Hua Wuyan, dressed in vivid red, was nibbling on an energy bar beside the fountain pool.
The energy bars in the supply crate came in many flavors—a bit hard, but fragrant to chew on.
【Host, Xu Qingtian and her group are 80 meters away from you. Because of their approach, the nearby zombies have caught the strong scent of human flesh and are slowly closing in.】
“These people really don’t do anything decent. Fine, they come over themselves, but they’re also leading the zombies right to me.”
【50 meters.】
【20 meters.】
【Ding! A Providence Quest has been triggered. The system has detected an important opportunity for Xu Qingtian within the Linjiang City Safe Base. Please have the Host travel to the Safe Base together with Xu Qingtian, in order to seize this major opportunity.】
“What did you say? You want me to go to the Safe Base with them?”
【Yes! Quest success rewards 5 Providence Points. Quest failure…】
“Quest failure means I get erased, right? You never have any new tricks.”
【The Host has learned to answer before I finish—progress indeed. Although this quest only rewards 5 Providence Points, the system has detected that subsequent Providence Quests offer far richer rewards. Please find a way to complete this quest as soon as possible.】
“System, even if I want to go with them, they have to agree first.”
【Host, as long as you arrive at the base at the same time as them, you don’t necessarily have to join their team.】
Hua Wuyan realized she’d fallen into a logical dead end and quickly caught on. “Right, I can just follow behind them, can’t I?”
【Host, you must arrive at the base at the exact same time and on the same level as Xu Qingtian to complete the quest.】
“How troublesome.” But she latched onto the key point the system had made. She only needed to arrive at the same time as Xu Qingtian—the others with her weren’t part of the quest scope.
Just then, as the sound of footsteps from a group approached, Xu Qingtian’s surprised voice rang out.
“Hua Wuyan, you’re not dead?”
Hua Wuyan gripped her long blade and rolled her eyes in exasperation.
“You’re not dead either, so what’s all the fuss about?”
Xu Qingtian frowned and tugged at Jiang Nanying. “Senior Nanying, look at her! She nearly got us eaten by zombies, and she doesn’t show a shred of remorse—she even glared at me!”
She shifted the topic onto Hua Wuyan, then immediately began scanning the surroundings.
The rooftop of the mall, the area around the fountain pool, the main streets—aside from broken public facilities and rotting, stinking corpses, there were only wrecked, smoking vehicles.
There was no sign of an airdrop crate anywhere.
She eyed Hua Wuyan suspiciously. She didn’t even carry a bag—everything about her could be seen through at a glance.
It seemed Hua Wuyan had no idea there was an airdrop crate nearby.
Jiang Nanying looked at Hua Wuyan before him, dressed in a bright red long gown, dazzling under the sun.
Was it his imagination? In just one day’s absence, had Hua Wuyan somehow become prettier?
It wasn’t until Xu Qingtian called him that he averted his gaze.
“Hua Wuyan, since you’re not dead, hurry up and apologize to Junior Qingtian. I’ll forgive what happened before.”
Xu Qingtian raised her chin proudly toward her, her eyes brimming with smugness.
“Did you hear that? Senior Nanying said to come over and apologize to me.”
Hua Wuyan curled her lips in a cold smile and slowly walked up to Xu Qingtian and Jiang Nanying.
Suddenly, she raised her long blade and pressed it against the side of Xu Qingtian’s neck.
Xu Qingtian screamed in terror. “Ah! Hua Wuyan, put the blade down! Let’s talk this out!”
Jiang Nanying shouted in panic, “Hua Wuyan, what are you doing?!” He rushed forward to grab Hua Wuyan’s hand.
Before he could even touch her, she kicked him to the ground with a single blow.
His face was full of shock: How could she have so much strength?
“Me, apologize? Have you two had your brains licked by zombies?”
Jiang Nanying hadn’t expected that Hua Wuyan, who had always been so obedient to him, would snap at him over a single word. He felt a bit annoyed.
“Hua Wuyan, how can you be so crude? How many times have I told you that I hate crude girls the most? If you keep this up, I will never like you.”
Hua Wuyan took several deep breaths before suppressing the nausea rising in her chest.
“Jiang Nanying, there’s still plenty of zombie blood on this blade of mine. If I accidentally cut her skin, your dear Qingtian junior sister here will turn into one of those disgusting, ugly zombies.”
She grinned maliciously at Xu Qingtian. “I wonder—if you got infected, would your Nanying senior still like you?”
Jiang Nanying stared at Hua Wuyan’s eyes in disbelief. “Hua Wuyan, you’ve disappointed me so much. Now you’re resorting to such unscrupulous methods just to get my attention.
None of this has anything to do with Qingtian. Don’t hurt her!”
“Senior Wuyan, don’t be impulsive. If you let me go, I can put in a good word for you with Nanying senior and the others. We’ll forgive you for that time you played the suona and lured zombies to attack us.”
In the living room of a high-rise apartment, Ouyang Huiye’s face was ashen as he listened to his subordinate report the information gathered on Hua Wuyan.
“Boss, we found her. The girl who saved you is named Hua Wuyan. She’s a student at Linjiang University.”
“Hua Wuyan.” Indeed, she lived up to her name—a beautiful and bold little troublemaker. “Continue.”
“This Hua Wuyan is said to have been a well-behaved girl since childhood. From her very first day at the university, she fell for Jiang Nanying, the campus heartthrob of Lin University.
The two of them were already in a vaguely romantic relationship and seemed about to get together. But this year, a freshman named Xu Qingtian appeared. She was immediately voted the pure and innocent campus beauty of Lin University upon enrollment.
Jiang Nanying fell in love at first sight and confessed to her directly. But Hua Wuyan didn’t give up—instead, she was manipulated by Jiang Nanying into becoming his devoted simp.”
“A well-behaved girl turned into a simp?”
He, Ouyang Huiye, was willing to be her dog, yet she was someone else’s simp?
Ouyang Huiye touched his own face, and inexplicable rage made his breathing grow heavier.
Was this Jiang Nanying better looking than him? Did he have a better body?
She had spoken harshly to him and abandoned him without a second thought. But who the hell was this Jiang Nanying?
“Where is she now?”
“I’ll have people find her right away.”
Ouyang Huiye slowly rose to his feet. “Once you find her, send me her location via satellite communication.
You and the brothers head back to the base and wait for me.”
“Boss, but your injuries…”
“Minor wounds.”
Beside the fountain pool, a long blade was pressed against Xu Qingtian’s neck, and she was trembling violently.
[Host, a zombie horde is gathering nearby. Xu Qingtian’s crying will only draw more of them in.]
“It’s fine. The more, the merrier.”
[Host, please be careful not to go too far. You might end up playing with fire and getting burned.]
“System, let me ask you—Xu Qingtian is the female lead of this world, so I can’t touch her. But what about the others? This Jiang Nanying is just Xu Qingtian’s simp. It shouldn’t matter much whether he lives or dies, right?”
[Logically speaking, that’s correct, Host.]
“Heh heh, I’ll off him in a bit.” As she spoke, she tightened her grip on the long blade, and the System’s shrill cry rang out.
【Host, what are you trying to do! If you want to kill Jiang Nanying, fine, but this is the female lead! She can’t die!】
“Relax, she won’t die. Help me redeem a Detoxification Pill.”
A shallow cut appeared on the side of Xu Qingtian’s neck.
The wound precisely broke the capillaries beneath the skin, avoiding the artery.
“Ah! Hua Wuyan, why are you doing this to me!” Xu Qingtian collapsed weakly to the ground, sobbing and wailing.
Hua Wuyan moved the long blade away and stood there nonchalantly, playing with her fingers. Just as she was about to say something, the System’s notification chimed in.
【Ding! Ouyang Huiye’s Favorability Rating -1. Current Favorability Rating: 55%.】
Her expression froze. Why would Ouyang Huiye’s Favorability Rating fluctuate at a time like this?
“System, can you check Ouyang Huiye’s current status?”
【Host, I detect Ouyang Huiye nearby, less than ten meters away from you.]
Hua Wuyan forced herself not to glance around. Little sneak—so he was secretly tailing her.
If not for the System’s warning, she wouldn’t have noticed at all.
【Host, this Ouyang Huiye is cautious. He’s already had his men investigate your background. He knows your predecessor was Jiang Nanying’s lapdog.
Oh no, someone like Ouyang Huiye definitely minds that you used to be another man’s lapdog. It’ll be even harder to raise his Favorability Rating from now on.]
Hua Wuyan chuckled inwardly. “No rush—it’s better that he knows.”