forget, you forced me to come. Do you think I wanted to follow you to this godforsaken place? If I'd known we were coming somewhere like this, I would've stayed at the base!"
The moment he saw Cen Jiao's tears, Pei Chixuan panicked. "Jiao Jiao, I was wrong. Don't cry... I was wrong..."
Seeing this, Duan Yuanyuan hurriedly interjected in a sugary voice, "The conditions here really aren't very good. Miss, I think Brother Pei truly didn't mean it that way."
She would have been better off staying quiet. The moment she spoke, Cen Jiao became even angrier.
They had only exchanged a few words, and she was already calling him Brother?
When Cen Jiao had checked her for injuries earlier, she had seen all those suggestive marks on the woman's body. The "brother" she spoke of was surely not her real brother, but a lover.
What kind of woman had so little self-respect?
Everything about Duan Yuanyuan irritated Cen Jiao. She snapped, "What does this have to do with you? We saved you, and not only are you ungrateful, you're even mocking me!"
Duan Yuanyuan widened her eyes, looking utterly innocent. "Miss, don't falsely accuse me. How did I mock you?"
"Don't call me miss!" Cen Jiao said angrily.
She did not believe Duan Yuanyuan was unaware of the other special meaning behind that title. This woman was clearly doing it on purpose.
Duan Yuanyuan blinked helplessly. "Huh? Then what should I call you? Ma'am? Comrade? Or Sister?"
"You!"
This woman obviously looked far older than she was.
Duan Yuanyuan had angered Cen Jiao so badly that her cheeks turned red.
Pei Chixuan was not incapable of hearing the veiled barbs in Duan Yuanyuan's words. He simply enjoyed seeing Cen Jiao get jealous over him.
The more jealous Cen Jiao was, the more it showed that she loved him, didn't it?
Besides, a brainless, big-chested Green Tea Bitch like her was clearly a shameless slut. He found KTV hostesses filthy enough already; how could he possibly be interested in her?
Cen Jiao knew that too. A little coaxing would be enough.
Pei Chixuan spoke gently to Cen Jiao. "Jiao Jiao, stop making a fuss. If you want to sleep in the car, I'll go with you."
"Who wants you to come with me?" Cen Jiao flared up. "You stay here and keep your new little sister company!"
With that, Cen Jiao turned and ran.
"Jiao Jiao!"
Pei Chixuan hurried after her.
As the two played out the classic scene of one running and the other chasing, Duan Yuanyuan looked up and quickly made an OK gesture toward the roof.
Duan Yuanyuan's house stood right beside the intersection.
Cen Jiao had barely run two steps when she was about to turn the corner. The sight before her froze her whole body stiff and drained the color from her face.
"Pei... Pei Chixuan..."
Just moments ago, Cen Jiao had thought Duan Yuanyuan was being overly dramatic for collapsing in fright at the sight of a few zombies. Now, looking at the black mass of zombies surging toward them, her calves tensed inside her high heels, but she could not move them at all.
"Pei Chixuan, there are so many zombies ahead..."
Cen Jiao was already terrified senseless and instinctively sought help from Pei Chixuan behind her.
But when she turned around, she discovered that Pei Chixuan was being attacked from both sides by two men who had appeared out of nowhere. Even so, he did not forget to call back to her.
"Jiao Jiao, it's dangerous here! Get back to the car!"
Before you continue