Chapter 79 – Apocalypse Arc: Zombie Siege: Rebirth in the Apocalypse—My Secret Lover (17)
As for the female lead, the group didn’t do much to her. Shao Licang didn’t give any orders or take any action, and as time passed, some even wondered if he had taken a liking to Tan Qingqing. But considering Bai Tang’s presence, perhaps he simply couldn’t openly pursue her.
Half a month passed as everyone focused on fighting monsters and leveling up. Eventually, it was Hei Zi, with his fiery temper, who lost patience first.
“Boss, what exactly is your plan for keeping that woman around? Just to waste food?” Hei Zi’s tone was unpleasant. From the moment Bai Tang sweetly called him “Brother Hei Zi,” he had instantly taken a liking to the boy.
“She’s scheming against Tang Tang.” Shao Licang didn’t say much—his only concern was making sure Tan Qingqing had no chance to get close to Bai Tang.
The group continued traveling northwest. Occasionally, they encountered small survivor teams, but their interactions remained peaceful, without any major conflicts.
That night, while the group was resting, the sound of a motorcycle engine suddenly roared from not far away.
Woken up by the noise, Hei Zi cursed, “D*mn it, who the hell rides a motorcycle in the middle of the night? Do they have a death wish?”
Just as he finished speaking, a group of motorcyclists pulled up in front of them.
Bai Tang rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked out the window. He saw the leader take off his helmet, revealing an incredibly handsome face. The rest of the group followed suit, removing their helmets and getting off their bikes with effortless ease.
“Sorry to bother you. We’re just passing through,” Li Junran said with a bright smile, addressing He Lang, who looked like the leader.
He Lang waved a hand dismissively. “Suit yourselves.”
In the apocalypse, survivors should look out for one another. He Lang glanced further inside the camp—since Shao Licang remained silent, it seemed he had no objections to their presence.
Li Junran and his team were quite capable, with a well-organized division of labor—some resting, others keeping watch. The two groups coexisted peacefully.
The next morning, when Li Junran woke up, he spotted an adorably soft little cutie. Unable to resist the urge to tease, he immediately made his move.
Bai Yun, a water ability user, had an abundant supply of water. She was helping Bai Tang wash up under a tree.
“Hey there, little cutie~” Li Junran struck what he thought was a handsome pose, leaning against another tree.
Bai Yun glanced at him but didn’t respond. She simply took the freshly washed Bai Tang by the hand and started walking back.
“Hey~ don’t ignore me! Little cutie, how about we be friends?” Li Junran caught up and walked beside Bai Tang.
Bai Tang, pampered by Shao Licang, had fair, soft, and bouncy skin. Unable to resist, Li Junran reached out and pinched his cheek.
“Smack—”
“What do you think you’re doing?” Bai Yun slapped his hand away, but it was too late. Bai Tang’s delicate skin had already turned red from the touch, even though Li Junran hadn’t used much force.
“Aiya, don’t be so fierce! You don’t even have a chest, yet you’re this fierce.” Li Junran’s gaze swept up and down Bai Yun before finally settling on her chest.
Bai Yun, both embarrassed and angry, lashed out with a jet of water.
Li Junran dodged to the side, and the water blast struck a tree behind him, splitting it in two.
The commotion immediately drew the attention of the nearby motorcycle team.
“What’s going on? Ganging up on someone just because you outnumber them?”
“How dare you attack our boss? Are you looking for trouble…?”
“Don’t think I won’t hit a woman…!”
Bai Yun and Bai Tang were quickly surrounded, and it looked like a fight was about to break out.
Bai Tang was furious—completely unhappy.
What’s with this guy? Bai Tang thought. We don’t even know him, and yet he just touched me and my sister like that.
A squirrel’s anger should never be taken lightly.
Suddenly, the plants in the forest began to move. Dense vines slithered toward the group’s feet, their tendrils writhing menacingly, ready to strike.
“What’s going on? There are mutant plants here!”
The group activated their abilities, fighting against the vines. However, it was futile. No matter how many vines were burned away, new ones kept emerging from the ground.
Bai Yun tightly shielded Bai Tang, a water sphere forming in her hands, ready to attack.
Yet, the vines seemed to have a consciousness of their own. They relentlessly assaulted the others but never approached the Bai siblings.
Suddenly, thick black mist rose from the ground, engulfing the rampaging plants. Within moments, the vines disintegrated into nothingness, vanishing without a trace.
“Ah Cang~” Bai Tang called softly.
The man pulled Bai Tang in front of him, carefully inspecting him from head to toe. Aside from the red mark on his cheek, there were no injuries. But even that small mark was enough to cross Shao Licang’s bottom line.
His expression turned ice-cold, and his oppressive aura as a leader intensified.
“You all deserve to die.”
A deathly black mist surged from the cracks in the earth. Like ghostly hands from the depths of hell, they latched onto the ankles of the offenders, dragging them downward into the abyss.
Li Junran’s expression changed. He immediately unleashed his lightning ability, striking through the black mist. His gaze toward Shao Licang carried newfound wariness.
Bai Tang tugged at Shao Licang’s sleeve. “Let it go.”
Bai Tang didn’t like these people, but he disliked seeing Shao Licang kill even more. There was no logical reason—just a feeling. Shao Licang should be gentle, not ruthless.
By the time the others arrived, it was already over. They couldn’t even fight back, leaving them with nothing but frustration simmering inside.
“You’re not welcome here,” He Lang said in a deep voice, issuing an order for them to leave.
All this time, Tan Qingqing had been locked inside the vehicle, witnessing everything. Seeing that no one was left nearby, she used her ability to break the car lock and made a run for it.
Half a month had passed. Although the men hadn’t physically tormented Tan Qingqing, their cold remarks were relentless. For someone as proud as her, this was unbearable. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. She had been reborn—she wasn’t meant to be a prisoner. Every day, she thought about how to escape, how to get the jade pendant.
And now, the opportunity had arrived.
Bai Tang was walking back under Bai Yun’s protection when Tan Qingqing seized the moment. Sharp ice shards shot toward Bai Yun. Forced to evade the attack, Bai Yun let go of Bai Tang’s hand.
Tan Qingqing lunged forward, knocking Bai Tang to the ground as she grabbed at the red string around his neck.
In the struggle, the two of them tumbled down the mountain.
It all happened too fast—no one had time to react.
By the time they did, Bai Tang’s earlier ability activation had caused the plants to break through the ground, creating a massive hole. The ground collapsed.
“Tang Tang—!”
A heart-wrenching cry echoed through the forest. Shao Licang, ignoring his subordinates’ attempts to hold him back, leaped down without hesitation, following Bai Tang into the abyss.
“Hurry! We need to leave—this place is collapsing!”
Bai Yun wanted to jump after them, but He Lang shoved her into the vehicle.
One by one, the others drove away from the crumbling terrain.
Meanwhile, Bai Tang was still struggling—Tan Qingqing had yanked on the red string, tightening it around his neck. He could barely breathe.
Shao Licang plunged downward, using the falling rocks to accelerate his descent. He spotted Bai Tang within moments.
With a swift, ruthless move, Shao Licang broke Tan Qingqing’s arm. Her grip on Bai Tang weakened instantly, and pain filled her reddened eyes.
[Detecting host in life-threatening danger. Activating emergency protection mode.]
A flash of white light erupted.
In the next moment, Bai Tang had transformed back into a squirrel.
Tan Qingqing’s eyes widened in shock.
So that’s it… That filthy rat that ruined all her plans—it was him all along.
Tan Qingqing’s eyes filled with fury as she pulled out a dagger hidden at her waist and stabbed toward the squirrel.
But Shao Licang was faster. He shoved Tan Qingqing aside, taking the blade himself. The sharp edge sliced from his right shoulder down to his waist.
Clutching the little squirrel tightly, he shielded it with his body as his back was torn open by the jagged ground. He hit the earth with a heavy thud.
Shao Licang coughed up a mouthful of blood. When he weakly pulled the small creature from his arms and felt its soft body breathing steadily, he finally allowed himself to collapse.
Meanwhile, Tan Qingqing had taken a brutal beating. But in the chaos, she had finally seized the jade pendant she had been longing for.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be!
She refused to accept this fate.
She had been reborn for a reason—to rise to the top of the apocalypse, not to end up with a broken arm, barely clinging to life.
She had to survive. She had to start over.
Just like before, she imitated the method of her previous rebirth and swallowed the jade pendant.
A searing pain tore through her stomach, waves of heat and ice surging violently. One moment, it felt like fire, the next like freezing water—so intense that her mind blurred.
She would be reborn again.
And this time, she would show no mercy.
…
“Tang Tang, Tang Tang, wake up!”
Darkness surrounded them. The wind howled through the mountains, and the system trembled with fear. In the distance, eerie wolf howls echoed through the night.
“Squeak, squeak, squeak—”
The little squirrel stirred and slowly woke up.
“Squeak, squeak, squeak—”
It nudged Shao Licang with its small body.
“Awooo—”
Not far away, several pairs of glowing green eyes stared at them from the shadows.
“Qiu’er, what do we do? I can’t wake Ah Cang…”
Bai Tang transformed back into his human form. As soon as the system provided clothes, he hurriedly put them on, finally feeling a bit less cold.
The system watched as the wolf pack slowly closed in and said to Bai Tang, “Tang Tang, use your ability. Let the vines carry the male lead away.”
Following the system’s instructions, Bai Tang summoned plant vines. They intertwined and wove themselves into a sturdy vine bed, lifting Shao Licang and swiftly carrying him away from danger.
After some time, they found a cave and quickly tidied it up.
The jade pendant had been taken by the female lead, but fortunately, Bai Tang still had his small pouch space. Ever since the system arrived in this world, it had been secretly following Bai Yun, collecting (or rather, stealing) supplies. Although the method wasn’t exactly ethical, it was certainly useful now.
A soft bed with warm blankets, delicious food, a battery-powered lamp… The once barren cave was transformed into a cozy little bedroom.
Since Shao Licang had saved Bai Tang, the system generously offered a full-body scan. The external wounds weren’t too serious—the worst injury was internal trauma caused by crashing against the mountainside. However, Shao Licang’s ability was unique and allowed him to self-heal. Right now, his body was in the process of recovering.
Hearing this, Bai Tang finally felt a little less worried.
“By the way, what about the female lead?”
[Beep beep beep, search failed.]
The system sighed in frustration. “I’m sorry, Tang Tang, I can’t locate her. This world has too many inconsistencies. But at this rate, there’s no way the male lead will ever end up with the female lead. The mission completion rate has already reached 98%. Once we reunite the male lead with the main group, we can leave this world.”
It was the safest option—allowing them to quickly absorb the world’s energy while minimizing unexpected complications.
But Bai Tang didn’t want to leave.
If he left, Shao Licang would be heartbroken. And in the next world… Who knew if he would ever meet him again?
He gazed at the man’s strong and determined profile and said, “Let’s wait a little longer—at least until Ah Cang recovers.”
With that, he transformed into a small squirrel and curled up in the crook of Shao Licang’s shoulder.
“Goodnight, Qiu’er.”
The system let out a helpless sigh. There was no arguing with Bai Tang.
“Goodnight, Tang Tang.”
The vine-woven door kept the raging wind and rain outside, leaving the cave peaceful and serene within.