Following the light of the moon, a petite woman with delicate features slowly walked forward through a secluded mountain forest. Five men dressed in black followed behind her. One of them was carrying an iron chain.
“Ugh, where is this…?”
Lying in the vehicle, Nan Xuan slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She realized she was inside a car. Her body felt frighteningly weak, while the silence outside was unnerving.
Having survived in the apocalypse for ten years, Nan Xuan immediately became alert. She tried to remember what had happened and why she had ended up here.
She had clearly been advancing to the next level in the villa area of the base. The base had announced that a zombie tide was about to arrive, and her best friend had said she was afraid. Her best friend had suddenly barged into her bedroom, causing her advancement to fail. Then she had cried and apologized repeatedly, giving Nan Xuan a headache. After comforting her for a long time, Nan Xuan had told her that she wanted to rest, and only then had her best friend finally left.
But Nan Xuan had clearly told her that she needed to rest and recover and that no one should disturb her. So why had she woken up inside a car, and why was she outside?
As she thought about it, Nan Xuan tried to use her supernatural ability. The moment she did, the veins throughout her body felt as if they were about to tear apart. The pain was bone-deep, and her face instantly turned deathly pale as cold sweat poured down her body.
Nan Xuan’s eyes widened in shock.
She could not use her supernatural ability?
How was that possible?
Failing to advance should have only caused internal injuries. With her talent for four types of supernatural abilities and her strength as a high-level eighth-tier ability user, how could she possibly be unable to use her abilities?
No, that was not right. She remembered that she had not been like this before. Why had things changed?
Suddenly, Nan Xuan’s eyes widened.
Was it Lian Xue?
Before going to sleep, she had drunk a glass of milk that Lian Xue had brought her. It had tasted a little strange at the time, but she had simply thought the milk was close to expiring and had not paid much attention.
But why?
She had protected and cared for Lian Xue so much. Why would Lian Xue do this to her? What could she possibly gain from it?
“Nan Xuan, you’re awake?”
The moment the voice fell, the car door opened, and Lian Xue appeared in Nan Xuan’s line of sight.
She was someone who had once been so close to Nan Xuan, yet the smile on her face now seemed so unfamiliar.
“Xiaoxue, why are we here? Didn’t I tell you that I need to rest? If the zombie tide comes, I won’t be able to protect you.”
Nan Xuan stared at Lian Xue, but her heart was slowly sinking. She did not want her suspicion to be true.
Lian Xue gave a soft laugh and signaled to the men in black beside her with her eyes.
Three of the five men stepped forward and bound Nan Xuan with the iron chain.
“You tell me. If it weren’t for you, how could I have been pointed at and called a useless flower who could only cling to others? But don’t worry. After tonight, I’ll be one of the strongest ability users among the various bases.”
The more Lian Xue spoke, the happier she became. By the end, she burst into laughter.
“Oh, right. You still don’t know, do you? I managed to do all this because of your fiancé, my Yue-ge. If he hadn’t been secretly poisoning you over time, I really wouldn’t have been able to control you. And don’t think your loyal guard can appear like he did before either. We don’t even know whether he’s alive or dead now.”
A trace of distortion twisted Lian Xue’s delicate face. The way she looked at Nan Xuan was venomous, like that of a poisonous snake.
Nan Xuan’s eyes widened.
She could not understand what the best friend she had cherished and her fiancé meant by this. And what did she mean by a loyal guard? Did she even have someone like that?
After a moment of silence, Nan Xuan seemed to understand. She lowered her head and let out a quiet laugh.
“And so what? You went through all this trouble just to use an iron chain to cripple me and lock me up?”
Nan Xuan’s heart turned completely cold.
Thinking back over everything that had happened, her teammates had died or been injured along the way, all because they had been protecting this pair of despicable people. Even her childhood friend had died right in front of her.
She could have lived a good life too…
The only people left by her side were these two.
Lian Xue walked ahead without answering. Perhaps she thought of something, because her delicate face twisted again. However, the moment she saw the off-road vehicle parked on the mountain, her expression instantly changed back into one of helpless innocence.
She twisted her slender waist and walked toward it. The five men in black followed closely behind, dragging the bound Nan Xuan with them.
“Yue-ge!”
Lian Xue called toward the off-road vehicle.
The car door opened, and a man in a suit stepped out. He had delicate features and could be considered handsome, but there was nothing particularly striking about him. At best, he was the kind of person who could barely be picked out from a crowd.
This man was Nan Xuan’s fiancé, Yue Yang.
Yue Yang immediately wrapped an arm around Lian Xue when she ran over. He lowered his head and kissed her directly on the lips before turning to look at Nan Xuan, who was tied up.
“Nan Xuan, do you know how long we’ve been waiting for this day? I’ve hated seeing you act so high and mighty for a long time. Because of you, I’m not one of the base’s key personnel. Without you, I would be the base’s genius!”
Yue Yang looked at Nan Xuan with contempt as she lay on the ground. His eyes were filled with the same malice as Lian Xue’s.
“And of course, don’t think I betrayed you. You betrayed me first! You were clearly my fiancée, yet you kept getting close to other men and flirting with them! I loved you so much, yet you laughed and talked happily with other men!”
Yue Yang’s face twisted as he spoke. The veins on his forehead bulged, making him look even more ferocious.
Nan Xuan laughed.
What else was there that she did not understand?
Even though she was lying on the ground, Nan Xuan made no attempt to hide the mockery in her eyes. She looked at the two of them as if they were nothing more than ants and trash.
Getting close? Flirting? Loving me?
Ha!
Those were probably all excuses.
There had only ever been Lian Xue clinging to her side. Not to mention other men, even her brothers had to keep a distance of one meter when talking to her.
And now, looking at these two people in front of her, it was truly ridiculous.
“Hmph, Yue-ge, look at her.”
Lian Xue looked at the contempt in Nan Xuan’s eyes and turned to Yue Yang with an aggrieved expression.
“Don’t be upset, Xiaoxue. I’ll dig out her crystal core and give it to you.”
After comforting Lian Xue, Yue Yang signaled to the men in black beside him.
One of them received the order, picked up a knife, and walked toward Nan Xuan.
Nan Xuan closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, they were filled with crimson fury.
Thinking about everything that had happened, she wished she could tear herself apart. She had truly given her heart to the wrong people.
The man’s knife pierced through her abdomen.
Nan Xuan let out a muffled groan.
It hurt.
It truly hurt.
The pain of having flesh carved out of her body and the pain in her heart were both unbearable.
A four-colored crystal core was dug out and handed to Lian Xue.
Lian Xue could no longer hide the smile on her face. She took the crystal core, snatched the knife from the man in black, and slashed it across Nan Xuan’s face.
“I’ve hated looking at that face of yours for a long time. Why do you get to be both beautiful and powerful?! You were like this before the apocalypse, and you’re still like this after the apocalypse! Why?!”
Lian Xue screamed and cursed as she slashed at Nan Xuan.
When she finally stopped, Nan Xuan’s originally exquisite and beautiful face was covered in blood and mangled flesh. Only her fox-like eyes remained, staring straight at Lian Xue.
Lian Xue returned to Yue Yang’s embrace, and the two of them walked toward the off-road vehicle.
The moment they got into the car, Yue Yang signaled to the man in black beside him.
The man looked at the time, pulled out a gun, and fired a burst into the sky.
Roars of zombies came from the distance.
They grew closer and closer.
The group got into the vehicle and drove away. Before leaving, Yue Yang released his supernatural ability and condensed a metal blade that flew straight toward Nan Xuan’s heart.
In that instant, a black shadow rushed over and blocked the flying blade.
The blade pierced through his chest, but his hand tightly gripped the metal blade, preventing it from moving even an inch farther.
Nan Xuan’s eyes widened in shock.
It was Xiao Beiyu!
The man before her was covered in blood. Some of his wounds were even deep enough to reveal bone. Yet he knelt on one knee in front of her, taking the fatal blow for her.
The blade had pierced through his chest. Blood spilled from his mouth, but he still gripped the metal blade tightly.
The way he looked at Nan Xuan was filled with deep affection and reluctance to let her go.
Blood dripped onto the ground, as if each drop were falling directly onto Nan Xuan’s aching heart.
Her body trembled slightly.
He had been like this from the very beginning…
He would rather be the one to get hurt than allow her to be harmed.
She had clearly told him directly that she had a fiancé and that there could never be anything between them. Yet he had still insisted on protecting her.
He was a powerful man himself. He could have any woman he wanted.
Then why?
The zombies in the distance roared as they rushed toward them.
Nan Xuan understood.
A few days earlier, the base had already issued a notice that large numbers of zombies were gathering and that a zombie tide was approaching. Base personnel were forbidden from leaving at will. They had expected to have only three or four days to prepare.
She simply had not expected that before the battle even began, she would first be stabbed in the back by her own people.
Nan Xuan sighed and looked at the man before her with complicated emotions.
The zombies drew closer.
They were about to bite Nan Xuan when Xiao Beiyu moved.
Using the last of his strength, he pulled the blade from his chest. Then he smiled at Nan Xuan before pulling her into his arms and shielding her completely.
If they were going to die, he would die first.
At the moment they were devoured, Nan Xuan seemed to hear Xiao Beiyu say something…
She thought that if she had another life, she would definitely live for herself.
She would make sure those two despicable people died without a grave to bury them in.
And she would definitely protect the idiot standing before her…