Chapter 63 – Apocalypse Arc: Zombie Siege: Rebirth in the Apocalypse—My Secret Lover (01)
[Calculating points. Main mission: Separate Jiang Liangwu and the protagonist Bai Shang—1,000 points. Side mission: Help the protagonist find her way back—200 points. Disband the protagonist’s harem—300 points. Transformation restriction lifted. Due to the premature extraction of world energy, the next world will have an increased danger level. Host, please prepare. Entering punishment world mode immediately.]
The cold mechanical voice bombarded Bai Tang with rewards and punishments all at once. He hadn’t even had time to grieve over parting with his beloved Jiang Liangwu before being forcefully transported to the next world.
Bai Tang woke up on a hard wooden bed.
The room was dimly lit, with the windows tightly shut. Most of the walls had turned gray, with patches of peeling plaster barely clinging on. The air was filled with a bitter scent, and dust particles could be seen floating around.
Bai Tang tried to move, but the slightest motion sent waves of sharp pain through his body, as if his bones had been completely dislocated. He collapsed back onto the bed, trembling from the agony.
“Qiu’er, it hurts~” His soft, childlike voice quivered, and tears welled up uncontrollably at the corners of his eyes.
“Tang Tang, huff huff, does it hurt a lot? But… but I can’t heal you. Since I secretly extracted energy in the last world, my healing function has been disabled in this one.” The system was so anxious it was on the verge of crying. What to do? It felt utterly useless…
Having spent two entire worlds being spoiled and pampered, Bai Tang couldn’t bear such suffering.
Suddenly—”Poof!” A burst of white light flashed, and a fluffy squirrel appeared on the hard wooden bed.
“Chirp chirp chirp—” The little squirrel lay flat on its back.
“Qiu’er, it doesn’t hurt as much when I transform!” Bai Tang exclaimed, delighted by his discovery.
“Eat pine nuts, eat pine nuts!” The system hurriedly pulled out a handful of pine nuts. Drowning in guilt over being unable to help Bai Tang, it just wanted him to be a little happier in this dangerous world.
These were pine nuts from the back mountain of Butterfly Valley. As Bai Tang nibbled on the sweet, fragrant nuts, his thoughts involuntarily drifted to Jiang Liangwu.
Would Ah Wu follow him here? When would Ah Wu finally find him?
Ah Wu, I miss you so much…
Seeing Bai Tang’s obvious sadness, the system felt heavy-hearted as well.
D*mn it! It just knew the male lead wasn’t a good person—he made Tang Tang sad. If only it could stab him through space and time!
After a long silence, Bai Tang mumbled gloomily, “Qiu’er, transmit the storyline.”
“Okay.”
The system summoned the plot of this world. A black-and-white novel cover appeared, bearing a bloodstained title: “Zombie Siege: Rebirth in the Apocalypse—My Secret Lover.”
The system: “What the hell?!”
It had initially thought that the punishment world would just be slightly more difficult. But this? This wasn’t just difficult—it was downright insane!
Oh god, zombies! The system couldn’t help but recall the horror movie it had seen in the first world—Tang Tang hugging it, Hudson hugging Tang Tang, both of them screaming with their faces covered…
The system sneaked a glance at Bai Tang’s reaction. The little squirrel sat there, dazed—completely unresponsive!!!
Huh???
For Bai Tang, any world without Ah Wu wasn’t a good world. It was a world without a soul.
The plot of this world followed a female protagonist who was reborn just before the apocalypse. Having learned from her past life’s mistakes, she made thorough preparations, showcased her strength in the apocalypse, and ruthlessly humiliated those who had once bullied her. In the end, she and the male lead joined forces to become the rulers of the survivor base.
At first, Bai Tang and the system thought the protagonist’s story was quite inspiring. But as they read further, both the tiny squirrel and the system felt increasingly uneasy.
Here was the main storyline:
Tan Qingqing was betrayed by her boyfriend in the apocalypse and thrown into a horde of zombies, where she met her demise. Just before her death, she accidentally picked up Shao Licang’s jade pendant, which activated a hidden spatial dimension, granting her the opportunity to be reborn before the apocalypse began.
Having been reborn, Tan Qingqing swore to rise to power in the apocalypse. Those who had wronged her would not meet a good end.
The male lead of this world was Shao Licang, who, at just twenty-seven years old, had already developed his company into the second-largest jewelry conglomerate in the world.
The female lead, Tan Qingqing, orchestrated a scheme at a banquet to obtain Shao Licang’s jade pendant. Fearing that the theft would be discovered, she plotted to murder him on his way home.
Bai Tang had an older sister named Bai Yun, and coincidentally, they lived near the alley where the injured and unconscious male lead was left. Bai Yun saved him and took him home.
When the apocalypse arrived, Bai Tang and his sister successfully joined Shao Licang’s team by leveraging their status as his saviors.
Bai Yun had feelings for Shao Licang, so she was deeply displeased when Tan Qingqing, a powerful newcomer, joined the team. Not only did Tan Qingqing steal the attention of other members, but more importantly, Shao Licang began to admire her exceptional abilities.
Bai Tang had always relied on Bai Yun, and whatever his sister disliked, he disliked as well. To create more opportunities for Bai Yun to be around Shao Licang, Bai Tang deliberately made things difficult for Tan Qingqing, constantly opposing her suggestions and causing unnecessary conflicts. His actions repeatedly placed the team in dangerous situations.
Due to this behavior, Shao Licang gradually lost patience with the Bai siblings. During a heated argument, Bai Tang and Bai Yun were ultimately expelled from the team.
Later, during Tan Qingqing’s battle for control of the Guangming Base, she set a trap for Bai Tang, handing him over to the ruling leader, Chen Feng, where he was tortured to death. Bai Yun, on the other hand, was thrown into a horde of zombies and perished.
As Shao Licang and Tan Qingqing fought zombies together, their teamwork became more seamless, and their relationship gradually deepened into love. Eventually, Tan Qingqing confessed that she had picked up his jade pendant. Shao Licang chose to forgive her, and the two went on to manage the survivor base together, becoming the dominant rulers of the post-apocalyptic world.
After reading the entire plot, Bai Tang’s fur bristled in fury.
Who was tortured to death? Him? Absolutely not! He would rather starve to death like in the previous world. Other than A’Wu, no one was allowed to touch him—never!
“Calm down, Tang Tang, calm down…” The system held back its own frustration while trying to soothe the furious Bai Tang. For the mission, for the mission… But in the end, it couldn’t hold back any longer—it was about to explode itself.
“D*mn it! If that female lead dares to come near you, I’ll stab her to death!” The system angrily pulled out a straw doll, as if Tan Qingqing had already committed some unforgivable crime against Bai Tang.
In this world, Bai Tang was born weak and sickly, constantly reliant on medicine. His parents had passed away, leaving only his older sister to take care of him.
The sound of approaching footsteps came from outside. Bai Tang hurriedly shifted back into his human form, pulled the blanket over himself, and pretended to be asleep.
Bai Yun gazed gloomily around the room, which looked more like a garbage dump. She let out a hiss of pain as she touched her forehead, which had been split open in a fight. With a sigh, she muttered in frustration.
If I had to transmigrate, fine—but why did I have to be a cannon fodder side character in an apocalypse novel instead of a heroine in a good story? What kind of rotten luck is this?
The room was filled with the lingering scent of bitter medicine. Bai Yun covered her nose and opened a window. Even so, with the window facing a dark alley, no sunlight could reach inside—it only helped slightly to disperse the smell.
She stepped out of the room, preparing to check on the younger brother who had died protecting her in this world.
On the bed, a frail young boy was curled up in a tight ball. His delicate, light eyebrows were furrowed in pain. His once rosy lips had visibly lost their color, and beads of sweat trickled down his pale cheeks.
This wasn’t just a younger brother—he looked like a fallen angel who had descended to the mortal world.
“Sister?” Bai Tang weakly opened his eyes and gave a pale, fragile smile. “You’re back…”
Bai Yun took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Sister is back. Are you still feeling unwell today?”
The young boy shook his head slightly. “It doesn’t hurt much. Sister, you’re injured—does it hurt?” He asked with concern, his gaze falling on Bai Yun’s forehead wound. He even tried to get up to fetch medicine for her.
In reality, Bai Tang’s entire body ached, but he had no choice—he could only endure it.
Not in pain? His lips were already bitten so hard that they nearly had teeth marks. Bai Yun’s eyes were filled with heartache as she gently pressed Bai Tang back down. He was clearly in so much pain, yet he still forced a smile to comfort her.
Before transmigrating, Bai Yun had been an orphan. Though she ended up in a world far from ideal, at least she finally had family.
She had read this apocalypse novel before. In the story, Bai Tang had always been in poor health, but she never expected it to be this bad. Yet, she herself was struggling financially—there wasn’t a single grain of rice left at home, let alone money for Bai Tang’s medical treatment. And in three months, when the apocalypse arrived, how was she supposed to ensure Bai Tang’s survival?
After brewing an unbearably bitter herbal medicine, Bai Tang drank it. Whether it was the placebo effect or the actual medicinal properties taking effect, he felt his pain lessen slightly.
As a squirrel, his body had always been healthy, but in human form, he inherited the original host’s weak constitution. Even just talking to Bai Yun had exhausted all his energy. Now that the pain had eased a little, Bai Tang fell asleep with a faint smile.
After spending time with Bai Tang, Bai Yun was certain—no matter what, she couldn’t abandon such an adorable and considerate little brother, not even in the apocalypse.
She began contemplating ways to earn money before the apocalypse to get Bai Tang some medical treatment. And once the end times arrived, she had to remember one thing: Cherish life. Stay far away from the female lead.
Lost in thought, Bai Yun was suddenly jolted by a loud explosion—”Boom!” The blast was so powerful that the dilapidated building, already marked for demolition, shook violently.
Bai Yun was startled and quickly ran to the window. Looking outside, she saw flames shooting up into the sky near the foul-smelling river. Glancing at the old calendar the original host had picked up from the trash, she realized—wasn’t today the exact day the original host had found the male lead in the alley?
After some hesitation, Bai Yun gritted her teeth and decided to go downstairs to “pick up” a person.
In the original novel, Bai Yun had shamelessly clung to the male lead under the pretense of repaying his life-saving debt, which ultimately led to disaster. But now, all she had to do was rescue him, and when he offered to repay her, she’d simply ask for money and be done with it.
With money, she could get Bai Tang medical treatment and stock up on essential supplies before the apocalypse. As for joining the male lead’s team? No, thank you—cherish life and stay far away from the protagonist!
Meanwhile, Shao Licang lay collapsed in the dimly lit alley, surrounded by piles of reeking garbage, with flies and mosquitoes swarming around him.
Earlier that night, he had attended a banquet. On his way home, he noticed several cars trailing him. He had no idea when he was drugged, but his vision blurred more and more. Left with no choice, he engaged in a life-or-death chase with his pursuers on the road. Before his car crashed, he desperately leaped out and stumbled into this alley, where he completely ran out of strength.
Just before losing consciousness, he vaguely saw a delicate figure approaching.
Seeing Shao Licang about to collapse, Bai Yun cautiously moved closer. Suddenly, his hand shot out and grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip. She found herself staring into a pair of bloodthirsty eyes.
“What are you doing?” she asked, startled.
But the next moment, he abruptly lost all strength and completely blacked out.
Author’s Note:
Tang Tang, who gets scared half to death watching horror movies, is now stuck in a world full of zombies and is weak and sickly. What should we do? 😭