Chapter 78 – Apocalypse Arc: Zombie Siege: Rebirth in the Apocalypse—My Secret Lover (16)
According to the typical course of events, even though Bai Yun tried her best to change the male lead’s path in the apocalypse, the male and female leads still ended up meeting.
The group that had arrived was none other than the female lead’s companions—a mix of men and women, with half being university students and the other half a gang of unruly street thugs. And among them, the female lead was undoubtedly the most striking presence.
The girl who had spoken earlier was one of the ones dressed like a thug. Smelling the aroma of food, she still acted as if she were living in the pre-apocalyptic world, where street punks like her could order people around. Without any courtesy, she plopped down beside Bai Yun and barked, “Give me a bowl of soup.”
The newcomers were all starving. The university students, being more civilized, disapproved of Wang Wenrong’s behavior—the thug girl who had just spoken. But they were also truly hungry. Though they had dry rations, how could biscuits compare to a hot, fragrant meal?
Hei Zi and the others, however, didn’t care about their hunger. Letting them inside was already generous enough—did they really expect free food and drinks? Dream on.
After confirming that these newcomers were just a bunch of weaklings with no combat ability, the men returned to their seats and continued eating. Whether intentional or not, the burly men made sure to eat loudly—the exaggerated slurping and smacking sounds echoing throughout the room.
Wang Wenrong waited and waited, but Bai Yun never served her food. Annoyed, she knocked on the table. “Hey! Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear me?”
Bai Yun leisurely swallowed her rice, put down her chopsticks, and—without warning—drenched Wang Wenrong with a splash of ice-cold water.
“You looking for trouble?” Wang Wenrong was furious. Who doesn’t have an ability these days?
A fireball formed in her right hand, and she hurled it toward Bai Yun.
Flames and water clashed mid-air with a loud “sizzle,” the water extinguishing the fire before surging toward Wang Wenrong.
Just as the powerful water stream was about to strike her, it suddenly froze into solid ice right before her eyes.
Tan Qingqing stepped forward, her expression cold and arrogant. “Miss, don’t take things too far.”
Bai Yun had never seen the female lead before, so she didn’t realize that the woman standing before her was none other than Tan Qingqing—the person she despised most. But that didn’t stop her from hating the entire group.
She let out a cold snort. “You’re right. Even a dog deserves to be disciplined by its owner. But owners should keep their dogs on a leash—unless they want them running wild, biting people everywhere.”
Wang Wenrong wasn’t particularly educated, but even she understood that Bai Yun had just called her a dog. She was about to retaliate when Tan Qingqing grabbed her arm, stopping her.
At the head of the table sat Shao Licang. And nestled in his arms was a young boy—with a jade pendant around his neck.
Wasn’t that the very same pendant stolen by that squirrel?!
Tan Qingqing didn’t want to fall out with Shao Licang just yet. Last time at the supermarket, he hadn’t made any moves—probably because he didn’t recognize her. She needed to find a way to get the jade pendant back.
“Wenrong was being immature. Please don’t take it to heart,” Tan Qingqing said. Though the words were an apology, her tone lacked even a hint of sincerity.
Perhaps her gaze was too intense, because the others started feeling displeased. Even they had never been hugged or kissed by their little cutie—what did this woman think she was trying to do?
Instinctively, the group positioned themselves in front of Bai Tang, completely blocking Tan Qingqing’s view.
Realizing they wouldn’t be getting a share of the meal, Tan Qingqing’s companions took out their own instant noodles and biscuits—enough to make do for dinner.
From the moment the female lead appeared, Bai Tang was on high alert, his fur practically bristling. He watched her every move with vigilance, his serious expression making Shao Licang feel inexplicably jealous.
What was so good about that woman? How could she steal all of Tang Tang’s attention?
Shao Licang gave Bai Tang’s small butt a light slap. Bai Tang nearly turned around and bit him.
“Why did you hit me?” The little squirrel was upset. Why does the female lead showing up mean I get hit?!
“Eat properly. Look at me instead of her—am I not good-looking?”
With their playful bickering, dinner passed quickly.
The hot spring inn was spacious, and with only about twenty people staying the night, there were more than enough rooms for everyone to have their own.
Tan Qingqing originally planned to sneak into Bai Tang’s room while he was sleeping and steal back the jade pendant. However, Bai Tang and Shao Licang were inseparable—even when it was time for bed, they entered the same room together.
She wasn’t strong enough to take on Shao Licang, leaving her with no way to act.
To keep an eye on the female lead, Bai Yun deliberately moved into the room next to Tan Qingqing’s. Awakened ability users had senses far sharper than ordinary people—if Tan Qingqing made any suspicious moves, Bai Yun would know immediately.
Bai Yun listened to the sound of doors opening and closing in the neighboring room, as well as the continuous pacing inside. Just like that, the night passed.
Tan Qingqing, having found no opportunity all night, was unwilling to give up until she got the jade pendant.
The next day, the group prepared to set off. Originally, this was the point where the two teams should have gone their separate ways.
However, Tan Qingqing acted completely out of character. Gone was her usual cold and aloof demeanor—she now smiled warmly, exuding the kindness of a gentle older sister as she spoke to Bai Tang.
“Little brother, I have some candy here for you. Want some?”
She pulled out a handful of loose candies and placed them in front of Bai Tang.
She had observed the group carefully and realized that Bai Tang was the easiest to talk to and the one everyone cared about the most. If she could get on his good side, she could stay in the group—and as for the jade pendant, she could slowly coax it away from him.
But Bai Tang had no fondness for the female lead. He turned his head away, his posture clearly saying, “I don’t want to talk to you.”
Tan Qingqing grew anxious. It had been rare for Shao Licang to step away for a moment, giving her this brief chance to approach Bai Tang—yet the boy still ignored her.
A sinister thought crossed her mind. She had never been a good person to begin with. Reaching out suddenly, she grabbed the red string around Bai Tang’s neck, trying to snatch the jade pendant.
In that instant, a sharp pain—like needles stabbing into her skull—shot from the top of her head straight into her brain.
“Who the hell dares touch my Tang Tang?!”
The system appeared, holding a straw doll. Thick silver needles, as wide as an adult’s finger, were stabbed into the doll’s head.
“Qiu’er, don’t kill her,” Bai Tang said. He really disliked the female lead, but he didn’t enjoy killing people.
“Got it~” the system replied with a cheerful grin. “We’re outsiders, and Heaven won’t allow us to kill. Don’t worry, we can’t actually kill the female lead.”
But the male lead… that’s a different story.
The system spotted Shao Licang returning and offered the female lead a silent three-second moment of mourning.
Before everyone’s eyes, Shao Licang kicked Tan Qingqing to the ground.
The people who had traveled with her didn’t dare to step forward and help. They had only happened to escape the city alongside her—they had no intention of offending the terrifying man in front of them.
A cold, black muzzle was aimed at Tan Qingqing.
Shao Licang disengaged the safety.
“Bang—”
A small hole appeared in the ground.
Wang Wenrong rolled on the floor with Tan Qingqing in her arms, terror-stricken as she stared at Shao Licang’s expressionless face.
“This is illegal! I’m going to report you! I’m calling the police!” Wang Wenrong shouted.
“Pfft—Hahaha! Did you hear that? Someone wants to report us!” Hei Zi burst into laughter, joined by the rest of his comrades.
A sharp glint flashed in He Lang’s eyes. “Would you like me to give you a lawyer’s phone number?”
The world had already fallen into chaos. People didn’t even know if they would live to see tomorrow, yet this girl was still so naive, thinking she could call the police.
“If all of you are dead, then there’ll be no one left to know about it.”
The old butler spoke coldly as he draped a coat over Bai Tang’s shoulders. The boy’s clothes had been torn during the struggle.
The old butler was a ruthless figure. Though he had retired years ago to enjoy his old age, in his younger years, he had fought side by side with the Shao family’s patriarch, building their empire through blood and fire. The rise of the Shao family had not been entirely clean, and neither were the butler’s hands.
It had been years since he had taken action, but now that someone had dared to lay hands on the boy he considered his grandson, he could not stand by any longer.
He pulled out the firearm holstered at his waist and cocked it.
“Bang! Bang!”
With precise, decisive shots, he took down two people who had been trying to slip away by the door.
The acrid scent of gunpowder filled the air.
The old butler sneered. “One by one—don’t rush.”
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Within moments, all of the thugs who had come with Tan Qingqing collapsed to the ground.
“Click.” “Click.”
Shao Licang reloaded his weapon, his gun once again aimed at the two trembling women.
“You… you won’t get away with this—”
Before Wang Wenrong could finish her sentence, she too crumpled to the ground.
Now, only the university students remained.
They were still just young adults who hadn’t truly stepped into society—how could they have ever witnessed such a scene?
They wanted to run, but their legs felt as if they were filled with lead, too heavy to lift.
“Please don’t kill us! Don’t kill us! We won’t say anything… we swear!”
Bright red blood pooled across the pristine white tiles, slowly creeping toward Bai Tang’s feet.
“Ah Cang~” Bai Tang trembled.
It wasn’t that he was naive or weak-hearted, but if this continued, Shao Licang would end up killing the female lead. If she died, the mission would fail, and he would have to leave this world.
Bai Tang didn’t know that only he and the system were unable to kill the female lead. He mistakenly believed that she couldn’t die at all.
The soft, trembling voice instantly dispelled the bloodthirst in Shao Licang’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, Tang Tang. Did I scare you?”
He covered Bai Tang’s eyes with his hand. He shouldn’t have killed in front of him.
With just a glance, he signaled to the man with hypnotic abilities. The man stepped forward and one by one, hypnotized the university students.
The world had fallen into chaos—killing was no longer a crime. But since Bai Tang disliked it, they would be spared.
Besides, this was a perfect opportunity for the man to practice his hypnosis ability.
However, when it was Tan Qingqing’s turn, the hypnosis failed completely.
Shao Licang raised an eyebrow. She couldn’t be killed, but she also couldn’t be released. Keeping an unpredictable person within sight was far safer than letting her roam free, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
“Take her with us.”
The process wasn’t ideal, but in the end, Tan Qingqing still “joined” Shao Licang’s team—just as she had wished.
Bai Tang’s long, thick eyelashes brushed against Shao Licang’s palm, tickling him—it sent a soft, numbing sensation straight to his heart.
“Ah Cang, I can’t see you anymore.”
His vision was engulfed in darkness as Shao Licang continued to cover his eyes. He instinctively tried to remove the hand, but instead, Shao Licang scooped him up into his arms.
“Don’t look. You’ll have nightmares.”
Once inside the vehicle, Bai Tang sat on Shao Licang’s lap, hugging a squirrel plushie while pouting.
“Tang Tang, are you scared?”
As he asked this question, Shao Licang’s palms grew sweaty. He was afraid that Bai Tang would hate him for having blood on his hands.
“Not at all! Ah Cang was just punishing the bad guys.”
The soft, sweet voice, as clear and refreshing as spring water, instantly calmed Shao Licang’s anxious heart.
He took out a wet wipe and gently wiped the red marks on Bai Tang’s neck, left from the earlier struggle. Then, he used his ability to erase the marks completely.
“Tang Tang, from now on, stay away from that woman.”
“Okay~ but you’re not allowed to go near her either! You can’t look at her, and you can’t talk to her!”
The little squirrel was just as possessive, immediately setting three strict rules to keep Shao Licang away from the female lead.
“Otherwise, I won’t talk to you anymore! And… and I won’t give you anything to eat.”
Bai Tang patted the jade pendant, hinting that all their supplies were stored within his space ability.
“Alright, I won’t talk to her. I’ll follow the orders of my esteemed benefactor.”
Shao Licang, in an unusually good mood, tightened his embrace around Bai Tang. Tang Tang was so possessive over him—how wonderful.
Author’s Note:
Today’s bonus update—hope my little cuties enjoy it~
The male lead is about to get ruthless! And Tang Tang is as adorable as ever.
I’ll be waiting for you all to come back and read next week—please don’t forget me! （Erkang hand gesture）